A Bad Day

I can't swing the sword at her legs in time, she’s easily faster, jumping on top of the blade and punching my face.

I almost fall back; she makes sure I do, the short heels on her boots swiftly sweep my feet. It takes seconds of relocating my senses on the ground for me to notice how she really isn't joking.

When I reach her, the sword sways so hard against her torso it sounds like a church’s bell. She’s sent flying to a tree. Three houses are now down to crumbs. The most fun.

“Woah! Got you closer to them! Throw them your little potions since you’re already there!“

“Hi!“ Someone smiling waves at her from under the wall she gets up from.

She flusters and throws flasks to the ground. I only hear the blue smoke and the awed crowd as all the injured suddenly get up to applaud. She was already gone, dashing, running straight through the zombies while not taking her eyes off me.

I gulp, but I look back at where I’m heading; the neck of the soldier she left behind. Smashing the blade against his shoulder, I turn my face at her with an energetic smile.

“Don’t worry… He’ll be fine!“ I shout, laughing as I show Hiro the body of her last man in combat, about to transform into a zombie.

I see him convulsing, but as I look at his face, his mouth is melting like he had drank the same acid she used before. He's simply dead.

I throw the rapidly dissolving carcass to the floor.

“No one has to die, yet, you always choose that side, don’t you?“ She says getting closer as her frown grows. I run to the dragon. “Ever going to change, zombie swordsman?“

“Exactly! He could be living right now! I can't believe you're so disgusted you gave him acid in case I got him." I say furious.

She just smiles at me once more.

I don't have time for it, I jump on the dragon's leg, about to climb it, and it explodes. Me and the creature are both thrown in the air in different directions.

When the smoke finally settles down, I try to get up, and I see her. Fondling another shiny, bright hot bomb on her metal hand, looking at me with that disgusting smug.

She heads for the dragon. I can barely walk. When my hearing starts to get back, I hear flasks breaking as she throws them up the creature’s mouth. Thicker white smoke starts to spread, he tumbles back.

I run faster than I know my body can take right now and jump onto the dragon's long neck, holding onto it with my legs. He looks weaker and slower than before. She turns to me, I had to see the look on her face.

Before I can smile, she throws a flask at me, the same white smoke. I don’t know what it… is…--

My hand holds onto his neck when I almost fall, and I’m left shaking as just one hand holds the sword and it’s dragging me down. I feel weak. Not weak but…--

She throws another one. I feel the energy inside me leaving my body, exhaustion setting in. I haven’t felt this way in decades.

Like a slug I drag myself to the dragon’s head, barely keeping my eyes open… He can’t either. I open his mouth wide with my legs, he didn't have strength to resist. I raise the swiord, I feel so weak that even though I have both arms, it feels like I'm only holding it with one. All the force that I still had went with the sword straight inside his throat.

He screams, It’s working, the creature and I are almost passing out, but I can feel the transformation happening.

“WHAT ABOUT THE… Empty fell of a… Shorter man… Dragon…. The thing you… Said before“ I’m almost falling, she’s desperately throwing blue smoke flasks at the ground the dragon stands on.

“What about it now?“ I mumble feeling the conscience leaving me. I don’t care, I laugh, I won. I start to pull the sword out, smiling at it. “Now if you don’t want my little friend here to make you so repulsive that your own kingdom would have to put you down… Mov--.“

She throws a bomb at me, and I fly hoards away from the dragon. I look up, barely being able to open my eyes, but I can feel there’s something wrong. "Did it… Work?" I think to myself. I can see nothing but the blue smoke in the distance… My sword is still in the dragon’s mouth. I flinch and get up instantly. She looks back at me, stinging disdainfully, as I struggle to keep my eyelids open.

“You’re defiling these people’s corpses, loved ones, without any permission. You’re vile, and pathetic.“ She doesn’t take her eyes out of me when a zombie approaches her from behind.

She grabs him by his chin, raising him effortlessly with nothing but the tip of her fingers.

“I wonder when your little kingdom will put you down." She chuckles. "Oh yeah, your sword will drain you, like that woman before you and everyone else, right? Oh, poor little boy.“ She walks towards me, still holding the agonizing zombie on her hand “Your power consumes you? You only have power because of that little sword? When are you going to get something worth any merit?“

She throws him up, and it falls straight into her fist, exploding.

“You are nothing without that stick, just a dumb, empty head, with nothing but muscle and useless pride.“ She says with a smirk.

I open my eyes in shock.

“Oh, muscle? You think so?“ I smile, widely. “I think you look adorable when you breathe in to talk about what you don’t understand. It’s rare, but when you do, you’re still as arrogant as when you are right. It’s hilarious.“ I tumble down her way. Can barely walk, I almost can’t stay awake. She stays on guard, waiting for me to attack, but I only walk up closely, very very closely, standing with my face right in front of hers.

She stays straight faced, my smile is not going anywhere.

“Until when are you going to pretend you understand a single thing about reversing death?“ I say, gradually turning more dead serious. She shivers.

“Need 25 more years of research?" I chuckle, disgusted. "Gonna let your future daughter if you ever get someone to love you to continue it for you? …Because I’ll still be here to see her growing as miserable as you. You can count on it.“

Her face doesn’t move at all, but a little trembling tear slides down. She sniffs, finally looking as angry as want her to be.

“You egotistical snob piece of... I'll kill you.“ Her eyes twitch.

I know I deserve it, so I'm ready for the punches as they come. So ready that I manage to block them.

I don't save my fists either, all the mercy I had before know no place in this fight. The sword can kill her, but my hands can only try. So I give it my all. We don’t stop trading punches, not even for a second. Every last one that landed was only endured by the pure visceral need of punching more that we both shared.

“C’mon, why are you not knocking me out? I don’t have the sword, it should be nothing.“

“Knock yourself out.” She reaches for her belt for one of her little flasks.

“Try it. You’re nothing without your potions.“

She holds the bomb on her hand, about to smash it at my face, but when what I said sinks in, her face twitches. She throws it far away, our eyes pierce through each other.

“And you’re not yourself without acting like you’re ten.” The metal of her leg slam against my ribs.

“You too didn’t change a single thing yourself“ I punch the engine inside her arm as hard as I can. She chuckles.

“Oh, you’ve changed. You grow more of an idiot every time I see you again.“

“Awww… I thought you’d never say it.“ I chuckle too.

“Each encounter, you’re worse than the last.” She kicks my face. I shake my head for a second, enough time for her to grab my neck tightly, lifting me up in the air. It hurts, she squeezes without any forgiveness.

“L-like you hated me more and more…"

“Glad you noticed.“ She smirks back at my suffering smile, feeling her fingers wanting to crush my throat.

She pulls her fist back one last time. Judging by the steam coming off her arm, she was charging what looked like the strongest punch of the evening.

I’ll certainly survive it… But she will probably knock me out again. "She’s right." I stare at my sword on the grass next to us. "I’m nothing without that stupid… Oh no."

“WAIT!“ I hold on to her arm, she lowers her fist. I take a final look around, and then to the side.

A glowing-eyed girl sitting on top of a tree having her legs stared us.

“Where’s the dragon?“ I ask, fearing for my life.

With the biggest smile I’ve seen all day she says.

“I don’t know!“

I look at Hiro, clueless. She was already examining every inch around us, looking around everywhere frenetically. Nothing.

She looks into my eyes, I open my mouth to say something but so does she at the same time.

“I’m not in the mood anymore.“ She sighs.

“…Can we leave this for later?“

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.“

She stops strangling me and I take my hands off her, looking down as we step back, trying not to stumble onto the still amazed crowd.

I take a final look back to see her leaving with her men and I gulp as I take my zombies with me… There’s no way I’d find it before her.

We we're so bad at looking at it and it took so ridiculously long, that eventually, the council pulled an emergency meeting on every single leader of the continent, including us.