The moonlight cascading the surrounding area was not as bright as yesterday, but it still provides moderate visibility because of the clear night. Carr walked out of the east gate alone, checking the situation while the thirty or so guards with powerful talismans and shields were situated on the outer wall. The rest of the manpower was divided between guarding the gate and monitoring the situation. Everything was ready and now they all left the rest to luck and on each other’s ability.
“Are you…really sure that we will be all right alone?”
‘No. There are a lot of factors that can affect things.’
Senia looked at Carr anxiously. Even though her power was at its limit she decided to follow Carr who is determined to go alone. She still could use different blessings and invocations in case of a fight.
Carr, on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit worried about the situation, after all, he was always fighting alone…ever since the beginning. Although, the number of monsters he used to fight was not this high.
He pulled out his sword silently and gave it to Senia. For a moment Senia looked at it nervously but she decided to trust Carr and put one hand on top of the sword and the other wrapped around her locket.
“…. I call upon the conviction to serve the sun, may thee create light in this place and miracles shall work in order.”
It was a short but powerful prayer causing a faint light to shine upon Carr’s sword. The blessing would then help to slaughter the undead successfully as Senia’s power right now wouldn’t be enough to subdue all of them. The blessing was akin to the act of sprinkling holy water on a sword. At that moment, Carr couldn’t help but admire the faint glow.
“They are coming!”
The guard watching over the outer wall shouted at the top of his voice alerting everyone. Amidst the panic, Carr shifted his feet calmly to a fighting stance and listened to his surroundings. The first thing that comes to his senses was the roar of the trolls, then the Wyverns with their wings cutting the air and as they came nearer a nauseous rotting stench hit his nose.
The moment the monsters spotted Carr in the open wide space, ready to attack, a clear voice rang in the air first.
“Light!”
The monsters were bombarded with flashes of lightning from Senia’s prayer. The ray of lights from the invocation was so bright that it illuminates the entire night sky as if it was midday. Carr, who was standing against the blinding light was waiting for the go-signal.
The rest of the priests created a miracle by bringing back the unforgiving sunlight full of divinity that is not only effective against the troll and Wyverns but enough to destroy the undead who were already losing vitality because of Senia’s first attack. It wasn’t enough to eradicate everything, but it was enough to lower the numbers.
Carr ran and swung his sword at the monsters that were still alive and advancing toward his direction. One blow and an arm of the giant troll flew away with a crushing sound. Seeing that the cut limb started to regenerate, Carr threw a vial of poison from his bag causing the troll to roar in pain. The poison was a mix of chemicals that burnt the skin that inhibits regeneration.
At the howl of despair from the troll, the rest of the monsters targeted Carr and attack him. However, Carr already anticipated their onslaught and moved between each one of them with graceful movements and aim at their vulnerable spot. While Senia continues to shout prayer after prayer of lights to weaken their defence and to assist Carr.
Senia can’t comprehend why Carr had to insist on fighting alone but when she saw the way Carr moved on the battlefield, she realized how efficient and skillful he is. He used the trolls as walls to avoid the undead, then killed the Wyverns and used their acid blood to stop the large trolls from regenerating and everything was done with so much precision. It was so different from how he fought against the bandits in the forest a few days ago.
It was clear that no ordinary human could have survived against these monsters, even so on how no human can compare to him…to Carr. He is like a seasoned warrior with his calm demeanour and nimble movements.
“Prepare barriers and arrows!” On the outer wall, the captain of the guard shouted when he spotted the Wyverns starting to fly high in the sky ignoring Carr.
The rest of the guards lifted the square barrier so did the priests anticipating the attack. The Wyverns flew high above the sky and started to spit poisonous fire right to the city walls. However, the square barrier which was coated with special oil cause the poison to slither down and fell under the outer wall instead of dissolving them. The attack continues but the barrier never faltered much to the Wyverns’ frustration.
As nothing had worked, the Wyverns rushed to attack physically but with Senia’s order, the priests called upon the holy light which blinded the Wyverns. Arrows that had been blessed was shot toward the now visionless Wyverns. They focused their attack on the Wyverns’ eyes because they knew that it would be difficult to penetrate the monsters’ thick hides.
The priests and bishop didn’t spare any of their divinity to attack the Wyverns. After all, compared to Carr’s their job wasn’t as hard as Carr who was fighting against the trolls and undead alone. Senia caught a brief glimpse of the said fight before she fixed her gaze forward again.
She had one last duty before all her divinity was drained empty. It was that one blessing that would use all her power and so she needed to execute it at the right moment. She took a deep breath, watching the fight and the moment she found the opportunity she focused all her divinity at the undead that was gathering in the same place.
“I call upon thee….!”
Five streams of lightning fell from the sky. All five fell on the ground, creating a circle that radiated a bright light. It was a sacred barrier with a radius of 10m. If she has more divinity, she could make something bigger to trap all the undead, but for now, this was her limit. However, the size was enough because Carr had lured the monsters toward it.
“Ugh! I’m sorry Sir Carr! Please hang a bit more!”
Carr waved his hand, dismissing the apology and quickly grabbed his sword again. He could handle the situation perfectly fine, especially as his sword had received the blessing from Senia earlier and there’s also the fact that the Wyverns were not there. It was also possible because he was not human….there is an advantage to being a demon.
Carr took a deep breath as he examined the remaining seven trolls. Two of them were caught up to the fire burning their bodies, so only five of them were he needed to personally take care of.
Carr didn’t wait for the trolls to swing their heavy clubs. He easily lifted his sword to attack. If he had missed for a second, with that size, a part of his body would break the moment it hit, and not even divinity could heal it.
‘Gods really aren’t anything good.’
Carr ducked down, avoiding a fist that coming from his right. He held his sword with both hands and drive it right to the troll’s knee in front of him. Since the undead is no longer interfering with the fight, Carr’s attacks became more aggressive and ruthless.
He noticed movement from his left and slashed the troll across its waist, causing blood to splash out like a fountain all over his shoulder. And before the troll could fall top of him, Carr quickly jumped and slashed him right in the of its chest. Before any of them could regenerate, Carr threw a bottle of poison causing them to burn in flames.
“Four ahead!”
The warning came from Senia who had her attention at Carr’s fight. The remaining trolls and the undead headed straight for him. Senia bit her lips hard as she prayed upon the god for Carr’s safety as he continued to slay one monster after another.
The air was filled with roars and screams from the monster as Carr took their lives without mercy and every time his sword slashed the enemies Senia feels her heart sinking more as the flood of blood glistened under the blue moonlit sky.
Carr continued to remain calm as he slaughtered all the monsters and all that was left was the undead that was trapped in Senia’s lightning barrier.
“That’s it… the rest will disappear when it receives sunlight in the morning.”
Carr exhaled tiredly as he wiped the sweat off his chin. Every part of his body was screaming of tiredness now that the adrenaline had left his body. It had been a while since he fought like that. He looked up at the sky, noticing that there was only one or two left of the Wyverns.
“That’s good,” Carr muttered aloud and decided to head to the city, leaving the last bits for the guards to handle.
“Sir Carr!”
The deafening cry of Senia was the only thing he heard before he turned around and saw one of the trolls swung its heavy club at Carr. He thought he had burnt every one of them, but it seemed that one troll managed to regenerate its body as its heart wasn’t burnt to dust.
It was too late to stop the troll and it was too late to avoid it too. If he’s lucky, it would cause him a serious injury but not death. Carr clicked his tongue and grabbed his sword reflexively. He was ready to shield himself.
‘…. What?’
A thin shield hung upon Carr’s eyes, blocking a blow from the troll. Even though the attack was strong it only caused shockwaves around, but the shield remains intact. Carr turned his head slightly and spotted Senia holding her locket tightly in her hands.
“Didn’t she say that she could only use her power three times?” Carr muttered, worried about her but right now he couldn’t help but feel grateful for the protection.
With the sudden appearance of the shield, the troll stumbled back, and Carr uses that momentum to stab his sword deep into its chest. Carr stared as the body slowly fell to the ground without letting his guard down. There was no more movement, no more regeneration. This time the troll was dead.
Carr sighed with relief after confirming it again, ‘That could have been a disaster.’
When he looked up, Senia was running from afar towards him. Carr stopped himself trying to step toward her when he spotted his reflection on the force shield. His hair was a mess, his body covered with wounds, scars, and blood. In the bright moonlight, the shield managed to reflect many things.
Even the pair of his bloody-red eyes.
“?!”
Carr raised his hand urgently and covered his face but Senia, who came close, quickly grabbed his hand and pulled them away.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Sir Carr because of that shield, the meagre amount of power I have to maintain the eyes was drained as well. We need to get inside…!” Senia explained in a trembling voice.
Carr quickly understood the situation and remembered that his black eyes were not a permanent solution. Of course, it would continue to consume Senia’s power to maintain it. As it didn’t take a lot from her still that amount could be used for another blessing, for instance, the shield.
The loss of blessing for his eyes was enough evidence that Senia already reached her limit. She hadn’t had the time to refill her divinity in the past few days through a carnal embrace with him, so it was only natural that she was drained empty.
“Let’s go back to the inn together. I’ll help the people with injuries later.”
Carr looked around, noticing that there’s only one Wyvern left. Both had done their job and all that is left are for cleanup. They could leave and rest their bodies.
Carr softly nodded, somewhat scared about being found out. He always knew that he needed to be careful among humans but this time he was more nervous than before. He held Senia’s hand while the other covered the corner of his eyes, and together they entered the city. It was fortunate that the night was dark with clouds looming in the sky, still hoping that his eyes will be hidden in the shadow for longer.
“…. Eh?”
In the distance, there is a mysterious man who had been watching the fight from the forest, away from everyone’s attention. He let out a low whistle as he watched Carr and Senia’s movement through his telescope.
“I’m surprised that the saint is here, but what kind of companionship is this? What the hell is happening?” The man swept his navy hair over his forehead – revealing red eyes glowing softly in the dark as he grumbled quietly.
“Ah, shit, if I had known that the saint is here, I wouldn’t have sent that number of monsters, but I still need to save my mana for the eastern village. Wait, wait, that person who actually slaughtered the trolls is the same as me, right? Why is he helping humans? Did they catch his weakness?”
Unable to get the right answer right away, the man raised himself from the top of the tree and grinned, revealing his sharp canine teeth.
“Well… it would be okay to leave things like this for a bit. Ah, things are getting interesting. So, what happened to the remaining monsters, hmmm?”