Presence in the Night

At that moment, my mind went blank. After hearing my sister's words, it was as if my mind had shut down, and no thought could reach me… No, in reality, there were so many thoughts racing through my head that I couldn't grasp a single one, leaving me even more confused. I didn't understand the reason behind what she had said, nor did I want to. Why would she say something like that to me? Was the pain from her wounds unbearable?

With my voice breaking from sobs and struggling to speak, I hysterically addressed Murka while gripping her arm.—We were supposed to get out of here together… you promised —I said as my voice completely cracked, and my vision blurred with tears.

I watched as my sister's expression turned sorrowful, almost heartbreaking, as if the words I had spoken without thinking had hurt her more than any blow she had taken moments ago.

Just as Murka was about to respond, her face twisted into an aggressive and alert expression. In an instant, she grabbed me by the waist and, with a single arm, dodged an attack from a statue that had approached without me noticing. The strike missed its mark and crashed into the ground, leaving a hole in it. The mere thought of what would have happened to me if not for my sister terrified me.

As I processed what had just occurred, a rock was sent flying from the statue's impact and struck me on the head. My vision blurred, and a sharp pain shot through my back. I felt my strength gradually fade, leaving me almost like a lifeless doll. As I lost consciousness, I barely managed to turn my head and saw my sister shifting her gaze between me and what I assumed were more approaching statues. I couldn't see them; I was too exhausted to turn back again, and my vision was growing increasingly dim. But even so, I managed to see my sister's face contorted with desperation as her eyes filled with tears. She called out to me with a heartrending scream, begging me not to close my eyes, as if she would lose her voice in the process. My mind was shutting down, and everything played out in slow motion: Murka desperately dodged attacks while holding me, unable to counterattack… all because of me.

When my vision was nearly engulfed in darkness and my eyes slowly closed, I saw my sister's expression twist into a grimace of fury, as if she were ready to destroy everything. Just before I lost consciousness, I whispered:—Don't cry…

I opened my eyes and, looking around, realized I had once again lost myself in my memories. I had made a mess… again. My body was covered in wounds, blood, entrails, and all sorts of remnants of what were likely once people. Surrounded by corpses, I let the sword in my right hand fall to the ground. I slowly walked through the river of blood and bodies as the nauseating stench flooded my senses. I reached a nearby tree and leaned against it. Night had already fallen. I lifted my gaze toward the moon, which bathed me in its light, and closed my eyes. I thought about how I needed to be more careful, how I couldn't let this keep happening, how I couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.

I lowered my gaze to the sword I had left behind, amidst the carnage I had caused. That damned sword. It's ironic that it allows me to survive, yet at the same time, it's the reason I must do so in this way. I looked at my battered body, on the verge of collapse, so I summoned the sword back to me and began channeling its energy, slowly recovering from my wounds.

After resting for a while, I stood up and started walking in search of a river to wash off the dried blood on my skin, whose rough texture was unbearable.

As I moved forward, a roar echoed in the distance, followed by a violent crash. I turned and saw a wolf crossing paths with a man-eater. It was a fully grown specimen, and before the beast could react, the creature opened its jaws and swallowed it whole. Seconds later, it began chewing with disturbing slowness. The wet sound of tearing flesh and the crunch of bones shattering beneath its countless rows of teeth sent a shiver down my spine. All that remained of the wolf was a pool of blood dripping from the creature's grotesque mouth.

Then, the man-eater turned its face toward me. I could observe it in greater detail: a grotesque, bloated belly, as if it were about to burst, and sunken sockets that gave the impression it lacked eyes. Its long, thin arms were disproportionate to its body and served as support since its legs, frail and boneless, were unable to hold its own weight, forcing it to drag them as it moved. Slowly, its face twisted into what could be described as a smile… if it weren't so horrifying. Through its lips, an empty space revealed its misshapen teeth.

The man-eater advanced with apparent clumsiness, but I wasn't deceived. I know well how its kind behaves. As soon as I summoned my sword and took a combat stance, its false sluggishness vanished. With inhuman strength, it pushed off with its arms and leaped toward me at absurd speed, attempting to devour me just as it had the wolf. But, to its misfortune, this time its opponent is me.

I threw myself to the left, spinning on my axis to dodge its charge, and with the momentum, I unsheathed my sword in a downward slash, aiming to slice open its belly. However, at the last moment, the man-eater used one of its legs—harder than metal—like a whip to deflect my attack. Taking advantage of the distraction, it tried to land a blow on me with its other limb.

I stopped it with both hands and, with a flick of my wrist, I violently hurled it against the nearby trees. The impact shattered several trunks before its body finally came to a halt. I didn't give it a chance to recover. Moving at full speed, I thrust my sword with all my strength. Just as the tip was about to pierce it, something struck my side with brutal force, sending me flying. My body crashed into a massive rock in the forest, embedding me into it.

I opened my eyes after the blow, and before I could catch my breath, I saw another Devourer lunging at me. It was much smaller than the previous one, likely its offspring. I pushed myself off the rock and dodged its attack swiftly. Without wasting time, I split my sword in two, gripping one half in each hand. I raised my guard and channeled the first of the seven seals, though without unleashing its full power. Immediately, my perception of the surroundings shifted—everything started moving 15% slower than normal.

Taking advantage of the edge, I attacked. With a single slash, I easily cleaved the offspring in two. Then, I leaped into the air and, while airborne, rejoined both halves of my sword before hurling it at the adult Devourer, which was already charging toward me. The creature barely managed to dodge, missing the strike by a fraction, but the maneuver left it destabilized. I didn't waste the opportunity: using a nearby branch, I propelled myself forward and landed a direct hit on its stomach, sending it flying several meters away.

Before it could rise, I summoned my sword once more and, without giving it a chance to recover, impaled it with a precise thrust. At that moment, I began to drain its life force. I took one last glance at the offspring's corpse—its body had already decomposed into a useless, fetid mass of rot.

With a sigh, I planted my sword into the ground and resumed my path, still searching for a river to rid myself of the repulsive amount of blood covering my skin.

After several minutes of walking, I found a small stream in the middle of the forest. I removed my clothes, stepped into the water, and began washing myself. Once I was free of blood, I sat down to rest, submerging my body up to my nose and blowing bubbles out of boredom.

—Oh, you may have an almost expressionless face, but you're still playful —a feminine voice said behind me.

I jumped out of the river immediately and moved away from where the voice had come from. I took a defensive stance, ready to summon my sword. But when I looked toward where the person was supposed to be, I saw no one. I lowered my guard, believing I was just hearing voices again, which meant my control over the sword had weakened once more.

Just as I was about to turn to pick up and wash my clothes, a hand rested on my shoulder. I felt an overwhelming presence coming from the person behind me. She slowly leaned in and whispered into my ear:

—There's no need to be so tense. I won't hurt you… yet —she said mockingly.

I tried to turn quickly and attack, but every one of my senses warned me that if I did, I would die. Frustration filled me at the thought of being at this person's mercy… and I wasn't going to allow it. I grabbed her arm and flung her forward. As she fell, I caught a glimpse of a young woman, around twenty years old, dressed as a nun. I didn't care if she truly was one or not; at that moment, she was my enemy. Without hesitation, I summoned my sword, gripped it firmly, and swung it down to cut her in half before she hit the ground. However, at the last moment, her arm grotesquely morphed into an absurdly large demonic limb, stopping my sword with ease.

She landed on her feet and, with that monstrous arm, lifted me using my own sword before slamming me into the ground. I was buried in the dirt, and as the dust settled, I saw the woman leaning forward to observe me with a concerned expression.

I was preparing to get up and attack again when she suddenly exclaimed:

—Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.

She clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture, as if she were praying while apologizing. I didn't lower my guard. I quickly got to my feet, distanced myself from her, and summoned my sword again.

—I'm not falling for your tricks! —I shouted at her.

The nun waved her hands and started talking quickly, making it hard to understand her.

—It's not a trick. Seriously, I'm sorry for scaring you. Why won't you believe me?

—Why should I believe you? Because you dress like a nun? Are you insane? Damn psychopath —I snapped at her, but deep down, I knew she was dangerously strong and that I had no chance of defeating her. I needed to escape.

She adopted a serious expression as she said, "That was rude," and assumed what looked like a combat stance. Then, her right arm grew once more, taking on its demonic form. The last thing I felt was a brutal impact… and the darkness of unconsciousness, as my final thought was: Why can't they just give me a break?