Life in a new Kingdom

The rotting flesh of the creature ripped apart with its movements. I held my breath before the rot could disorientate me further. Slamming its arm into the wall beside me, I duck and roll to the side, drawing my blades and facing the creature. I take deep breaths and observe its body, trying to discern a possible weak spot. Herk runs out of the room to strike the monster from behind. His mace smashes into its back, causing bones to crack and shatter from the impact.

"This mass of flesh is a construct! Built from many bodies!" Herk shouts while attacking. The neck of the creature twists and attempts to bite him. He raised his buckler to deflect the teeth away from his body. I charge forward and swing my sword vertically to cleave through its body.

It morphs its skin to wrap around the blade as it touches its chest, holding it in place. The twisted face contorts and shifts its entire body, throwing me into the wall again before tossing me to the side. Herk begins to start a prayer to use holy magic. Chanting the words as quickly as he can, a small beam of light extends from his necklace and strikes the creature's eyes, blinding it temporarily.

It shrieks from the pain and flails wildly, striking Herk in the chest and head. The impact sends him back into the room in a tumble. The sounds of his armor clash with the environment before it quickly stops. Herk is unresponsive; I have to assume he was knocked unconscious. I can't waste the opening he gave me. Utilizing both blades, I hold them close in a stance.

"Sword Art: Blade Beam!" Runic symbols appear on the blades in a light green color. They grow brighter, and kinetic energy vibrates through the weapons. I stoically charge forward. The creature, unaware of my assault, is left defenseless. Shifting my weight to my legs, I swing the blades behind my back, allowing for a wide-range strike.

Stopping before the monster, I swing in an X pattern; the blades clash against each other. The built-up kinetic energy strikes against each other, erupting them. A spray of blood explodes from the torso of the creature, staining the walls and floor. The beam of energy rips apart its flesh. My hands were seriously numb from the release of power within my swords. I leaped forward and pierced them both into the upper chest area and ripped each one out to continuously pummel the creature with piercing strikes.

"IT HURTS!!" A gray mass of flesh peels away to the floor, reeking the vilest odor. It rips its arm apart to strike toward me. Narrowly missing my head, I twirl to its side and drive my left sword into its back to leap up and drive my other blade deep into its skull. The mass of flesh pulsates as it struggles to regenerate, but it isn't enough to kill it.

My sides are quickly grabbed by hands pouring from the mass of flesh, and they wrap around my waist and shoulders. My attempts to break free are met with a sudden tight grip around my neck. Straggled by many hands of the creature's flesh, I let out a painful gasp of air. Forcing me down with its massive body, I am beneath its foot. It stomps onto my chest, crushing my ribs in the process.

"Graahhh!!" I cough violently as my ribs puncture my lungs. This monster still has strength despite its grievous wounds. I didn't know what to do. This creature had insane healing abilities and would only counter any attacks I threw at it. Each bone in my body was on the verge of breaking underneath the foot of this creature.

"Holy Light, guide my path and strike true!" Little birds of light hit the shoulder of the construct, reacting in a fit of pain. Small holes that showed no signs of healing caused the creature to turn its attention back toward Herk, who had recovered from earlier.

"I'll distract it! Make sure you stop its regeneration so we can kill this bastard!" I shout with pain in my chest. Herk understood and approached the creature, holding a ball of light and summoning another horde of birds made of light to strike the legs of the monster and crippling its movement and falling onto its knees.

"Bless me, lord, deliver evil unto itself and grant me the power of your divine spirit!" His chants speak in tandem, and a beam of light slams into the creature. "Pillars of Light!" With the use of much of his magic already, he couldn't produce another one shortly. Burning away its strength and regeneration, I had my opportunity present itself.

"Just go back to hell!" With a twirl of my blade, I easily cleave through the arms. A dark purple mist emits from the creature. It's on its final legs, and now it does something different! Urgency was on my mind. The longer this fight takes, the higher the chance any other creature in this mansion will make its way toward us. I couldn't stop my final charge despite the cries of Herk telling me to retreat.

I let my blades roam free. Each movement with my arms cleaved through the construct, piece by piece. Another was gone, blood everywhere, and purple mist was spraying around my body. With each breath I took, my body grew numb. It was a weakening curse like the one before, but only it was visible due to its sheer amount and potency.

Despite my initial resistance to its effects, it deeply caused my body to stiffen upon reacting to the substance. Herk covered his face and eyes to prevent any impact of the curse. My blades continued to dance with no remorse. The mass of flesh only stood with its bottom half still intact while the top lay bare for all to see in meaty chunks of gray melted into mush. Its regeneration wasn't working due to the effects of holy magic.

My knees soon gave out, and I slipped onto them. My swords pierced the floorboards to keep me upright. Sweat poured down my face, mixing with the blood that leaked from my head. My hand was shaking from the effects of the curse. I let out a deep sigh and wiped the blood from my face.

"Gale!" Herk ran towards me. I couldn't see him through my blurry vision. My body was numb from the curse. It was a cold, burning sensation just breathing; moving any limb of my body was impossible. "Hey, talk to me!" I wish I could respond, but the moment I moved my lips, a string of a cold burn spread throughout my body. "I'm going to remove the curse; give me a moment!" His hands were the only relief I could attain at that moment. It was swift as the cold sensation in my body was removed.

My lips quivered, yet my voice spoke out. "Is it dead...I can't see a thing..." It was all a haze. It was taking a bit, but my senses were slowly returning.

"It's not healing from its wounds. The construct should be dead. A close call." Herk was straining to speak. He was pushing himself further just to fix me. His limits were a significant problem, no matter the situation. His power was tremendous yet limited. Only praying on his own, he is a self-made cleric with no real education from a church. That's what I liked about him; he didn't just believe in it cause he was told to. He believed because he did. And the Goddess gave him her holy light. Putting his entire being into his spells, he is stronger than what he takes credit for.

"Herk, I appreciate it. Just take it easy once in a while."

"That's my line. You always charge headfirst into danger, you idiot. That should just about do it. Let's grab everyone before-"

"DID YOU ENJOY YOUR STAAAAYYYYY!!!" The chilling breath of the construct's high-pitched voice caused our ears to ring. I stumbled back with a shove from Herk. My vision had cleared up, and all I saw was a spray of blood in front of my eyes. The jaws of the construct clamped down around Herk's left shoulder. The rotting teeth pierced his shoulder and ripped out a massive portion of his shoulder.

"Herk!!!" My friend pushed back against the construct and fell back in defeat. Blood pouring from his wound, he fell in a critical state. I reached for his cloak and quickly pulled him back with me. Narrowly avoiding the construct from taking his entire body.

"It's still alive! How!?" My mind hazy and body still sluggish from the curse, I watch as the piles of gray flesh that I hacked away were able to rejoin the main body. I noticed immediately that the creature deliberately allowed my strikes to connect so that it could save pieces of itself for later to launch that surprise attack.

"G..aggnnhh..." Gargling on his blood, Herk was bleeding out too fast. Damn it! I couldn't kill it with his help. My lack of strength allowed this to happen. We're going to die. The thought of this creature eating us one by one kept playing in the back of my mind over and over again.

Herk grasped my shoulder and tugged me back with what little strength he had left. I stared into his eyes. With a shaking hand, he wrote sigils onto my blades with his blood. Using it as a catalyst, the blood began to glow brightly. Both my swords lit up in a holy light. Herk had blessed my weapons with the Goddess's protection. A soft smile crept across his face before losing consciousness.

"Thank you...Herk... Always for protecting us and keeping us alive... I'll tear this fucking monster apart! Just don't you die on me!!!" Fury consumed my eye. A burning desire of hatred and pain filled my soul. I faced down the creature in a rush, one last gamble. The construct stretched its arms forward to impale me. Using the power within my blades, I cleaved through the flesh and tore them to pieces. Recoiling from my strikes, the monster wobbles as it charges forward, morphing its body into a mass of horrific imagery. Various sets of teeth, bones, tendons, muscles, and organs protrude from the creature like a wall of flesh.

Taking a long, deep breath, a long stream of steam flows from my lips. I reverse the blade in my left hand and hang it behind my back. My body expels the fury from my soul. The only time I can use this effectively is now—the mastery of my Master's sword art. The evolution of sword arts is only possible at my current level. "Sword Stance: Petals of the Blooming Warrior."

All of my senses were united into one—my body was light as a feather. My wrists twist and twirl the blades around my body. The flesh of the creature parts with each strike. It tries to attack, but I continuously repel anything it throws at me. My speed was enhanced beyond my limits. I slammed forward along the walls and ran straight toward the creature.

Leaping from wall to wall, ceiling to floor, slashing through the beast. The blood and flesh ripped apart by my blades turn to dust by the holy magic. It roars as it morphs the flesh into blades and attacks in a blind fury. Perceiving each strike, I evade and deflect each one with effortless speed and reaction. I counter every strike and cleave through the monster without remorse. Slipping past under its arm, I stop right by its stomach. With one last burst of my strength, I unleash a whirlwind of attacks, ranging from spins, twirls, and strikes that all eviscerate the mass of flesh down to just a pile of rotting blood and charred remains of the construct. The magic around my swords fades, revealing the chipped and dulled steel. The walls, painted in the visceral of the creature, leave an artist in awe of its masterpiece...