The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 221: Ambush

Chapter 221: Ambush

Sorrin jumped to his feet the moment I cried out, but it was too late. Upon realizing its discovery, the monster shrieked and lunged forward, its scythe-like claws extended. The Wolfkin’s sword was only halfway out of its sheath as the claws descended toward him, ears twitching in surprise and fear.

"Aegis!"

Gold light sprung up about him, narrowly deflecting the attack. Sorrin staggered back, finally freeing his sword and staring at the barrier in wonder. But before he could so much as thank me, the monster struck again, setting the Aegis trembling.

I frowned, carefully observing its attack patterns. This monster was the same as the others, a hulking mass of muscle, tooth, and claw, yet its attacks were far more concentrated. Instead of releasing its power in wild, erratic attacks, it attacked with purpose, intentionally targeting the same spot on the Aegis. It was far from perfect, still wasting the majority of its strength, but the difference in skills was obvious.

The Aegis held for a few more seconds, just enough time for Sorrin to gather his bearings. The Wolfkin snarled and threw himself forward, sword cleaving through the air. The monster screeched as the blade buried itself in its shoulder, biting to the bone. Shadowy blood spurted from the wound and the monster fell back, clutching its arm.

In our battle before, Fable was at the peak of fourth level, capable of slaughtering them with ease. On paper, Sorrin was the same, save he was at the beginning stages of fourth level. Even so, the level difference between him and the monster was clear, and he pressed the advantage, giving it no time to retreat.

The monster flailed its claws about, but Sorrin’s sword came down on the same spot on its shoulder, this time succeeding in severing its arm. The twitching limb hit the ground with a heavy thud, claws scraping deep gouges into the grassy earth. Within a few seconds, it had begun to steam, gradually evaporating into shadows.

Awakened by the commotion, it didn’t take long for the others to join the fight. Rasce’s bowstring hummed, and the monster sprouted several arrows from its chest. As it stumbled back, a stream of sparks leaped from Tana’s hand, chasing after the arrows and striking its chest.

I jumped as Dyson appeared beside me, moving as quietly as a whisper. "It’s alright," he soothed, "I’ll protect you."

"Thanks?" I whispered, blushing a bit. "It’s just a monster though."

His brave facade faltered, and he gave me a sideways glance. Was my courage really so surprising? I took a glance behind me to ensure my tail was as calm as I felt. The monster didn’t seem keen on summoning its friends, and Sorrin easily suppressed it now, so why would I be afraid? There was a moment or two when it first appeared I panicked, but now the situation was well under control.

The monster gave one last scream before collapsing. The entire hollow steamed as splatters of black blood began to evaporate, concentrated close around the monster’s corpse. Sorrin leaned on his sword, panting, and Rasce vanished into the woods.

"Sorrin!" Tana cried, running to him. He flicked the blood from his blade and sheathed it just in time to be swept up in her embrace.

"I’m alright, just a little shaken," he admitted gruffly.

She clutched his hands in hers, staring wide-eyed at the monster. "What is it?"

"Don’t know. It just appeared without any warning and attacked. If Starlight hadn’t seen it, I might be the one on the ground right now."

She gasped, turning to look at me. "Thank you!"

I nodded and wandered over to crouch beside the monster. Most of the blood and flesh had dissolved by now, forming a thick haze overhead and bearing its bones and internal organs. A translucent, onyx crystal sat in the middle of its chest where its heart should be, pulsing with a faint, even light. Gritting my teeth, I pushed through the gore and grabbed it, tearing it free of the ribcage.

"What is it?" Dyson asked, and I jumped, startled. Had he been there the whole time?

"I’m not sure," I murmured. "But it seems like some kind of magical core."

It was the same size and weight as the one in my spatial ring, even mimicking the harsh chill and shadowy sensations. Within seconds, it began to tug against my grip, seeking to rise into the air.

"Starlight..." Dyson said, hands tightening around the hilt of its sword. "Maybe you should put that down."

"It’s alright, I think. The other one didn’t do anything dangerous, either."

"Other one?" Rasce raised an eyebrow.

I nodded and dismissed my staff, turning to face him. "I told you before, but you didn’t believe me."

"Wait, you’re telling me this was the monster that attacked you? I don’t mean to sound harsh, but how could you have possibly defeated it?" Sorrin asked. His grip tightened around Tana, drawing her close. "Even I struggled against it at first, and you’re barely even first level."

My face fell, and I grabbed my tail to keep it from twitching. "Well, um, I...another monster fought it," I finished in a whisper.

Dyson rocked back, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "That actually adds up."

Rasce coughed, giving him a flat look. "Are you seriously taking her side?"

Tana nodded too. "He’s got a point. Something’s been hunting the monsters around this village. It’s been almost a month since the last sighting happened, and even the Guild Master’s been suspicious. We thought it might be the goblins scaring them off, but an extremely territorial monster fits the bill. That would explain all the corpses found around here too."

"Corpses?" I asked softly.

"Yeah. There’s been a lot of dead bears, wolves, and anything else remotely threatening found in the area. One of the farmers even claimed they found a dead ogre when they were out hunting."

As they talked, Tana peeled herself from Sorrin’s side and made her way over to me. "Can I see that?" she asked, gesturing at the black stone.

I nodded but kept a tight grip on the struggling onyx until she firmly held it. After examining it for a moment, she gasped, her eyes lighting up.

"I’ve seen this kind of thing before!" She exclaimed. "The Blood Rose’s got one after they killed a Shadow Golem!"

Sorrin’s ears perked up. "Are you sure it’s the same?"

"Definitely. Theirs wasn’t glowing like this, it was...oh." Tana trailed off as the stone lost its luster, lying motionless in her hand. "...Like this."

"That can’t be a coincidence," Dyson said, idly running his fingers along the sheathes of his short swords. "They found the golem in a goblin den, and we just happen to meet one on our way to exterminate the little bastards. There might be some credence to our investigation after all."

As everyone was nodding, I rubbed my horn and hesitantly asked, "Was there only one?"

"Only?" Tana asked, chuckling as though I’d made a joke. "Golems are extremely expensive to produce. The fact that we’ve seen two means whatever organization is behind this is extremely wealthy. I’m sure they won’t be happy we’ve killed one here, so it would be a good idea to be extra cautious."

Sorrin walked over and wrapped a hand around her, drawing her close to him. "Agreed. But let’s finish the night first. We’ll tackle the goblins in the morning, and hope they don’t have another one of those golems."

The following morning, I awoke to the sound of whispered chants and the clash of steel. Sorrin and Dyson circle each other on the far side of the hollow, their blades ringing each time they met. I was surprised to find they were more skilled than Soltair when we began our journey, but still far behind him after Fyren’s training. Dyson used a sword style similar to Trithe, focused on speed and precision rather than strength, but his moves were extremely underhanded. He took advantage of every slip in Sorrin’s form to deliver a deft strike, going so far as to position himself so the morning sun shone in the Wolfkin’s eyes.

After watching the two for a moment longer, I turned my attention to Tana, who sat on a rotted stump. Her eyes were closed to partial slits, and she swooned back in forth in time with her chant. Several sets of runes drifted in the air in loose circles, slowly weaving together to form a single spell. Occasionally, she’d pause her chant just long enough to reference a scroll in her lap.

It didn’t take more than a second for me to recognize the spell she was learning. Immediately, I sat bolt upright, my tail stiffening in shock. An array. She was casting an array.

Calming myself with a few deep breaths, I softly sat beside her, leaning against the stump to watch her magic. The array seemed intent on combining Aegis and Dispel magic, though it was clear whoever wrote the scroll had limited understanding of either spell. The runes didn’t quite align, and the strands of mana failed to properly weave the two circles together.

Tana’s eyes flashed open and she lowered her hands. The lingering sparks of magic drifted away, dissipating into the air.

"I just can’t seem to get it," she complained to no one in particular. "I follow the scroll perfectly yet it always fails at the last moment!"

I took a deep breath and ventured, "Where did you get the scroll?"

She sighed and rolled it up, dropping it into her lap. "I got it at the adventuring Guild House. The Guild Master said the church’s been distributing new forms of magic given by the gods to help us in the Demon War. The only problem is that even the simple ones are way too complicated. I don’t see how anyone short of a master could use an array."

"May I see it?" I asked.

She grunted and brushed the scroll of her lap into my hands. "Go for it. Just don’t try anything dangerous. If you don’t have enough control of your mana, the backlash can cripple you for life."

"Thanks."

I held my breath, tail stirring beside me, and unfurled the scroll. After a glance, all doubt was removed from my mind. This was undoubtedly my technique, if severely flawed. The church had successfully stolen my magic and revealed it in the name of the gods who cursed me, and drove my goddess from the heavens.

I crinkled the scroll up, throwing it into the embers of the fire. Tana yelped, jumping to her feet.

"Starlight!" she cried. "That was expensive!"

Her shout made me flinch, and I gripped my skirt tightly. She placed her hands on her hips, glaring so fiercely that my tail curled around my knees. But gathering my courage, I relaxed my hands, stilled my tail, and looked her in the eye.

"Would you like to know the correct way to cast an array?"