Eternal Elysium

The steel beast let out a cry as it felt its joint creak from the slash of the crystal sword.

Captain Maira and the soldiers beside her paused momentarily for a few seconds, confusion flashing through their eyes. But that was all; they didn't stop. This kind of thing, while strange, was nothing new to them; not calling this strange would be considered more strange.

This world was already a strange one after all, and considering anything stranger is worse, it's almost a nightmare even to me.

But wasn't I already living in such a world?

"Captain Asher, your weapon seems to be having some effect here, don't you think?"

Maira said, sliding back as more monsters came near, protecting the steel beast.

"It does have a little effect; maybe it will have more if I could inflict better wounds on it."

"I see."

She nodded.

'Are they its minions? How weird.' I thought about looking at the collective of monsters surrounding the steel beast and swiftly activated the enchantment of the mask of panoply, vanishing from the spot.

Standing alone, stranded in the middle of monsters, was not the first thing I wanted to happen, especially not alone.

I quickly walked through the sky, keeping the steps I needed to take as minimum as possible. Just as I was about to cross halfway through, I stopped sensing a gaze on me, turning my head slowly to look down. The site that greeted me sent shivers down my spine.

Two eyes, deep yellow with purple slits, were staring at me. The creature was not big; rather, it was on the smaller side, something similar to a squirrel, just a hand bigger. It nibbled something on the floor; I smelled blood mixed with rotten flesh.

'I need to run!' My instincts screamed, telling me to run, not from this creature but from what was going to happen after as—

"Cruuuuuu!!"

It raised its head, screaming loudly with its small mouth. Following the roar, all the monsters turned to look up; as if on cue, the yellow-eyed monster, who had noticed my presence, leaped on the giant body of the steel beast, like a lizard crawling over it.

The steel beast moved, and so did the other monsters. At the same time, the steel beast let out a hot white steam from its body as it took the first step and raised its head toward me.

"Shit!"

My eyes widened as a wave of flames erupted from its slackened jaw, not even leaving its minion safe. Unknowingly I raised my left hand, covering myself, while at the same time slowing down the beast; the mask enchantment broke.

Even then I couldn't hold everything back; the aftershock still came as I felt my mind waver, a burning sensation crawling on my face, making my steps tremble, and then the air-step stopped, and my feet again fell for the land, where the monsters stood with a hungry gaze, ready to kill me on sight.

'Ah, that's… going to hurt.' I thought, already picturing my fall and then what to do next while simultaneously getting rid of the burning sensation on my face. But then something hit my stomach, making me groan in pain. A second later my eyes shot up as I saw the blue chains wrap around my waist, coiling tightly as the sharp blade at the top shone in gold as the fire subsided.

From the corner of my vision I saw Captain Maira gritting her teeth, blue chains wrapped on her arm as she held one end tightly. She pulled me toward her using the chains; a wave of warm wind came down as I breezed down at a fast pace, supporting my descent with [Kairosflow].

As the chains let go of me mid-air, I spread my legs a little forward and jumped, pushing the air, reaching the ground.

Thud!

I barely remained standing on the ground and took a deep, shaky breath.

"Are you okay?"

Captain Maira asked, her chains already slashing down the monsters coming our way. I raised my head, seeing the soldiers fend them off as well; not far, I could even hear the sounds of blasts loud and clear. After a few seconds of silence I stood still and moved my hand along with my own blade before speaking coldly, almost laughing.

"Yes, never been better actually."

Maira scoffed.

"Huh, if you can joke like this, then go deal with the beast coming at that side. I will hold back this one till then."

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I tilted my head to the side and saw another beast, the same ghoul-like bear.

'There are more of them? Where are they even coming from?'

Seeing the sudden influx in the creature's number, I shuddered. I clenched my fist as tightly as I could, my breathing quick as I stepped forward, slashing my blade vertically along the axis, hitting the creatures that came my way.

Blood.

Blood.

And then more flew in the air, filling the land and flowing like a river.

Some belonged to me, some to the soldiers fighting beside me, but mostly it belonged to the creature I cut down repeatedly.

The soldier's hand trembled, and their leg wobbled down the floor.

We were fewer in number.

However, I momentarily forgot that and pushed myself forward even more.

Slash!

Another went down to the strikes I gave, the wounds accumulating over the monsters. The more I fought, the more I won. Like a madman, I didn't stop again. Even after my hands trembled and my heart throbbed inside my chest, I kept moving until I reached the beast hiding behind the newborns.

Seeing me covered in a haze of blood and flesh, it roared loudly, but to me it almost sounded like laughter filled with mockery.

"Pfft—"

I grinned, a fit of laughter escaping my bloodied lips as I removed my mask, storing it away.

I swiped my hair to the side and rushed at the beast.

My speed remained the same but the same couldn't be said about the beast.

I slid to the side and raised my blade, clashing with beast claws covered in shadows.

It tried to push me away, using its other arm to throw another strike. I didn't panic and let the claws' momentum move me away and jumped up, setting foot mid-air. In the next instance the beast lunged its head forward, trying to tear away my left arm with its sharp jaws. With a clean slash, I slit half its face, leaving a large gush of dark blood to come out that turned dry reaching the outer surface.

"Haha." Seeing it scream in pain, another laugh escaped my lips.

"You damn beasts sure are abundant, aren't you? Tell me, where do you even come from?" I said loudly, almost yelling with my shaky and hoarse voice.

No response came, making me frown.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I forgot how dumb you all are. You can't even think; how can I expect such creatures to talk?" I said, shaking my head, and then lunged my blade forward, stabbing the beast.

It tried to retaliate by raising its claws forward as if hugging itself in the cold.

Stab!

Stab!

I repeated the same movement; the blade enchantment flared, and before I knew it, the beast had fallen on the ground, lying lifeless in the pool of monster's blood.

I stopped, disappointed, and then sighed.

"Still… many are left." I whispered, pulling my blade out of the beast's chest.

The blade dimmed slightly as it greedily drank the monster blood webbing on its crystal-sharp edges. I stared at it for one or two seconds and then started to move again, this time toward the steel beast that let out a flurry of flames upon everyone.

Most of its minions, aside from the yellow-eyed monster, seem to have been left scorched on the ground; some still remained alive, as I could see them twitching.

As I walked toward the beast with slow steps, a soldier fell on his knees, his armor broken, his arms bleeding profusely as he took deep breaths, holding his arm together.

I stared at him as he turned to look up at me with hazy eyes.

"C-Captain Asher." The man called out with broken words.

I remained silent, not answering at once and looked around to see most of the monsters were already dead; those left alive were injured, wounded by none other than my own hands. Even then I was still slowing down the monsters near me, helping the soldiers.

Of course it was not perfect. They had not been slowed down to a crawl, to move at a snail's pace but still even a small difference, especially to those truly in need of it, was tremendous. They had managed to fight foes stronger than them long enough till help arrived.

"Well done… You can rest now." I whispered in my own broken words as two monsters I had slowed down not far away from us got freed from the effect of [Kairosflow].

This happened a lot, as I can't do several things at once.

Luckily the soldiers fighting them, even though injured themselves, were ready and dealt a deadly strike, killing the monsters instantly.

The soldier, seeing this after hearing my words, closed his eyes and fell on the ground like a log.

I observed everything for a moment, even my team fighting at the side.

Summer seems to be dealing with the rest of the hordes trying to run away from her. Several onyx arms, some holding daggers, were helping the injured soldiers stand up again; meanwhile, Chris was dealing with one of the last remaining beasts aside from the steel beast.

Captain Maira, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, her shoulders scrunched down with some minor burns covering her slender frame.

"Should I help?" I asked.

Captain Maira glanced back, sending another layer of chains at the steel beast, its large body, which had been covered in molten steel, now not as tenebrous as before.

"You—how are you still standing?"

I blinked at her, confused for a moment… then realized. My voice was raw, my vision a smeared wash of red, and my fingers numb around the hilt. My legs swayed, every movement dragging a weight ten times heavier than my own body. I was a wreck—yet somehow, still upright.

"Well… if it helps to know—" My words cut off as a shadow lunged. I ducked, the beast's claws tearing through where my head had been.

The yellow-eyed creature clung to its back, its slitted pupils locking on me. Its tiny mouth opened, letting out a high, piercing cry that rattled in my skull. The steel beast shuddered in answer, molten metal bulging along its limbs, the air growing hotter with every second.

Maira's chains pulsed with light, tightening. "Now, Asher!"

I sprang forward, boots scraping the scorched ground. The heat burned my lungs, my steps heavy, but I pushed on—one… two… three strides—and leapt, blade raised.

The creature screeched again and scrambled down the beast's side, claws tearing a fresh gash in its armor. I didn't think so. I drove my blade into the breach just as Maira's chain-blade slammed into the exposed flesh beneath.

Time caught the beast freezing mid-roar. A vein of molten metal split, blackened flesh bubbling beneath. Then I let it go—

The damage hit all at once. Armor cracked like glass, the molten core bursting outward in a geyser of steam. The beast screamed, a noise too deep to belong to anything living, before it buckled forward. The yellow-eyed creature's body jerked once, twice—then it split apart in the heat, dissolving into ash.

I yanked my blade free, boots skidding on the beast's scorched plating as it collapsed with an echoing thud. My knees hit metal, my vision tunneling.

"Most of the blood…" My voice was barely a whisper. "…doesn't belong to me."

Maira turned toward me, her expression unreadable—just a flicker of something in her eyes—before the world tilted, and I slid off the beast's carcass into the dirt.