Rebirth: I Will Kill A God

I rushed back towards the direction of the firmament. I was not yet ready to return, but my next destination lay nearby.

The others taking part in the trial had begun to grow confused. Ten minutes passed without sighting any demons.

Near the firmament was a tall hill, and what lay behind that hill was dangerous.

I made my way to the top of the hill, and thankfully nobody had ventured in that direction yet. That might have evened up triggering the summoning.

From the top of the hill, I saw the stretch of the land that lay past it. There was nothing substantial about the scenery, but something sinister lay somewhere beneath the grass.

I picked up a stone from my feet and tested its weight in my hand, making sure that I remained at the top of the hill.

I scanned my eyes over the grass for a few moments, making sure I had the right place.

Then, I threw it into what seemed like a random patch of grass, but as it hit the area, the outlines of a ritual circle began to shine brightly.

Seems like my memory is still decent.. and my throwing.

As the ritual circle shunned brighter, mystical shapes began to form through the field.

A loud sound followed by small pops in the air that were a result of the summoning.

Then, the shapes materialised, becoming physical beasts that I was so familiar with.

The Shade Foxes.

They were small and weak beasts. Foxes with mangled jaws and pitch-black fur and equipped with sharp teeth and claws.

They had no special abilities and were only grade D+ Demons.

But it was not their strength that was to look out for. It was their numbers.

Slowly, tens and tens of the beasts began to form, until they numbered in the fifties.

Their jaws snapped with hunger, yearning to devour human flesh.

But there was no one nearby, everybody was far beyond the other side of the hill.

Only me.

I let out a loud whistle, hoping to attract them, and slowly drew the divine dagger from its sheathe.

The Shade Foxes outnumbered me drastically, but the demons had only expected a bunch of ten-year-olds with no combat ability, armed with weak common weapons.

I, however, was a veteran with all sharp weapon types, and the blade that I wielded was much stronger than they could have guessed.

Even the demons did not yet know about the properties of the Tree of Righteousness.

Being reborn with my past life's knowledge had gifted me the perfect exploitation, and this blade would be mine to keep even after the trial.

It was a known rule. Whatever you found in Limbo was yours to keep.

This will be my win. And my journey only begins here.

Four of the shade foxes noticed me and began to stalk up the hill that I stood on. I had the high ground.

I had the advantage.

I waited for the first fox to reach me, and it lunged clumsily, trying to bite my sword arm.

I had fought so many of the beasts during my past life. They were one-dimensional beasts, so I knew exactly how they would attack before they even did.

I sidestepped the strike and plunged my red dagger into its neck.

The creature let out a screech, which was quickly cut off as its body disintegrated into thin air. The result of a powerful weapon striking a weak foe.

The next fox had not yet seen the fate of his ally, and he charged in the same manner.

Foolish little creature.

As I tore my blade through its face, I heard a bone crunch, but I did not have enough time to see the aftermath. The body disintegrated once again.

I dealt with the next fox the same way, tearing a hole through its head before it disappeared.

It was the fourth fox that noticed what was going on, as it whimpered in fear, backing away from me.

I was only a ten-year-old boy; I must have looked fearless.

Yet still they feared me.

The fox turned towards the remaining foxes at the bottom of the hill and began to run away. But I chased after it, running down the hill as fast as I could.

However, I did not want to catch them. I just wanted to make It seem as though I did.

And it was enough. The foxes, who had all seen what I was capable of, scattered in all directions, whimpering in fear.

They were spread out, not caring whether or not they were together. As long as they were away from me, they were happy.

And that was my goal.

I didn't want to kill them all; just spread them out so that they wouldn't target anyone in particular.

And now, there are demons to go around for those who are capable of passing the trial.

I had already changed the course of history. In my previous life, only ten children had passed this year's Holy Trial.

Now, there could be as many as fifty.

I heard battle cries coming from all around the nearby area. The children had found the foxes and had started hunting.

I'll need to do the same too. This dagger doesn't leave corpses behind. At least not of enemies this.

I would need a way to kill a shade fox without using my dagger.

...

I guess my hands will have to do it.