Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 51: Imminence (1)

Rylan watched the battle unfolding in front of him, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his throat as it raced in his chest. He forced his body to contain the shaking in his hands as he held Silver Twilight’s hilt. The sunlight reached him from above, piercing through the tall canopies of the trees all around him. The trees themselves were closely packed together, creating a claustrophobic environment.

In front of him, Gerard and Elizabeth fought against three strange creatures. They reminded him of humanoid hyenas, each two and a half meters tall and dressed in leather armor. Two of them held spears, but the one at the back wielded a staff and unceasingly chanted. The creature’s mana resonated with the world around it.

Gnolls.

Rylan resisted the urge to shoot forward as a Fireball appeared in front of the caster Gnoll. The two warriors cackled as they moved to the side. A moment later, the Fireball flew through the air, straight at Elizabeth.

They know she’s the weaker one.

“Mom! Cast a defensive spell!” he couldn’t help but shout, even though he knew it was needless.

Shaking slightly, Elizabeth chanted with Gerard by her side. He was looking straight at the Fireball with a frown, but didn’t cast Magic Shield. He looked at Elizabeth.

“You can do this,” Rylan could hear him say as the Fireball closed in. “I’m here, and so is Rylan, so don’t worry. Just concentrate.”

Elizabeth nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, her mana surged. A barrier took shape around both her and Gerard, just in time to block the Fireball. The spell crashed against the barrier, erupting into flames and swallowing the barrier entirely. However, once the fire dissipated, the barrier was still whole, though it was cracked and damaged.

From within, Gerard waved his staff. Above the barrier, three fire spears appeared. A heartbeat later, wind swirled around them, making them spin and become larger. Once Gerard pointed his staff at the enemies, the spears pierced through the air, one toward each Gnoll. The Gnolls shrieked and started moving. The two warriors quickly dashed to the side, but the caster was too slow. As it lowered its staff and tried to dodge the spear, it arrived, piercing straight through its chest. In a second, the creature caught fire.

It shrieked in pain as the spell burned it alive. Its flesh was scorched to reveal its bone, but before the scene could get any more shocking, Gerard waved his hand again. The other two fire spears disappeared, giving way to a stone projectile that gathered in front of him. It shot forward, piercing through the Gnoll’s forehead to come out on the other side. The fire died as the creature fell, dead before it hit the ground.

The other two Gnolls, which had dodged to the side, traded a look before promptly turning around and starting to flee.

“It’s better if you don’t let them go, or at least kill one,” Melvin said from behind Rylan.

Elizabeth raised her wand with shaking hands. A Magic Missile coalesced in front of her and flew through the air, aiming straight at one Gnoll’s back. The creature looked over its shoulder and tried to shift its body, crying out, but it was too late. The Missile pierced its back and spine, but the creature’s muscles and flesh resisted it.

This is a Dungeon at the level of the Fourth Circle. Mom’s spell isn’t powerful enough to pierce its defenses.

Elizabeth was only at the Third Circle, and she lacked experience. That, when coupled with the fact that Magic Missile was the simplest, most basic spell, meant that she was unable to finish the creature off. The fact that her Magic Shield had held on against the caster’s Fireball had been wondrous enough.

Gerard waved his staff again. The stone projectile, which had landed on the ground, flew to the side to smash into the creature’s ribs, empowered by the mana that held it together. The Gnoll’s ribcage cracked almost immediately as it coughed up blood, making the ribs pierce through its organs. Rylan could tell that its heart had been ruined.

The stone flew to the opposite side, aiming straight at the other Gnoll. It hit the monster in the left knee as it ran, breaking it and making the monster fall.

For a second, all was still, save for the first Gnoll’s dying breaths and the second one’s pained cries. Rylan looked at his father.

He refrained from using fire spells because he didn’t want to show too much of a grim scene.

Apart from the children, seeing monsters being burned alive, their flesh melting off their bones, would be shocking for Elizabeth and Rylan’s siblings, as well. Breaking the Gnolls’ bones had been enough of a reminder of what a real fight was.

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Gerard looked at Elizabeth with a serious expression.

“You should be the one to finish them off,” he told her. Rylan could tell from the pain in his eyes that he hadn’t appreciated saying those words.

Elizabeth flinched as she looked at him. She hurriedly looked at Rylan, but once he nodded, she looked back at Gerard.

“…Why?” she asked.

“You need the XP and to know what it’s like to take a monster’s life.”

“…I’ve killed monsters before. My family brought them to me.”

Gerard slowly shook his head.

“It wasn’t enough. You still aren’t used to it, my love. And you’re certainly not used to a real fight. This training is for all of us, not just our children. I’m sorry you have to go through this, Liz.”

Rylan nodded to himself.

“Father is right,” he said.

Elizabeth looked back and forth at them before she sighed deeply and looked at the ground. Once she lifted her gaze, Rylan could see determination in her eyes. She walked closer to the injured Gnolls and pointed her wand at the first one, which was already close to dying. Another Magic Missile took shape in front of her, then shot toward the creature’s head. The monster died a second later. She pointed her wand at the second one as it snarled at her. Its fate was the same.

After both monsters died, she took a deep breath and turned around to look at everyone. Rylan nodded at her.

“You did well,” he said. “Then, let’s keep going. Aelfric, you’re up next. Regis will go after you, then Lillia.”

Aelfric nodded, but Regis and Lillia traded a look before also nodding. Elizabeth sighed again and walked closer to the group, followed by Gerard.

“…I wish this wasn’t necessary,” she said once she got close enough.

“But it is,” Gerard said from behind her. “It’s not easy, but it is needed.”

“I’ll be here to guide all of you through it,” Rylan said. “But I agree with Father.”

Elizabeth nodded with a grim look.

“I know,” she replied. “I know.”

Rylan smiled sadly at her.

“Let’s move,” he said after a second, looking around.

“Be careful. The true strength of Gnolls lies in their large packs, and because this is a Fourth Circle Dungeon, they have casters among them. We got lucky that the groups we came across so far had fewer than seven monsters, but this will change the deeper into the Dungeon we go,” Cecilia said from behind Rylan, making him look at her. “We’ll probably come across packs of twenty or more.”

He nodded at her. Regis and Lillia winced almost at the same time, while Aelfric looked a bit more determined. Elizabeth shifted in place, clearly uncomfortable, while Gerard looked serious.

“The whole family can fight, if it comes to it,” Gerard said. “With my support, my children and Elizabeth will be able to put up a fight.”

Cecilia looked at him with some appreciation, smiling.

“I don’t doubt that. I must admit, you’ve proven yourself to be a more capable Mage than I expected from the protector of a small town in Ceotha. Your choice to specialize in fire spells allowed you to fight better than a lot of Fifth Circle Mages I know, compensating for lack of variety with mastery.”

Rylan smiled. He couldn’t help but feel proud of his father.

“Fire spells are also among the most effective in battle against living creatures, too,” he said. “Just a bit of damage is enough to cause a lot of pain and hinder their abilities.”

She nodded at him. After exchanging a few directions, the group moved on. They waded through the tightly packed forest. The atmosphere was damp and hot, marred by the howls of the Gnolls. Each time they heard them, the howling sounded closer.

After ten minutes of walking, Rylan hurriedly spoke loudly.

“Stop. They’re here.”

He could hear the sounds of rapid footsteps. Through his hearing alone, he did a quick headcount.

Twelve or thirteen.

It fit his expectations, given that they were a bit deeper into the Dungeon. It was also too much for Aelfric to handle by himself.

“There are thirteen of them,” Rylan said, choosing to consider the higher number. “I didn’t expect this to happen so soon, but it’s better if everyone fights together.”

He had been hoping that his siblings would get more solo battles, but they’d had the bad luck of running into a larger group so soon. To begin with, because his siblings were in the Third Circle, they would only be able to fight on their own against one or two Gnolls, with low chances of winning.

I guess that was a high hope. From this point on, I don’t think we’ll meet smaller groups.

However, that didn’t mean it was impossible. He could tell Gerard to leave one or two Gnolls alive once they were done with the group, therefore creating an ideal situation. The only problem with that was that the Gnolls were too intelligent. Just like they had demonstrated in the previous battles, they tried to run away if things got too dangerous. Even if Rylan managed to force them to fight by keeping them from running away, there was no way to predict how they would behave.

They might get more aggressive because they know they’re fighting for their lives, which would increase the danger, or they might become less aggressive, intimidated by me. Neither situation would be a typical fight.

He cursed under his breath. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much more time to think about it. Judging from the footsteps, the Gnolls were almost upon them.

Rylan stopped in place in the middle of a small clearing, and the others followed suit. His family slowly walked forward, looking around with serious expressions. Gerard stood further back, with a clear view of everyone. Rylan laid his hand on Silver Twilight’s hilt.

The air was still. A second later, seven Gnolls erupted into the clearing, moving out from behind the trees ahead, howling and running toward Rylan’s family. His expression hardened. Both Elizabeth and his siblings flinched.

“Stay calm,” Gerard said as he raised his mana. “Just fight as we know how to. I’ll cover all of you.”

“There are more of them hidden behind the trees,” Rylan said. “As I said, there are thirteen in total.”

His siblings started casting, and Elizabeth did the same, belatedly. Gerard cast more of his fire spears, creating five of them as his mana ignited. The Gnolls slowed down as they looked at the spears, clearly wary of them.

Once Regis and Aelfric finished casting their spells, the battle truly began.