Chapter seven: Battleground

Dawn slowly approaches as most of the village stands at the main entrance. I had all the elderly and young pack up and leave last night since they won't be able to fight. I included Crevsa* Vielm, Arikon's father, but the rest of us stayed for the battle. I also sent out a messenger bird to both Elana and Eriken around noon before we got into the details of our battle strategy yesterday. I don't know if they even care, but it's still a striving to live through this. Even if Vensen slaughters us, there's no way he'll be able to take on two armies, no one is that powerful.

I can see the beams of light reaching out into the sky and everyone's body stiffens. The intensity increases as we wait for our enemy's arrival with each passing moment. The sun reaches further into the sky, but still, no one comes down the path from the east. My dagger is already unsheathed as I peer through the woods for a familiar figure.

Finally, in the still silence, we hear light footsteps from the path.

Everyone focuses in on the noise and we see a tall man in a black kimono from a distance.

That's him, that's Vensen! We can't attack just yet, though, he's still not close enough.

He walks up closer to us in his bare feet as we wait anxiously for him to approach us. Vensen stops at a distance from us, but I can now make out that stupid grin on his face. He doesn't seem to be stumbled by our appearance, not that we're much in the first place. Still, though, that smile of his ignites a fire of hatred inside of me. I can't wait for that grey and boney face of his to show fear, after what he's done so far.

Before another thought passes my mind, he projects a few words over to me, "Hello there Vila, what a wonderful morning this is!"

A flash of something catches the corner of my eye and before I comprehend it, one of the villagers next to me is sliced in half.

Was that- how did he!?

"You're supposed to answer your elders child," Vensen calls back to me like nothing happened.

The locals are stunned by what just happened and begin to quiver.

Keeping my courage, I answer him back, "Y-yes-It is a nice today."

He takes a few steps closer, and then continues his conversation as he walks on, "I wish that every day would start like this; don't you dear?"

Another flash flows just outside of my vision and I hear the ripping of flesh as warm blood splashes onto my backside. The small hairs all over my body stand on end as I'm reminded of how dangerous this person can be.

Maybe we should have run away...

"You mean with slaughtering people!?" I exclaim as I take a few steps closer towards him myself and gain a tighter grip on my pommel. "I'm not gonna let you get away with this, Vensen!"

He laughs at me as he keeps walking closer to us casually. "You won't let me get away with this!? My dear child, I've already done this plenty of times!" Vensen stops no more than a few yards from us with his grin wide and full of sharp fangs.

This bastard has attacked a village before!? I'm restraining myself from charging at him because I want to stall for the other villages to come. There's no need to be hasty. "You've done this before?" I say trying to keep him occupied.

The look in his devilish eyes give off an unsettling ambiance like yesterday. "Indeed I have child, plenty of opportunities have come across me like this moment here." He searches over our small army of at least thirty people. "So then, these are the people who want to die... At least you didn't think there would be a need for a few worms to take care of me like last time."

Is he insulting the men he just killed yesterday!?

That scum bag!

Someone from the crowd unleashes a battle cry and sprints towards Vensen.

That idiot! "No-wait!"

Before any more words can come out of me, half of our forces suddenly come rushing in at him.

A great wind rushes in extremely close to my side with black mist. I can hear and smell the sizzling of their flesh as their bodies are reacting like they've touched acid. The heat from the blow radiates and continues to melt their now lifeless forms, but before I have time to fully comprehend this, another gust strides through close on my other side just the same. I fall back towards the opposite direction. Someone's hand lays on my back firmly and I look behind to see Reina supporting me.

"Don't give in, this is your chance!" I hear her yell. "I'll cover you!"

I look ahead and see Vensen with an opening as he's distracted with murdering the others. The grip on my dagger tightens from both hands and I charge after him at full speed.

The dagger comes close to his face before he moves out of the way and knees me in the gut.

I feel my backside being scraped against the ground before I realize that I was falling backwards. My body screams at me to stop because of the pain and the metallic taste of my own blood supports that even more. I get up anyway and face him.

He smirks at my determination and makes a comment, "You are like your mother after all," then goes back to his less cordial frown.

He knows about my mother too!?

Gunshots fly past me with Reina coming up from the background. "You leave our village alone!" She bellows at him.

Those who didn't get scorched run after him as well with everything they have.

I take this chance to make another attack as well. Maybe we can get him if we all attack at once! No mercy!

It all happens so quickly that I'm not sure if I see it all myself, but Vensen doesn't seem to be in much of a panic. He just simply dodges every single move we throw at him with ease, almost like he already knows who will strike, one swing at a time.

I force my way into the mob and slip through an opening leading straight to him. I thrust my blade at him once more with my strength.

He simply dodges my attack again and grabs a hold of my wrist this time. Before I can react, he throws me and I knock over some of the locals who break my fall.

The men and women continue to throw everything within their power at him, but his skills are too swift for them to lay a single finger on his robe.

Then, I finally notice something about his recent movements, he's not forcing any attacks himself, just avoiding ours... I can use this to stall for the backup team.

One of the men finally picks up his speed and snatches Vensen by the wrist while he thrusts his sword to his torso.

Vensen rapidly dodges just barely with a tear in his clothing and head-butts the villager. He then jumps backward to gain some distance from us and kneels a little to guard his side. The red liquid oozes out from where the villager sliced him.

A rumbling comes from the sky and we all look up, including Vensen, for the disturbance. Rain pours heavily down on us as the darkened clouds begin to obscure the sun.

One of the villagers steps forward a little and shouts at Vensen, "You see, turns out you're no match for Kai village. Even your fire can't help you now with this rain! The gods must be on our side!"

Vensen just continues his blank stare at the sky and doesn't pay any attention to us.

Another villager calls out, "Get him now while he's weak!" They all then run at him at full speed.

He just slowly raises himself up as he continues looking upwards with that dour stare.

In an instant, everyone stabs their blades into him on all sides that are possible to reach.

I haven't really gotten a chance to examine his height specifically until now, but he's so tall with all of those people standing next to him and their weapons piercing his body. I can see his face well above theirs as he continues to look towards the heavens. I can see a fading stream of blood trickle down from his mouth as the water tries to wash it away. The warm rain pours down as time stops for this alluring moment. He seems so calm. Vensen looks down to the person in front of him and speaks in that sullen tone again, "I think I'm done with you people now." The blood that he produced begins to move and wrap around the surrounding villagers in a tightening grip.

They all struggle to break free, but to no avail.

This is the only way I can think of on how to explain it, but, the now solid blood coils around them like a snake while keeping its liquid form... I don't quite understand it myself... Eventually, I begin to hear the crushing of bones as the villagers squeal for air. The process is so slow and sickening that the pit in my stomach grows into a black hole. I can't feel my body, my entire being is focused on this event. Finally, the noise of them struggling shrinks to none, but Vensen continues to crush their bones to a brittle mess until each of their bodies break open and burst with blood cascading down to stain the dirt red.

"T-that's impossible," I hear a familiar voice say next to me.

I'm so stuck in fear but am able to force my head to turn just enough to see who it is in my peripheral.

Reina stands next to me, trembling from this monster's brutality. She didn't attack like the others?

The sounds of the lifeless bodies dropping to the ground catches my attention and I see Vensen standing completely wet from the rain with that eerie blank stare. Streams of the blood wash away into the ground with the rain until the color of red can be seen no more. He looks to the sky again as the cloud dissipates for the blue sky again. A high-pitched whistling echoes through the damp air before something strikes Vensen to the ground. Once his body plummets, I see an arrow has pierced his head.

I look at the direction it might have come from and see a man in armor with a bow while he's riding on the saddle of an ousada*.

-----------------------

Crevsa- The Mayor of a city or village. When the crevsa of the area dies and there is no successor the village/city is considered discontinued.

Ousada- A wolf-bear creature that is larger in size than a cujom. On its hinds it stands about 12 feet and weighs over 1600 to1900 pounds.