I Was Reborn as a Daddy in Another World

Descent - Part 2

Val and Katya crested a small rise, almost to the wide staircase that separated the first and second levels when she called him to a sudden stop. He had been trailing behind her, heavy pack on his back, as she stalked across the verdant green plains of the labyrinth's first floor since his unfortunate faux pas at breakfast, and the sun was just beginning to crawl toward the horizon.

The first level was like a wide, picturesque green meadow. Occasional groves of dark trees dotted the undulating landscape and, though they had travelled for hours, Val could still see the spiral staircase that connected Al'Lachia and Abyssia in the distance. It sprung up from the earth in a tight spiral, disappearing into an open portal that seemed to float in the clear blue of the sky.

They hadn't spoken during their trans-dungeon journey, but occasionally Val would hear Katya mutter her displeasure at his apparent ignorance of her lineage. He wasn't sure what she was seeking, but apparently they were yet to locate it, though blissfully they also had not crossed paths with any hostile monsters or creatures.

Now, though, she drew the enormous greatsword from her back and swung it in a wide arc, bringing it to rest at her side. Val caught up with her, moving to her left and giving the blade a wide berth.

Katya's gaze was set a little down the way, locked onto a small group of hairless dogs at the base of the hill. Their skin was near-black, with shimmering spiderwebs of deep red splaying out from large, red spots on their throats. They were pulling at and feeding on the mangled corpse of what looked to Val to be a small, gazelle-like creature, fighting over the meat and bones like feral animals.

"Now you're going to see the power of the bloodline of the Ten Thousand Blades," Katya declared, "The single most regarded family of warriors in the history of Al'Lachia."

Val looked at Katya. Her jaw was set and, though she was focused on the dogs, he felt she was waiting for some sort of response.

"Thank you?" he offered.

She cast him a brief sidewards glance that could have knocked a smaller man over, but stayed on her target. Raising her fingers to her mouth, she blew two sharp, whistling notes into the air. The dogs' heads snapped up and their eyes locked on to Katya, standing above them.

The sight of their blood-spattered faces sent Val's hands wandering to the hammers on his belt.

"Don't," Katya spat, "Take a step back. They're mine."

As if on cue, the hounds sprang into action, sprinting up the shallow slope toward Katya. Val followed her instructions and took a few steps away from the killing ground.

As the five hounds drew closer, Val could see the bloody foam spilling from their mouths, and their eyes, which glowed like late-burning coals, red embers in white-grey. He took another half-step back as Katya slid her left foot backwards and positioned herself. She took the haft of the sword in both hands and centred the blade in front of herself, the tip nearly touching the ground.

Val didn't know where to look, but despite her declaration he slid two hammers free and let them dangle loosely in his hands.

The first of the dogs reached Katya and leapt toward her with teeth bared. She stepped forward to meet it, sweeping the blade upwards. The sword crashed into the dog's chest and sent it flying backwards, and its body shattered into motes of shimmering red light that dissipated into nothing before it could even hit the ground.

Val watched in silence as Katya cut down the other four hounds just as mercilessly, moving forward to meet each one. Her sword was a blur, and her ferocity more than a match for their own.

It was over in heartbeats. Katya stood, not even breathing heavily, among a number of small bones, teeth and other items that scattered the trampled grass.