The Devil's Blade

𝟷𝟷 || 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚎: 𝙰 𝚁𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕

The following morning, I awoke to the gentle warmth of sunlight bathing my face, casting the room in a soft, golden glow. I lay there for a moment, savoring the peaceful stillness of the new day. It was a stark contrast to the chaos of the previous day.

I could hear the clinking of metal from the corner of the room, and as I turned my head, I saw her again— the girl. She was mindfully arranging her collection of defense weapons in her backpack, her movements graceful and precise. Each blade, each piece of armor, had a purpose, and in that moment, I couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration for this girl. She must've been so scared, all alone, in the middle of a forest surrounded by monsters, but she protected herself with these weapons and survived. It's a strength I wish I had.

Seeing me awake, she turned to me with a faint, gentle smile, her deep brown eyes filled with determination. "Morning," she greeted, her voice carrying an air of power. "Did you have a good rest?"

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trying to shake off the remnants of my restless night. "Yeah, pretty good," I replied, my voice tinged with a hint of self-doubt.

I watch her as she pulls the handles of her backpack over her shoulders before securing a combat belt around her hips. She looks at me over her shoulder with a puzzled look, "You coming?" she asks with confidence.

I freeze, confused by her question. Is she asking me to go with her? To where? And besides, why would she want to travel with a complete stranger?

I carefully process the question, my mind racing with thoughts and emotions. The time is short, and so is her patience, as soon as she realises I'm taking too long to decide she starts to walk away. A surge of panic and uncertainty washes over me. Suddenly, I don't want to be alone. I want to be anything but alone anymore. With a sudden burst of determination, I push myself off the ground and stagger after her.

"Wait!" I call out, my voice hoarse from disuse. She pauses, turning back to look at me with a quizzical expression.

"I'll come with you," I declare, my words sounding more confident than I feel. "I don't know where we're going or whether I can trust you, but I want to survive."

She studies me for a moment, her gaze piercing and assessing. Then, her expression turns into a gentle smile before she approaches me. She zips her backpack open and hands out a folded package of clothes. "Get yourself washed up, we're leaving in ten minutes." she says, pointing to the lake hidden behind dense shrubs.

 I nodded and immediately complied with her orders. Undressing by the side of the lake, I dipped my feet into the water, which felt cold despite the relatively warm temperature outside. I quickly walk further into the water, to let my body adjust itself to the temperature. It felt good to wash myself after not taking much care of myself for a long time. It has also been a long time since I saw my body so clearly, I inspect every part, almost immediately noticing some clear changes. Wounds that I had obtained during these weeks, from the bite mark Tyler gave me, to the pecking spots from the raven, all had miraculously disappeared. It was like my body had gotten rid off its old skin, and replaced it with new. My eyes fixate on my arms, scanning every part, admiring the flawlessness.

My thoughts get interrupted when I hear rustling coming from behind me. I turned around, startled, but to my relief, I saw the girl standing besides the lake with a towel in her hands. She placed the towel alongside the clothes she had given me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to bring you this."

"It's okay, thank you," I replied, our eyes locking onto each other's. Her gaze shifted from my face to my chest, making me feel self-conscious. Flustered, she quickly turned around. "Hurry up, you got six minutes left." she said before disappearing behind the shrubs.

I quickly finish up, and after I'm dressed I join her again. She stood ready to leave with her backpack on her back. "Let's go," she says, walking away. I fall into step beside her, my curiosity piquing. "Where are we going?" I ask. She quickened her pace to stay ahead of me. "We're going to train," she replied. Her answer raised more questions in my mind, but I refrained from asking them out loud.

After a while, we entered a circular clearing surrounded by a few trees. The girl set down her backpack and began taking out weapons. She inspects the few that she takes out and throws one of them at me. Surprised, I barely dodge the flying blade coming towards me.

"Are you trying to kill me!?" I exclaimed, bewildered.

The girl gets up, securing her belt around her waist, "That's yours, take it."

I bend down to grab the sword that she just threw at me, "You could've handed it to me..." I mumble.

Before I could grasp the sword, I felt the pressure of a foot in my back, sending me rolling over the ground. I quickly raised my head to see the girl standing over my weapon. "First, never turn your back to the enemy, and second, try not to lose your weapon. If you do, finish the job with your hands." she says, her voice steady and mentoring.

She offered her hand to help me up, but I declined and got up by myself. She smiles, "You learn fast."

She kicks the sword of the floor towards me. Without taking my eyes off her, I retrieved the sword from the ground.

She takes out a dagger from her belt and positions herself in front of me. "I'm going to teach you the basics of attacking, defending and standing, okay?" she begins.

She positions herself, one leg in front of the other, one hand close to her head, and the other a little bit underneath her chin. "When you stand, make sure you always return to this position. One hand, protecting attacks towards your face, the other towards your stomach. One leg in front of the other to block incoming kicks."

I mirrored her stance, ensuring it was an exact reflection of hers. The girl nodded, approving of my stance.

She extends her right arm, her hand inches away from my nose. "Only attack when common weak spots are open. For example, the temple, nose, chin, upper lip, stomach and genitals."

She retracted her right arm to the position near her head. "If I were to go aim for any spot above your shoulders, use the hand next to your head to block. Anything under, use either your legs or your other hand. Easy, right?" She finishes.

I nodded, though with some uncertainty.

"Okay, let's practice," she said, gesturing for me to make the first move. Searching for an opening, I launched my attack.