Re;Blade

Chapter 20 - The Stone Hill Battle

He had trouble raising his feet after his metal boots sunk a few inches in the mud, but he said nothing.

A few of the soldiers who had yet fully recovered from the last battle were ordered to return with the horses.

After they had left, the column moved once again.

The march became even harder.

The strange fog that covered the ground became thicker, and the smell of the plant became stronger as they entered deeper into the Stone Hill Labyrinth.

It was getting harder to breathe, so they took the cloths covering their mouth and noses.

The eerie silence was barely broken. Only the sound of their heavy steps on the mud echoed in the darkness.

Even Tetsuko couldn't help but feel anxious.

They're closer... I can feel them... but I can't tell where they are!

In the heavy silence in the dark forest, a scream echoed. A high pitched scream that sound as if many beasts were dying everywhere around them.

It was so loud it reached even the soldiers in the back.

Everyone topped and raised their weapons, looking everywhere for the source of the scream.

The lord did the same, drawing Tetsuko.

As the fingers closed around her handle, the soul in the sword felt stronger.

The former human sensed the energy in her flowing faster.

She tried to concentrate and sense where the enemies were again.

But now the excitement from the battle was too much.

Only now that I've become a sword I can enjoy a battle, Tetsuko thought.

The soldiers looked around, trying to find any sign of the bandits.

Their breathing became heavier and louder.

Soon it drowned every other sound.

In the darkness, the soul in the sword could see.

Two soldiers backed away and their backs touched.

They shouted and turned around, swinging their weapons at each other.

In the last moment, they realized it wasn't an enemy and managed to stop.

But their screams put the fear into the other soldiers.

The fog on the ground thickened. As it moved further from the ground, it became impossible to see more than three meters beyond.

I need to see everything!

Tetsuko calmed the energy inside her. Then, concentrating on her hilt, she imagined the cold metal.

She imagined the cold spreading inside her.

Her energy slowed down, and then she could see beyond the fog.

But not in the usual way as if she still had eyes.

Unlike before, where she could only sense an ember, now she could see blurs of energy.

The energies of the soldiers... I'm getting stronger...

And that wasn't the only energy around; the soldiers weren't the only ones in the labyrinth.

On the higher trees, other energies lurked around.

The bandits, Tetsuko realized at once.

She wanted to tell her wielder. But when she sensed his energy, she knew he wouldn't listen to her, even if she somehow could speak.