Chapter 25 – Little Warrior, Part Four

Grace clutched her tiny light sword, trying to ignore how stupid it looked. The cold had settled deep in her bones now, making her teeth chatter like they were trying to escape her mouth.

“Are we getting closer?” she whispered.

“Maybe.”

A little while later.

“Are we getting closer?”

“Probably.”

A few minutes passed.

“Are we-”

“GRACE!” Seraph barked out. “If anything YOU should tell ME if we’re getting closer. You’re the one who feels cold, right?”

“Oh, uh, well… the temperature hasn’t changed or anything. I still feel just as cold.”

“Then, either we aren’t getting closer, or…” She thought about it.

Suddenly, Seraph held up a hand, signaling for silence.

She crouched low, her massive muscles tensing like coiled springs. Grace tried to copy her pose and nearly fell over when her oversized breastplate slid sideways.

[Great start, Grace. Real intimidating.]

“There,” Seraph said, pointing through a gap in the twisted trees.

Grace squinted. At first, she saw nothing. Then… some movement. A dark shape shifted around between the dead trunks. It moved all… wrong. Jerky and unpredictable, like a puppet with half its strings cut, snarling at nothing. Yep, nothing like the Primal Demon that had sent Grace to the afterlife. More like the demonic grunts Nymera had been crushing before that one popped up.

“That’s our target,” Seraph whispered, her usual booming voice unnaturally quiet. “Remember your training. Stay behind me until I say otherwise.”

“What training?” Grace hissed back. “I’ve had exactly ONE WEEK of you yelling at me to ‘hit harder’ while I waved a practice sword around!”

Seraph grinned.

“That alone is more than most mortals get. Now shut up and follow me.”

They crept forward, keeping low. Well, Seraph kept low. Grace mostly tried not to trip over her own feet, but, given how tiny she already was, she may as well have been sneaking.

Every few steps, her breastplate would slide and hit her chin with a tiny ‘clink’ that sounded like cannon fire in the silent forest.

The demon hadn’t noticed them yet. It was hunched over something. Grace’s stomach lurched when she realized it was feeding on another body. A farmer, judging by the clothes. The demon’s back rippled as muscles shifted under its mottled black-red skin.

It wasn’t that huge. Maybe the size of a particularly large man. But there was something fundamentally wrong about its proportions. Its arms were too long, its head too angled, its joints bent in directions joints had no business bending.

[It’s like an affront to life itself.]

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Seraph whispered, eyes locked on their target. “I’ll go in first, get its attention. When I’ve got it distracted, you come in from the side with that little toothpick of yours and stab it. Right in the chest if you can.”

“…” Grace blinked. “That’s it?”

“Hm?” Seraph tilted her head. “Well… Yes? Are you confused?”

“That’s your WHOLE plan?!” Grace squeaked.

Seraph shrugged.

“When plans get complicated, people die. Simple plans mean fewer mistakes!”

Before Grace could argue, Seraph burst from their hiding spot like she’d been fired from a cannon. She summoned her own light weapon, but hers was not comparable to Grace’s at all. It was a massive axe that blazed like the sun.

And, Seraph let out a war cry that made Grace’s ears ring.

“HEY UGLY! DINNER’S OVER HERE!”

The demon’s head snapped up. Its face, if it could even be called that, had too many eyes and the same amount of mouth. It made a sound like metal scraping against stone and lunged at Seraph. It was so fast!

Grace watched, frozen in place, as Seraph ducked under the demon’s swipe and brought her axe around in a glittering arc. The glorious flaming blade connected with the demon’s side, sending it stumbling backward with a shriek along with an arc of black blood shooting up into the air.

“Alright, rookie!” Seraph glanced back. “I’m happy to show off for a bit, but we didn’t come here so I could show you that I’m good at putting these guys down, ya know?”

“Y-Yeah!”

[Okay, move, Grace. Move!]

She forced her trembling legs to carry her forward, circling wide like Seraph had instructed.

Seraph was incredible to watch. She moved like water, flowing around the demon’s attacks while landing blow after blow with her massive axe. Each hit sent the creature reeling, black ichor spraying from its wounds.

Still, with the demon was focused entirely on the warrior angel, Grace had a chance to approach from behind.

Grace crept closer, trying to be stealthy despite her clanking armor. She was almost in position when her foot caught on a tree root and she fell forward with a yelp.

The demon’s head whipped around.

“NOW WOULD BE GOOD, ROOKIE!” Seraph bellowed, swinging her axe to get the creature’s attention back.

But it was too late. The demon had spotted easier prey. It abandoned its fight with Seraph and charged straight at Grace.

[Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap—]

Grace scrambled to her feet, raising her tiny light sword. The demon was on her in an instant, its arms reaching for her throat. She swung wildly, the golden blade barely grazing its chest.

The demon howled in response. It backhanded Grace so hard she flew through the air and slammed into a tree. Pain exploded through her back and head, making her vision blur.

“QUICK, GET UP!” Seraph shouted, sprinting toward them. “DON’T LET IT PIN YOU!”

[H-Huh?]

Out of sheer instinct, Grace rolled to the side just as the demon’s claws dug into the ground where her head had been. The movement sent fresh waves of pain through her body, but adrenaline was kicking in, dulling the worst of it.

She slashed up with her sword, catching the demon across one of its arms. The creature pulled back, hissing, as golden light seared its flesh.

[It hurt it! My tiny, pathetic sword actually hurt it!]

Seraph arrived like a hurricane, her axe cleaving through the air. The demon leapt back, focusing its attention on the more immediate threat. Grace used the moment to push herself up, ignoring the pain in her ribs.

“I saw that, by the way!” Seraph called excitedly. “Your weapon! It’s working!”

“Y-yeah,” Grace panted. “But it’s so small. I have to get really close!”

Seraph nodded, understanding immediately.

“I’ll give you another opening! Get ready!”

The warrior angel charged again, her movements deliberately flashy and aggressive. The demon focused on her, its back now to Grace.

[This is it. Don’t screw up, don’t screw up…]

She crept forward, trying to ignore the trembling in her limbs. Her grip on the light sword was so tight her fingers hurt.

Seraph was creating the perfect distraction. She spun and jumped around, her movements designed to keep all the demon’s many gross eyes fixed on her. But she wasn’t landing solid hits anymore. She was clearly saving that for Grace.

Grace was almost there. Just a few more steps…

Her breastplate shifted again, the metal edge scraping against her collarbone with a distinct screech.

da-dan

The demon whirled, faster than anything that size should move. Its clawed hand shot out, wrapping around Grace’s throat and lifting her off the ground.

“ACK!”

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream. The demon’s grip was like iron, crushing her windpipe. Her feet kicked uselessly in the air as black spots danced across her vision.

In her desperation, she stabbed forward with her light sword. The golden blade sank into the demon’s shoulder. Not its chest where she’d been aiming, but it was something.

The creature shrieked, dropping her immediately. Grace hit the ground hard, gasping for air. Seraph was there in an instant, swinging her axe in a protective arc over Grace’s crumpled form.

“You okay, kid?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the demon.

“N-not really,” Grace wheezed, clutching her bruised throat.

The demon was backing away, holding its wounded shoulder. Its black wings unfurled, like it was considering whether the meal it could have was worth the trouble.

“It’s scared now,” Seraph said. “It knows you can hurt it for real. But we need to finish this.”

Grace struggled to her feet. Her entire body screamed in protest, but she forced herself to stand. The demon watched her with its cluster of eyes, something like fear visible in them.

“Stay confident, Grace!” Seraph glanced at her, a sly smile spreading across her face. “You don’t need to fight it. You just need to stab it. Once. In the right spot.”

Before Grace could ask how the heck she was supposed to do that, Seraph grabbed her by the back of her oversized breastplate.

“Wait, what are you—”

“YA-HOO!” Seraph bellowed, and with one powerful movement, she literally threw Grace directly at the demon.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Grace flew through the air, screaming. The demon was so surprised it didn’t even move as she crashed into it, both of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Her face was inches from the demon’s horrible not-face. Its hot, rancid breath washed over her as those mismatched eyes widened in shock.

[DO IT NOW!]

With every bit of strength she had left, Grace drove her light sword straight into the center of the demon’s chest.

The creature went rigid.

“AAAAAAAAGGGGGH!”

Then, a sound like a thousand voices screaming at once erupted from its twisted mouth. Cracks of golden light spread across its body from where Grace’s sword had pierced it.

Grace scrambled away just as the demon’s body began to disintegrate. It wasn’t just dying—it was being erased. Particles of shadow flaked away, revealing nothing but golden light beneath until, with one final shriek, it collapsed into itself and vanished completely.

The forest fell silent. Even the wind seemed to have stopped.

Grace stared at the empty space where the demon had been, her light sword still clutched in her trembling hand.

“Did I… Did I actually…”

“YOU DID IT!” Seraph bellowed, scooping Grace up in a bone-crushing hug and spinning her around. “YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!”

“Can’t… breathe…” Grace wheezed.

Seraph set her down, but kept a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“That was SPECTACULAR! Man, I can’t believe that worked!”

“Have you ever even done that before?!” Grace squeaked.

“Nope! Just made it up on the spot!”

“You WHAT?!” Grace’s voice cracked. “You could have gotten me killed!”

“But I didn’t!” Seraph grinned, completely unrepentant. “And hey, it worked! The demon is gone. FOREVER. Because of YOU.”

Grace opened her mouth to keep yelling, but nothing came out. The reality of what had just happened was finally sinking in.

She had killed a demon. Permanently. The very thing that made her special, that had gotten her noticed by Eternia or fate or whatever had brought her here.

A laugh bubbled up from her chest—half hysteria, half genuine relief.

“I can’t believe I’m still alive,” she giggled.

Seraph’s booming laugh joined hers.

“Not only alive, but VICTORIOUS! Though, next time, try not to look quite so terrified. Bad for morale. Besides, that thing wasn’t a primal. Even if it tried to take your pretty head off your cute shoulders, you would’ve been fine! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“Next time?” Grace sputtered. “You want me to do this AGAIN?”

“Of course! You’re a natural!” Seraph slapped her on the back, nearly sending her face-first into the dirt. “Well, maybe not quite a natural. But you’ve got potential! And that little toothpick of yours,” she pointed at Grace’s tiny light sword, “it did the job, didn’t it?”

Grace looked down at her weapon. It still seemed pathetically small, but… Seraph was right. It had worked.

“I guess it did,” she admitted.

“There ya go! Ha ha!” Seraph threw an arm around her shoulder. “See? Size isn’t everything! Though,” she whispered, “I’m sure Venus would disagree with me on that.” She winked.

Grace chuckled, reaching up and trying to heal her battered head.

It was done. Her first real fight, over. Sure, she’d had a lot of help. She couldn’t exactly say this made her a warrior. But, she’d won. That was all that mattered.

As they started the long walk back to their departure point, Grace realized something strange. The forest didn’t seem quite as dark anymore. The trees looked a little less twisted, the sky a shade brighter.

“Hey, Seraph?” she asked. “Do you think killing a demon… changes the area around it?”

Seraph glanced around, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

“Huh. Would you look at that. It does seem… better. That’s new.” She turned to Grace with an impressed expression. “Guess you’re already making your mark on the world, rookie.”

Grace felt a warm glow of pride, then.

Maybe, just maybe, she could actually do this angel thing after all.

“Anyway, race you back!” Seraph suddenly shouted, taking off through the trees.

“T-That’s not fair!” Grace called after her, trying to run despite her aching body and clanking armor. “I’m still injured! And tiny! And my legs are like half the size of yours!”

Seraph’s laughter floated back to her.

“Better hurry then!”

“Ugh!”

Grace groaned but found herself laughing again as she chased after the warrior angel. Her body hurt, her armor was a mess, and she was pretty sure she’d have nightmares about those mismatched eyes for weeks.

But for now, in this moment, she felt something new and unexpected:

A little bit of pride.

「Skill Level Up: Blade of Eternia (Lvl. 2)」

+5 Bravery

Bravery 15/100

Oh, and that too. That was definitely a bonus.

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