The woman had dried blood coating her chest, a gaping hole in the middle as if something big had stabbed her.
She had been there for at least a few days based on the fact the blood was dark and crusted.
The scared knight stood up and looked around nervously.
"Whatever it is that did this is long gone by now," another knight said, surveying the land.
"Think it was the Sharpbeak?" I asked, approaching the knight and standing beside him.
"With a wound like that?" He gulped, then took a deep breath, trying to look calm despite the sweat dripping down his forehead. "Yes, it was the Sharpbeak."
I couldn't get the image of the woman's body out of my mind. It was the first time I'd seen a body, but also the first time I'd seen something so grotesque.
"Hey, hero, you good?" A knight approached me and patted me on the shoulder. I flinched, then turned to him and nodded.
"I'm not used to actually being out here... training never involved... that," I spoke nervously but tried to sound calm.
"I feel ya, kid..." The knight sounded almost sad when he showed his relation to what I was feeling. I smiled softly, trying to ease my nerves.
Just then, I heard a rustling noise in the bushes behind us. I immediately took out my sword, staring at the bushes that swayed slowly from the movement. Even after the swaying stopped, I continued to watch, weary of what could be behind it.
I didn't pay attention to the knights around me, only the bush. That was when I realized I could sort of see through the bushes leaves...
I put my sword away, walking toward it.
"Wait, where are you going?" The scared knight asked, surprised about where I was going. I knelt down in front of the bush and reached my hand in, grabbing the little furry creature by the scruff of its neck. I lifted it up and showed the group as I turned around.
"It's just a grass rodent," I said softly, smiling as I watched the creature wriggle around in my hand before stopping and staring at me. It sniffed the air as it calmed down, then yawned real big. I laughed. "Isn't it cute?"
"HERO!" A knight rushed toward me as he yelled, but just as he started running, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck go up.
I didn't realize it until I saw the giant object in front of me lift out of the ground and leave a giant crater that my body had moved on its own, almost instantaneously darting out of the way. I felt something digging around in my hair and realized it was the grass rodent from before.
I watched as the giant beak raised high up into the air, the creature attached to it staring at me with wide and dark eyes.
"There's no mistaking it!" A knight yelled, charging forward with his sword. "The Sharpbeak is here!"
The giant bird stabbed toward me with its beak again, but I rolled over just in time, making sure the grass rodent was still safe in my hair. I tumbled backward and stood up quickly, equipping my sword.
"This is it? The Sharpbeak?" I called out, confirming its identity.
"Hit it with everything you've got, hero!"
"Show us what you're made of!"
"Go hero!"
I smiled at their comments. They were really rooting for me despite not even knowing who I was. I readied my stance as the bird began circling me, locking its eyes onto mine.
"You're not as scary as I was expecting," I began confidently, not even blinking. "But you killed that woman, so I can't let you live!"
It was as if the beast understood me, because it began charging immediately. It felt like time was slowing down as it launched forward, and I could feel my adrenaline peaking.
I dodged its charge, the beak of the beast striking the ground. As it pulled out of the dirt, I spun around and swung my sword. The blade connected with its wing, blood pouring out rapidly. It screeched in pain as it swung its head around to hit me.
It didn't even hurt as I was flung toward a tree. I dug my sword into the ground to slow my pace, standing back up. But just as I tried to pull my sword out of the grass, I noticed a yellow glow slowly getting brighter coming from the blade.
Just as I attempted to pull it out again, a bright light hailed from the sky, and a giant beam of yellow struck where the bird was standing, its silhouette fading as the beam got brighter.
The next thing I knew was total darkness.
When I opened my eyes next, there was a knight in front of my face, his scruffy beard and aged wrinkles staring down at me in worry. He smiled as I opened my eyes.
"He awakens, Hared!" he called behind him, another knight running over.
"Ah, hero!" The knight knelt down and felt my head with his bare hand. "Are you feeling alright?"
"What happened?" I asked, sitting up slowly.
"You killed the beast and took most of the forest with it," a knight behind the one tending to me spoke up. "Almost took us out, too."
"Gunner, calm down!" The scared knight from before stood beside him and patted his shoulder.
"This 'hero' knows how to fight, but he can't control his powers from almost killing us? What kind of hero-"
"He said enough, Gunner," the elder knight who I first saw after waking up spoke sternly. "You know better."
Gunner went silent as I stared at the group. None of them seemed injured, but they were definitely shaken up. I then looked over at where the fight took place before. The sight was mesmerizing but also terrifying.
Right where the bird was standing was a massive crater, a mound of black dust piled in the center. And just outside this crater was my sword, perfectly intact and stuck in the ground.
"We tried to remove it, but you really wedged that thing in there," the elder knight chuckled. "You vaporized the thing and didn't even leave its beak behind."