Sworded Affair

Chapter 28: Pining for the Fjords

[Deadwood Demon - Level 5]

On my own, these Demons wouldn’t even be a threat, Emma mused as she struck down the next corrupted tree to come within reach, a single blow enough to bifurcate the trunk, bringing the demon crashing to the ground, joining three others that had already perished. The few abrasions she’d sustained from errant branches had already healed in full, her Anima fully restored, even accounting for her earlier mishap with her inventory and a stray cat.

[80 EXP gained]

Whilst numerous, the demonic trees' own bulk and relative lack of reach worked against them, preventing the kind of mass attack that, for example, a unit of soldiers with spears could achieve. On top of all that, the trees were fairly mindless and lacked any ranged attacks, making fighting them far easier than anything Emma had faced in her first Dungeon. With her healing capabilities, she could confidently expect to cut her way through all of them eventually; the only real commitment being the amount of time and effort invested.

[Companion has leveled up!

Bear - Level 4]

A loud crash heralded another demon brought low; the Bear forgoing any subtlety in favor of brute force; an overwhelming amount of it, considering even an average male bear weighed in the region of 600 pounds, and that was before taking into account his strength increase from gaining three Levels. He truly didn't need to do anything more complex than role-play as a wrecking ball, smashing through everything in his path.

“Good job!” Emma shouted, happy to be fighting with someone at her back for once. “Stick close to me now!”

The bear obeyed, which was a good sign, because Emma was seriously considering calling a retreat at this stage. After all, even if the Demons posed a negligible threat to herself or her companion, their numbers were massive; Emma counting easily over a hundred approaching from every direction and slowly encircling her. More pressingly, they were also closing in on the house; containing her Dad along with priceless tomes holding information on the apocalypse. Even if she and her companion fought non-stop, they still wouldn't be able to protect the entire perimeter of the house for long. The bear pounced again, knocking a small, five foot tall demon over and giving Emma an opening to land the killing blow. The experience this time was shared in half; although she couldn’t see her companion’s details, Emma was confident he couldn’t be far off from another Level himself.

[10 EXP gained.]

Even still, it wasn’t nearly enough, and by now one of the Demons had reached the front door to the house.

“Dad! Grab whatever books you can, we’re breaking out!” Emma yelled, before a thought struck her. “You can keep up with a car can’t you, Sir Bearington?”

[Companion designation added: Sir Bearington. Really?]

Worryingly, there was no response from inside the house. Spinning on her heel, Emma charged the demon trying to squeeze in through the doorway, ducking under flailing branches to land a diagonal cut followed by a swift punch, sending it's upper half flying into the distance.

[20 EXP gained.]

“Dad?” She tried again.

Silence once more, and just as Emma decided to go to investigate, the upper floor exploded in a ball of fire, whilst a smaller figure rolled down the stairs, hopelessly entangled in a bed sheet.

“Dad?” Arresting his fall with her spare hand, Emma freed him from his linen prison with three precise slashes; surprisingly, he had emerged from the spectacle entirely unburnt. “What was that? Did you hide some grenades along with your pistol?”

“Not quite,” Her Dad whispered hoarsely; but his strained speech was still enough to make Emma examine his name tag again.

[Noah Knight - Level 1 Invoker]

“What attacked you?” Emma asked, thinking back to her own System’s awakening.

“The books,” Noah grimaced, raising his blooded arm, deep bite marks evidence along the hand and forearm. “All gone I’m afraid; they had too many teeth anyway.”

“Guard the door.” Emma ordered the newly named Sir Bearington, before using the torn bed sheet to tie a makeshift bandage around her Dad's arm. “This’ll have to do for now, my healing doesn’t work on others. Is there anywhere you can get medical attention?”

A roar and another crash could be heard as her companion carried out his duty with brutal efficiency.

“Ryan’s coming back with the lads. He wanted more hands to dig some proper trenches, turn the house into a proper base of its own, but now?”

A single glance at the flames slowly crawling down the stairs shut down that line of thought.

“You're in no condition to drive, climb onto the bear,” Emma ordered, the moment she finished fiddling with the bandage. “Back to me!”

Heading back out, Emma unceremoniously carved two Deadwood Demons apart with a single blackened slash, whilst her Dad fumbled his way onto his designated mount.

[40 EXP gained.]

“Which way would Ryan come from?” Emma asked curtly.

“The south road.”

That was enough for Emma; pressed for time and with her Dad wounded, she dropped all pretense of mortality and activated Oversoul.

“Follow the bird, we’re breaking out,” Was Emma’s final spoken instruction, as she vanished from view, her soul possessing the first sparrow to enter her line of sight.

Diving down and circling thrice around her Dad’s head to make her choice vessel clear, she flew for the road, Sir Bearington charging enthusiastically after her as Noah clung onto his fur for dear life. A couple of demons attempted to bar his path, only to be sent flying with far less grace than Emma herself, no match for a bear running at fifty miles an hour. After a harrowing thirty seconds, they emerged clear of the encirclement; zombified trees not being known for their speed of pursuit.

Emma herself glanced back, sparing one final look at her burning home; but truthfully she was far more annoyed at the loss of the magical tomes within, even if intellectually she knew that there had been no other option. At the end of the day, despite some lingering dissatisfaction at being forced to run, Emma was ultimately content with the outcome; having found and saved her father, the primary objective of returning had been accomplished despite some hiccups along the way.

Onward to better things, I hope.

With that final thought, Emma spun around once more and began flying straight southward, leading her fairly odd party towards the safety (and stitches) promised by her Dad’s colleagues.