Alex had run off with the Nile River water, while Mary and I sat quietly on top of the hill that sat in this forest. The area around almost made you forget how close you were to the crypt. It reminded me of the safety of the forest between the Rocky Outpost and the town. Birds could be heard chirping. Small critters moved from tree to tree or burrowed into holes. The whole aura felt like something out of a fairy tale. I wonder if there was a sleeping princess waiting to be kissed deeper in the forest.

My princess, however, seemed to be staring off towards one end of the opening. Mary had spent a long time surveying the area with her eyes and I had expected her to eventually settle her eyes on the path that Alex would come back from. As I followed her eyes towards the opposite direction, there stood a small child just inside the clearing.

Small twigs that looked to be decaying were either sticking out of her dark grey dress, which I assume had at some point had been white, or the twigs would be wrapped around ends of her appendages. The girl looked... unhealthy to say the least. Based on her size, she may have been ten or younger, but because of her physical state, I wasn't sure. Her complexion was pale, one eye looked hollow. Black hair had drooped over half of her face to cover the other. What hair went down her back frayed and tangled until it reached her hips.

Mary, who had been looking at the child for longer than I, snapped out of her daze and rushed towards the girl. Her words, or maybe even shouts, sounded like a person yelling underwater. Nothing she said held any meaning to me as the weight of this cruel world had finally sunk into me.

It wasn't my sheer will, or enormous courage that woke me up from this state of dread.

It was the cold, sharp mumble that spread from the girl's lips. "...Who... ?" As she spoke, she cocked her head to the side, as if an exaggeration of curiosity. With the movement of her head, the hair fell to the side and revealed not only her remaining deadpanned eye. But also a large gaping hole that went through her cheek bone and out the back of her head. As though she had been stabbed through the skull.

The peace that had been the forest faded away like an image made of mist. The trees looked decayed and lifeless. There were no birds nor critters.

My mind was gone, yet my body moved as if on its own.

I sprinted towards Mary without thinking about it.

As I came just outside arms reach I had finally regained some of my senses only to notice that I myself had been yelling incoherently. 

I had been confused and distraught. And had been unable to even form words in my head.

Mary continued to face the girl, but turned her head back at me and let out a small smile.

Was she really so hopeless over a small girl? Was I so panicked and stricken just by her image?

I was brutally drawn back to reality and the image came into full view. Behind Mary, behind the girl, stood a tall figure.

The black armor with gold trims looked like it had been placed to cover a man made of potent black flames.

Time crawled as I struggled to maintain the senses I had just gained. The black armor had already pressed his sword against Mary's stomach. If time had continued, she would undoubtedly be skewered.

The skeletons continued to sprint behind me as I ran through the forest. They actually might have been faster than me now that they were so close to the Nile River water. Had they not been tripping and stumbling on decaying foliage, I would have been caught by now. It really was amazing that the water made them so tunnel visioned that they didn't even pay attention to where their feet stepped.

At the rate I was going, I'd have to run straight into the clearing and hope that Mary and Devin were ready. Worst case scenario I may have to do laps around the clearing if they aren't ready. There was no way the skeletons would deter from the water just because they see more humans. Honestly I don't think the skeletons currently following the water were even aware that I was here.

As I approached the clearing, I had expected the foliage and trees to be similar to the forest, full of life. But instead the area continued looking like that of the crypt. I almost thought I may have made a wrong turn while fighting and corralling the skeletons.

As the area where the clearing should have been approached, the trees began to thin out and I was able to see a space with no trees at all. I jumped from the tree line into the clearing.

At the opposite side of the clearing was Devin, who had fallen to his knees.

Mary had slumped forward while standing. A large sword protruded from her back. The tip was covered in blood.

A large knight in black armor grasped the end of the sword which left Mary's front side. The cruel figure twisted the sword sideways and ripped it from Mary's side. While the blade may have entered straightforward, his next action was meant to rip the body apart as it left.

Mary's lifeless body crumbled in the place she had once stood and fell. As she fell, I too landed from jumping into the clearing. Although still 15 to 20 meters away, I had seen everything clearly. The sight shocked me and rather than land normally, I lost my balance and tumbled before regaining my composure and rolling to my feet.

The knight took a step towards Devin.

Devin was sitting there almost lifeless. He didn't shake in fear, he didn't glare in anger. It was as if his entire being had left his body and the empty shell that had once been Devin was now simply sitting there.

If I didn't do something, anything, he would arrive at the same fate as Mary. Even if I didn't deal any damage, I needed to grab the wraith's attention. I raised my arm and threw my sword towards the wraith.

I fucked up. I wasn't holding my sword. No, I had been guiding skeletons to the clearing using Nile River water. An item which was rumored to amplify the power of the dead and spelled certain doom when used incorrectly.

The wraith began thrusting its sword. And just before hitting Devin's chest, the wraith stopped. It looked up at the drenched torch I had thrown, which had now almost reached him. It reached a hand up and grabbed the torch. The skeletons, which had run past me and ran towards the wraith, continued to charge at the water.

Whether they were intent on attacking the wraith to gain the Nile River water, or whether they would secede the water to a stronger being didn't matter. Upon catching the torch, the wraith tossed it towards the 5 remaining skeletons. 

The five skeletons began clawing, kicking, and swinging their swords at each other while attempting to grab the torch. It only took 10 seconds for four piles of bones to clump on the ground, with one skeleton sat clutching the drenched torch.

I had taken these few seconds to grab my bag which contained the holy swords. I doubt I could use them multiple times, but they should still be better than my original swords as long as I had a new sword ready when the other one broke.

I took my two swords on my back and stuck them into the ground. I pulled two of the smaller short swords and put them in the sheath which had held my original swords. These swords looked similar to the swords I had been using, except the handles were a bright white color and the blades seemed almost gold. I then pulled a large great sword from the bag. I strung the bag to my belt and prepared myself. The great sword was similar to the two smaller swords, almost as if they were part of the same family. All the swords had been made with Seraph ingredients, so it made sense that they looked similar.

The hilts had thick white feathers tightly wrapped around instead of cloth where one might hold the sword. The blade had a gold hue, but there seemed to be a few charcoaled swirls that smeared through the blade. It was a failed experiment after all.

The skeleton clutched the water and it seemed to absorb into its bones. The drenched bones began turning black. Its figure began to grow taller. As the transformation occured, it stood up. A black fire seeped from the bones. The skeleton picked up the sword it had dropped to grasp the holy water. It turned to face me. 

In. Out. In. Out. I attempted to control my eratic breathing. 

The benefit of holy swords was that when they were embued with mana, they would be infused with a holy attribute, making them stronger against undead and other "evil" monsters.

However, swordsman generally struggled with using mana during fights. To be able to constantly channel your emotions into an object in the middle of a fight was actually quite difficult. Because of this, I prefered overcharging the objects with mana and releasing all of the power in one swing. 

Either swords weren't meant to be used this way, or the quality of my holy swords were severely lacking. On almost every practice swing, the ranged attack from overcharging the swords with magic released a powerful projectile slash, but also vaporized the swords. I had gotten tens of seraph carcases in an attempt to make these holy swords, each carcase almost costing me my life as the monsters were determined to not hand over their lifeless bodies. 

My life wasn't something I would throw away for my hobbies, so not being able to reap the reward of my life being at risk was dissatisying to say the least. 

Its also true that I hadn't been able to use them in real combat... mostly because they didn't last past the practice swings. The only reason I had seven in my bag was because I had yet to test them. 

If a sword happened to be strong, perhaps I could make a deal with them. I'll need to destroy the new wraith that formed with overwelming power if I wanted them to take a deal seriously.