Loopbreaker

“Just stay back,” Francis said for the tenth time. “Do not follow me, understand?”

Every warrior nearest to him seemed confused. They blinked constantly, many of them struggling to move, only pressed forward by the wall of troops behind. Further along the line of warriors, Francis could see grown men and others closer to his age urinating themselves as they gazed across the open grass at the large bull-kins that roared. Francis’ presence had calmed a few of those near him, but most were shaking in their armor.

“But… there’s… so many,” one said, his voice trembling with every word.

“There are,” Francis shouted. “But I’m going to help lower their numbers. Just stay in line and practice what you were taught. I’ll do what I can to thin out their ranks.”

“Why… why rush to your death?” another called out.

Francis turned and stared at the men, who realized their perilous position. Their eyes showed the fear each of them had. Turning meant dying to their allies. Going forward meant their families would earn something for their sacrifice and, hopefully, live if this foe was defeated.

“Death comes to all of us,” Francis shouted. “I don’t fear it because I know that what I am doing means others will get a chance to live!”

He pointed his finger toward the back of the human army.

“My brother is back there. He is like you. No one but me believes he is special. I do this so he can live,” Francis roared, pounding his chest. “My love for him is what has led me to stand here before you all today. Focus on who you love and hold it tight. Let that be the fire which burns in your chest, pushing away the fear that threatens to crush you.”

A few cheers came and then more as Francis drew his sword and waved it.

“Wait for the orders of the King to attack! My time has come!”

Francis turned, jogging toward the enemy, as a small group of men started a cheer that spread across their side of the battlefield.

It warmed his own heart while also filling him with a sense of purpose.

Before Francis, the line of beasts stretched in both directions, fading off near the forest's edges.

His approach sparked a few roars, and Francis shouted back at them, waving his sword before banging his shield.

Soon, he was only about a hundred yards away, and Francis saw a shape pushing through the first two lines. A bull-kin, a few feet taller, wearing leather armor of some kind. It slammed the club it carried in each hand into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust, while mooing, it mooed at Francis.

Laughing, Francis sprinted forward, watching his new opponent do the same. The beast had a weird gallop, but bull-kin picked up speed with each stride. In seconds, Francis and the bull-kin clashed, and he didn’t hold back.

The beast swung the man-sized club in its left hand at him, and Francis darted to the right, avoiding the blow and hacked at its knee.

[ Power Strike ]

The joint was severed as his blade tore through it all: armor, hide, flesh, and bone, severing the leg and sending the beast toppling to the soil.

The bull-kin rolled, wooden weapons bouncing along the dirt as it tried to react and get up but it was too late. Francis was the predator, moving with the speed his improved Agility gave him, lunging toward the fallen creature. Francis swung for the arm that was trying to steady the beast.

[ Power Strike ]

Once again, his new sword, combined with his power and strength, was too much for this bull-kin. With an arm missing right above the elbow and half a leg gone, it fell snout-first into the ground.

Francis’ blade thrust forward. He focused on the things Lucan had taught him.

None of the attacks he sent were as strong as they could be, but Francis repeatedly pierced the creature's side and neck as quickly as possible.

Blood ran into the soil, and the bull-kin attempts to stop Francis’ attacks were futile.

Less than a minute after the fight had started, the bull-kin breathed its last breath, and Francis wiped the blade on its armor, turning to face the horde before him.

He roared, shouting at them, and banged his shield again.

The men he had left behind cheered. A flood of power washed over him, making his skin tingle with excitement.

Some of the beasts answered his challenge. Francis didn’t wait to see what might come next, claiming a chance to fight him.

Like an arrow, Francis shot forward, reaching the standing line of bull-kin, hacking and chopping off legs and outstretched arms.

They weren’t exceptionally fast but the blows Francis deflected and parried left no doubt he didn’t want to get into an extended brawling fight with them.

Dozens of bull-kin lay on the ground, mooing and crying out, unable to stand from the injuries he had inflicted.

More beasts came at him and Francis howled like a crazy person.

Stenson was right! I needed this!

Francis focused on fast attacks, trying to strike and injure, rather than looking to kill, but just main. He used Power Strike only when he had to, clearing a space from the horde that pressed against him. Minutes passed and the cacophony of mooing sounded like the greatest song Francis had ever created.

Wolf-kin and cat-kin suddenly appeared before him, Francis’ charged had pushed deep enough into through the first lines of the beasts that no more bull-kin came at him.

A message popped up and Francis smiled.

[ Swordsmanship Increased - 54 ]

It had been a while since Francis had earned a point, and he would gladly take it. Each swing of his sword, every thrust was a chance to get stronger.

The beasts weren’t a match for him now, even as they pressed upon him, surrounding him. Claws did nothing but draw small cuts when they pierced the armor Francis wore. Any beast that lunged forward with their jaws open, hoping to take a bite, pulled away, missing their head.

Animal parts littered the ground as Francis shouted and laughed. Lucan’s instructions were the only things on his mind.

Be fast… Be faster!

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Francis’ sword glinted in the morning light, sending blood with every strike. He stuck to his plan, not going for kills unless it was required. All Francis needed to do was train and work out the frustration inside.

The ground shook and a roar came from the kingdom's army.

Beastkin began ignoring him, moving forward, headed toward the rushing army.

Those who got too close to Francis quickly found themselves out of the fight.

Movement came from the corner of his vision, and Francis spun, his shield deflecting the blades sent his way. Two roars sounded and he paused, seeing a pair of female catkin approaching him.

Each seemed taller than the one he remembered and for a moment, Francis hesitated, dodging, blocking and parrying the daggers they both sent. As one of the female cat-kins began to split, working to surround him on two sides.

That’s new…

Getting attacked on two sides by beasts like these wasn’t a good idea, so Francis feinted right and went left–using the horde of standard cat-kins and wolf-kins, trying to stay out of this fight–shields and victims. Every dagger that they threw at Francis was avoided or blocked, and the one he had charged seemed to realize Francis was stronger than it had expected.

Her attempts at fleeing failed, and even when she roared–a few of the beastkin near her tried to assist her escape–all fell to his sword. Francis ran her down and took off her head, ending the beast's life in a single strike.

Francis spun, searching for the other one, spotting it running away, vanishing into the horde of beastkin.

Roaring, Francis turned his frustration upon all the beasts near him, continuing his slaughter of creatures until a roar he recognized sounded. Once again, the mass of fur shifted away from him and a rhino-kin appeared.

Francis sighed, seeing that the creature was similar to the one he had killed so many times.

Motioning at the beast with his weapon, Francis waited for it to charge, wanting to try a different style this time.

The rhino-kin’s horn ground against his shield as Francis blocked the attack, shifting his weight and absorbing the blow.

[ Shield Increased - 40 ]

Ignoring that notification, Francis went to work, his sword darting forward, creating puncture wounds as the rhino-kin turned and stood.

Francis dodged each swing of its leathery hand, lashing out and adding another injury to the creature.

Minutes passed and the beast began to slow, its front half and side riddled with hundreds of cuts.

The last few attacks the rhino-kin attempted held no power and no speed. Like a drunk swaying in the street as they walked, the rhino-kin staggered until its body finally gave out and it fell.

The beast was still alive, its chest rising and falling. Francis howled as he thrust his sword into the glossy eye that stared at him.

One last shiver came before it lay still and Francis turned, roaring at the army before him.

He realized there was a wider circle than usual around him and as soon as his opponent was dead, the roar, the one he would never forget, came from deep in the army.

Multiple other roars seemed to echo down through the beasts from different directions and Francis glanced around, realizing he had moved deeper than he had expected. Most of this army hadn’t moved out. If he had to guess by the spells he occasionally saw striking in the beastkin forces, they had yet to advance to the point of the seventh line of attackers his brother and he had been part of.

Laughing, he shouted, looking for what was to come. A few more moments passed before another beast came forward, one he had never faced.

The snake rose as it slithered toward him, and he froze.

Not from fear but from how it looked.

It stood easily nine feet tall, even when upon its tail and lower section, it had a thick upper body with muscles and arms Derrek would envy, covered in iridescent scales that changed colors. Two eyes, which were pitch black yet spoke of intelligence, stared at him as a tongue forked out from the elongated mouth, two large fangs protruding from the top. Its hands clenched and unclenched, and its clawed fingers seemed ready to gut him.

And then Francis almost crapped himself.

“Who dares challenge me?” it asked.

Its voice sounded exactly like he imagined what a snake that could talk would, and Francis tried not to laugh as the thought ran through his brain that this wasn’t some joke.

“You can talk!” Francis exclaimed.

“Of course! Now then, tell me your name so I can write it under the place where your head will rest!”

Shaking the trophy the beast hoped to collect, Francis smiled, twirling his sword before pointing it at the creature.

“Not going to happen,” Francis said. He didn’t waste any more words, not wanting to risk getting attacked by another beast or having someone in the king’s army decide this was a good place to send a spell.

Running toward it, Francis saw it slither to the side, raising both hands, each of them glowing.

Oh crap!

He sensed magic coming at him, but it was a kind he had never felt before. It was different from the ones the kingdom's mages or healers used. It felt and seemed… raw.

Instead of an actual thread, it was more like a solid stream of pure power, like someone had shot a geyser of green liquid at him. Both the physical form of the spell as well as the stream of power raced toward Francis.

Holding his shield out, Francis tried to block as much of the murky green substance as possible. At the same time, Francis willed his body to fight against the magic.

A hot, wet, sticky liquid sprayed off his shield, seeping in through his armor, and immediately began to burn.

[ Poison Resistance Failed ]

[ Poison Resistance Failed ]

[ Poison Resistance Increased - 15 ]

[ Magic Resistance increased - 13 ]

Multiple notifications flashed in the corner of his vision past those, but Francis ignored them, hearing a cry come from the lizard as the flow of whatever spell it had been casting halted.

[ Magic Feedback Increased - 3 ]

Francis didn’t waste the opening; his body already resisting his desire to move. His muscles ached, and whatever kind of poison it was didn’t just cause them to stop working but also dissolve them.

The creature recovered as Francis swung, something white flashing from clawed fingers. His sword, instead of finding scales, struck a magical barrier that illuminated with each attack.

Over and over Francis swung his sword, thrusting and probing for a weak spot. He could sense how his body was already slowing down.

The pain was bearable as Pain Resistance mitigated so much of it, yet whatever kind of spell the snake had used for the initial attack, Francis knew time was his greatest enemy.

[ Deaths Dance Activated ]

Power began to surge within Francis, and he held back from showing it, not wanting to display it as the snake seemed to be smiling. Its fangs dripped a green liquid as it weaved around him, avoiding Francis’ weak strikes while sending out slashing attacks with its claws.

Francis’ sword kept striking the barrier the beast had summoned with its left arm, but it was unable to break or shatter it. Brute force wasn’t working, and he needed to save his skill until the right time, waiting for the final moments of Deaths Dance. Francis knew this fight would be the first of many against this creature and he wanted to find out what might work for future loops.

He thrust upward, downward, and at the snake's side. Every time Francis attacked, the snake moved its hand, the magical shield stopping his strike.

Power continued to swell within and Francis knew he was reaching the last third of his lifeforce. While he never knew how much damage he could truly sustain, being tortured by his sister had given him a good reference point for when Oidrun had called for heals.

The snake seemed to be purring as it hissed, and Francis pounced when its guard appeared to be down.

After blocking it blocked an attack, Francis drove his shield upward and forward, using all the strength his ability granted as death drew near.

[ Power Strike ]

At the same time, Francis thrust downward, trying to get past the barrier, willing himself to be faster. The magical barrier shimmered as the creature blocked his sword, but it took his shield bash to its chest.

Scales shattered upon impact, and green liquid oozed from the wound.

Francis had shown his trump card, and those black eyes widened, its right fingers starting to glow again.

Roaring, Francis repeated the same thing, slamming his shield forward again, thrusting with his sword.

[ Power Strike ]

This time, the beast blocked Francis’ shield with its barrier and a loud crack came as the magical protection seemed to flicker. Francis’ sword struck true, impaling the snake in part of its lower body, sinking a few inches before the creature twisted away.

[ New Skill - Quick Attack - 1 ]

Francis wanted to laugh, and yet he couldn’t.

Another blast of the green liquid erupted from the snake's right hand and Francis didn’t have the health to survive it. His combination attack had left his shield out of position, yet even with death just seconds away, Francis pushed with everything in his being.

He knew why he was doing this. Francis was absolutely certain Stenson knew a moment like this would come. Not necessarily against this snake creature, but that Francis would be forced to accept death. Both Francis and the general knew he would go down fighting with everything he had.

Before Francis took the magical blast of green liquid to his face, he growled. “I’m going to kill you.”

[ Power Strike ]

[ Quick Attack ]

Francis’ blade darted down and then came upward as the snake moved its fingers to deflect his attack. Somehow, the skill allowed Francis to change everything about the attack, shifting his hips, torso, and arm. It wasn’t just a simple feint, but a true transformation of Francis’ entire being and approach.

The blade drove deep into the snake's chest, sliding between scales and sinking halfway in.

Both of them screamed before Francis’ world went dark.