"This time," Richard muttered, raising the daggers.
As he charged, he smirked, "I'm living long enough to enjoy a peaceful life."
A wolf-like creature broke from the approaching horde and lunged toward him.
The beast was massive—easily taller than Richard's chest, its six glowing blue eyes fixed on him. Its horned skull lowered as it rushed forward, claws tearing through the mud.
Richard braced himself.
The beast leapt.
Richard blinked, "…Huh?"
It felt slow.
The beast's jaws opened wide, fangs glistening with translucent saliva, but the motion felt dragged out, like watching a video at seventy-five percent speed.
Slow, but not ridiculously slow.
Richard stepped sideways.
The bite snapped shut on empty air.
He stared at it.
The wolf turned again, snarling, muscles bunching for another attack, and lunged again.
Richard leaned back casually, and the teeth missed him by a few inches.
The beast landed awkwardly and skidded in the mud.
Richard frowned.
"…Wait."
The wolf charged again.
Richard sidestepped again.
Mud splashed.
The creature turned, confused, six eyes blinking rapidly.
Richard slowly looked around.
The battlefield looked… wrong.
The orc's axe swing crawled through the air like a pendulum. Even falling embers from the phoenix drifted down like lazy snowflakes.
Richard blinked again.
"…Wait a second."
He looked back at the wolf.
"Does this mean…" he murmured.
The beast lunged again.
Richard casually stepped to the side.
"…I'm fast?"
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Oh. I am really fast. Not as fast as the flash, but still fast."
His shoulders relaxed slightly as old instincts surfaced.
Years of military training settled into place like dust shaken off a shelf.
"Alright then. Time for a warm-up," he said quietly.
The wolf charged again.
This time, Richard moved forward.
His first slash cut across the beast's thick hide.
"First," he muttered, almost automatically. "Find the opponent's weakness."
The blade sliced through fur and skin. Not deep, but enough.
Bright blue blood spilled across the mud.
The wolf roared and snapped its jaws at him.
Richard stepped back lightly.
"Second."
He circled the beast, watching its movement carefully.
"Immobilize the target."
When the wolf lunged again, Richard stepped inside the attack and slashed downward.
His dagger cut into the beast's front leg.
The limb split open with a wet sound.
The wolf crashed into the mud, skidding several feet before scrambling upright again. One leg dragged uselessly as it staggered, roaring in fury.
Richard adjusted his grip on the daggers.
"Lastly," he said calmly.
The beast, blinded by rage, charged one final time.
Richard waited.
At the last second, he stepped aside.
Both daggers flashed.
One plunged into the creature's eye.
The other slid deep into its throat.
The wolf jerked violently, its massive body crashing against him. Its jaws snapped wildly, trying to take his head with it.
Richard reacted instantly.
He ripped the dagger out of the eye socket, ducked under the snapping jaws, and drove the blade into the other eye.
The beast howled.
Blind now, it thrashed wildly, biting the air and clawing the mud in random directions.
Richard quickly pulled both daggers free and retreated several steps.
The wolf staggered.
Snapped at nothing.
Turned in a confused circle.
Then its legs gave out.
The massive creature collapsed into the mud with a heavy thud, twitching once before going still.
Richard stood there breathing slowly.
Blue blood dripped from his daggers.
He looked down at the corpse.
Then around at the still-raging battlefield.
"…Huh," he said after a moment.
A small, awkward pause followed.
Then he scratched the side of his head with one dagger.
"…I think I just bullied a wolf."
Richard stared at the dead wolf for a moment. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. Blue blood seeped into the churned mud around the corpse.
In front of him, the battlefield stretched wide and loud.
More wolf-like beasts rushed toward the lines, their six glowing eyes flickering like lanterns. Their horns curved forward as they ran, claws tearing up the muddy ground.
Richard wiped one dagger against the beast's fur.
Then he looked at the horde.
And smiled.
"Alright," he muttered.
"Time to exterminate."
Mud splashed under his boots as he charged forward. Compared to the massive orcs and dwarves around him, Richard moved faster, slipping between larger bodies as they braced behind shields and axes.
A wolf lunged at him.
Richard twisted his body just enough to avoid the jaws and slashed across its throat while passing by. The creature stumbled behind him with a choking growl.
Another beast rushed from the side.
Richard reacted quickly, stepping aside and stabbing both daggers into its ribs. The blades sank deep before he yanked them free and shoved the creature away.
Blue blood sprayed across his sleeve.
"…Okay," he breathed.
He was smiling now.
His body felt lighter. His reactions were sharper than usual—not superhuman, but definitely better than before. Years of training finally slipped back into place.
Another wolf charged.
Richard ducked low, slid under its snapping jaws, and stabbed upward into its neck. The beast collapsed immediately.
He stood up again, breathing a little harder but clearly pleased.
"…Not bad."
For a moment, he forgot he had tried to kill himself an hour ago.
Another wolf ran toward him.
Richard stepped forward confidently.
"Come on then—"
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell across the ground.
Richard frowned and looked up.
Something huge was falling from the sky.
It spun wildly as it dropped, pieces of metal and splintered wood flashing in the sunlight.
"…Oh."
It was enormous.
A gigantic mechanical arm—the arm of the giant robot he had seen fighting earlier.
Before Richard could move—
A green blur slammed into him from the side.
"MOVE, HALF-BREED!"
The orc tackled him like a charging bull.
Richard felt the air explode out of his lungs as the massive body crashed into him. They rolled across the muddy ground together, armor scraping and mud splashing everywhere.
A second later—
BOOM.
The gigantic robotic arm slammed into the earth where Richard had been standing.
The ground shook violently. Mud sprayed into the air as the heavy limb buried itself halfway into the battlefield.
For a moment, everything rang in Richard's ears.
He lay flat on his back, staring at the bright sky.
"…I'm alive," he wheezed.
Then he realized something extremely heavy was still lying on top of him.
The orc slowly pushed himself up.
Richard felt like a horse had stepped on his chest.
"Ugh—"
He coughed and tried to breathe.
"Th-thanks…" he croaked weakly.
The orc glanced down at him with mild annoyance.
"You stand in stupid place," the orc grunted.
Richard gave a weak smile.
"Yeah… I noticed."
The orc grabbed Richard by the collar and hauled him upright like lifting a sack of grain.
Now standing again, Richard looked toward the impact site.
The massive robotic arm lay half-buried in the mud. Its metal fingers twitched slightly before finally going still.
The thing was easily the size of a small house.
Richard stared at it.
"…That almost made me very flat."
The orc snorted.
"Half-breed too confident."
Richard rubbed his sore ribs and winced.
"…Next time," he said carefully, "maybe save me a little softer."
The orc stared at him for a second.
Then gave a deep grunt that might have been laughter.
"Half-breed complains too much."