The distance between them vanished.
I stepped in first.
Not away.
Never away.
The hobgoblin's arm moved the moment I entered its range, a heavy swing aimed to crush rather than cut.
Too wide.
Too confident.
I slipped inside it.
Close enough to feel the air shift as it passed behind me.
My blade… what remained of it… rose.
Then struck.
The edge bit into its side.
Shallow.
Not enough.
It reacted instantly.
Faster than before.
Its hand came down…
I moved back…
Too slow.
The impact struck my shoulder again.
Heavier this time.
The world tilted.
My footing broke.
I staggered, barely catching myself before falling.
Pain spread through my arm, dull and heavy, refusing to fade.
…This wasn't working.
The hobgoblin didn't rush.
It stepped forward slowly.
Watching.
Certain.
It knew.
The broken blade in my hand.
My slower movements.
The way my breathing had changed.
It had already decided the outcome.
"...Not yet."
I steadied myself.
Adjusting my grip on whats left of the sword.
Lowered my stance.
The sword felt wrong now.
Too short.
Too limited.
But it was all I had.
The hobgoblin moved again.
Faster.
Its strike from above this time.
A downward smash meant to end it.
I raised the blade…
Then stopped.
No.
I stepped forward instead.
Inside.
The ground cracked behind me as its attack landed.
Too slow to adjust.
Too committed.
My blade moved.
A clean cut across it inner arm.
Deeper this time.
The reaction was immediate.
A growl… low, sharp.
Anger.
Good.
It swung again.
Wild.
Heavy.
I moved around it.
Not faster.
Not stronger.
Closer.
The broken blade struck again.
Back of the knee.
It staggered.
Just slightly.
Not enough.
Its hand shot out…
I twisted…
Fingers grazed my collar.
Missed.
Too close.
My breathing grew heavier.
Each movement took more now.
More than before.
My body was reaching it limit.
And it wasn't enough.
The hobgoblin saw it.
It pressed forward.
Relentless now.
Strike after strike,
No rhythm.
No pause.
I blocked one.
The force numbed my arm.
Dodged the next.
Barely.
The third…
Too slow.
The impact sent me back.
This time, I hit the ground.
The air left my lungs.
My vision blurred.
For a moment…
I couldn't move.
The hobgoblin approached.
Slow.
Certain.
Each step deliberate.
Heavy.
Final.
I stood there.
Like waiting for judgment to be passed down upon me.
'So this was it.'
My grip tightened slightly around the broken blade.
'...Not yet.'
I forced myself to move.
Unsteady.
But dodging.
The world felt… distant.
The sounds dulled.
The weight of my body…
I saw it.
Not the movement.
Not the strike.
The moment before it.
The shift in its weight.
The tension in its weight.
The tension in its muscles.
The direction it would move…
Before it moved.
My body reacted.
I stepped aside.
Clean.
Effortless.
The attack missed completely.
No strain.
No force.
Just…
Movement.
My blade rose.
And fell.
It cut deeper.
Far deeper than before.
The hobgoblin froze for a moment.
Not understanding.
Neither did I.
It attacked again.
And again…
I moved.
Each step precise.
Each motion exact.
Not faster.
Just…
Right.
The space between its attack widened.
Openings appeared where there were none before.
Or maybe…
They had always been there.
I just couldn't see them.
Until now.
The next strike came.
Heavy.
Committed.
I stepped in.
Closer than before.
The blade cut across the back of its leg.
Deep.
This time…
It dropped.
One knee hitting the ground.
A sound escaped it.
Not anger.
Not rage.
Something closer to panic.
I didn't stop.
I moved forward.
No hesitation.
The broken blade drove upward…
Through its through.
Clean.
Final.
The hobgoblin's body tensed.
Then stilled.
Silence returned.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I pulled the broken blade free.
The body collapsed.
Heavy.
Lifeless.
I stood there for a moment.
Breathing.
In.
Out.
My grip loosened slightly.
Then tightened again.
The feeling faded.
The weight returned.
The pain.
The exhaustion.
Everything came back.
"...What was that…"
I looked at the broken at the broken blade in my hand.
At the edge.
At the faint traces of blood along it.
Nothing had changed.
And yet…
It had.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Recalling it.
That moment.
The movement.
The ease.
Then opened them again.
"...For a moment, it felt… effortless."