AUTHOR'S REINCARNATION IN A FANTASY SETTING

I moved carefully, not intending to catch the attention of the man. Though I'm sure he wouldn't have noticed me even if I was a bit hasty—I mean, that guy didn't flinch when the whole outside was burning and his men were screaming.

I stepped inside carefully as I raised the sword. Just to be sure, I scanned the tent's inside and searched for something I could use, but…there was nothing that could be used as a weapon.

As I thought, I had no way but to attack him directly with the sword. It was a dangerous way, to an extent that I could die if the guy noticed my presence and countered. If he was up against me in a fair fight, there's no chance of me surviving.

The man was thrice my height, only a jab from him would be enough to knock me unconscious. That's why I had to be careful.

I narrowed my eyes and looked for an opening as I sneaked my way behind the man's back. He was certainly enjoying himself, otherwise he would've sensed my presence, since at that time I didn't even know how to mask it.

Moving like a wild animal in hiding about to hunt its prey, I was finally directly behind the man and only feet away from him. I raised my hips and the sword as well, casting my shadow over the man.

Roe saw me as I was technically standing at an angle, she could see me easily. Her eyes widened, this time it looked like she recognized me, unlike the time in the cage when she did not even acknowledge my presence.

I shook my head slightly, trying to tell her not to do anything that might make the man suspicious.

She seemed to understand it, as she looked away from me and focused her eyes on the bastard that was pounding her like an animal. I nodded, though it was a nod meant for myself, probably.

I cleared my mind and for that moment everything slowed, time itself seemed to have stopped. Everything except the man's neck drowned in shadows. My target was all that mattered.

I pressed my feet against the ground and prepared to launch myself forward and then slit the bastard's neck from behind. Be that as it may, fate has something else in stock for me.

Before I could even take a step forward the cloth wall on the right side of the tent flickered so hard that the poles which kept the tent on the ground came out and before long the roof above our head—or rather the whole tent—was blown away in the sky.

I saw an insanely bright flash of light from the corner of my right eye, and perhaps it was because I was the only one who knew what was coming that I was the first one to act.

My hands were moving on their own and the sword was already halfway in its path before me actively slashing it.

The blade met its mark when the knight was distracted by the sudden shower of fire, and perhaps it was because of the sharpness of the sword, or the strength I'd put into it since my life depended on this attack.

No matter the reason, the sword slit through the man's neck smoothly. Going all the way in from one side, cutting through the insides, and coming out from the other side. A moment later, his head fell off, and the large body slumped to the ground.

I leaped forward and landed behind it, instantly afterward I grabbed hold of Roe's arm and pulled her close, and hugged her tightly as we got to cover before the man's huge, headless body.

A wave of heat hit us and sent the remaining things on the ground flying into the sky, and a cloud of dust formed in front of us. A similar barrel of alcohol that was in the tent rolled down forward and exploded as it was blown away along with everything else.

I covered Roe with my body to make sure the explosion would harm her as little as possible, although I knew we would not make it out unscathed from what was incoming.

Closing my eyes, I hugged Roe tightly, she clenched my arm with both her hands and I could feel how much she was trembling. I braced myself for the final time.

A roar was heard, so loud and sharp that it pierced my ears and made my heart throb faster and skip a beat. The ground rumbled, and we were surrounded by a bright golden embrace of nothing but pure fire.

It hit from behind, a tornado of fire, a breath of fire, a dragon's breath, a klauth's.

Even though we were covered by the man's big and rigid body that stood behind us like a boulder, it did not make things any easier. The fire was still as hot, but I did not flinch and held Roe close to me while the fire flowered from above my head and around my arms.

It was hot and painful. Though I did not have a choice, I had to make it out of this alive. Roe started crying, but her screams were trampled by the flap of a klauth's wings as it flew past us, raging a storm of fire behind.

My eyes wandered and scanned the surrounding area…we were surrounded. There was no way out of this. The only way to get out of here was to walk straight into the walls of fire, and that would mean death, not a reasonable option.

Despair was starting to creep over me as I thought this was where I was going to die, that I would not be able to kill the kings and avenge my parents and my village.

Things eased a bit when I saw the same klauth flying back toward us. At first, I thought we were done for, but then I realized the only thing that was left for me to do. It was a bad idea, a desperate last choice, and the chances of success were very low.

The main breath of fire had died down, and the flames were no longer above our heads, so I held Roe in one hand and the sword in the other as I rose to my feet.

I looked at the incoming klauth while breathing with my mouth, as I was desperate for air and was sweating badly. My fourteen-year body was already tired by that point, but I was pushing.

It was only due to the adrenaline going wild in my body that I was not feeling the pain and exhaustion that would've been over my head otherwise.

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

Roe looked up at me, which was somewhat understandable since I was holding her by her waist and she was hanging in midair. Her eyes were wet with tears and her face was red from all the crying and the heat.

There were no clothes on her, as the man had probably torn them off, so there was no chance of her slipping from my grip.

I looked back into her eyes. "I want you to trust me on this. I promise I'll get us out of here, alive," I said.

She didn't reply at first, so I repeated. "Can I get your trust? Can you believe in me with your life?"

There was no reply this time either, but she gave a small nod, a small wave of relief came before it was wiped out by the pressure I had upon myself now.

"Hold me as tightly as you could," I said, and a moment later she wrapped her arms around my shoulders as I helped her climb on my back. After she was settled, I held the sword with both my hands and waited for the klauth.

It was turning and coming back toward us, and as it came it was getting closer to the ground, probably because it wanted to burn the land. It's good, that is exactly what I wanted.

The klauth came closer and closer, its speed was so great that by now I was second-guessing my decision. But there was no other option. Hence, I braced my legs and scanned the area in front of me.

There was enough space for me to run a bit. Now I just had to wait.