The first of the monstrosities leaped at him, all 6 of its beastly, muscular arms extended towards him with deadly sharp claws. Its human face was contorted into a hideous sneer, drool flying out of its mouth.

In one fluid motion, Davis unsheathed and swung, the silvery metal cutting through its tough hide and body with ease. Davis knew how strong that hide was, seeing how the entirety of the original caravan that stayed was dead, their weapons all shattered against the monster’s hide.

The remains fell with a wet splatter, the slick black blood creating puddles around his feet. 

A warm feeling spread from his hands to his core, and from there, scattered throughout his entire body. It felt like taking a warm bath, the tiredness from running gone in an instant.

A cacophony of growls rang, as the monstrosities decided their next move. Davis didn’t know if these things were even sentient, but based on the fact that they hadn’t attacked him yet after he slew one with ease, they were at least aware. 

“Fine,” Davis smirked. It was time to pay back what they had done to him and his comrades. “THIS IS FOR LEWIS!” He roared, as he charged towards the nearest monstrosity, the soulcraft glinting a murderous silver.

As expected, they all scattered as he approached, hundreds of eyes watching his every move, analyzing the perfect moment to strike. All but one, which he caught before it could escape.

With a swift twist of his body and a swing of the sword, Davis freed its hideous head from its equally hideous body. Black blood dyed the nearby bushes a violent shade of violet. 

‘What a pretty name for such a horrendous creature…’ 

Davis’s instincts flashed, as he instantly dodged sideways, bringing his blade forward, bisecting a Lilliac midair. Both halves of its body splattered with a disgusting sound, as the Scrolls informed him of another one killed.

‘That was close!’ Davis shuddered. If he had been any slower, those claws would have gutted him.

More growls emerged from the shrubbery. It seems that the Lilliacs have stopped analyzing him, with multiple stepping out of their hiding places, seemingly melding out of the shadows.

‘Wait, shadows?’ A sudden chill ran down his spine, as he spun around, using the momentum to also swing his sword. He felt the blade make contact with a Lilliac, as more black, oily blood splattered on his body.

‘Fuck.’ He cursed. These things can use shadows as gateways to attack him. Immediately, he swung wildly, cutting down as many trees as possible. It was high noon, and with it, the sun was at its highest, and shadows, at their lowest. 

Davis immediately ran for the clearing, where a small gap of sunlight pierced through the thick canopy of trees. He would be safe here.

Eyeing each of the Lilliacs as they edged forward, he held his blade out, waiting for the perfect time to strike. He was not without abilities either, otherwise, he would’ve been dead in the initial ambush.

If only his original sword hadn’t carelessly broken against the Lilliac’s hide, maybe he would be faring just a little bit better.

‘2 Seconds.’ He eyed the closest Lilliac. 

‘1 Second.’ The Lilliac was just out of reach…

‘Now!’ Placing both hands on the sword, he dumped all his strength into the swing, feeling the warm flow of mana flowing into his sword, fulfilling the criteria needed to activate his skill.

A thick current of condensed mana tore through the air, and in an instant, found its mark. An entire area of the jungle was devastated, with blood and wood scattered across the jungle floor.

Not even bothering to read the notifications the Scroll gave him, he spun around and sliced through the jugular of another Lilliac, leaving it bleeding out on the floor. Too bad he couldn’t perform the same [Sword Slash] skill as before… his core simply wasn’t strong enough to take any more than 1.

Guess that’s how it was being born weak…

Side-stepping another Lilliac pounce, he ruthlessly slashed down, bisecting it and allowing its onyx guts to spill out onto the forest floor. A flood of warm essence flowed into his body, making him involuntary moan.

His momentary lapse, however, cost him dearly as he dodged a condensed energy blade much too late. The tip of the energy blade dug into his nondominant arm, leaving the glistening white bone peeking through.

“ARGH-” Davis cursed, as he stumbled. Surprisingly, however, it didn't hurt that bad… Perhaps it was due to him having experienced torturous hell merely minutes before, but this injury paled in comparison.

Davis glared hatefully at the Lilliacs. Using his remaining arm to hold the blade steady, he willed the mana within his body to flow to his arm, and then from his arm into his blade.

An ethereal blue flame emerged from the silvery blade, the edges of the flame flickering in and out of existence.

“DIE!” He shouted as he ran towards the closest Lilliacs. Condensing parts of his mana into his legs and soles, his jump was propelled forward. Before the Lilliac even knew it, it was dead, having been cleanly split down its chest. 

The flow of hot energy reinvigorated Davis, as he leaped from Lilliac to Lilliac, slicing each as effortlessly as cleaving through butter with a hot knife. 

All of the Lilliacs, although each a solo predator, seemed to come to a common understanding. Attacking solo would only result in death, so it was better to all gang up on him. All around Davis, the forest exploded with fierce growls, energy blades, and flurries of sharp claws. 

Davis however, had already entered a trance-like state. Every time he swung, a Lilliac fell dead to the ground. Every kill reinvigorated his body, replenishing his mana, soothing his tired muscles, and honing his instincts. His slaughter was more akin to a very deadly, albeit beautiful, dance of death. He dodged and weaved, swung and parried, side-stepped and jumped, it was all coming to him naturally. 

Before long, more than 50 Lilliacs were dead on the jungle floor, a hideous massacre had unfolded here. The remaining hesitated, as they all disappeared into the gloom. The ground was slick with black blood and Lilliac’s onyx guts and pieces. Davis himself was wet from head to toe, soaked in the foul liquid.

“I…” Davis murmured, staring up at the sun. Barely 15 minutes had passed. “I did it…”

He looked down at his hands, the beautiful silver blade glistened in the midday sun, with not even a drop of charcoal blood sullying its beautiful form. 

“I really did it…” Still in shock, Davis was shortly interrupted by the Scrolls. 

“YES!” Davis roared, overwhelmed with joy. Not even looking at the blue scrolls, he fell on his knees, uncaring of the Jet-black blood beneath his feet. He did it. He survived. He finally got revenge for his comrades. Wet hot tears streamed down his face, washing away the charcoal blood to reveal his tanned skin beneath. “Lewis! Anna! Jack! I HAVE AVENGED YOU!”

He slammed his fists to the ground, now overwhelmed with emotion. Davis had bottled up his feelings ever since the ambush and was in no shape to unleash them. Now that he had killed the things that slain his comrades, he was finally free to break down and cry.

And he did cry. For a full hour, he had done nothing but wet the Jungle floor with his warm, hot tears.

…

Shyberu

I think I did ok with providing the basis of Masamune's powers from now one. Although different contractors will have different terms, this should be the general terms that each will need to abide by. However, as Masamune gets more intelligent, she will be able to set her own terms and conditions, which means that this is really only good until then.

Also, why Lilliac? I dunno. First name that popped to mind. Shrugs