The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

Isaac and Johan left the clearing and quietly moved through the forest. The didn't run since they had to take care of the bagged-up puchella flowers, so it looked like they were taking a normal stroll through the woods.

However, neither of them could enjoy the picturesque scenery due to the wind, snow and constant threat of bears.

They'd got three quarters of the way out of the forest when Johan spotted a line bear wandering around.

"Come on, we'll kill it and make a little extra profit."

"No! Let's just finish the mission!"

It was too late since Johan had already pit down the flower bags and shot an icicle into the bear's neck. The bear's thick layer of fat and muscle stopped the shot from being fatal, but it was still bleeding a lot and was utterly enraged.

The bear growled loudly and charged in the direction the icicle had came from, heading directly towards Isaac and Johan.

Isaac immediately dropped his bags and fled: he'd used almost all of his Qi cutting down the trees and while the Qi in his core would naturally recover, the rate at which this happened was very slow. Even after half an hour of recovery, his core was only about 0.5% full right now.

That amount of Qi was enough to create a spirit sword and maintain it for... no time at all.

They had to try and stall for a couple of minutes until Isaac had enough Qi to use his sword for a few seconds and could use it to deal a decisive blow.

However, when Isaac looked back, he saw that Johan's icicles weren't very effective. The Ice Fragment Anima was specialised in long drawn-out battles since each shot didn't use much Qi and it could be used to wear down the opponent from distance. The downside of the Anima was that it didn't deal great damage.

Against a wolf, arctic fox, or even some wild beasts with weak defence, the Ice Fragment Anima had enough piercing power to kill with a few well-aimed shots. However, a bear was a terrible matchup since its thick fat and muscle stopped icicles penetrating very deep. There was almost no way for them to do fatal damage.

The bear was bleeding from several spots where it had been hit with an icicle, but they'd be long dead before the loss of blood affected it. In fact, it had nearly caught Johan already.

As the bear chased him, Johan quickly dodged behind a pine tree and the bear crashed into it. Johan started climbing the tree, but the bear quickly saw what he was doing and climbed after him at a much quicker pace.

Johan had to jump down from the tree and started running towards Isaac.

"Use your sword, I'll support you from behind!"

"I can't. I used all my Qi earlier."

"How much longer do you need?!"

"Just buy me a couple of minutes."

"Lend me your Anima and meditate while I hold it off!"

"Are you crazy? It's impossible to meditate here – and do you even know how to use a sword?!"

"Just lend it to me!"

Isaac controlled the Spirit Sword Anima to fly out of his right hand and towards Johan. Johan already had the Ice Fragment Anima in his left hand, so he had to try and wield the sword with his weak right hand.

Isaac felt Johan pour Qi into the Spirit Sword Anima, which was trying to resist. However, Isaac forced the Anima to accept Johan's Qi and activate. Suddenly, a translucent orange sword appeared in Johan's right hand, startling the bear which had climbed down from the tree.

Johan waved the sword aggressively, trying to show the bear he wasn't easy prey. The bear hesitated for a moment, but it was too enraged to back down now and it stood on its hind legs to give an angry cry.

The hulking figure of the bear standing over 2 metres tall was certainly intimidating, but it was also an opportunity for Johan. He raised his left arm and fired 3 icicles in quick succession, 2 aimed for the bear's exposed chest and the third flying towards its throat.

Bears were extremely powerful creatures: their swipes could fell trees and they ran with the momentum of a speeding carriage. However, the trade-off for that was slow reflexes.

Two of Johan's icicles pierced the bear's chest, causing blood to splatter and stain its shaggy brown fur while the third icicle was slightly off target, hitting the left part of the bear's neck instead of its throat.

Seeing that he was still unable to deal the bear a critical blow, Johan tried to throw the sword at it. However, the sword disappeared the moment it left his hand and Johan turned to look at Isaac in disbelief, as if to say 'What made you choose this useless Anima?'

Isaac raised his eyebrows calmly and nodded towards the bear which was preparing to charge again, indicating for Johan to focus on the battle.

Johan turned his gaze back to the bear and was startled to see it was only 15 metres away and closing that distance fast. Instead of getting caught like a rabbit in the headlights, Johan reacted with the speed you'd expect from a battle-hardened veteran cultivator.

He fired an icicle into the bear's forehead, making it roar in pain and giving him an opening to dodge the charge.

As he sidestepped right, he tried to create a spirit sword and slash at the bear's flank. However, he had just used his Qi to activate the Ice Fragment Anima in his left hand, so it took a moment to redirect his Qi to his right hand and activate the Spirit Sword Anima.

This caused quite a comical scene. Johan performed a downwards swing without any kind of sword in his hand. Then, when his arm was pointing downwards at the end of the slash, the sword finally appeared.

The hilt was created first, then the blade extended out of it, the top half getting stuck in the ground. However, the process was so quick that it seemed like the entire sword appeared at once with half of itself underground.

Johan pulled so hard on the sword that he almost fell over backwards when it came unstuck. Then he charged towards the bear which still had its back to him after the missed charge.

However, Isaac could see the bear's shoulder rotate as it prepared to turn and swing its massive paw.

"Duck!"

Isaac tried to warn Johan but it was too late. The bear turned and smacked Johan in the head, sending him flying.

Isaac didn't even need to look to know that Johan was dead, probably lying there with one side of his face caved in.

In fact, Isaac wouldn't have looked even if he was worried about Johan's survival. He had bigger problems right now, since the bear had turned to stare at him with its beady black eyes.

He immediately called his Spirit Sword Anima and it flew to him, entering his right hand. Anima were spirits, meaning physical attacks couldn't harm them; the Spirit Sword Anima would be fine even if the hand it dwelled in was crushed.

Right now, Isaac only had enough Qi to create a sword and maintain it for 5 or 6 seconds. He had to wait for the optimal moment to activate his Anima, since he wouldn't get a second chance.

The bear charged forwards for the umpteenth time. This thing had to have the stamina of a divine being, since it still wasn't tired after minutes of near-constant charging.

The bear got closer and closer. Just before it trampled Isaac, he grabbed the tree branch above his head and pulled himself up and over the charging bear.

He wouldn't rush up behind it and court death like Johan, so he waited for the bear to turn around. It began to approach, taking slow and purposeful steps with a hint of swagger, showing its unshakeable confidence in its ability to crush the little bug in front of it.

When it swung its front paw to do just that, there was an orange flash.

The bear was confused. It hadn't caused that flash, so where had it come from? And why was that insect still standing there? Shouldn't it have flown away like the other tiresome creature from before? Most importantly... why was it feeling pain in its right forelimb?

The bear roared in agony as it realised its paw had been cleanly chopped off. Blood was spouting from the wound like a broken hose, drenching Isaac as he stepped through the shower of blood towards the bear. He stepped to his left, to the side of the bear's missing forelimb, then brought his sword up.

The upwards swing he'd used to slice off the bear's paw linked smoothly into his next move. He raised his sword above his head with both hands. Then, like an executioner beheading a death row criminal, slashed ruthlessly towards the bear's neck.

Without any suspense, the bear's head fell to the snow with a thud. Then its lifeless body collapsed into a heap next to it. Those glassy eyes, still trying to comprehend the pain in its forelimb, would not close even in death.

For the first time, Isaac turned to look at his deceased companion with the slightest smidgen of regret.

However, that regret vanished when he saw Johan standing next to a tree, dusting himself off.