Chapter4

He charged and the deer lowered its head, meeting him halfway, its antlers aimed at his chest. He dove left at the last second, the tip of one antler catching his shoulder and ripping through muscles, making his whole arm go numb.

He ignored it, rolled, and came up behind the deer, swinging at the back of its leg. The sword bit into flesh, hitting bone with a jolt that traveled up his wrist.

The deer screamed and kicked sideways, the hoof connecting with his ribs on the broken side. He felt something crack for real this time, pain whiting out his vision for a second while he stumbled back and spat another mouthful of blood.

'Well, that was stupid,' he thought, gripping the sword with both hands because his left arm couldn't hold weight anymore, 'can't trade hits with a two-Shard after all.'

The deer turned and opened its mouth, the jaw stretching wider than it should as the roar built in its throat.

He didn't waste time thinking, he took that chance and ran straight at the deer.

The roar hit him in the chest and he felt his skin ripple, followed by something in his ears popping but that did not stop him.

He got closer and shoved his sword into its open mouth, driving it up through the roof of the jaw with both hands and all his weight, the blade punching through into the skull with a wet crunch.

Its roar cut off into a gargle that made it thrash in pain, slamming its antlers into his side and throwing him off, the sword ripping free from his hands but staying lodged in its head.

He hit the ground on his back and lay there, watching the deer stagger in a circle, its legs buckling while blood poured from its mouth and nostrils. The Shards on its antlers flickered and went dark one by one.

After a few minutes, It collapsed sideways with a heavy thud and didn't move.

He stared at it for a long time, breathing in shallow gasps because his ribs wouldn't let him do anything else, while blood ran from his shoulder, his ears, and somewhere on his side he couldn't see.

Then he started laughing, coming out broken and wet, each laugh rattling his ribs and making him cough but he couldn't stop because it was too absurd that he actually killed a two-Shard monster.