Chapter 1:

  One down, fifty-nine more to go.

  Shogai withdrew his fist from the gooey cavern he’d left in the Aberrant’s armour just in time to bash it into the skull of the second one. A familiar ache rocketed back through his arm. He took a glance at the village to make sure nothing got past him. It was a real risk. They always came from the west, and they always came in the dark.

  Sure enough, the field between him and the village was clear. No Aberrants; just the people of Nomun watching. Shogai could hear children crying and imagined what their parents must be saying. The same thing they always say: It’s okay. Shogai will protect us. And yet they still watched in fear, pressed against windows and holding their loved ones close. Because no matter how many times he won, it would only take one loss, and they’d be dead. A loss that had never happened before, which only made them more certain it was due.

  In his moment of distraction, the third Aberrant came at him from the left. He prepared to dodge, but just in time, an energy wall blocked it.

  “Watch yourself, Shogai!” Gary called out from the north as a second wall crushed the Aberrant. To the south, his younger sister Trianna lowered her hands.

  “You’re not doing much better yourself, Gary.” Trianna scoffed. The siblings held their positions, Gary to the North and Trianna to the South, about 100 metres apart, but their attention was on Shogai. “Is it time?”

  “Not yet,” Shogai responded, shaking the blood off his hands. “There are still stragglers. Get the walls up now. I’ll handle this.”

  Gary and Trianna both nodded and raised their hands. Each of them manifested an enormous wall stretching away from them, creating a corridor between. The majority of those grotesque, warped monsters were caught between the walls, their glowing eyes gazing at the obstacles, but not all of them were in position. Six were too close.

  It began as a walk. Then a jog. Then a sprint, as Shogai rushed head-first towards the Aberrants. Power surged through his legs as he took a running jump over the first monster, and then his fist began glowing red as he brought it down on its skull. A loud crack resonated through the battlefield, and the Aberrant collapsed to the floor, dead.

  The second Aberrant struck at him from behind, but Shogai was used to these tricks by now. He ducked and fired another punch into its chest. Two down, four to go. They didn’t respond to Shogai’s display of power and simply pursued him simultaneously.

  “SHOGAI! WE DON’T HAVE TIME!” He heard Trianna yell over the chaos. At a glance, he could see the issue. The army of Aberrants was smashing into the energy walls, and the siblings couldn’t hold it for much longer. Very well, then. He would end it now.

  Under normal circumstances, he would have dodged. That wasn’t an option here, as Shogai couldn’t afford to extend this battle any longer. Instead, he felt a surge of power rush through his foot as he kicked the ground. Cracks spread beneath him and the Aberrants, throwing them off balance. The one closest to him stumbled, and luckily, it was one with a tail. Shogai grabbed onto the tail and felt his arms strengthen. He yanked it around by the tail and used its own momentum to turn it into a 10-foot-long bat. He gritted his teeth as it came down over his head. With a final push and a loud impact, Shogai flattened the other three with the body of the first, killing them all instantly.

  He fell to one knee and exhaled as he heard cheers from the village. They had no idea how close that was. That thing was heavier than he had anticipated. One wrong move and he’d have been crushed. That minor victory was far too reckless and not worth celebrating. Especially because it wasn’t over yet. Gary and Trianna had seconds before collapsing, so he needed to kill the other 51 at once.

  “Shrink the walls.” He ordered them as he got to his feet. The two energy walls got closer together, forcing the Aberrants into what was almost a single-file line. Shogai raised his hands over his head and, with a loud clap, all 51 pairs of deformed eyes looked his way. A shiver went down his spine. He’d never get used to that.

  The siblings visibly relaxed as their barriers were no longer under attack. The Aberrants had no reason to fight against the barriers funnelling them forward. That was the direction they wanted to go. After a moment of silence, the ground rumbled as these horrifying monsters barrelled toward him. Some stomped on the ground with two legs, whereas a few had six or even more. Some were smaller than a human, getting crushed underneath the ones who stood twice as high as a horse.

  There were so many reasons Shogai wanted to vomit just looking at them. These creatures didn’t even know what they were supposed to be. But Shogai knew. They were supposed to be dead.

  Shogai dug his feet into the ground to stabilise himself as a massive amount of red energy engulfed his right fist. The Aberrant leading the charge was so big that it could barely fit through the corridor. An absolute giant that he could imagine the villagers cowering in fear of. Good. Perfect, even. That made it a great target. As soon as it got to the end of the energy walls, where Shogai was waiting for it, he swung his body towards the Aberrant. He felt his arm slice through the wind as the red energy lit up the surrounding night. He let out a yell as his fist connected with the Aberrant’s chest. The glow in the already lifeless eyes faded to nothingness, but Shogai wasn’t finished.

  With a grunt, he took a step forward in the same motion. His arm felt like it was about to snap, but he forced himself to push onward. Using all the force he could muster, the Aberrant was flung backwards into its allies like a large, ugly rocket. A horrible squelch echoed through the air as it flattened all fifty of its companions. Steam rose off Shogai’s fist as his breathing settled. He stared at his handiwork. The line of blood and corpses. Gary and Trianna both fell to the ground, breathing hard, as a line of cheers erupted from Nomun, far louder than before.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  That was the only sound in the night. No glowing eyes. No movement. Threat extinguished… for the third time this week.

  The celebrations eventually settled into quieter conversations around the campfire. Shogai sat near the flames, exhaustion settling in, when a young boy approached.

  “Do you think we’re done for the week, Shogai?” He came up to Shogai hesitantly, as if to make sure he was okay to talk. Shogai hadn’t sustained any major injuries. Only exhaustion, so all he had to do was rest. He’d be right as rain in an hour or so. Gary and Trianna were in worse shape after holding up those barriers so long. He could spot them on the other side of the fire, medics around them. Shogai was a little worried, especially for Trianna. She was way too young to be in a war. Though he was one to talk. He’d been fighting since he was twelve.

  “Shogai?” Shogai was snapped back to reality as the boy tugged on his shirt.

  “Oh, sorry! We might not get any more attacks since this was the biggest we’ve had for a while, but remember. Stay on guard. Can you do that, kid?”

  The boy nodded and ran off, leaving Shogai to think about his own answer. He’d been fighting for years here. Protecting everyone. And he was only nineteen himself. But even he had noticed the truth. Large attacks were becoming more frequent. Why was that? It was weird enough that these brainless monsters moved in packs to begin with, but this recent change made them look far more coordinated than he knew they had the capacity for.

  A small bell rang once. Shogai looked over at the campfire. On the other side was Elder Armison. It must have been time for him to give his stories again. Adults and children began gathering around, but for the adults it seemed more like it was out of respect than anything else. A few of the kids seemed more curious. That’s right; some of them had never heard Armison’s stories before. He always gave them after a particularly large Aberrant attack, and usually, parents preferred keeping their kids indoors for the remainder of the night. That said, the night was quiet. This was the largest audience Armison had gotten for a long time.

  "Aberrants are brainless monsters with no urge other than to devour. They come in all shapes and sizes, yes, but one thing remains constant. The moment you see their glowing eyes, you run."

  Elder Armison's voice carried across the campfire, weathered and steady. It wasn't uncommon for stories to be shared around the flames, but the issue was that Armison's were always the same. Beware the Aberrants.

  "The Aberrants dwell underground," he continued, flames casting shadows across his lined face, "and their numbers are endless. If not for Nexus, we would not be here today."

  There it was. A few adults groaned, guiding their children away with muttered excuses. One boy refused to go, pulling against his mother's grip. It was the same boy who was talking to Shogai earlier.

  "What is Nexus?" he asked.

  "Alright, that's enough for one night." His mother's voice was sharp. "We don't want the little ones believing in folklore, do we?"

  Armison chuckled, gesturing for the child to come closer. The mother glared, but the old man was unmoved.

  "Well, I'm glad you asked," Armison said warmly. "Nexus is our saviour. A group of people, just like you and me, who fight off the Aberrants so we can survive. We owe every Nexean a life debt."

  The boy considered this. "Then why do we have to fight Aberrants every other night if the Nexeans are keeping them away?"

  Before Armison could respond, the mother cut in. "You're exactly right. Nexus is a fictional organisation. There are no Nexeans. We're alive through our own hard work and our own fighters. Take Shogai as an example. How do you think he'd feel? Fighting so hard, yet these people we've never met take the credit?" She shook her head firmly. "I'm afraid Elder Armison is getting reality confused with his fantasies. Let's all go home."

  And just like that, the crowd dispersed. Parents ushered their children to bed, assuring them they deserved the credit, not these mythical Nexeans.

  The only people left at the campfire were Armison and Shogai.

  “It’s okay, Armison, I believe you.” But Armison saw right through the lie.

  "Get yourself rested up, young man. I appreciate it, but they're right." He stood slowly, joints creaking. "As long as we keep defending the village as well as we are, it matters not who takes the credit."

  Armison dismissed himself and headed home. Shogai stood slowly. He was feeling better, but he really needed a lie down. This bothered him. He didn’t like how his success was hurting the old man, but what else could he say? The villagers were right. Things were getting bad, and yet Nomun was also one single fighter, him, away from collapse. How much worse would things have to get for these supposed Nexeans to show up?

  “I’m going home…” he mumbled to himself.

  'Home' was generous. Shogai didn't have a home - his mother had died when he was young. But he'd always been capable of providing for himself. Hunting, building shelters in the nearby woods - he was used to it all. The villagers, grateful for his protection, allowed him to stay in anyone's home during cold or rough weather. So tonight he was lucky. He was in Baker Thomas's attic.

  Shogai lay down and stared at the ceiling. How easily would Nomun collapse if he weren’t here? The idea scared him. He really wouldn’t mind a mysteriously powerful fighter or two to give him a hand. Gary and Trianna were amazing friends, but if attacks kept getting worse… they wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  Suddenly, the siren rang again.

  Another attack? On the same night? Not unheard of, but certainly not good. Shogai bolted from the bakery and headed to the watchman, who was… genuinely confused?

  "There's only one of them," the watchman said uncertainly. "I'm not sure what it wants. Gary and Trianna are exhausted - they can't help. I'll tell everyone to stay indoors while you handle it. If you need backup, ring this bell."

  He pressed a small brass bell into Shogai's hand.

  "But I think you can beat her."

  "Beat her?" Shogai asked. Why was the watchman talking like this was a-?

  He peered down the valley and saw the figure slowly walking toward them.

  "Is that... a person?"