The Heavenly Hero Returns

Chapter 4: Into the Fray

The carriage had barely come to a full stop before Tobias was already moving.

"Stay here," he ordered, shoving the door open and stepping out.

You rolled your eyes and grabbed the heavy sword resting beside you, the weight of it as cumbersome as ever. "Like hell I'm staying put."

As you stepped out, the scene ahead unfolded. A group of adventurers was locked in combat with a horde of monsters—mostly wolves and boar-like beasts, their bodies sleek with muscle and fur bristling with aggression.

The vanguard, a burly warrior with a gauntlet-covered arm, stomped the ground, sending jagged spikes of earth erupting in front of the creatures. Behind him, a woman in lighter armor murmured a prayer, casting a shimmering veil of healing water over his wounds. Further back, two spellcasters—one with wind whipping around her, the other conjuring bursts of fire—hurled magic into the fray.

For now, they were holding their ground. But they wouldn't last forever.

Tobias assessed the situation quickly, his posture shifting into that of a trained knight. "They need backup." Without another word, he unsheathed his blade and charged forward.

You sighed, shifting the oversized hunk of metal in your hands. The damn thing still felt more like a tumor than an extension of yourself, but complaining wouldn't change the fact that you needed a weapon.

Fine.

You ran after him, boots kicking up dirt as you rushed into the battle.

As you neared the swarm of monsters, something strange happened.

With no real thought, you lazily yelled, "Oi! Back off!"

It wasn't a battle cry. It wasn't even particularly threatening. If anything, it was barely above an annoyed complaint.

But the smallest wolves and boars—the ones still barely out of infancy—froze. Their ears flattened, eyes widening with a primal fear. Then, as if some invisible force had seized them, they bolted.

You blinked.

The adventurers blinked.

Even Tobias hesitated mid-step, glancing at you with an incredulous look.

The older, larger creatures didn't react the same way. If anything, your presence only seemed to enrage them further, their snarls growing deeper as they locked onto you and Tobias.

Well. That was weird.

You shook it off, lifting your heavy sword and planting your feet.

"Less staring, more fighting," you muttered, before launching yourself into the battle