Shiiing!
Reiji Kurozuma quickly pulled out his katana, but the unknown creature was already in the air, staring at him with its four terrifying eyes. Its arms were outstretched, each finger ending in a five-centimeter-long claw, each one sharper than his katana.
It had long arms, a muscular body and gray, disgusting skin. It looked like a distorted human and it acted like an animal.
The arm that unsheathed the katana was moving down to be level with his hips—or it would have been, if the creature weren't so close. He moved with his arm and quickly ducked and rolled, something that would be suicidal in a fight, but thanks to Reiji's strength and speed, it was possible.
The creature flew over Reiji and broke its fall with all four limbs as he stood up and locked eyes with it once more.
His back was facing the village. It looked as if he were some kind of barrier or closed gate, protecting the village from danger.
As the creature let out a chilling roar, it pounced again. Reiji swung his katana, severing its left hand and crashing the blade into the left side of its head. The force sent it flying into a pile of snow. Reiji was forced to take a few steps back. His whole body was aching in protest from cancelling out the force of the bizarre creature.
Four eyes. Human shape. Insane speed and strength. When I slashed its skull, it was like my blade met metal. What is this th—
The creature pounced from the snow. Its left hand had regenerated. Reiji was caught off guard.
I have to do something or I'm dead!
He slashed again, cutting off the same hand and striking the skull in the same spot as before. It wasn't a fluke the first time. No—the skull really was as tough as metal.
He leaned back in panic, wide open. The creature's right hand slashed at his head. One claw connected, carving a four-centimeter-long diagonal cut across his left cheekbone. The cut was deep, probably enough to leave a scar.
The force sent the creature flying again, rolling up the frozen dirt road before stopping. Reiji's body was struggling to keep itself up from the raw force it faced head on a second time.
Their positions were now reversed. The creature was inside the village, and Reiji stood at its edge. His back faced a dark, cold, snow-covered forest, while his eyes stared at an abomination.
It's getting deeper and deeper into the village. If someone shows themself, they'll be in danger!
Reiji started walking backward, trying to lead it out of the village, but then he stopped. He saw it—first the bone, then the tendons, joints, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and lastly, the skin. The left hand grew back in about five seconds.
As he saw this, Reiji knew he couldn't hesitate.
"Grrr!"
Reiji growled in irritation before dashing toward the monster. He aimed for a diagonal cut, straight through the creature's heart.
The creature reacted and tried to block it, so Reiji adjusted to a more vertical strike. He severed its left arm just below the shoulder. The blade then entered the side of its stomach, right under the bottom set of ribs. With one curved cut, he sliced it open.
The creature screamed and pounced again. Reiji's sword position was less than optimal. With an awkward grip, he sliced upward, cutting through skin and muscle of the right forearm, but his katana couldn't fully slice through the bones and got stuck.
His back hit the ground, and he struggled to free his katana from the monster's forearm, holding it back with his legs. The creature pressed down against his blade, pushing the tip down, causing the handle to go up.
"Damn, you got leverage, huh?"
Reiji spoke aloud in a strained voice, as if the creature could understand him.
He let go of the handle with his right hand, his whole left arm snapping backward. The blade's tip stabbed into the ice covering the dirt road, positioning the katana vertically beside the left side of his head. It acted as a shield.
He struck the creature's jaw with the back of his right hand, disorienting it for a moment. He relaxed his legs, bringing the creature face to face with him before kicking it back even deeper into the village.
His katana remained in the ice and in his grip. He pulled it free and saw that the creature's left upper arm was nearly fully regenerated. The cut on its stomach had completely healed. He charged and aimed for its neck. He slashed, but only cut its throat. All he could do was press the attack.
The earlier slash that cut the monster's throat went from right to left. His blade was now on his left side. He twisted the blade and slashed upward in a diagonal cut from left to right, severing the creature's right forearm and a part of its regenerating left arm.
He kept pressing on and on but he was growing tired and predictable.
The creature opted for dodging, and with its faster legs, it outpaced Reiji. After chasing and attempting to decapitate it for a while, Reiji stopped. They locked eyes—until the creature lost focus. Then, with blinding speed, Reiji finally severed its head. It was as if his body suddenly weighed nothing in that one, short moment.
The reason it lost focus was the same four-year-old boy who had pointed Reiji out to his mother earlier. In the background, behind Reiji, the boy stepped out of his house holding a candle. He had woken up because of the battle outside. The light caught the creature's hungry eyes, and when it saw the small boy, it lost all focus.
Its desperation from struggling to regenerate and nearly dying also had a profound impact on its decision-making.
"Such a small child would be the perfect snack."
That must have been the creature's final thought before it died.
Reiji Kurozuma watched as the abomination's head fell into the snow. His kimono was soaked in crimson blood that came from the monster—a shade of crimson that almost glowed in the night.
"Yay! The strange man won!"
The kid yelled out, startling Reiji. He turned around in a flash, and when he saw the kid, he was relieved. He swore the kid sounded and looked familiar before—click. The gears in his head turned, and he recognized the boy.
The boy started walking toward Reiji with a happy and cheerful expression. He carefully hit the bottom of his right hand with his left one, making an improvised clapping noise. In his right hand was the lit candle that had won Reiji the fight.
Reiji stared at him for a moment before speaking.
"You're that ki—"
Before Reiji knew it, the adrenaline wore off, and he faceplanted into the snow, looking like a complete idiot.
The boy's face turned from happy and cheerful to confused.
"Mister?"
The boy came up to his unconscious body and kneeled down. He started poking Reiji with a small and delicate finger on his left hand while still holding the candle in the other. His tiny finger kept pushing against the firm muscles of Reiji's arm.
"Miiister? Mister? Mister!"
The boy kept repeating the word until his irritation boiled over. He stopped poking him and hit his hand on Reiji's back.
Then, a look of realization dawned on the boy's face. Maybe the strange man was unconscious. He decided to go and tell his mother.
He ran off into his house in a hurry.
…
He barged into his parent's room and hurried to the foot of the bed, pulling on his mother's leg.
"Mommy, the strange man that's called The Host Who Learned to Bathe just beat up a weirdly shaped man and is unconscious in the snow! We have to help him!"