He finds a monstrosity on the road

"Why did I do this to myself?" Earnest cursed to the scorching winds while his armor clanged with every heavyset step he took. Each foot after the other left a distinct imprint on the muddy grounds.

Why did he have to run his big mouth instead of thinking things through? There was no turning back now, **** to reach the distant town with no horses, no reinforcement, nothing. If this leave had been an official task instead, the knight with a heart bigger than brains wouldn't have to drop his skyscraping bag every few hours just to let his knees pop back in place. Still, there was no helping it; he was only human, after all.

The road was harsh but a fair estimate gave Earnest an overhead. If he kept up the pace he was walking at right now, Knottori was only a few more sunsets away. The question was, though, whether he could maintain his traveling speed. Supplies naturally ran low, expedited by the growing exhaustion, as well as morale. Every campfire under open skies reminded him of the importance of his journey. Each glance at his gifted necklace felt rejuvenating but also weighed heavy on the heart.

Gripping the stone tightly, Earnest muttered his friend's name to the far away chirping of crickets and the close-by cracking of firewood. However, the little respite did not last long when thunderous neighing whips his senses awake. In an instant, the time spent training in the 7th squad shone through the young knight, unsheathing his straight two-hander and assuming a basic stance. Ready for anything, Earnest stood like a boulder.

Out of the dark and into the dim light stampeded a stallion towing a caravan with an equally frightened man behind him. The danger was clearly not them but whatever put the fright into them. Even when the out-of-line animal's scare whiffed past him, Earnest remained calm, but the moment its pursuers came into view, cold sweat broke out. He clung to the safe steel in his hand and dug his foot into the ground lest he turned tail.

The threat that could even make a trained night utter prayer was nothing less than a monster. The creature was not entirely human, sporting more legs and hooves than arms and hands. It had three heads, all different sizes and colors, one being larger and redder than the others, while the third appeared almost white and was adorned with horns. Its body was covered in a layer of hair and it wore no clothes save for a leather harness on its back. Whatever the hell that thing was, it was nothing Earnest had ever seen or heard of. It did not matter anyway as a chilling roar emanated from each of the creature's mouths, its bloodshot eyes closing in on the steadfast knight.

Do or die was the only thing on the menu. Earnest knew that and his body went into overdrive. Had it not, he would have lost his nose or more to the mighty swipe of the unholy creature. Digging his finger so much so that he nearly punctured his glove's leather, he swung his two-hander down on the beast as fast as lightning and equally potent. The cold steel connected, but instead of biting through flesh like expected, there was an ear-piercing clang!

The sword shattered into pieces, and Earnest stood dumbfounded. His eyes darted about at every possible angle but the only thing he saw was certain **** just before another roar filled his ears. Turning his attention, he spotted the tripled visage of his approaching reaper. If that thing was truly more beast than man, then surely it wouldn't be laughing at him with its three heads. Like a vicious cat to a little mouse, the thing toyed with him, taking its sweet time to attack, circling in a wide radius. It knew he had no escape.

Earnest readied himself for the worst but nothing came forth from its mouths except for a string of incomprehensible sounds that sounded vaguely like words. Fear kept his eyes open and glued to the monster for he knew that if he closed them, he would never open them again. However, was only human. During the moment it took for him to blink, the beast threw his fangs at him. Whether by instinct or luck, Earnest managed to raise one of his arms in the way of the attack. Bit by bit, the monstrous fangs dug through the thin steel sheet and drew first blood. The cold sensation of **** embraced him and did not let go. A scream, a cry, a whimper, none of those luxuries were afforded to him as the pain spread through him like wildfire while his vision blurred onto his about-to-be mangled arm. At best, only a few more seconds were left until doom.

A few seconds turned into a moment; a moment Earnest seized, refusing **** at the hand of something so unholy. Gritting his teeth to the point of nearly chipping, the will to live guided his broken sword into the eyes of the creature's main head. The firm grip it had on him loosened as it reeled from the sharp pain. Finally, the tides of battle turned in favor of the knight which he uses to get back on his feet. He rushed towards his bag to grab the **** flask he meant to share with Rosalind. Now, though, it would save his life. After luckily dodging a blind swipe, he smashed the glass container over the beast, drenching it. With the protective flames of the campfire next to his feet, there was only one part of his makeshift plan left: giving that demon a taste of hell. He kicked the embers underfoot and watched them ignite his fears in a glorious blaze.

The three-headed beast roared and stomped its many hooves into the mud. It waltzed and thrashed but the fire only grew. The smell of burnt hair and flesh radiated throughout the camp place. Pathetically, it let out roars initially filled with rage only to be drowned out by fear and panic afterward. However, even if the fire could not be extinguished, the monster rushed in for the last hurrah.

The creature rushed past him with the speed of a bolt of lightning. Earnest had no time to think as he rolled behind a nearby boulder, hiding from view while leaving just enough room for him to peek through; the opening was wide enough to see the beast crash its skulls into the solid stone. Over and over, the monster threatened to break through, causing the knight to pray with each pebble falling onto his shoulders. Eventually, though, not even something as unholy as that thing could evade ****'s grasp forever. With one final crack against the rock, the beast howled to the moon before complete silence befell. Only a burning ember remained where its body once was.

Earnest exhaled heavily and wiped away the sweat covering his brow. In the battle of attrition, he may have won, but the wounds caught up to him quickly. It only took one glance at his mangled arm to snap him back to reality.

"Fuck..." was the only thing he could utter before the sweet blanket of the restless night enveloped him.

The world spun back into vision with the crack of dawn. Yesterday's events passed like a nightmare but that was enough to shake Earnest back on his feet. Drenched in sweat, he assumed a fighting stance once more. One could never be too careful, even if the only remains of the prior altercation were a smoldering corpse.

"You were incredible, sir knight," a voice called from behind.

Earnest stiffened straight and spun around, ready to strike. Fortunately, he managed to halt his descending fist from connecting with the man from the night before. The caravan driver posed no threat with his arms raised.

As polite as ever, Earnest bowed, saying, "M-My apologies. I-I must still be on edge it seems."

The man gave a stifled smile. "D-Don't worry about it, son. I don't blame you considering your condition."

"Thank you for your concern, but as a knight—" Earnest stopped mid-sentence when he regarded his bandaged arm. "What the..."

"Luckily for you, I had some bandages left," the man answered jovially. "The roads out here are still far too uncertain and you never know what dangers lie ahead, right?"

"Y-You have my gratitude, sir," Earnest replied in disbelief.

"No need to thank me," the caravan driver responded cheerfully before adding with an impish grin, "but I can at least repay you with some food! After all, you slew that foul beast singlehandedly...literally."

"That beast, huh..." the knight uttered, looking intently at its blackened corpse. If a three-headed monstrosity can wander around willy-nilly out here, then what does Rosalind have to deal with? I have to find her soon, he thought anxiously while nodding his head. "Yes, it would be my pleasure."

The two hopped onto the back of the caravan where they ate a simple merchant's breakfast together. During conversation, Earnest mentioned that he was on his way to Knottori. The man raised a brow as that little town did not get a lot of visitors. But, not someone to pass an opportunity, the caravan driver offered to drop the knight off there in exchange for protection. Despite the injury and loss of his primary weapon, Earnest eagerly agreed; anything was better than carrying everything on his back for days.