This creature was the Tenebrovermis. It was a creature of legend.
Just like the Frostgnashers there was a legend that this creature would one day dominate the ecosystem.
Reiji always dismissed this legend. When he was born the Frostgnashers were known about for decades.
He always thought the legend about Frostgnashers existed only because little was known about their origins.
Now, he's not sure if he's seeing an actual Tenebrovermis or if he's losing his sanity.
The creature suddenly started crawling down at incredible speeds which startled Reiji and made him jump back.
He drew his sword with its distinct shing and pointed at the Tenebrovermis as it got down from the tree and started crawling towards him under the snow.
He looked down at it, expecting it to attack his legs. What he didn't expect was for the creature to burst out of the snow.
He threw his sword away and grabbed the two large limbs attached to its head, probably used for holding food while it was eating.
It started pushing him back. The Tenebrovermis looked like a land arthropod now that Reiji got a better look.
“Agh!”
The creature was powerful. Its jaws opened and closed as they tried to bite him.
Reiji's back hit a wall of dirt. He was pushed all the way back to the road.
The road was pretty much carved into the mountain. The inner side of the road had a two meter high wall of dirt.
Reiji could finally push against the monster. Instead of being pushed back, he pressed harder against the wall as he tried to push the Tenebrovermis away.
The front limbs that he was gripping suddenly snapped back, causing the head to launch forward.
He moved his head to the side and the creature bit into the frozen dirt. Reiji Kurozuma delivered a strong uppercut to the Tenebrovermis with his right fist.
This, coupled with the pain from broken limbs, caused it to turn and run.
“You're not so tough."
He muttered to himself as he watched it crawl under the snow.
After a moment he ran after it, using the path it carved through the snow to run faster.
He caught up and grabbed its hind pair of limbs. The creature let out desperate clicks as Reiji turned it on its back.
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When it was upside down he jumped on the creature’s head, crushing it. The body's frantic movements stopped.
After a moment of silence he took a deep breath.
“I really need to stop losing my sword.”
He stared at the snow, using it to find the place he encountered the creature and followed it.
He found his katana under the same tree the Tenebrovermis was clinging to.
He looked up and saw something that he didn't find amusing.
On each tree he could see, there was at least one Tenebrovermis, all staring at him. Some trees had even three.
Reiji's eyes widened for a moment. He took a quiet breath and yelled out:
“...Come on!”
This loud sound triggered the creatures. He ran towards the closest tree and jumped, stabbing a Tenebrovermis that was climbing down the tree into its head, killing it.
Reiji climbed the tree. The creatures followed after. He had more than enough strength to hold onto the base of a branch with one hand while swinging his katana with the other.
As they climbed up the tree Reiji slashed, killing one. He quickly pulled himself up and stood on the branch he was holding onto earlier.
His left hand was holding a nearby branch for support as he cut another Tenebrovermis in half.
This was pretty manageable. A Tenebrovermis tried to reach him by making only a part of its body hold onto the tree and using the part of its body that was in the air to attack Reiji.
He slashed right through its head. This continued until the creatures were happily eating the corpses of their own species, not going after Reiji any more.
Reiji Kurozuma counted about 23 Tenebrovermis that he killed.
He stared down at them as they fed. Reiji jumped down onto a corpse that was being eaten.
The impact crushed the heads of the nearby Tenebrovermis who were feeding on the corpse.
He ran at another group and cut one in half, another got its head slashed in half and the last one was turning to run away only to get cut in half.
By the end of it all he killed 71 Tenebrovermis in total. They weren't too intelligent, prioritizing food over their lives.
He stared at the corpses. He was hungry so knelt next to one of the corpses. This one was cut in half.
He scrapped off what he’d be willing to eat. After that he put his katana into its scabbard and started clearing an area until the frozen dirt was exposed.
He snapped off branches that he then cut up into really tiny pieces using his katana.
He wasn't dumb enough not to bring his flint and steel. He went through the snow, finding a few leaves that he placed on the wood and lit it on fire.
After the flame got big enough, he stabbed a part of the corpse he cut off with a stick. It looked like muscle tissue.
He placed it over the fire and waited for a while. After it looked cooked he took a bite.
The meat tasted weird. No, it tasted wrong. He stopped chewing and after a moment swallowed the meat with a lot of difficulty.
After hours of eating food, because it tasted awful, he covered the fire in a layer of dirt.
He took off his katana and laid down on the dirt covering the fire. The ground under him was nice and warm so he went to sleep.
He woke up in the morning on the cold ground, the heat completely gone.
He stood up and looked around. He put on his katana and left to go find the frost people’s outpost.
“I just hope those bastards didn't advance too far.”
Reiji Kurozuma muttered to himself, thinking the frost people most definitely advanced down the steep cliff he once guarded.
6 hours later
A platoon of soldiers were inspecting the area. They had armor plates strapped to their bodies, sacrificing protection for mobility.
“What do you think happened, Lord Fujioka?”
The female general asked. She, unlike the soldiers, was covered in a full set of armor without the helmet.
She was sitting atop a horse, overlooking the investigation.
Next to her was a powerful Lord, also on a horse. He was informed about this by a man who was walking through this area that same morning Reiji left.
“This is concerning. More and more creatures keep crossing, both in numbers and species.”
Lord Fujioka answered. Just then a soldier came over to them.
“My apologies, Lord Fujioka. We found a place that shows signs of a fire, a campfire.”
“...Keep searching, I'll come see it for myself later.”
The soldier bowed and left. The general looked at the Lord with a confused expression.
“Why won't you go see it now?”
“Look at those corpses.” The Lord pointed at a pile of corpses.
“Some are untouched, others partially eaten and some only have the armor plating left. Also, the corpses have either crushed heads or are sliced in half, right in-between the armor segments.”
“As if a human with a sharp weapon killed them.”
The general spoke, catching onto what the Lord was hinting at.
“Yes.” Lord Fujioka agreed with what she said.
“But could one person do all of this?” The general asked.
“There have been well documented instances of supernatural feats. A man pushed over a fully armored knight in a fitting stance. The eyewitnesses wrote that the force the man used was so subtle it looked like he just leaned against him.”
“...Still, even if that is true, this shouldn't be.”
The general looked at the field of corpses. She then continued:
“And not only that, but this shows we need to prepare for war or worse, the collapse of the whole foodchain as we know it.”
“My main concern is the person behind this massacre. I need to get in contact with them.”
Lord Fujioka answered the concerned general.
“And moreover, there has been a large number of frost people's bodies found in one place. Do you think it could be the same person behind
those corpses, general?”
“...I don't know. I'm still skeptical about all of this.”
The general answered, still looking at the field of dead Tenebrovermis.
