The scream cut through the silence, echoing off the cottage walls. Gorn's face went white, his grip tightening on his spear. "Elara, Maya, stay here!" he barked. "William, protect them!"
Then he was gone, out the door, spear raised. William's hand found the hilt of his sword on instinct. He caught Elara and Maya's eyes, both of them terrified, and gave them a nod he didn't quite feel.
The minutes crawled by. William paced the small room, straining to hear anything from outside, any sign of what was happening in the village.
Then a crash. The front door splintered inward, and something came through that William had never seen before. A wolf, or something that had once been a wolf, fur matted with blood, eyes glowing sick green. Its limbs were too long, twisted wrong, claws like blades, jaws stretched open around rows of jagged teeth.
Fear hit William hard, but he didn't have time to think about it. He charged, sword up.
His blade caught the thing across the flank, and it hissed. It swiped back, claws tearing through his tunic and into his chest. He grit his teeth and kept moving, parrying the next attack more by instinct than skill. He drove the sword into its side.
It roared and staggered. William pushed forward, dodging a snap of its jaws, driving the blade in again, this time toward the heart.
But it was stronger than he expected. A blow sent him sprawling, claws raking across his back. He tried to get up and couldn't. The thing pinned him down, its breath hot and rotten against his face.
"William!" Maya's scream cut through everything.
He shut his eyes, waiting for the end. Instead, heat surged through him. A blue screen flashed.
[New Ability Unlocked: Hero's Limit (S-Rank)]
[Temporarily enhances all attributes by 50% for 1 minute. Significant physical strain will follow.]
William's eyes snapped open. He shoved the creature off with strength he didn't know he had, scrambled up, and attacked without holding anything back.
It stumbled, caught off guard. William didn't let up, even as his muscles burned and his vision started to blur. He couldn't stop. Not with Elara and Maya still in the room.
One last swing and the blade went clean through its neck. The head hit the floor first, the body a second later.
William staggered, the strength draining out of him as fast as it had come. He hit the ground and everything went dark.
The door burst open again. Gorn took in the room, the wreckage, his family huddled in the corner, William on the floor bleeding, and the dead thing beside him.
He dropped to William's side. "William! What in Aethel happened?"
William managed a faint smile. "Protected them," he mumbled.
"You saved my family," Gorn said, and his voice cracked a little. "You're a hero, lad."
William didn't hear the rest. Darkness pulled him under before Gorn even finished.
He woke up to the smell of herbs and the feel of bandages on his skin. His vision swam when he tried to sit up, and he sank back down.
"Easy," Elara said. "You've been through a lot."
He found her and Maya watching him, both looking worn thin with worry. "How long was I out?" he rasped.
"Almost a full day," Elara said. "You had us worried."
"Maya and I patched you up," she added. "Best herbs we had. You'll be fine."
He tried to smile and immediately regretted it, pain flaring through his ribs. "Feel like I got trampled by a boar," he said.
Maya laughed, quiet but real. "Look like it too."
He managed a weak laugh back, then winced as it caught in his ribs. He lay back and stared at the window, at the afternoon light stretching shadows across the floor.
"What happened to it? The creature," he asked.
"Gorn dragged it out and burned it," Elara said. "Didn't want to risk it spreading whatever it was."
"Gorn's a brave man," William said quietly.
"He is," Elara said. "But so are you. You saved us. You saved this house."