Dao Divinity Book 1 Read online

  He’d feel bad about that later, but for now he had bigger issues. Another troll was barreling towards him, and this one looked angrier.

  The minotaur leapt into battle behind the troll, taking the pressure off him and Sasha.

  Holding against a downward strike seemed easier than holding off several thousand pounds of charging troll, but he gave it a shot anyway, bracing himself in the ground.

  The impact of the troll lifted Dar off the ground and carried in a running tackle, until he crashed through a wooden wall and was slammed to the ground by the troll.

  “Fuck,” Dar wheezed. Somehow, he was still alive, but everything hurt.

  The troll pushed off of him, and there was recognition as well as confusion in the devil’s eyes as it saw him still alive.

  Dar grabbed a nearby splinter of wood and stabbed it into the troll’s arm. Heart would have been better, but pinned down, he only had so much maneuverability.

  That woke the fucker up, as its eyes went wide and it started slamming the ground like some sort of Donkey Kong attack. It began wailing its massive arms, slamming them down on him haphazardly.

  Dar covered his face as the massive meaty fists hammered into him.

  This must be what a nail feels like.

  His arms ached as he let them sag, playing dead. The troll bought it and stood up, staring down at him as if daring him to get up and be alive.

  Dar controlled his breaths, working to move as little as possible. He felt battered and beaten, but he wasn’t dead. It seemed like he should be given the way his body had taken a beating, but apparently, this body was more formidable than his last.

  Waiting a moment to recover, he heard the troll take a step back, and he used the moment to scramble off the ground, ignoring his body’s protests.

  The troll turned back growling, grabbing a beam from the destroyed house.

  “Not good,” Dar groaned as the troll swung at him.

  He jumped inside the troll’s swing and punched the troll directly in the chest.

  It stumbled back a single step, glaring at Dar and rubbing its chest, before it barreled forward in an angry charge.

  Dar grabbed the troll and rolled back, using its own weight against it, and finishing the move, launching it with a kick. The troll flew over his back and gave a dazed groan as it began to move to get back up.

  Dar quickly scrambled through the wreckage, finding a shovel. Before the troll was up, he charged forward, swinging the shovel like a bat at the troll’s head.

  When his swing finished, he realized it hadn’t been enough. The troll was groggy, but still conscious. Cringing, Dar repeated the motions, swinging a few more times until the shovel succeeded in taking the troll down.

  A rush went through him like a breath of hot air after the troll died. Dar shook it off as adrenaline.

  The troll went limp, and Dar staggered to the side. As the immediate danger subsided, his body was raising the alarm on all the injuries. He clutched his chest, pretty sure he had a handful of broken ribs. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t dead yet, and he couldn’t wait to figure out why, but it was too dangerous to get distracted now.

  He looked up, seeing fighting taking place all over outside the broken house, but as he watched, he started wondering if he’d gotten a concussion in the fighting.

  Around Sasha, there were dozens of ribbons fluttering in the wind on their own and holding off troll attacks.

  Four of the big uglies surrounded her, and when they swung their clubs and fists, they would get caught up in the ribbons and never hit Sasha. Meanwhile, another troll was already wrapped up in ribbons and pinned to the ground, the townsfolk finishing it off with their spears.

  How in the world is she doing that? What else can she do?

  Beyond her, the minotaur was fighting more trolls, although his style was much easier to comprehend. The bull was charging into trolls and coming off in another direction, keeping his momentum somehow as he circled back for another attack. The bull’s large, bearded ax took its pound of flesh with each pass.

  Dar leaned against the door jamb; they seemed to have it under control, so he gave himself a moment to recover and watch. Sasha’s movements were so fluid, the ribbons moving and flowing around her almost like a dance.

  Her hypnotizing movements were broken as more snapping came from the woods. Dar cringed, looking up but wishing he could ignore that something was coming.

  Out of the woods stepped the largest troll Dar had seen, at least another head taller than the ones currently fighting. It charged forward, moving quickly, its attention on Sasha.

  She didn’t even see it yet, too focused on her movements while she fought the current trolls.

  Dar pulled himself back together, ignoring the pain, and started at a loping run, pushing to intersect the troll before it reached her. Something told him this troll was different, an even greater danger to everyone in the town.

  He picked up steam as he ran, and it felt like he was on top of the world. Even with an exhausted body, it felt so much better than when they’d made him run a mile back in school.

  The troll was closing in on Sasha, but the minotaur intercepted it. For the first time, the bull was stopped dead in his tracks as the large troll met his charge.

  Focusing on the other trolls around Sasha instead. He felt superhuman as he charged one, jumping into the air and sucker punching a fat, ugly troll in the face.

  The troll toppled over while Dar shook out his fist. “Ouch. Punching someone in the face always hurts.”

  “You’re still alive,” Sasha said, sounding surprised. “And you just punched out a troll that practiced a lesser Dao.”

  Dar shrugged. “Not sure what a lesser dao is, but yes, I’m apparently adept at troll punching. Who knew?”

  The large troll just tossed the minotaur’s limp corpse to the ground and smiled at them as it came their way.

  Holy crap, that thing just made quick work of the minotaur. Dar could feel how dangerous it was.

  Dar looked up to the oncoming large troll. “Let’s see if I can do it again.”

  “Wait, Lug!” Sasha called after him, but Dar was already running, ready to end this with the same move.

  But when his fist collided with the larger troll, its head shifted only fractionally, and Dar’s knuckles cracked against something far harder than a skull should have been.

  It didn’t feel like punching a head; it was like he had just full force punched a boulder.

  Dar jumped down, clutching his cracked knuckles and making some space between him and the large troll.

  “Lug, trolls all practice some dao related to earth, and that troll has comprehended a greater dao,” Sasha called after him.

  “Fuck.” He shook out his hand. “Say that in a way I can understand.”

  She shook her head, huffing out a sigh. “His entire body is going to be hard, more durable, and probably stronger than the others.” Her ribbons spun into the air as the townsfolk stabbed the last of the other trolls to death.

  “What do we do?” Dar asked as the troll cracked its neck and smiled down at him.

  “Well, how about don’t punch it again, for starters,” she scoffed.

  The troll lunged forward, but Sasha was ready. She used her ribbons to tangle him up and slow him down. The troll tried to break free of the ribbons using his club, but each time he just became tangled in them once more.

  Still, the ribbons didn’t seem capable of any offensive abilities. She had saved the day, but she needed someone with a blade to do more than slow them down.

  Dar yelled out, “Can someone give me a weapon?”

  A guard tossed his bronze sword his way before they all started backing up with their spears ready. “Good luck.” The guard clearly had no intention of joining this fight.

  Dar grabbed the sword and turned back towards the trapped troll.

  “Whatever you do, do NOT cut my ribbons or these trolls will be the least of your problems,” she warned.
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br />   Dar nodded absently. Obviously, he wouldn’t do it on purpose, but he wasn’t exactly an expert swordsman; pointy end into the bad guy was about the level he was on.

  Grabbing the sword tight, he readied himself as the troll pushed at the ribbons. He waited until its arms were wide and its chest was open before sprinting through the ribbons that parted before him, opening a tunnel. The troll’s eyes grew large as it saw him reach it, having no time or nor ability to maneuver.

  He thrust the blade into the troll, but it barely scratched it before a fist flew through the ribbons. The fist clipped Dar and knocked him away, the sword clattering to the ground.

  Ribbons fluttered around him, and the soft strips caught him before he could hit the ground.

  “He’s still kicking,” Sasha reminded him, her jaw clenched and full of focus. Looking back, he realized the troll was tearing through her ribbons at an alarming pace.

  She was losing her defenses by the second.

  Dar ran back through the ribbons, which were slower to part for him this time, but when he reached the troll, he ducked the first swinging arm and grabbed the sword.

  He knew another fist was going to come, but he was ready for it this time.

  Dodging the heavy arm, Dar had a moment to attack and swung the sword into the troll’s chest.

  It banged off its chest, bending at an angle.

  “What the—” Dar looked at the sword and decided to use the bend to swing it like a pick, driving the tip of the blade only a few scant inches into its chest.

  He was so thrilled with his success that he didn’t dodge the troll’s arm as it tried to swipe him away.

  Dar had learned his lesson and gripped that sword tight enough for his knuckles to pop. The troll knocked him to the side and dragged the blade deep through its own chest in the process.

  The troll roared as blood spurted from its chest. Dar had earned its complete attention and ire at this point. It grabbed him and throttled Dar into the ground before tottering over, wheezing what Dar hoped were its last breaths.

  Dar tried to move, but his body was done. At this point, he had at minimum a cracked hand, severe bruising, several cracked ribs, and he was pretty sure a concussion.

  He coughed, laying there feeling the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth. Add internal bleeding to the list. Dar closed his eyes and just rested for a moment, giving in to whatever happened next.

  A cool shadow and a slosh of liquid above him made him crack his eyes back open.

  Sasha was leaning over him, swirling a flask of red liquid.

  “Is that another healing potion?” he asked, almost exhausted enough not to check out the swell of her chest that was exposed as she leaned over him. Almost.

  “A restorative potion, yes. They are very expensive, and I wouldn’t want you selling me your worthless shirt for this one,” she said with a sly smirk.

  “What do you want?” Dar cut to the chase. There wasn’t any reason for him to beat around the bush. He wasn’t sure if he was even going to be able to get up without it.

  She knew she had him, and her smile showed it. “One… no… two months’ contract as my bodyguard; I’ll also pay a copper a day.”

  “That’s cheap for a bodyguard, isn’t it?” He knew she wouldn’t be so generous.

  “Very.” Her smile widened. “You do need to pay me back for the potion, after all.”

  He felt there was more. “Any other catch?”

  Sasha became serious for a moment. “You’ll take your shirt off for me when I want.”

  “Excuse me?” Dar felt a wave of anger come over him.

  She leaned away as she realized what she had implied. “No, no. Not like that! I want to study the enchantments on you. Let me study them when we have time.”

  Dar grunted; that was acceptable. He had standards after all, but he’d be fine letting her study the enchantments she said he had.

  This was also a chance for him to learn more about the world he’d come to. It would at least be better than wandering around on his own.

  “Deal.” He took her offer feeling like he got a fair bargain. Two months of work for healing. At least it wasn’t working a quarry.

  She set the flask on his chest, but Dar’s arm only made it halfway before flopping back down to the ground.

  He gave her his best smile. “Would you be able to help me with it?”

  An eye roll later, she was picking up the flask and pressing the open top to his lips.

  Thick, syrupy, red liquid rolled past his lips and down his throat, bringing with it vitality and strength.

  Dar could feel bones shift and the aches all over his body evaporate as the energy from the liquid dispersed through his body.

  This stuff is amazing.

  He laid back his head after the liquid was gone, letting the warm sunlight and the healing energy wash over him in a moment of peace.

  “You didn’t die on me?” Her voice sounded concerned.

  Dar grunted to affirm he was still alive, but he kept laying in the warm sunlight for a minute longer. He ached all over still, and it felt nice.

  He cracked his eyes open to find Sasha looking down at him. He had obviously noticed that she was beautiful before, but backlit by the bright sky and with the tender concern on her face, she was beautiful in a way that made his heart leap. And that freaked him out.

  That paired with his recent loss and forced relocation sobered him up from the warm feelings, a frown spreading on his face.

  “Are you okay, Dar?” she asked again, stepping back.

  “Fine. Just enjoying a moment of relaxation after that.” He didn’t want to air his baggage, and she was his employer now after all. He knew that mixing romance and business was a bad idea. At least, that’s what he told himself in order to push those thoughts down.

  Not right now.

  It was too soon, even with the supernatural distance that dying had created. It was just too soon.

  “Then time to get up, Lug. The villagers aren’t looking too happy, and I might need my bodyguard.”

  Dar groaned in relief as his weight settled on his knees. His body seemed to work itself back into place with the help of the potion.

  The corpse of the big, gray troll lay a few feet away, the bronze sword still sticking out of its chest, gleaming in the sun.

  He smiled to himself. He’d come to a new world, completely alien in so many ways, but he’d found a way to land on his feet. And apparently inherited a pretty badass body.

  As he stood and looked around, he was met by frowning faces. Behind the townspeople, fires were slowly starting to spread across the town. Dar paused as he took in their anger. He didn’t understand why they’d be mad at him and Sasha for saving their asses.

  Well, time to do my bodyguard duties.

  Dar stepped up to the troll and pulled out the warped sword, glaring at the villagers, daring them to say something.

  “Might want to worry more about your town.” He pointed with the sword and only a few turned, but their surprised gasps caused everyone in the crowd to turn and start running for the town.

  He looked to Sasha. “Can you help them with the fires?”

  “No. I have formed the dao of silk. I would be useless in putting out fires.”

  His gaze must have been blank because she frowned.

  “Are you really from a place without dao, demons, or devils?” She looked at him in a new light.

  “Yup. No spirits either.” His mind wandered to the green-haired girl. He hadn’t seen her during all of this and wondered if she was okay. “Say, there was this girl they called a spirit, but she didn’t show up here.”

  Sasha’s brow pressed down. “Spirits are bound to something physical and can’t stray far from them. You really aren’t from here.” This time, she seemed to believe him.

  “Nope. But before we do anything else, I want to make sure she’s okay. It would suck to get trapped in all of this.” He waved towards the fire as he moved towar
ds the tavern.

  Chapter 4

  “You can’t just walk away like that—you are my bodyguard,” Sasha scolded, rushing to catch up to him.

  He continued towards the tavern, ignoring her, knowing she would follow.

  Some townspeople had been slow to respond, now running towards their homes and trying to find water sources to put out the fires. There wasn’t a block spared from random flames.

  Gremlins were being rooted out of the houses and killed in the street. It looked like a dozen, maybe two dozen, of the devils had somehow slipped past the line and started pillaging and burning. They were causing mayhem in the small town.

  Dar paused in his path to the tavern, realizing that with the number of fires he was seeing, a bucket brigade would not cut it. The city planning, or maybe lack of, was poor. Fires were easily jumping the small gaps between the homes.

  “Sasha, is there anything you can do to help?” Dar asked, motioning to the spreading fires. People were grabbing water from the well, but the water was so limited. Others were trying to throw dirt and sand on patches of fire or trying to beat it out with blankets.

  “Sorry, Lug, but while I do have a greater Dao, it is very unsuitable to help with a fire.” Her eyes were sincere as she took in the burning buildings. “But this spirit you spoke of, where is she?”

  Dar turned back towards the tavern, closing the distance and cracking open the main door. Smoke wafted out; it looked like a fire had taken root deeper in the building.

  “Do you have anything here you can’t live without?” Sasha asked.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Dar admitted. There had been nothing in the room with him that spoke of personal artifacts or even a change of clothes.

  Sasha paused. “How would you not know? It’s kind of a yes or no question.” She scanned him again, like she was trying to unravel his past, but Dar had turned back towards the area on fire, trying to make out the spirit.

  They moved further into the tavern, and a man came out of the back. “Please help. I can’t stop the fire from spreading.”

  Dar recognized him as the large man that the hostess had been reporting him to. “We can try to help, but where is the spirit that works here?”