Ayvtir moved closer to them, pieces of it's dropping off as it went.
"I have protected the sword for almost a thousand years. Thousands of men have staked claim to this sword. They all perished by my hand. No man has ever held this sword and no man ever will. You were a fool to make your way here, Serys, but I will let you test your mettle. In the end, you will become a part of me as all those other brave warriors." It reached for one of it's eyeballs, gently holding it in it's hand and then squishing it.
"You're going to die you butcher of men." Patwin angrily yelled as he raised his sword.
"You will have no part in this fight," Avytir responded.
"Like hell, I won't" Patwin said as he charged forward.
Ayvtir twirled his blade and then threw it forward like a spear. It plunged directly into Patwin's stomach, emerging through his back.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Serys screamed as she ran towards him. Blood starting oozing out of his mouth as he fell to the ground.
"No, no, no, please. I'm so sorry." Serys pleaded. "I should have never done this, oh god."
"No tears, my lady" Patwin said. "No matter what happens...you are as brave and noble as any knight I have ever met." Patwin looked tenderly in her eyes, and then fell silent as the last gasp of life faded from him.
Serys, overcome with sadness and rage, looked at Avytir with murderous intent. "You coward...you animal!" Serys bellowed. "You proudly tout murdering god knows how many people, and for what, a sword. Weapons don't make a champion, a person's actions do."
Avytir laughed. "Well then, you wasted a lot of time and blood for a worthless sword."
Boiling over, Serys attacked. Avytir quickly landed the first blow, leaving a deep wound in her right arm.
"Look, if you run now, you can die quickly." Avytir.
Serys charged back at him. The two locked swords, going back and forth. Serys landed jabs at his torso and lower left leg, but it seemed to have no effect. Avytir punched her in the chest, and jabbed her left foot. Serys let out a scream and backed up. For the next several minutes, the two were evenly matched, with Serys countering every single one of his strikes.
Still, Serys realized she was on borrowed time. She was losing a lot of blood and Avytir didn't seem seem to have a scratch on him. Serys figured she had to change the odds. She picked up some mud and flinged it in his face.
"COWARD! That is not an honorable way to fight."
"You said it yourself, you don't give a shit about bravery or honor."
Serys went straight for his left arm. With an aggressive heave, Serys took chunks of his left abdomen out and half of his left hand. Avtir, clearly annoyed, raised his blade and took another swing at Serys' right arm. She screamed and let go of her blade as blood oozed over. Avytir took another step forward and pushed his blade ever so slightly into Serys' stomach.
"I could kill you right this second, but I will give you another opportunity to run." Avytir whispered. "If you choose not to, I will rip every piece of skin and flesh off of your body while you watch."
Serys started backing up and ran. Avytir, bellowing with laughter, ran after her. As she was running, a thought came to her. She circled back to Patwin's body, quickly rummaging through his pockets. In a second, she found she what she was looking for: his flint.
As Avytir approached, Serys ran to a nearby log and started whacking it with the flint.
"Come on, come on, LIGHT" Serys pleaded.
Avytir charged toward her. Finally, she was able to light a fire. Picking up her blade, she let fire touch the tip of it. Serys waited for Avytir to come over and then attempted to swing the fiery blade at it's face. Avytir quickly grabbed it out of her hand.
Stumbling to the ground, Serys watched as Avytir crush the sword with it's bare hands.
"It's over, child" Avytir. "The sweet release of death awaits you."
With no options left, Serys decided to run towards the hill where Avytir's sword rested. As she ran, she felt as if Ayvtir were right behind her.
Reaching the hill, Serys started running toward the top. She tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. In agonizing pain and barely able to move, she dragged herself up to the sword's hilt. Forcing her body on top, she waited for Avytir to finish her off.
---
In a couple of minutes, she saw Avytir at the bottom of the hill. As it made it's way up, Serys decided to make a gamble. Reaching for the sword in the hilt, she pulled as desperately as she could.
"For my mother, for my father, for Fesgal, please let me do this" Serys wept. As she said this, she started to feel the sword loosen.
Using every ounce of strength she had left, she pulled and pulled as Avytir made it to the top.
"Goodbye Serys."
As Avytir prepared to strike, Serys made one last pull. The sword which had been stuck in it's hilt for a millenia, became unsheathed. Serys screamed triumphantly.
"WHAT!!!" Avytir shouted incredulously. "No matter, you die anyway."
With a boost of energy and strength, Serys rose to her feet. Avytir heaved down it's blade at Serys. By mere inches, Avytir's blade missed her. She used the opportunity to thrust the blade directly into the beast's heart.
Ayvtir started backing up, losing balance. Pieces of it's body started decomposing right off. Avytir fell backwards off the hill. As it landed, it became a giant pool of blood and guts which started seeping it's way in the ground. In a matter of seconds, all that was left was the sword.
Serys sat at the top of hill stunned, unsure of what to do next.