The skull-faced man in the cloak boomed out his willingness to open the door, and Ico silently braced himself, both hands squeezing the handle of his sword like a vise. The tension in his actions were warranted, for immediately after Death's skeletal hand had pulled back the handle, the door had practically opened up by itself. Squat black creatures with yellow eyes and strange head-stalks - Heartless, as he'd later call them - burst out the door, practically falling over themselves to get a chance to swipe at the intruders.

The horned boy stumbled back as one creature raked the air in an attempt to grab him, and with a loud yell he swung the sword over his head, cleaving its head in two, the body dissipating as it suffered its injury. The sword, it seems, was very lethal when it came to these shadow beings, and with renewed confidence at slaying his first enemy, Ico strove to be the first to charge in.

Another yell escaped his mouth as he swung the sword horizontally, catching three of the creatures and scattering their shadowy particles to the wind, before ducking another's lunge and swinging his blade upwards at it. It'd be evident to the sword-wielders in the group that despite the sword's power and his considerable strength (for a twelve year old), Ico had very little in the way of formal training. The weapon in his hands might as well have been an iron cudgel, for the way he swung it about his head. It worked for a while however, as the creatures weren't exactly geniuses when it came to fighting... but the sheer numbers poured on, and the sword-wielding boy was in danger of being cut off from the group.

Suddenly, a surprise attack from the side caught Ico off-guard and he lost his balance, sword swinging as he was knocked to the ground. The Heartless began to circle him, intent on capitalizing on his prone state, and suddenly the boy was in danger.