《Crimson Rose》


 Prologue 1: "Lost Girl"

    A lone girl walks aimlessly down a dirt road, surrounded by trees and vegetation. Birds watch her movement in silence from the safety of the branches.


    Wearing a tattered robe that extends down to her knees, punctured and torn apart, both the sleeves already completely ripped out. It''s supposedly white, but you wouldn''t be able to tell with all the filth covering it.


    She walks barefoot, calluses visible on the skin, and a small pebble had lodged itself on the sole of her right foot. The girl paid it no mind, however.


    She looks extremely poor in health. Malnourished, exhausted, her body full of bruises and cuts. Dried blood covers parts of her body, including the entire right half of her face, and she keeps her right eye shut, her left eye only halfway open, staring blankly at the ground.


    Wherever she came from, anywhere is better, even nowhere.


    Her movement is slow, but steady. Despite her tiredness, her steps are firm, she does not falter.


    Sweat trickles down her face. The day was growing ever older, though the skies were still a clear blue. The sun loomed over, having monitored the girl¡¯s every step.


    Suddenly, her nose is met with a strong, foul odor. One she instantly recognizes. She reflexively puts her hand over her mouth, stumbling back. She raises her head and tries to remove some of the hair blocking her view.


    It¡¯s a hard picture to make anything out of initially, but she slowly makes sense of the objects obstructing her path. And the source of the smell.


    An abandoned carriage, and a fancy one at that, probably pertaining to some kind of noble. Both of its doors are wide open, and none of the animals which would lead it are nearby.


    Surrounding the carriage is a bloodbath. A pile of bodies, all of men around their 30s. It seems whatever transpired here happened some time ago, as the bodies begun decomposing.


    Perhaps they got attacked by animals? Wild beasts they could not fend off?


    The girl is hesitant to move any further. What if their attacker was still around? Was she even safe, standing there, only a few dozen feet away from the scene?


    Should she run? But run where? Going back the way she came, she would probably die before she found anything. Going into the woods was completely out of the question as well; who knows how many beasts dwell in there, even the weakest among them would likely kill or fatally wound her.


    She stands still, observing the surroundings for a solid minute.


    In her situation, was it even a sight to be frightened of? If anything, there could be something that would help her, lying between the corpses.


    The girl walks closer towards the carnage.


    As she approaches the first body in the way, she steps on its right arm, and, as expected, it¡¯s cold and stiff. The corpse lays face down, with a large laceration on its back, wearing a once white, now blood-red shirt. She notices a gleaming object protruding from the corpse¡¯s pants, around the hips. She reaches out to it with her hand, and unsheathes the object, a blade.


    A dagger of fine quality, without wear. It¡¯s so well polished that it¡¯s difficult for the girl to look at, as too much sunlight reflects directly into her eyes, the object practically glowed. Its utility as a weapon was negligible however; considering the girl¡¯s own weakness, she could not defend herself against most threats. Still, it had its uses.


    Fighting barehanded would also wield far worse results anyway, so she holds on to the dagger tightly, trusting it to protect herself with.


    The girl approaches the carriage. She looks inside, but it¡¯s vacant. The carriage is made of a beautiful dark wood, its insides adorned with gold. The seats looked more comfortable than any bed she had ever slept in.


    She looks around at all the bodies surrounding her and finds that lying beside one is another dagger, however, of a different model, and of much lower quality.


    She walks past the carriage and finds the coachman still in his seat, with one arrow in his throat and another in his right eye. Based on the presence of arrows, it''s clear whatever attacked them probably wasn''t some beast, but either bandits or a sapient creature.


    Sat beside him is a large black robe with only trace amounts of blood. The girl takes the robe and inspects it; it¡¯s much bigger than her, and wearing it should at least offer more than the scrap of cloth she currently had. Before she puts it on, though, she takes the dagger and cuts out the lower portion of the robe, making it smaller so she could walk around without it getting in the way.


    Checking the remaining bodies more thoroughly, numbering ten in total, the girl finds that six of them also carried daggers or knives with them, and about half wore cloth in their head to obscure their faces. Among all of them, however, none looked like any sort of nobility, as they all wore cheap and heavily worn-out fabric.


    Most of the men died by bleeding out because of lacerations and stabs, though a couple had died due to blunt force trauma, as evidenced by their broken bodies and the dent in their heads.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The bloodshed didn¡¯t phase the girl one bit. Not the blood, the broken bones, the torn-up skin, the lifeless eyes of the victims; she was used to seeing that kind of imagery.


    Aside from blades, the girl also found something else with one of the bodies: a wooden canteen, still with some liquid in it. She picks it up and drops a small amount on her hand, confirming it¡¯s clean water. She then takes the canteen to her mouth and carelessly drinks from it, letting water stream down from her mouth, not stopping until she¡¯s completely emptied it of water. She exhales, taking a moment to regain her composure.


    With nothing else of value to take, having the canteen in one hand and dagger in the other, she decides to keep moving, as the stench from the rotting corpses became more unbearable by the second.


    As soon as she takes a step forward, she hears rustling coming from nearby bushes. The sound startles her, and she ends up dropping the canteen, which doesn¡¯t make much noise on its own, however seeing as the area was nearly completely silent beforehand, it was quite disruptive.


    She looks toward the source of the sound that startled her, and, for a second, nothing else happens.


    Then, something emerges from behind the bushes. A small¡ªabout the size of the girl¡ªgreen humanoid creature, with pointy ears, a long nose, close to no hair anywhere on its body, and an overall damn ugly appearance. A goblin. The cloth around its body is but an old rag and it brandishes a rubbish knife made from a sharpened rock. Despite its less than impressive standing, it has somewhat of a toned physique.


    It looks at the girl with its large bulging eyes and bares its fangs. The girl takes on a stance, holding the dagger with both of her hands in front of her and standing her ground.


    The goblin lets out a growl and leaps toward the girl with its knife in a reverse grip, it¡¯s incredibly agile, and the girl just barely dodges the initial attack.


    The goblin immediately follows up his attack, swinging his knife violently and wildly at the girl, though only tearing her new robes as she manages to avoid the attack, mostly due to luck as well as the goblin¡¯s own incompetence.


    Her luck soon runs out, though, as in its rampage, the goblin takes a swing that''s sure to connect. The girl doesn¡¯t have nearly enough agility to avoid the incoming attack, on top of already being exhausted, so she uses her dagger in an attempt to block it.


    The knife clashes with the dagger, and almost sends it flying, as the girl is much weaker than the goblin and gets caught off-guard by the force of the impact, only holding on to the dagger with her right hand.


    The result is that the girl is left wide open, having neither the ability to dodge nor to use her dagger to block any subsequent attacks.


    The goblin goes for it. It raises its knife and brings it down upon the girl, aiming for her head.


    Reflexively, the girl puts her left hand¡ªnow freed from the burden of holding the dagger¡ªin the way. The stone knife impales straight through her palm, stopping only inches away from her face.


    However, in the same motion, the girl takes her dagger directly into the goblin¡¯s neck, the sharp blade effortlessly piercing the goblin¡¯s flesh.


    The goblin grinned, laughing at the girl for its ¡°successful¡± attack, not immediately realizing what had happened.


    The girl lets up the dagger, and the goblin lets up the knife. The goblin stumbles back, falling to the floor and writhing in agony. Desperately, it tries to dislodge the dagger from its throat, throwing it away. However, the result does not change, and the goblin quickly drowns in its own blood.


    The girl stands tall above the still twitching body of the goblin, catching her breath.


    As she stands there, looking down at the puddle of blood forming, light returns to her blue eyes, shining like gemstones.


    Deep in her soul, something changed.


    The girl knew violence. She¡¯d seen her own blood and the blood of those around her. Blood was all there was in her small world. Mostly her own blood.


    She was a doll. A toy to be played with and thrown away once it broke. That''s the "her" she knew up until then.


    She didn¡¯t even know why she stood her ground right then and there. She had no recollection of ever doing so, but it was as if it wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d fought; it wasn¡¯t even the first time she¡¯d killed something. It just felt natural.


    The adrenaline of battle, the feeling of having power, of prevailing. She enjoyed it. If she could only become strong, no one could hurt her. It was logical. The girl hadn¡¯t even considered it a possibility, but now, fighting seemed like the natural conclusion to reach. It was as if all she could see before was a blur, and now, she had a lens to see the world through.


    She tries to reach out for her blood-soaked dagger, but as she does, she¡¯s stopped by a sharp pain in her left hand, still with a knife lodged in it. She could bear the pain initially because of the adrenaline, but as it wore off, the pain became too much to ignore. She was also bleeding from the wound, and needed some way to stop or at least reduce the blood loss.


    She takes the knife by the handle and tries to pull it out. It¡¯s not easy, and she spends about a minute in excruciating pain trying to remove the knife. Eventually, it slowly starts sliding out of her hand and finally, she pulls it out. As soon as it does, though, even more blood gushes out from her hand.


    She thinks to use the piece of cloth she cut out from the robe to cover her hand with. Still with the goblin¡¯s knife, she walks over to the coachman¡¯s seat where she left the cloth, and cuts out a thinner strip she can properly wrap her hand with. She also takes the rest of the cloth and wraps it around her hips, intending to use it later.


    The pain from her wounded hand is not something she can bear. But in her view, she doesn¡¯t have any choice but to ignore the pain; not doing so would just lead to wasting more time and energy, and she would die.


    She heads back over to the body of the goblin; inspecting it for anything interesting she might find, and finds a small pouch tied around the goblin¡¯s torso with a string. She uses the knife to cut the string and picks up the pouch. Looking inside, she finds quite a few berries. She knows that many of the fruits found in the wild are likely to be poisonous to most creatures, including humans, but figures that since the goblin was picking them, they were more likely to be safe. That, and the fact that by this point she was too exhausted to worry about it. So, she decides to eat them.


    She takes one. As she bites down on the soft berry, extremely sweet juice seeps out into her mouth. After all that¡¯s happened to her, she finds solace in the sweet berry, and smiles, for the first time in who knows how long.


    The berry gives her the strength to keep going. She¡¯s tired and needs rest, but she can¡¯t do it in the middle of the road around a bunch of dead, decaying bodies, so she has to continue walking until she finds a better place.


    She drops the goblin¡¯s knife by its body, and picks up the dagger, which she sheathes in the cloth wrapped around her hip. She takes the string that the goblin was using to carry the pouch, and ties it around herself in a similar manner, to more easily carry the canteen. Then, she takes the berry pouch and eats the berries as she continues walking towards wherever.


    She still doesn¡¯t know where the road leads, or which way she should go, but after the encounter with the goblin, the destination was clearer.

 Prologue 2: "Morning"

    The girl still walks, with all the energy she can muster. Though every part of her body was sore, she holds her head high, observing the birds, the trees, the sky and everything in between.


    Every painstaking step a mission she¡¯s unsure she¡¯ll be able to complete again.


    Blood dripped down from her left hand, each drop falling rhythmically, leaving behind a trail quickly obscured by the dirt. The pain had left her hand just as numb as her mind.


    The sun is ever closer to setting, but before the girl can even worry about it getting dark, she spots something glistening in the distance. Something she needed, something she was hoping to find: a river.


    A nice stream cuts off the path she was following. It¡¯s a bit shallow, but quite wide, and a wooden bridge had been built, even looking well maintained.


    As the girl approaches, however, instead of going through the bridge, she walks parallel to the flow of the stream, away from the path and deeper into the woods.


    She stares intently at the river, paying close attention, and eventually sees what she¡¯s looking for: fish! She stops in her tracks and takes her robe off, unsheathing the dagger and stepping into the water.


    She watches as fish pass by, trying to devise a way to catch one. She crouches and, when the timing is right, she brings the dagger down... Missing.


    So she tries again. And again, and again... Every time she does, she gets a little closer, until finally, she succeeds. She stabs right through a fish, taking it out of the water and watching with content as it squirmed. It was sizeable, and she determines it should be enough for now.


    Eating too much would likely cause great discomfort, or worse, since her body was already used to being sustained on scraps, so she kept to the single fish, prioritizing getting a good night¡¯s rest.


    She sets the fish down near her robe, stabbing it in the head to kill it.


    Then, she takes off the cloth wrapped around her hand and washes the wound. The girl watches as the blood seeps into the clear water for a few seconds, entranced.


    She cuts off another strip from the spare cloth around her hip, and once again wraps her hand with it. She also washes her face, cleaning the blood off it. There were no injuries on her head, the blood staining it wasn¡¯t hers.


    She takes the canteen and fills it with the river water, taking a swig and then setting it down once again.


    Her focus goes back to the fish, as she realizes she doesn¡¯t know how to start a fire, and if she intends to eat the fish then, she¡¯ll have to do it raw.


    It¡¯s not like she¡¯s given much of a choice.


    One by one, she uses her dagger to tear off chunks of the fish and takes them to her mouth. Sat beside a tree, she watches as the sky grows darker.


    She tries to imagine what the world looks like. The real world, the one she hadn¡¯t yet experienced.


    When she¡¯s done, she throws whatever¡¯s left of the fish back into the river.


    She finds a comfortable spot behind the tree and lays down. Overcome with exhaustion, the girl falls sound asleep.


    Nothing but emptiness surrounds the girl, a blinding white light as far as the eye can see. A vaguely familiar woman kneels in front of the girl, and begins caressing her hair, tears streaming down from her face. Tears stream down from the girl¡¯s face as well, though she can¡¯t understand why. The void consumes the woman; the light becomes too much to bear, and the girl closes her eyes, waking up.


    The birds sing, trying to attract potential mates. Or just because. As the girl wakes up, she feels a bug crawling on her face, so she throws it away. She gets up, feeling reinvigorated, though hungry. She picks up the canteen and drinks some more from it. Walking out from the shadow of the tree, her eyes take a second to get used to the light.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    She looks up, the sun standing almost exactly above her. She had slept a lot.


    She scouts her surroundings. Everything looks the same as it did the day before.


    The girl strips naked, taking off the old torn apart robe she had been wearing all that time. She walks deep into the river until her body is almost halfway submerged and begins cleaning herself.


    She takes her time bathing, washing every part of her body as best as she can. Getting rid of all the blood, dirt, and general filth, her pale skin shined under the sunlight, her veins visible through the skin of her arms.


    She uses the canteen to wash her hair, filling it with water and then pouring it on her head. Her hair had been especially dirty, and washing off the filth took some effort¡ªit was clear she hadn¡¯t done it in a long while. She doesn¡¯t do a perfect job by any means, but when she finished, her hair returned to its lustrous, almost golden color.


    Her long hair, reaching down to her hips and into the water, with her pale skin and bright blue eyes combined with the glistening of the water current, it was as though her body itself was glowing.


    Satisfied, she walks toward the shore, but doesn¡¯t exit the water just yet. She sits on top of an exposed rock, her feet still submerged in water, and ponders her situation. Was it wise to keep walking? Should she conserve her energy and wait by the road, hoping someone will find her?


    Unable to decide for sure what to do next, she sits there, deep in thought, for some time.


    Then, she hears a weird sound. Panting? She looks back at where all of her stuff is, and standing there is some wolf. It¡¯s huge, having a black coat of fur and two large white horns on its head. It¡¯d usually be pretty intimidating, except it stands there with its mouth open, panting and slobbering all over the ground, wagging its tail, looking like some kind of oversized puppy.


    Before the girl even moves, it picks up her dagger and makes a run for it, running deep into the woods.


    The girl doesn¡¯t visibly express much shock, keeping the same tired gaze she had. Calmly, she muttered.


    ¡°I needed that...¡±


    Indisputably, the dagger was vital for her survival. She couldn¡¯t just let it go like that.


    She had the options to either go back to the site of the carriage and get a different one, or follow the wolf, hoping to reacquire hers.


    Promptly getting out of the water, she puts on the black robes, wraps her left hand with the last bit of spare cloth remaining, refills the canteen, and begins walking into the woods, following the wolf.


    A foolish decision, perhaps, but the girl trusted her instincts. She also had different goals which aligned with this decision.


    She has no actual idea where the wolf has gone by that point, so she just walks into the general direction she saw it heading. While making her way wherever it was she was headed, she finds a large bush with a different type of fruit, one she actually recognized.


    It was black and round, as big as her hand, with an exterior like that of an apple. It was a fruit she was very familiar with and knew was safe to eat. Almost immediately, her decision to go into the woods was fruitful.


    She picks one and bites into it. It tastes like... nothing, really. The fruit¡¯s flavor was impressively unremarkable, almost completely flavorless, with just a hint of sweetness. It was a plant known to be very easy to grow, yielding fruit in almost any climate, at any time of the year, and for that reason it was a common part of the diet of most villagers, though its nutritional contents were as lacking as it¡¯s flavor.


    Once she¡¯s finished eating the fruit she¡¯s picked, she picks another one, and eating it as well. And then she picks up another one, and... you get the idea. The Nothing Fruit was at least still better than actually nothing, and she wasn¡¯t very pleased by her recent experience with eating raw fish and would rather avoid doing so again.


    Finally, remembering why she¡¯s even there, the girl drops a half-eaten fruit and wipes her mouth, then continues walking the way the wolf went, assuming she still remembers which way that was.


    Walking through the forest, the girl finds the amount of animals strange. There really wasn¡¯t a whole lot of them. She was expecting to find a few, but other than the goblin and the wolf, she hadn¡¯t encountered anything. Well, there were also the birds, but she wasn¡¯t as interested in them.


    The forest is full of fruits and plants she had never seen before. She doesn¡¯t dare try consuming or even touching them, if she can help it. There were many tales, of those who tried to flee to the woods and died poisoned by trying to live off its resources. The peaceful greenery of the forest wasn¡¯t to be trusted.


    Wandering deep enough into the forest, she¡¯s once again struck with a familiar smell.


    That same foul odor¡­


    Pinpointing the exact location of the odor¡¯s source wasn¡¯t really in her arsenal of skills, so she takes a while, but she finds it.


    The corpse of an adult woman. Her naked body battered and bruised, blood coming from every orifice in her body, part of her scalp missing, while the remaining hair is so tainted by blood you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell it¡¯s supposed to be an elegant indigo blue. Her right arm was broken, bone protruding through the skin, and she looked to have been stabbed several times in the gut.


    Such a scene was even more familiar to the girl than that of a bunch of dead soldiers.


    Such a scene was truly not the work of any beast. Not even goblins.


    Such a scene did not draw any reaction out of the girl. She simply stood there in silence, understanding. The picture had become clear now.

 Prologue 3: "Moon Wolf"

    The girl looks one way. Nothing.


    She looks the other way. Nope.


    She looks up. The foliage from the trees obscure the view of the sky almost completely.


    Damn, I¡¯m lost.


    Having long given up on searching for the wolf, the girl decided to go back to the river and cross it, in hopes of finding human civilization. If only she knew which way went back to the river.


    Indeed, getting lost while wandering aimlessly around a dense forest is pretty easy.


    Needless to say, the girl was tired. The disposition she had at the beginning of her journey was gone, catalyzed by the blood loss from her wound. She could no longer exert herself to walk such long distances; following the road would have been miles more wise, at least then she would have a chance of survival, even if she stopped.


    Sat beside a tree to rest, she fixates her gaze on to a beetle passing by her and spaces out. Strange thoughts flow through her mind, none coherent. They were like memories, memories buried so far in the crevices of her subconscious she couldn¡¯t form a single image of what they were supposed to be; it was all just a blur.


    Forgetting about any potential dangers, her mind began sinking deeply into unconsciousness. Her head became unsteady, her eyelids heavy, and she fell asleep.


    The sun was still up, but she just didn¡¯t have energy left, no matter how much she rested.


    Hours pass; the girl sleeps past the sunset and into the night, and it looks like she¡¯s going to sleep until morning, but a weird sensation interrupts her slumber.


    It feels wet. The surrounding air becomes warmer, and there is a strong smell of rotting meat.


    She opens her eyes, though still half-asleep. Something continuously pushes against her face, and she tries to push it away.


    ¡°Hey... Stop that...¡±


    It stops. She puts her hand on her face and feels the slimy substance dripping down. She then gets a better look at whatever it was.


    Wolf.


    The shock instantly jolted her awake, though she remained frozen in place.


    It looks at her with its blood-red eyes, its horns emitting a strong glow. In its mouth rests the dagger, glowing as well.


    It still just looks like a really big dog. Which it is, but it¡¯s just a bit too silly.


    For whatever reason, the wolf doesn¡¯t attack. It doesn¡¯t seem at all interested in attacking the girl; does it not see her as a threat? Maybe it¡¯s just toying with its food?


    Instead, the wolf just sits in front of her, wagging its tail around excitedly, kicking up dirt. It lowers its head and softly puts the dagger down on the ground.


    The girl cleans the wolf¡¯s saliva off her face, confused and curious about the animal. Why did it take such a liking to her all of a sudden?


    Slowly, she takes her canteen and takes a sip, never taking her eyes off the beast. It sits there wagging its tail.


    She gets up and approaches it, extending out her hand, seeing if the wolf will let her pet it. It doesn¡¯t move, and the girl caresses its fur. It¡¯s not exactly soft, the large animal¡¯s hairs are like needles, though feeling the warmth from its body was still quite pleasant.


    The girl was not familiar with the concept of domesticated beasts. She just didn¡¯t understand its behavior and didn¡¯t know what to do.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    What now?


    She slowly bends down toward the blade and picks it up. The wolf watches her attentively.


    She picks up the rest of her things and begins walking toward a random direction and, sure enough, the wolf follows her.


    She continues strolling around a bit more, but it¡¯s too dark for her to see anything and she trips all over rocks and exposed roots, falling and almost hitting her face on a tree, but the wolf stops the fall by biting her robe and pulling her away.


    The girl stops and looks at the wolf. She lets out a sigh, both annoyed and confused by the situation she¡¯s found herself in.


    The wolf then gets down on the ground and stares at the girl.


    She understands what it¡¯s trying to do, and humours it. She mounts the wolf, it immediately gets up, makes a turn and begins moving. The girl doesn¡¯t know where it¡¯s headed, but hopes it¡¯s either out of the forest or somewhere safe.


    She had never even heard of a beast that matched the wolfs description. She knew about goblins and some other common beasts, like slimes, even regular wolves, but this one mystified her. It could at any moment attack her, and she would be helpless to defend herself, however it chose not to. If anything, it acted playfully, seemingly trying to get her attention at every turn.


    Her dagger glows brightly again, and she notices the light it emanates is similar to that of the wolf¡¯s horns. She first assumes it¡¯s merely reflecting the light, but fiddling around with it, it becomes clear that the glow is the dagger¡¯s own. What¡¯s more, when she put the dagger closer to the wolf¡¯s horns, it shined so brightly she could no longer see the blade.


    She deduces that the dagger is made of the same material, of the wolf¡¯s horns. If that were to be true, then it was likely a rare beast, whose horns were high-quality material used in forging weapons.


    The girl looks at her injured left hand. She couldn¡¯t move it. The damage was probably already permanent, and if left untreated for much longer, she could very well die because of an infection.


    She had also lost plenty of blood her body couldn¡¯t replenish and grew anemic. Her weak little body was pushed further and further with every moment she stayed breathing, and contracting an illness, even one such as a common cold, would surely kill her.


    And now, at her lowest, her life was entrusted to a beast, a creature she didn¡¯t believe was capable of feeling emotion.


    It didn¡¯t take too long; they arrived at the wolf¡¯s destination.


    A small cave, where it had made its den.


    A den? The wolf wasn¡¯t female and most definitely wasn¡¯t a mother with cubs. Instead, the cave was filled with trinkets. Shiny rocks, jewelry, tools; a completely random assortment of items sat on the cave floor in a large pile.


    It was like a dragon hoarding treasure, only much less majestic.


    Arriving, the girl gets off the wolf and stumbles her way towards the pile. She shuffles through the items, the scavenging mindset she had acquired the past few days kicking in.


    There really isn¡¯t anything useful sitting there, at most a couple of copper coins, one of which was completely folded in half.


    Suddenly, the wolf bolts out of the cave, running off somewhere.


    The girl walks away from the pile and sits in a fetal position by one of the cave walls, awaiting its return. The air grows colder.


    She struggles to think about things too thoroughly, having to focus just to stay awake. Her breathing is slow and inconsistent; you could see the light fading away from her body.


    ¡°Sleep well... my... child...¡±


    The girl begins whispering a lullaby, not being able to follow a particular rhythm, and and having difficulty remembering which word came next.


    ¡°... It¡¯s time... to rest. I¡¯ll be by your... side... tonight... and... the next. The day... I¡¯m not... you... you can cry... have... have your sorrows... be... wept. But... don¡¯t follow... the... the...¡±


    She pauses for a few seconds.


    ¡°You... don¡¯t have... to be... next... Sleep now... my child. Tomorrow... is blessed.¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know where it¡¯s from. Or, well, she doesn¡¯t remember.


    Just then, the wolf returns with something in its mouth. It¡¯s the flavorless fruit again.


    Saliva flows from the sides of the fruit, dripping down to the ground.


    The wolf drops the fruit in front of the girl.


    The girl extends her hand, reaching out for the fruit. Yes, the fruit. She knew that fruit. What was its actual name again?


    The girl stops. Instead of taking it, she clenches her hand.


    I don¡¯t know that fruit.


    She gazes deeply at the object laying on the ground. The saliva makes it glisten.


    Safe to eat? Commonly grown in villages? Not sustainable? Why did she think that?


    I don¡¯t know that. I¡¯ve never seen that fruit before in my life, I don¡¯t think so.


    Her brow furrowed. Strange information kept creeping into her mind, acting as though it was always there. Were it the suppressed memories she felt earlier?


    But, it just wasn¡¯t possible for her to have these memories. She knew her origins, she could remember her past... right?


    Where did I come from?


    She looks at her hand again. There was an air of surrealness to it.


    A throbbing pain hits her head, followed by a ringing which overwhelmed her senses.


    The wolf nudges her with its snout, letting out a whimper. It lays down by her side, with its stomach exposed.


    The girl lays down with it, using its body for warmth. She closes her eyes.


    ...


    The rain falls. Drops of blood join the water in its descent.

 Chapter 1: "December Rain"

    The rain falls.


    As they fall, some drops merge, some hit the leaves.


    Together, they play a grand orchestra, one of nature, one of purity. Each drop a masterful musician in a carefully constructed symphony written by the most masterful, knowledgeable, and talented of all: the world.


    The ensuing cacophony tells tales of life, of death, of peace, of war. The hopes and dreams of every living thing, as well as of the Earth itself, they are all told in this piece, ¡°The Seed of Life¡±.


    After an eternity of relentless play, the piece finally comes to its climax:


    ...


    The rain falls.


    As they fall, some drops pass through the gaps between branches, or just trickle down from the leaves, and find a girl, standing alone, in the middle of it all.


    Water makes its way down her golden hair; drops fall in quick succession, one after another.


    Parallel to them, drops of blood make their way down the dagger in her right hand. They fall much more slowly.


    The girl stands there, motionless. Her breathing is heavy.


    Her blue eyes, vacant.


    She sweats heavily; the rain makes it imperceptible.


    Trembling, her wounded left hand holds a white, glowing horn.


    She takes a step toward the light.


    ...


    The rain falls.


    ¡°Hey! Get your ass off the ground and bring the booze inside!¡± One man yelled.


    A campfire remained lit in the middle of their camp, though its resistance against the rain was destined to be short-lived.


    ¡°This damned rain won¡¯t stop. Where the hell did it come from anyway?¡±


    A tall man with mildly long, curly black hair and brown eyes walks hurriedly beneath a canopy tent, seeking lodging from the rain. A cigar rests in his mouth, and in his left hand he holds a longsword, still in its scabbard.


    He takes off his soaked leather hat and throws it at the ground.


    ¡°Tsk. Damn it all.¡±


    Just beneath him, on the ground, sat a bald old man with a grey beard, holding a liquor bottle.


    ¡°From the sky!¡±


    ¡°Can it, you damned geezer.¡±


    The old man burst into obnoxious laughter.


    A younger looking man approaches the two, ignoring the rain.


    ¡°So what now Tusk? Yer gonna wait the rain or are we goin¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re gonna wait.¡± He takes a puff of his cigar. ¡°Doing it now would only cause more problems.¡±


    ¡°If yer say so.¡±


    The young man tries to go his way, but Tusk stops him.


    ¡°Hey. Who¡¯s watching the lady?¡±


    ¡°The miss? But ye told us to stay away from ¡®er? Do you want me to go-¡°


    ¡°You fucking idiots. Leave it, I¡¯ll go to her myself.¡±


    He pushes the boy out of the way and heads toward a large wooden shed at the other side of the camp.


    ¡°Okay ¡®en.¡±


    The old man smiles at him with what teeth he has left and shakes his almost empty bottle of liquor. The young man replies with a nod and an awkward smile.


    ...


    The rain falls.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    A man in his late 40s sits by a table, reading from a pile of unorganized papers. He has a quill in his right hand, which he taps metronomically at the table.


    The room he¡¯s in is expansive, but mostly empty. A couple of bookshelves, a few chairs and the table. A red flag depicting a green sword surrounded by stars hung on the wall behind him.


    The door to the room opens, a slim man, about 30, wearing fancy attire walks in. His skin is very pale, and he wears square glasses. He closes the door behind him, swiftly but gently.


    ¡°Pardon my intrusion, sir.¡±


    ¡°What brings you here now?¡± His voice is deep and raspy.


    ¡°I come with a report regarding the matter of the daughter of the Bulwark family, Miss Eilith Bulwark, who was scheduled to arrive here today to meet with your son.¡±


    ¡°So? Anything happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, it would appear the carriage she was being transported in was attacked.¡±


    The man slams his hands down and gets up from his chair, yelling.


    ¡°What!? Attacked!?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The man readjusts his glasses.


    ¡°Impossible! What happened to her!?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°It would appear she was captured by bandits and is now being held captive near Jade river. They probably plan to demand a ransom for her release.¡±


    ¡°How could this happen? What became of her guards? Surely that arrogant fool would at least have guards to accompany her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir, it would seem they were wiped out.¡±


    ¡°Wiped out!? What kind of incompetent fools did he hire to protect his own daughter that got wiped out by some ruffians!?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t yet discard the possibility that there is a skilled fighter among them, sir.¡±


    The man sits back down.


    ¡°Oh heavens, what will I do once word gets out that the daughter of the Bulwark family got kidnapped by bandits in MY land!?¡±


    ¡°I believe our current priority should be to rescue Miss Eilith, sir.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, you¡¯re absolutely right.¡± He lets out a sigh. ¡°Julian.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°This is a matter of utmost urgency. Can I entrust you to lead the rescue?¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir. I shall do it.¡± The change is subtle, but his gaze becomes colder.


    ¡°You will be compensated, of course. Take as many men as you see fit. Make sure she comes back unharmed.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. In that case, I will take with me one of the guards as well as one thousand gold pieces.¡±


    ¡°Then go. You can take the earth-dragons. Get this done with as soon as possible.¡±


    He readjusts his glasses again.


    ¡°At once.¡±


    Without another word, he opens the door and leaves.


    ¡°After all that effort to get rid of the pests plaguing the forest... Some fucking bandits... Unbelievable.¡±


    His brow furrows even more, his face contorting into one of pure rage.


    ¡°They will pay.¡±


    The nobleman taps his quill much faster now.


    Down at the armory, Julian is making preparations for the rescue mission.


    A large, seven foot tall man approaches him. He wears a breastplate, and has impressive musculature; he looked like he could break the average man in half with his bare hands. It was the chief swordsman of the province.


    ¡°Julian!¡± His voice was extremely deep.


    ¡°Chief. A situation has arisen. I will need the assistance of one of your men. It can be any one of them, they won¡¯t require to fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Got it.¡±


    The chief turned to face his soldiers, who were resting and polishing their weapons. He takes a deep breath...


    ¡°ZACHARYAH! COME HERE BOY!¡±


    His booming voice rumbled through the air, shaking every man in the room to their very core.


    ¡°That was highly unnecessary.¡± Julian thought. He readjusts his glasses right afterwards.


    From the crowd, a boy, very visibly a young teenager, hurried over.


    His dark skin resembled of roasted coffee beans, his black hair was messy and unkempt, but his most eye-catching trait was... his eyes. One eye was golden, while the other a faint gray, almost completely white. They shined with determination, having an almost angelic look.


    The chief puts his hand on the boy¡¯s shoulder and looks at Julian.


    ¡°This is young Zach! He¡¯s fourteen. He¡¯s an aspiring swordsman, and a talented one at that! Don¡¯t let his age deceive you; he¡¯s been training with us for almost two years already!¡±


    Julian looks at the boy, evaluating him.


    It¡¯s true, his physique at the very least is remarkable for a boy his age. I¡¯m sure he already possesses some control of Mana.


    ¡°I see. And you were thinking he could use the experience?¡±


    ¡°Exactly right! I think everybody deserves to see you in action at least once!¡±


    ¡°Oh please, you know I¡¯m already well past my prime.¡±


    ¡°Hahah, I can¡¯t even imagine how terrifying you would be if that illness didn¡¯t stop you.¡±


    Julian readjusts his glasses.


    ¡°Oh, sorry, I forgot it¡¯s a sensitive topic...¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. In any way, I should make myself scarce. Time is of the essence.¡±


    ¡°Alright, see ya¡¯.¡±


    The chief pats the boy on the back and gives him a nudge to follow Julian.


    ¡°Follow me, Zacharyah. I¡¯m heading to the treasury.¡±


    Zach begins following him, his eyes brimming with excitement.


    ¡°Have they taught you how to ride an earth-dragon yet?¡±


    The boy nods positively.


    ...


    The rain falls.


    The door to the shed creaks as the man enters it. It¡¯s poorly lit, with just an oil lamp resting nearby, its light reflecting off a variety of armors and swords stored in the shed. The air is damp, and many drops of water fall through the cracks on the roof.


    ¡°Hey there, missy.¡±


    Sitting at the other end of the shed is a young-adult woman with short black hair. Her hands and feet are tied with rope.


    ¡°Release me at once. Or you will regret it.¡±


    ¡°Whoa there miss, calm down, huh? You¡¯re going to be released, soon enough. It¡¯s just that we need to go ask a little favor of your father, but the rain is putting a stop to that plan right now.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s my maid? What did you do to her!? Answer me!¡±


    Tusk grins, his face warping with malice.


    ¡°Oh, the one with the blue hair? Wouldn¡¯t you like to know? Perhaps I should show you...¡±


    Despite his taunts, he didn¡¯t have any intention of touching her. Knowing the head of the Bulwarks, if he simply let her go without a scratch for a handsome sum, it was likely the Bulwarks wouldn¡¯t pursue the matter further.


    Little did he know, however, he had acquired the wrath of a completely different family. One which wasn¡¯t nearly as merciful.


    ...


    The rain falters.


    Julian and Zach quickly approach the campsite, riding the earth-dragons.


    They weren¡¯t actual dragons, far from it, just very large reptiles. They were notoriously difficult to tame, and even then, it was much easier to do than with most beasts. This difficulty, combined with the fact they were way too fast and powerful for regular travel, made them a very unusual means of transportation, one only used in rare instances or in battle.


    This was one such instance.


    Julian carries with him a large sack of coins, presumably the one thousand gold coins he had requested in order to ensure he could get Lady Eilith back safely.


    Zach carries with him only his sword, though the intention is for him to not use it.


    They ride through the main dirt road, now practically mudlands due to the heavy rain.


    They soon cross Jade river, and begin moving parallel to the stream, moving substantially slower to avoid the trees in the way.


    In the time it takes them to reach the camp, the rain has stopped completely.


    ¡°Would you look at that, the rain¡¯s gone. Not much longer now, miss.¡± Tusk sits by a stool in the middle of the shed, now filled with the smell of tobacco from his cigar.


    The door to the shed slams open, the sound startling the woman who then looks towards it. Tusk slowly turns his head around to see who it was. It was the young man.


    ¡°Boss, there¡¯s a, uh... situation.¡±


    Tusk looks at him in silence. He gestures with his hand for the man to continue speaking.


    ¡°There¡¯s these guys, they say they¡¯re here for the lady.¡± He points at the woman. ¡°They say they have money to get ¡®er¡±


    They¡¯re here for her? How did they find us? The Bulwarks couldn¡¯t possibly have received the message yet.


    ¡°How much money?¡±


    The young man looks outside of the shed and yells,


    ¡°Hey! How much money do they-¡°


    He¡¯s interrupted as Tusk pushes him out of the way and heads over to greet the visitors, unsheathing his sword.


    A butler? And a kid? Riding earth-dragons? Who the hell are these guys?


    ¡°State your business. Who are you?¡±


    Julian readjusts his glasses. More than a dozen bandits surround them, brandishing their weapons.


    ¡°We¡¯re servants of the Saphir family. We come here because one of the daughters of the Bulwark family was scheduled to arrive in our estate, however we have received intel that she was being held captive by the Jade river. I believe this is where she is being held; am I mistaken?¡±


    Saphir family? I knew setting up camp by the river would be a bad idea, damn it.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Tusk grasps the hilt of his sword tightly.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for violence. I propose that her freedom be exchanged for the sum I have here.¡± Julian raises the sack of coins, displaying it clearly. ¡°One thousand gold pieces.¡±


    The camp falls into complete silence.


    One thousand!? I planned to ask for half of that! How much money do these Saphirs have!?


    Julian gets off the earth-dragon and walks toward Tusk. Uncertainty filled the villain¡¯s eyes. He hands over the coins.


    ¡°You can check its contents.¡±


    Reluctantly, Tusk grabs the sack and opens it, lowering his weapons in the process. Julian watches him, with his hands behind his back.


    Tusk inspects the coins. He puts his hand inside the bag and deep into it, moving it around, watching as it formed waves. The coins were like a sea of gold.


    The offer was legitimate. One thousand gold coins. Tusk couldn¡¯t help but contain his smile.


    ¡°You have a deal.¡±


    ¡°Grateful.¡± Julian narrows his eyes, looking down at the bandit. ¡°Now then, about Miss Eilith.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s in that shed over there. We wouldn¡¯t dare lay a finger on her, of course.¡±


    ¡°Good. Zach.¡±


    Zach gets off the earth-dragon and heads over to the shed.

 Chapter 2: "Light"

    The door to the shed remained wide open. Sunlight flooded the inside. Eilith looked at the door, the very gates of hell, sitting open, inviting her to leave. She could see the trees standing outside, unwavering. The nightmare was so close to ending.


    Yet, she couldn¡¯t move. The rope around her hands and feet was so tight every time she struggled, it felt as if they were cutting deeper into her flesh. Her only hope was that the young man''s words from earlier were true; someone had come to rescue her.


    ¡°Someone...¡± She cried weakly.


    Just then, a silhouette appeared in front of her, it cast its shadow over the entire room. A silhouette much smaller than any of the men she¡¯d seen in the camp. It stood there in silence for a second, as a shadow, its features indiscernible.


    Light eventually made its way into Eilith''s eyes, and she could see who the figure standing before her was.


    A young boy, staring back at her, just as perplexed and curious. In his shirt, she sees a crest, small, almost unnoticeable; a green sword surrounded by stars.


    She exhales in relief.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The boy asked.


    His voice was like a soothing melody to her ears, which had grown accustomed to the rash, vicious war cries of the men who had kidnapped her. His first response to seeing her there wasn¡¯t even to question if she actually was the one he was there to rescue; he was only concerned about her well-being.


    Eilith immediately forgot all the terrible things she had to witness those past few days; for at least that moment, she could be happy it was finally over.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    He hurried over, unsheathing a knife he kept hidden in his pocket, and cutting her free of her restraints. Her body almost didn¡¯t know how to react; she had spent entire days there, without being able to move. She stood up slowly, with the help of the boy, barely able to take a step forward without falling over.


    ¡°Thank you...¡±


    The boy helped her make her way outside, where Julian greeted her. He bowed slightly, putting his hand over his chest.


    ¡°Miss Eilith. It¡¯s good to see you are safe.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Julian.¡±


    Julian took over the duty of helping Eilith walk over to the earth-dragons. He didn¡¯t let it come through, but seeing her state angered him.


    Wouldn¡¯t dare lay a finger on her? What a joke. Both families would be enraged at the sight of her body.


    Tusk still sat there, surrounded by bandits, enamored with the sight of gold.


    What a bunch of bumbling idiots. Do they seriously think I¡¯ll let them get away with this?


    Julian watched the bandits with disgust. The bloodlust was palpable, yet, none of them noticed it.


    I won¡¯t kill them. I must take them back alive to Emeral; he¡¯ll be certain of what to do next.


    Zach followed them a few feet behind, though the distance between them slowly grew. Zach took in his surroundings carefully; he was certain he too would have to deal with groups of bandits one day, so he wanted to learn as much as possible with this chance he had gotten. He analyzed their behavior, how they addressed the other members, their sense of space, everything.


    Such a habit was what made him the prodigious fighter he was. Gifted with an incredible memory, he devoured every bit of knowledge he could, believing it could all be useful to him in some way or another.


    It was as if by fate. Had it not been this boy, Zacharyah, and his habit of watching everything so closely, it was unlikely it would have been noticed.


    A person, laying hidden among the bushes and tall grass, motionless. It looked to almost certainly be a dead body, but even then, Zach rushed over. ¡°Likely¡± and ¡°unlikely¡± didn¡¯t matter to him; as long as he hadn¡¯t yet confirmed they were dead, as long as the chance that they were holding on to their life existed, there was no time to be wasted.


    Julian stopped and looked back at him.


    What is he doing?


    Zach¡¯s intuition was correct. A small girl clad in black robes laid there breathing heavily; she was still alive, though unconscious. He checks her heartbeat and places his hand over her forehead. She had a very strong fever. Had it not been for him, she would almost certainly have died.


    He picks her up in a princess carry, hurrying over to Julian.


    Julian understood almost immediately what was about to happen. Such an act was futile, he had to shut it down quickly. Still, he gave the boy a chance.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I found her laying there on the ground. She¡¯s extremely ill-¡°If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Then leave her where you found her. It¡¯s not for us to worry about.¡±


    Zach immediately became extremely disgruntled. Julian hadn''t even considered it. A life was within arm''s reach, and he immediately refused to save it. It was as if he had no principle, all he cared about was serving the noble he worked under to the best of his ability, with zero regard for anything else.


    ¡°But she¡¯s dying! We need to save-¡°


    ¡°¡®We¡¯ need only rescue Lady Eilith. That is our, no, your only mission.¡±


    Zach gritted his teeth. He had no intention of backing down. Before he could say anything more, Julian sighed.


    Such a foolish child. Bringing him along was a mistake; I should have expected as much.


    ¡°Suppose we take her back with us. Who¡¯s going to take care of her? Are you personally going to convince Emeral to have good doctors attend to her?¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Eilith interjects. ¡°I will take responsibility for her, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Julian is taken slightly aback.


    ¡°But, my lady, are you certain? There¡¯s no need-¡°


    ¡°Julian. We¡¯ll take her with us.¡±


    Eilith understood from the moment she first saw Zach the type of person he was; it wasn''t just that he was innocent, he had an iron resolve. He was a ray of hope shining in that dark, broken world, however faint his light was.


    ¡°I understand, my lady.¡± He readjusts his glasses. ¡°However, your stay at the Saphir estate will be limited; what do you plan to do with her then?¡±


    ¡°I will take care of her.¡± Zach replies. ¡°Eilith, I¡¯m grateful if you can arrange doctors for her, but you don¡¯t need to worry about her further than that. I will take care of her myself.¡±


    ¡°And how do you plan to do that, exactly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask to receive payment like the other guards. Or I will ask Lou to make her an apprentice, just like I am. If nothing-¡°


    Julian clenches his fist; hearing those na?ve words made him furious.


    ¡°You seriously think the chief would agree to that? To make a little girl one of the guards? Chief Lou isn¡¯t the kindhearted, generous man you think he-¡°


    ¡°A man like you doesn¡¯t know anything about a man like the chief!¡±


    Julian relaxed his hand. Zach couldn¡¯t see his eyes¡ªat that angle, his eyes were obscured by the light reflecting off his glasses.


    Of course. How could I forget?


    ¡°Very well.¡± Julian lowered his tone significantly. ¡°You, Lady Eilith, and the girl. You can go now. I will take care of the rest.¡±


    The three of them get on the earth-dragon Zach came in. Usually, at most two people can ride in one earth-dragon, however the girl was small enough to fit between Eilith and Zach without much problem. Eilith held the girl tightly, close to her body.


    He and Lou are the same. They''re true warriors; warriors who have vowed to protect what they believe in, above all else. We live in completely separate worlds.


    ¡°Zach.¡± Julian addressed him one last time before they departed; ¡°I will need to borrow your sword.¡±


    I have no doubt...


    Tusk approached Julian from behind as he took Zach''s sword.


    He''ll really do whatever it takes.


    "Hey. I have one last question. How can we be sure you won''t pursue us further?"


    Tusk had in his hand his longsword, shining radiantly in the sunlight, which he held with a firm grasp. He looked at Julian with a malicious smile; he had no intention of letting them go. Julian looked at him, his gaze sharper than any blade. Their goals were the same.


    Eliminate the other.


    "You can''t."


    Both earth-dragons took off, kicking up a cloud of dust. One, rode by Zach, was headed directly back to the Saphir estate. The other, merely hid in the vicinity, so as to minimize the odds that a bandit would try anything.


    Julian unsheathed the sword with a fluid, seamless motion; in an instant, he was facing Tusk and his men.


    Julian immediately charged toward Tusk, who prepared for a counter. The other bandits also raised their weapons, though they expected their leader to take care of the enemy. To them, it seemed obvious, Tusk was much larger and more imposing, while Julian looked sickly and like he barely had any muscles.


    Tusk swung his blade, prepared for the swords to clash, but in an instant, Julian disappeared from his sight. He had moved faster than Tusk was able to perceive, and now stood behind him. Julian did not stand facing Tusk however, he had walked right past him and now targeted the bandit which stood there.


    Before the man could react, Julian kicked him in the head, launching the man several feet away. The kick was powerful enough to knock him out instantly, but just gentle enough not to kill him.


    Taking a few moments to process what had just happened, the other bandits stepped back, terrified. It was an intimidation tactic, to prevent them from trying to interfere with the real battle that was just about to begin.


    Tusk turned to face Julian once again, gritting his teeth.


    What the hell? Was that his Sol? ...No, that was just his actual speed. He''s better than I expected.


    "Now then," Julian readjusts his glasses, "let''s get started."


    They both launch towards each other once again. This time, Tusk, by focusing Mana to enhance his sense of sight, was able to properly perceive Julian''s movements. He watched closely as the swords inched closer toward each other, in what felt like minutes, but in reality was just a split second.


    His eyes widened, as he saw the swords almost begin to make contact.


    I got him.


    Instead of clashing, his blade begins to phase through Julian''s sword. This outcome was completely unexpected by Julian, who reflexively reacted by stepping back, just barely avoiding the hit.


    I only grazed him!?


    Julian took a moment to understand what had transpired, but quickly regained his composure.


    "I see. So that''s your Sol. Quite an interesting ability."


    "That''s right, impressed? It usually ends the fight in one blow, I commend your agility."


    He''s dangerous, I can''t take him back to Emeral. I''ll have to kill him, right here.


    "However, it''s an ability that relies on catching your opponent off-guard." How fitting of a bandit. "It won''t work anymore."


    "Oh really? We''ll have to see about that. I trust you can use yours, too? Seeing how skilled you are."


    Julian extends his arm holding the sword, and then drops the blade on the ground.


    "Indeed, we''ll have to see about it."


    Tusk raised his sword and dashed toward Julian.


    "Don''t get cocky!"


    Julian, however, stood there nearly motionless. As Tusk went for the attack, just before it hit him, Julian, with a slight movement of his upper body, dodged the blade, which slid against the sleeve on his left arm. With his right, he put the palm of his hand against Tusk''s chest.


    Why such a talented fighter would lead a troupe of good-for-nothings is beyond me, though.


    Suddenly, a bright flash of light emanated from Julian''s hand. Tusk barely had time to react, before an explosion blew right through his torso.


    It had no force of impact; Julian merely sidestepped him as Tusk came to a stop, and stood there, with a massive gaping hole in his chest.


    Julian didn''t even look to see the result of his attack. The fact the only sound that could be heard coming from behind him was that of liters of blood pouring out told him enough.


    Julian looked to face the rest of the bandits and their despair filled eyes as they watched in terror the still standing body of their leader. What pieces of bone and organ tissue that remained fell ungraciously out of his chest.


    Without hesitation, one threw his weapon at the ground and shouted,


    "I-I surrender!" I can''t fight against that monster, no way!


    Julian readjusts his glasses, then glares at the man.


    "Good. But it won''t be enough."