The tension mounted as the seconds ticked by, each moment an eternity.

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes caught everyone's attention.

*Swoosh*

At that very moment, while heads were still turning towards the sound, multiple arrows flew from the trees towards the distracted members of the group.

Several grunts and shouts of pain sounded in Aegon's surroundings.

Yet, before he could even think about whoever was injured, a masked man armed with a dagger jumped out of the nearby bushes and lunged at him swiftly.

Instinct kicked in as Aegon quickly reacted, the sword in his right hand slashing downwards to parry the assailant’s dagger while his left pierced at his head.

The assailant threw himself backwards in a roll, barely dodging Aegon’s stab, but before he could engage again, a black shadow he barely noticed lunged at him, out of instinct he raised one arm to protect his face.

*Crack*

Kuro’s teeth dug into the enemy’s arm, cutting through flesh and cracking bone, the man’s grip on the dagger faltered as pain shot through his limb.

Seizing the opportunity, Aegon rapidly approached, one of his swords aimed at the man’s throat.

However, as his arm moved towards the man’s throat, a chilling thought crossed Aegon’s mind.

[This is a real person.]

His grip wavered, altering the sword’s course ever so slightly.

The blade cut through the side of the assailant's neck, leaving a deep laceration that spilled blood into Kuro’s face.

As the realization hit him, Aegon halted for a split second, his mind reeling from the shock of what he had just done. The sight of blood gushing from the masked man’s neck filled him with horror.

[What have I done?] His grip loosened further, his hands trembled with uncertainty as he stared at the scene unfolding before him. The masked man writhed in agony, clutching at his neck as blood kept pouring from the fatal wound.

Aegon’s heart pounded in his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

The chaos of battle did not abate, with arrows flying overhead, the clanging of metal on metal and the screams of agony, even the thumping of Tank’s hoofs which shook the ground as he ran didn’t seem to faze Aegon, because in that moment all he could focus on was the sight of the dying man before him.

Aegon knelt beside the dying man, his hands trembling so much his swords left them. He was completely defenseless but the danger he was in did not register at all in his mind.

He simply froze, kneeling on the ground while locking eyes with the expiring person.

He saw it, he saw it all, he saw it when the man’s eyes lost their luster and turned dull and still.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The shock was immense to Aegon. He had killed before, back in his hometown he had killed hundreds of animals, maybe close to a thousand by now but this time it was different.

[IM SORRY!] Tears streamed down his face as he screamed inwardly.

[IM SO SORRY!]

A small hand rested on his shoulder, he shuddered as he reminded himself of where he was.

Quickly turning to look at his would-be attacker he saw Anna’s blood-soaked face staring down at him with sadness and… disappointment.

[Im pathetic….]

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black shadow run with all its might as arrows rained around him.

His partner was running from side to side, barely dodging the weapons that came all too close to his black fur.

At the same time, Anna turned her back to him and rushed towards the treeline.

Still in a state of shock, his absent minded eyes followed Anna’s figure until it disappeared in the treeline.

“Aaaaaah!” A scream echoed in the chorus around the caravan, this one clearly standing out from the rest to Aegon.

His eyes regained some of his usual focus as his earlier shock was replaced with alarm, his head rapidly turning towards the fighting behind him.

There he saw Roy drop his sword to the ground and grab an arrow that had lodged itself in his leg, extreme pain contorted his friend’s face, the tears mixing with the blood that marred his face, making it look like Roy was crying tears of blood.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah” Another scream escaped Roy’s throat, this time even more visceral.

Aegon’s eyes fully cleared and his body started moving, he rose from the ground without even forming his first coherent thought in a while.

[They need my help.]

He exerted himself to the limit as he ran towards the wounded Roy, from the opposite direction another bandit was equally gunning towards the wounded and defenseless Roy.

*Bam*

Both blades met right above Roy’s head, Aegon barely managing to deflect the dagger meant to pierce his friend’s head, the impact made both of them step backwards but soon their blades descended once again into a flurry of slashes, cuts and stabs.

*Bam*

*Bam*

*Bam*

Beads of sweat trickled down Aegon’s face as the intense confrontation lengthened.

[Doesn’t this guy get tired?] He thought exasperatedly.

*Bam*

This time using both his swords in the same attack, he managed to push his opponent back and away from the injured Roy who was still lying on the ground nearby. His opponent, now also clear from Aegon’s pressing, reached towards his back and took out a smaller knife, likely meant for throwing.

Aegon’s eyes widened as he saw the bandits arm reach backwards and rapidly extend forwards, but before the knife could be set free a black shadow rammed the enemy’s body into the ground before continuing to run at breakneck speed.

The very next moment 3 arrows fell, barely missing the beast’s tail, though one of them just so happened to pierce the bandit’s head.

Usually, Aegon would have been stunned at the inglorious end of his foe, but his mind had barely finished processing the death of that man and he was already looking frantically around him for another target.

But before he could make his way towards his new target, a loud, booming voice reverberated through the forest.

“FALL BACK.”

Every black clothed bandit in the vicinity stopped in their tracks and turned tail, running away into the forest, as quickly as they came they were gone.

An eerie silence settled in the surroundings of the caravan but only for a moment as a chorus of pain filled groans took center stage.

Aegon’s heart pounded in his chest as he surveyed the aftermath of the skirmish. A dozen bodies were strewn across the ground with few spots left unblemished by blood.

With a trembling hand, Aegon knelt beside Roy, whose face contorted with agony. The hole the arrow had left in Roy’s thigh was a gruesome sight and Aegon knew he had to act quickly to stem the bleeding. Without hesitation he ran towards his bag, layed on the ground nearby, and retrieved a red shard before running back to Roy’s side.

“Hang in there, Roy.” he said before shattering the healing shard over the gruesome wound.