Aldred did not wait for the bandits to attack. He dove below the ground and tunneled around the bandits. The surprised men panicked as they glanced around the room. Suddenly, Aldred emerged from behind one of the bandits and slashed forward. His claw like hand tore of chunks of flesh from the helpless bandit. Even with their leather armor, they could not defend against Aldred's sharp and powerful claw that had been trained and strengthened to dig through solid rock like tofu.

As the second bandit died, Aldred prepared to dive in again. However, never had he imagined that the bandit leader was a Fire Mage as fire shot towards him causing him to flip backwards in order to dodge. A piercing scream caught his attention. He turned back and saw that the fireball had hit one of the cells causing the ground inside the cell to burn. A couple of Water-Affinity children managed to put out the fire but some other children were still caught in the flames and were burned. None of the kids knew healing and the burnt children could do nothing but bear with the pain.

Shit, I forgot about the hostages. I need to free them out. Aldred thought.

Aldred sneered at the men. He lunged towards them, surprising them with his incredible speed. He charged towards the bandit leader, intending to kill him first. There was a saying from his past life - Severing the head will destroy the body, which was applied to both immortals and armies.

However, what Aldred didn't expect was when the bandit leader used one of his subordinates as a meat shield. The bandit died in Aldred's arm and was subsequently thrown at the young boy. Both bandit and Aldred crashed into the floor. The bandit leader activated Fire Pit at the ground below them. The bandit's corpse was burned, however, Aldred fortunately escaped unscathed. With his current cultivation coupled with his powerful and well-tempered body, Aldred was unharmed by the fires in the pit. Aldred dove beneath the pit and tunneled towards the Fire Mage.

"You, go alert the captains!" The bandit leader ordered the last bandit. As the bandit rushed out the basement, the bandit leader raised his defenses as he scanned the ground below.

A hand erupted from the ground and grabbed the bandit leader's leg. The bandit leader screamed for help, alerting the bandits outside. As many bandits rushed in, Aldred shot out from behind the bandit leader and decapitated him. Just as he cleanly beheaded the bandit leader, a group of powerful looking men charged in. They were the captains of the bandit army. These three men looked at their leader's body and seethed in anger.

"Big Boss was done in by this bastard! Second Boss, we must avenge him." One of the captains said. "You men from the outside! Come inside and help us kill this bitch!"

Aldred! Let me hold them off while you free the children. Skaal said as his heart stirred for a fight.

Aldred agreed and tossed Skaal towards the bandits. Skaal immediately changed into his Giant Beast Form and body-slammed into a group of bandits. Both the bandits and the children gawked at the sudden appearance of a demonic beast. Some of the children screamed in utter terror but they shushed when Aldred told them to calm down. Aldred slashed the cell bars with his hand and created openings for each cell. The children hurriedly rushed out of the cells. Aldred slashed towards the back wall a few times before kicking the pieces of stone and wood apart. The children all rushed out through the back. Some bandits came charging over but Aldred rushed to meet them head-on.

"Run! Run as far away as you can!" Aldred urged the children. The kids scurried away, while Aldred killed a few more bandits.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

While Aldred took care of the bandits outside, Skaal was dealing with the bandit captains inside. Skaal rammed his pincers into the bandit captains. Although they were strong, none of them were able to hurt Skaal even with his weakened state. The bandits died left and right whether it's from decapitation or from crushing - they all suffered gruesome defeats. It was simply as easy as taking out the trash. After finishing the bandits inside, Skaal rushed out to help Aldred. They continued to kill off the bandits until finally, none was left.

Even though all the bandits were dead, something still egged at Aldred's guts. His instincts told him that something was wrong. Aldred wondered about it but he just couldn't put his finger on it...until, that is, Skaal brought it up.

Strange! Why are there missing a couple of bandits? There should be at least 100 more.

"You're right! That's what I was wondering about as well...where are the rest?" Aldred mused. Suddenly, he thought of something...the children! Oh no! The 100 bandits must have chased after the kids! Aldred rushed towards the direction that the children headed off to. Skaal sensed that something was amiss and followed him as well.

A painful shriek echoed the night. Aldred and Skaal sped up as they heard the scream. When Aldred approached a nearby grassland, he saw bodies...children and bandits alike. Standing in the center of the massacre was the girl that talked with Aldred earlier. Her hair was disheveled and fluttered in the night air. Her blue eyes flashed with anger and sadness and her clothes stained with blood.

"What happened here?" Aldred muttered as he took in the sight.

Aldred! That girl! I sensed that she has awakened...and a Quadruple-Affinity at that! She must be the child that the Count was looking for! It seems the slaughter that had taken place here caused her emotions to erupt. You must calm her down or this will not be good for all of us.  Skaal notified.

Aldred continued watching the girl. She knelt down beside a dying child...it was her little brother. She had promised her parents on their dying breath to protect her little brother...but now...she was unable to fulfill her parents' wish. The girl lifted the corpse in her arms and cried.

Aldred walked up to the crying girl, making sure to not make any sudden movements and presented himself so that the girl can see him anytime. The girl looked up at Aldred with vacant eyes - her once bright eyes, now dull with pain and suffering.

"A-aldred?" She murmured.

"Yes...it's me. You alright?"

"Kev...he...he's gone.... I promised our parents that I'll take care of him.... I-if only I had more power.... If only I had awaken sooner.... *SOB!* *SOB!*"

"It's not your fault. Come! Get up, your brother wouldn't want you to behave like this."

"How can you say that?! You don't know! You don't know how it feels to lose someone precious!"

"But I do know! I...I've also lost someone...many. They all died because I wasn't strong enough. But I did not give in. I vowed to become stronger and smarter so that I can protect my future loved ones. You can do the same."

"But...."

"Think of Kev! Would he want you to destroy yourself with grief? Or would he want you to continue living?"

"C-continue...living...."

"For your sake."

"F-for my sake."