Chapter 18: Ignorance Is Bliss

As Blue and I fix our gazes on the sound of the man's hoarse voice, we’re frozen in place. Bewildered and unsettled, my eyes remain fixed as the shadowy figure enlarges.

"You– who are you?” I shout. “What did you do to Flora?! Were you the one who killed her yesterday?!!"

The mystery man walks out of the dusty smoke, dragging Grace along the ground with his left hand and clutching a steel sword in his right.

"Honest question… why would I waste my time answering your question if you’re just going to die afterward?”

Wearing a black cloak that drapes just below his knees, a dark violet shirt, black pants with dark violet lines streaming down the sides, and black shoes, the man steps further into view. He's even wearing a black mask, showcasing itself with violet highlights. The mask covers his face with one of the eye slits filled with a hollow darkness, while the other eye slit shows a ring of violet with a deep, enticing black abyss at its' core.

Tossing Grace to the ground, she slowly rolls to a stop in front of me and Blue. Her chest is slowly rising up and down, meaning she’s alive, but her body is wounded from head to toe. Spitting out some saliva as I rub my cheek, I don’t take my eyes off the man before me.

Those bruises must've been from the boulders. She was right underneath the dropzone. I'm surprised she's still alive…

"Now then, which of you would like to die first?” asks the man. “The crows are awfully starved for a decent meal today."

Unable to keep my cool, I demand, "What kind of sick person are you?! You… you murdered Flora! Why?! Why'd you do that?!"

Trying to remain as level-headed as possible, I glance at Blue, who’s still wincing as he tries to alleviate the pain in his ankle. The man then locks eyes with me for a moment. For a few seconds, it’s as if we are studying one another, trying to determine which of us possesses more resolve.

"I nearly pity you. Well… it's as they all say, ignorance is bliss."

He walks over to Grace and steps on her back, squashing the last of the energy and effort that Grace was putting toward crawling away. Going down on a knee, the man pulls on Grace’s hair to reveal her bloody and disfigured face to us while she whimpers in agony.

"Kid… in this world, you'll learn that only the strong will survive... and the weak..."

He lets Grace go, "… will die."

Blue and I glare daggers at the man, fury festering within me.

His actions are unforgivable… but I can tell I'm far too weak to stop him in a head-on attack. I need to wait and strike when the time is right. That’s the only way I can save Grace.

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Standing back up, the man walks over to the boulders scattered around the terrain. Bending down beside one of them, he rests his hand on its smooth surface and then lifts it without breaking a sweat, palming it effortlessly. He spins the boulder on the tip of his finger for a few seconds before letting it fall back into his palm. And then, the boulder is somehow crushed into dozens of smaller rocks, some of which rain down on top of Grace.

Looking down at Grace crippling with pain, the man says, “How pitiful…”

"Get… the hell away from her…"

That single demand is all my mind can conjure up as my body rises back to its feet.

On the ground beside me and also helplessly watching Grace get tortured, Blue curses his own foolishness for getting himself hurt. While I make a stand, Blue knows he’s stuck where he is, and I'm just hoping I can pull off a miracle so the three of us will survive.

“Or I’ll kill you.”

Those are the following words that come out of my mouth as my eyes begin to glow a piercing white, and a thin aura of iris illuminates the silhouette of my body. Walking over and picking up my sword, I lift it toward the man with no fear in his eyes.

In fact, at that moment, the man's eyes display an unusual reaction, one that seems so out of place given the threat I have just given him. He isn’t scared or surprised, but rather, his eyes beam with fascination. Picking up his sword next to him, he holds it just next to Grace's neck.

"Take one more step... and her life is as good as gone. Now...."

The man starts sinking the sword into her neck, and blood begins to seep out. With that, Blue puts his pain aside, flustering rage helping him ignore his ankle as he stands up.

"I think it'd be wise of you both to listen to me before you try to do anything stupid enough to get you all killed.”

Adrenaline surging through both of us, Blue says, "What the hell gives you the right... to speak to us like that?"

The man sharpens his gaze on Blue and then looks at me again. He swings his sword out to his side, cleanly slicing through a thick tree trunk behind him. My eyes still lit in a blaze, I watch as the tree leisurely toppled over, stunned by the casual display of strength. Instinctively taking a few steps back to create some distance, I strengthen my grip and raise my sword again at the man.

The man promptly moves his sword back to where it was, resting it against Grace's neck.

"Well... you both have good instincts, at least. I'll give you that."

My eyes flicker once more, a multitude of emotions disrupting my consciousness, "What the hell do you want with us?!"

"You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, huh? You're trying to make demands when I'm the one with the power? I could kill you before you even knew what hit you."

He starts chuckling, and I step forward, "I won't go down that easily. I'm going to make sure you regret every word coming out of your filthy mouth."

Blue also steps forward, muttering, "Don't think he's your only opponent. There are two of us... no matter how you look at it, you're outnumbered here."

The man says, "Oh really?"

A dozen copies of himself suddenly fabricate and surround the two of us. We swivel our heads around in a frenzy, instantly going back to back.

"I'm not going down without a fight,” I say over my shoulder. “You with me?"

Blue raises his fists and prepares for the worst, "Do you really think I'm going to sit out and let you have all the fun? I got your back man."

The man then snaps his finger, and all his clones vanish instantly. Grinning under his mask, he is intrigued by what has just played out before him.

"To hell with it… you know, I think you two might actually be starting to grow on me."

He reaches behind his back, unsheathes a dagger, and holds it out before him.

"You’ve caught my interest. So how 'bout we play a little game?”