Chilling winds blew across the town as the night has settled, the inhabitants all have fled back to their homes except for a sizeable portion of them; who slept on the roadside as they couldn’t afford any form of accommodations or homes due to the lack of money.

The gap between the rich and poor are made very apparent by the number of lights that could’ve been seen in the dark, very few in this world had the pleasures of a phallic-like structure capable of glowing when the needle like fuse is lit as the wax fuels the flame; as its waxy body liquefies little by little until there’s nothing left; by then, the flame would die. The embrace of darkness, made imminent. This does not even regard the fact that the commoners didn’t have access to oil lamps either die to their astronomical price in the town, which Ikori deduced was due to the actions of the ruler of the kingdom that Samsam had mentioned prior to the fall of night. To ensure he had an iron grip over the elves living in town.

Very few structures had candles to light their homes, the dwellings of peasants were swallowed by the pitch-black night under the blanket of countless stars overhead beyond the sky. The only visible structures with light were the various mansions owned by the upperclassmen and the few inns, taverns and brothels.

Ikori had rented a room in one of the inns on the second floor as the entertainers on the ground floor were an unbearable sight to his eyes. He couldn’t stand the sight of a person’s degeneration occurring near him especially when they are forced into this practice. The entertainers were nothing more than slaves forced into unwholesome activities by their petty owners.

“You don’t seem to tolerate certain things.”

“Why should I? If I were to follow my instincts. I would’ve pummeled most of the men below this floor and the floor below it. I find whatever is happening down there, absolutely disgusting and for some reason you enjoyed the sight of that?”

Samsam had made a remark that ended up with an aggressive confrontation by Ikori.

“What’s wrong with it?” Samsam had asked.

“You said you were this town’s guardian. What kind of guardian would allow their eyes to be tainted by lust!?” Ikori lashed out.

“What? If a lady were to strip herself almost completely bare right In front of you and a crowd. Wouldn’t you be enticed to look at it eagerly?” Samsam asked dismissively, seeing the topic as a minor nuisance.

Ikori merely growled before suddenly. The entire tavern shook wildly from a shockwave that came from above, catching the attention of the guests and members of this establishment alike, as the male owner of the tavern along with 4 security staff hurriedly went up to the second floor where the shockwave originated from. As they opened the door to one of the rooms they only saw a Ikori sitting on the side of the bed and Samsam who was beneath the bed groaning.

“What’s going on here?” the owner demanded to know as his guards stood in front of him.

“Well you see…my roommate fell down…” ikori responded meekly.

The owner merely shook his head, flabbergasted that someone’s fall can really cause such a strong tremor before he spoke in a demanding tone.

“Whatever, don’t make the same ruckus again, otherwise the entire street would wake up! Understood gentlemen?”

Ikori nodded, looking back at the man as the man left them alone before Samsam got up and looked at Ikori, breathing heavily before shouting I’m shock.

“What in god’s name did you do!?”

“I don’t know.” Ikori shrugged his shoulders before continuing his sentence. “Maybe the deities are mad at you and decided to discipline you with an ear-splitting shockwave that knocked you against the wall?”

“You’re joking right…?”

“Does it look like I am?” Ikori raised a brow along with a blank expression. Samsam wanted to refute Ikori’s assumptions but in his mind, he doesn’t deny divine intervention as a possible source to which he grunted before getting back on the bed and fell fast asleep.

Ikori’s blank expression changed to one of discomfort immediately after his friend fell asleep, he looked at his remaining hand and noticed a black patch a top his palm. He placed his palm onto the wall before sliding it down leaving a black slimy trail on the wooden walls as he took a look at his palm, steam emanating from it as the sensitive underlayer of live flesh is exposed to all.

“How did that happen…?” Ikori pondered before he remembered that he had picked up a piece of stone lying on the floor of the room. At the time when he was angered by Samsam’s words he gripped it tightly until…it dissipated. Ikori plunged deeper into his thoughts before coming about to the idea of sub-atomization of rock, a mere cubic centimeter of sub-atomization would generate enough energy to level the entire town he is standing on.

Ikori was stunned at his immense grip strength that he had. That could overpower the forces that held the atomic nuclei together that are leagues above the forces of gravity of celestial bodies back in his original universe.

“Interesting…but this would have brought me joy if I had not lost my other arm!” Ikori grunted in displeasure before he got on top of the bed and slept next to Samsam as they agreed to share that one bed.

The very next day as dawn rose up, the birds sang their hymn, the leaves rustled by the motion of wind, the sounds of footsteps from the elvish peasantry and the swirling of hot air from the hot sun above. Ikori and Samsam were at the ground floor of the tavern as they decided to have breakfast. Samsam had ordered vegetable soup that consists of chopped purple stalks, purple cubes, black rings and the flavorful broth, Ikori on the other hand…ordered a pint of fruit wine which stunned the bartender and Samsam alike.

“Hey…don’t you think you should skip the alcohol for now?”

“Why?” Ikori asked.

“You guzzled 10 pints of the stuff yesterday. One shots worth can cause someone to get drunk. Although you didn’t get drunk from the 10 pints yesterday. You shouldn’t be drinking in the morning” Samsam responded.

“Trust me, I won’t die from drinking alcohol alright.” Ikori replied as the bartender served him up a pint’s worth of liquor. Ikori playfully licked off the foam that sat on top of the drink before proceeding to chugging all of it down in a single moment.

“Damn, this tastes just as good as Sake!” Ikori exclaimed.

“Sake?” Samsam asked curiously.

“Its an alcoholic drink that I used to drink everyday back in my place of origin. Although I did drink a very unhealthy amount prior to my death.”

“Wait, you died before!?” Samsam spoke as he was baffled.

“You died from having your arm sliced off?”

“No, that’s just a very minor annoyance compared to the countless deaths I have to endure previously! Hahahahaha!” Ikori said before laughing it off with a noticeable smile on his face. Samsam simply proceeded to eat away at his soup and finished it while a chill went up his spine. "He's not normal!" Samsam exclaimed to himself

Soon, the sounds of heavy footsteps were heard outside the bar as a brown-haired man wearing what seemed to be a mix of leather and plated armor walked through the entrance of the bar along with a squad of heavily armored guards. He sat next to Ikori coincidentally before slamming his fist onto the bar.

“Prepare the usual!” He ordered in a forceful tone as the bartender sent the word to the kitchen staff which lead to a loud commotion of metal battered against one another, the sound of sizzling meat and the flaring of flames.

In 5 minutes, A bowl of stewed meat, lacking any form of vegetables, slattered in what seemed to be a heavy rich demi glaze was served to him by the staff along with a wine glass of luxurious alcohol.

He ate the dish in a pretentious matter occasionally taking sips of his drink to cleanse his palette. All the while Ikori watched, he felt something was wrong with Samsam. He felt a strange feeling of animosity exuding from him,

As the man fished his meal, he got up and walked towards Samsam with a devilish smile on his face. Ikori didn’t bother to watch what was about to unfold as he ordered another pint of fruit wine.

“Oh, look who it is. The so-called guardian of the town. Handicapped. By me! All because I took away that sharp blade of yours. You can no longer do your job. Like a broken tool in a toolshed; it is in need of disposal. And who is this little pipsqueak? A foreigner? Hmph, lucky that a foreigner came by to treat you to a meal. If it had been one of the elves. I’d draw and quarter their body and enslave their family as breeding stock if they had disobeyed my orders.” He mocked Samsam and Ikori, who remained quiet as he resisted the urge to talk back against the man he hated the most. Ikori remained indifferent throughout the man’s blabbering.

“Oh, what’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe its because you can’t speak up because of the girl that is no longer with you.”

Samsam immediately attempted to get on his feet but Ikori merely pulled him back down shaking his head, suggesting that he should not take action that may provoke the guards in the tavern.

Ikori turned around to look at the rude man, coughed and cleared his throat before asking a set of questions. “So, gentleman. who are you? what are you? And would you mind telling me, what and who is this girl you brought up in your oh so lonely conversation?”

The man simply snarled as he slammed his fist onto the front bar; the force of which pulverized the fine wood to nothing but dust.

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“You idiot! Do you not know who I am? All the 1000 kingdoms that control this vast continent of Prideful Mare have at least known my name! The glorious Shiro Bariteferyl! The honorable knight that decapitated the wise man of the Viseryian elves; bringing glory to mankind, to which the gods smiles upon us!”

He proudly boasted but Ikori merely shrugged, unimpressed.

“Sorry but all I hear is copious amounts self-glorification about a bloodthirsty fool who killed someone for no apparent reason. The gods would more likely smite you than smile.” Ikori snapped back calmly. “And if you don’t mind, I want to know about the girl you speak off.”

Samsam stood up and gripped Ikori’s right shoulder tightly before he spoke up “Please don’t, I would prefer if, the rotten bastard does not speak of the girl ever again.”

In that very moment Samsam fell to the floor unconscious as he was seemingly struck at the back of his neck by an angered Shuro. Ikori looked down at his fallen friend before staring back at Shuro calmly.

“Let that be a lesson to you. Foreigner. You may have come a long way from across the seas from another kingdom. But we, the nobles. Don’t welcome strangers in our lands. Especially one of such pitiful stature.”

Shuro immediately turned around and ordered his guards to move out after he had finish his monologue but as he reached the entrance.

The sound barrier was shattered as Ikori leapt at him and drove his knee against the back of his adversary out of pure frustration, denting the priceless metal as Shuro was hurled across the road into a stone wall.

The guards quickly stared back only to see the teen standing by the entrance with a look of satisfaction on his face.

“How dare you!” shouted by one of the guards as he swung his mighty sword forward only to be strike by an elbow to his solar plexus which sent him flying into the air as he was slammed onto the wooden walls of the 4th floor of the tavern.

The other guards continued to stare in disbelief, a boy that had so much raw power behind his blows. Was something that no one could’ve foreseen, only in hindsight.

Shuro got up, groaning as he stared at Ikori, unsheathing his sword and aimed it at the teen.

“What are you standing around for!? Kill the boy and bring his head to me!” Commanded Shuro.

The guards were reluctant but still roared as they charged to meet their adversary to which Ikori easily dispatched without much of a hassle despite being at a disadvantage with a lost of a single limb. Their armours dented, armaments broken apart by his immense fortitude.

Shuro looked on with animosity as he too, charged on and attempted to hack at the boy. Ikori merely dodged the blow and the following barrage of thrusts and slashes. Ikori didn’t even budge from the spot he was standing on as he easily avoided shuro’s sophisticated swordsmanship with unsophisticated tactical maneuvers.

Shuro was eventually tired out as he panted, his sword in hand as he called upon a spell, that sent a ball of fire in Ikori’s direction.

Ikori took a deep breath as he swiftly took out the recursion pouch from his pocket and bit it as he singlehandedly untied it and simultaneously took out the staff that he had placed inside a day ago before he swatted the fireball up into the sky effortlessly causing a strong wind current in the process that blew aggressively at the bystanders causing them to fall while Shuro felt the full force of the wind and flew down the road into another building. He got groaning in pain, holding his chest panting hard as he looked at Ikori who was walking towards him.

“You monster…what exactly are you?” questioned Shuro

“I’m merely a mortal just like you but the better question is, have you had enough yet?”

Shuro merely grinned as he tossed dirt onto Ikori’s face as he got up and charged at him shamelessly.

Ikori had enough as he spun his staff before batting Shuro in the crown jewels, shattering the metal plating protecting it before he was shot up into sky over the horizon in a trail of white smoke.

“Lord Shuro!” screamed one of the guards as he ran in the direction of the smoke trail in the sky as the others followed suit.

“Hmph, what a fool he was…” Ikori sighed as he went back in the bar and shook Samsam to wake him up.

“Hey, you can wake up now. The fool has left the town.”

Samsam slowly opened his eyes as he got up, groaning while he stretched his limbs before he eventually spoke.

“Ngh…did the good for nothing left already?”

“I beaten him to a bloody pulp.” Answered Ikori.

“You…what?” Samsam questioned as his eyes widened.

“I beaten him up.”

“Nonononononono…you’re not supposed to do that! Now an entire army of soldiers is going to establish their presence here!”

“Don’t worry about that. Old Ikori here will sock them.” He said with a noticeable grin.

The inhabitants of the town started to surrounding both of them with tools and weapons as they stared at Ikori angrily, some in fear.

“You fool! What you’ve done would bring death to us all! The nobles would plunder our town with a vast army. They’ll slaughter the old and frail, they’ll imprison the young and sell them for profit, they’ll force all the men into labour and they’ll take and rape the women as their prize. All because of you. You have left us no choice but to capture you and negotiate with the nobles a deal to spare us by surrendering you to them. To free us from your mistake.” Said a middle-aged elf in ragged brown robes.

The crowd roared in agreement as they prepared to charge at Ikori with their equipment.

Ikori took a deep breath as suddenly a wave of wind blew into them as a feeling of absolutely dread took over their body and forced them to stop their charge. Many were sweating profusely, their hands shivered from the presence of an unknown force, some even wet themselves from the immense presence. Ikori started to talk as they had all stopped.

“Now that you’ve all halted…need I remind you surrendering your best option to freedom is not the brightest option in mind. Keep in mind, you’re all practically slaves to their torment.

They practically own and can dispose of you at any moment. If you give me up to them. Would it really guarantee safety from their wrath? Ask yourselves that, can you really negotiate with people possessing such demonic qualities? A negotiation with a person without morals, dignity or right-mindedness is as futile as attempting to bargain a deal with a dealer that ensures that the deal is only beneficial to their interests and unfair for others. Do you all agree with my notion?”

The elves started to chatter amongst themselves, unable to come to a definite response to Ikori’s words. The words that came out of his mouth was that of fact, and served to light a spark of rebellious spirit within them as a young elf amongst the mob nervously shouted in agreement as more and more joined Ikori’s side in a cascade.

“Hmm, good…now then. I want you all to discuss and decide what should be the first course of action to allow yourselves to reclaim your town and establish yourselves as the masters of your own colony.”

“Wait, weren’t you going to be the one to plan all of it out?” Asked one of the elves.

“I never said that. You guys wanted your freedom and to secure it for many generations to come. You guys should come up with the plan. I’m only going to be one of the main factors that would be instrumental in ensuring it all happens.” Responded Ikori.

The elves begun to chatter amongst themselves once more as various choices are tossed around but they could not decide on which choice. A few minutes passed and the mob still hadn’t come to a conclusive decision yet while Samsam stood idle with his arms crossed and eyes closed as he snoozed while standing. A young elf child walked towards Ikori, tugging his pants lightly which caught his attention.

“Huh? What is it little child?” Ikori asked out of curiosity.

“Could mister show me a trick?” He replied.

“…What trick?” Ikori said with a tone of confusion.

“I saw mister hit the fireball away with just a piece of wood. What magic did mister use? Maybe mister can teach us the spells so we could compensate for our lost magic.” The kid said with a hint of childlike determination behind his voice

“Look kid, I don’t know any magic and neither…hold on. You guys can use magic!?” Thus spoke a shocked Ikori.

“You didn’t know? We elves are born with it.” Said the boy.

Ikori still had a jaw dropping expression on his face before he shook it off a moment later.

“All of you a moment please!” shouted Ikori.

The elves all stared at Ikori while Samsam suddenly fell down from how loud the shout was.

“You all can utilize magic?” Ikori asked them, to which one of them called out and reaffirmed it as a fact.

“Why hasn’t anyone used it to defend themselves?”

“The humans have sealed away our magic arts rendering us completely defenseless. We can no longer bend the earth. Circulate the water, call upon the life, release the fire, unload the dark nor shower the light. The pillar structures they built in the 4 directions 10000 trees away from the village ensures that we are will never tap into our ‘mana body’.” Said one of the elves.

“Basically your source huh? I see. Why don’t I just go and break them apart?” Ikori said eagerly.

“Ngh. Don’t be a fool. Each of those pillars are very heavily guarded. 2000 families worth of man guards each pillar. They are composed of one the finest of what mankind has to offer. They have knights, boltmen, magicmen, beasts and a pillar chief that wields the high magic of the world. It's suicide for even you to fight them all!” An elf replied solemnly.

“Fair enough.” He sighed before he continued on with a smile. “So why don’t I prepare us all fully for the conflict at hand. So that we can establish a colony that is free from oppression. So that you all, may no longer suffer from the atrocities of the mankind!”

Hours beyond this point, night soon fell, Ikori and Samsam were back inside their room within the inn as hostile winds blew over the town. Ikori sat upon a desk typing on his phone, noting things down to construct a plan.

“I’m surprised you managed to convince them to join your cause. If you didn’t we might have had our heads on pikes.” Samsam spoke.

“That’s what you’d think. Anyways, do these people follow any kind of faith?” Ikori asked.

“They do, and it involves going in accordance with the current environment.” Samsam replied while he laid down on the bed, his eyes closed.

“Interesting…” Ikori’s voice trailed off as he could hear the roaring winds blowing harder onto the town.

“Has the wind always been this strong?” Ikori asked worriedly as he got up.

“Well, not that I’m aware of.”

“Sunbaskets! Samsam get up and arm yourself!” Ikori shouted as he slid the golden blade out of his recursion bag and tossed it at Samsam. The latter was shocked as he grabbed and inspected it with glee.

“Wow! What am I even looking at?” He unsheathed it to reveal a purple black blade, ripples of the hamon ran across the sides, the edge of the blade; sharper than a blade that can cleanly slice through toughest minerals, its craftsmanship unparalleled to any mortal crafts, the contrast between the dark blade and golden handle, guard, cord wrap and pommel. “This blade is a strange one. But one that is impressive regardless. where’d you find-…”

Before Samsam realized it, Ikori had long exited the room. “Hey! Why’d you leave me hanging you petty brat!?” Samsam howled as he immediately ran out of the room, flustered as he dashed downstairs to the outside with both the sheath and blade were in hand.

“Damn it you little prick, why’d you leave me hanging back up there…and why are they running…?” He spoke the moment he arrived, only to find out crowds of elves were running in the opposite direction they were facing in horror. Ikori just faced forward looking over the horizon. Samsam took a close look at the direction he was staring at and by then. A streak of lightning appeared in the sky illuminating the surrounding for a brief moment. His eyes dilated in fear as a chilly pang was felt across his body. The threat was real. What Ikori said was true. But the threat at hand was not an assassin nor an army nor was the threat confined within the category of humans. For it boasts a size that towers over the tallest of mountains,. For its body is capable of filling up the deepest of trenches beneath the dark waters For its body is darker than the night itself. For it boasts an entire armada of tendrils that shrouds its body in the trillions. The round shaped head atop is completely featureless. The sound of earth stomping can be heard from the vast distance between it and the village. The motion of the gigantic body propelled by its two legs responsible for the powerful winds. The two arms of the monster stood idly by. As it idly bides its time. For it may soon land the first strike. Upon the ones that stood in its way.