As much as Kihet hated it, he needed to buy time for Irvan’s group for reinforcement.
He lured the Shadow Knight on a whim that it was targeting him. It said he had the key for the tower, but Kihet never found the entrance of the Tower even though he frequently visited.
“Yah!” He steered the Felk towards the tower.
Kihet doubted it would carelessly attack with the Tower in the path. If it was going to attack him, Kihet though he might as well use the structure it valued as a collateral.
The pillar of light built up from its sword vanished mid-swing. Kihet speculated the Shadow Knight probably noticed it’d hit the tower if it executed the attack.
The Knight stowed its weapon and pursued him. Kihet immediately steered out of the way as he heard thumps sounding behind. The Knight was fast on foot, but it could not fly. Kihet simply had to move the Felk out of its reach before it could crush him.
“You’ve gone far enough.”
Suddenly, Kihet found himself floating through the air. The Felk tumbled across the ground with all four of its legs chopped off.
The Knight landed beside the Felk, quickly silencing it before turning its attention onto Kihet.
“This Key, is it these marks on my arms?”
It nodded.
“I would return it if I could, but this was forced onto me.”
“Then die.”
Not even thinking of an alternate plan, the Shadowed Knight changed its sword back into its sickle form and swung it at his shield. Kihet felt a sharp pain and immediately went to cover it, touching something warm and wet. The Knight’s weapon sliced a hole on his shield and shaved some flesh off his arm. That black sickle cut through his shield like a hot knife running through butter.
Kihet quickly tightened the shield’s strap to slow down the flow before he bled out. He held his chipped sword firmly in one hand, trying to keep his distance from it.
The Knight blurred.
It dashed forward and moved low. It ducked below waist height, underneath Kihet’s weapon and sliced diagonally upwards at Kihet’s neck.
Before the sickle touched Kihet, silver flames erupted from below and warded the Knight.
While it was busy trying to smother the flames, Kihet decided to risk everything for a counterattack. He lunged at the Knight as barriers materialized in front to stop the flames from touching it. Unbeknownst to both, the magic shield protecting it was consumed by the flames and provided an opportunity for Kihet to stab his blade at the Knight’s chest.
Unfortunately, the Knight reacted fast and sidestepped. It kicked Kihet in his stomach and sent him flying.
As Kihet struggled to get back on his feet, he heard a hum nearby and desperately looked for the source. It was too late as the Knight pushed the magic circle into the ground. The earth around cracked with heat and exploded. The shockwave sent Kihet soaring towards the tower, hitting the back of his head onto its stone exterior.
-I got careless. There wasn’t a chance for me to win anyways. Just so you know, you can have your damn key or whatever. I don’t have a problem dying.
His life hasn’t been fulfilling. If he died here, very few would mourn for him. He believed the village would be glad instead. Dying in this place wasn’t bad. At least the knight will get what it wants and leave everyone else alone while no one would witness him getting done in, right?
-Do I really feel that way? What will the others think?
There was no evidence he didn’t release the seal containing the disaster. As long as he lived, Kihet knew he’d be convicted till the end of his life. Persecuted for something he might’ve done for something he vaguely knows of.
“Kihet. What are you doing?”
A gentle voice echoed in the back of his mind.
-That’s right. There’s a handful of people that cared for me. If I was killed by this thing, Sorah would lose another person she cared about. She already lost her parents to the accident I unleashed.
In his sorry state, Kihet sat helplessly. Blood dripped down his head, his vision became hazy.
Looks like this is it.
He closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
*Clang!*
“I’ve already told you I can’t have you die on me. You haven’t taken responsibility for your sin.”
Someone blocked the Knight’s attack and pushed it back.
His savior waved a glowing weapon at the Knight. It was strangely shaped like a chakram with two curved blades extending towards opposite directions.
It took the same shape as the engraving on his arms when put together.
As for his savior, the man came in with silent footsteps. There was a glow around him that masked his appearance. He hovered in the air like some phantom apparition of the dead as he was a bit transparent.
“That key belongs to me. This precious vessel must not die here.” The Apparition declared. “Enui, your friends will arrive soon. I’m ill equipped to perform treatment, but I’ll deal with this shadow before they find you. You do your best to stay alive.”
“You traitor!”
The Knight went into a frenzy, slashing wildly at the Apparition. The air vibrated each time a strike was blocked. Their weapons sparked each time they clashed. The Knight’s weapon transformed from sword to sickle, back to a sword at its convenience.
Eventually, the Apparition caught the Knight’s arm, throwing it back. He dropped into a throwing stance and hurled his bladed chakram. He jumped after it, delivering a powerful punch at his foe, plowing a trail from the tower deep into the forest.
The Knight jumped out of the forest this time with a black sickle in tow, but the Apparition wasn’t concerned. He stood there, confidently exchanging attacks.
“You’re forcing my hand, really. That magic sickle consumes any matter that doesn’t have magic protection while the magic sword cuts through all magic. You know these flames are a threat to your kind since you all aren’t bound to this realm.”
He jumped back and whispered a spell.
Kihet was taught magic could be invoked by asking the elementals in their ancient language, Alchemia. Curses on the other hand were activated by consuming the caster’s stamina, lifespan or living substitute like blood or flesh.
This was neither.
The Enuis possessed extraordinary perception to differentiate magic and curses. The special feathers growing around the ears allowed one to hear the hums of mana. Magic produced a gentle soothing note when it is being casted. Curses violently shook the core of air and made a low drumming noise.
The sound Kihet heard was silent, as if the world had stopped but its residents could move. He couldn’t describe it, but it felt as if a void opened in his body in that fraction of a second when the spell was activated.
The black crooked form of the knight’s sickle crumbled.
“Kudirvera!” The Apparition chanted.
This time, it was magic. Kihet couldn’t interpret the word the apparition shouted, but he slightly understood it as he watched the effects of the spell. A chain forged of mana shot out of the Apparition’s finger and into the Knight’s chest. From there, spikes exploded out of the knight’s body and spun it within the web of chains into a cocoon.
“Hmm… I don’t have enough power to return him. I’ll do this for now.”
He carved a boulder out of the ground, slamming it on top and buried the Knight. A symbol identical to his weapon and the mark on Kihet’s arm appeared on the face of the rock, creating a seal.
Kihet had questions. He began feeling tired, his eyelids growing heavier.
The last thing he saw was the Apparition walking towards him.
“One last thing before you sleep. The path ahead will be treacherous and gruesome, don’t mess up for my sake, alright? I really hope you’ll make the right choices.”
-What did he mean by ‘this time’? Right choices? Why were the seal on my arms important?
Before Kihet could ask those questions, everything turned black.
----------------------------------------
Once his consciousness had come to, he was confronted with heavy feeling weighing down his body. He was lying on a soft bed with clean sheets. The room was strongly aromatic. Medicinal herbs and flowers filled the air with a relaxing scent.
He slowly moved his hand out of the covers to shelter his eyes from sunlight.
It felt like a terrible nightmare. His mind was still hazy from the encounter with the Knight.
After rubbing his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust his vision, he reached for his chest to unbuckle his armor. He groped around only to discover himself in a new set of robes.
His head throbbed, his back ached. He examined his arm to found it was treated and looked up to the tall ceiling. This wasn’t his home, but he did recognize the place.
It was an apothecary one of his friends ran.
“Kihet, you’re finally awake. I wouldn’t move too much if I were you.”
Kihet discovered Elius sat in a corner with a book set down on a desk. He looked grumpier than concerned. Rather than instantly scolding him of his recklessness, Elius silently pointed. Kihet traced his finger and his eyes led him to find Sorah resting her head on his leg.
“She’s been there ever since we found you.”
If it wasn’t for Elius pointing it out, Kihet would’ve thrown her off the moment he saw. It stung, but Kihet also felt weak. He wasn’t sure if he recovered enough strength to move her in his current state.
“So, uh…” Kihet slowly raised up. “What happened?”
“You tell us. We don’t know. When we caught up, we only saw you bleeding out in front of a strange stone. The Knight was gone.”
“I… don’t know much. Anyways, how are the others?”
“You…! For crying out loud.” Elius pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you know how injured you were? How much blood you lost? At one point Lemi couldn’t feel your pulse! You slept for five days. Five whole days!”
“Oh. Okay-.”
“This isn’t okay! Ugh… you’re hopeless. Just sit there and don’t move. I’m going to call Lemi over to give you a checkup. Don’t you dare move a muscle.”
Seconds later, footsteps rushed through the building. It sounded as if Lemi dropped everything to prioritize Kihet. At first, she showed a mix of terror and sorrow on her face. Once she spotted Kihet awkwardly waving to her, she collapsed on her knees and let out a large sigh of relief.
Now seeing his friends’ reaction there was a tremendous guilt weighing his mind. Although it may have been the best outcome he could think of, he was ashamed to abandon them to confront the Knight alone at the Tower.
“Lemi, I’ll leave him to you now. I have to go and report Kihet’s condition to gramps.”
“Understood. Thanks for watching over him.”
“Just promise don’t be too harsh on him, okay?”
“I cannot promise that.”
Kihet gulped as Lemi steadily got back on her feet and made her way to the counter across the bed. She prepared an assortment of equipment. Kihet saw pliers, scalpels, tongs, objects which he did not believe were for medical use.
“Kihet.”
“Eep!”
“What are you getting startled for? Is somewhere hurting?”
“Oh… n-no! I’m perfectly healthy, as strong as an ox!”
“That’s not an excuse to skip your checkup. It’s for your own good.”
“You must be busy! How about your parents? Your father could-.”
“They’re out tending elderly patients who can’t move out of their homes and will not be back for a while. I am in charge until they return.” Lemi held a cup water towards Kihet. “Be honest. Are there any soreness on your body?”
Kihet carefully downed his drink. “I’m actually feeling alright. Aside from Sorah sleeping on my leg.”
“Okay, here’s another cup. Drink more.”
“Oh, thanks. So, about Sorah.”
“Here. Another cup.”
-Now she’s just doing that on purpose!
Tired of her antics, Kihet set his back on the bed. Lemi’s face poked into his view and put her hand on his shoulder. If only it came with a benevolent smile.
“Back then, I didn’t know what you were thinking. You knew that all of us were in danger, but that’s no excuse to sacrifice yourself like that.”
“I’m… reflecting on it. Sorry.”
“I’m sure you have a lot of things on your mind.” Lemi put the cup away. “For one, the scars on your arm and the marking on the strange rock looked identical. You didn’t engrave it on yourself did you?”
“I only have a vague memory of someone giving it to me.”
“Someone from this village?”
“I don’t know who. I’m having Elius investigate it for me, but he hasn’t come up with any answers.”
“I’ll ask him for details later. It’s hard to believe you hid your scars from me for such a long time. I’ll try help as well.” Her hands clasped together. “Alright, you must be tired. I won’t bother the two of you any longer. Rest as long as you want here, Kihet.”
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Oh… thanks.”
“I have to get back to work. Just give me a holler if you need anything, otherwise I won’t disturb you time alone with Sorah~.”
“Now what do you mean by that?”
Lemi had stepped out of the room before Kihet demanded an explanation. As he attempted to move out of the bed, he shuddered from numbness running down his leg. It felt like a million needles continuously jabbed his foot. The girl resting on his leg was causing a lack of blood circulating.
Truthfully, Sorah was so quiet he forgotten she was here. To get rid of the unpleasant tingly sensation, he moved his hand to shake her. When he got close, Kihet was able to spot her ears were perked up as opposed from moments of him waking up.
“Sorah. You’re awake, aren’t you?”
No response.
“Then I’ll play a trick on you. I know you have a birth mark on your butt-.”
Sorah instantly stood up. She thrust her flushed face forward and slammed her fist on the table next to him. “How do you know that?! Pervert!”
“Hey now… Don’t blame me. Hannah was the one who blurted it out to me.”
“What else did she tell you?”
Kihet cast his eyes to his right, then his left, doing his best to avert his gaze as he was being interrogated. He gently pushed Sorah on the shoulders for some breathing space that was accompanied by many ‘umms’ and ‘errs’.
-What did I do to deserve this? Why are girls so scary?
He only wanted to tease her and has now come to regret it.
“What. Else. Did. She. Tell. You?”
Escape was impossible. His legs could barely carry him as he was, let alone breaking free of her grip. She’d spot his lies and if he changed the subject, Sorah would return to it eventually. Kihet had decided the best outcome was to be truthful. He held his breath for a second and solidified his choice of words.
“Your three sizes.” He awkwardly paused. “You, uhh… it’s quite impressive, honestly.”
He shut his eyes hoping judgment would swiftly pass. Instead, there was silence.
“Kihet? Kihet!”
A small, adorable figure sprung into the room. A child. She looked identical to Sorah with the same eyes and similar hairstyle. She wore a small vest with puffy pants.
She leaped on the bed and tackled Kihet in the stomach, greeting him with a great big hug of her size. She rubbed her face with such speed, Kihet thought a fire started on his stomach.
“Stop- ouch! That hurts! Owowowow! Can’t you be gentler? I just recovered!”
Before he was able to push her off, he heard Hannah sobbing.
“Hannah was scared… Thought Kihet… when… Kihet covered in blood…”
Kihet couldn’t muster any words to relieve her at the time. He patted Hannah on the head to comfort her until she calmed down.
“Alright, Hannah. Get off him.” Sorah pulled Hannah away. “Kihet, are you looking for something?”
“Yeah. My cuffs. Without those, a sinner like me can’t walk freely in the village.”
“Are you sure you should be heading home?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to bother Lemi. Besides, I feel fine. So? Where are my cuffs?”
“Don’t worry about those. We put them back at your place. Also, do you remember there was an exception to that rule? As long as you’re being escorted by someone to the village entrance, those aren’t required.”
“I don’t want any weird looks turning my way.”
“You get weird looks with or without those.”
“That’s true.”
“Why does Kihet have to wear cuffs whenever Kihet visits the village?” Hannah asked.
“Because it’s the rule.”
“Hannah hates that rule.” She pouted. “It’s hard to hold onto Kihet when Kihet has those things over his hands. Kihet shouldn’t have to wear it!”
“Hannah don’t shout. You’ll be disturbing others.”
“But-!”
“Hey Hannah,” Kihet hollered. “If you behave, I promise to play your favorite board game at my place.”
“Really?!”
-That caught her attention really fast.
“Yeah, loser has to give up sweets for a month.” Sorah interrupted, wearing a gleaming sparkling smile with malicious intent.
Kihet and Hannah threw Sorah a frown. It almost freighted Sorah how synchronized they were.
Sorah pulled Kihet’s ear close to her. “Just play along, she’s been eating snacks behind my back these few days.”
“I understand but…” Kihet sighed. “Alright, fine. There’s no way I’ll lose.” He turned to Hannah with a smug grin. “Is Hannah afraid she’ll lose?”
“Of course not! It’s Hannah’s favorite board game. Naturally, Hannah will win.”
-Big talk for someone so small. I’ll show no mercy for the sake of sweets!
“Oh!” Hannah’s ear fluttered for a second as she reached into her tiny satchel. “Sorah told me to save these for you.”
Kihet gave a quick glance to Sorah as he accepted a parcel. Inside were tarts Sorah mentioned she baked, and they were instantly gone, into his stomach.
“It’s sho good!”
“It better be. I promised, didn’t I?” Sorah beamed a smile. “Whenever you’re ready, let’s get going.”
----------------------------------------
Treatment was still treatment, but since the injures were a result from a quest, Lemi deducted the cost from his reward. She knew Kihet was tight on cash and added his payment to his tab until he had enough.
Kihet was grateful for her looking after him. She went as far to give him a container of healing ointment in case old wounds suddenly split open. He gratefully pocketed it then kept my eyes low to avoid eye contact with passerby as he moved through the village.
He despised every second spent in the village. People began to form groups to gossip about him and glared daggers at him. He knew if he acted out, it would worsen his reputation than it already was.
He avoided eye contact to prevent possible interactions from his provocateurs.
“Some people should mind their own business don’t you think, Hannah?”
“Hannah agrees!”
Thanks to Sorah and Hannah’s loud comments, the villagers turned their sights away and went about their daily lives.
“The nerves they have! Kihet, ignore them.”
“Already been doing that.”
By the time he noticed how high the sun was, his stomach growled. The baked goods Sorah provided were a light snack devoured instantly. Despite having something temporarily fill his stomach with something, he grew hungry after minutes.
“Sorah! Kihet’s stomach is making funny noises!”
“Well excuse me. I haven’t eaten a proper meal since waking up.”
“I’ll whip something up for you when we get back.”
As Kihet was thinking what kind of food Sorah will make, the crowd began to stir. There weren’t many people around them, so it was easy to pick up the commotion.
Kihet frowned when he spotted someone he didn’t want to meet most, Irvan. He was the one of the few who enforced execution onto Kihet during the trail from the ‘incident’.
He had a longsword strapped on his back with another floating beside him and was capable of summoning four ribbons. His leather scaled armor was crafted of highest-grade materials consisting of the trophies he hunted, and especially well armored greaves decorated with deadly spikes. He led a separate party of hunters that rival the strength as Kihet’s group of friends, and was famous for potentially being stronger because of their recent feats.
Even though the three of them tried avoiding him, Kihet clearly saw Irvan marching to confront him.
“Up from your beauty nap?”
Kihet ignored him.
“Irvan, what do you want?” Sorah growled.
“I heard some sinner wasn’t wearing their cuffs. People wanted me to check it out to see if the shithead had the guts to break the law.”
“You can see I’m escorting him out of the village. He doesn’t need those restraints.”
“I can see that-.”
“That means we can be on our way.”
“Not so fast.” He waved his sword. “Did you remember he was the reason your parents aren’t here anymore. He’s a murderer. His actions killed his own folks and more people than you thought. You shouldn’t lump yourself with the likes of him.”
-As if I haven’t heard enough. All he’s doing is repeating the same thing every time we meet.
“No! Hannah knows Kihet is innocent!”
“Kid, you’re hiding behind a killer. You should get away from him.”
Hannah suddenly dropped down, picking something off the ground. No one was able to identify what she held, but it had legs. Lots of legs.
“No.” She marched up to Irvan, staring up at him and waved for him to bend down.
“What, kid? I can’t hear you.”
“Take this! Bug attack!”
She pulled on his shirt’s collar and threw something in.
In an instant, Irvan’s face turned pale. He scratched his body, but his armor was in the way. Seconds later, he tore off his armor and slipped out of his shirt, whipping it up and down until a long creepy crawler flew out.
While Irvan panicked, Hannah was smug. Kihet commended her efforts. While it was a good laugh, Irvan’s temper has a short fuse.
“Kihet didn’t do it! Stupid Irvan is a big fat liar! Irvan’s pants should catch on fire!” Hannah reeled her fist. “Sneak attack! Tiger punch! Gauuuu!”
“Ack!”
-What does that punch have to do with Tigers? I mean, it sounded cool. It was an ordinary punch, but one that packed a lot of force in that tiny fist. Nonetheless, good job, Hannah.
“Y-you brat! Now you’ve done it!”
Irvan remained standing. He curled over his stomach, fighting the pain. His glared caused Hannah to flinch and scurried behind Sorah. Now who’s the bully?
“Hey.” Sorah called out. “Are you done or are you going to waste more of our time?”
“Learn to control your sister!”
“Then watch your manners. Not only were you the one who started this, you lost.”
“Lost? I didn’t lose anything. It was that brat that started this! I was confronting that dirtbag in the first place!”
-And I suppose that dirtbag was me.
Kihet kept quiet because he knew if he uttered a word, Irvan would be at his throat. He only wanted to go home.
“Grow up.” Sorah frowned. “You’re supposed to set an example to other children. The moment you get emotional, you throw a tantrum. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? For the Creator’s sake, why are you picking on people you think aren’t as good as you? You’re pitiful. Get the fuck away and leave us alone. We didn’t break any rules.”
Kihet was able to cover Hannah’s ears right before Sorah began swearing.
“And if you’re persistent to block our way, I’ll show you my version of my sister’s “Tiger punch”.”
If Kihet had a list of names of people he shouldn’t mess with, Sorah would be second. The title of the scariest person belonged to Lemi. Never get on a healer’s bad side. Period. You will regret it.
“Kihet, you coward! Stop relying on a girl to protect you and fight your own battles! I don’t know why the Creator chose you. Either way, you are a sinner. You ought to know your place when you’re on village grounds!”
Irvan marched into Kihet’s personal space, trying to glare him down. He wasn’t having any of it.
Kihet stood his ground and returned the intensity of his threat with his own lethargic look.
“I know I’m stronger than you.”
“Yup. You are.”
“Tsk.”
Multiple veins popped from his head hearing Kihet halfheartedly compliment him. Irvan was seething with anger and placed his hand above his sword trembling.
-Don’t forget, if you kill me without a good reason, you’ll suffer the same punishment I went through, or worse because I’m one of the Crest Bearers.
The ‘Warrior of Light’ crest. The Creator created these eight crests to give their chosen warriors a special symbol to help identify. To be chosen wasn’t simply by the factor of luck. The Creator, the all-knowing being could reveal a person’s growth potential and hidden talents. The process to find these people do gradually come to light based on their efforts every eon, thus hunters act in benefit of becoming one.
Through generations, the old retire their duty as new holders were chosen. These ‘Warrior of Light’ crests were given under the ceremonial tree by the heroes’ grave, where Kihet found himself visiting due to his duties.
Those who held the eight crests were currently Elius, Draigh, Lemi, Vol, Malth, Megith, Sorah and Kihet. This simple reason was why Irvan antagonized him. He was solely jealous of his strength not recognized.
“Fight me.”
Irvan struck a line across the ground and threw his glove at Kihet. It flopped to the ground.
“I’m going to prove myself to the Gods.” Irvan snorted. “Accept the duel, coward. I’ll fight you for the right to hold onto that crest.”
“You said it yourself. I’m a coward. Cowards don’t take risks.”
“You-!”
“Umm… could I maybe be the one to accept in Kihet’s stead?”
There was a shy voice that interrupted them. It came from Malth. He approached us timidly even though he carried a battle axe in his skinny arms.
“Go away Malth. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Eh…” Malth scratched his cheek. “I-I just don’t think it’s going to be a fair duel. Kihet just recovered. I-if you want, you can fight me instead…? Maybe?”
Under those innocent eyes, a strong aura of bloodlust was directed at Irvan.
With a “Whatever, I’ll deal with you later, coward.” Towards Kihet, Irvan turned away.
The thought of clashing with Malth when he knew the quiet boy was infuriated wasn’t a pleasant thought. Malth was one of those quiet people no one wanted to have his wrath invoked.
“Thanks, Malth. How did find us?”
“It was supposed to be my turn to look after you. I went to Lemi’s clinic to see if you two were still there, b-but she said you just left. I’m glad you’re awake. R-right! Before I forget, I ran into t-the Elder and he wanted the two of you to meet him in the temple.”
-What timing. I wanted something to eat first.
“What about Hannah. Can Hannah go too?”
“Sorry Hannah. I guess you’ll have to go home for now. We’ll come get you as soon as we can, okay?” Sorah kneeled and rubbed Hannah’s hair.
“Oh… Okay, but Hannah wants to go to Kihet’s place. Kihet promised Hannah that we’ll play Hannah’s favorite board game!”
“It’s dangerous to go alone outside the village alone. Malth. Can you bring my sister to Kihet’s place?”
“O-okay, but I might have to leave her alone for a bit. I-I also picked up an errand since Kihet’s okay now.”
“That should be fine. I remembered Elius setting up wards to protect my place from monsters. If Hannah stayed within the perimeter, no monsters would approach her. Hannah, don’t leave Malth’s side until you safely get to Kihet’s place, okay?”
“Hannah understands! Hannah won’t leave tiny boob’s side!”
“I’m a guy!” Malth cried.
----------------------------------------
The temple was conveniently located outside the village, near the Heroes’ grave. It also served as the courtroom where Kihet was given his sentence.
Inside had no lights of its own to illuminate its interior. Instead, wooden stripes vertically cross the top allowing light to shine through. The incense sticks burn, releasing a sacred odor covering the air in the temple.
In the middle, the Elder was praying to a line of idols placed at the end of the room. Kihet and Sorah gave him the time he needed to finish before he turned to them.
“Young Kihet, Young Sorah, thank you for waiting.”
“Did you need something from us?”
“Yes, please take a seat. I’ve spoken to the others aside from you two. The Creator have decided the Crest Holders are to be given an important mission.”
“A mission?” Sorah asked.
“Hmm… I believe some context should be provided before I tell you. Do you two remember the Giant your group rescued?”
“They’re alive?!”
“Unfortunately, one of them was given a burial while you were asleep.”
“I see…” Kihet sulked back on his knees. “I really wanted to talk to them. What about the other one? How did they get past the barrier in the first place?”
“They were lured. It was speculated to be the same with the Beastmen, although the Beastmen suffered a more unfortunate fate. The Giant, Kridas, claimed he heard a strange voice calling him then he found himself battling against a Shadow Knight your friends described when he regained consciousness.”
Kihet made a mental note of the Giant’s name, Kridas.
“Elder,” Sorah raised her hand. “I do not understand how this is related to the Creator giving us a mission.”
The Elder took a deep breath and pulled up a stool. With their help, they carefully sat him down.
“You eight are good children, really. I was against the idea but the I suppose the chicks would have to leave the guardian’s nest one day. This is also the duty of us, Enuis.”
Kihet was suspicious of the Elder’s words. A grin formed on his face as soon as he heard it. His stomach felt jittery as if he knew what the Elder was implying.
“They have decided to send the eight of you as messengers to the seven countries. You are to speak with their leaders and help them fortify their defenses against similar shadows you’ve faced.”
Kihet internally cheered. He couldn’t believe there existed a day where he’d be allowed to step past the barrier keeping him from exploring the outside world.
“Kihet, I can see that grin on your face.”
“But, outside! I get to finally see the world with my eyes!”
“I understand it’s your lifelong dream but wait for the Elder to finish. You’re being rude.”
“S-sorry…”
“I don’t blame young Kihet. I knew he’d be overjoyed to hear this. I have yet made it official and will be discussing with my advisors to decide where to send you eight. For now, make preparations and hone your skills. This will not be an easy task. This concludes the briefing-.”
“Kihet, are you here?! Kihet!”
There was screaming outside calling for him.
Kihet rushed outside and saw Vol carrying Hannah in his arms. Hannah was crying, covering her bleeding arm.
“Hannah!” Sorah’s first instinct was to run over to look at the injury.
“Vol, what happened?! Where’s Malth?!”
“It’s bad. I tagged along when Malth was bringing Hannah to your place. Not too long after we left Hannah settling in, a bunch of monsters randomly showed up and began tearing your place up. Malth’s doing his best to protect your things and I found her injured. I ran as fast as I could to you guys.”
“What about Elius’ wards? Weren’t they supposed to keep the monsters away?”
“Someone tampered with them. On my way back, the charms were shredded up.”
There’s only one person Kihet thought who had the guts to attack him was Irvan. Did he follow Malth to get revenge on Hannah humiliating him or after Kihet?
“Sorah, bring Hannah to Lemi. I’m going back to my place.”
There’s no point thinking over it. Kihet needed to assess the damage and help Malth.
----------------------------------------
Down the path, not far away, Kihet could feel a small tremor in the direction of his homestead. A terrible cry of a wild beast rang across the air, shaking the core of their bodies as they closed in towards the noise.
Kihet was devastated at the destruction of hard labor contributed over his life.
The small shed he built was trampled, the garden of medical herbs was dug up by monster talons and hooves. The small apiary boxes were abandoned as the abundance of honey was spilled across the ground. His tools and weapons were scattered with most of them destroyed in the monster stampede.
The damages were irreparable. He would have to reacquire materials accumulated over decades to rebuild everything. Thankfully, some items were salvageable to help speed up development.
But who did this? Was it Irvan?
“Malth!” Vol charged ahead when we saw Malth wrestling a Thorn Shelled Bear.
He quickly climbed on the back of its neck and stabbed the eyes with his daggers. While it was blinded, Malth cleaved down his battleaxe for a critical strike. He separated the bear’s torso in half, sending guts and innards flying onto the remains of Kihet’s shed.
A carnivorous bird lunged at Malth. Kihet freed a hatchet buried in a log and flung it into its side. Vol leaped from the bear, ripped the hatchet out of the bird and used it to decapitate the creature.
“Malth, are you alright?”
“Vol, Kihet! Sorry, there’s too many of them!”
“Bugihiiii!”
A pack of Oriks blitzed towards them.
Kihet was handed a hatchet and plucked whatever tool within reach, a rusty shovel. “Let’s take care of them first then find clues.”
“Forget that! Why are there so many monsters?!” Vol shouted. “It’s like they were lured here!”
Kihet bid his time and once the Oriks entered his reach, thrust the cutting edge of the shovel at the Orik’s chest. Another pounced at his back, about to take a bite. He brandished his weapon and pounded the blade at the side of its face.
While the Orik writhed in agonizing pain, Kihet brought his entire weight at its neck. The shovel gouged an opening through the Orik’s blubbery flesh, leaving it choking on its blood.
A repulsing scent wafted out of the surrounding forest. It smelled identical to Kihet’s brew of monster lure but in form of a burning incense. Any carnivorous and hostile monsters within that distance will be lured by this scent. It attracts them and sends them into a frenzy.
“Malth, Vol, there’s something driving these monsters crazy! If you see a lit incense, dowse it!”
“Got it!”
Kihet saw an Orik thrashed around by a giant boar. After making a mess out of its prey, it locked onto him as its next target as it scraped its hoof on the ground.
He rolled away from its charge and swapped to his hatchet hanging in the air.
When the turned around, Kihet threw the hatchet at between the eyes while it was charging. After confirming the beast had tipped over, Kihet firmly held the shovel with two hands and ran towards it. He pounded the hatchet’s head deeper on the forehead and kept hammering it until the boar stopped moving.
“Kihet, I’ve put out the incense!” Vol announced.
“Where was it?”
“It was on top of the trees. Whoever put it up there is one crafty son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. I’m going to look for him.”
“Where are you going?”
“Irvan’s asking for this.”
There’s an amount of patience one person can give.
Kihet endured scrutiny and insults by the Village he received throughout his life. He had not once retaliated knowing if he acted, the current treatment by the people of the village would turn from harsh to violent.
His injuries could heal, his possessions can be replaced and repaired. So long as he was living a content life, he knew he won against them. However, he only turned a blind eye if the abuse was directed at him.
Hannah got involved. He will never forgive Irvan for this.
Kihet rummaged through ruins of his home. He picked up a wooden mallet and pocketed any item which was sharp or dense to be used as a weapon.
“Kihet, put that down. What are you doing with that?”
“I’m going to hit Irvan with it.”
“I get you’re angry but look at yourself! You’re in rags and he’s armored to the brim! No matter how you look at it, we should let the Elder know what happened first!”
“H-he’s right, Kihet. You’re only going to get yourself hurt!” Malth added.
Kihet’s friends may be the voice of reason, but his emotions wouldn’t let Irvan go of this deed. In correspondence with his anger, his arms flared up. The stigma on his arms reacted powerfully to the decades of hatred welled up within him. He shook off Vol’s grip and pushed himself past them.
Vol desperately pleaded Kihet to not find Irvan. Even with Malth’s help the two could not persuade him and powerlessly watched Kihet disappeared into the forest.