Jered looked at the slowly forming pool of blood around the corpse's head as he relished in the feeling of taking someone's life, the excitement that threatened to consume him was inebriating.
He took a moment to regain his composure, it was a precarious situation, he couldn't get distracted.
Redirecting his gaze to the container, he noted the small crow trying to stand up repeatedly, but its bruised body inhibited it from further movement and thus making it fall down with a whimper each time.
He watched sadly at its meaningless struggles and decided to approach it.
It got immediately scared seeing him closing in and attempted to retreat, but its energyless body refused to heed its commands. Soon it surrendered from putting any effort into and just kept looking at him, resigned.
Jered crouched down, his arms resting on his knees as he stared at the small creature in front of him, their gazes meeting.
He didn't know why but he felt a sensation of kinship with it, and from the look of it, the crow ascertained the same thing.
Curiously, he slightly leaned the upper part of his hand on its head and caressed it gently. Obviously, it got startled for an instant before cawing comfortably in his hand.
He smiled, amused by its reaction.
He did wonder though, was it a male or a female? He clearly didn't specialize in avian species, so he really couldn't discern their genders, but he did hear something about the male crow having a bit of a ruff feather on the head.
But was it enough of a detail to recognize their gender? He had no idea.
Still, he'd view it as a female.
The elated smile on his face, however, suddenly vanished as soon as he heard footsteps and unintelligible shouts heading towards him.
His eyes became cold and the fury that was placated just a few moments ago resurfaced with the same intensity anew.
Unfortunately, he had no chance against 2 others magicians with one of them potentially stronger. So, for now, he'd back down.
Taking the wounded crow in his hands he sprinted towards a random direction. They didn't sense him until he killed one of them, so either they weren't skillful at perceiving others or their powers didn't reach an adequate level to allow them to do so.
Whatever the reason, unless he makes too much noise they wouldn't be able to find him, or so was what he hoped.
Getting behind a container that was near a wall, he settled in the shadowed corner, waiting to see what'll happen.
...
After dozens of seconds, the rest of the group arrived at the place they had heard noises.
The old man, namely the leader, watched with extreme consternation the bloodied corpse of his subordinate. He clenched his fist as he started to frenziedly look at his left and right, trying to find the author behind that sanguinary spectacle.
"Who! Where are you!!" He bellowed in rage.
Someone just murdered one of his men, there was no way he'd let that person escape so easily.
The other cloaked magician kept holding on a tied Samuel as he stayed silent while contemplating on what had just taken place.
Who could have done this?
Although he was the weakest among them he was still a magician, people without a shred of power wouldn't be able to kill him, at least without a gun, but they didn't hear any shots, so they could exclude that theory.
"Boss, shall I explore the surroundings to find him... or her?" He proposed.
The leader was silent for a moment.
"There's no need, whoever did this is still here." He replied while scrutinizing the containers, his eyes though were slightly wavering.
The man just looked at him, not really understanding how his boss reached that conclusion. And it seemed that the old man noticed his confusion as he explained.
"I don't know why... but... I feel a very strong concentration of dark and fire energy somewhere near us. I do believe that the person who killed Frank has a ridiculous high affinity for both of them, which is impossible as a magician can only have one, and that's already rare per se." He said in a tremulous voice, his heart beating fast as he thought of the possibilities.
And he didn't like what came up to his mind.
There was an intense silence. The magician reflected on what his leader said, trying to figure out the reason behind the strange phenomenon. And...
"Could it be..." He started, uncertain.
"No!" The leader suddenly shouted, seemingly frightened.
He clutched his chest hoping to calm his incessantly beating heart, saying to himself that it wasn't true, that it was just his imagination or some other factor that made him misunderstand everything.
It couldn't be true... he refused to believe it.
His chest didn't seem to stop from going up and down, his breath was heavy and loud as sweat started pouring off of his head, staining his clothes in wet marks that were slowly growing.
He gulped, the lump of saliva was stuck in his throat.
"No... they... no. I..." He stuttered, his brain was a mess and somehow he couldn't formulate a coherent sentence or anything that made sense.
"They're supposed to be extinct." He finally quietly said, his voice almost a whisper.
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A contractor...
He wasn't that knowledgeable, after all, he wasn't part of the upper-echelons of the magic society, however, there was one thing that was common knowledge to everyone who bothered enough to listen.
And it was the existence of the contractors.
Obviously, as a small-time criminal, he hadn't much information on them. What he knew though was that a contractor could exert the power of multiple elements to their utmost pinnacle, making them living disasters. Thankfully they were very rare, so much so that they may not appear for decades or centuries. And it was only over 20 years ago that they completely disappeared, leaving only irreparably destroyed and altered landscapes as their mark of ever having been there. Nobody knew why they disappeared. Some said that they were dead, some others that they ascended. The rumors were countless and each varied. But it was a fact that no one saw them anymore ever since, bringing immense relief to the entire supernatural world.
So, for the love of whatever god up there, he hoped that he was wrong.
Because if a new contractor appeared, and if it was given enough time to grow...
"No!" He screamed again, shaking his head.
He didn't want to think about it.
Samuel looked at them bewildered, just a moment ago he was scared shitless thinking that he was going to die, to become a useless sacrifice. But now someone interfered with their plans, showing enough skill to kill one of them. A spark of hope blossomed in his heart.
Maybe... he could be saved?
...
Jered looked at them astonished. He didn't hear their exchange, but he could see that one of them, the one in charge, precisely, seemed to have a heart attack, which baffled him.
What was going on?
Wasn't he mad from anger a few seconds ago? He even demanded his location like a fool expecting him to really tell him.
He furrowed his brows, but it didn't matter how hard he thought about it, no answer enlightened his puzzlement.
The situation was spiraling away from his range of understanding, furthermore, that man who he bumped into and followed him after was held captive, which confused him even more. He thought they were on the same side.
Nevermind, it wasn't time. He knew that if he didn't do something then it was just a question of time before they find him.
If he wanted a chance to survive then he had to get his class.
The quest description did not reveal any clue as to how to complete it. Was it enough to cure her? He had to try.
He opened his status and went to the 'Low-level Potions' section, if his system was really like a game then he was sure that it would provide him healing stuff as well. He scrolled down through the screen and saw lots of things that surprised him, there were not only temporary uses potions but permanent too.
[ Low-level ] [ Mana Enhancement ]
[ Permanently increase your mana by 10 ]
[ Price: 150 SP ]
[ Buy | Cancel ]
[ Low-level ] [ Body Purification ]
[ Permanently increase your physical stats by 2 ]
[ Price: 200 SP ]
[ Buy | Cancel ]
He was almost drooling at the sight of these heavenly potions, and they were only low-level. He really wanted to buy them all, however, without getting a class and leaving that place alive he doubted he'd ever get the chance to use them.
So he settled on...
[ Low-level ] [ Healing Water ]
[ Water blessed by an Angel, it cures slight body injuries and weak illness. ]
[ Price: 50 ]
[ Buy | Cancel ]
It didn't seem strong, but it was everything it had, and since the crow's body was small it should work. Hopefully.
He bought it and suddenly a transparent vial materialized on his hand. He quickly got over his surprise and poured the content on her body, specifically where her wounds were located.
Steam rose from her injuries and slowly dissipated in the air, luckily not drawing any attention from the group of magicians.
Once it was finally over Jered could see that she was definitely better, probably not perfect, but still not anywhere near death.
He looked at her nestling cozily in his arms, relieved that at least she wasn't in pain anymore.
Mhh?
However, what distracted him was something, or better, the lack of thereof.
The notification didn't appear, so the quest wasn't completed yet.
"Damn..." He cursed under his breath.
What were the conditions then?
A thought suddenly crossed his head.
Maybe...
He looked at the window in his opposite direction, it was near the group he was escaping from.
Was it like the elderly woman quest? The cat had to leave the hut for the quest completion to appear. So he had to take her outside to complete it?
How troublesome.
"Hey, little friend." He whispered to her, catching her attention.
He used his finger to point at her and then at the window, hoping she would understand what he was implying.
She inclined her small head in confusion, not understanding what the human in front of her was doing.
Yeah, what did he expect?
Was there really no solution?
He turned his head towards the door, it was nearer to him than the window, but it'd make him an open target with no means to defend himself.
Was it worth to risk himself? He didn't know, but it was better then let fate decide for him.
He took a deep breath, and picked the shovel up, while carefully putting the crow inside his jacket.
Mustering all the energy he had left from the previous fight he darted towards his objective.
"Mhh?" The old man quickly noticed the unknown guest that was sprinting away from them.
Surprise flashed in his eyes.
Was he that killed Frank? That young man?
Are you serious?
The fear that pervaded him just a few minutes earlier abruptly vanished, like it had never been there. His trembling stopped, and his breath calmed down, before...
"Haha...hahaha....hahahahaha! I must be really getting old, oh wait, I actually am! hahahaha!" His boisterous laugh disrupted the tense silence while his eyes reflected madness.
So it was only a youth, and he didn't even feel any mana coming from him, so he wasn't a magician yet.
Even if he was a contractor, with no ability to use his powers, he was still killable. Moreover, letting him go away alive would still be a threat to them, he did kill Frank after all, who knows if after he got strong enough he wouldn't come after them? And he was sure he'd get strong, disgustingly so.
Mana gathered on his hand as a basketball-sized flame appeared and hovered calmly on his palm, waiting to make havoc.
He waved his hand as the flame flew towards Jered, leaving scorching marks behind.
Jered, who was still running, turned back and only had time to raise his shovel to protect himself before the flame impacted on it, flinging it away from his hands.
"Aah!" He screamed in pain as he fell down.
Fortunately, the crow that was still inside his jacket was unharmed, however, he wasn't as lucky.
His face and hands were reddish as burn marks covered them, his hair was mostly burnt, the same went for his eyebrows and eyelashes.
He squirmed in pain, while his arm flailed aimlessly. The flame didn't only burn him, but its force also bruised him badly, and his fall only worsened his condition.
"Well, nice reflexes." He heard the old man say.
"But will it be enough to save you?" He continued in a mocking tone.
Jered coughed, his body was like a dead battery, his limbs didn't listen to him and the only thing he was able to do was to breathe, and soon not even that he'd do.
The crow sensing her human friend in pain got out from his jacket, and when she saw the state Jered was in she got terrified.
She flapped her wings around as she used her beak to peck at him while cawing worriedly.
He tried to hid her, however...
"Oh... if it isn't the small trash that Samuel brought me." He arrived in front of Jered, the other subordinate following him with Samuel.
Samuel looked at Jered with surprise, he couldn't have imagined that the one that brutally murdered that magician was someone so young, what astounded him even more was that he was the guy from before. And now he laid injured on the floor, defeated. Which means that he'd die as well.
Fuck! He wanted to scream.
"Well, I don't mind having grilled chicken for lunch." He chuckled as a new flame appeared in his hand.
He aimed it at the crow, making her flinch, but she didn't escape.
Because she wouldn't abandon the one that saved her.
Was she scared?
Yes.
But even so, she'd stay there, quietly by his side.
Jered saw her small body tremble, yet she made no motion to go away.
And then he understood... the loyalty of an animal, that no matter the odds, they would stick with their owner.
He smiled as a tear slid down his cheek.
Seriously... it was the second time he cried because of her.
When he saw the flame about to shot he didn't know where he found the force, but he got between her and the flame and took it on.
If she was willing to die for him...
Then he'd do the same.
.
.
.