Arc 7. Death to what came before
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 21. Out one forest and into another.
Near the bottom portion of Valatrocitus, in the middle lair of the Ever-forest, is a broken-down bar, crumbling under its old age. Now, within this spider-infested brick building are three bandits, stuck within this roofless building.
Young Bandit: “When’s that guy coming back from pissin', I’m trying to get outa here.”
The younger bandits whine and reach the man sitting beside him, who’s not happy to be here either. But he’s mainly distracted by the small fairy beside him, trapped within a small iron cage. He continuously pokes the young mischievous spirit creature, causing it to cry out.
Fairy: “STOP TOUCHING ME; YOU STUPID GROSS OLD MAN!”
The small creature tries to fight for itself, though the human before them is far too strong. So they’re trapped with a bored man, an abusive man, and one peeing his mind away in the back room. To pass the time, and talk over his bathroom activities, the other two men lean back on the large crack in the wall and begin speaking to each other.
Middle-aged bandit: “So, is this your first forest run?”
Young bandit: “Sure is, and I’m trying to get out of this spooky place. We got monsters everywhere, a little snack for them beside us, and it’s dark out! But no, somebody has to PISS for a year straight, and that dumb girl is walking around outside for no reason!”
Pissing bandit: “SHUT UP! I HELD IT THE WHOLE TIME! ALL WE NEED TO DO IS GET OUT WITH THAT STUPID PIXIE AND BE ON OUR MERRY WAY!”
Young bandit: YOU SHUT UP! Somebody has been stopping a bunch of our various runners! We haven’t heard from the Walgonia group or the Guard Fog group! So we’re next! And that bitch is just stomping the grass out there!”
As they continue to yell at each other, the thick clouds block out the light of the moon ever closer, shutting off most of the light in the era. All they have is a single candle, which is struggling to stay alive. As the wind blows through the broken open windows, everyone shivers, and the fire dies out. In a flash, they all snuggle up close to the ensnared fairy, who’s letting out a faint glow. All about to weep from fear, the ever-so-confident woman strolling and patrolling the grounds stands tall. But after a while of every minute check-ups, she goes silent.
Young bandit: “WE’RE DEAD! WE’RE SO DEAD!”
Middle-aged bandit: “SHHHHHH!”
The bandit who was peeing finally finished and blew off his scared allies. He steps outside, wanting to see where the woman went, but soon goes silent as well. So in this grand forest, with hundreds of beasts roaming the lands, the only thing heard is their shivers and whines, trying their best to stay alive.
Very soon, the bandit who went looking around seemingly vanishes as well, leaving the two and the fairy all by their lonesome. They both shiver with fear, trying to wait until the night passes, but the moon has only just rolled in, so this fearful night is still young. But the steps heard from just outside the building, coming toward the large crack in the wall cause all movement to stop, as the scared men are trying their best to remain quiet.
As the figure steps through the crack, it screams out when they step on the quivering men, trying to cover the faint light coming from the horrified fairy. They look up, finding that the figure was the man who had left prior, looking annoyed at the two.
Finished Peeing Bandit: “Come on guys, don’t look so yellow. I didn’t find that girl anywhere, guess she got lost.”
Young Bandit: “THAT’S NOT GOOD EITHER!”
While they all scream at each other, the fairy settles down, still scared for their life. But right in the middle of the arguing, the single bandit, still standing in front of the crack, explodes into a bloody mess. Another figure cloaked in black had just swung from the crack in the wall, forcing its rough blade through their body, causing his body to bend to the force and explode once they couldn’t handle it.
Before anybody can think or even process the sight in front of them, the wall explodes from the force of another strike, allowing the beast inside. While the younger bandit tries to run away, the older one stands in the presence of this towering figure; his life flashes in front of his eyes. But without any remorse or thoughts behind the swing of this busted blade, this ravaging animal cloaked in the blood of its previous victim crushes the face of the man right in front of him. In an instant, his face is smashed in, crushed to bits, leaking blood as the life instantly fades away from his now mutilated body.
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And finally, to the youngest, only living bandit's dismay, this all happened under a four-second interval, so he hadn’t even left the broken building. By taking out a dagger on his side, he swings wildly as he jumps out of the broken door, landing in the cold wet grass below. But the beast is watching, holding the fairy's cage in its hand, drenched in the blood of its victims. The one-eyed warrior holds the hilt of his broken blade, staring down the fleeing bandit.
He takes his right arm out from within his black cloak, revealing a large dark cylinder-shaped piece of metal. The attacker holds it up, flips up the silver sight in the middle, and pulls back the lever on the side. Within the device, a large flame crystal is pulled back into an energy crystal, only absorbing a small bit of power before it’s released, flicking back to the front and blasting a concentrated blast of flames toward the fleeing boy.
The stern predator that had just let off such a mysterious and strange blast of energy covered the fairy's eyes, protecting them from this upcoming gorry sight. The orb of power quickly slams into the bandit's shoulder, bubbling and exploding, leaving a massive hole in his body as well as coating it with flames. Thankfully, he’s not forced to burn to death as his head bursts under the force of the flaming attack, covering the wet grass with both his burnt body and the blood leaking from it. Now the whimpering fairy is left all alone with this monster of the forest, though they can feel the murderous aura fading away. It sets her cage down, pulling the front off to let her go free, but they sit down on the grass instead of flying, trying to understand what had just happened.
“I’m Poppy! What’s your name?”
Her cute and bubbly voice makes its way to the ears of this monster, so it sits down alongside her, removing the hood cloaking his fade. Poppy tilts her head to the side, scratching at her thick red hair while staring at the man's face. Black hair, small burn scars, a brand over his right eye, and heavy bags under the other. And that single eye, trained on her, could tell a million stories. The strain of a warrior, the tiredness of an old man, and the drive of a hunter. But she could only describe it as one word, “scary”.
Poppy: “So, what’s your name?”
With a long pause, he begins speaking in a deep monotone voice that struggles to keep stable.
Edward: “My name’s Edward…only Edward, nothing more nothing less.”
Poppy: “Well hi Edward! You’re really scary y’know!”
Edward chuckles, but with all of the dead bodies around, he stops himself. The weight of his actions stands on top of him, weighing down his tired shoulders. Struggling to stand up, Edward pushes past his fading strength and begins walking away. Though Poppy follows closely behind, floating over to his shoulder to rest on.
Poppy: “Your arm’s really groovy!”
Edward: “What's a groovy? And thanks, my friend made this for me.”
Poppy: “So what are you doing out here? You’re not working with the Baron are you!?”
Edward: “No. I kept running into them the entire way to the forest, and then I just happened to stumble across their camp. What are you doing there? Trapped the way you were, you must've been scared.”
Poppy puts her chin up, smacking her freckle-covered cheeks, and begins to talk with a noble’s dialect.
Poppy: “Scared? That’s a lie, my good man, as I was awaiting freedom, and tricking them into feeling bad for me…hehe.”
Edward: “Ah yes, very true my good fairy. So, does this noble creature have a place to go?”
Poppy: “I dunno, but not this late at night…The beasts will get me.”
To ease the scared creature, Edward pats her head with his last remaining hand, trying his best to add some levity to the situation.
Edward: “Don’t worry, the old man I’m living with has set up some seals around the area. We shouldn’t see any beasts for a good while.”
Poppy: “YOU MEAN OLD MAN VARGAS! OH, HE’S SO COOL! I’M GONNA MEET HIM!”
Edward is shocked by both her loud voice and her words, as he figured Vargas liked to lay low. He had gotten to the Ever-forest a few days prior, spending all of that time finding Baron camps while being unable to find the Helsing Armor. The large burden of the title of knight is holding him down, with the sentiment that “He must help all that need it” is quite the hassle to deal with. While he doesn't mind stopping the slavers and halting whatever plan the Baron has, he really needs to find the armor. Every day that passes the seal over the vampire bite loosens, letting in the deadly mana to break down and kill his already broken down body. Every wasted second leans him toward death, but he cares more for the lives of people than he does his own.
As they walk through the forest, down the dirt path, the closer they get to the faint light in the woods. Surrounded by enormous trees is a small cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney, a cabin Edward walks right up to and enters. The door opens right into a small but warm living room, angering an old man in another room. Poppy floats off, flapping her tiny wings to coast in the air while Edward walks into the other room, moving through the open doorway into the strange dirty kitchen, or what looks to be a kitchen. It holds an oven, but that’s all. The rest of the room is filled with tools for blacksmithing, especially the currently burning forge, where Vagress is working. The muscular dwarf slams his hammer down on a stemming sword atop an anvil, while also heating up a bit of metal. His old age topped with his strange multitasking would lead some to assume he’s flimsy, but his skill and precision are greater than anyone in the world.
His brother Rick is unmatched when it comes to creating armor, but everyone pales in comparison to Vargas when crafting weapons is the main intention.
Edward: “Hey, I brought a friend.”
Poppy floats into the steaming room, coughing due to all the soot in the air. Vagress, a bit annoyed, strokes his long white beard while he pulls the metal out of the forge.
Vargas: “Enk, get outta here! I like working at night, and you should like sleeping at night! So take your little buddy and make your way upstairs!”
Edward sighs though he does comply. In his heart all of Vargas mean words do nothing to stop him from really understanding him, after all Edwards met a lot of people that’s acted like Vargas. So he knows he’s one of the ones who cares the most. While he takes his blood-stained armor off he stares at his broken blade.
Vargas: “I can fix that for yah y’know.”
Edward: “No, not yet.”
Poppy continues to dwell in her confusion, slowly floating up to the second floor, following close behind Edward.
Poppy: “Why is the house so empty? There’s no furniture, pictures, or even a table! Old man Vargas is supposed to be this forest protector! He’s put seals up for all the villages, made weapons for them to fight with, and helped the forest aline with Walgonia. But he’s just an angry old guy!”
Edward: “To be honest I don’t know either. But I do know I need his help, a place to stay, and somebody to talk to, and he’s been nice enough to fill that role.”
As Edward reaches the top of the stairs, he drifts into an extra bedroom, slamming down on the flatbed. While Edward dozes off, Poppy flips in the air, rolling over to the nightstand beside the bed. With her small and soft glowing hand on his head, she begins to create an aura around his body, soothing it. She falls asleep doing this, helping him through the long, treacherous night. Edward’s finally made it to the Ever-forest, but it’s only time until he figures out what’s really going on there, what the Baron is really doing, and how he’ll have to get around it.
End of Chapter Twenty-one