Where did he go wrong?

Vald was drenched in the rain with a flintlock held to the man's head while he planted his foot on his chest. "Why did you kill her?"

Leven breathed heavily as he tried to move for his sword, Vald put more pressure on his foot and screamed. "Tell me! Why did you kill her!?"

Leven frowned but smiled. "The world is much better without your damn wife. I just saved you from impending doom, and you killing me will have the government hunting like the dog you are."

Vald cried as his fingers shook, then held it firm. "Go screw yourself in hell."

Vald fired his pistol at Leven's head, leaving him with a hole in his head and a chilling smile. He turned and dragged his beaten body to his wife. He knelt down and held her tight as he continued to cry.

For hours, he cried until the rain faded out.

TEN YEARS LATER

Silver knew this material was authentic, not some knockoff crafted by his dead father. He hung the sword on the wall, then crossed his arms. It looked like it fit there all right. Silver smiled as he smoked.

He turned back to his seat and faced the wall where the sword was. Such a majestic sight to watch from afar. Majestic indeed.

It was a long sword with a curved end, but what made it worth watching was the wave-like design embellished into the blade.

Silver was a master blacksmith, but that was long ago before he and all his men were forced to fight on the battlefield with trash rifles in their hands.

He remembered rushing forward on the field with a rifle, darting his weapon at his foe, and stabbing him in the heart.

He exhaled the white smoke, removing the faint memories of his, then smeared the rest on the ashtray as he roamed around the room.

It was silent. Silver's store was quiet.

There had been no customers for a week since he started his business. Well, at least his "friends" came by from time to time.

Silver looked at the shelf beside him. There were medals for his achievements as the best blacksmith in Borofall.

That was decades ago.

Thinking about it, he did have one customer here, but the customer found his sword so striking that he tried stealing it from him. Hence, it was now high on the wall, so no man or woman could reach it. "Shithead…"

Silver knelt his head down on the table and waited as he listened to the music outside, down the street where everyone had their fun.

Fun. Huh? He never had that feeling in ages…besides that one time.

Hours followed, and no one came into his store. Silver looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It was time to retire for the night. He rose and snapped his fingers. The fire on the candles fizzled out. "Not a single customer…"

Silver went to the back room, removed his clothes one by one, and tossed them to the side. He lifted his feet and went into his bathtub. Sighing as he lowered himself and relaxed in the hot, steaming water.

Silver was in his late forties and had never been so alone. He wished for love. He lusted for love.

But he was a blacksmith, not a lover.

Silver went out of the tub and walked to the mirror. He looked at himself as he rubbed his silver hair to the back of his head. He smiled, showing wrinkles over the edge of his mouth that faded as his silver beard took over.

He turned to the side of his right arm, a tattoo engraving of his homeland. The Lander's Empire, a land he once served, had been taken over by Governor Ash, a deserved downfall.

He stood back, seeing his toned abs still there despite not working out for a month. But the scar of hundreds of bullets remained. He covered it with a black tunic and trousers. "I should have been dead…"

He sighed as he walked out of the bathroom and wandered off in the dark, where he lurked around his room. Where did he put it again? Ah. He looked under the counter as he snatched and wrapped the metal bandages around his arms. The street was a dangerous area.

Silver walked out of the store as he took his black robe off the coat hanger and wore it over him. He turned back to the door, clicking the metal lock--there, Silver looked out the window, where he could see his sword in the dark. He smiled and—

Silver turned and whipped his revolver out to the side, pointing his gun down the narrow alleyway. There was no one. He could have sworn he saw a shadow when he locked his store.

He frowned with confusion. The shadow made a fast dash from the corner of his eye with an object on its arm—or back?

Demon Contractor? But that went extinct.

Hell, man. It was easy to forget that thugs were becoming more common here in Borofall. He slid his gun back to the side and moved on.

Silver walked down the cold, bustling street that was known for drugs and prostitution in recent decades. Though it wasn't how it was before in this town, it used to be beautiful and full of life.

Here in the street, he liked to call it the slum. It was a fitting name. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, everything was shit. No, literally, there was shit. Besides that, the street was littered with broken shards from drugs and the smell of noticeable smoke from burning plants.

He could see a man over there leaning on the wall with his back bent forward. Even better, a man lying dead in the middle of the street, where everyone walked around him.

There were too much whores lingering between the narrow wall standing there for hours. He turned the other direction and moved on.

Borofall was damnation. Yet, it was the best location to hide.

Silver ducked his head and wandered into the tavern. A woman smiled beside him. "Welcome back, Silver!" She hooked her arm around his. "Do you miss me, love?" She rubbed his chest. "How bout-"

Silver shook her off of him without hesitation and frowned. "Don't touch me, women. Do that on me again, and I will have you tossed out into the street. See how you fare with men out there."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She winced at his comment and left. That woman should have known better than to cling to him like a whore. When he meant he was looking for some love, he was talking about real love. Not some fake love that could be found on the street.

The air inside of the tavern was warm. More people came here than usual as all the tables and chairs were taken. The tavern was bright as the ocher wooden walls illuminated the room. The room was more luminous than the sun, as the bitter smell was heavy.

Everyone here had a smile except himself. This place was a comfort zone, as there was no law in this slum. He wondered how a tavern like this was a safe haven while the outside was hell.

This was the only safe place for him to retire.

Silver's heart felt cold as he was alone. He watched the blaze crackle on the hearth. But he smiled slightly as he noticed a young man talking to the crowd. They all raised their mugs and shouted.

He used to be a storyteller when he was a leader in his guild. That was now long gone in his mind.

He looked across the room and saw a thick, muscular man walking toward him. "Hello! Welcome! Welcome! Come in, have a drink with us."

Silver raised his brow and smiled. "Drunk so fast, Gid."

"Nonsense"

Silver sighed and sat down next to him with two other ladies wearing robes over them. "Who are these ladies, Gid?" He nodded to the one with blond hair. She smiled back at him, showing perfect white teeth.

Silver was taken a back briefly, as he had never seen such teeth. "She is not from here, is she?"

"Ah. This woman here is Flemonia. She is the daughter of Duke Winston. That over there, the redhead is the king's daughter, Emma."

Silver turned his head and frowned. "You are joking, right? The era of kings and queens is dead, only government now." He lied. One last king was on the throne with a few dukes were left on this land.

Gid chuckled as he waved for two drinks. "Nah, these ladies are real, in the flesh. I thought you were alone and would like to have some love."

Silver blinked in shock. He must be joking, these women? "Sometimes your jokes go too far."

The blond-haired woman touched his right hand. "Your friend here speaks the truth, Silver. I need your help. Please come with me, I am in danger."

The warmth of her hand touching his felt soothing, like a mother's touch, but he lost his mother at a young age. He looked over to his friend, who slumped his head down, knocking himself out. He smacked her hand and held his other hand where his gun was. "What did you do?"

Flemonia loomed over and covered his mouth. "Quiet. I added some substance to force him to slumber to chat alone. Mercenary."

Dread filled Silver's heart, feeling the cold in his feet. "How do you know!?" That was long ago when he killed a ranker. "You brain-dead women should not be messing with me! No one should know who I am."

Silver made sure he hid his tracks before settling down here. So how could she have known that he was here?

A beautiful light brown woman in a red and white dress strode in with two tankards and placed them on the table. "Is that all?"

Flemonia turned and smiled. "That would be all."

The waiter nodded and left to attend to another table.

Silver was silent as he took a tankard and dipped his finger in. The alcohol in his drink bubbled as white smoke rose.

Flemonia shot a disgusting stare at Silver. "I know you men prefer your drinks hot, but alcohol? Right then…"

Silver said nothing as he struggled to find out how she knew his location. That should not even be possible, not even in the slightest. He buried the bodies hidden in the forest.

Silver scowled and gulped at his drink. It was hot enough to burn his throat. At least this naive woman didn't know his real name.

"Vald, the best international mercenary, is hiding here from the world government. I know more about you, Vald Break."

Silver spit out his drink. "Good lord." She even knew his name. "Do you have a death wish, woman?" Silver frowned as he raised his shaking finger at her. "Because it would be wise to shut your mouth now, or else I will do it myself because it is dangerous to speak my name."

"I don't have a death wish. But we both share the same situation where we are being hunted, and it is in our best interest to team together."

Silver ran his hand over his face in stress. She was a fool for taking him so lightly. He was a murderer. Everyone knew that. "Like hell we are. Especially not a woman like you."

Flemonia leaned forward with her elbows on the table and hands clasped together. "Help me, and I will free you from the government's hands."

"Free me? Once a lawbreaker. Always a lawbreaker. In other words, the bloody eyesore government will look for me forever until I'm dead."

Before Flemonia could talk, Emma slammed her fist on the table.

Emma lowered her hood. "There is no time for a chat. We must make haste before the last of Luda's men come looking for us."

Flemonia stuck her tongue out and shook her head at Emma. "Well, fine then." She turned to Silver and moved her loose hair back. "Here, this should be enough." She tossed a sac on the table. "Enough to be with us."

Silver looked at the sac, and he smiled a little. "All these gold cogs have ten teeth. That kind of wealth doesn't often come here in these streets."

"Well, is that a yes, then?" Emma muttered as her voice quickened.

Silver's mind clicked as he heard a familiar word. "Wait, Luda? Hasn't his clan long since disbanded? Four or five hundred at most."

Flemonia nodded. "Unfortunately, it is true to some extent because no matter where I go—"

"Someone is hunting you." Silver said. "Wants you dead."

"Yes." Flemonia turned white as she nodded. "But how do you know?"

Silver frowned. "Who-"

Behind Silver, an officer burst through the door with his ninth shooter drawn out at the crowd. "Flemonia! Your father wishes for you to return."

Silver held his robe over his head and frowned. "You allowed an officer to tail your ass down here!? You are shitting me right now?" He clenched his teeth as he turned around. "No officer like him has ever come down to this street."

Flemonia lowered her head down as she looked terrified. Emma lowered down next to her and muttered. "We must be out of here now!"

The moment Flemonia and Emma made their move, the officer held his ninth shooter above him and fired. "None better move!"

Gid jumped from his seat andwobbled forward. The officer frowned and shot him in the head. Silver froze as Gid fell back beside him, and Flemonia raised her hand over her mouth.

Silver cursed but did not feel remorse for his death. He was a fake friend in the end. He had no true friends. All of them died.

The crowd muttered in fear, some tried to flee to the back room, but the officer pointed his gun at them. "Don't move, or else there will be a bullet mixing in your damn brain." He moved in close as he looked at the faces of each individual and moved on. "Flemonia! Come out!"

Silver could feel her shaking as she withdrew her hand. He sighed and turned back to the officer approaching his table. The officer looked at the woman and smiled. "I knew it. Flemonia, we must return to your father."

The officer held her shoulder, and Flemonia screamed.

Silver frowned and, without hesitation, snatched the officer's arm as he loomed close to his face. "The little mouse is with me."

Why was he mad? He should have left Flemonia to the officer. But something about her getting grabbed in fear had brought sad memories to his mind, and he realized this was the right moment to find the truth.

The link between the government and the cult.

He was going to expose himself to the government once again if he chose to help Flemonia. Silver smiled, but a sad one—for his wife—to find the truth of her death. This was his only chance to make up for his mistakes.

The officer turned his head. "Who are you?"

Silver turned his head around. He could feel the room filling with tension as everyone looked at him. He snatched the pouch and hung it on his leather belt, clasped around his wrist, as he smiled at the officer. "Consider me her babysitter."

The officer frowned and turned his gun—

Silver slapped the gun from his hand. The officer winced, shoving Flemonia aside and fishing for another firearm on his belt as Silver did the same.

Both of them whipped their revolvers out as he held out his old gun from underneath his fluttering robe.

Silver cursed as he fired his shot.