Chapter 3 - Revenant
Unknown Location - Midnight
Simon opened his eyes while staring at the system messages blankly for a moment before managing to pull himself to his feet, only to immediately sink into the earth up to his knees.
Well, That's unfortunate. He shakes his head before turning his gaze skyward. Above the three ever-present moons are shining brightly, their light barely impeded by the downpouring clouds.
Village Outskirts - Shortly before Dawn
Shuck. Shuck. Shuck.
The sound of Simon's feet sinking into the earth with each step quietly echoed across the deserted field, flanked by the ever-present downpour of rain splashing against the mud. Beneath the curtain of rain, he managed to spot a trail of smoke making its way across the sky.
Fire?
As Simon presses on, the once obstructed image of smoke becomes clearer and clearer. The soft outline of several small buildings can be seen in the distance. Simon's eyebrow tilted upward as he observed the building's shoddy construction. Wood? Perhaps wood isn't that rare here.
Suddenly one of the wooden buildings within view bursts into flames, followed by several high-pitched screams that pierce into the night.
Village Center - Shortly before Dawn
"Take the girl already!" The bandit leader cursed underneath his breath before delivering a swift kick to the man kneeling before him.
"Elder! Stop crawling across the ground! Where'd ye stash yer food?! The next house we burn is yers!"
The brigand shouts as his men cackle in delight at the scene. Meanwhile, one of the more industrious bastards can be seen dragging a small girl behind them. Her small arms and legs continue to smack against the bandit despite all the wounds clearly present across her body.
"I'll bite yer fuckin dick off!" she screams after kneeing one of the bastard's kidneys.
The old man weakly struggles to his feet, "I-I already told you! W-We don't have any food! Everything we have left is in those barrels!"
The Elder frustratingly points over towards a small stockpile of already smashed open barrels, its former rotting contents oozing across the floor,
"Th-the pla-," he mumbled in between coughs.
The brigand screams out in rage, hitting the elder again before speaking, "The Plague this! The Plague that! Do you really expect us to believe you don't have any food stashed away?! Fuck it! I tried to be reasonable, we'll do this the fun way. Men! Take the kids and kill the rest; search the houses and burn it all to the ground!"
The village elder's head falls to his chest after hearing the brigands' decree while the bandit leader's face contorts into a savage grin, satisfied in the oldermans dispair. His happiness is short-lived.
Suddenly the Elder's aching body lunges forward, colliding into the brigand's chest.
A loud cry of pain echoes throughout the village as the bandit leader backs away from the Elder clutching the left side of his body tightly. He looks up at the elderly man in front of him with rage in his eyes. His previous meek demeanor had all but vanished. In its place sat a tired toothy grin. A small blood-stained knife could be seen resting in his left hand while trying to steady himself with his right. Before the bandit leader was even able to yell at the man, the Elder fell onto the ground unconscious, seemingly having collapsed after exerting what remained of his strength.
"Divine hells," The bandit leader mumbles while limping off towards one of his men, only to stop dead in his tracks. Lightning flashed across the sky, accompanied by a thundering boom.
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A lone figure appeard beneath the current of rain, covered in mud but moving at an incredible speed, heading straight towards the center of the village. Something within the leader seems to break as he frantically shouts.
"Revenant!"
Several brigands drop their torches and brandish their weapons while the others quickly surround their wounded leader. At the group's rear, the still struggling girl is kicked across the ground to quiet her. Bile erupts from her mouth, coating the wet earth with a foul-smelling odor as the light quickly fades from her amber eyes.
---
Bandits?
Out of the corner of his eye, Simon spots several men rushing towards the large group of armed men standing the village center. At the same time, another ruthlessly kicks a struggling girl across the ground. Time slows down for a moment as he watches the bile drip out of her gaping mouth and the light fade from her eyes.
The flow of time returns to normal as Simon hastens his pace, quickly surpassing his prior speed before abruptly appearing right in front of the man that had just delivered a kick to the small girl's abdomen. Within the span of a single breath, Simon bends down and grabs the man's leg. The sound of tearing flesh can be heard as the man's leg is mercilessly ripped from his body. A low groaning sound emerges from the man's chest but is quickly silenced by the impact of his dismembered leg shattering his chest and spine. His limp body is sent careening through the air and into the still-burning remains of a nearby building.
Simon's eyes rapidly flick from man to man as he asses the situation. Fourteen swords, seven axes, two hammers, and multiple shields. No sign of any projectile weapons aside from a primitive bow. Beneath the mud, His face contorts into a terrifying smile before rushing headlong into the bandit's formation.
Screams reverberate off the surrounding buildings as multiple bodies are torn in two. Their lifeblood spilling across the ground, mixing with the saturated earth. A single bandit appears behind Simon, attempting to stab into his kidney. He turns his head towards the bandit with a blood-soaked smile across his lips. The flimsy blade strikes against his flesh, only to snap in half upon reaching its target.
Simon quickly turns his body around and grabs the fallen portion of the blade before lodging it deep into the bewildered man's throat with a thrust from his palm. He then wraps his fingers around the man's neck and casually tosses him overhead into the nearby burning building.
Suddenly a group of men charged at his turned back with shields raised, clearly intending to disrupt his balance. Simon nimbly steps to the side and allows the train of men to pass. With their target missing, the men quickly stumble across the mud and fall backward into his waiting arms. The men flail wildly as he constricts his grasp. Blood gushes out of their open mouths like an unholy fountain before they collapse onto the floor. The smell of ammonia permeates through the air as he turns towards the remaining brigands, lightning reflecting off his grinning teeth.
Several of the remaining brigands fall to their knees, mumbling in some unknown language as Simon slowly walks towards them. Two of the kneeling brigands grab their leader and thrust him out towards Simon, seemingly screaming incoherently with tears streaming down their cheeks.
No honor among thieves, I guess.
He seizes the presumed leader by his throat and lifts him high into the air with one arm. Meanwhile, his other arm grabs an arrow from the quiver at the man's waist. Suddenly one of the screaming bandits falls to the ground, a single arrow sticking through the back of his skull.
The odd phenomenon repeats several times before the final bandit realizes what's going on and tries to run. Simon faces the fleeing bandit and reaches for an arrow, only to grasp air. He shakes his head quietly before tearing off the quiver and hurling it towards the fleeing bandit's head. As if timed by the gods above, the brigands' head explodes as lightning cracks across the sky. Simon watches in amusement for a moment as the headless body manages to run a fair distance before collapsing to the ground and convulsing violently.
The once struggling bandit hangs limply from Simon's arm in shock at the scene he had just witnessed. Simon walks towards an elderly looking gasping man in the center of the village who just seems to have regained consciousness.
The Village Elder, perhaps? If they even have one that is.
Simon drops the terrified bandit leader onto the ground in front of the elderly man. A warm smile creeps across his face as he kneels down towards the gasping Elder. Using one of his hands to support the elderly man's back while his other wraps around the hand, still gripping the knife. The Elder's eyes open widely at the strange presence before him as his hand is guided towards the throat of the last remaining bandit. Strength returns to the Elder's hand as the knife sinks into the soft flesh.
His cold eyes watch as the man struggles beneath the knife's pressure, his lifeblood slowly seeping into the ground. The Elder continues to apply pressure to the mains throat until the light finally fades from the man's eyes. The warm presence across his hand and back is gone as he leans his tired body against a nearby pile of bandit corpses.
Suddenly a ray of light shines down on the blood-stained earth. At the end of the beam of light, a single mud-covered figure can be seen carrying a small girl in his arms towards the center of the village.
"Finally," he mutters out softly as he looks up towards the now parting skies.
Simon approaches the panting Elder before casually holding out a hand. The Elder's eyes darted between the figure's hand, and the small girl curled up in the figure's other arm before weakly grasping the outstretched hand. Simon lifts the Elder to his feet with a careful motion. He retracts his hand before looking around at the ransacked village while wiping the mud from his face.
No signs of electricity. Men wearing leather and metal armor, swinging swords and axes. No concrete or metal structures and wooden buildings?
Simon's eyebrow tilted upwards as he observes one of the nearby houses before his gaze falls to the unconscious girl still nestled into his arms.
His eyes become fixated on the pair of furred ears growing on the top of the girl's head along with the fluffy crimson tail curled tightly around his wrist.
Where the hell am I?