Chapter 9: The stranger

Amon's face turned solemn as he made his way amidst the heavy vegetation, the smell of blood growing thicker in the air. It did not take him long before he found himself overlooking a small fenced village, or at least what remained of it.

The forest here was not kind to humans, with the arrival of the abyss years ago, which has left its mark on the land. Animals turned into monsters that threatened anyone brave enough to thread the deeper parts of the forest. Still, it wasn't as bad as before. Abyss dwellers had once cleared the area of all dangerous monsters. Those left were too insignificant for them to care about at the time.

Still, a few stubborn people made the forest their home. Throughout the generations, they learned to survive by hunting the smaller monsters and avoiding the bigger ones. The outer ring of the forest was not as dangerous as the inner one, hence why, although rare, one would still occasionally stumble across one or two villages.

The one in front of Amon was such a village. The wooden wall had long since collapsed, and corpses of men and monsters littered the ground. "Looks like I was too late," Amon cursed under his breath, as he glanced at the ugly humanoid grey monsters.

He slowly passed through the collapsed gate. The thick smell of blood caused unpleasant memories to surface. None of the villagers seemed to have survived the onslaught. Men, women, and children alike laid unmoving. Their cold bodies covered the streets, others remained in their homes. The ground was dyed crimson with limbs and heads all over as man and monster laid atop one another.

Amon's frown deepened as he arrived at what seemed to be the village square. The number of dead villagers exceeded his expectations. It was a massacre. 'This is where they had their last stance, It seems,' he inwardly noted with a sigh. The scene before him caused his brows to crease in disgust.

Amon's sword suddenly teleported from its sheath and into his hand. His body moved, with inhuman speed, rushing towards the remaining monsters, too busy feasting on the villagers' remains.

Three heads head fell to the ground with a thud. Amon calmly flicked the blood off his sword and turned his attention toward the remaining monsters a distance away. "Five, six, seven... ten in total."

He took a deep breath and moved, turning into a blur as he rushed the monsters, his body weaving effortlessly between them. They had no chance to scream nor retaliate before they were all decapitated. The battle against the villagers had ended in mutual destruction for both sides.

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Sensing that there were no more monsters left, Amon's sword teleported back to its sheath. His eyes studied the surroundings with an empty gaze. It was still hard to get used to such sights, no matter how many times he saw them. Amon then raised his head to glance at the sky, his gaze somber as a long sigh escaped his mouth.

Marquis' voice came from the tiny bird that suddenly settled on his shoulder. "Amon, what's wrong? Are you there?" Shaking his head, Amon replied with a smile, "Yes, I'm alright. The villagers didn't make it."

"I see, and what about the monsters?"

"All dead. The villagers took care of almost all of them."

Emra's voice interrupted the duo, "Oh? So that means the monsters weren't so strong if the villagers won."

"I'm not sure I'd call it a victory, Emra. They all died."

Hector's voice chimed in, "Hey, if the monsters are weak, then, maybe I was right! Maybe the invading realm is nothing much. It could even be an opportunity for us!"

"You're awfully optimistic," Answered Marquis.

"As I said, It's good to hope for the best."

"It's still too early to tell. Anyways, you guys be careful."

Cutting off his connection with the others, Amon waved the little bird away. The summon heeded his command and flew off and landed on a distant tree. Walking back towards the collapsed entrance of the village, Amon dragged the dead bodies of the villagers with a heavy heart.

The corpses piled up in the village square, one after the other. After making sure that none were left, Amon hauled the monster corpses. The once lively village square was now deadly silent, thick with the pungent smell of blood.

Closing his eyes, Amon muttered a silent prayer for their souls. He didn't believe in any gods or deities. Hell, some might even consider him such an existence, yet deep down, he knew that he was nothing but a cursed man.

Strands of golden light flickered around his body, and his golden eyes shone with a flash of brilliance unlike before. The golden light intensified for a second as a wave extended outwards from Amon's body dyeing the surroundings golden for a second.

As the light cleared out, the village was no more. The dead bodies, the monsters, and the collapsed buildings all disappeared without a trace leaving Amon behind in the large empty clearing. Scanning his surroundings for a final time, Amon continued with his journey.

His journey across the forest went about uninterrupted, with no more sightings of strange monsters. He did come across a couple more villages along the way but did not bother entering after seeing that the villagers were alive and well. He did not stop to rest, nor did he use his powers again, but merely walked instead.

Day turned to night, and night turned into day again, yet Amon did not stop. His face was devoid of any emotion. His golden eyes meticulously scanned the forest, not missing a single detail. He persisted that way until the third day he finally reached the inner parts of the forest. The trees grew sparse, and the green vegetation turned violet. Strange flowers he never encountered before decorated the forest ground.

His brows frowned as he sensed a foreign presence. One that did not belong here. Amon's eyes subconsciously glanced at the tiny summon bird resting atop a tree branch. "Are they already here?" He muttered to himself.

He scanned the violet flowers, a strange power emitted from them, causing his curiosity to rise. The aura in this part of the forest was one filled with life. Small critters dashed between the branches. Birds nestled atop the trees painting a harmonious picture.

"How intriguing," He mumbled. This entire area of the forest seemed connected to that foreign entity. Not letting his guard down, Amon slowly made his way to find the stranger.