Thalia POV
I couldn’t help but frown as Clary healed her bleeding hand. My eyes were firmly locked on the whimpering woman in the corner, wearing her own mana suppression collar. Her entire face was black and blue, her nose horribly disfigured while blood dripped from her cut chin. She wouldn’t stop crying, begging Clary to heal her. I didn’t know how to feel about this. A part of me felt glad, feeling that she deserved this. But it disturbed me, these dark thoughts. Ever since I came to this world, my belief that human nature was inherently good has been wavering. The more I saw, the more my heart ached.
No matter what I did or how many people I helped and saved, they would still not help their fellow man. They would not follow my example. Their minds were too set in their ways, used to suffering and conflict. Despite fighting tooth and nail for their own survival, they would disregard others going through the same suffering. From long ago, I set off to do as my role dictated. It told me in my dream once.
Glancing to the end of the corridor where the intimidating, violent demon went, I could hear the metal door slam and lock shut. The Damned. The incarnations of all that is wrong with the universe. The being that granted me another chance told me about them. It told me we were the same yet different. To this day, I cannot comprehend what it meant with its cryptic words. It said we held the potential to change the worlds we were placed in. Shuddering at the thought what might become of a world influenced by the Damned, I bit my lip hard enough to bleed. I knew we weren’t the only ones, I could feel it in my bones. After that encounter many years ago, it was silent but I never forgot what it told me.
For the first couple of years, I was gratified, feeling special at the new opportunity to do good again, just as I did in my previous life. Then my fantasies were broken. The entity had no grand expectations of me, no plan, and no instruction. Just cold, hard facts. It said so, that what I do with it was up to me. Whether I lived up to my potential or lived the rest of my life unperturbed. It only cared that I stay true to who I was, warning me not to falter in what I believe in.
This broken world didn’t need any more evil and vicious people who think nothing of their fellow man. An ugly desire reared its head, to rid the world of the Damned. Shaking my head, I gave a hallow chuckle, getting an odd look from Clary, “What’s up? Are you okay?”
My train of thought derailed, I looked at her strangely, “Are you? Just minutes ago you were too terrified to even speak to me. Is it because of that man?” I asked in confusion. It simply wasn’t in my nature to hold a grudge, there were always better ways of solving problems than with violence. It would only breed more of it. This demon was scary and violent, those cold, indifferent eyes showing he could care less if any of us lived or died. So why was Clary so happy to see someone like that?
She smiled with embarrassment, “Sorry, this whole situation brought back too many bad memories. I’m just glad Atko came to save us.” she said with clear relief in her voice. I frowned, “Atko? You know him?”
She nodded with a small blush, making me gape in disbelief as I nearly shrieked the words, “HIM?! He’s the one you told me about!?” The way she looked away was answer enough, “Clary! Did you not see what he did to this woman?! Or this poor man he just dropped like dead weight?! He’s a goddamned psychopath!”
She rolled her eyes and crouched next to the woman. I flinched back as she grabbed the weeping lady by her broken nose and wiggled it around, “You mean this bitch? She can go rot in hell!” she hissed while the lady screamed in pain. Grabbing her by the wrist, I yanked her back, “What does it matter what she did? Has she not suffered enough? Just stop.”
Her infuriated glare softened at my words as she sighed, “Sorry, you’re right. It’s just, whenever I remember what she was going to do to us...” her eyes got a pained look, tears gathering in their corners. Feeling a twinge of guilt, I pulled her closer into a hug, “Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here in no time and then we can find the bastards responsible. I’ll make sure all these people get the justice they deserve.”
Nodding against my neck, she returned my hug. Sudden muffled shouts drew my attention, making me gasp. The beastman was alive?! Going over to him, I hurriedly untied him and removed his gag. He looked at me with a panicked expression, his eyes darting around in paranoia, “Is he gone?!”
“He’s gone, relax. You’re safe, I’ll make sure you get home in no time. What happened?” I calmed him with a soft voice, asking even though I could already discern he was that demon’s scapegoat. The man stared in worry and fear, “I was gathering herbs and roots for my shop when someone jumped me from behind, tied me up and brought me here! They said I was merchandise!”
Sighing, I gave him a small pat on the shoulder, “No you’re not. We’ll be leaving soon so try to calm down and stay here until we can get out.” Standing, I glanced at Clary who had completely healed her hand by now. Feeling tired, I smiled, “Come on, we have to help these people.”
Giving a firm nod, we got busy freeing all the prisoners and helping them, explaining the situation carefully before getting them out of the cages. Clary healed the more severely wounded ones while I pulled on my old teachings to try my hand at removing their contracts. It was a good thing we had access to all their forged papers, otherwise, it would have been impossible for me to do anything. By the end of it, we were both exhausted. I glanced at the decapitated corpses of the guards, my mind returning to the demon.
Glancing to the shut doors of the dungeon, I couldn’t help but feel some trepidation. Coldblooded and merciless, how do I deal with someone like that? Clary didn’t seem to mind the corpses as she leaned back in her chair, resting her eyes. Clearing my throat, I gave her a nudge with my foot, “Hey. Tell me about this Atko.”
She opened her eyes and tilted her head to the side, “There’s nothing really to tell. I don’t know him that well, he never talked about himself. He used to be a slave, back in the Colosseum but did something to his owner. He’s always gloomy and frowning, a very short fuse and loves to hurt those who stand in his way.” she said with a shrug. I gaped at her nonchalance, “Do you not see what’s wrong with this picture? Why would you care about a man like that? Why hug him?” I asked in disbelief.
She chuckled, “Because, I don’t care. He’s nice enough to me and helped me get past my trauma for the most part. Though I doubt he cares enough to come all the way here to rescue me. As he said, your uncle sent him to save you. Me being here is just a coincidence but one I’m glad for. I didn’t think I’d see him again.”
I grew more confused with this man by the moment. Weren’t the Damned pure evil? The entity in my dreams only claimed they were incarnations of the bad things like anger, hatred, envy. Thinking back, it never really called them evil. It said they were as they were meant to be. Like us, the Virtuous, they carried the essence of their beliefs and emotions. Even after communing with that thing, I couldn’t understand what anything meant. The figure’s appearance was intimidating for something claiming to be the embodiment of kindness and love. How much did he know about all of this? What were we supposed to do here? Maybe the answer was simpler than I thought. Pondering on it, I saw the group of people approach us, “When are we getting out of here? Who locked the doors?!” the large, buff wearing torn armor asked with clear weariness.
Sighing, I shook my head, “Calm down, it should be soon enough. The one who freed us is taking care of the kidnappers, whatever that entails.” I said with a grimace, almost able to hear the screams outside. No, scratch that, I did hear the screams. Muffled screams and the drumming of rain. Using my mana, I couldn’t tell what was going on but thanks to my wind attunement, I could sense the brewing storm on the horizon.
Atkozott POV
As I locked the door and took the key, I could sense a few people approaching the stronghold. Counting, there were five of them. The others were still in their usual spots, not minding any of this. It would appear someone got suspicious and sent a few men to check out if there were any problems since we were down there a bit too long. Not to mention, they knew their guard was missing by now. Feeling the humidity in the air, I felt like the air was pressurized somehow. Damn, a storm must be on its way. It could complicate things, fuck with my senses.
Cursing inwardly, I saw the hall in the stronghold was tall enough. Rushing to the wall, I kicked off it and wedged my claws between the bricks. Since the staircase leading up was totally caved, I climbed up and hid behind the rubble. I need to take out as many as I could before they could mobilize. I was outnumbered, the best strategy here was taking them out group by group before they could sound the alarm. It decreased the chance of them breaking into the dungeon and reduced the chance of them escaping. Once their numbers were whittled down enough, the rest would be easy pickings.
Seeing they didn’t notice anything strange, I watched them carefully as they attempted to open the door to the dungeon. Grinning, I kicked off. Landing directly on the two unassuming backliners, I heard their bones snap under my weight and the force of the jump. Their three colleagues turned around with their weapons at the ready. Before they could scream out, I used my footwork to sway around their spears and grabbed the two on the sides by their heads. With a vile crunch, their skulls opened like tomatoes, blood spilling over the dusty carpet. The guard in the middle was too terrified at this point to fight back.
Giving a bloodthirsty grin, I dropped the two corpses and directly took off the last guard’s head. I turned around, tossing it behind my shoulder as I stomped on the two prone guards who were groaning in pain. The hallway was silent again, just the sound of a rolling eyeball squelching on the floor. Glancing down, I saw I was drenched in blood splatter but didn’t really care as I peeked out of the stronghold. Seeing the coast was clear, I lightly closed the door behind me and moved behind a tent nearby.
The dark, cloudy sky affirmed my senses, showing there clearly was a storm coming and it was a big one. It arrived so quickly, the sun that shone only a couple of minutes ago was hidden behind the black clouds. Cursing inwardly, I knew I needed to make this quick. This continent mostly had a warm and dry climate, only a few occasional drizzles and rains. But once an actual storm came? It was like hell breaking loose. Villages that were built with weak materials would be erased off the map and people would vanish in the storm. By the look of things, I had around 4 hours before it got so bad even I would be hard pressed to move around.
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My good mood plummeting, I made a grim expression and lifted the tarp of the tent slightly. Seeing the man named Monty inside, I scowled. The man was jacking off, his back to me as he muttered some chick’s name. Feeling like this was a good a time as any to secure my interrogation target. I silently crawled in, he was far too distracted to notice me anyway. Getting behind him, I snaked my arm around his neck and grabbed him in a choke. Shocked out of his lustful fantasies, the little pervert flailed around, gasping for breath like a fish out of water.
Once his eyes turned into the back of his head, I grabbed a rope on the side and tied him up, gagging him as well. Not really feeling inclined to pull his pants up, I just knocked him over on his sleeping mat and pulled up the covers to hide him. Now that that one was out of the way, I sensed two guards in front of his tent. They were commenting about Monty being too loud before they noticed his tent was too silent. Pulling back, I stood in the corner, out of view as the two entered, “Monty? Oh, the wanker fell asleep.” One of them said with a chuckle.
“I know, right? What a disgusting little pervert.” I stood behind them and gave a remark of my own. Before they could turn around, smashed their heads together, their leather helmets making a small thump. Dazed, the guards were quickly disposed of as I broke their necks with an equally quick tug. Since I didn’t want to leave blood to save myself some time, I settled on the large trunk in the corner. I tossed Monty’s shit around the tent, pocketing a sack of gold, and broke the guards bones, making them both fit into the tight space. By the time the blood flowed past the hinges, I’d be long gone. After hiding the bodies, I moved on to the campfire a couple of meters away. Thanks to the storm clouds obscuring the view outside a bit, it was easy enough to dodge and sneak past their patrols.
Standing behind one of the carts, I felt a drop on my cheek. Shit. It was starting. The people by the fire also noticed the rain, all heading to the big tent in the center of the camp. They still didn’t realize the severity of the oncoming storm. Seeing how easy they just made my job, I headed directly for the walls instead. One by one, I slaughtered the guards. At this point the rain was too loud for their screams to go past the light veil of raindrops. Though I received an arrow or three, I shrugged it off and made sure they died painfully. By the time I was done, the ground was drenched in rain and blood. Seeing the rest of the sheep were tightly huddled together in their little tent, I grinned. Walking through the muddy terrain, I enjoyed the feeling of the rain soaking me. Stopping in front of the tent I’d seen Xavil enter, I directly went in.
Seeing the bald man at his desk, scribbling away at some papers, he didn’t even look up as he spoke, “What is it? If it’s about the rain, you know the procedure, we’ll be moving out within the hour so get the slaves ready. Eloise should be done by now.” dipping his quill into the ink, he heard no movement so he finally looked up. Coming face to face with me, I gave a toothy smile, “Hello, Xavil. I’m afraid I don’t have time to speak to you right now so I guess you’ll have to wait for a while.”
Just as he pushed away from his desk with a loud shout for help, I reached out and pulled him over by the collar. Kicking at his knees, I broke his legs before dislocating his arms as well. The man screamed in pain and struggled, cursing me like a good sport. Since silence was no longer an issue, why bother tying him up when this was faster. Grabbing a sealing collar on his table, I locked it around his neck just in case. I had no idea if he could use magic but I wasn’t going to risk losing such an important fountain of information. Seeing an even bigger trunk, I poked a few holes in the top just in case. If it worked why not use it again? I couldn’t have my interrogation target number three suffocating to death though. I stuffed him in and locked it. Giving the chest a kick, I laughed, “Relax in there while I deal with your little lackeys.”
Let’s see, my time so far was good, needing only around 30 minutes to clear out a good deal of the camp. The rest was in the big tent. Tilting my head, I cracked my joints and walked across the muddied field. I entered the tent without hesitation, the time for sneaking around over. There were around 13 people here, but the bed mats showed a larger number. Knowing those were handled, I saw strange looks of confusion come my way before they jumped up with their weapons. Everything from swords to spears to axes was pointed at me, “Who are you?!” three people shouted in unison.
Not giving an answer, I took out my spear deciding it could be useful in this situation. I grinned and dived into them. The closest man swung his longsword at my head. Ducking, I used my spear to push his attack further in its momentum. The tight space caused him to directly slash at his comrade, gutting him like a pig. Shouts of horror sounded from the man who committed friendly fire as I directly came out of my crouch and into an uppercut. His jaw and neck cracked from the force as he fell over onto some of the others who tried to catch him. Though, he wasn’t the only one attacking, three came at me all together. Using my footwork, I dodged and moved around their barrages unnaturally, counterattacking with every opportunity. Piercing the first one with my spear, I used my strength to haul him at the others.
Two people were toppled to the ground as a sword pierced my back. With a hiss, my tail lashed out and cut the perpetrator open, spilling his guts on the floor. Too horrified at the display, a man trudged backwards, slipping on the gore. Not one to waste an easy kill, I stuck my spear through his head and blocked an incoming bolt with the hilt. Seeing a woman was hurriedly reloading her crossbow, I directly tossed my spear like a harpoon. It went through her chest and out the other side from the might of my throw. I scowled when I saw my spear flew somewhere outside the tent. I used too much strength.
Pissed off, I switched to hand-to-hand combat. Directly grabbing a sword heading at my face, I ripped it out of the man’s hand and kicked him over. As he lost his balance, I made sure his sword followed him to the afterlife. After only 5 people were left out of the initial 13, they no longer dared come near me. I was coated with shallow wounds and blood but very satisfied with the outcome. My training was really showing its benefits in this situation. My body was moving more with a combination of instinct and muscle memory, giving my blows a deadly precision when I carefully considered my movement.
Seeing the five were inching towards the exit, I grinned at them maliciously, “What? Leaving so soon?” They bolted out. Giving a small laugh, I chased. They tried to split up in different directions but the rain and mud slowed them far too much. Reaching the one that had slipped on the mud, I tore him open by moving my hand low, not stopping and heading directly for the woman. She seemed to have lost her boot in the mud as she stumbled backward from the gripping mud. Grabbing her ponytail, I tugged her violently with a ripping sound and a crack. She fell into the mud from the force, her neck bent unnaturally. Though I caught the other two as well, the last one slipped away.
Frowning in his general direction I knew there was no use chasing him, my senses were too dimmed because of the rainfall. It was gradually growing in intensity. He will either die in the rain or make it back to the town, it didn’t matter either way to me. I had dealt with this to the best of my ability. Going back to the stronghold, I opened the doors and shouted, “Thalia, Clary! Get that woman and come out here, we’re leaving!”
However, what greeted me was a small stampede of people. Standing aside in shock, I watched as they ran out of the dungeon with all their might. A big human stopped in front of me, holding one of the guard’s swords. He glared threateningly but noticed the unsightly corpses scattered about, his eyes widening in a disturbed manner as he took a step back, “What the fuck? Did you do this?”
Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at Clary who was holding the whimpering woman up. Good thing the prisoners didn’t recognize her or they would have killed her. I was really glad I’d destroyed her face. Thalia suddenly came rushing out, her eyes wide in disbelief, “Wait! Everyone!” her shouts fell on deaf ears as her shoulders slumped in defeat and clear misery. Frowning, I glared at her, “Why the hell did you free them? I don’t have time to babysit a bunch of terrified fools, let them go wherever the hell they want.” I growled in annoyance, “We need to pick up a few things then leave as soon as possible. I think this rain will turn into a full-blown storm soon. Get to the cart by the tent next to the stronghold, I’ll be over in a minute.”
Thalia seemed to want to say something but a glare from me shut her up as she pressed her lips into a firm line. Her eyes darted around the corpses in silent horror before hurriedly dragging both Clary and the woman out. Clary really seemed to be in a much better shape than before, keeping her eyes up and avoiding to look at the carnage.
Glancing at the still lingering human, I hissed and pointed at the door, “Get lost!” Taking the hint, the man rushed out after the others. I went to get my spear first, finding it lodged in the mud near the walls. I went to the tent afterwards, grabbing the still knocked-out Monty. Carrying him over my shoulder, I went to Xavil’s tent and dragged the chest with me through the mud. Reaching the cart, I ignored the stares from the two women as I loaded up my cargo. Frowning, I looked around to find the stable. It was behind the stronghold, holding a couple of regular horses. Grabbing two of them, I saw they wouldn’t follow so I lightly goaded them with me, using the same tactics as when Kala was feeling willful.
The horses followed and I had the cart ready to go in no time. We had just enough time to reach Harlheim but it was cutting it close. Glancing at the sky, I saw the lightning flicker across the clouds ominously like a slithering snake. The ride was a bit too slow for comfort but there was no choice, the horses couldn’t maneuver well during this weather. Finding the old dirt road was easy enough as we made our way back. Dead silence prevailed on the cart, only the slight whimpering of the woman and the moans coming from the trunk could be heard.
I was keeping my eyes peeled, having to focus in order to see if we were going in the right direction. Clary suddenly came over and sat next to me with a small smile, raindrops falling from her wet hair, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you. I was so terrified of becoming a slave again. Thank you so much..." she said with sincerity, shaking slightly from the cold. Returning my eyes on the road, I gave a small nod, “Don’t worry about it. What have you been up to?” I asked casually, slightly curious how she ended up there in the first place. Seeing the insignia of a crescent moon on her chest, I realized she was a member of the Warmongers.
She gave a long sigh, “Where to begin? Once I was out of the Colosseum, I was really scared I would end up somewhere in the gutters so I was looking for a job. Unfortunately, a rugged beastwoman walking around half naked was barely eligible to work anywhere, they almost tossed me into jail for indecent exposure. Then I met Thalia soon after and she helped me get back on my own two feet. You shouldn’t be so mean to her, she’s really nice. We joined the guild together, I was the only one who knew she was related to Lord Evergreen though. We worked our way up the chain and got into the team. She was promoted to second-in-command since she saved the whole team once. You wouldn’t believe how great a shot she is!” She spoke with some excitement, relaying some of their experiences as I occasionally grunted in confirmation.
I could feel a piercing glare at the back of my head, irritating me enough to turn around and hiss at her, “What?!”
She didn’t flinch away this time, looking at me as if searching for some unknown answer. Furrowing her brow, her eyes widened, “You, I saw you in Tallah! I remember now that-“ She froze midsentence, giving me strange look, “Why are you like this?” she asked out of the blue, catching me off guard.
“What does it matter to you? I’m here to complete my end of the deal, nothing more, nothing less. You can keep your hypocrisy to yourself.” I grumbled, turning my back to her once more, thought I could tell I hit a nerve as her breathing became rough in anger, “I am not a hypocrite! Not everyone is a coldhearted psychopath, I can’t even imagine why my uncle would sent someone like you to help me!” she hissed defensively.
Snorting, I was getting ticked off as I kept my silence, trying to ignore the crazy woman, “You take lives like it’s so normal and easy, there are better ways of resolving conflict! Have you ever helped anyone in your sad, dark life?” I rolled my eyes at the bitchy rant I was receiving, no longer able to hold my tongue, I chuckled darkly, “Okay, you want to preach to me cupcake? Fine. Let’s review what I know about you. For one, this is the fourth time I’ve seen you. I don’t know what this shit about you being the Virtuous One means but I’ll figure it out. That topic of conversation is reserved for a different place and time. In the meantime, let’s talk about the one life you surely doomed, O’ Virtuous One, hm?”
“What are you babbling about? I would never harm someone with such a heavy hand, let alone doom someone.” she said in a matter-of-fact way. Tapping my finger, I grinned, “Oh? What about the beggar you helped in Tallah?” I asked mysteriously. I could hear her snort, “I gave that woman enough money to take care of both herself and her child. I don’t see your logic.”
I laughed genuinely for once, truly amused at her naivety, “Exactly! Do you really think she even got a chance to open that bag? The moment she was out of sight, she was most likely beaten to death and robbed. The little infant is most likely dead as well. No doubt, the beggars then tore at each other’s throats, fighting for the bag of coin. In the end, your shiny and helpful gold was thrown about the muck and blood, rotting there along with the corpses.” I gave her my best conjecture, knowing full well what people were capable of if motivated properly.
She was silent for a while before letting out a barely audible whisper, “How could you possibly know that?” Chuckling at the sudden meekness, I wiped the droplets of rain from my face, “I don’t. It’s just the logical turn of events. Those beggars might seem to be out of touch with reality most times, but they are always watching, listening, waiting for an opportunity.” I say simply, “You really are a sheltered little cupcake.” I say with clear humor, my angry mood vanishing as I amused myself.
She was silent for the rest of the way, trapped in her own mind. I finally had some peace and quiet. Once we got out of the forest, we were forced to dismount and leave the horses, they were too panicked by the lightning and thunder. I had let them run off in their panic, not really caring at this point as I personally dragged the damn thing the rest of the way. The gates were open but there were no guards outside. As I passed the threshold, I heard someone shouting on the side but his voice was swallowed by the thunder. Seeing a guard waving at me from the window of the watch tower, I pointed a finger at my chest to the badge, not sure if he could even see it. I felt some mana pass over me and the cart in a scan. They waved us through, not checking the luggage. I headed straight to the guild. The roads were slowly flooding, human waste lifting from the sewers as I gritted my teeth, my body protesting at the heavy load I was dragging.
The wind howled, viciously pounding against me as I finally stopped in front of the guild. The windows were barred and everything was tightly shut. Glancing down the street, the scene was nearly apocalyptic. The women banged on the door while I took my baggage. Some muffled sounds could be heard but my hearing was fucked at this point, the claps of thunder rendering me deaf. The doors opened, showing the innkeeper with a vivid panic as he waved us in hurriedly.