The man was fighting.

When they left the forest, they saw three orcs—nasty monsters clad in crude armor. They were standing over their latest prey. At first, the man and his company wanted to avoid them. And then he saw it. It was a carriage of a poor family. A little girl lay there, lifeless. Her doll was still in her hand. She didn't seem more than ten. The man became overwhelmed with rage. He drew his sword, from which black vines began to spread across his body.

'You're going to pay!' he shouted as he charged the enemy. Scythian and Wolf were surprised but quickly followed with weapons in hand. Each of them chose an opponent.

The man chose the biggest of the orcs, the leader he presumed. He struck down at him with all his strength and fury, forcing the creature to take a step back.

Scythian wielded a spear. He fought with great precision, elegance, and speed. His opponent could barely keep up, having the most armor on its hide. It kept its shield as close to itself as it could.

Wolf's two-handed mace could break just about anything anyone could think of. The orc tried to defend itself with its axe valiantly, but ultimately futilely. It was the first to fall when its head was cracked open.

But the man did not see any of that. He could not think. The only thing he had in his mind was the picture of the carriage, covered in red.

'How dare you do this?!' he asked, not waiting for an answer. 'You are going to die right here, right now!' The wanderer did not even hear himself anymore. The vines reached his neck. KILL, KILL, KILL—that was the only thing in his mind. He started a cut from the left, which the orc barely parried. There was no time for it to counterattack, as the next blow, in the form of an overhead strike, came down upon it. The monster had to go backward, parrying the sheer fury of the attacks. The man wouldn't let up. Carelessly, he dealt one strike after another. Even though his opponent's armor deflected the blows it could not parry, they locked swords while looking into each other's eyes. The man took the strong side; with a push, he managed to get his opponent's sword out of his way and dealt a blow. The stab to the chest found its way between the plates of the armor. The orc screamed and finally made a counter blow diagonally to the right. The warrior stepped to the left, dodging the blow and using the opening for an upward strike. The monster's armor deflected most of it, but it had no helmet. The strike almost severed its jaw from its mouth. The creature cried out (or imitated it the best it could). Then came the next blow to its joint at the left knee, cutting off its leg completely. The monster fell over. The man quickly jumped above it and buried his sword in the heart of the monster. The orc died instantly.

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Then he stabbed again. And again. And again.

'Destroy it! Destroy it!' cried out a voice in his head. The vines covered his face. He stabbed the lifeless husk again and again. Until something reached for his shoulder. The man turned with swiftness unseen and struck at his new opponent.

'Argh!' it cried as it fell back.

That was the moment someone grabbed him from behind.

'Enough!' said Wolf as he tossed him aside.

The red in the wanderer's head started to disappear. So did the vines, as they crawled back to the sword. He saw Scythian on the ground, with a slash wound on his arm. Between them was Wolf, staring at him in anger. The man was confused and exhausted.

'Have you forgotten the lessons I taught you? Have you forgotten to control your rage? This is not you! You fell back to the state I found you in! You should remember the purpose of why I travel with you!'*

The wanderer was shocked. Why did he hurt Scythian? His guide, his friend? And then, he started to remember why he sought out Wolf so long ago.

*(In case you are wondering, yes this is a reference to the great song from EPIC: the musical, Warrior of the Mind. If you did not hear it yet, you can listen to it on Youtube music, Spotify or any other big music platform.-The editor.)