Chapter 3: A Timely Intervention (Revised)

Elder Davis stepped out the village gate, letting it close behind him.

"Good luck Elder Davis." A villager shouted.

Elder Davis nodded his head as he watched two hundred bandits storm forward. The bald man leading them signaled for them to halt. He stepped forward sneering at the old man in front of him.

"I am the village representative, Davis, we would like to negotiate with you. Would you tell me your name?" Elder Davis spoke up showing no fear.

"Oh? You can call me Hugo." Hugo noticed the old man's calm demeanor, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Most of the people he preyed on cowered in fear, yet this old man was different.

"Well Mr.Hugo, We are willing to give a large portion of our money, food, and alcohol, to you if you are willing to ignore our humble village."

"What's stopping me from taking it anyway, old man." Hugo said imposingly.

"We have at least one hundred well-armed people willing fight to protect our village, we'd like to avoid losing people and I'm sure you would too. Also, I can forge weapons for you, this old man can attest to the quality." Elder Davis spoke undeterred, embellishing the numbers while showing no fear in front of this large force of bandits.

"Gimme a sec to think old man." Hugo walked back to the group, speaking to a thin man in a black long coat.

"You think we should take the deal, Q?"

"Hmm, A force of one hundred is still a bit much to deal with, most of our men aren't using proper weapons. I'll go scout around, you accept the deal for now. Once they open the gates I'll shoot the old man if the numbers are manageable, that'll be the signal to charge."

"Right, Anyway I like getting my rewards without work anyway."

'You said you liked to fight, you lying bastard' Q thought inwardly before stepping into the crowd. He made his way to the back of the crowd, before sneaking into the woods. He found a tree and began climbing it, showing off cat-like agility. Standing on a large branch, he pulled out a spyglass, scouting the village forces.

'Lying old bastard , It's at least forty combatants. Though they are better armed than most of us, we could overwhelm them through sheer numbers.'

Meanwhile, Hugo returned to speak to Elder Davis.

"How would I know if these weapons are good?" Elder Davis thought for a moment, then drew a silver sword from the black scabbard attached to his hip.

Hugo was startled for a moment, but then was distracted by the sword.

It was a 3-foot long silver sword, with a black grip. The double-edged blade was 6cm wide. The overall design was very simple, but it gave off a dignified feeling.

"Heh. Heh. Heh. Pretty good old man." Hugo praised Elder Davis, but thinking differently inside his heart. 'How can I let a golden goose like you get away.'

"So do we have a deal, Mr.Hugo?"

"Yeah, Have your people bring out the stuff old man, we also need fifty good swords."

"Hmmm, I can give you half of it now and half in a few hours. As long as your people comply with the terms."

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing."

Elder Davis turned around and walked towards the gate, "Open it!"

He shouted to the villagers behind the gate.

"Elder Davis, you sure we shou-"

"Just open it, they would get in somehow anyway

The wooden gate opened, as the forty villagers tensed up. Three carts were lined up near the gate. Each cart held; weapons, food, alcohol, and money.

"Haaah." Elder Davis sighed, looking at the large of amount of things they had to give away. He turned towards the bandits, seeing the undisguised greed in their eyes. But just then an arrow came flying towards Elder Davis who drew his sword to deflect it.

"Grandpa Davis!" Benjamin shouted.

Hugo made his move swinging a huge battle-axe towards Elder Davis. Quickly prioritizing which one was more dangerous, Elder Davis used the the silver sword blocked the great axe, but the arrow to tore through his leg.

"Gaaargh!" Elder Davis shouted, limping backward to retreat behind the gate. The forty villagers surrounded him, brandishing their weapons. Meanwhile, the two hundred bandits poured in, killing twenty villagers who were too slow to retreat.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Stop please!"

"NOOOO!"

The unlucky villagers died being swarmed by bandits.

"Surrender, you bastards! We may even spare you!" Hugo laughed loudly while swinging his giant battle-axe. The scar across his face contorted with his smile.

"Grandpa!" Benjamin grit his teeth, glaring at Hugo. Clark gripped the sword yet still couldn't draw it, his face dripping with sweat. Amy assumed a battle stance, staring fiercely at the bandits, while readying the spear. The villagers nervously held their weapons, their apprehension giving more courage to the bandits.

The stand-off intensified as the bandits crept closer.

......................................

"Got him." Q said boastfully as he put away his bow.

"Nice Shot!" Q was startled as he turned around to see a boy, no younger than sixteen, standing on the tree branch with him. His hair and eye color were odd, but the strangest thing was him being nude. It was none other than Ira.

Q used a skill called Quickdraw which allowed him to instantly draw his bow, and then aim at the boy.

"Oh wow! That's pretty cool!" The boy shouted excitedly. He smiled, exposing his shiny white teeth. Q didn't respond as he released the bowstring.

Ira disappeared, as the arrow struck the tree instead.

"Would you kindly stay still?" Q heard a voice behind him. He turned around, drawing a dagger hidden on his waist, and stabbed toward the boy.

"What the fuck!?" Q yelled out, as Ira caught his wrist. His face was still smiling but his eyes were holding an expression of indifference.

"Aaaaargh! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

With a crunch, Q's wrist hung limp as he grimaced in pain, dropping the dagger.

"I haven't killed anyone before so..." Ira’s hand reached towards Q's face. Q trembled as if he could see the Grim Reaper reaching for him.

"Try to bear with me." Ira said as his hand gripped Q's face tightly.

"Wait! Please stop!"

Q's skull creaked under the immense pressure, as he wildly flailed his arms. His eyes and nose began bleeding, he cried out in fear.

With another crunching sound, his body went limp, the boy pulled him closer and began to take his clothes. Holding them under one arm, he used the other arm to throw the body down from the tree.

He then waved his hand over the clothes causing them to disappear, only leaving very minute traces of black mist behind..

"I killed someone..."

He clenched his fist, and closed his eyes. He had watched scenes of people killing each other before. No guilt was felt, just a reassurance that this was the way the world worked. People killed and people died, the only thing consistent was that someone lost their life.

"I killed someone..." He said as his yellow eyes opened.

"Hahaha! I killed someone!” Ira laughed as if reveling in a victory. Truthfully, he felt as if killing was him carving his place into the natural order. He calmed down and then disappeared from sight, leaving black mist in his previous spot.

.....................................

"So no one's gonna give up?" Hugo smiled at the villagers. He kept swinging his battle-axe while eyeing them.

"Damn it!

"Fuck you!"

"We can take him!"

Three villagers rushed up to Hugo, swinging their swords.

Hugo's axe drew a white line in the air, swinging towards the three charging men.

The torsos of the men instantly separated from their bodies.

"Hahaha! Who want's to step up next!" Hugo taunted.

The remaining seventeen villagers went silent, some even crying. Clark stared on, unable to move at all. Benjamin's pudgy body shook, as he held tightly onto his Grandpa's arm.

“Benjamin you need to leave now! Go hide with the other!” Elder Davis reprimanded him. Benjamin shook his head in response and stayed. Elder Davis could only grit his teeth as he was too injured to carry Benjamin away.

Amy, seeing no one else move, stepped forward.

"Amy, come back!" Elder Davis, Benjamin, and Mrs.Ann shouted simultaneously.

"You wanna have a go, girly?" Hugo looked at her, lust clearly filling his eyes. The bandits began laughing at her. Amy glared as she stayed silent.

"Clark! Go stop her!" Amy's mother, Mrs.Ann shouted clutching his arm.

"..." Clark stayed silent, his eyes becoming cloudy.

"Fine girl! I like them with a little fight, too bad I'll be breaking you in soon." Hugo yelled, advancing forward.

The battle-axe swung forward. Amy dodged showing dexterous footwork, but the Axe was relentless under the guidance of Hugo.

Amy's movements began slowing as the Axe swings increased in intensity.

"You gotta attack girly!" Hugo taunted her, unyielding in his offensive.

"Knock her down boss!"

"Let us taste her after you finish with her!"

"She's a feisty one boss!"

The bandits joined in on the taunting.

The villagers began cheering for Amy, nervously watching on.

"Get em' Amy!"

"You can do it!"

"Don't let him distract you!"

Amy clenched her teeth, she twirled her spear before stepping forward to swing it, finally attacking.

The sound of the Axe and Spear colliding multiple times rung out, sparks flew, ultimately Amy failed to gain the upper hand in the brief exchange.

While she took some distance, Amy's spear thrust forward, but it appeared to be three spears closing in on Hugo.

"Damn!" Hugo shouted putting his all into defense.

The spear nicked Hugo's side.

Then stabbed his shoulder.

"Fuck!" Hugo yelled as the last one headed for his neck. However the spear stopped short of Hugo's neck, Amy was unable to deliver the final blow. Normally a fifteen-year-old wouldn't be able to kill a living person. Once she looked in his eyes she felt hesitation, he was a living, breathing, human, as same as her.

'Why can't I do it!' Amy couldn't kill the enemy right in front of her, causing her heart to sink.

Unfortunately, Hugo wasn't willing to return that grace, "More trouble than you're worth, bitch!"

He swung his Axe down, intent on killing the girl who humiliated him.

"Amy!" Mrs.Ann jumped in front of the Axe, attempting to protect Amy. The Axe flashed past and then was withdrawn.

Silence pervaded the area until Mrs.Ann's body split into two halves before falling to the ground.

Amy fell to her knees dropping the spear, in shock, "M...Mom...Mom! No!"

A mournful screamed filled the ears of everyone, causing all the villager's heart's to fill with anguish. Elder Davis looked on, saddened by the loss of his people. Benjamin grit his teeth running forward, dragging Elder Davis' silver sword behind him. Before anyone could stop him he was out of the encirclement of villagers.

"Benjamin! Get back!" Elder Davis shouted. He tried to give chase but his leg prevented him.

"Clark stop him!" Clark stared blankly ahead, murmuring, "I cant...I...can't...I...can't...."

Though it was almost unheard of, Clark was suffering from something people called Battle Sickness. Sometimes Soldiers would come back from bloody and terrible battles and be plagued with nightmares and episodes of delusion. What Clark displayed was no different, the only cure was time or a skilled priest.

"Clark! Damn it Clark! Help him!" Elder Davis continued yelling, yet Clark didn't move an inch.

"I'll kill you!" Benjamin shouted, lifting the sword and swinging towards Hugo's feet before he could react.

The sword cut through Hugo's boot, leaving a shallow wound.

"Hahahhahaha! These are bloody thirsty kids boss!", The bandits laughed on.

"Fuck! You little shit! That hurt!" Hugo's expression turned rotten, as he lifted his Axe once again. Benjamin turned to run at the same time exposing his back.

The Axe cut across his back leaving a long wound, while he fell to the ground.

"Nooooo!" The villagers cried out, yet none ran to help. They shook with fear and anger as they watched on.

"Benjamin!" Elder Davis yelled to his grandson's unmoving body, he tried to stand yet the arrow prevented any movement. Clark still stood in place, frozen, murmuring incoherently. Amy's tears fell as she stared at Clark. Feeling disappointed with Clark in her heart.

"Clark! Clark do something-"

A loud crashing sound resounded and caused everyone to turn quiet. Dust rose between the villagers and the bandits.

.............................................

"Damn it! I must have been a little off!" A voice spoke from the dust. As it cleared all eyes focused on the source. A sixteen-year-old boy with black hair, yellow eyes, and a black symbol on his left hand. His youthful face could be considered very handsome, even by the standards of nobility. No one spoke as they noticed the boy was...completely naked. It was none other than Ira.

"I really need to figure this out...wait...huh?" Ira, stood up, looking around, noticing that a lot of eyes were watching him.

"Guys...don't be stare at me like that!" He smiled widely, scratching the back of his head as if he was embarrassed, yet he made no movement to cover up.

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"Who the fuc-" Hugo was the first to speak.

"Shh!" Ira responded holding a finger up to his lips. He pulled clothes from thin air and began dressing under the eyes of everyone. Finally, he straightened the black long coat, buttoning up his white shirt, before fixing his black pants.

"Where'd you get those-" Hugo once again spoke to the boy.

"Wait a second!" The boy knelt down to adjust his black leather boots. He then did a few kicks, nodding his head satisfactorily. He stood back up grinning at everyone.

"Perverts." Ira whispered, yet it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

No one had the mind to contemplate Ira's contradictory statement, instead, they were cautious towards his sudden appearance.

'Just who is this kid?' Hugo thought to himself, he wanted to attack, but for some reason the kid made him feel cautious.

"My name is Ira. Nice to meet all of you." Ira introduced himself, waving his hand. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw actual people.

"Where'd you get those clothes from, kid?" Hugo asked in a cold voice.

"Oh, these...The previous owner didn't need them anymore." Ira responded cheerfully. He began examining the corpses on the ground. Seeing the lifeless bodies failed to change his expression.

"Oh!" His gaze landed on the body of Benjamin. He walked over and picked up the silver sword.

"Nice!" Ira yelled as he examined the sword. He then gave it a few swings.

"I..." His face grew solemn, his smile fading, the air around him seemed to stop moving, causing everyone to feel nervous.

"I don't know how to use a sword!" He said before laughing loudly. When he was given knowledge of the World, he witnessed people using weapons but didn’t actually gain any skill.

"Hey, Kid!" Hugo finally spoke again, his voice containing anger.

"Hm?" Ira responded, yet his eyes stayed glued to the sword.

"What happened to Q?" Hugo asked, gripping his battle-axe tightly.

"Who is that?"

"The guy who owns those clothes from."

Ira slowly turned his head, looking at Hugo, his smile still apparent, "He died."

"How?!" Hugo shouted getting angrier and angrier.

"I killed him." Ira responded nonchalantly as if murder was an ordinary thing to do. Well, at least in his mind it was.

Hugo felt his spine tingle. Murder was something Hugo did all the time, yet he still couldn't ignore it. He used alcohol to drown the feelings of guilt, reminding himself "the weak are meant to die.". Even today he probably would get very little sleep tonight, seeing the scene of a mother being chopped by his axe repeatedly.

"Bastard!" A bandit charged forward, with a club in hand, swinging downwards.

Ira reflexively kicked him in the chest sending him flying 30 or so feet backward, before hitting the ground. The sound of his bones breaking filled the air, increasing the tension in everyone's heart.

"Fucking bastard!" The bandits yelled, secretly glad they didn't rush out to attack.

"That was uncalled for." Ira said in a lazy tone, making the sword disappear from sight. He began walking towards Amy, causing her to shuffle back. He knelt down and looked at the spear before drawing closer to Amy's face under everyone’s silent gazes.

"Is this your spear?" Ira asked while smiling broadly at Amy.

"Y...yes." Amy answered while stammering, traces of nervousness on her face, as she looked at the boy a few centimeters from her face.

"Can I borrow it?" Ira asked politely. He realized he could just take it, but he decided to be friendly to the people he just met.

Amy thought for a second before her eyes flashed with clarity, "If you can do something for me, you can have it."

"What is it?" Ira asked.

Amy looked up while pointing in the direction of Hugo and his bandits.

"Kill all of them."She said, her tone contained grief, hatred, and rage, her finger shook as tears ran down her face.

"Hmm." Ira held his chin, contemplating,"Ok."

There wasn’t much for him to think about. Killing with a purpose, killing without a purpose, in the end someone would die so did it matter? This was a world that, from his perspective, didn’t hold any reservation toward killing. People died from asking for food, in such a world he had no reason to hesitate.

Ira picked up the spear and looked at the group of bandits. He began walking forward. Hugo gripped his battle-axe, readying his skill.

"Come on boys, it's only one of him!" They began charging forward, but black mist rose from Ira's feet as he disappeared.

"Huh!" Everyone was dumbstruck, bandits and villagers alike.

"Where did h-"

Creak.

The sound of the gate moving caused everyone to look over, only to see Ira pushing it closed, before locking it. He dusted his hands off and turned around, smiling. His wolfish grin caused everyone to feel unsettled. His yellow eyes scanned over the crowd of bandits as if they were prey. He slowly took off his black long coat and his white shirt, storing them within the sigil of four wolves.

"So, can we start?" He asked enthusiastically, his smile as bright as ever. With each bandit he killed he felt as if his place in the World would become clearer.

...................................................

"Captain Avery, we've cleared the road." A robust man dressed in knight's armor spoke to a young woman wearing a dark green military officers uniform. If she could be described in one word it would be "beautiful".

Her face held a serious expression, she had sharp eyebrows, full lips, and a strong facial structure. The woman stood at 5'8 with, long dark purple hair that reached her back, clear silver eyes, and a strong build. A saber inside a brown leather scabbard hung on her waist. She appeared to be no older than eighteen, but her true age was twenty-four.

"It seems someone intentionally tried to slow us down." The man continued on, waiting for the woman to respond.

She looked down the road seeing a village in the distance, "Robert, tell everyone to move out immediately."

"Captain!" Robert saluted before running off.

"We might be too late.", Captain Avery said plainly while climbing onto a horse. A group of thirty knights gathered behind her, "We move now!"

The group began moving but eventually, they stopped again, seeing a half-naked corpse with a crushed skull and broken limbs.

"Captain, What could've done this?" A knight said trying to hide his apprehension.

"Not what, but who?" Captain Avery responded.

"What do you mean, Captain."

"Those small indentions on the wrist and skull appear to be from someone’s fingers. I assume the limbs broke when he fell." Captain Avery looked above her, staring at the tree. Inwardly she was interested in the person responsible for the murder.

"Continue on." She said in a detached tone, the knight squad resumed marching, each one looking at the disfigured corpse.

...................................

"Halt!", Captain Avery shouted as the knight squad arrived at a gate. The sounds of combat and screams resounded from behind the gate.

“Argh!”

“Someone stop the bastard!”

“Nooo! Please! No!”

"Robert!" Avery called out.

Robert stepped forward, saluting."Yes, Captain?"

"Check the gate." She ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Robert walked over to the gate, pushing and pulling to no avail. "Captain it's blocked."

Captain Avery didn't respond, dismounting her horse and she then approached the gate. She put her hand on the saber grip. She stuck one foot out and leaned her upper body forward. Drawing her sword, she swung.

A white line flashed across the gate. Captain Avery sheathed her sword while walking up to the gate before gently pushing it.

The gate fell, kicking up dust with it. The knights ran inside, in a practiced formation, drawing their weapons. Captain Avery walked in with causal steps. She looked around seeing corpses everywhere, some hanging on rooftops, some without limbs, some decapitated, some with twisted necks, and some with crushed skulls. It was truly a nightmarish sight to behold, even for the most experienced knights.

"Bleeergh!" A knight threw up, feeling disgusted. Usually, it would be shameful for a knight, but no one found fault with him this time.

Closer to the center of the town a group of villagers held weapons, fear on their faces, in front of them, was a boy covered in blood, huge wounds decorating his chest, arms, and back. His breathing was incredibly strained, but strangely he was smiling.

Ten men surrounded him, wielding, chipped swords, and clubs. A bald man wielding a two-handed axe yelled to the men.

"Those damn knights are here!"

"Damn it! Let's surrender." A bandit responded.

"I don't want to fucking fight this guy anymore!" Another agreed.

Ira looked towards the knights. "Stay...out...of...this!", He yelled in an annoyed tone, taking breaths after each word.

"Captain, what should we do?" Robert spoke up, staring at Ira as if he was a monster. Captain Avery, stepped forward.

"You criminals have two choices." Avery shouted.

The bandits looked relieved thinking to themselves, 'Surrender or Die.'

But Avery's next words betrayed their expectations. "Die over here or die over there!"

She held no inclination toward proper justice, especially to worthless bandits. It would be far easier to kill them than to capture, feed, and escort them to a prison.

The bandits turned pale, while Ira smiled, "Ha! What...a...nice...woman! Come...on...guys...I'll...treat...you...properly!"

Captain Avery showed a rare grin as she watched him. She felt as if their was something familiar feeling coming from him. It was a feeling that those who came from a dark place would emit, except what she felt from Ira seemed far deeper than anything she had known before.

...........................................

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Hugo and the remaining nine bandits charged towards Ira. Hugo lifted his axe and swung down, but Ira grabbed the closest bandit using him as a meat shield.

"Fuck!" The bandit screamed as he was cut in two. Ira pushed his body out of the way and then sent a kick to Hugo's stomach. He flew back, crashing into three other bandits. The remaining five spread out, two slashing simultaneously. Ira caught their arms with both of his hands, pulling them together, smashing them into each other with tremendous force.

The two bodies went limp, dropping to the ground. The three bandits looked at each other hesitating, one turned to run, but Ira grabbed his head, pulling it backward, causing his neck to bend at a weird angle as he fell to the ground. The other two bandits took this opportunity to attack Ira, one swinging a club and one thrusting with a sword.

Ira grabbed the club and let the sword stab through his arm. He wrenched the club from the bandit using it, and then beat the sword-wielding bandit with it.

The muffled sound of a skull being caved in echoed in the quiet village. The remaining bandit backed away, while Ira pulled the sword out his arm, dropping it.

He walked over to the bandit, dripping blood with each step.

"Wait! I surrender!"

Ira paused for a second, catching his breath.

"...What does that have to do with me?", He asked with a smile, before grabbing the bandits face and crushing it.

Ethics, Honor, Mercy, and Morality weren’t easy things to pick up on naturally. Ira felt no difference between killing someone who was armed or someone who was unarmed. No matter what, as long as he had a reason or inclination to, he would continue to kill.

Ira picked up a sword, slowly walking over to Hugo, who was lying on top of three other bandits.

"Fuck! Get off of me!"

"It's Hugo, he's too fucking heavy!"

"Hurry and get up!"

"I can't move my legs you fucks! I think my spine is broken."

Ira stopped in front of them before raising the sword and skewering them in place.

"Aaaah!"

"Fuck!"

"Please!"

"Ergh!"

Ira closed his eyes, breathing deeply, before opening them again. He was there to witness Amy hesitating to kill Hugo. It somehow bothered him, so he would help her find her place in the World.

"Hey, Spear Girl!" Ira waved.

Amy was startled, shaking as she answered. She asked him to kill the bandits but she didn't prepare for the raw and unsightly brutality."Y-yes!" She responded with a gulp.

"Come here!" He yelled.

"O-ok!" Amy nervously ran over to Ira. And when she met his eyes she began to tremble

"Here. Finish it!" He produced the Redwood spear from thin air, handing it to her.

Amy grabbed the spear, looking at the bandits pinned to the ground, especially at Hugo.

"Haaah...Haah...So...you're...gonna...kill...a...defenseless-"

The spear stabbed through Hugo's skull interrupting his sentence, as she pulled it out, started stabbing the other bandits one by one.

"Aaaah!!!!!"

Amy screamed, tears dripping down her face, bringing her fear, grief, tension, and stress with them. Though her heart was still broken by the death of her mother, she felt better knowing she got to kill the ones responsible with her own hands.

"Nice one!" Ira smiled widely, before collapsing onto the ground.

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