42Chapter 6 — The two survivors
Author's words
Sorry for the delay ! To be honest, I am working on a new story which should be WAY better than this one — The Wolfpack has way too many flaws in my opinion. That is why it took so much time to release this new chapter. In exchange, it is a bit longer than the others. I just hope that it is still up to the expectations !
Enjoy the reading.
— Sasugasm
Part 1
Kabal and the guardians were in Fornost, a stronghold of the men.
The small group was found in front of the town hall — surrounded by numerous human corpses. Watching closer, the bodies had their faces contorted in agony, and their skin was displaying various abnormal colors. The sight was horrific, a pure vision of terror and despair for an average human. Without any doubt, Kabal would have thrown up by now if he had not been in his new body. But instead, his attention was hardly drawn by the dead which held little interest for him.
Something else had caught his attention.
In the middle of this carnage, a young girl was desperately vacillating between right and left, barely standing on her two legs as she hardly displayed enough force to stay conscious. Her face was dirty, and her regard was lost in the void. One could easily imagine her astonishment as she found Kabal and the Guardians standing in the way. At the sight of the small group, her eyes opened wide and her mouth curved in astonishment — although her confusion didn't last long. She didn't have enough force to be amazed. Slowly, her expression weakened back to a tired face while she desperately struggled to articulate words.
"I—I don't... want to die. H… Hel—p me. "
Enigma was dumbfounded by the sight of the girl collapsing on the floor — as he had assumed that the stronghold was completely empty. The doppelganger had made sure that no one would interfere with the Supreme One, yet, a mere child had escaped his attention. For him, such thing was unacceptable. The weight of his misstep was enough for him to bow down, and the doppelganger couldn't help but apologize to his master.
"Forgive me, this was my responsibility, Kabal-sama. I wasn't slacking, and I still failed to prepare the stronghold for your arrival. This girl has escaped my vigilance, even though I was using my abilities. I can only accept the price of such a mistake…"
Taking a moment to ponder the situation, Kabal observed the girl who rested on the floor and quickly went back to the doppelganger.
"What are you talking about ? Heal that poor girl..."
Enigma's mouth snapped shut while Ester quickly realized that the order was aimed at her. As a result, she began walking toward the dying girl — casting a simple healing spell. With grace, she began her incantation by lifting her hands toward the agonizing lady and reciting the words of magic. Observing the scene, Kabal couldn't help but make theories about the human corpses which lied around.
Is it Enigma who slaughtered them ? I can't believe it. There's no reason he would kill these people. It would make things thousand times more complicated...
Praying for his hypothesis to be wrong, he watched Ester saving the newcomer who had asked for his help. The healing spell quickly took effect, and the girl realized what was happening. She exposed confused emotions running through her face — being relieved and disturbed by her recovery, yet terrified by the elf.
"...Uh ?"
She watched her body — the corner of her mouth curving into a genuine smile.
"I don't feel sick anymore ! My pain— it's gone !"
Her heart pounding faster and faster, she watched the elf with a face full of excitement.
"That's amazing ! Can you use this for my parents too ?"
The regard of Ester became as sinister as ever, her face twisted in anger as she watched the girl with a sheer look of disgust. Before she could do anything, Kabal quickly interposed between the two — trying to avoid troubles.
"Aerm… First of all, what is your name ?"
Ester seemingly understood that Kabal had an interest for the girl, and she instantly restrained herself from doing anything — as it would interrupt her master. At her sides, the strange lady was reluctant to answer the question — probably due to her education — but she still talked nonetheless.
"My name is Haya — Haya Pereira dos Santos. I live in a district of the lower town."
"...You seem quite young, how old are you ?"
"Eh ! I actually just crossed my fourteen-year anniversary. I could be married !"
Oh right. I should have guessed.
"And what do you do here ? To my knowledge, orcs roamed the city."
Haya went silent, and her expression dulled. Her eyes were wet, ready to burst into tears, but she still tried to look brave as she answered.
"I—I was hiding from them. They killed everyone, but they still didn't get me ! I was smarter."
"...If everyone died, are you sure that your parents are still alive ?"
A cute, timid expression of doubt showed itself on her face as she spoke with a more uncertain voice.
"But— if you tried... They could wake up ?"
Kabal grimaced of uncertainty. At the sight of this massacre, the girl had probably been lucky beyond reason, yet she still desperately hanged on her parents. However, he also knew that it would be cruel to scatter her hopes so harshly — so he decided to take the gamble.
"Ester ?"
"I will do the necessary, Kabal-sama."
Bowing her head, the elf looked down at the girl and asked for instructions.
"Young lady, can you tell me where your parents are ? I will see what I can do."
Haya's whole face suddenly lit up, her mouth curved into a big smile.
"They are in a bed in my house ! It's in the lower district, the one with a green sheet on the roof."
Ester quickly departed to the indicated position — even with little information — because she wanted to end it as soon as possible. The elf clearly had trouble apprehending the girl, even with her master's approval, but followed the orders without complaints.
In his turn, Kabal had several questions about Haya — in fact, her story was odd. A lot of things seemed to go her way, and he wondered if she was lying. Enigma had special abilities to detect life forms, so it was quite mysterious that he would not find her. Moreover, there had been a lot of orcs searching for any survivors, but she still hasn't been caught — as if she possessed abilities to hide. It was clear that she survived a danger which killed the entire city — a feat that she managed to achieve all alone. She was either the luckiest person alive, or she was not honest.
"Mhh… If it's not too much to ask, can you tell me what happened, Haya ?"
At the mention, the girl took a moment to think as her breath was going louder and louder. Her eyes welled, and her lower lip quivered as she began talking.
"There was the bells that tell there is an attack. I—I was told to stay inside the house, because of the orcs. But I had to leave because of the green smoke."
She paused a moment, letting slip out a sob.
"Everyone was screaming… So I went outside to see what was happening and everybody began falling on the ground. *sniff* I was alone, no one would wake up. It was so silent. T—Then, the orcs came, and I was terrified ! So I hid and I waited..."
Her regard fixed on Kabal.
"I couldn't eat, they would have found me. I was too scared, so I kept hiding until they left... W—Was it you who made them leave ? You came for me ?"
"Aerm… You can stay with us if you want. The orcs shouldn't be able to harm you this way."
He paused a second to reflect on something that the girl mentioned.
"But that green smoke intrigues me. Is it a weapon ? Do orcs often use it ?"
"I don't know about that… But I think the orcs talked about a spell."
"Mhh… I see. Wait a moment."
A spell ? That's perfect.
At the mention, Kabal took a crystal from his inventory and looked at it with a hesitant face. It was supposed to detect magic, but it would be a waste if he used it for nothing. Next to him, Haya had seen his hand disappear into the air, but the beautifully carved item that her savior held intrigued her even more.
"What is it ?"
"Mhh ? You've never seen one ? It's a sealing crystal. I am just checking something, it will tell me what sort of spell has been used."
"Ooh."
As the girl watched the crystal with a curious look, Kabal triggered the spell contained in the seal. A ray of light came out of his hand, and the item disappeared — fulfilling the role of gathering the data of his environment. A flow of information filled the mind of its user, resulting in some confusion from the latter. His eyes wide open, Kaval watched his hands for a second and expressed his thoughts out loud.
"Unknown magic, eh ? And stronger than a 10th tier spell… I should probably have collected more information before wandering into danger."
His eyes rested on the girl who now displayed a worried look. Apparently, he was letting his emotions transpire on his face, and his anxiety was cast on Haya.
"I don't know anything about magic but… is it that bad ?
"Not so much, but there is always a possibility…"
"If it helps, I heard from the orcs that their king did the smoke ! They seemed to be afraid of him."
"..."
Could it be a lone player ? If I trust her words, it should be a dungeon boss at most. If so, I can face it with the Guardians... But I should be cautious.
"Yes, that does help me. But more importantly. How can you survive such an attack ?"
A rather legitimate question. The spell of this orc "king" had literally slaughtered an entire city — leaving her as one of the few survivors, if not the only. She could well be a spy who came after the battle — at least that would be more plausible than surviving a slaughter. Following this idea, Kabal carefully observed the reaction of the young girl. He hoped to discern any sign of lies but instead, he was met with a glimpse of satisfaction on the girl's face as she proudly swaggered.
"It's because I'm special ! My parents say I have a talent — magic can't harm me ! I think that is why the green smoke did nothing to me."
Wow, she is immune to magic ? Probably an ability that is much like that of a skeletal dragon. That also explain why Enigma missed her. I won't ask her how she discovered that, but it is important to find if she's alone possessing such talent.
"Impressive ! Are you the only one unaffected by magic or are there others ?"
"I don't know ! But a friend of mine that works at the militia says that I am really lucky — because talents are unique."
As she finished her sentence, Ester hastened towards them — carrying two bodies of a man and a woman. She carefully disposed them in front of the girl and began talking.
"Sorry for the delay, Kabal-sama. Are these your parents, young girl ?"
Haya observed the two corpses and, with a sign of approbation, she nodded to the elf.
"Yes, this is mama and papa ! You can save them too ?"
"I am afraid to tell you that I can't heal your parents, they are already dead."
As the girl began to understand the truth, tears formed under her small eyes.
"B—But, if you try ?"
"There is no point in healing the deads. Your parents will not wake up unless we use a resurrection spell."
Ester's gaze turned to her master with a demeanor definitely asking for his orders — she was ready to use a resurrection spell if he asked her to do so. Kabal thought about it for a moment while the girl started sobbing uncontrollably — falling on the ground with her hands trembling.
Would it be a good idea to resurrect the parents of this girl ?
No. I don't think so. Reviving someone has a huge cost, and I want to avoid weakening ourselves with this orc 'king' threatening us.
"I am sorry for your loss, Haya. We cannot help you in this matter. All I can do is to take care of you. In fact, there is a huge risk that the orcs will come back."
He turned to the other guardians who were patiently waiting for their master's orders and began explaining to them what he wanted to do.
"I don't think I will teach you something new, but the spell which killed these citizens is dangerous. Whether the caster used an item or his MP to perpetrate this massacre, he is a huge threat that we should consider."
Kabal watched the reactions of the Guardians, but he could not distinguish anything of note.
"We will stick to the plan and reinforce the defenses of Fornost. The girl is coming with us, she has an unusual power, and I want to keep an eye on it, so treat her respectfully. Kára, may I ask you if could bury the corpses laying around the city ? It is quite disturbing to have them scattered everywhere. You can interrogate our prisoner afterward."
"I see, you want to avoid the diseases. Should I bury them in the graveyard or can I bury them right where they are ?"
Apart from finding this sort of request weird, Kabal had no reason to forbid the Guardians such things.
"...Do as you wish, but I don't want to see the streets filled with human's bodies."
Bowing down, the Valkyrie left to bury the corpses as Enigma began speaking.
"Then, if you excuse me. I am leaving for the human's cities. As per the plan, I will carry the message of the Supreme One and get the cooperation needed for your glory."
The doppelganger vanished in the shadow as Haya, who had witnessed the entire scene, stopped sobbing out of astonishment.
"He disappeared ! That was magic too ? That's amazing, are you all like this ?"
"Well… That is true that the Guardians are really powerful, but you could easily learn this sort of trick if you tried. It is just training, I would say."
The tears from earlier still descending her cheeks, the girl manifested a renewed stare as the sorrow look was replaced by stars in her eyes.
"Could you teach me !? If I was as strong as you, I'm sure I wouldn't be afraid. I don't want to hide again ! I was so frightened… "
What's with that girl ! One second she's sad, the other she is as lively as someone can be.
"Well, I was gonna do some experiments, but I can take of my time give you some interesting objects for you to play."
A big smile showed on her face as she expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you, mister ! I promise I will help you in return."
Haya singing in delight, Ester harbored a mocking face as she whispered to her master in a way that the girl couldn't hear what she was saying.
"You want to study this girl's power and make use of her ability ? Forgive me for doubting her use at first, I was blind."
The elf quickly side glanced at the corpses.
"I see that you also had a plan for the orc leader. As always, you are steps ahead of me. I will have to strive harder to catch up. If I can't hope to get at your level, I can still do my best to make things work out in the capital. I will let your protection in Fistfurry's hands then."
What is she talking about ?! It doesn't reassure me the least…
"...Mhh, ok. Good luck to you Ester."
Kabal watched her bowing down as she left and turned to the two remaining pair of eyes staring at him. It was his only window of action to quietly experiment what had changed in this world.
He could safely conclude that a lot of his abilities worked differently in this world — and he needed to study the changes. For example, the magical beasts he summoned weren't supposed to have an offensive potential at all — reckoned to be mere followers and completely passive in combat. Having seen this little variance happen to his Phoenix, he had to see the impact on his other abilities.
"Fistfurry ? I will do some experiments alone. You can keep the entrance of this castle — but I don't want to be disturbed. No one should enter unless I asked for him."
With the monk growling to show that he had understood the order, Kabal thought of what to do with the girl. After a few seconds, an idea flashed his mind, and he gave a lopsided grin to Haya — pointing at the door.
"It may be a bit late to ask you this sort of question, but is it really your will to fight ? I barely know anything of your customs, but I'm sure girls usually have other dreams in their heads, do they ?"
He was observing her reaction to catch a glimpse of insecurity, but she didn't give him anything like that. At the opposite, she gulped in fear but had no hesitation answering.
"I am not like the other girls… I don't want to marry someone, and I don't want to look pretty. I just want to do what I want."
She looked hesitant to continue, but after a few seconds, she dashed forward in her explanation.
"To tell the truth, I often thought of dying the last days... But when you came, I wanted to trust you, as if I always knew you. You're the one who gave me the feeling that I could fight ! Please ! I want to be strong like you, mister !"
I think I understand…
I forgot to deactivate my [Aura of Devotion], and it affected her... The power it brings to this world is terrific.
"Well, if you want to fight, come with me. But you have to know that I am not like the people you used to know. I might even fight against the emperor of your country. Is it still what you want ?"
A flash of hesitation could be seen in the expression of the young girl — and even a gesture indicating her shock. Yet, she also gave Kabal a complicit glance as the idea of breaking the law seemed to excite her.
"I don't care anymore ! This is what I want. The emperor never did anything for me, and the nobles terrified us."
What a naive way of thinking...
The answer bewildered Kabal as he had thought that the girl would have complained. But since she was so willing to fight, he would let her do what she wanted. Perhaps his presence and his [Aura of Devotion] was for something, or maybe she just searched for a reason to live and had taken her grip on the first person she could find. Either way, her ability was clearly something he wanted to investigate, and he wanted to keep her close.
In case she's related to the spy, that will do it. As the proverb says, keep your allies close and your enemies even closer.
"Fine then. But you will regret it. Here, take this and follow me."
Kabal dove his hands into the veiled space serving as his inventory and gripped his hand on a huge glowing bag from which he recovered a talisman and a magic dress. He gave the items to the girl who, astonished by the disappearing hand of the men in front of her, stumbled as she held the abnormally heavy robe.
"Ughh… It is so heavy ! What is it ?"
"Long story short, it is used by low-level characters to power level. It permits to use up to 4th tier magic with reduced cost, but you need the corresponding job class for it to be effective. That is why I gave you this talisman with it, it should level up your Sorcerer class."
Although I don't know if her talent won't make her immune against it...
The girl watched the two items with her mouth wide open — she was just staring at two unbelievable treasure. Let it be magic items or expensive clothing, she had never seen any of her entire life. After hearing the explanation, she began handling them with the utmost care — as if she thought she didn't have the right to even touch such items.
"Is it really okay for you to give me such things, mister ?!"
"I got a lot of these junks in this bag. Feel free to use them if it can make you happy — at least they would serve a purpose other than completing my collection."
Haya watched the gifts as if she could not believe it, and tears of joy slowly formed under her cute expression.
"That is the sweetest thing someone has ever done for me ! Thank you ! I will treasure it my entire life !"
That's a bit embarrassing… Are all the people of this country going to overreact to everything ? Please, let someone be in the same situation as I am.
"Aerm… Let's go."
Kabal entered the building as Haya walked behind, cuddling the robe with a happy face. Even if he had parted from the Guardians, the embarrassed player had a lot to do. He had promised to take care of that girl — and he began regretting it.
Why would I choose to take care of her ? I don't even think I can take care of myself right now !
The one truth was that he couldn't get back on his words. As such, he took half an hour to explain the basics of magic to the girl — making use of the items he gave her to make it easier. After some awkward explanation and as soon as he could let her stand on her own, he left her alone to experiment his own abilities. He stood in a different room because he wouldn't let a stranger observe his fighting style. In fact, if he had enemies, it was the perfect time to gather information on his abilities — and he wanted to avoid revealing such precious knowledge.
But little did he knew that a spying spell had already been cast in this place.
Whoever was the origin of this magic saw the unique techniques that Kabal exposed in his sight. But even with this information, he could not understand the very nature of his fighting style.
Sometimes Kabal used Beastmaster abilities, the other minute some thief spells, followed by cleric casts and then warlock incantations — but never did he revealed a pattern to discern his weaknesses. His fighting style seemed to be weak and efficient at the same time, versatile yet limited, easy to deflect but impossible to predict. Even with the knowledge of his ability, it was near impossible to find a sure way to fight against it — and the spy knew it. There was no wonder why Kabal had been in the top ranks of PVP back in YGGDRASIL.
The spearman was a dangerous opponent.
Part 2
A bit bored by his experimentation, Kabal quickly glanced at the sum of the damage he had been causing to the room.
The elements had been mixed into weird reactions all around his surroundings. The floor was burned and crackled while the roof was apparently intact. Apart from these trivialities, darkness engulfed the walls — as if the room was in different dimension parted from the world. Watching closer, one could see pairs of eyes watching from the shadow — these belonged to magical beasts who patiently waited for their master. Even if Kabal had been using abilities to protect the building, some of his experiments had still been uncontrollable and caused quite some of those devastating effects.
...It is weird to think that I can effortlessly destroy a castle. Anyway, if I want to take up residence here I shouldn't cause any more ruffle. One last thing and playtime's over.
"[Raise Undead]."
Kabal knew that the magic had been used, but nothing happened. It was supposed to spawn a lesser undead from the ground, ranging from skeleton to zombies, but there was no sign of it working. Frustration rose as the last particle of energy from the spell faded out.
Damn, I wanted to use this as a way to level up my pets, but it seems it was a lost cause. What use is there to know that they can get over the level 60 if I can't get them to fight.
Taking a last look at the scenery, he turned over to the exit — still satisfied from what he just learned.
I should go and see what that girl is doing.
Kabal dropped his weapon who fell into the air and disappeared into his inventory, then he began walking toward the door. Since Haya was in another room, he had to go somewhere else if he wanted to see what she had done. He had given her a scarecrow to exercise herself with the [Robe of Insight] — a non-living object usually acting as a decoy to test abilities when you tried a new build.
The talisman to level up her Sorcerer's class had worked, in contrary to what he would have thought, and she had successfully used the most basic spells. The girl having gained the ability to use magic, he just had to make her cast a spell. After some embarrassed explanations, he had left her to try out some different spells instructed in the [Lesser Book of Spells] that every sorcerer had to read in YGGDRASIL to level up.
Now was the time to see what she had done.
Getting to the room where he had left Haya practicing, he deposited his hand on the handle of the door and called out his enter.
"It's Kabal, I am entering !"
He pushed the door and observed the room as soon as he got in. Hopefully, everything seemed to be intact, from the racks to the rug or the flags hanging on the walls — nothing had been damaged. The scarecrow was positioned in the center of the room, and Haya was lying down in front of him.
She's sleeping !
…
Well, it should be late in the night, so I can't blame her. Besides, I do not feel slightly tired or hungry with this ring while she probably hasn't slept or eaten in the past days.
Taking a last glance at the girl lying on the floor, Kabal left the room to head outside, hungry for fresh air. Progressively, he advanced through the different rooms of the castle, admiring the work of arts that the human had deposited here and there. While a majority was visibly ravaged by the orcs, some were still left intact — conveying that feel of luxury and greatness that made Kabal uneasy.
He quickly arrived at the exit — where he could sense Fistfurry and Kára patiently waiting together. Reciprocally, the two of them stood up as they felt their master approaching and kneeled to welcome him back.
"Oh, Kára you've already buried the corpses ?"
The Valkyrie smiled while answering the question, still with her head down.
"Yes, Fistfurry told me that you didn't want to be disturbed, so I waited with him afterward. I haven't done wrong, I hope ?"
The question would be: how did she communicate with that guy ? He hasn't said a single word, even when I pushed him to talk.
"No, of course. You have done well... Also. You do not need to kneel each time you see me, it is embarrassing to have you lift your head every time."
Raising from the ground, the valkyrie smiled to her master's kindness.
"I can also let you know that a group of orcs is waiting outside. They haven't seen any of us, and it is clear that they are weak. Should we pay them a visit ?"
Already ?! They haven't lost time, eh.
"Don't do that. We will move when the orcs will make the first step, and not before. If we want to prove ourselves to be worthy, we shouldn't attack them in the back."
"Understood."
Kabal reflected for a moment about this group of orcs. Was the orc leader one of them ? In that case, should he try to approach them ? As he was deliberating on the course of action to undertake, something suddenly interrupted his train of thought.
He had sensed a lesser undead roaming the city, not far from their position, and his astonishment prevented him from having rational thoughts.
Are.. Is... Why... Err, nevermind...
As he was about to ignore it, the Valkyrie rose and looked toward the direction of the hostile being. She had seen the reaction from her master and couldn't help but make a comment about it.
"It must have risen just now. I sensed it too. It can't be helped after burying so many human corpses… Should I take care of it ?"
"Hmm ?… Don't bother about it. Our attention is required by more important matters. The orcs are coming, and we should prepare ourselves to meet them."
Plus their chieftain seems to be quite the problem…
Sinking back into deep reflection as Kára nodded with a smile, Kabal watched the sky with a thoughtful expression. He thought about getting Enigma and Ester back from their tasks — but he changed his mind after remembering how much he had been paranoid until now. He had overreacted at every situation and, for one time, he believed that he shouldn't lose face.
I can't rely on Ester every time. I need do things by myself for once. Let's just hope I choose right…
~ Meanwhile, not far from the city ~
"You retreated from Fornost because of a mere undead ?! I hope for your sake that you are joking !"
The frightened orc looked down on the ground as he tried to defend the decision of his commander to the best he could.
"It got the war chief and butchered about a thousand warriors. It is not like we could have killed such a great entity with a hundred more."
A vein popped out on the orc leader's face, and his lips drew back in a snarl.
"That is the speech of a coward ! Have you at least seen the face of the enemy ?!"
Doubt suddenly filled the mind of the warrior — but even with the hesitation that now filled his thoughts, he wouldn't back up from his position.
"That was an order from our commander, and we all agreed on following it."
"All of you, you are all the same ! I give you my trust, and you betray me when I turn my head. The past is repeating because of weaklings like you."
He turned to the other orcs waiting behind, his eyes dangerously gazing on the warriors.
"We will go back here, and if this 'elder lich' was just a clever plan to make you leave, rest assured that you will endure my wrath."
As the lieutenant bowed to the declaration, the absolute ruler resumed the march of his army. The fighters had suddenly halted because they had met the group of orcs backing up from Fornost — and they needed to know why they retreated. But it was clear that they wanted to continue walking toward the stronghold. Yet, even with this made clear, a seemingly tired orc couldn't help but make a remark about it.
"We're going now ?! But we are in the middle of the night... The elder lich is at an advantage in the dark. Wouldn't it be better to wait for the day ?"
The reaction from the absolute ruler was near instant after hearing these words. With incredible speed, he grabbed the weapon sheathed at the warrior's belt and instantly beheaded the latter. Throwing out the axe he had just taken from the orc, he turned to the shocked group of proud combatants. He had sliced through the flesh so easily that the body was still standing — serving as a warning for anyone else who would want to contradict him. Gazing at the frozen orcs with a menacing expression, he finally spoke to make sure that no one else would dare to confront him.
"I do not want this sort of thinking among my warriors. As the leader of this expedition, I won't accept anyone questioning my orders. I am sure you understand."
Gulping in silence as their leader walked toward the front of the group, the orcs couldn't help but feel relieved as the tension lowered. They caught their breath, waiting for a few seconds to recover from the sudden pressure, and finally moved. No one dared to even talk after such an event, it had been way too unexpected for them to fully realize what had happened.
And as the army was about to grasp the full meaning of such brutal action, it instantly suspended its movement. The absolute ruler had stopped and was menacingly turning himself toward another warrior.
"You !"
The dumbfounded orc watched his leader with a stupid expression — resulting in another yell from the latter.
"...Yes, you ! Who are you !?"
With a shocked silence, the warrior began panicking as he tried to explain himself.
"U—Ulgan, under the order of Vulug. I was —"
"Nothing of that nonsense with me. You are not one of us, I can sense it."
His panic turned into terror.
The targeted orc began fleeing for his life without any explanation of some sort. After pushing the Warriors aside to pass, he started running for his life — causing confusion among the audience. But awareness quickly took the place of the disarray, and the next instant, the fugitive found himself being tackled by two senior warriors. Big drops of sweat ran on his face. It was only a matter of time before he would die in his turn to the hand of the absolute ruler. And as he understood his situation, he canceled a spell which affected his body and slowly transformed into that of a human.
The sight of this transformation stunned the orcs as the stupor held its grip on everyone who saw the true nature of the intruder.
"I know him ! It's Zachariah, the Master of Illusion from the first adventurer's circle !"
His identity revealed, the illusionist tried to get rid of his constraints — but without success. Everyone knew who that referred to, and they had tightened their grips not to get overpowered by the famous adventurer. Not far from him, the absolute ruler couldn't help but demonstrate a mad smile as he yelled the name of one of his warrior.
"Thorgash ! Come here !"
After the calling, a seemingly weak warrior struggled to make his way to the absolute ruler. He landed in front of the latter and went on his knee — trying to look as proud as a warrior could be. With a judging eye, the orc's leader wasn't the least impressed and muttered his order with a commanding voice.
"We found you an opponent ! If you want to redeem yourself, you should be able to defeat him, even at a disadvantage. Go and kill him !"
Even if the question of the presence of such a legendary human rose in his mind, as well as the reason behind the choice of not interrogating him, Thorgash nodded to the order.
"By your words, I shall bring you his head."
Raising from the ground as his body hardly responded to his will, the proud warrior observed the first class adventurer with an expert look. A circle of orcs had formed in the meantime to let place to the fight and let no chance of survival to the human — the formation was surrounded by a wall of shields, disposed low on the ground in a way that the two of them had no choice but to fight.
The arena completed, the two senior warriors holding the human released him and quickly retreated behind the ranks, getting into place to spectate the fight. The release of the intruder was met with a mad laugh as he rose from the ground — mocking his unreasonable fate.
"Ah ah ah ! A fight for death ! What a joke ! You orcs are truly barbaric. But before I die, I will make sure to bring as many of you with me into the grave !"
After his speech, Zachariah took two oddly shaped swords from his belt and presented them to his opponent who commented on them.
"Hook swords ? A rather unusual style of combat, or does it have something to do with your illusions, mhh ?"
The remark snatched a grin from the adventurer who responded enigmatically.
"Who knows ? Or maybe it is just that people have a hard time figuring how to fight against these weapons."
To return the courtesy, Thorgash lifted his gigantic war hammer and stomped it on the floor to show its weight. The smile lifted from his opponent as Zachariah recognized the weapon — making him take a more serious expression.
"I only know of one orc with an adamantium hammer. Let's hope you will live to your legend, Thorgash the unstoppable."
The fight began as the many warriors spectated the two fighters. Right away, the human began casting a spell against Thorgash — who instinctively protected himself with his hammer.
"[False Vision]."
The spell began affecting the orc warrior — it was a negative status which changed the perception of reality of a single person. In a matter of seconds, his vision changed, and his opponent disappeared from his view, leaving no trace of his presence.
I can't detect him. What a troublesome enemy...
Thorgash had little knowledge about this type of magic since he usually confronted pure destructive spells instead of deceiving ones. Even if he racked his brain, he wouldn't find any previous experience of such abilities. For this reason, he decided to take a rather bold approach — to wait for the first blow and retaliate as fast as he could.
"[Iron Skin]."
He prepared himself to react to the first attack that his opponent would do and went into position — ready to return the hit. Getting on his guard, the orc warrior suddenly felt a cold sensation wrapping around his neck — knowing too well that this was the burning feeling of a sharp weapon. The same sensation was felt symmetrically on the other side, the two blades surrounding him like a scarf. Oddly, there was no pressure yet, nothing that would have sliced his throat. The attack was not a sword's slash — Zachariah was about to pull on both of his weapons to add more strength in his attack.
He's going to behead me ! My iron skin cannot stop that !
Reacting in a split second, Thorgash took a quick decision to save his life — not the best one he could have chosen, but still working in his situation.
"[Greater Evasion] !"
Before the two blade could tighten on his neck, the warrior crouched to dodge the attack and launched his hammer in a circular movement — using another ability to empower his riposte.
"[Flow Acceleration] !"
Thorgash knew that he had hit nothing. His opponent had most likely avoided the attack — either because he wasn't in the vicinity at this moment or because he had retreated from his position. Loud voices replaced the silence as the spectators cheered. The performance unfolding before their eyes was quite something, even for experienced warriors — but it didn't stop them from taunting their comrade.
"What are you doing, Thorgash ! You did not even see him crawl on your back ? You're not blind I hope ? Ah ah !"
Thorgash couldn't help but fall on the ground — standing on one knee to balance himself. He had suddenly felt weak from his sudden rush of adrenaline and had no choice but to take a moment to recover.
Not good, I haven't yet recovered from the Great Cleanup… Using my abilities is dangerous. I need to finish this quickly.
Standing up laboriously, Thorgash observed his surrounding — trying to find his opponent. The orc warrior could not see him, and any attempts to find him by his scent was a lost cause — plus there was too much noise to hear the illusionist. Everything played in Zachariah 's advantage when he was already a dangerous enemy alone. The orc warrior knew well that the slightest mistake would cause his death against this formidable enemy.
But there was one thing that Thorgash could use — the knowledge of his opponent's weapons.
Hook swords didn't have a myriad of choices when it came to attacks. Since a slash shouldn't be able to pierce his defensive ability, Thorgash believed that his opponent would rather use another tactic distinct to this type of weapon — he would surely try to make him trip using the hook. As such, he could just wait for Zachariah and use an agility boost to finish him in one smash. If the situation would unroll differently, Thorgash decided that he would take the hit and grab the weapon to pull his opponent to his range.
Standing up and getting back into his position, he yelled at the adventurer.
"Is that all you got ?! Come at me !"
Unaware of Zachariah's presence, the orc warrior was waiting with his hammer raised, ready to counterattack. He had planned what to do, and trusted his reflex to do the rest — but it all went against his expectations.
The adventurer used the only tactic that would have allowed him to defeat Thorgash in this one instant. He grabbed his opponent's hammer with his hook sword to disarm him, and, trying to defend himself, the latter subconsciously grabbed his weapon with his other hands. A poor choice. Before he could grab the handle, another attack went directly hitting his side, and a good splash of blood spurted out. The pain was so intense that he instinctively dropped his weapon which was propelled out far.
He pierced my [Iron Skin] !
Yet, from the two attacks, Zachariah had revealed his position, and Thorgash had not missed this information — his only chance was to charge at him in retaliation. Taking a bit of momentum, the orc warrior prepared to himself to rush toward the direction of his enemy, but he suddenly stopped — one word was enough for the adventurer to take back the upper hand.
"[Hallucinate] !"
The whole environment changed to a traumatic view that Thorgash would never have experienced in the real world — even in his worst nightmares. The slight moment of hesitation caused by the scenery had radically stopped his charge, and the fear had been brought to his mind like a spider net catching up its prey. Would it have been the first time he had experienced this sensation, Thorgash would have lost this fight without the possibility of a counterattack. But hopefully, he knew that the spell was just an illusion that was existing in his mind only — and he knew how to break it.
Gathering all that he had left of strength and with a great force of will, he closed his eyes and forced himself to ignore the hallucinations he saw. It was his only chance to win this fight — and he would never let it pass.
His muscle clenched and he held his breath. Thorgash resumed his assault and ran toward his enemy in an indefectible charge. In two steps, he crashed against the adventurer who let out a scream of pain as he was tackled on the ground.
"Aaugh !"
Providing no respite to the stunned lad, the orc warrior raised his fist high in the air and brought it down in front of the excited crowd.
"[Steel Fist] !"
The sound of cracked bones under his phalanx indicated that Thorgash had won the fight. He opened his eyes and saw that the scenery had gone back to normal — his opponent immobile under his weight. Zachariah was dead, his torso was completely shattered under the power of his attack, and the blood flowed on his sides.
It was his victory.
But as he was about to celebrate his triumph, dizziness replaced the rush of adrenaline that permitted him to stand, and Thorgash fell on the ground — barely remaining conscious.
His body was already weak when he started the fight, yet he had chained his abilities like it was nothing. Even for a great warrior, it would have been hard to use so much energy in such little time. Thorgash had probably used more than he could — exceeding his limits to the end and pushing even beyond. For these reasons, it was already incredible that he could still be conscious.
Watching the scene, the absolute ruler knew these facts.
He was harsh, but he could recognize the potential of such a warrior when it was displayed. As a result, he stepped in as the crowd cheered and asserted himself loudly to be heard.
"Silence !"
The audience stopped talking instantly.
"Carry him out and heal him. He has earned his victory. His opponent was strong, and he was vulnerable from the Great Cleanup. What he has achieved is a great feat, so treat him accordingly."
As the orcs nodded, the absolute ruler turned to another direction.
"With this trifle settled, we can continue on our road. I won't stop until we get to Fornost. Now onward ! And I don't want any complaint !"
After a moment of hesitation, the orc's army advanced toward its destination. Some of them went to Thorgash's side and carried him with respect — but everyone walked in silence.
They had no idea that they were directly running into Kabal — yet they marched, proud and wrathful. The orc army was strong. No doubt of this. But, their power meant nothing against the guardians they were about to face.