Joshua ran with all his might. He didn't care about his surroundings and kept running fast through the forest.
Joshua had a bad feeling and his instinct told him something dangerous was happening in Westray Village where Bea was.
"Hosh, hosh…", Joshua arrived in front of Westray Village. He wiped his sweat and started to walk inside. The atmosphere in the village looks quiet.
Faintly heard the sound of people fighting.
There was an uproar in the village square. Joshua immediately ran there.
There the villagers gathered there including Bea. They looked terrified.
Some scary foreign faces appear. They were none other than fugitive bandits that Angus had said before. The bandits were holding pistols and pointing them at the villagers.
"Bea!" Joshua shouted to Bea.
"Joshua, you here?!", Bea looked surprised.
Joshua only realized after taking a closer look. There are villagers there who are lying shot on the ground. Some were only injured but also some who had died.
"Why are there people still hanging around in the village? Are you alone?", One of the bandits pointed a gun at Joshua's head.
Joshua stared back angrily.
One of the bandits immediately hit Joshua in the face with the butt of his gun, "I don't like your stare! You want to pretend to be a hero for your girlfriend huh."
"Stop it!", Bea stepped forward to protect Joshua who fell to his knees.
The bandit slapped Bea down, "Shut up you bitch! I better kill you too!"
The bandit pulled the trigger of his old-fashioned pistol and prepared to shoot Bea.
"NO!", Joshua immediately ran to protect Bea.
The gunshot sounded loud and hit Joshua in the back of the head.
Blood was pouring out of Joshua's head. A fresh blood red color immediately dyed Joshua's silver hair.
Even some of the blood splashed on Bea.
"Joshua!" Bea looked shaken at the scene before her. She approached Joshua who was not moving with trembling.
Bea screamed hysterically over Joshua's corpse.
"Oops. I missed. Okay. This time I won't miss." The bandit pulled the trigger again and prepared to shoot Bea who was still in a state of shock.
"SRAT!"
In an instant the bandit's hand was cut off and fell to the ground. Blood is scattered.
The bandit screamed in surprise but his scream was only momentary because suddenly his head was cut off from his neck.
The other bandits screamed in fear when they saw their friends being killed sadistically. They prepared to run away but quickly they were torn to pieces. Blood splattered everywhere regarding the villagers.
The villagers screamed in fear while looking at where Joshua's corpse lay.
"H-How…could it be…you're still alive?" Bea stared in disbelief at Joshua, who had been lying down before but was slowly getting up.
But there's something strange with Joshua. His eyes were black, his breath was ragged. Joshua's two hands turned into sharp, sharp claws and big. The tattoos behind his back gave off a dark aura.
Before Bea realized it, Joshua suddenly attacked all the villagers who were there.
"Monsters!"
"Run. Save yourselves!"
"He will kill us all!"
Frightened screams were heard everywhere. Screams and cries mixed together. The atmosphere became chaotic. The villagers ran trying to save themselves but none of them succeeded. No one survived until Bea was the only one left from the horror.
Drizzle began to fall down to wet the earth.
Joshua turned and looked at Bea.
Bea backed away slowly in fright. She realized her life was in danger.
"Joshua…it's me Bea… You remember me right…? The three of us are living together with Angus."
Lightning flashed and the rain fell even harder. Joshua's attention was briefly diverted by lightning. Bea turned around. Tried to run to hide in one of the houses. However….
"SRAT"
Joshua's claw extended and stabbed Bea in the stomach. Bea immediately fell. Blood immediately gushed out.
Joshua walked up to her and raised his arms ready to strike again.
Tears seemed to flow down Bea's eyes in her last moments, "Josh..ua...". Then Bea took her last breath.
Joshua suddenly stopped moving. His eyes returned to normal. Both his hands returned to normal. His breathing started to return to normal. The dark aura that had appeared on his back started to dissipate. In addition, his hair which was once silver turned into jet black.
"B- Bea...?"
Joshua sat down in front of Bea's dead body. Both hands holding his own head.
His consciousness returned.
When he saw Bea's corpse and his hands covered in blood, Joshua realized what had happened. He looked around. With horror, he saw the carnage he had done.
Blood, mutilated bodies and the blank stares of the dead were everywhere.
Slowly his memory began to return. Joshua remembered when he fought with Raul.
The pain of Seraphine Aile.
The pain when the Monster Raul stabbed him.
All of his lost memories began to gradually return.
However, the price of Joshua's memory returning was a great price.
"I…I killed them all.", Joshua looked at his bloodied hands with a broken feeling.
Joshua wept silently. His tears and rainwater mixed together. Desperation filled Joshua.
But in the midst of the feeling of breaking up, Joshua remembered Iris and Isabel.
Everything he went through, everything he did…was to save them.
Joshua forced himself to get up even though his knees felt heavy. He decided to find them.
But Joshua realized that there was something inside him that was so dark. Something dangerous. Therefore, in his heart, he was determined not to harm them.
In the pouring rain Joshua disappeared.
=====
Angus rushed to run as fast as he could. However, running while carrying his rifle made him slow down. The weather also seemed not to support. Drizzle began to fall.
"Damn it!" Angus screamed angrily
His frustration grew when the drizzle turned into heavy rain. The sound of lightning striking was heard. With the rain, it was getting harder for Angus to run. The ground becomes slippery. Several times he slipped and fell and had to get up.
And just now he fell for the umpteenth time. Angus looked at his new rifle for a moment before finally deciding to throw them away.
Angus immediately got to his feet and ran back. Lightning struck a nearby pine tree and the tree immediately fell in front of him.
Annoyed, Angus was forced to turn around. He began to look at the entrance of his village.
Angus accelerated his run. He didn't stop running until he reached the town square. His eyes widened witnessing the massacre of his village. Blood is everywhere. Not only on the ground but also attached to the huts.
"Bea! Bea! Where are you?!", he shouted while looking among the corpses. He wished his sister wasn't among the corpses. But his hopes were dashed to pieces.
Angus sat limp when he saw Bea who was already lifeless.
"B-Bea…BEA!", Angus hugged his sister's corpse. He cried loudly in the pouring rain.
Angus didn't know how long he had been crying but when his tears started to dry and his eyes felt swollen from crying. He decides to bury Bea and the rest of the village. He looked for shovels, stretchers and horses to help him with his work. He began to dig first.
After that he transported the bodies using a stretcher and a horse. One by one he started to bury them. Bea was the first one he buried and then the villagers.
Weather seemed to understand Angus' sadness as the only one left of Westray Village. The rain gradually stopped.
Angus is still trying to bury all the villagers. He didn't care about his tired body.
Dusk was starting to come.
There was the sound of crows in the distance.
Angus wiped his sweat and stopped for a moment to rest and drink.
A horse rider comes into Westray.
The horse rider uses a hood and a cloak that covers its clothes. However, from the shape of its body, it can be seen that she is a woman.
"What happened in this village?", she asked as she dismounted from her horse. She took off the hood. An elegant woman with red hair. Her beautiful face showed no surprise at Westray's terrible state.
Angus stared at the graves he was making before finally answering, "Everyone in this village has been killed by something…terrible. I don't even know what really happened. When I arrived…. everything was already like this."
"I see. So, you don't know anything. Apparently, I was too late."
"You look like a noble. What business do you have in coming to this village?"
"It's just random… I just happened to visit. You don't mind if I take a look around while paying my last respects?", replied the red-haired woman while walking around Westray village.
"Please.", replied Angus while finishing his water.
Angus rises to his feet to continue his efforts to bury the remaining villagers. He intended to finish it before nightfall.
Angus and the red-haired woman seemed busy with their own activities.
"So... that means you're the only one who survived?", the red-haired woman returned to meet Angus after she finished walking around.
"Maybe. One of my acquaintances is missing. he should have been here too. But I didn't find the body. I don't know if he managed to save himself or not. No one knows." Angus answered while covering the last grave he made.
The red-haired woman said nothing more and mounted her horse.
"Actually, what business do you have here? It's impossible for a noble like you to coincidentally come to a small village like Westray. And it just so happened that you came right after this massacre happened. Plus…. you don't look surprised by what happened here.", Angus glared at the red-haired woman.
"Let's say…. I have business to attend to. But it seems that what I'm looking for is not here.", replied the red-haired woman calmly as she pulled her horse. Prepare to go.
"Wait!"
Angus stood in front of the red-haired woman's horse. Trying to prevent her from leaving.
"Is it your business to find out who did all of this?"
"Maybe that's one of them. Why?"
"Take me with you. I also want to find out who did all this."
"No. I don't need you.", replied the red-haired woman coldly while taking her horse to walk past Angus.
"Please. Let me come along. I'm a hunter. Maybe my skills can help you. It's the only way I can find out what happened to my sister. I…I will obey all your commands."
The red-haired woman stopped her horse.
"Your sister? Are you close with her?"
"Of course. She's the only family I have. We are both very close and have taken care of each other ever since our parents passed away. However… today she was ruthlessly killed. I have to know what happened to her.", Angus said while looking down sadly. His body seemed to be shaking with emotion.
The red-haired woman was silent for a moment then said, "Okay. You can come with me. But if you bother me, I will leave you."
Angus looked up in surprise, "Th-Thank you very much. My name is Angus Carson. What is your name?"
The red-haired woman replied in a cold voice, "Lady Morrigan. You can call me that."