Jamal stared at the calm stream, watching the schools of minnows smoothly travel through it. Being away from civilization again sucked, especially from his prior hike from that old, dilapidated carr to the hidden path that led to Calwort's house. Jamal almost missed him for a moment, but he nevertheless knew that his stay there wouldn't last for long. He had to do what was right, and this was definitely it.
Jamal leapt across the stream that just gave him the ice-cold hydration he so desperately needed, and continued through the now-thinning foliage. A few more steps led him to a large field that spanned as far as the eye could see, yet remained absent of all forms of life, save for some knee-high grass. This empty expanse had a not-so-subtle boon to it, however. Flat as it was, Jamal would make leaps and bounds of progress towards his next destination: Youdenio City.
The latter four days of his journey cleared Jamal's head except for the tantalizing prospect of spreading the righteous contagion of peace and justice. The sights he saw, on the other hand, were nothing remarkable. But it gave him ample time to think, and was more of a relaxing nature-journey than any chore or self-assured quest. Tranquil as it was, vigilance was a necessity for survival. The day before he left Calwort, he was updated about what had happened within the last month, at least in the main part of Youdenia. The southern country of Dekyia had collapsed under Youden's military, and he obviously knew about the Suruthem invasion. If he had to guess, they would eventually collapse, but he hoped that the Defense Core would hold off long enough for him to kill Youden and destabilize the situation.
By now, he only was a third across the field, and still had what looked like two more miles to cross until he reached to the woods, and he was in no rush. It was awfully quiet, as the occasional chirp or animal broke the silence. But even he could tell something was unnatural.
Jamal stopped walking, as he placed the bag he carried the entire trip down. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and focused his hearing. Anything that was offsetting, or unusual in nature's proper form, he needed to hear. The chirping faded away, until Jamal heard nothing but his own breathing. But just barely, he made out a sound, unlike any woodland creature he recognized.
Without hesitation, he grabbed his bag and leaped out of the way, before something landed where he was, creating a 5-foot crater into the ground. Yikes, Jamal gulped, as he turned around to see who it was. No. It couldn't be, Jamal was shocked, stepping back.
In the spot where he was only a few moments ago, a man walked out of it, before staring down Jamal. Leon was here.
"Jamal Wrint. The fabled creature of the land. Also the Number One Most Wanted Person of Interest in all of Youdenia, is right in front of me." Leon greeted him. "What a day it is."
"Um," Jamal didn't even know what to say, "Look, I know things had gone sour in Suruthem and all, but ho-"
"Shut up." Leon said, before an aura appeared. "It's time to be put to sleep. Alice now!"
Jamal just stared above, as an almost transparent shield formed around the area. Alice was here too? They couldn't have just been planning to kill him, or was this justified?
"I want to apologize, before we fight and all. I was wrong." Jamal spoke, before Leon was in front of him, and punched his gut.
The attack caused Jamal to drop his bag, and waver in front of the man, who combined both of his fists into the shape of a hammer, and swung it down onto Jamal. It only forced Jamal to gasp in pain, as a small crater was impacted into the ground. Looks like he had no choice.
"I see, where this is going." Jamal pushed himself back up, before dodging one of Leon's attacks. "Let's get started."
"Leon!" Jamal could hear Alice cry out. "Beware of this beast! His energy is higher than anything I've ever recorded! This will be dangerous!"
"We have a job. Now let's get it done!" Leon cried in excitement, as Jamal hopped back, before beginning his barrage of fireballs.