"You would be Paracelsus-dono, correct? My name is Cam Haulia. I'm Shea's father, and the chieftain of the Haulia tribe. You have my deepest gratitude for saving both my daughter and the rest of my tribe. And I've heard that you're even going to assist us in our escape… As both a father and a chieftain, I simply cannot thank you enough."
Yue and Ivan were first greeted by a rabbit-eared man in his forties, with cropped navy blue hair. Ivan was satisfied with Cam's introduction while Yue on the other hand kept her fangs attached to his neck. But as Cam finished his introduction, he followed up with a bow, as he did the rest of his tribe followed suit.
"Ah~ No problem, Cam-san. My companion and I only ask that you and your tribe lead us through the sea of trees." Ivan responded to his act of respect with an equally respectful tone. "Now let's see, is this everyone, Cam-san?"
"Um, I'm afraid the others may have been caught by the Empire's men, Perhaps we'll run into them at the exit of this gorge. If we do, I sincerely hope you may assist us in rescuing the rest of our family." Once again Cam finished his words with a bow, but instead of generosity what he showed now was that of begging.
"...Very well, I'll assess the situation once we get there. If we do spot your tribesmen then rest assured that according to our agreement we shall retrieve them." With slight hesitation, Ivan continued his words. The likelihood that they'll have to do battle with the Empire grew higher and higher.
Guiding the large caravan of forty-two Rabbitmen, Yue and Ivan stood in the forefront and defeated any monster that saw them as an easy meal. The Rabbitmen watched on in awe as sparks flew and magic casted, to them these feats of power were something they never thought they'd see in their life.
Under the children's glowing eyes, Ivan scratched the back of his head wryly before waving at them. They returned the gesture with about three times the enthusiasm. Yue and Shea laughed off at the side looking at this interaction.
It wasn't long until they reached the exit of the gorge, Ivan observed the staircase that led out of the Reisen Gorge as he made a motion for the caravan to halt. The staircase was actually a series of switchbacks cut directly into the cliff face. Past the staircase was the sea of trees, of which only a glimpse could be seen from down in the gorge. It would take an average person about half a day to go from the exit of the gorge to the entrance of Haltina Woods.
He looked back at the group before turning to Yue. As far as he saw the imperial soldiers were nowhere to be seen. Then again the odds were likely that they sat at the very end of the staircase. Taking the caravan of Rabbitmen would only leave them at a disadvantage.
Ivan was confident in taking care of a battalion, but taking care of a battalion and defending forty-two lives at the same time was different.
"Yue, could you please watch over them as I go check out the situation ahead?" Which is why he would leave the group here for now, with Yue's protection of course.
"But….." Yue met Ivan's stare head on. And though she didn't want to admit it, she was afraid Ivan would hesitate to take the lives of fellow humans. She wanted to go with him to make sure they wouldn't take advantage of that hesitation to hurt him.
"It's fine, Yue. I know what I must do. This is for our safety as much as it is for the Rabbitmen. Believe in me, I'll be back." He ruffled her hair as he made way to the staircase, listening to the encouragement and wishes of the Rabbitmen.
And under Yue's worried gaze, he made haste.
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Ivan mulled over his thoughts as he ascended the steps. What he was about to do was something irreversible. To kill is to be ready to be killed. The question is if Ivan validated his own reasons for it.
To him this was an excuse to do so for the wellbeing of the Rabbitmen. As he said before this was for him as much as it is for them. Eventually he knew he'd have to fight against other people. Hell, from the moment the Holy Church summoned them he knew what he must do.
And if he had to kill now to prevent those he cared for from getting killed in the future then so be it. His thoughts came to a close as he ascended the final step. He prepared for the ensuing battle as he eyed the battalion in front of him.
There were around thirty or so imperial soldiers waiting around the exit. They had created a makeshift camp near the staircase, and there were a few large carriages dotting the campsite. Each of the soldiers were wearing an identical khaki uniform, and most of them had swords or spears or shields slung across their backs.
They eyed the figure that had ascended the steps, what they had expected was maybe a few Rabbitmen, instead their eyes were greeted by a cloaked man adorned with a steel helmet. They readied their weapons as the masked figure took one step closer to them.
"Halt! Identify yourself! To take another step is to become an enemy of the Hoelscher Empire." A man that particularly stood out from the rest of the soldiers stepped forward, ordering the masked figure to reveal themself.
"...." Unfortunately he was ignored.
"Tch. Fine, we'll just come to you." The man awaited his men to become properly equipped before leading them to the figure slowly.
With spears and swords drawn at him, the figure only twitched for a second before remaining still. Closer and closer, the soldiers that had been twenty meters away were now fifteen away. Then ten, and now five.
"Unmask yourself or we'll kill you right here." With the figure surrounded in spears and swords, the man regained his confidence.
"...."
Tired of the silence he ordered one of his men to remove the helmet. "You there, take it off."
"Yes, sir!" A boy that looks to be in his teens stepped forward. And with trembling steps, approached the mysterious figure. His hands trembled in the air as he reached to remove the helmet.
Sweat dripped down his face as his palms touched the steel, and then—
BZZZZZZZZT!
The cloak finally opened in the eyes of every soldier, revealing two arms covered in tattoos. The figure's right arm glowed blue before it reached out to the boy's left arm. Then in a single second, that boy lost his left arm.
"GAAAAAAHHH!!!" The screams of the boy awoke everyone from their stupor, soldiers equipped with spears jabbed forward.
BZZZZZZZT!
But this time his left arm glowed red as he reached to touch the floor. And in another instant the earth surrounding the boy transformed into a protective dome.
CLANG!
The sound of metal hitting stone reverberated through the air as the attacking soldiers took a step back and felt the rebound from their attack. Ivan took the opportunity when they were stunned to open the dome from the top.
Soldiers watched in fear as a canteen was thrown into the air, and couldn't help but get a bad feeling when they heard the ceiling of the dome close back up.
BANG!
The canteen exploded in the air and shot a plethora of ice needles into the faces of soldiers who were not equipped with helmets. A soldier who had survived the attack covered his head and accidently bumped into the dome in an attempt to get away.
He attempted to get back up but struggled as he felt a force drag him closer into it. The soldier opened his eyes and noticed a hand sticking out from the dome and holding onto his leg. A right hand donned with a gauntlet.
BZZZZZT!
A cloud of red steam enveloped the area as the remaining soldiers scrambled in the heat of it all. Stumbling and pushing each other over as their vision became clouded. The only thing they could hear was the screaming of their own men.
One soldier in particular braved up against the attack and awaited the figure to attack him, holding a sword in his hand as his eyes jittered everywhere.
RUMBLE!
The screaming was drowned out by a loud rumbling noise. He turned in every direction before not noticing a thing. This red fog or whatever it is just encumbered his vision too much. That's when he noticed the cracks right beneath him, he bent down to observe them–
CRACK!
The moment he peered down a hand came bursting out of the ground. It latched onto his face before the arm following it became wrapped in blue electricity. He could only struggle helplessly as his eyes rolled to the back of his head before–
BANG!
The soldier's head exploded like a watermelon in Ivan's clutch. About half the soldiers were wiped out in that ice attack and six were killed by his own hands. That left nine more. Ivan's right arm glowed as he moved forward. He waited for the mist to dissipate to locate his next targets.
WHOOOSH!
Ivan dodged with a roll forward as he felt the wind of three swords swing at him. He turned around to face these new challengers. Unsurprised when he caught the sight of the leading man who was speaking to them before
"How dare you! How dare you! I'll rip your head off and mount it onto my wall. I'll castrate your testicles and feed them to my dogs. The Empire will never, never forget the atrocities you've committed today!" The man charged forward in a fit of rage, sword in hand. His two men followed alongside him as they too sought to aggrieve the loss of their brothers in arms.
Ivan halted his steps as he allowed the blades to collide with his arm. The two soldiers stood still in shock as their blades were obliterated the moment they came in contact with it. Doing nothing as their leader was grabbed by the mysterious figure.
And only able to yell out helplessly as his head exploded into a million pieces.
"Y-You monster!...Demon!" One of the soldiers broke out of their stupor and attempted to run away from the scene. Only to howl in pain as his exposed back was doused in boiling hot water. "GAAAAAAAAA!"
The remaining soldier just dropped his blade to the ground as he fell on his knees. Looking into the slits on the helmet of the murderous bastard. He had no idea if his hatred was conveyed with just the locking of their eyes, but he made damn sure to curse this blue-eyed monster for generations to come.
BZZZZZZT!
POP!
Ivan looked down at his palms before turning around in a flash.
WHOOOSH!
Five fireballs were shot in his direction, their whistling became apparent in his ears. He held his left palm to the ground as a wall form of earth separated him from the arrows. Nodding as he listened to the collision.
Then with a projectile of his own, he threw two of his signature canteens. They combusted in the air as needles of ice pierced the casters all over their body. And with a thud five lives were taken from this world.
'That leaves one.' He thought to himself. He looked around the area before making way to the carriages. The likelihood that this remaining soldier fled was low as all the horses were still stuck to their posts.
Ivan bent over to look under a carriage, and just as he expected he met eyes with a shriveling nervous wreck.
"NOOO! LET GO OF ME! PLEASE, I BEG YOU!" The soldier screamed in protest as Ivan dragged him out from beneath the cart. Right now he needed some answers and this seemed like the right guy to get them from.
Ivan motioned his left arm for the soldier's leg.
BZZZZZZT!
"AHHHH!" The soldier screamed in pain as he felt the bones in his legs bend and contort.
"Where are the Rabbitmen you captured?" The voice the soldier heard from the figure was one of such aloofness that it brought chills up his spine.
"I-If I tell you, will you let me go?" The soldier spoke with a slightly hopeful tone.
"...I'll consider it."
Tears of joy steamed down the soldier's face as he began speaking. "I-I think they transported them all. After whittling down the numbers a little…."
By 'whittling down the numbers' he of course meant killing any of the Rabbitmen that were either elderly or didn't seem like they'd sell well. Ivan nodded as he decided this would be enough to report back to Cam with.
"W-Will you let me go now…? You promised, right?!" Ivan turned back to the shaking soldier before speaking his decision.
"I considered it."
BZZZZZT!
And just like that no soldiers remained. As far as Ivan was concerned the best course of action was to make sure none remained to report about his abilities. Sure he had different colors of mana to hide himself but he'd rather keep it a secret if he could.
Though the best way to keep it a secret in this case was to eliminate everyone who saw him use his abilities.
Ivan heaved a sigh of relief as he allowed his shoulders to slump, staring a bit at the sky before slapping his cheeks to recollect himself. He could mull over his actions later, right now he needed to get the Rabbitmen to safety before the sun fell.
With that he turned back to look at the scene he left behind, and with a little less enthusiasm than before he descended the steps back into the gorge.
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First blood? Well now that I think about it his first kill was a kid around his age. That's pretty fucked up. Next time, the Haltina Woods. My memory on the next arc is quite muddles as it has been a while so imma have to do some reading.
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