It took some time for Damian to notice that Alrick wasn't pursuing him. If not for the intense mental tension and physical exhaustion, he would probably be even slightly offended by such an attitude.
Why wasn't he pursuing him? He was like a son to him, damn it!
Anyway, he didn't have enough time to think this through, because he finally heard it.
The noise of a battle.
There ahead, he heard bestial roars, clangs of metal, and muffled human screams.
All in all, the situation seemed critical.
He quickly started advancing towards the sound.
The screams got closer and closer.
And then, he saw it.
A large paved road across the forest.
The road was so wide that it could accommodate many horses and carriages, it was surprisingly flat and without bumps.
Damian would have admired such a marvel of engineering in front of him if not for the bloody battle commencing right here.
There was a carriage in the center of a road, guarded by many men with sabers. They were surrounded by some bizarre creatures.
They looked like very large foxes, their head was of a strange shape, something between a tiger and bear, with straight and very long tails that seemed very nimble.
Some distance away lay a mangled body. It was shredded by claws and fangs, leaving a bloody mess that could be identified as a human body only thanks to some armor and a saber nearby
Obviously, one of the guards didn't make it out alive.
It was, honestly, horrifying. For the first time in his two lives, Damian saw such a gory picture. It was just…. wrong, for the human being to end like this.
So violent, so cruel, so…. fast and brutal.
Life has ended due to some accident, just like that.
But most terrifying of it all, he could very well be in place of that body.
Dead and torn.
A chill ran down his spine.
And those giant foxes were standing right in front of him.
Thankfully, they haven't noticed them yet, being too preoccupied with the guards.
Maybe, he wasn't so interested in the outside world after all?
No, no, he may not have another moment like that ever.
He must catch the luck by its tail.
"Alright… Think"
His mind started to work, after all this stress and adrenaline, he returned to his so familiar cold and calculating state of mind
"There are 10 beasts and 7 guards, the beasts encircled the guards and the carriage, and they will kill them if guards don't manage to break the encirclement"
Cogs in Damian's brain spun at an extreme speed, throughout all these years it was easy to forget that first and foremost, he was an intellectual, and his most lethal weapon was not a bow or a staff.
It was his intelligence.
"These guards are divided by the carriage, 4 is guarding one side, 3 is guiding the other"
It all took a mere seconds inside Damian's head.
"I can kill 3 beasts with one shot, should I help both sides evenly?"
He never stopped assessing the situation in front of him while thinking.
"No, I should help only one group. Then it will be able to slay the rest of the beasts quickly and join the other side"
He took a deep breath.
Air entered his lungs, slightly calming his over-clocked mind.
"Don't think, let your body do the work"
He took 3 arrows from the quiver.
Put first on the bowstring.
His arm pulled the bowstring with all his might.
He didn't let his hand start to tremble.
It only took a moment for him to take aim.
His fingers relaxed.
The arrow launched with a usual whistle.
Immediately, he shot the second arrow.
And the third.
At a moment's notice, three beasts lay down dead.
The guards were extremely surprised.
-What was that!?
One of them exclaimed.
-Don't get distracted! Slay the beasts and join our comrades on the other side, we must help them!
Someone who seemed like a local captain shouted some commands, after which, they all plunged into battle. Now, that there were 4 soldiers versus only 2 beasts, it was significantly easier for the guards to kill them.
Damian, meanwhile, decided to help the guards on the other side.
"Tsk….. I can't shoot there, the beasts are too close to the guards, I may miss and injure them"
He decided against helping the guards.
It was too dangerous, and because he wanted information, Damian didn't dare to risk injuring one of them and potentially ruining any negotiation opportunity.
The four soldiers finally managed to slay the remaining beasts on their side and quickly went to help the others.
It was really good timing, one of the beasts managed to injure the guard. If not for the reinforcements, it would end dramatically.
When the guards reunited, it was an easy fight.
They seemed like a decent group, soldiers didn't disrupt each other movements and attacked rhythmically, slowly and methodically crushing the beasts.
When the giant fox saw how its kinsmen were killed, it escaped immediately, rushing into a dense forest with all her might.
Whistle spread across the forest.
An arrow pierced her hide but didn't manage to penetrate deeply.
This giant fox abomination has fled.
Oh well, it didn't matter anyway.
Damian visibly relaxed now that the battle had ended, although he was hiding all this time, the incident drained his mental reserves severely.
Oh, and he killed his first beast.
Three of them, actually.
So, this was a successful hunt after all?
-Show yourself!
Shouted one of the guards.
He quickly remembered where he was and why he was there.
Slowly, Damian emerged from the forest.
The soldiers were on alert. Their sabers were pointing at the young archer, seemingly ready to shorten the distance.
Behind them, someone slowly climbed out of the carriage. It was a man in a red robe.
Complicated patterns were drawn on his outfit, they represented some entities, a large amount of fire, and a large, burning sun.
The man looked warily at the situation.
What surprised Damian was that he didn't seem particularly afraid. It seemed like he was….. Irritated.
He looked Directly at the young boy some distance away from him
-Identify yourself.
He said in a commanding tone.
-My…. name is Damian, I...
Suddenly, he froze
What was he supposed to say?
Hello, please tell me everything about the world you know, it just so happened that I stumbled upon a minor inconvenience and happened to be thrown into another world, where I lived for years and haven't managed to know or see anything beyond the small village I live in.
Yeah, no, anything better than that
-I am a hunter, from what I know.
The red-robed man seemed confused.
-From what you know?
Damian nodded slowly and continued
-I have lost my memory and awakened here in the woods recently. I want to know where I am and where can I find a place to live.
Well, let's hope they'll buy that.
-Lost your memory, huh….
He looked at the boy, then at the arrows in the head of the large foxes. And suddenly, his attitude seemed to shift significantly.
-Oh, I see, my dear friend, that is really lucky for you to have stumbled upon us. Forgive me for my previous rudeness. My name is Aksel, I am a Fire Empire's messenger.
Damian was taken aback by such openness
-Fire Empire's messenger?
Aksel for whatever reason was eager to reply.
-Yes! Currently, we are located in the Fire Empire, ruled by His Excellency Elinlog God of Fire. I am the messenger traveling across the Empire to deliver important information to the far reaches of the Empire.
That was, a little too much to process at once.
-God of Fire?
The man proceeded to explain patiently.
-Our benevolent ruler and emperor. There are four empires in the world. Every empire is ruled by its own god, the best warrior that achieved the highest mastery in his respective element. Our fire empire, as you already know, is governed by the God of Fire Elinlog. The Lightning Empire is controlled by the Lightning God Barachiel. The Wind Empire is under the Wind Goddess Pavana. And the last, Earth Empire, is held in the Earth God's Geban hands.
Damian was quite dumbfounded by so much information, it just felt like... the world has expanded in a span of seconds.
He knew that there should be a complicated world out there.
But this…
Gods, empires, elements.
That certainly wasn't what he had expected.
He certainly wanted to know more, a lot more.
But what to ask? There was so much to know that there was nothing to know at the same time.
-So…. What about....
Damian already formed some kind of a question in his head, when suddenly
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFF
A reverberating howl spread across the road.
Soon, countless large foxes stepped out from the trees.
They were crawling out from seemingly every direction.
Soon, the whole area around the carriage was flooded with them.
It was a whole pack, tens of them, maybe even a hundred.
And there, right before the carriage, stood the fox with an arrow protruding from her body.
The arrow was partly broken, but still, it was there.
"So, you've called your friends" thought the horrified boy.
Maybe, after all, it wasn't a good decision to jump recklessly to the scream you heard far in the woods.