In broad daylight, there were people attacking nice-looking carriages that carried an insignia of the Lightstuar family. It surely is a right assumption to suggest that the only people capable and willing to attack such a carriage would be assassins because of the trouble that it might bring but that would be a mistake in itself.
Different people have different reasons for doing the things they do and it ranges from avenging a close person to something simple as money. Hell, some people do things just for the hell of it and don't necessarily need a reason not to do something. Merely the thrill of performing the action. Such is the world.
Begs the question, does someone need a great reason to perform something? No. Not at all.
I began nearing the current raid of the carriage, noticing that most of the carriages were missing their wheels and a multitude of bodies strewn across the dirt floor. Some were from the attackers, showing clean cuts all around their bodies, and almost the rest of them were from the Lightstuar family, people who wore white long jackets who seemed to have died from light cuts. Most likely death due to a potent poison.
From my view, I noticed that there were only 4 people left from the Lightstuar family. A woman and a maid who were practically hugging each other, and 2 Knights (a man and a woman) who were serving as vanguards.
Do I know who they are? The woman in the back I recognized instantly. She was wearing a white dress that reached the floor and had grey whiteish long hair, a beauty you would rarely encounter. Her name was Aubree, one of the villains who got in the way of a heroine in the story. The maid's name was Sylvia who was, as you guessed it, the maid of the villainess wearing a traditional maid outfit who had short dark hair. Shocker. As for the 2 Knights, they were Brother and Sister wearing lavish white jackets with gold engravings. They were Otis and Millie, righteous characters in their own right who eventually join the main character in his o so noble quest. Otis had short blonde hair resembling a fade and Millie had her hair tied up into a ponytail.
To give a quick summary, it is a correct assumption to say that the Lightstuar family is filled with good people. However, Aubree was an exception as she always craved for more but didn't have the outstanding talent as the other brothers and sisters she was compared to. This filled her with envy leading her to the predictable path of villainhood. She interfered with the main party using petty tricks which led to her downfall and eventual exile of the family.
Which heroine did she interfere with? Her own sister, Winter. Winter was oblivious to her actions because Aubree was sneaky about it along with the fact of denying reality. One can easily forget the power to deny the reality of situations as they are difficult to bear.
"Must be an accident."
"{Person} would never do that."
"{Person} is my family member."
"{Person} must have done it for a reason."
The list goes on but this ultimately led to an unchecked issue that kept growing to the point of no return. Some astute people realized the problem but were afraid to go against the noble Lightstuar family and thus ignored the problem. Others tried to say something but where quickly dismissed as being crazy or not knowing what they were talking about.
The power of denial.
It was a lesson that I needed to instill to the righteous main character one way or another. I did just that through a person who was raised in a noble environment that turned bad.
I never expected to be transported on to my own world so I guess I might have something to do with how she turned out.
Oh well.
Removing myself from my thoughts, I concentrated on the current task in front of me.
The Knights were looking a bit worse for wear as there were visible cuts around their bodies, heaving as they swayed side to side, both holding their swords up as 10 attackers remained.
"Hand over the girl and we will make sure to kill you off painlessly," offered the bald, strong man (Bandit Leader) holding a scimitar, chuckling along with other buddies.
"Over my dead body!" shouted Otis, holding himself up with his sword. " If you so much as come near her, I will kill you where you stand."
The fire in his eyes not fading as he was nearing his end.
Millie quickly went up to support her brother, her right arm dropping over to her side covered in blood.
"If you come any closer, the patriarch will stop at nothing to kill you!!! What do you hope to gain from doing this! " She inquired, breathing heavily as blood kept streaming down her white clothes.
"Money" snickered the bandit leader.
"You know, having strong people comes at a cost and we were running quite low on funds. Having a large portion of you killed already gives us a lot of money but the biggest bounty is on that miss over there."
"We will pay you double, just let us go!" screamed Aubree, clutching her now dirtied dress. Trying to negotiate with the bandits.
"We weren't born yesterday you know. Haha!!! We won't get hunted as long as no witnesses, am I incorrect???" replied confidently the assassin leader (aka bandit leader) as he raised his sword up once again.
"It's no use young miss!!! Sylvia, take Aubree away!!! We will hold off as long as we can."
"But Otis!!!" Aubree attempted to argue.
"Stop arguing and run! " Interjected Millie, snapping at Aubree's remark.
"Run, my ass" exclaimed another assassin as there were now 10 more people encircling the party.
Sylvia instantly placed Aubree behind her, worrying about her safety.
"Stop playing around and kill them already" said another assassin who was way in the back, sitting on a rock, making a sculpture out of wood it seems. Assassin commander is what I'll call him.
"There is no rush man. Look at them, they might be strong, but the effects of the poison just made them weaker than children. If I don't kill them, the poison will. Once the knights are dead, the rest will follow suit" remarked the Bandit leader with a giant smirk.
'I'm running out of time' Otis thought as his vision started to become hazy,
'I didn't think I would have to use this.'
Final Sanctuary was the name of the artifact. A single use consumable item which used someone's life force as a shield and a beacon. Great device for someone you would want to protect but definitely not something you would want to use lightly. Mainly since it can kill the person who uses it.
[Greater Aura] chanted Millie as she spiked up all of her stats, a yellow glow emanating from her body.
"You made a mistake provoking us" Millie said, her stance emitting a large amount of bloodlust.
Aubree closed her eyes at the eminent last fight for her survival.
Otis, Final Sanctuary item in hand, was ready at a moment's notice to use it.
One could feel the tension in the air, suffocating everyone in the vicinity.
"Who are you???" nameless assassin exclaimed from the back.
Everyone's head now turned to the person who was being addressed. Aubree's eyes opened for a moment to notice a guy wearing a weird outfit holding her family's treasured items.
"Umm.... a passerby?" I answered softly, holding onto valuable treasured items.
Otis was baffled by the blatant lie the person made who was clearly stealing all the items that belong to the Lightstuar family. Even from the people who were dead.
Millie had a disgusted face seeing that the man was carrying items from her fallen comrades. Her anger rising but also worried that there was another potential threat.
What surprised everyone the most however, is that no one noticed his presence amidst everyone's guards being up.
Dangerous? Probably not as no one's intuition flared up.
"Hey!!! I'm just passing by!!! I swear! Continue with what you guys are doing, no need to pay attention to me." I quickly stated so I could continue doing my own thing.
What was I doing you may ask?
Looting, of course.
As much as I hate to say it, I am broke and I could probably get a solid price for some of the "dropped items." I am basically starting from zero and need funds to get my life started.
I found a perfect chance to get money but apparently, I was caught in the act.
I am no saint to stop whatever destiny has for these people and therefore, I was planning on letting the story play as it is. All of them were alive later in the story so something must have happened that I didn't write about. I am perfectly content with letting the story play out and seeing "behind the scenes."
The situation I attempted to do was akin to doing chores while listening to a story, except in real time.
Loot and listen.
Although Otis and Millie wanted to fight, they couldn't leave Aubree side to attack so they took the small time to recuperate.
"Kill him!" ordered the assassin commander.
"Wait!!! I swear I won't interfere; I'm just taking some stuff since you guys are already getting big money for the bounty. I'll just take what's left on the ground and will be on my merry way," I motioned to all of the lavish carriages as I smiled like a small-time crook.
"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Are you serious!?" laughed the assassin leader at what Ronan said. "This is all ours and it seems you were at the wrong place and the wrong time." as he redirected his attention to the threat at hand.
"Are you guys deaf!! Kill him already!" exclaimed the assassin commander.
An assassin was already behind me and swiped quickly to finish me off.
Only, the blade hit nothing but air.
I was right next to Aubree the next moment.
Everyone's eyes widened the moment they saw Ronan standing right in front the young miss. Everyone was breathless at what just happened, unable to comprehend what happened and too shocked to move.
Startled, Aubree stumbled backwards, Sylvia instincts kicked in and immediately reacted as fast as she could to cover her from me.
Aubree didn't know what was happening but all of a sudden, the man that was clearly stealing from her was standing in front of her.
"Hey there miss." I waved my hand in a friendly manner. "Can I get a reward for helping you guys out? I mean, your life is in danger and surely, you must be loaded so how about it?"
Standing right in front of her, I could say with complete certainty that she is a beauty. Her grey eyes seemed to have life but at the same time, were clouded. That's as far as I can see but it doesn't concern me in the slightest.
If I came here for money, then that is exactly what I was going to do. I wasn't going to help for free since although I did "create" her, nothing comes for free. Only heroes do that.
The Assassin commander, who was previously relaxed, threw the wood to the side, unsheathed his dagger, and darted to kill Ronan as fast as he could.
He was uncertain of what would happen but didn't want to find out what it was. A person who he feels nothing about has never appeared before him and this only solidified his need to kill him.
As if time stopped, I asked again.
"So, what's it going to be?" as I gazed intently into her eyes.
Aubree didn't know what kind of consequences there will be if he accepted the man's offer but she needed to save her subordinates and herself at all costs. Can she really trust someone who was stealing from her fallen Knights and stealing her possessions? A person who was planning on spectating them who were about to be killed? A person she knows nothing about?
No.
Still, there was only one thing that she could say.
"Yes, you have my word as a member of the Lightstuar family that we will pay our dues." she said as she put her hand on her chest, shaking in the process.
"Young miss?" exclaimed Sylvia as she saw Aubree holding her hand to her chest, then looking at the mysterious man, shivering at what she saw.
I smiled at the successful agreement.
"Great choice :)"
At that moment, I took a hold of a card and swung it across my back, blocking an oncoming sword to my heart. Sparks flew up in the air, the ring of the collision being heard from everyone around.
The assassin leader being launched backwards, backflipping and barely landing on his 2 feet.
Otis and Millie for some reason, were unable to move from their position the moment the mysterious reached Aubree. It was as if the moment they did, something bad would happen. Everyone had the same sentiment yet only the assassin commander did something and now he was blasted away with some injuries.
"20 v 3 or is it a 20 v 5?" I asked out loud, turning around to where the commander was launched gazing at he crowd.
Everyone now watching my every move.
"Kind of boring, wouldn't you guys agree?" as I proceeded to snap my fingers to simulate activating something.
Confused, the assassins did not dare to approach lightly in light of their numbers.
I activated a couple of cards that I attached to each family of the Lightstuar family. The moment it activated; one could hear laughing from the cards with the smiling faces seemingly emitting the eerie noise.
Otis, thinking of using the artifact, all of sudden felt his body go limp and went dark. Same went to all of the people in the Lightstuar family. Each falling down one by one, constant laughing being heard everywhere.
As Aubree was losing consciousness, all she saw was the mysterious man's back.
'Was I betrayed???' was all she could think about before she completely lost consciousness with laughing being the last thing she heard.
"What?!?!??!" exclaimed the assassin commander and assassin leader now feeling a tinge of fear.
"20 v 1? That's more like it." My smile sending shivers down the assassins' spines.
"I also agree with the sentiment 'no witnesses' so... let's play a game, shall we?"