We approached the bandit camp. Ben had his sword and shield drawn. His steel armour shining like a mirror.
I approach the gates, the sound of howling bandits could be heard from inside the mines.
Fucking dumbasses didn't even put a guard or a lookout.
I ready myself and punch through the gate, completely obliterating the gate and some of the bandits close by.
Only bloody stains were left as markers of their existence.
"Don't think about it, we have a job to do."
Ben's voice consoled me from the side as bandits began charging out of the mine.
Without wasting anytime we immediately started attacking. With every attack we threw a bandit exploded in a bloody mist.
We tore our way through them like a pair of hot knives slicing through butter. Blood and guts spattered our faces and stained the ground red.
"Mother…"
A dying bandit spoke his last words while holding a drawing of an old woman.
They're just bandits, so why does it feel so wrong?
"Focus!"
Ben's voice snapped me out of my stupor as he cut down a bandit approaching behind me with a rusted knife. His face a mixed expression of sadness and rage.
As we carried on killing our way through the bandits neither of us felt like heroes. We told ourselves we'd be fine because they were bandits, but now that I'm actually killing them, it just feels so wrong.
Is it because of how weak they are? Or because they're human?
Tears are running down my face as I continue mercilessly killing people.
The unlucky survivors cried for help as they lay there dying. Their cries for their loved ones serving as a harsh reminder that they're human too.
Should we have done this? Should we have stayed and formulated a plan to capture them with Cameron?
No. We're still outnumbered. It's them or us.
A sharp pain explodes from my back, and I fall to the ground.
"Die you fucking Asshole!"
I hear a shout from above me before it gets replaced by the sound of a body exploding as Ben smashed his shield into his face.
"You ok!"
"I'll live!"
I get up and continued to fight.
A man physically larger than everyone else emerged from the mines.
"ENOUGH! I know why you're here! You want the bounty on my head?! You can have it! Please just don't kill any more of my people!"
Loud clattering noises could be heard as the bandits threw their weapons down on the ground, many of them crying over their fallen allies.
His voice came out as a deep roar. We stood in silence before he spoke again this time it was barely more than a whisper.
"Don't kill anyone else, too much blood has been spilled already. Please, spare them."
The hundreds of bandits we had been sent to eliminate had been whittled down to little more than twenty. It's probably best to arrest them.
I went to respond but Ben spoke before I could.
"Don't give me that shit! You're not more important than anyone else here. Don't be so arrogant as to think your single life equates to that of all your subordinates!"
Ben cleared the distance between them faster than the bandits could even see and slices the head off the leader.
I cast multiple fireballs, each one hitting a bandit and burning them to death. Their cries came out like an orchestra from Hell and their tears ran down their faces as a final attempt to dampen the flames. The smell of cooked meat filled my nose, smelling almost edible before it quickly became the smell of burned flesh.
"We're done here. It's time to leave."
"We should check out the inside of the mines. They most likely had prisoners."
We spent half an hour searching through the mines before we found where they kept their prisoners.
There was over a hundred people, they were all either shrinking back from us in fear, or just sat there with hollow eyes, completely empty of any emotion and thoughts.
"Where are all the men?"
"John, we searched the entire mine. It seems they killed any man or boy they came across."
I take in the scene around me, the prisoners were all malnourished and forced to sit in cages barely begin enough for one person, with nobody cleaning up the filth. If it wasn't for the smell of blood leaking out of me and Ben, we'd likely be vomiting over the scent alone.
"Some of these girls look as young as ten. We should have made their pain last longer."
I looked around and saw that he was right, on top of that many of them appeared pregnant.
We may have saved them physically, but these mental scars will never fade. Not one of these girls can be called a child anymore.
"Come on, we should let them out."
I looked on as Ben started tearing the doors off the cages.
"Right."
I started to help in setting them all free.
I don't what will happen in the future, but I know what I've witnessed here is going to haunt me for every single night for the rest of my life.