Months went by.
The conquest of Persia ended with a Mesopotamian victory.
The war ended when the Persian king was assassinated by his court, and whoever had power at the time declared the surrender of the Persian kingdom.
Their heir was publicly humiliated by their foes. Their generals were slain. Their capital was erased, and the kingdom fell on its knees as the Mesopotamians cut off their trade routes.
After that happened.
The Mesopotamian special forces, known as the judges and the arrows, joined to eliminate any remaining opposers and rebels. After securing the Persian kingdom from all threats, a new governor from the royal family of Mesopotamia was placed.
On the other side of the global conquest race.
Kemet's bold strategy of launching two conquest campaigns at once has succeeded, which led them to place the northern part of their continent in a chokehold.
As things currently stand between the two great powers, Kemet had surpassed Mesopotamia in the number of nations conquered. And Pharoah Ramses was just getting started.
Away from the mess of politics and conquests.
Taz slowly adjusted to her new life as a farm owner and a fruit supplier. From time to time, young men from nobility would come to her farm and harass her workers.
And, of course, those cunts never come alone. Every time they come, they bring along corrupt guards as if that would protect them from anything.
Weirdly enough, Taz mainly chose to solve those issues peacefully.
She no longer has the authority of an arrow. As things stand, she was simply an ordinary woman with equal privileges to the rest of Mesopotamia's commoners.
She never liked the fact but accepted it for everyone's safety.
One day, in the early morning.
Taz got out of her home, wearing her library uniform. She needed to start her opening shift before A'saal scolded her again.
When she reached her gate, she found the same young men harassing Yara, who just arrived from Babilim.
But this time, the young men took it too far. They were throwing rocks and sand at her as they and their corrupt guards laughed.
Taz looked at the scene in awe. The only thoughts she had at the time were if soiling her dress with blood was worth it.
Taz rushed to them and shouted, "You cunts took it too far this time!!"
One of the noblemen confronted her and asked, "What will you do? You're no longer an arrow!"
Taz grabbed Yara and said, "Go inside. I'll take care of this."
Yara looked at her fearfully and said, "You can't give them what they want."
Taz pushed her into the farm and said, "Just go!"
She turned to them, approached them and said, "I may no longer be an arrow, but I can kill you all before you even draw your weapons."
One corrupt guard cut her off and said, "If you break the law, I'm going to arrest you."
Taz shoved him and growled, "If you want to make your wife a widow and your children orphans, do it!!"
"The wolf's fangs are dull," The nobleman taunted.
Taz pointed at them and said, "This is your last fucking warning! The next time I see you anywhere near that woman, you'll know why they called me the wolf in the first place."
Talal walked in on the confrontation and said, "There's no need for the wolf to sharpen its fangs again."
Taz glared at him.
Talal stood beside her and said, "You should all leave before I get the judges involved."
The nobleman approached and said, "You cannot possibly side with this murderer!"
Talal pointed at Babilim with his thumb and said, "I suggest you take your people and fuck off. I won't ask again."
The nobleman glared at Talal, walked away and spat at Talal's foot.
Talal glanced at his foot, looked at Taz and said, "You have my permission to incapacitate him."
Taz aimed at him and shot a lighting sphere at the nobleman. He grunted in pain as he fell on the floor.
The others tried to intervene, only for Talal to step in and say, "Insulting a judge is a crime. Helping this sad fuck is also a crime, which means the wolf gets more targets to shoot at."
They left the nobleman and walked away.
Taz stood beside him and asked, "Are you going to carry him to Babilim?"
Talal chuckled, then said, "Fuck no, let him rot in the sun."
"What brought you, Talal?" Taz asked.
Talal looked at her and said, "Daghir asked for a favor. He knows about those guys."
"The point of the judges is to avoid favors when it comes to crimes like this," Taz said.
"You'd be surprised by how many crimes the nobles committed. I barely have enough manpower for this," Talal said.
"Ever thought about recruiting more?" Taz said.
"No one wants to stay and govern nobles, especially with the conquests. And besides, we don't recruit anyone below the sergeant's rank," Talal said.
"Ever asked around the royal guards?" Taz asked.
"Most of our people are from the royal guards," Talal said. He gestured to walk with him.
They walked together in the direction of Babilim.
"Our biggest problem is the corrupt guards. They're enabling the nobles to become bold," Talal said.
"I'm more used to hunting and eliminating threats than investigating them," Taz said.
"I know, being an arrow is simpler. Fewer headaches and political bullshit," Talal said.
"So, have you thought about a solution?" Taz asked.
"I did, it involves more headaches and political bullshit," Talal said.
Taz giggled.
"The only way to stop the guards' corruption is by placing a dedicated group within them to fight it," Talal said.
Taz looked at him and said, "I assume you shared that opinion, and it got rejected."
Talal looked at her and said, "By none other than the guards' generals."
"But why?" Taz asked.
"They say that's a job their lieutenants are already doing," Talal said.
"They're full of shit," Taz said.
"Yet, I can't fight it off. Knowing how many investigations my people are busy with," Talal said.
"Want me to speak with Nawar?" Taz asked.
"What can he do? I doubt there's much the major can offer," Talal asked.
"Indeed, there isn't much to do against nobles, but there's something to do against corrupt guards," Taz said.
"What are you thinking?" Talal asked.
"You can work with him to catch corrupt guards; he knows best since he was always a part of them," Taz said.
Talal hummed, then said, "That sounds like a good idea. Talk to him about joining hands with the judges, and maybe we can reach a good result."
They reached the gate of Babilim. They bid their farewells and split off.
Taz reached the library and opened it for business.
She worked as usual, cleaning shelves, re-stacking books, and documenting books and scrolls that needed renewal.
While she was cleaning a high shelf in front of the door.
A strange boy came in.
He was of Bahratian origins. He was skinny and wore a beige dress. He had a light-brown skin tone and large brown eyes. He had medium-length black curly hair and a barely growing mustache.
He never said his greetings or announced his presence. He ogled her like a hungry cat waiting to be fed.
Taz looked at him and asked, "Can I help you with anything, you little pervert?"
The boy became flustered, chuckled, scratched his head and said, "Excuse me for my behavior. I was told that I would find my mentor here."
"You must be Bagir. Wait here until Lady A'saal returns. She won't take long," Taz said.
Bagir nodded and said, "Thank you for letting me wait here." Then he went inside.
Taz stared at him and muttered, "Awfully polite for a pervert."
Soon, A'saal returned from her shopping spree and found Bagir waiting for her as he read his journal.
Taz was curious about him, so she went nearby and faked working to eavesdrop on them. When she thought about his arrival in Babilim, it was as if fate brought him here.
A few days ago, the capital's gate was shut down by a beast threat. And that threat was not aimed at the city but for that boy, Bagir.
From what A'saal told her, the beast was chasing him and almost succeeded in killing him if A'saal wasn't going out to collect herbs.
It was even more thought-provoking that he survived with a hole in his gut. The beast punctured him with its sharp claws twice, yet that Bahratian boy survived to tell the tale.
Not only was that the unusual thing about him.
While he was in a comma from his injuries, a man from a legendary Bahratian mercenary group dropped by the library, asking A'saal to take him in as her apprentice.
At first, neither A'saal nor Taz opposed having an extra hand.
A'saal could keep shopping while throwing her responsibilities at Taz and Bagir.
Taz could skip work more and throw her responsibilities at Bagir.
It was a win-win situation for both.
All that aside, that boy must be the luckiest or the most luckless person alive, considering what had happened to him.
In the middle of Taz's spying, she heard A'saal offering Bagir to heal his arms again to finalize his healing.
This statement struck Taz. A'saal was overly kind to this boy, and she was jealous.
She was offering him her lifespan. That was the same woman who made fun of Taz daily.
The boy might be handsome and polite, but Taz was nearly a daughter figure to A'saal. She should be the one who gets spoiled.
Taz kept her eye on the boy as the days passed.
Surprisingly, she noticed he was well-organized and studious. Usually, when there was a break from work, Taz would go to have lunch, and A'saal goes to humor her crippling shopping addiction.
Bagir, on the other hand, would pick books from the biology shelf and study them.
One day, Taz decided to take him for lunch, to know him better.
She approached him while he was cleaning a shelf and asked, "Are you hungry, Bahratian boy?"
Bagir looked at her displeased and said, "You know what my name is."
Taz smirked at him and teased, "Newbies don't get called by their names."
Bagir looked around and said, "I suppose you initiated this tradition. The only employee besides A'saal."
"That old woman is no fun," Taz said.
"You're not that young either," Bagir said.
Taz became furious. She punched his shoulder and said sternly, "Lunch! Now!!"
Bagir leaned against the bookshelf, groaning in pain, and said, "I understand."
Taz took her unwilling coworker to the fancy tavern near her old home, and they went inside. They sat at a first-floor table since this was a quick stop for them.
Joanna approached them. She looked at Bagir, smiled at him and said, "Glad to have our local star come to our establishment."
Bagir smiled at her and jested, "Meeting the masses does good for my fame."
Joanna laughed, then looked at Taz and said, "And I see our supplier already placed her paws at you."
Taz chuckled, then said, "More like I forced my overworking colleague to eat for his well-being."
Bagir crossed his arms and said, "It's adorable when she's shy. I can't blame her for not resisting my charm."
Joanna laughed while she covered her mouth. She winked at Bagir, looked at Taz and said, "I have to warn you, many girls have their eyes on him."
Taz crossed her arms, looked at Bagir, smirked at him and said, "It would be a shame if they knew you're a pervert."
After the three teased each other for a couple of minutes. Taz and Bagir placed their orders and waited for the food to arrive.
Taz looked at him and asked, "Where are you from?"
"Not here," Bagir deflected.
Taz leaned closer and said, "You make my job easier with all the mess you brought; You can't hide it from me."
Bagir smirked at her and said, "And here I thought this was a friendly lunch, minus you hitting me."
Taz leaned back and said, "For someone your age, you're quite smart. I'll admit to that. But why did a high-ranking man from the Rakshasa come asking about you? Out of all the infamous groups?"
"I see you met Mo'taz. How's that old man?" Bagir asked.
"He came smelling like blood and flesh, a scent I know very well," Taz said.
"I assume the others died, quite a shame," Bagir said.
Taz crossed her arms and said, "You still haven't answered my question."
"Because I won't. I promise to excel as A'saal's apprentice and to avoid bringing issues to where I work," Bagir said.
"Lying to me is a bad move, Bahratian boy. I have a talent for making people talk," Taz said.
Bagir leaned closer and said, "With all due respect, Tanaz. You're a library keeper who's influenced by action novels. Be a good girl, and we won't have any issues."
Taz tapped her fingers on the table while she smirked at him. She wanted to rough him but remembered she was no longer an arrow.
"I have my eyes on you," Taz said.
After finishing their lunch, they returned to work and proceeded with their shift as usual. When the closing time came, Taz stalked Bagir to see what he was doing.
She wore a dark cloak and tailed him through the streets in the cover of darkness. It took her thirty minutes, and Bagir was nowhere near stopping.
He reached the city's gate, talked to the guards briefly and exited.
Taz was curious about why he was leaving the wall, but she needed to continue her chase to discover what this mysterious boy was hiding.
Taz approached the guards, flashed her arrows' medallion, and gestured to them to remain quiet.
Luckily, the guards had no idea she was no longer an arrow and obeyed her. She followed Bagir outside the city; he was going to an area where outsiders lived.
She hid behind the tree line and watched what he would do at the camp.
He warmed himself at the campfire while chatting with a couple of outsiders. After a few minutes, he stood and went inside one of the tents.
Taz squinted her eyes and said, "Weird, those tents are for sleeping."
She approached the tent's circle, stood at Bagir's tent and breached into it.
Bagir placed his book aside, looked at her with displeasure as he was half naked and said, "If the genders were swapped, the men around would have my head."
Taz smirked at him and said, "Don't worry, princess, I won't kidnap you and take you to an evil castle."
Bagir sat up and said, "I'll remind myself to plant a 'no girls allowed' sign. What are you doing here?"
Taz sat and said, "It's time to talk, Bagir."
Bagir pulled out a knife and said, "Or I can kill you for being a pest."
Taz used her magic to attract the knife. She grabbed it, touched its blade and said, "For someone who boasts of violence, you carry a dull knife."
Bagir widened his eyes and said fearfully, "How did you do that?"
"You talk, and I talk," Taz bargained.
Bagir sighed, then said, "I don't talk to those I don't trust."
Taz smirked at him and said, "You're breaking my heart, Bahratian boy. I thought we were great coworkers."
"As far as I know, I'm indebted to A'saal. You just happened to work with her," Bagir said.
Taz toyed with his knife and asked, "Well, I must make the first sacrifice here. How can I earn your trust?"
Bagir rested on his sleeping bag and said, "I don't know. How about you leave my tent while I think of something?"
"Nice try," Taz said.
Bagir looked at her and asked, "What else can a boy and a girl do in a small tent at midnight?"
Taz giggled, then said, "The girl can always torture the boy for being a deceiver."
Bagir smirked at her and said, "That's what a basic girl would do, but you're not a basic girl, aren't you?"
"Who knows? I like being a mystery," Taz said.
Bagir giggled, then said, "Spoken like someone who mingled with nobility."
"You're sharp," Taz said.
Bagir smirked at her and said, "As you have a knack for making people talk, I have one for reading people."
"Does that mean you're interested in me now?" Taz asked.
Bagir pointed with his eyes to his knife and said, "You're holding me hostage with my weapon. Struggling against you would be fruitless."
"It seems all you can do is give me what I want," Taz said.
"I feel flattered when a strong woman holds me hostage; it makes my heart flutter," Bagir said.
"Trying to seduce me? You're playing a dangerous game here," Taz said.
"You're the one who chased after me; I can read the signs," Bagir said, then winked.
Taz giggled, then said, "I'm a perilous woman; most people don't like to have me hunting them."
"If you hunted me, I'd leave plenty of markers for you to find me," Bagir flirted.
Taz climbed over him and whispered, "The things I would do to you when I catch you."
"I'll surrender without resisting," Bagir whispered.
Taz gripped his throat and whispered, "If anyone knew about this. I will hurt you badly."
"That's a motivation for me to expose you," Bagir said.
Taz chuckled, then kissed him passionately.
Once again, the wolf proved weak when it came to lascivious impulses.
The next day, at dawn.
The new couple woke up in each other's arms at the sound of rosters outside.
Taz delicately touched Bagir and whispered, "Good morning."
Bagir breathed in pain and said, "I must confess something."
Taz smirked at him and said, "You finally decided to talk?"
Bagir looked at her and said, "This is my first time."
Taz chuckled, then said, "I won't apologize for being rough."
"Don't be, I liked it," Bagir said.
Taz sat up, giggled, threw a scarf on Bagir's face and said, "Playtime is over, you little womanizer. We must go to work soon."
The couple began their morning separately, each preparing for the day as usual. When the time came for opening the library, both arrived simultaneously and entered together.
A'saal waited for them at the door and instructed them on what to do for the day. After her pep talk, A'saal sniffed a familiar scent on Bagir and figured out something was happening behind her back.
A'saal told Bagir to go and start, then pulled Taz into somewhere private within the library.
A'saal pinched Taz's earlobe and whispered angrily, "You thought I wouldn't notice your scent, you little slut!"
Taz winced, smacked her hand away and asked, "What do you mean!?"
"You slept with my apprentice!!" A'saal quietly growled.
"He's the one who started flirting with me!" Taz whispered.
"So, you throw yourself into his arms!? This is not how a proper woman should act!" A'saal said.
Taz crossed her arms and said, "I won't justify myself to you."
A'saal looked at her in displeasure and said, "Is this some fetish of yours? Do you actively go after adolescent boys!?"
Taz walked away and sighed in frustration.
The days went by, and the new couple were actively engaging in their lewd activities: every day and every night, all within the walls of Taz's old home.
Their passion and attraction were so great that they barely stopped their intercourse after five rounds.
But what the new couple didn't notice was that they were watched from the shadows. It was the same men who harassed the workers on Taz's farm. They stopped their bullying after seeing a judge involved in their last encounter.
The leader of the judges, no less.
The wicked men watched Taz's home and her workplace. It didn't take them long to figure out Bagir was her lover.
One night, Bagir left while Taz stayed behind to sort out the remaining mess in the library.
On his way, the men jumped him and beat him till he passed out. They wrapped him in a large cloth bag and smuggled him out of the city in a wagon. The guards dared not stop them since they knew they were nobles.
The noblemen took Bagir to a shack outside the city. It was far from prying eyes and safe enough to do their wicked deeds.
They placed Bagir on a chair and tied him up with steel chains tightly to torture him without resistance.
They awoke Bagir with a mean slap and splashed him with cold water.
Bagir jolted, gasped loudly and looked around.
One of the men smirked wickedly at him and said, "You should've picked a better woman, Bahratian boy."
Bagir smiled at him and said, "Do you recommend your mother?"
The man punched him, giggled and said, "This one got a mouth on him."
Bagir glared at him.
"No more talking?" The nobleman said.
"I can talk for hours on how I'm going to fuck your mother, but the old bitch isn't worth the effort," Bagir said.
The nobleman pulled out a dagger and planted it on Bagir's thigh.
Bagir screamed in pain and became tense.
The nobleman pointed at him and said, "Keep my mother's name out of your mouth."
Bagir panted heavily and said, "I would if she stopped shoving her cunt in it."
The nobleman became furious and said, "You just never learn!" He pulled out the knife and slashed Bagir's face.
Bagir groaned in pain and glared at him.
The nobleman gripped Bagir's hair, forced him to look at him and said, "Let me tell you about your worthless future. First, I'm going to torture you all night long, and then I'm going to kill you. Your body will never be found, and that whore you fancy will spend her days never knowing you're dead."
He shook Bagir's head and said, "And that's the fate of worthless scum like you. You were never a human, only a peasant that'll amount to nothing."
Bagir glared at him, and his breaths quickened in fury.
The words of the wicked noble struck a nerve in him. Bagir witnessed people he cared about die for his sake. Dying without fulfilling his ambition was his biggest nightmare.
The nobles laughed at Bagir, and one said, "I think you struck a nerve."
Bagir started to shake and growled loudly like a beast in chains. He kept his unrelenting resistance and awakened a dark force within him.
His veins expanded, and his skin reddened. As the seconds passed, a chain broke, and the others were soon to follow.
One of the nobles panicked and said, "You never said he was a magic user!"
One of their guards took the lead and struck Bagir's head with a wooden stick, but the enraged boy was barely affected.
Bagir shook violently, and the chains began to break one after another. It was apparent they couldn't keep him subdued any longer.
One of the nobles pointed at him and shouted, "Forget torture!! Kill him now before he breaks loose and kills us all!!!"
The guard pulled out his sword, stood beside Bagir and lifted it high, preparing to decapitate him.
Bagir glared at him and shouted in a demonic voice, "I will decide when I die!!!"
The guard pulled himself together after Bagir's voice spooked him. He got into position again, and Bagir glared at him as his demonic growls filled the room.
Then it happened.
Bagir was engulfed in blue flames, then exploded fiercely like a tidal wave, melting everything nearby. The noblemen, guards, weapons, clothes, blades and the shack were all turned to ash.
The flames arose to the sky, and Bagir kept screaming in his demonic voice, "Only I decide when I die!"
Bagir walked out of the flames. His eyes were blood red, and tiny blue flames rose from the corner of his eyelids.
Taz and Talal were there before the explosion went off. They saw Bagir come out of the giant pillar of blue flames.
And now, they stood before him.
Talal approached Bagir. His knees shook, his body trembled, and he muttered, "The prophecy has come true. The king has appeared." Then passed out.
Taz pouted and covered her mouth as she cried; her tears were a mix of joy and sorrow.
Nimrod saw the pillar of blue flames from his palace. He smiled at it while he sipped his wine and said, "My brethren have finally appeared. I cannot wait for you to grow up and get more powerful so we can finally burn this world together."
Tale of Corruption
The End