We continued to walk through the valley. The valley was silent and somber. The little ponds had no reflection. Yet they were deep and pure black like an endless abyss.
The whole situation was unnerving for all of us. At that point, we were halfway through the valley, and yet to spot the pickup.
"Where the hell is this pickup meant to be?" I said in a nervous voice.
Balgroff said in a monotone voice "Must be at the end of the valley."
We continued through the unnerving valley. Each second we didn't see the pickup we got more and more nervous. We were at the deepest point where the valley or better yet ravine was only 10 meters wide. Finally, Salis said, "Is it me or does that bird look weird?"
"Which bird?" I said.
Salis then pointed up into the sky. I followed where he pointed and finally saw the bird. It was enormous. Its wings could easily be 8 meters long wing to wing. The wings were pure white like that of an angel's. The most strange about it was that the wings were covering its main body.
Balgroff in an act of boredom looked up at the bird. When he saw it his eyes widened. He immediately shouted out "Run to the sides of the valley!"
It took both me and Salis by surprise. Nonetheless, we followed his order. Me and Salis ran to the right side while Balgroff ran to the left. A few moments later the bird began to nosedive straight into the valley. At this point, its wings finally receded allowing us to see its main body. What we saw shocked us.
It wasn't a bird at all! It was instead a human with wings connected to his back. Somehow the man was also pulling 2 great swords with him through the air! When he finally reached the bottom of the valley he swung his sword down.
*Boom*
His swords initially hit the ground. Then without losing any momentum, he scraped the swords across the valley. He flew past us at insane speeds. The wind pressure nearly made us lose our balance. Once he reached the end of the valley he flew back up above the valley again.
All 3 of us had our mouths agape. The floor of the valley had 2 trails where his swords dug through the earth. If we didn't move to the sides of the valley we would have been cut in half vertically!
It took us a second to calm down. Balgroff then yelled over to us.
"This guy must be a high-level beast man! I'll try to stop him. When I do, you 2 attack him as much as possible."
Balgroff then pulled out a spare shield and strapped it to his only hand. Then he ran into the middle of the valley. He activated multiple skills and used magic to plant his feet within the ground. A magical sheen spread across his shield.
Salis pulled out a wand and began to cast a powerful fire spell. Me being an illusionist there wasn't much I could do to prepare. The most I could do was coat my blade in poison.
A few moments later the beast man could be seen flying high above the valley. He circled around the valley twice watching us. He must have finally figured something out because he nosedived straight into the valley again. He tore through the air like an arrow. He somehow produced a high-pitched whistling sound as he came down. He was heading straight for Balgroff.
A grin came across Balgroff's face as he chuckled out "Fool."
Soon though the beast man began to change his momentum. He first placed both swords in front of him. Then he began to barrel roll. It was a continuous spiraling motion. He was now like a drill going at ludicrous speeds. It was now impossible to see his body. All you could see was a super fast blur.
At this point, it was too late for Balgroff to try something else or dodge so he could only hold his ground and hope it was enough. Balgroff tightened his whole body and lowered his center of gravity. The sound of his muscles tightening was like leather.
The beast-man finally collided with Balgroff's shield. The shield was blown apart sending shrapnel everywhere. The swords ripped apart Balgroff. They blasted through the entirety of Balgroff's upper body. The beast-man then continued through the valley at a slower speed.
Me and Salis had our mouths agape as we watched. The only thing left of Balgroff was from his waist down. His legs still stood up due to them being stuck in the ground.
Neither me nor Salis made a sound as we watched the legs in silence. Salis began to walk forward. He stopped once he was only an arm's length away from Balgroff's legs. He finally said in a solemn voice as he stared at the legs "So today's the day."
Salis then breathed in, then out. His demeanor then completely changed. He became focused and single-minded. First, he shot some fireballs into the ponds. This created a lot of steam making it uncomfortable and hard to see. He then activated a smoke spell further making it impossible to see. This would give us some time before the next dive.
I was still in a daze with my eyes watering. Balgroff was dead. We all knew we would die one day, but we would never expect it to be so sudden or brutal.
Salis hit me in the chest. It snapped me out of my daze. He then opened his fist showing a couple of items. When I saw them I realized what he was implying. I pleaded with him "No... please don't. it doesn't need to come to that."
A bittersweet smile came across Salis's face. He then said some of his last words "Me and Balgroff always knew you weren't cut out to be a brigand. We always knew you had a kind heart. Me and Balgroff lived by the sword and will die by the sword. But you. You can do so much more. So please, just do it. You don't need to throw your life away here."
At last, tears began to stream down my face. Salis continued to look me in the eyes with a sad smile. He then said his final words "Just remember, whatever happens, we will always be brothers."
He then shoved the items into my hand. The items themselves were a teleportation scroll and a mana-blocking ring. Both were expensive items and we only had one of each. What Salis was insinuating is that I teleport in a random direction and put on the ring. The ring blocks mana from leaving and entering a person's body. It would make it impossible for them to track me.
Salis finally walked back into the middle of the valley. By now the steam and smoke began to be blown away. When the smoke finally cleared the beast man could be seen in the sky again. It turns out he only got rid of the smoke by simply flapping his wings and fanning it away. Such power could only come from someone over level 100.
Salis went on to pull the crate out of the bag. He then pulled out a handful of mana stones. Even from this far away I could see the beast man's eyes widen when he realized what Salis intended. Salis then began to suck the mana out from the stones.
Wind roared around him. The amount of mana was so thick it looked like a light mist. Salis went on to absorb it all. His body began to glow.
The beast-man was nosediving to try and kill Salis before he finished. He banged against the walls of the valley as he flew down in a rush.
Salis was intending to overload his body on mana. Then turn it all into one giant explosion taking out the package as well as maybe injuring the beast man.
Salis's body began to shine a bright red as light began to pour out from his body.
That was my cue. I finally undid the scroll and opened it. I went on to point it in a random direction. Light flashed all around me. It blinded me until the point I had to close my eyes. When I opened them I found myself in the middle of a dense forest. I then put the ring on my finger.
I walked over and sat against a tree as I balled my eyes out. Then the final kicker. I heard a faint explosion far off in the distance.
I screamed into the sky. My brothers, the only people I ever truly knew were now dead. And what did I do? I ran away. Like a fucking coward!
I hated myself even more than the beast-man. I wished it would have been me who died instead of them. I wished that I could kill that damn butler a hundred times over.
I continued to cry and scream for hours on end. Soon my eyes went dry and my throat became hoarse. I then just lay on my back as I watch the clouds above. I did that until the moon rose and I fell asleep.
When my eyes opened again I saw the same road, the same dead endless landscape, and the same endless dark sky. I sat still. Watching the horizon with dead eyes. Waiting for the inevitable. That's when I heard "I'm sorry for your loss."
I slowly turned my head towards Caro. In all that happened recently, I completely forgot about him.
Caro's expression was one of understanding and remorse.
I stared at him for a minute before saying "Thank you."
I turned back to watch the horizon. I could already see a couple of specks that I could only assume were the fastest of the mob. In the corner of my eye, I also spotted the sword Caro tossed. It seems whatever he does will remain.
"You should probably cover your ears," Caro said.
Cover my ears? That didn't make any sense to me, so I just ignored him.
I should have listened to him though. Once the mob got close, they stopped. This was a unique yet pleasant anomaly. Unfortunately, though, it only got worse.
The dead began to open their mouths. Then they began to speak in raspy dry voices. The first word I heard was "coward." I realized what was going on. After that first word, many more insults followed.
"Weak." "Insufferable." "Pitiful."
Then the worst happened. One of the dead walked forward. This time I recognized them. It was the knight commander. He had a slit throat and a long open wound at his side. he opened his mouth and said, "They got what they deserved." After that, a shit-eating grin came across his face.
That was the final straw. I slowly rose. My blood boiling. Every inch of my body tensed and my muscles bulged. As I took a step forward my foot sunk into the road. I then reached out and gripped the sword. My grip was so strong that it shattered the grip. The splinters stabbed into my hand causing blood to drip down. That only pissed me off more. I gripped it tighter. Blood now poured down from my hand, but it barely fazed me.
I slowly walked to the now-dead knight. I was then right in front of him. The shit-eating grin stretched from one ear to the other.
I raised the sword above my head. The knight's eyes locked with mine. His grin seemed to only get wider. That's when I saw it. It was reflected in his gray almost dull eyes. What I saw made me stop my sword mid-swing.
Within his eyes, I saw my reflection. What I saw was a monster. A twisted monster fueled only by rage.
I stared into the knight's eyes. Or more so at the monster within them. By now the knight's grin faded as it sensed something wrong.
"This isn't what they would have wanted."
I lowered my sword. The only blood that covered it was my own. The knight remained in front of me, unscathed. I dropped the sword. It lodged itself back within the earth. I then walked back to where I sat before. I sat down in the lotus position and began to breathe.
The horde collectively went dead silent. They realized they failed. At that moment they rushed me again and killed me.
I woke up. Surprisingly more refreshed than usual. The sun was rising painting the sky pink and orange. It was a new dawn. The dawn seemed to wipe away the past and begin the future.
I got up and walked. I didn't know which direction I went, but I walked anyway.
The forest went on and on and on. I sensed some animals and monsters spotted me, but then went on to avoid me. I began to think. I was 22 years old, and my overall level was 75. It was a feat not many could accomplish. The average level of people around my age would be 35. I guess fighting for your life since you were 9 years old comes with its perks. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it didn't matter anymore.
I finally found the end of the forest. When I looked out from the forest I found a village. However, a better way to describe it would be the ruins of a village. I then began to think of other things. This general region was kind of me and my brother's territory. If any other brigands tried to weasel their way in we would kill them or drive them out. So if this village was in ruins then it was most likely because of me and my brothers.
I walked down to the village and began to look around the ruins of a now desolate village.
{Author's note: the story has finally caught back up to the first chapter. So from now on it will be in 3rd person omniscient.}