It was just a few minutes before the first explosion happened...
At the western part of the city lies a massive tavern. It was quite a popular hangout spot among the people due to its delicious meals, as well as bottles of ales and wines that one would die for. And of course, because of this, the people who would drink around these parts are more or less...'Rowdy'...
Something that a certain girl does not fit the description at all...
She was fidgeting her gingers outside of the tavern entrance while looking at her surroundings with a nervous expression...
Despite the cold winds of the night, she was sweating bullets, and though she was wearing a black cloak to hide this the people could instinctively tell based on her body shaking that something about her was...a bit weird...
But taverns were a cesspool for weird people, so most of them didn't mind further and went about their business...
After a straight minute of standing aimlessly, the cloaked girl let out a sigh and was able to muster up the courage to go in. She headed towards the door and grabbed the knob, but before she could even open it, the door was broken down by a large man who was sent flying...
"E-Eek!"
"You bastard!"
"You wanna go you little dipshit?!"
Before her brain could even process what was going on, two burly men began to beat each other to a pulp. It was lasting quite a while, and the girl didn't even know what to do about it. But in the end, she decided to quietly sneak into the tavern and just ignore this commotion...
Only to be greeted with more commotions
The bar was, to put it nicely...extremely wild. People were laughing their hearts out as they told themselves stories that doesn't even make sense, everyone was chugging down beer and ale as if they were water, people were practically shouting songs at each other, and there were people like those guys earlier who are beating each other up for some reason...
Needless to say, she did not want to be here
Not only it was weird for someone like her to wander around this place, but she was also scared that she'd get in more trouble than she already has. But alas, as much as she wanted to leave, she couldn't
At least, not until she found her partner-in-crime...
And fortunately for her, he seemed to be the man of the hour around these parts
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Come on you bloody wanker, make sure you take it all! I paid good money for your sorry ass!"
"Traveler, make sure you give that cheeky cunt a lesson! He's been too cocky recently!"
She was able to spot him at the center of the tavern, drinking a massive cup of ale with a bunch of intimidating-looking men. From the looks of it, both of them were having a sort of competition to see who could drink the most. She knew that such games were quite common in places like these, the problem was...
There were already about twenty-five empty glasses on their tables, and the fact that they seemed to still be going strong was a bit concerning
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Chug!"
"Hgh...Argh! Fuckin hell! Nope, I can't take this anymore, I-I think I'm gonna hurl-"
The man fell to the ground and began to puke his guts out. Some people began to shout out cheers, while others began to boo at the man, and even spat at him. But his opponent wasn't done yet and continued to drink until the cup was fully empty
"Argh! Come on you little bashtard, pour me the neshxt round!"
"Nah, you've already won traveler! The little bugger is already on the ground! Ahahaha!"
"Really? Wut a bloody lightweight this man-ish. Wahahaha!"
As the crowd burst into a cheery laughter once more, the girl began to sneak through the gaps and walked up to her partner. She was already gasping for air the moment she was close to the table, but she was able to luckily get his attention
"Hm? Why if it isn't mish...Uhhhhh, Wut wash your name again?"
"I-It's Joy"
"Ah right, the little moushe that's always shivering in her boots. Don't underestimate her appearance though guys, this chick can pack quite a punch if ya know whut I'm shaying"
"Ahahahaha! We'll drink to whatever the hell that means!"
"So what bringhs you round here, Joy? Never really saw you as the type to hang round these parts of the town. And more importantly, I never knew you had a twin sister...No wait, y'all are triplets now! Well ain't this strange, you all look exactly alike!"
"M-Mr. Ronin, I-I think you've had too much to drink. We need to leave already, the sun has already set. A-And L-Lord V could give out the signal anytime soon"
"Huh?...Oh right, we're doing that thing, aren't we?...Eh, I think we shtill have time, I'll stop after two...no three...no wait four cups!...Nah, I really don't like it ending on a number like that. I'll stop after the fifth, I promise"
"C-Come on Mr. V...M-Ms. Luna will kill us if we miss our beat when it starts! We need to be ready"
"Why thougggghh? Look, that bugger over there made a bet with me that he'll pay my entire tab if I beat him, and I did, so why not enjoy this while it last? Look, you can even order anything you like I'll make 'em pay for it"
"Oi, Oi, I'm not paying your shit jackass"
"Ah? Why the hell not bud? I won the bet fair and square?!"
"Fair and square my ass! Y-You were cheatin, you had to be! *Hic* Ain't no way you actually took in fifteen glasses of the wildest ale around here without so much as whimpering! You had to be using magic or something!"
"A magic spell that allowsh you to drink infinite alcohol? Now I would kill for something like that"
"Shut it! Now spill the beans already, you were cheatin!"
The man growled as he took out a dagger
"Ahahaha! I smell a sore loser around here! Awww, was a couple of glasses a bit too much for little junior here?! Want me to fetch you grape juice instead? Wahahaha! What happened to your confidence earlier?!"
"You bastard, this is your last chance!"
Joy was now panicking. The situation was growing worse with each passing second, and she knew that she had to do something, or else things would escalate. She tried to calm the man down, but her words didn't even reach him. He was red as a tomato, and his hands were shaking
"You little shit! Eat this!"
The man was about to use his dagger, but before he could do so...
*BOOM!*
He was interrupted by an explosion. A massive, destructive explosion that sent shockwaves that shook the ground beneath them. Joy could feel the intense wave of magical energy that came from it, and couldn't help but gaze at it with awe. This was something that could only be achieved by the strong...Someone like their leader...
And upon realizing this, Joy hurriedly turned back...
"Mr. Ronin! This is it! This is the...signal..."
Joy could only cut her own words as she saw the sight in front of her. The man who was about to stab Ronnin with his dagger was now lying down on the ground, with his head separated from his body. Blood began to pour out from his neck like a fountain...and everyone could only stare at him in horror...
Ronin stood silently as blood began to slowly drip down from his katana...
"Ahahaha...What a pretty sight. Our lord really does know how to light up the best fireworks!"
Ronin said with a grin as he shakes off the blood from his sword
"Alright boys, playtime is over. Now is where things get really fun! I've been hearing you pathetic lots talk big about your times as mercenaries or adventurers, so you better not disappoint me!"
"Get him, boys!"
"Ahahaha! This is gonna be a bloodbath!"
The men surrounding him began to draw their weapons and went after him. Just as Ronin said, most of them seemed to be well-versed in combat based on how their bodies looked. They were wielding massive swords and axes that could chop someone in two like butter. But even so, Ronin was able to easily cut all of them with his blade...
The speed with which he would slash one person after another was so fast that Joy couldn't even comprehend it. He would swiftly move to one guy, chop his head, and move to the next. It's as if he was a well-oiled machine that has done the exact same thing many times throughout his life
"Ahahaha! Come on is this all you've got?!"
"H-Hey man isn't this enough? You've got to stop thi-" Ronin sliced the man who was coming up to him without any hint of hesitation
The bloodlust in his eyes was as clear as day. And the moment everyone saw this, they immediately ran towards the door. But Joy knew that Ronin wasn't joking when he said that this was going to be a bloodbath
He quickly went after those who were running and sliced them to bits. It didn't matter if they were a part of the group that attacked him first, or if they were innocent bystanders. He would cut them down all the same. In his mind, all of the lives here were equal.
...Equaliy qualified to die by his blade...
"Wahhaha! Take this you little rats...Graaaaaaaah!"
Ronin screamed as he began to emit a powerful surge of magical energy. Everyone instinctively backed off, knowing full well that what was about to come was dangerous. And true enough, it was...
The moment Ronin swung his blade, a whirlwind came forth and everything surrounding him was sliced to bits. Nothing was spared, not even the building itself which was turned to literal scraps by the time that he was done...
"Phew...Wow, looks like I got a bit excited there, *Hic* Lord V has always been good at rekindling my passion. Anyways, come now Joy, there's no time to play around! We need to cause as much trouble as we've planned!"
Ronin says with a smile before grabbing a bottle of beer from the ground
"The night is still very much young! Come on Joy let's go bar hopping!"
Joy could only watch Ronin as he runs around the area, slicing everything his sword can, and drinking all the booze that his hands could grab. She looked up to the sky and let out a sigh as she muttered the one thing she could only think about right now...
"I want to go home..."