The cabin was small, with rough wooden walls that seemed to absorb the dim light from the flickering fire.
The air inside was thick with the scent of burning woods, giving the place a strangely comforting yet an eerie atmosphere. Inside this cabin a simple wooden table and chair sat near the fireplace. And on the other side in the wall, a mirror hung, its surface slightly tarnished and framed by weathered wood.
In front of the mirror stood Zhylax, He was shaky on his feet, with his body that is marked with bruises and cuts from the recent incident. His cloak hung loosely from his shoulders, and his dull sword was sheathed at his side. His eyes, filled with confusion and a hint of fear, stared into the mirror, trying to piece together the fragments of his remaining memories.
The door to the cabin creaked open, and the old man entered. His figure was shadowed in the doorway, carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups. He had an unreadable expression, his gaze sharp as he observed Zhylax that is standing before the mirror.
Zhylax's reflection caught sight of the old man's entrance, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he kept his eyes on the mirror, pretending to study his own face. The old man approached slowly, setting the tray on the table near the fire, the sound of the teapot clinking on the wood the only noise breaking the heavy silence.
Zhylax's hand gripped the edge of the mirror's frame, steadying himself as memories of the former Zhylax flickered through his mind. He saw flashes of the faces of his fallen companions, the reward money that had driven them here, and the treacherous old man who had killed them.
But he forced himself to maintain the facade of confusion.
The old man's voice cut through Zhylax's thoughts, low and deliberate. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Zhylax finally turned to face him with his smiling face, but underneath the smile is frustration and fear. "Nothin..." he replied.
The old man studied him for a moment longer, then nodded, as if accepting Zhylax's response. He then gestured to the table where the tea was waiting. "Come and drink—It might help you become calm, and also mind telling me what happened?"
As the old man turned his back for just a moment placing the tray with the tea on the table, Zhylax seized his opportunity.
'This may be a stupid idea, but let me give it a try.' Zhylax thought while his heart pounded, but his movements were precise and calculated. With a fluid motion, he unsheathed his dull sword. The old man barely had time to react as the young man spoke, with his voice calm and controlled.
"Sword art of the Hyui Mercenaries, First Movement—Thrust of No Mercy."
The Sword Art of the Hyui Mercenaries was a 3 stars technique passed by the group the former Zhylax was affiliated with. The First Movement, Thrust of No Mercy, was designed to be lethal, focusing all of the user's strength and mana into a single, unstoppable thrust. It was an attack that allowed no time for the enemy to defend, intending to pierce through armor, flesh and bone in one strike.
Zhylax's body produce a blue hue and became a blur as he lunged forward, with his dull sword aimed straight for the old man's heart. The thrust was so fast and precise that the old man, though seasoned in battle, barely managed to avoid it. The blade slit his side, cutting deep into his flesh and tearing through his robes—Blood began to seep from the wound, staining his robes into crimson.
The old man took a step back, with a mixture of pain, excitement, and shock on his face. His eyes narrowed as he clutched his side, feeling the warm blood trickling between his fingers.
"Oh my my!" he said calmly with a smile of worry.
Knowing he had no time to waste, the old man raised his hand, ready to counterattack, he then began chanting. "With this aura of mine, may you hear my command—Thunder Bolts of Cavuso!"
Once again, lightning crackled on his fingers before he unleashed the attack, directing the full force of the lightning towards Zhylax.
Zhylax's eyes widened as the bolts of lightning surged toward him, "What in the!" he said with a smile of worry. Within seconds, he quickly raised his dull sword to block the attack.
The lightning struck the blade with a deafening crash, sending shockwaves through Zhylax body. The force of the attack was overwhelming, sending Zhylax's body sent through the cabin wall.
The cabin wall shattered as Zhylax's body was sent flying outside, just when he was about to hit the ground he manage to pick up something.
When Zhylax body hit the ground hard, pain was exploding through his already tired body—and his dull sword, which had taken the impact of the lightning, shattered snapping it into two.
Gasping for breath, Zhylax struggled to his knees, his vision blurred from the impact. 'I need to run, if I want to survive in this place—Zhylax current strength isn't enough to defeat this guy.' he thought.
Despite the pain, he noticed that the old man was injured as well due to his tired breathings that seems like he ran out of mana.
"Looks like you're close to your end." Zhylax said with a grinning face.
"You're quite the cocky type, even though of what happened earlier."
"Aren't you also a cocky one?"
The wound from Zhylax's thrust and the 3rd rated spell that the old man uses two times in a row had finally taken its toll, and he was clearly weakened.
'A good opportunity to run, I'm sorry former Zhylax—but I must first survive in order to fullfil your wishes—and the attack earlier also cost a lot of mana.'
Zhylax then reach his hand to the stone he had picked up earlier, with a flick of his wrist—he tossed it to the side where dust was gathered because of the impact making it clatter against some debris. The old man's vision was clearly blocked by the gathered dust, thus the noise that the stone made caught his attention, his eyes then shift towards the sound.
"I'll have you know that even in my weakened state, I could crush you like a bug." The old man said while preparing another bolts of lightning, but this time it's weaker.
Zhylax noticed that the old man was preparing to launch an attack to other side, seizing the moment, Zhylax prepared to make a run for it. But before he could act, a low, scary growl was heard from the forest.
There, a shadow of an enormous beast that had the body of a monstrous wolf, and with its fur that resembles of a tiger emerged. But what was most terrifying for both of them was the head of this beast that resembles the head of a dragon, with sharp fangs and eyes burned with a blue fire.
Both men froze as the ground beneath them seemed to tremble.
"A bad timing for you to wake up, I've been hiding from you this past few days—stealing resources from fools who is fooled by the treasure I made up, all thanks to the wound you give me." The old man said with a smiling face that looks like he finally accepted his death.
The beast look onto the pathetic old man, with its breath hot as it stared to the weakened old man. Zhylax, who was about to run felt a cold dread settle over him making him froze on the spot.
For a moment, Zhylax and the old man both realized that they were no longer each other's primary threat.
The monstrous creature, a living embodiment of death, The famous Tidrag beast that ruled the Infamous Lawless Island for years stood between them.