The village of Liberbet, a place of great freedom and no leaders eventually came to a horrifying conclusion. Everything around was on fire...building, trees, housing that had been built over the years and people's labor turned to ash in an instant. And as Silius tries to get to the blacksmith. The man in the blindfold has long since fought Syrltan's men with whom he effortlessly felled to the ground with his techniques.
— Damn... How many times? You don't let me work properly and then finally sleep! You're like ants, you just keep coming and coming. — he was really pissed off, because as long as he lived in this neighborhood, it was always the hooligan gang of big black-brow that caused problems. Although in the past they weren't so serious and noisy this time they had gone overboard. The same ones continued to attack the terracotta haired man even though Half of them lay down.
— Have you sold your last brains that you decided to undermine the whole village? — the blacksmith asked them.
— Shut your mouth! We'll wipe you out!
— You'll be crawling at Syrltan's feet!
— Yes, we'll smear you! You piece of shit! — one of them held up his hands and pounced on Saif, then immediately fell face-first to the ground because of a sharp kick from his opponent.
— Well, well, well, — Saif sighed, already completely tired of all this. — well, as I understand it, they sold it.
Resuming the fight, the gang gathered to attack in a horde, and seeing their seemingly trivial plan, the man in the bandage stood up and said — Continuus!!! — all those who were close to him within a radius of 60 meters fell lightning fast as if by a chain, forming a kind of connection he with his sword found their open points, which with ease cut like thread. And those who remained frightened began to run away, finally deciding that they could not defeat him. But no matter how hard the blacksmith tried to defeat them all, the explosions were still going on.
— Is it the end of Lieberbeth? — he thought aloud — I've spent five years on this. — after standing and nostalgic about the past, Saif went to his house to pack his things, realizing that this place could not be returned and only he wanted to do it when a powerful explosion occurred in his house. And it was at that moment that terracotta hair went in it. Everything collapsed completely.
From afar, Syrtlan appeared near house, laughing heartily at this performance.
— Pahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! That's it, it's over for the mole and this place, let everything burn with fire!!!! — he turned to his brothers. — Listen up! Before everything here is ruined, take whatever you want and go to another area where there's more money to be made.
— Yes! — they shouted in unison, going in different directions.
Syrtlan was hit by a sharp weapon that almost hit him as he managed to shield his sword-club. And at the same moment, another attack is applied, as a result of which the bezokiy blacksmith and more-eyebrow crossed with their weapons.
— Still able to stand after being blown up? — the leader of the gang said haughtily and sadly.
— I don't think you've learned anything from our counting meetings. — he grinned, bleeding. Syrltan growled and was about to strike when Silius flew at them both from the sky, screaming, hitting them with his body.
— Ouch! It's a shame, I should have never gone on the rooftops in the first place, I knew they were exploding. I guess it was quicker than I planned, though.
— Hey! Get off me!
— Oh, Saif, and I just came to your rescue. — he said, getting up.
— I don't need any help. — correcting himself, terracotta hair looked at Syrtlan, who was setting his neck in the distance, spitting out blood.
— Every time I see you, you little fucking bastard, you bring me nothing but failures!!! — seriously angry, big black-browed attacked Silius. Saif immediately reacted and protected him with a Cruent. Without thinking twice, the boy with the bandage on his neck blurted out — Doubl neart! — after which, while he was fighting with Saif, he punched more-eyebrow in the head with all his might, however, he managed to react and covered his blow with his left hand, but it was not there. His hand broke, which caused him to start screaming in pain, moving away from these two back.
— Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! My arm! Bastard! I'll make you all suffer! There's nothing you can do! There's nothing to save this village!!!!
— Uh...by the way, have you noticed that the explosions have stopped? — Silius suddenly said during the battle. Two of them didn't pay attention to the third's meaningless question at first, but then they listened and it was true.
— Who?! Who dare?! It's impossible!!!!!! — screamed the leader of the gang.
— Did you arrange this? — the blacksmith asked the young man next to him, to which he received a negative answer.
— It was us chalkies. — suddenly, many silhouettes appeared in the distance. The three grandmothers that Silius had recently rescued stood in front of them all.
The battling crowd was staring at each other in complete shock. It turned out that while they were fully immersed in the battle, the whole village had gathered.
— We're tired of your antics, Syrtlan. We couldn't do anything to you before. You were stronger than us because of your father, but now we have decided to unite and punish you and your gang. — said the second old woman.
— When there was a rout in Liberbet, we — pointing to myself and two grannies — took charge! It's hard to believe it's been so long and we've changed. But now it will be finished!
Some of the crowd sprang forward a troop of big-browed men who were tied up.
— My brothers! — Syrtlan shouted.
— Yes! We got them all. Give up already, it's over. — said the third grandmother.
— You know, as long as I've lived here, this place still amazes me. — Saif said, still shocked by the situation.
— How cool! — admiring Silius didn't comment on his words.
— Yeah, I see what you're saying.
— No, no, no, no! You can't! You're all nothing compared to me! And your village is a shithole, you'll all die!!! — shouted Syrltan, Breaking out in anger
And then Cruenta flies into him, hitting him in the chin, causing him to pass out, feeling pain from the sharp hilt of sword.
— He's been causing a lot of chaos around here. — yawning as if nothing had happened, Saif picked his weapon back up.
— Wow, — Silius was taken aback. — You must be practicing a lot
— I'm a swordsman, too.
Here three grannies approached them both.
— Here we are again. It must be some kind of blessing for us to have you here. Thank you very much, — thanked the first grandmother, followed by the other two. — We will not stand aside and with all our remaining years we will try to fix this village and of course we will thank you properly.
— You're the ones who saved the village. We were just eliminating interference. — said the bezokiy blacksmith.
— Let's get your wounds healed, Latifah Lind come here, please!
— Oh! Latifah. — was surprised at the young man with the bandage around his neck.
— Do you know her? — Saif asked.
— I went to see her the other day. — he answered and waited for her to see if she was okay.
— Silius I'm so glad you're okay. — she came running a first aid kit.
— Me too. — he smiled sincerely.
— Wait, young man, where are you going? You need to heal your wounds. — the girl turned to Saif.
— I can do it myself. — the blacksmith went to the wreckage of his house, and Latifah marveled at his terrible appearance, but she had nothing to do but accept it, for she had no intention of forcing him.
— All right, let's take a look at you. Wow, you're all bandaged up. I didn't realize it before. — she said anxiously to the young man.
— Don't worry, I've had a lot of things happen to me, — he said, — You'd better tell me what the three aunts meant about his father. — he was curious.
— Oh, it's a long story about the problem with this place, — Latifah said sadly as she continued to bandage him. — I was in my teens then....
————— It all started with us living normally and quietly in one town far away from us, but due to coincidences Liberbet was sold and we began to live under the control of Syrtlan's father, whose name was Ernst Zhanyl. He was very demanding and strict. If anyone broke the rules, even the most innocuous ones, he was immediately punished. But if you tried hard they could be followed easily, but unfortunately, or even for some reason these rules did not apply to the family of the leader himself. And like a little child Syrtlan did whatever he wanted with his mother, who always allowed him. That's how they and we lived, until Fuskus came. It was unknown to everyone how this young demon, not yet known in the district, got to court, but in the future, the Imp Alius, out of his whim, killed Syrtlan's father and mother, he himself was not around then. Somewhere walking somewhere, the boy learned of their deaths after he returned home. Probably because of despair and pain he began to demand revenge and find the murderer, but no one listened to him, and the leadership of the village was temporarily given to three young women who were the best in the village. After a few years Syrtlan grew up and continued to make trouble in the village, and the temporary leadership ceased to exist because of age, which was forbidden by another town. Further we became just tools for mining, so no one cared about the leadership here anymore. —————
As she finished her story, she didn't notice how she had time to not only check all the wounds, but also sew up the hole in his clothes.
— So I'm all done. Try to be careful with your injuries in the future. You should value your body, because it will be impossible to return it to its former state, and the wounds you have inflicted will remain in the form of scars.
"Good thing she doesn't know I can regenerate." — ran through his head.
— I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you for everything. — Silius said as he left for Saif's place. She saw him off with a sad, smiling look.
"Ah, I forgot to ask her what kind of Imp Alius is." — thought the young man with the bandage on his neck. Walking further and finding the blacksmith himself, who was already self-bandaged and cleaned of blood he approached him, warding off the thoughts.
— Well, I take it the work is on hold?
— Uh, no. I've already finished it. I just need to look for it. — the man in the blindfold fiddled with the remaining debris, some of which was still burning.
— Wow you made the jewelry box so fast!
— Of course you said small. It's just hard to find it in this mess. Good thing it's iron and won't break. I guess.
— I'll help. — Silius joined in, to which Saif said nothing.
— Is this it? — showing terracotta to volos some kind of box.
— Nope.
And this one?
— That's not it either.
— Maybe it's…
— Stop! You better stand by me and I'll find him myself. — irritated, he stood up and began to survey the entire area of destruction.
— All right, — Silius became sad, but immediately returned to normal, — Listen, what are you going to do now?
— Like what. I'll spend a few years building my house and shop again. And sell swords, armor, that sort of thing, just like before.
— I know a much fun way! Would you like to travel with me?
The terracotta haired man said nothing, continuing to look for the box.
— I've already told you why I wander. There's a lot I want to see and learn. But traveling alone is kind of lonely, to be honest, and not fun. No matter how many times I ask someone to travel with me, there's always something holding them back. And as it happens, don't you want to see something new in your life? What's your dream or your goal, Saif?
Bezokiy blacksmith scratching his hair, sighed.
— My goal is to create my own unique weapon that will make me stronger.
— The world will give you a lot of things to make you strong. And there are plenty of opponents to meet along the way... What is your answer?
Saif thought silently. Abruptly, as if knowing the direction, he picked up a nearby boulder and found the box. Taking it in his hands, he handed it to Silius and said — All right, let's see what happens. — smiling.
Silius accepted the box and smiled back.
— Only I'm going to sleep first. — The blacksmith replied sharply, passing out completely in the ruins of the house.
— What? — Silius was stunned, — Is he even comfortable sleeping like that? — he sat down next to him, not knowing what to do, and began to think about his own thoughts.
The next day, as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, they left the village.
— I've prepared everything I need. What about you? You're not taking anything? — the man in the blindfold asked Silius.
— I originally only had my wallet, and my pockets.
— Well, let's go, then.
— Wait, wait! — Latifah ran toward them — she gave Silius a bag of food and clothes. — I decided to bring you the necessary things for your journey, after all, you have helped us a lot. Now we can live peacefully in this village and everyone is helping each other now. Good luck on your adventures!
— See you again! — waving to the girl, Silius went into the forest together with the bezokiy blacksmith.
***
Already deep in the forest, which beckoned with its beauty showing green leaves and beautiful plants, terracotta hair man stopped. Silius no longer heard the footsteps behind him turned around, meeting his face with the point of his friend's knife as it seemed to him. This situation was unforeseen for the young man.
— Saif, what are you doing? — he asked.
— What? You thought we were friends now. And I won't do that? A naive creature.
— Are you going to kill me for not being human?
— You could say that, — Saif pressed harder on his neck with his sword, hoping to see expressions of fear or despair at such a despicable act, but the man stared resolutely at the bandage and made no attempt to resist. After standing for such a pressurized atmosphere, the blacksmith put his weapon away, to which the man smiled. — I didn't expect you to trust me so much. You didn't do anything, did you know I was testing you?
— I just feel that you're a good man and you won't hurt me, but you could have for so many meetings, — the boy replied, and he grinned. — And yes, I have a question for you. Why didn't you say my name once during our conversation?
The blacksmith flinched, but quickly replied — There was no need. Shall we go now?
Silius didn't give up on that. — Saif, please tell me my name, — he heard silence in response. — Hahahahahahahaha! — The boy with the bandage on his neck started laughing, which made that a little embarrassed.
— Stop laughing! Yes, I don't remember names well, but some people no likewise, don't they?
— Okay, okay, — he calmed down, — But, if anything, when you call me for help, describe my appearance if my name is hard to remember phahahaha! — the terracotta haired man couldn't stand it and ran after him.
— This time I definitely want to kill you!
— I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't do it again!!! — he laughed and ran away scared.
Stopping their fooling around, they took a breath.
— We've gotten far enough away from the village now where are we going? — Saif spoke.
— This time we'll go to my hideout. — answered the man.
— Is he really somewhere nearby? — the blacksmith was trying to find him, turning his head.
— No, I just have this. He took a crystal out of his pocket, holding the box with his other hand.
Saif didn't understand at first how the small pebble would help them, but then he took a good look at the color of the mineral, which was tinted brown-gold with red strange patterns.
— Is it really Sekedo? It is one of the most expensive stones and an outlandish stone. You can use it to teleport to a place you fix on it. Where did you find it?
— I was just walking around, then I flew somewhere and found it like this. We're going to go there now, and there are some more of these stones.
— You mean, what else do you have?! — still not believing my blindfold.
— I didn't realize how to use it until I found some records near them, but practice makes perfect. I even moved to different areas a few times, but as they say practice makes the best. Stay close, we're about to be teleported. You just have to freeze for ten seconds, which is frustrating.
— So you needed the chest for the crystal?
— Yeah, this crystal isn't that strong, so he's safer in it. — he shoved the pebble into the box, holding it open, and said, — Refuge! — after a few seconds, they both moved to a place unknown to Saif.
Looking around, he began to study the area, but as soon as he spotted the edge, he was amazed.
— We're on a freakin' flying island! How high up are we that we can only see the clouds? Now I understand what you said about flying. What I don't understand is, how did that happen?
— Uh...
————— After Silius left Milesir he traveled to Liberbet, but on the way he met two Fuscus: a man and a girl, who hid their wings and horns when they landed. But the young man had time to notice it and Aylan immediately realized from the horns and wings that they were Guardians on the third step. Seeing the witness, the demons immediately pounced on him and used their strength to throw him into the air. Silius had no time to do anything, everything happened too fast. And so flying in an unknown direction, he fell not down, and found himself on the air surface, which confused him and opening his eyes he found that he was on a flying island. —————
— Gee... what strange adventures you've had before. Those Fuscus are bound to be caught. Things have been a little rough lately. — Saif listened to him as he surveyed his surroundings.
The area was full of trees and various bushes, even some rare and dangerous ones. What stood out the most was that the island itself was as if broken off from some part of it. The surface itself was also strange here, because it was not clear whether the ground was held in the air by magic or something else.
— And where is your home here? — the blacksmith asked.
— Ah, come on, I'll show you. — and waving their hands, they headed towards the center. And when they got to the area, terracotta hair man was speechless for a few seconds.
— You call this home?! — pointing with the palm of his hand to a small place in the shape of a tent.
— I just don't know how to build a building so I lived in this one. — he smiled awkwardly.
— I think I know what I'm gonna do now. Good thing i brought your axe and other supplies. Come with me now we'll build it together. I still have the blueprints from the last one I built.
— Great! — Silius shouted happily.
Together they began to create their own shelter. In some places, Saif explained to Silius what was being done and even once asked if he could lift a lot of planks with magic. To which he replied no. Since he does not have such power, and that he still has a lot to learn myself how to use it. Thus, several days passed and finally they completed half of the construction, which was originally enough for them: 3 rooms and an enclosed space.
— Oh, finally a new home! — falling on the grass said Silius.
— Don't relax early. We're missing a lot of things, especially furniture.
— By the way, I almost forgot to give it to you, — he stood up and handed the pebble to Saif. — These crystals are a little farther from the new house, and there's a single narrow path to it. I broke off a piece for you, you know how to use it, don't you?
— Not much is known about this stone in the books, how to use it. Is it necessary to fix it in this place now?
— Don't worry, I've already done it for you. You just have to repeat Refuge and you will be teleported to the court, and if you have to go down, you have to say Sekedo. I invented the first word and the second word is probably the basis for it, as it was written in the record of one. To register you just have to touch the pattern on it by saying the words and it will activate, changing the pattern. I tried two times to register with one stone, but it seems to be a one-man stone and can only move to the island and back to the land where you were originally. How it recognizes this I have no idea.
— All right, now let's drop off the stuff we were given. Where are they, by the way?
— Now, — Silius went to the tree where the things were lying — Huh? Saif...
— What?
— Uh, they're missing. — the blacksmith came up, not believing his eyes.
—...So it turns out we're not the only ones here. — Saif readied his sword.
— I've spent a lot of time here and no one's ever been here. At least not that I've seen, — Silius looked around and noticed something in the clouds, — So there they are! How did they get there? — he quickly rushed toward them.
— Catch them! Or they'll fall through the clouds! It's impossible to stay without food after a long day's work! — Saif ran after them.
Silius decided to jump on one of the clouds — Wow soft. I think I was supposed to fall. What a strange world. — he didn't stay there long and started to move as his foot started to fall down. Saif, on the other hand, had already gotten all the way to the groceries. — Here, take one bag. — they both ran back to the island.
— Whew... — they exhaled simultaneously, falling to the floor.
— How did this happen at all I remember exactly that they were near the tree. — said Silius.
— Strange... — Saif realized after a while that the bag was somehow lighter than before. Looking inside, the bezokiy blacksmith saw almost nothing there, especially two bottles of water. — Silus! — he emitted angrily.
— Eheheh, — he smiled innocently at the one that had caused him to get hit on the head, — Ouch!... I was just hungry. I haven't eaten in a while, and when I did, I couldn't help but eat almost everything and then I got thirsty. I'm sorry.
— And as I understand it, because the bags were light and the wind was blowing hard, they rolled to the edge and the clouds pushed them away. Now it all adds up. Well, at least you left me something. — taking a loaf of bread, Saif began to eat it.
— We're going downstairs now anyway. We'll buy it there. — said Silius.
— And where are we going? Do you even have a map?
— ...
— And you've been traveling without a map all this time?! — Saif's amazement was to the extreme.
— The card costs too much. So I figured that's fine.
— You can rejoice, I have one. — the bezokiy blacksmith, began to rummage in his bag, where he found a large paper and, laying it on the ground, unfolded it.
— Whoo! Is this our world? Oh! This island looks like a crab, that one looks like a dragon. Here's another with wings, a chicken, a butterfly, a heart, and a screaming skull, — still not having seen enough, he continued to voice all the islands — Weird. And why in some areas marked different crossed swords and there's a cloud on top, near the three countries? — pointing at these objects, he asked.
— The crossed swords are where the prominent wars between the edges were fought and probably the bloodiest. An obscure cloud-shaped hazy place. It's the part that no one but the rulers can be in. And those who tried, disappeared without a trace. In short, there are those there who rule our countries. But how they didn't bite each other there, I don't understand. So, uh. If we use the Sekedo Stone, we teleport back to where we were originally? — Silius nodded. — So we're about here. This time we'd better go to some big city to buy everything we need and then travel on. I have savings so we can buy almost anything.
— I have mone-. Oh, that's right, my wallet was stolen. — Silius remembered.
— I'm surprised you'd be robbed at all. But nothing. The lost is always there, even if not to its owners.
— Alright, let's go here then. — Silius pointed his finger at a certain section of the diagram, which the map magically zoomed in on.
— To the town of Locustitle? You know that place?
— Uh-uh. I just randomized it.
— Okay...but since you said so, let's go there.
After gathering everything they needed and putting their belongings in their new home, they set off.