In an attempt to help a woman groaning in pain, Tye got tricked by her and was now being raised up against a wall by her hand.
Filled in pain, he wasn't sure of what to do. Especially in the dim lit cave with corpses scattered around.
And his confusion only worsened due to the woman's question
"How would you like to die?" In a cold and spine chilling voice, Tye shook in fear.
Whoever this woman was, she has clearly consumed the fruit that uniquely grows in Blood Forest, Kiltar.
"What are you?—" Tye, before he could question further, was slammed to the floor.
Falling hard onto his arm and bruising his leg, he began to crawl away from her.
"How would you like to—" As the woman was about to go on, Tye interrupted rushing to his feet in agony
"How would YOU like to die?"
He drew his sword and stared at her, breathing hard.
She only gazed back at him and tilted her head and replied
"You're... You're different."
"What?!" Tye furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Why have you refused to kill me?"
Tye became even more perturbed.
The woman continued, almost as if she gained some sanity
"People come here and try to kill me. I kill them instead." She said as she pointed to corpses behind Tye.
He was ashened as he noticed that there were bodies of dead knights and people that look like budding adventures.
"I-I didn't mean to. They came and disturbed and..."
Tye turned back to her stiffened.
"What do you remember?"
Tye inquired with a fearful look on his face.
The woman began to think deeply as she just stared at the floor.
She stared for so long, Tye slowly began to back off from her in an attempt to run.
Then he turned and quickened his steps to get away from her, until he heard her say
"A deity."
Tye froze and turned flummoxed
"A deity?" Tye asked.
The woman continued
"I was a wife to a man that could withstand this fruit's side effects."
Tye was now even more confused.
The woman he saw moments ago that was completely amok trying to bury people but had nothing in hand.
The woman that almost killed him moments ago.
That same woman was now recalling things as if she was normal.
"Who was this deity?"
"I...I can't remember..."
Tye was disheartened at the words.
And for some reason, she is one of the only people that had some remaining self-awareness, just like the men he met in a cave before.
"How did you get here?!—"
Just before Tye could inquire further, he heard footsteps that made his own feet to shake and twitch.
Dashing to a corner that had rocks scattered with boulders, he hid between them with his blood pumping.
There came into the cave people in cloaks and masks.
In a low but eloquent tone, one of the masked figures said to the woman
"Can you now remember things more properly?"
The woman only backed away from him without answer.
The one that spoke signaled the others to go to go to her.
When they reached, the woman tried running but the masked figures caught up to her and tied her hands.
As there were five masked figures, two were holding her hands on opposite ends and another two were holding her legs at opposite ends.
Tye was watching completely baffled. His feet and hands began to sweat as he watched intently.
Then the masked person giving orders went up to the woman and asked again
"Can you remember anything?"
At his question, she became enraged and tried to free herself.
Then the men that were holding her used another hand that with a gauntlet with spikes and pierced hard onto her skin, spewing out blood.
The woman groaned in pain at their torture.
Tye had his eyes wide opened at the sight, making him disturbed.
Now that Tye observed closely, this wasn't the first time this was happening.
He noticed that there were several injuries that looked like spikes had caused them before.
For some reason, he felt he couldn't stay and watch.
He either needed to run off to a nearby cave that was within the one they were all in, or fight these people and run off.
While still observing, he saw them force the fruit of Blood Forest into the woman's mouth.
The sight made him all the more confused.
Seeing all this really made him to want to run away, but seeing how this woman wasn't killed off compared to the dozen other corpses scattered around made him wonder.
And whoever this 'deity' was, Tye needed to know.
And the mention of a 'deity' reminds him of when he first came to this village and saw people offering sacrifices and prayers to a 'deity'.
And this woman was—currently—his best bet at knowing anything more about this deity.
Then the man giving orders was about to strike his hand at her, stopped as he heard footsteps behind him.
The sound was a shock for him, cause no one was to know about this place.
Looking back with rage, he saw a tall figure with a black hood, wielding a sword.
The man filled with shock, yelled
"How did you get here?!"
Tye replied, glaring at him
"Dare to know?"
***
"Who sent you?!" Kti shouted at the assassins that surrounded him, Lina and Yiss.
Then one replied
"Why do you want to know? You'll be dying anyways."
His words made Lina's body to tremble.
She shot her eyes towards Yiss and remembered how before they arrived at Blood Forest, they had a bag contained with materials that could inflict harm of the target.
But from the problem they had with Dil up until this point, they didn't even realise when they lost all of it.
This reality made them feel more insecure all the more.
While still thinking, an assassin had gotten closer to her and lunged his fist with brass knuckles towards her, sending her to the ground.
Yiss tried defending herself against the same assassin that took down Lina, but was punched down as well.
While Kti was keeping his own against two other assassins, he caught a glimpse amidst all the chaos.
They were losing. And they were losing fast.
Lina and Yiss both on the floor, saw the assassin towering over them.
"This is easy." The assassin said to himself.
As Kti was seeing this, he got distracted and had his chest slashed.
Jumping back filled in pain, he clutched his chest and looked at the situation around him.
If they don't leave this place, they'll all die and the Rogues will be destroyed before they could even get started.
As much as he was a heartless guy, he couldn't help but pity Yiss and Lina.
But there was nothing he could do.
Two assassins with swords and daggers were rushing towards him.
Grimacing at the situation, he sighed ready to accept death.
Until something strange caught his eye.
The assassin that was about killing Lina and Yiss was now on the floor, groaning in pain.
As he observed, Yiss was completely ashened as Yiss looked at the body and looked at Lina, who was towering over the dead body.
And Lina was without emotion on her face.
The other assassins noticed and ran towards them.
"Lina!—" Kti screamed as she was about to be attacked.
Then Lina bent down, stretched out her hand with a sword and spun around in great speed, tearing open the assassin's guts as they rushed towards her.
Kti was completely shocked as he was staring at Lina.
A once helpless woman turned killer machine.
What disturbed Kti was how Lina only stood in place, frozen, staring at the bodies as if nothing happened.
Kti began to stammer
"H-how?! B-but you're weak?!"
Lina glared at him and replied
"Isn't it obvious? There are more coming."
Kti was sent aback as on a second's notice, there emerged eight other assassins from the shadows of the trees.