The merchant and the inquisitors exchanged heated words while Kai braced himself, his body reinforced with every drop of strengthening magic he could muster.
Through Hunter's eyes, he watched as one of the inquisitors, scarred and bearded, pressed a heavy hand against the lid of the barrel.
"Shut up. Either you've stolen it, or-"
Kai didn't let him finish. With every ounce of his magically enhanced strength, he kicked outward, shattering the barrel into a storm of wooden splinters. The force sent shards flying like daggers, embedding themselves deep into the inquisitor's face.
"Fuck!" he howled, clutching his bleeding cheeks. "That must be him!"
Kai leaped from the wagon, his feet skidding on the compacted snow. He barely caught himself before tumbling forward. His limbs still throbbed from the earlier battle, especially his broken arm, his body protesting with every movement. But there was no time to hesitate.
'Stronger than I look, right? Do I run? Fight?'
The merchant shrieked in terror and sprinted away, prioritising his life and abandoning his cargo and the inquisitors to their fight.
"The kid's strong! Don't let him touch you!" one of the inquisitors barked, yanking a crossbow from his back and loading a bolt.
'Hunter. Come!'
Kai's mental command summoned his thrall like a phantom appearing in the night. Hunter blurred into existence and snatched the bolt mid-flight, letting it drop uselessly to the snow before sprinting toward the wounded inquisitor, both knives gleaming in his grip.
Once Hunter reached the prone inquisitor, he drove both knives into his chest.
"A hunter? What the hell is he doing with the kid?"
Another inquisitor raised his hands, his form exploding with blinding divine light. When the radiance faded, he stood clad in heavy white armour. Summoned or conjured from some other dimension, a tower shield rested in one hand and a gleaming mace in the other.
'Hey, now. That's more like a paladin than an inquisitor. That's cheating! Fighting people who have gods on their side... This sucks.'
The now-armoured inquisitor approached Kai with the knight approaching from the other side, trying to box him in.
Kai gritted his teeth and summoned an image in his mind—thick walls of ice encasing the knight on all sides. He felt the pulse of life essence leaving him as he cast the spell.
"Ice Prison!"
Thick walls of frost erupted around the knight, sealing him within a frozen cage.
Kai turned his focus to another inquisitor, who smirked as he extended his hands.
'Another spell?'
The air twisted. A jagged tear in space split open beside him, and from within, a flame-covered reptile slithered into reality, its body radiating blistering heat.
"A lizard?"
"It's a Salamander, brat! Get him, Sal!"
The beast reared back, its throat swelling with liquid fire before unleashing a stream of searing flames.
Kai barely managed to throw himself out of the way, his left leg still catching fire before rolling across the scorched earth where the snow had instantly evaporated. He doused the fire with snow before it could spread. His vision swam, his body screaming in protest as the accumulated injuries slowed him down.
'They're stronger than the others. I got lucky before. No, that's not it. I just killed them before they had time to stop underestimating me.'
"Hey, we're on the same team here!" an inquisitor protested, dodging attacks from Hunter.
Hunter slashed at one of the inquisitors, his movements sluggish compared to before.
'I can't seem to make him fight the way he did before I bound him. And he's slowing down, too. Do I need to level up the spell? Or do I just lack control?'
"It's the kid! He's done something to him! Subdue him! Tie him up! We'll see if he can be saved back in the citadel." the knight shouted, shattering his icy prison with brute force.
"You don't get to take him!" Kai roared. "He hasn't paid for what he's done!"
Kai saw red. Rage boiled inside him, twisting through his veins like a living force.
He coated himself in Shade, reinforcing his body beyond anything he had attempted before.
Before the inquisitor could react, Kai appeared in front of him and drove his fist deep into the man's abdomen. The warmth of fresh blood coated his skin as the inquisitor let out a strangled gasp.
"What I've done? You talk about dreams and friends," Kai hissed, "but you murder children and call me a monster?" He twisted his hand inside the wound. "I kill monsters like you."
The inquisitor clamped down on his wrist, holding him in place.
"Kill him!" he croaked.
Kai struggled, his body wracked with exhaustion. His spell-weakened limbs wouldn't move fast enough before the knight's mace slammed into his side.
Pain unlike anything he had ever felt exploded through him. His ribs cracked, his body flung through the air like a rag-doll. He crashed into the wagon, the impact sending another lance of agony through his already broken body.
The pain made him vomit. The last meal he had with Rhea and the rest now coloured the snow with a bronze colour, speckled with red.
'Blood. I might not even live if I escape.'
Examining the field, he saw the salamander retreat back to where it came from now that its owner was dead.
'One less obstacle, but it won't help. I can't fight the three of them like this.'
He barely had the strength to push himself up. Kai staggered to his feet.
He had to run.
'Run, you stupid legs, run!'
The enemies outnumbered. He wouldn't escape with him, but that also gave Kai a chance.
He quickly stabilised his body by tightly wrapping himself in Shade. His bones groaned in protest, but he persisted.
Faster than the enemy could predict, Kai turned and fled, bolting toward the thick forest ahead. The cold air burned his lungs, his feet barely keeping him upright. Blood trailed from his side, dripping onto the snow as he stumbled forward.
Behind him, one of the inquisitors started after him, only for another to pull him back.
"Don't go in there! That's arcane beast territory. He'll be dead before sunrise."