Meanwhile, elsewhere, at the same time as Abail and Nazzares were attacked by the terrifying Raksha, four people were seen in the forest. Their attire resembled that of royal soldiers, complete with swords and shields. They were indeed soldiers of the Majapahit kingdom, currently stationed in the Blora forest area, which had recently been a hotspot for strange occurrences.
"Captain, we have searched this area, and there is nothing suspicious," one of the soldiers reported to their captain.
"Alright, you all stay here..." Before the captain could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a strange aura surrounding the forest.
"Captain, what's wrong?" One of the soldiers, confused by the captain's sudden silence, asked.
"You wait here for a moment! I will be right back," the captain said, and without warning, he darted away at incredible speed, like the wind, leaving the other three soldiers behind.
"Captain...!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, staring in disbelief as their captain disappeared in an instant.
Meanwhile, the captain continued running at high speed, weaving between the towering trees of the forest.
WHOOSH..!!
As he got closer to the Raksha's presence, he was shocked by what he saw. A man was being choked by the Raksha, and a young child was lying on the ground, blood pouring from a head wound. Incredibly fast, the captain darted forward and struck the monster with his sword.
WHOOSH..!!
SLASHH..!!
He sliced off the Raksha's arm, and the elderly man collapsed to the ground. "CRASH!" The man breathed a sigh of relief as the Raksha's arm was severed and he fell.
"ARGHH..!!" The Raksha's scream echoed, and without hesitation, the captain immediately finished the monster off with a swift strike. The Raksha's body was cleaved in two. SLASHH, and green blood sprayed from its body. As the Raksha's body hit the ground, it slowly began to disintegrate, turning into ashes and dissipating in the air.
"Captain..!!" A voice called out from afar. It was one of the soldiers chasing after him, panting heavily from the sprint.
The captain, seeing his subordinate approaching, said, "I told you to wait here, didn't I?"
"Forgive us, Captain, but you often disappear, leaving us ordinary humans behind," the soldier replied.
"Alright, take the child and the man back to the village, quickly," the captain ordered.
"Understood," the soldiers responded respectfully.
The injured Abail was then escorted back to his house by the royal soldiers, along with the bloodied Nazzares.
As night fell, Nazzares remained unconscious until the evening. However, with his father's medical treatment, his wounds healed rapidly. When Nazzares woke up, he found himself lying in bed, his head wrapped in bandages, accompanied by a dull ache in his head.
"AGHH..!! It hurts so much. What happened?" he muttered in confusion, trying to bear the pain in his head. Then he called out to his father, "Father! Father!" His voice was still hoarse.
Abail appeared at the door. "Yes, my son. Go back to sleep. You're still recovering," he said as he approached his only child.
"Alright... but... I'm really hungry," Nazzares replied.
Seeing his son's pale face as he longed for food, Abail immediately called out to his future daughter-in-law. "Kandita..!! Bring some food, please..!"
Upon hearing her future father-in-law's words, Kandita responded, "Alright, Father," as she prepared the food in the room behind.
Kandita entered the room, carrying food, and as she saw Nazzares, tears welled up in her eyes, and she suddenly said, "Ha... I thought you were going to die! Haaaaa!" Her cry broke out.
"Hey..! What's all this?" Nazzares said, feeling both confused and moved.
Still weak, Nazzares couldn't feed himself, so Kandita fed him. While eating, he paused for a moment and asked his father, "Father, who helped us back there?" he asked, recalling the events in the forest.
Abail, while puffing on his pipe, answered, "He's a Fatalis from the kingdom."
Nazzares, upon hearing this, fell silent and continued eating, receiving bites from his future wife with care.
___~V~___
Meeting with the Elf
The next morning, Zares woke up with a lingering dizziness in his head.
"Aarhkk," Zares yawned.
"Agh, damn... why is my head still spinning?" he murmured as he splashed water on his face and walked out of his house.
While lost in thought, he accidentally spotted the Fatalis who had helped him before. Curiosity drove him to secretly follow the figure. He then made his move.
Tap tap tap: walking quietly, sneaking around.
"...huh? Why is that kid following me?" The elf noticed the child tailing him.
Zares continued to follow the elf, moving cautiously from tree to tree. He wanted to know what the Fatalis was doing in the forest. However, the elf had already noticed him from the beginning. Suddenly, the elf turned and vanished as if swallowed by the earth.
WUSH...
"What? Where did he go? Why did he disappear like that?" Zares looked left and right, searching for the figure.
But then, suddenly...
"Hey... what are you looking for?" The voice came from behind him, startling Zares. He quickly turned around and saw the elf leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Mmm.. aa... no.. aa... I just wanted to thank you for helping me the other day," Zares said nervously.
"Go home. Villagers are forbidden to enter the forest for a while," the elf said coldly.
Zares, now observing more closely, realized something. "His ears... they're like the neighbor's cat that always steals fish," he thought to himself. He squinted his eyes at the elf and said, "You're from the orc race, it's the first time I've seen an orc around here."
"Hey, I'm an elf, you damn kid...!!" The elf responded, frowning at being mistaken for an orc.
"Enough. I said go home. Your life is not my responsibility if a Raksha shows up again," the elf continued sternly.
"Alright, Elf. But, may I become your student? I want to become as strong as you, a Fatalis," Zares asked eagerly.
The elf chuckled softly, "...hehh..."
"You brat! Becoming a Fatalis isn't something you can achieve by training, sitting, and meditating like some stupid CULTIVATION story, kid! So go home!"
Then, the elf turned and walked away, looking back at Zares and urging him to leave.
However, Zares didn't give up. He startled the elf, who was walking away, with his power.
"Fine, I'll prove to you that I was born a Fatalis too," he said, pointing his hand at a small rock near them.
"Tch... whatever you say, kid," the elf replied, waving his hand dismissively, not even looking at Zares as he walked away.
Zares focused on the rock in front of the elf's steps and raised his palm toward it. Slowly, the rock began to levitate. "Aaaaaaaa," Zares exerted all his energy.
The elf was surprised. In his mind, he wondered, "How is this kid doing this, just by pointing his hand at the rock and making it levitate?"
Finally, Zares stopped his effort, panting. "Aahh... it's still tiring to do this," he groaned.
The elf, seeing this, took the initiative to ask about his mother. Everyone knew that only the womb of a Fatalis woman could bear a child with such mystical abilities.
"Hey, kid! Is your mother a Fatalis, and who is she?" the elf asked, curious.
Zares, still catching his breath, replied, "My mother is Falguni Abhiseka," he said while regulating his breathing.
The elf's eyes widened, recognizing the name. Then, the elf asked again.
"What's your name, kid?" the elf asked.
"Oh, my name is Nazzares Abhiseka," Zares answered loudly.
"Hmm, so that old man, Abail, he's quite old," the elf thought to himself. He then recalled something from the past with an old friend.
The elf squinted his eyes and looked at Zares intently while holding his chin with his right hand.
Then he said:
"Alright, kid. Meet me here tomorrow. From now on, you are my student. Hahaha!" The elf said with a slight sense of joy, as he was accepting a student from a family he knew from the past.
"Really? Hooray! I'll call you Master! But, what is your name, Master?" Zares said, already filled with excitement.
"My name is Vitjendra," the elf replied calmly, while running his fingers through his long hair.
"Alright, Master Vitjendra. I'll meet you tomorrow," Zares said with great enthusiasm, then ran home smiling.
Zares danced and sang all the way home.
Vitjendra watched the boy's back and muttered to himself, "So, he's your grandchild? The world is indeed small, but maybe this is just a coincidence since I'm on a mission in this village?" The elf thought, though this was merely the writer's scenario to bring them together.
However, from that meeting, Zares would eventually become someone fully embraced by the Fatalis destiny, bearing a very heavy fate.
To be continued...