Chapter 8

  The Wood Fang

  Before she realized it, the sun had already set.

  “Haa... I’m exhausted.”

  Ellyn yawned as she arrived at Marco’s front door. After meeting Rigel’s friends, Darius and Olivia, the four of them headed back to Alan’s family business for lunch. There, she tried to get more pastries to eat but was promptly stopped by everyone under the explanation that “They’re for breakfast and dinner, but not lunch.” —She thought that explanation was awful and nonsensical, but there was little she could do about it.

  The rest of the day was spent on conversations among the four of them about mundane topics. Although in her case, most of the conversations were hearing Olivia talk and nodding occasionally. They also played card games everyone but Ellyn was familiar with. Unfortunately, being taught how to play didn’t stop them from colliding to go against her and rack easy wins. No, really, she swore that was the case. Nothing to do with her failing to understand the rules and being too stubborn to ask for them to be repeated. Not at all.

  Surprisingly, nobody touched upon her origin or background, or the reason a foreigner like her was in this faraway village. Given that it was obvious that they all knew who she was; it was all the stranger that they didn’t press any questions about it. Only vague and almost unrelated questions were brought up, to which vague answers were readily accepted before moving on—She could only deduce it was Rigel’s doing.

  “I hope I wasn’t too much of a nuisance...”

  She was never good at discerning people’s true feelings. Her fine-tuned senses allowed her to notice body language, which served more on more primal, instinct-based readings of a person to discern danger or intentions to flee, attack or submit. In other words, they were more like an animal's than a person's. It wasn't much use in the way of understanding more complex elements of human thought and emotion. Be that because of her lack of understanding of the subject, or some innate limitations of the human ability to read intentions and emotions, she found it hard to go beyond a “Hostile/Non-Hostile” function.

  But even without this ability, the occasional glance from Darius, Olivia, and particularly Alan was all too noticeable. They all knew who she was and why she was staying in the village. Yet no one raised a single question or comment regard such an notorious elephant walking around their room. Again, she felt like thanking Rigel for it.

  When she walked back with the boy, she thought it was odd how quiet everything was compared to the morning. It seemed the people in the village didn’t do much at night beside one or two local businesses, as many were packing their belongings back into their homes as soon as the sun started setting. A far cry from the places she passed through in her travels with her uncle, where the concept of rest seemed to have left the human mind.

  “... Heh.”

  She didn’t dislike that routine. It was much better than a city that remained noisy past midnight and didn’t let her sleep. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the old bench next to the large tree that she often sits on during the morning. Tempted, she sat down and despite the sunlight hitting directly her face, she couldn’t help to feel relaxed at the combination of warmth and silence that dominated her surroundings. Promptly after, she headed towards the door, and a faint smile formed on her lips.

  “Heh~ I don’t get it.”

  Despite the circumstances, today was quite a fun day. From the moment she woke up until now, there was no shortage of things that kept her busy. This might have been the very first day she had been in the village without her mind being consumed by thoughts of guilt and remorse. It was genuinely liberating.

  “They are too nice to people who cause trouble...”

  It had been almost six months since her incident. Not one day passed when she did not think about what happened. It was truly exhausting to be left alone with such thoughts that tormented her. The thought of taking a life was bad enough, but her own kin… was too much for her.

  “Ha...”

  Truth be told, Ellyn did not have much of a grasp of everything that had happened that night. Wrapping her head around every detail proved to be that difficult. She and her uncle arrived one night at the inn, bandits were there and things quickly turned sour... then, her mind began to blur. She only was able to infer what happened after she came back to her senses—Context clues allowing her to piece together the tragic unfolding of events.

  Then, she spent months recovering from the wounds that would remain with her for the rest of her days. Months spent in quiet self-reflection in the company of three outstandingly kind souls that extended their hand to her. As ordinary as that time was, it felt as unthinkable as a dream. Her previous life suddenly vanished and was replaced with a short, transient, happier epilogue to her troubled life.

  “I wish... it would last a little longer.”

  No. That line of thought was dangerous. She was dangerous, and her actions brought large amounts of trouble to those around her. She should not give them any more trouble.

  Ellyn wasn’t an idiot. There were many things she learned in her short life: one of them was that bandits didn’t let go of grudges that easily. She knew very well that even slightly harming just one meant that she had kicked the hornets’ nest, but now time there were multiple hornets dead. The hornets are eager for blood. Those bandits would inevitably come for her, she had learned as much from her past with her uncle, and when they do they'll lump the rest of the villagers with her. It had been almost six months, and she was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner, yet she felt anxious about each passing day.

  “Should they come, I will...”

  Ellyn stopped. Her mind drifted towards those who had to give her so much when she had nothing left in this world, people who wouldn’t want to see her get hurt or worse. People who, without any particular gain, decided to go out of their way for someone like her.

  “Ah...”

  She thought about them, and cursed her own cowardice.

  As Ellyn walked through the hallways, deep orange rays of sunlight permeated the interiors, the shadows grew larger in contrast with the intense light. As if still within a dream, Ellyn walked through the corridors of that lonely, silent home. She made a great effort to not make any noise with her bare feet. As if someone was sleeping at every centimeter of the house, every step she took was soft and silent. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the house, maybe it was her troubling thoughts keeping her on edge. It was not the first time she was alone in this place, but it was the first time she had ever returned to it.

  It made her feel foreign, even more so than before. Marco’s home wasn’t exactly small, due to it needing rooms for the local clinic that he ran, and while Ellyn would have liked to, the spaciousness of the place made it uncomfortable to sit around and relax.

  As she passed door after door towards her room, the faint noise of objects being moved around reached her ears.

  “Hm...?”

  If she remembered correctly, it came from the storage room. She heavily considered ignoring it and instead go straight into her room, but considering it was most likely Marco, another part of her reasoned it would be rude to not announce her return. When she opened the door, she saw Marco sitting with his back turned against the door as he worked with medical supplies, fully concentrated on placing bottles with various liquids inside the shelf.

  “Uh... I’m back. Marco.”

  Marco only looked over his shoulder with a neutral look to his face, and then a faint smile formed when he saw her. The sunset casting a shadow on his head that made his blue eyes stood out more than usual. They looked at her with a tired gentleness and something else, completely undecipherable.

  “Ah. Welcome back. You sure took your time today.”

  “They... wanted to do a lot of things.” Ellyn said, looking away from him.

  “That probably means they got a good impression out of you.”

  “Mn... I guess. Rigel prepared in advance for things to not get awkward.”

  “Really…?” The man finally turned around, “That boy really goes the extra length, but I really appreciate his efforts. Make sure to thank him later.”

  She then replied in a dry tone, “Hm. I will.”

  Ellyn stepped into the small room and took a seat on one of the empty wooden boxes that were behind her, letting her legs stretch out as she looked for a moment to speak.

  “I could tell how much they were dying to ask me about it.” Ellyn said, fidgeting with her clothes.

  “Hm. Well, it’s natural to be curious. Hopefully, they weren’t too pushy about it.”

  Ellyn looked as if she wanted to say something. However, before her words came out, she shook her head and prepared to say something else, “Mnh, and... No, never mind. I had fun there.”

  Marco likewise, appeared as if he wished to speak, however: “... I see. I’ll make dinner after this; you should return to your room and rest.”

  A long pause set between the two of them before he spoke. After that, he promptly returned to organizing his medical supplies. Seemingly knowing what everything is and where it goes by pure muscle memory. The sudden silence was too awkward for both of them, and while Ellyn planned to head to her room, his responses were incredibly distant from what she was used to. After a few more minutes of silence, she approached him out of worry, and seeing his troubled face, she realized something was wrong.

  “… Are you okay?” She asked.

  “Eh? I’m okay, just sorting things out. You don’t wanna be short on medicine when someone needs it.” He replied.

  Ellyn stepped back, “Ah, er- I see...”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “No, it’s just that… you were making a weird face.”

  His hand stopped halfway through moving a bottle to its box, “... What kind of face?”

  Ellyn seemed uncomfortable, as if trying to find the right words, “You looked angry. You had something to do today, right? Did something happen?”

  Marco remained silent for a couple of seconds. After taking a deep breath, he wondered what he should say to her in this situation.

  “... Yeah, something happened. I had a meeting with the community council. It was quite the headache.”

  Ellyn tilted her head in confusion.

  “I think I told you before. I’m part of the table that oversees this village. We organize budgets, events, schooling, and more. Though, it’s not like I do much there.”

  “How come are you there?”

  “I’m the only trained doctor and surgeon in this place.” He explained, “It’ll make sense to keep something as crucial as healthcare best accommodated. I get paid with influence to stay here, I guess.”

  “Huh, so it is like that... What happened today, then?”

  Marco took another noticeable deep breath that clashed with his calm exterior. The look of it was brief, but noticing the slight hints of complete frustration was enough to make Ellyn raise an eyebrow. How much was he holding back when recalling the event? He stopped working, turned around and looked at her straight in the eyes, “Most of the meeting was about you, Ellyn. About your encounter with the Wood Fang and what will happen from then on.”

  “Aah. That’s to be expected.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and a self-deprecating smile curved her lips. Yes, it was a normal course of action. She expected no less from what had transpired, in fact, it was incredible that it had taken that long for something to done about it.

  “What… did they say?”

  Marco observed with concern at how the girl hesitated, silently cursing both of their own predicaments, “They really aren’t happy with you. A beast woke up that night and they are eager to give it a scapegoat to calm it down.”

  “That was-”

  “Don’t misunderstand me. Give me a good a club and I’ll gladly bash the head of every member of the Wood Fang and then some.”

  He casually swung his arm as he spoke, Ellyn could notice the muscle in his arm tighten with each swing, despite his weak swings, she could tell he was more serious than his own words even implied.

  “As you probably figured out already, what you did has kept the Wood Fang angered for months now. You see, one of the people you... ‘Took out’ was none other than their very leader, Ray Wood Fang. He and his men liked to use our village as their personal plaything.”

  Marco saw Ellyn bite her lip and curse her luck in between breaths. Her voice was not meant for him to hear, but he had an idea of what she said. He simply shared his sympathies with the girl.

  “As a result, his little brother has been going on, raging throughout the region to find out who did it.”

  “But... What does this village have to do with those bandits? Should they even be welcome here?”

  Marco leaned back with a chuckle, “it’s simple. These are the Bandit Lands, or so it’s colloquially called. It’s a region of the larger Kingdom of Vigram that was rampant full with groups of bandits that did whatever they wanted. This region might as well be detached from the actual Kingdom. And we are the only village left here. You know what that means for us, yes?”

  Ellyn placed her hand on her chin, after some quick thinking she began to understand a little more what kind of situation this forgotten village was in.

  “The Wood Fang are...”

  “They ‘own’ this village, so to speak.”

  Marco put the box of supplies aside. Then, he leaned forward as he readied himself to speak. He looked as disinterested as he looked hopeless when he thought about the village’s situation, as it was something he had little reason to pretend wasn’t happening yet he knew he couldn't do anything about it. No one could. For the longest time no one could do a single thing about it. The mere acceptance of such a situation broke his heart and made him feel powerless and useless.

  “Many years ago, when this village was about half or even less of its current size, we made a deal with the Wood Fang. They provide their ‘protection’ while we gave what we had.”

  Ellyn tilted her head, “Protection from other bandits?”

  “As well as them;” He added, “As the number of Wood Fang was increasing as other smaller settlements were getting turned into rubble, Ray Wood Fang had the idea of keeping one as his personal supplier in case their raids failed. That was us.”

  With each word spoken Ellyn clenched her fist harder and harder. She realized just how much damage she had caused thanks to her anger and lack of control. She knew that her actions had caused trouble for everyone, yet she chose to never even ask once about it until now, cowardly hiding until it comes for her instead.

  “Most of the people in The Village don’t know how to fight. Most are elderly, women, and children. And even those that could hold a weapon lack formal training. Asking them to fend them off was too unreasonable. So, despite it obviously being a terrible deal, we accepted Ray’s offer.” He finished, looking drained by even talking about their situation.

  Ellyn clenched his fist, “And when I...”

  “It set them off. He died within our walls, after all.”

  “Then, the reason it’s been five months without seeing them is because you covered for me?”

  “He doesn’t know about you and believes that it was some of the smaller groups running around. That’s what we told him on my request after I picked you up.” He explained.

  Ellyn’s widened, “W-why would you do that?!”

  “Well, because you were injured-”

  “That’s not what I mean! If angering them would endanger everyone in this village. Then why on earth would make such a decision?”

  She struggled to comprehend why. Why would he do something as dangerous as that? He didn’t know her, his only possible reason to save her would be simply to aid someone in need. However, if the risks of saving that person heavily outweigh the act of it then, regardless of how noble it is, the logical action would be to not save her, so why? Why did he do that? For what reason would he go as far as to save her from the verge of death, provide shelter, and hide her for five long months? To someone like her—A stranger.

  “... Tell me, why you saved me that day?” She gritted her teeth.

  He stared directly into her eyes; her own glared back with an angry demand for answers. Yet not a single muscle moved on his body during the few seconds of silence. Unfortunately, Marco simply shrugged, “...Sorry. I don’t have any noble or grander reason to give you. Back then, I just thought a girl was dying. That’s all.”

  “You know very well I’m not normal and you know what happened, why did you still go with it, knowing how dangerous it was for everyone else?”

  “I couldn’t let someone in need on their own. That’s something I refuse to do, no matter what.” He deflected.

  She shook her head, “I don’t understand, no one would have blamed you…”

  “Listen. No one in this village sides with the Wood Fang, and I managed to convince the council to leave you alone. Besides, Roy, his brother, is busy going after all the other remaining groups. Someone probably has claimed Ray’s kill as their own to gain prestige.”

  “Just hoping it would fix itself...”

  “I’m not going to let your life be thrown away, not after saving your ass back then. And you should do the same too, or do you think yourself as someone ready to die?”

  His words made her bite her lip in frustration. In truth, she feels tremendous gratitude towards him for saving her life, giving her shelter, and allowing her to taste a life she only ever wondered what it would be like. It was true that she expected, and to a degree, wished, to be judged for what she did. As much as it was true, however, her instinctual will to live was as ever-present. Even more so if it meant never becoming what took her uncle.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She felt genuine gratitude. That was why it was hard for her to ostracize him over his decision; however, the weight over her had just grown even heavier than she could ever imagine. Not being able to get a tangible reason as to why it turned out like this was just the cherry on top.

  “...I still don’t know for what reason you do all of this. If I knew as much, then at the very least I wouldn’t feel this terrible.”

  “I told you already: You were injured, you weren’t a bandit, and I had the power to help.” He said, in a dry, cutting voice.

  She went silent. It was clear that he had no more to say. As such, she stepped back with disappointment. Marco simply sighed. After that, he returned once more to reorganizing his remaining supplies.

  “If that’s all then go to your room and rest. Dinner will be ready soon.”

  “... Mn.”

  Without words, Ellyn headed out of the room. As she reached it, she stopped to look over her shoulder and saw the back of that man, who very stiffly continued to work.

  “Hey... Thank you.”

  “Eh? For what…?”

  “I realized that I’ve never thanked you for saving me back there. I would have died if you hadn’t treated my wounds, so... I’m grateful for that.”

  Her voice was faint; it could only be heard thanks to the still silence that permeated the small supply room. Marco was thrown aback by it; unsure as to why come up with that now, but before he could have thought about it, Ellyn had almost left the room.

  “It was just what I had to do to fulfill my...”

  No reply came, the raven-haired girl simply left in silence, leaving him alone in that small supply room, gently illuminated by the rays of light from the setting sun.

  A minute later:

  Ellyn laid down on her bed. Her gaze was as lost in the ceiling as her train of thought was.

  “…”

  She didn’t know what to make of that man. She was already aware that she wouldn’t walk away from that event without some repercussions. However, she never expected to have damaged the very stability of the village itself, nor to this degree. The already sour taste now felt unbearable. She felt no anger towards him. She just wanted to know ‘why?’ why was she spared, why was she sheltered, why chose one life over many? As her words softly escaped her lips, her brown, coffee-colored eyes were slowly closed by drowsiness, hoping that these emotions would be subdued through the night.

  “Just what are you trying to achieve? What’s the point of all of this...?” Her lips whispered softly and meekly as her mind drifted off to sleep.

  The sun rose once more. Women and men came out of their homes for their daily routines. Home entrances cleaned tables and goods made their way outside. It was a new day for the village.

  Among the people starting their day, there was a tall young man with dark brown hair. Alongside him was a green-eyed, red-headed girl who, by the look of her face, needed more hours of sleep. While effectively dragging her around, he walked tall and merrily towards a modestly sized two-story building made out of stone. In itself, the building wasn’t particularly impressive aside from being the only one in the village that was made out of hard stone while the rest of the surrounding buildings were built on wood.

  It possessed no exceptionally practical qualities, nor was it remarkable in any other way, yet it still was his favorite place in the village.

  “Good morning!” He said in full spirits.

  “Can you not yell, please?!” The red-headed girl cried.

  “Olivia!” Darius yelled, “You need to be in high spirits if you want anything done.”

  “Uguu... I don’t have the energy...”

  “Then we’ll get you some energy. I’ll give you one of my energy juices. Last time you didn’t finish the one I gave you.”

  Her eyes were suddenly shot wide as the memory of that dreadful beverage popped back into her mind.

  “Wait no! I’m awake! I’m awake!”

  Olivia rushed into the building, trying to escape her friend’s ‘help’. Upon entering, they both notice a familiar sight that made her fall silent. She walked uncomfortably towards the table at the center, sat down, and stretched her legs as she fidgeted with her hands.

  “Hm…” The young man sighed, “They are late today too.”

  Darius looked around unfazed by the sight in front of him, slowly taking steps inside as if not to wake up a sleeping baby —there was no one inside. Multiple tables and chairs were neatly organized across the interior. Each had an unused candle placed with care at the center of each table, as well as other items. They had been like that for some time now. Impeccable shelves close to the wall, as well as boxes with equipment and other tools, filled the space to make it less... empty.

  Swords and spears were on display next to the shelves. Not many, though, as they were only replicas meant for show. While a good conversation starter, they’ll fit more in a wealthy man’s home than they did on a guards’. The rest of the walls around were decorated with a white piece of cloth that covered some of the empty space, alongside the flowers to give it a more homely feel to it all.

  “Where was it...?”

  He searched through the cabinets, checking carefully through each one. At the fourth one, he found the iron key made by Maya’s younger sister. It was the key to the storage room where the training weapons were stored in. He quietly headed towards the door at the corner to do the first part of his routine. Inside the storage room, there were about ten swords, twenty spears, five bows, fifteen training swords, twenty training spears, and six gambesons. In his opinion; there was a lot more equipment than usual. Darius picked one training spear and one training sword and headed back to Olivia, who was resting her head on the table.

  “Don’t fall asleep, Olivia.”

  “But I’m sleepy...”

  “You have to train with your sword. Put in some spirit!”

  She slammed the table, “I can’t work if I don’t get enough hours of sleep! Seriously, do you absolutely have to wake up when the sun rises and pass through your checklist every time?”

  “What about it? I’m second in command, it’s expected of me!” Darius looked away, annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

  Olivia just stared at him with an incredulous face after his reply left her baffled.

  “Really…?”

  “Besides, that isn’t how you should speak to your superior, much less in the workplace.”

  “It’s fine! It’s fine!” We are friends, aren’t we? And it’s not like there is anyone else here. So, let’s wait a bit until we start with the training and patrolling.”

  Darius stared directly at his friend with a serious look; Olivia remained calm and playful despite his scolding. Without his message being received, or rather, ignored and destroyed, he gave up and sat down in front of her.

  He stared at her.

  “...” She smiled back.

  He kept staring.

  “... I’m not gonna change my mind, not while I haven’t had breakfast yet.” She said with a wink added to her smile.

  At that moment, Darius’s stomach growled loudly, making Olivia burst into laughter while his face went red in defeat.

  “Okay fine!” He relented.

  At the same time, Darius and Olivia waited...

  A young man with white hair and golden eyes left his home with a steaming basket in one hand and a sealed bottle in the other. Alan, as part of his usual routine, was on his way towards the garrison where Darius always spent each morning.

  It was a request the red-headed girl made to him after her first couple of days of training with the village guards. He had no objections on the matter; after all, it was better than being starved while tirelessly training. Especially when he considered how both of them fainted the last time it happened. While it took time to get used to waking up before the sun rose, he was glad to lend a hand to his friends, even more so if it involved his best skills. Although he wasn’t fond of stepping foot on that lone, pointless building that Darius was so insistent on maintaining, neither he nor Olivia were ever capable of saying that to him.

  One thing he was fond of, however, was the village itself during dawn. Parents cleaned the entrances of their homes, and merchants prepared for yet another day of work inside and outside their village. It was a glimpse into the everyday life of these people, undisturbed and unchanging.

  Alan quietly cheered on his fellow workers, because despite the struggle, they nonetheless carried on as he did.

  Upon opening the door, he saw Darius holding a teary-eyed Olivia under his arm as he smacked her head with his knuckle. Olivia helplessly tried to escape his grasp, but to no avail, he had her immobilized—Fortunately, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Well,” He smiled, “good to see you two are in high spirits.”

  “Alan! Help me!” Olivia cried.

  “Don’t intervene!” Darius yelled, tightening his grip on Olivia, “I’m disciplining her.”

  Unfazed by the scene in front of him, he asked, “What did you do this time?”

  “Nothing!”

  “You brought up Rosin!” Darius retorted, his face bright red.

  “It was funny- Agh! No! Stop it! Not so hard!”

  Alan sighed, “Darius. Please let her go. It’s improper to treat a lady like that.”

  At that moment, Darius did stop his discipline and look at Alan directly in the eye, while Olivia stared flustered and teary-eyed at the white-haired young man.

  “Alan...”

  “Indeed, but right now, she is my subordinate and she disrespected me. This is just punishment.”

  Alan shrugged, “I did what I could, sorry.”

  “Alan?!” And at that moment, after tasting false hope, her heart shattered.

  With those last words, Olivia was abandoned to her fate. After a minute, however, Alan presents a steaming hot basket…

  “But this might get cold, so...”

  All of a sudden, the two of them stopped their fighting and, much like children obeying to their parents, orderly sat on the table behind them.

  A few minutes later, the trio ate quietly as if the last ten minutes never happened. While it may seem unusual, it was just the standard routine for them: Waking up, arguing, food, best friends. It was simply how they got along. For over ten years the three of them knew each other like that. Changing it was out of the question.

  “So, what do you think?” Alan asked.

  “Hmn?” Olivia turned around, “Mnhwhadoyohumean?”

  “Don’t speak with your mouth full...”

  “Yidinkthisonearlrleallywerldorne” Darius chimed in.

  “The same goes for you!”

  Doing as told, they both swallowed in unison like kids, and Alan didn’t even bother to reply to that. He just let it slide like water passing over a rock. Suddenly, Darius’s face darkened, though it showed a lack of interest for the imminent conversation. While still feasting on his breakfast, he spoke:

  “I don’t get it; you were with us, so you should know.”

  “I don’t read minds.” Alan replied, “Besides, I wanted to discuss it with both of you for a while now.”

  “The girl... Ah, you mean Ellyn?” He said in an obvious playful tone.

  “Hm... Isn’t it rude to refer to her as ‘the girl’ if you know her name?” Olivia said.

  “So much for the gentleman...” He nodded.

  “Indeed...” She also nodded.

  “Take it seriously!” The man blurted out, “I would truly appreciate it if you told me what you guys truly think about it.”

  Sensing the tone in his voice, both Darius and Olivia decided to drop the playfulness. They had known Alan for many years; it was what allowed them to tease him in the first place. However, it also let them guess where he wanted to take the conversation.

  They were all aware of the precarious situation their village was in. Thanks to Ellyn’s messing with the Wood Fang, it was a miracle that their current leader was going against the smaller bandit groups purely under the reasoning that the village was too under-equipped to kill Ray Wood Fang or be able to survive retaliation. So, the council members, at the behest of one of Marco, suggested framing the other bandit groups that surrounded the region, using their rivalries and hatred as motivation. So long as Roy Wood Fang remained focused on the other gangs and Ellyn remained with her head down, they could find a way out without giving their hated bandits everything they want.

  That was information they were privy to know as sons and daughters of the council members. Neither Darius nor Olivia considered such an idea particularly wise, nor do they know how the council agreed to it. Still, their parents told them and so they also kept quiet out of caution. Besides, it was a fool's errand to think of suddenly challenging the bandits in open conflict. Sure, every villager hated the bandits with a passion, but to take the chance with those beasts was something too dangerous to even consider.

  “Is it really alright to let her be in here?” Alan asked.

  “...What do you mean?” Darius said in a rasping tone.

  “She is an outsider, one that has put everyone at risk. Besides, I heard of how she killed them, and I can’t be the only one wary of it happening again.”

  “Hm… but she doesn’t seem like a bad person.” Olivia retorted, “I don’t know what happened to have ended so violently but… The fewer bandits in this world the better, I think.” Her expression was completely nonchalant, much unlike her usual lively and social demeanor. Olivia took a sip of her hot tea before as she looked at him with disappointment. He, however, expected that reaction from her when he decided to bring up the topic in the first place.

  “...Still, it is undeniable that she has put us all in danger. Yet we give sanctuary to that same person.” Alan added.

  “When have we not been in danger? In all honesty, I should thank her if she truly did that to Ray.”

  “What do we do if they come here seeking for her? They already came once months ago, who’s to say they won’t do it again?”

  Olivia didn’t reply. Her eyes averted to Alan’s face with a look that made it harder for her to hide her anger.

  After being silent for most of the exchange, Darius directed himself towards Alan.

  “I understand what you mean. She has indeed brought a great deal of trouble with that whole incident with the Wood Fang, and now Roy Wood Fang has been looking all this time for whoever did it.”

  “That’s why-”

  Darius raised his hand, interrupting him in a way he only saw when he is truly serious about something. Following proper manners, Alan went silent, and then Darius continued:

  “However, it is neither our position nor our duty to cast judgment on someone. If our council decided so, we can only hope they know what they are doing. I’d say after Olivia, no one hates the bandits more than them. If they decided to take the opportunity to loosen the bandits’ grip on us, I have to assume they want to do something-”

  Suddenly, his words were interrupted, by the rumbling of a crowd that in an instant flooded the entrance of the building.

  That early in the morning only had the early risers, as most of them would be just waking up, if not still asleep. It was strange to see so many people that desperately talked over each other as they tried to get the attention of the young man. Before he could calm them down, a man burst through the door. A familiar face for Darius and the rest, as it was one of the members of the guards just like him —his breath was ragged and sweat poured through all sides of his face as if he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

  The crowd had him concerned, but the man’s visage only further threw him into high alert. Something bad, really bad, had occurred.

  “Cyril! What happened?!”

  “It’s the Wood Fang!” Cyril screamed, “Your father told me to come here; we need everything that can be used as a weapon!!”

  “The Wood Fang…?! R-right! Come with me!”

  Without any delay, he rushed towards the storage room and led the man inside alongside many other men, and took all that was useful. All the swords, spears, armor, and even the training weapons were taken out as well. It wasn’t much but hopefully it could give whoever wields it a chance to defend themselves... hopefully.

  “Why is the Wood Fang here?” Olivia demanded, “Cyril, what’s going on?”

  Cyril took a deep breath, “We don’t know. Roy just appeared with thirty of his men and started attacking anyone he came across. Randall is already with some of us trying to keep them under control. All we know is that he demands to see Akira.”

  Alan clenched his fist, “I knew it. They are here for...”

  “We don’t have time for that.” Darius said, “Olivia, stay with Alan in case something happens.”

  The young man took up the spear and joined the rest of the men, only to be stopped by his two dear friends who wore a desperate, yet determined looks on their faces. Darius however, wasn’t easily moved. As if a switch had been flipped, he already had prepared his answer.

  “W-wait!”

  “I’ll help too!”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You two will get injured or worse. Now, stay put.”

  The red-headed girl was furious; her eyes wide and full of frustration that demanded him to finally allow her what the sword training was for.

  “There’s got to be something I can do!”

  “What you can do is stay here where it’s safe. Instead of needlessly putting yourself at risk.” He barked.

  Olivia was as heated as him, and with an angry cry she protested: “You don’t get to deci-!”

  “Olivia!!”

  She backed down. The intense glare from the young man in front of her made it hard to muster a reply that didn’t end with her lashing out. Combined with the sudden silence among the crowd... made it impossible to continue arguing. Aching pain in her chest surged within her, once again the Wood Fang was at their gates, and once again she must stay behind. She had spent all those years training with the sword just to be denied what she sought out of that very same sword.

  However, Cyril stepped forward, with words that brought relief to the heart of the girl, “Hey man, we need to get people away from the battle and group with your father. Let’s have them evacuate people to the fishermen’s dock. We can’t spare any of those who will be fighting...”

  “Uh- Yes, we can do at least that much.” Alan nodded.

  Darius contemplated the idea, but only for a moment. Time was of the essence and each second lost is another life that ran the risk of being extinguished. He understood Olivia’s motives, he really did, but he couldn’t bring himself to bear the idea of seeing his closest friends hurt. As much as he wanted to say ‘No’, he had no time to discuss it any further.

  “… Be careful.” He said with a solemn voice.

  The two of them nodded.

  “Alright everyone, let’s move out, now!” Cyril yelled.

  With those words spoken, the entire group heads out full speed towards The Village’s main gate to meet Roy’s forces. In total, thirty-five men head out from the garrison with spears and swords in hand. Others carried gardening tools such as forks, shovels, and scythes for the lack of a proper weapon. Yet it did not matter what they were using. What mattered was that their home was in danger, and they would defend it at all costs.

  Darius clenched his grip around his spear, and the surrounding men tensed their muscles in preparation for an incoming clash.

  His father looked frustrated at the situation. The moment Darius arrived, he saw his neighbors being hacked to pieces by the bandits axes or shot by their bows. They attacked anyone who defended themselves, anyone who ran away, anyone who surrendered. No one was spared. Even on the chance some villagers managed to push back, it took three to four of them to stand against a single bandit. Their difference in combat experience, skill and strength was far too great for a humble peasant to measure against a man who made a living out of killing and pillaging.

  Without delay and hesitation, Darius charged at one of the bandits, leaving the equipment to the other men to put on as quickly as they can. His spear clashed with a bandit as he pressured a fellow villager. While the attacked landed and the spear tip pierced the skin of the aggressor, the man did not stop his assault on villager, and kept bashing him with his club until the pressure from Darius' stab forced him to look in his direction. Taking the spear in his hands and holding it firm. Darius and the bandit looked each other in the eyes for a brief moment, the fierce smile on the bandits face made the young man sweat cold—It was the look of an animal. No. A monster.

  “Come on kid. You are gonna need to stab harder if you want to kill a man.” Said a man who emerged among the bandits. Tall, relatively thin in build but still obviously muscular, covered in a combinations of leather, cloth and some metal pieces that all seemed taking from the corpse of another man. His face was dirty and messy, like he hadn't slept for many months. His eyes were bloodshot and his curved sword with inscriptions on the blade was bloodstained. Darius looked as he pulled back and retreated back to the villager's side and him and knew that man was Roy Wood Fang.

  “Just hand over that hag Akira and stop pretending you guys have a chance. I've have asked you three times already.” He said with clear annoyance.

  “I can't do that. Roy. Much less after you've hurt my people.” Replied Darius' father, Randall.

  Though his voice was clear and strong, both he and Darius knew that was the mess they were in against those savages. Even though the villagers gathered outnumbered the Wood Fang's, they were severely under powered. A good chunk had already died while not a single bandit was down. They weren't even able to evacuate the women and elderly, so they were among the dead too. What's more, all pointed they would join them soon if the situation did not change.

  After Randall's reply, Roy sighed and grew tired of asking. He pointed his sword at the village which made the other bandits go into a battle stance, ready to resume the fighting.

  “Alright, boys.” Roy sighed, “Make them spill it out. Do the thing.” The look on his face was one of complete disdain towards the filthy villagers that dared oppose his brother, and him as a result. Unforgivable, unacceptable. They must be pay their punishment in blood.

  “Aye up, boss.”

  “Guehehehe, Let’s go!”

  One of them pulled a village woman who still lived and taken hostage, while slowly dragging her in front of everyone's view into the nearest alleyway. The other bandits were poised in such way that rushing towards her would resume the fighting and lead the villagers into an unwinnable position. This, naturally, was a deliberate move by Roy to break the spirit of the villagers, after all that woman was someone's wife, and all knew what would happen next.

  As expected, one man rushed desperately to save her the moment she was out of view. He knew it was a trap, but that wasn't going to stop evil men like those bandits. He had to stop it no matter what the cost. The rest of the bandits moved and were ready to hack the man to pieces, while destroying his wife in the process. Darius and the others gritted their teeth and charged through fully accepting the incoming massacre.

  Then...

  “Gyaah!”

  The bandit flew off the alleyway with his teeth scattered around. The sudden event made both sides stop in confusion. What happened?

  “What the-?!” Darius yelled.

  Roy raised his eyebrow, “Huh? Who’s there?!”

  “That’s enough!”

  A slim figure stood in front of the shivering woman. She had long black hair and fair skin. An average-stature girl wearing a simple blouse slashed green, beige pants, and boots meant to travel long distances, with black leather gloves for her fists... as well as an ominous presence that could only be described as the essence of violence and conflict wrapping around her body, making anyone with a keen eye notice she was a deadly being.

  Darius couldn’t suppress his surprise upon seeing her, while Roy made no effort to hide his annoyance and mockery at seeing the young girl assume a combat stance.

  “Ellyn...”

  “And who are you, Missy? Can’t you see the adults are playing?” Roy chuckled.

  Ellyn readied herself into a fighting stance. Her fists were slightly open, her posture wide, her breathing steady. While the Blessing inside her raged and claimed for his head.

  “It doesn’t matter who I am. I’m going to punch the shit out of you for what you’ve done.”