No Remorse For The Wicked

One foot flew in front of the other as Kei charged toward the screams of the farmer’s wife. He charged a fireball at the tip of his staff. There was a clearing ahead. He could see the bandit leader trying to force her pants off.

Kei swung his staff and pointed it at the man. A fireball shot out toward the bandit leader. But he heard the crunch of swift footsteps coming his way and dodge-rolled out of the way, getting to his feet.

The farmer’s wife scurried away like a rodent fleeing a cat. The bandit leader pulled out his knife and held it in front of him.

“Oh? Seems we’ve got an escapee. Have a death wish?”

Kei’s eyes pierced through him. The fire in his eyes burned as he gritted his teeth. He charged another spell.

“The only dead man is standing in front of me.”

He extended his staff. A bolt of lightning shot out of it, right toward the man. But he sidestepped it in the nick of time.

“Tch, you damned mages are a pain in the ass.”

He charged toward Keisuke at blinding speeds. Kei, already charging another spell, shot a fireball point-blank at the bandit leader. He leapt over the fireball and came crashing down, dagger aimed for Kei's heart.

Kei quickly stepped out of the way, but the man pressed the offensive. Slashing wildly, Kei barely deflected each strike with his staff. Kei misstepped—steel bit into his left bicep. His staff hit the ground with a light rattle as Kei let out a low grunt.

Blood spurted from the wound, but the bandit leader wasted no time. He landed a side kick right onto his chin, knocking Keisuke up and onto his back. The man jumped on top of him and stabbed down toward his heart.

In the nick of time, Kei diverted the blade right into his left shoulder. He screamed as the bandit leader twisted the blade. Blood trickled down his robe. Kei punched him with his left hand, knocking the bandit back enough for him to raise his left foot and kick him square in the jaw.

The man flew off onto the soil. Kei charged a spell in his left hand; a lightning bolt shot out and jolted right into the bandit leader. Kei screamed as he pulled the knife out of his shoulder. He climbed onto the man and yelled as he plunged the dagger right into his heart.

Kei didn’t stop. He pulled it out and stabbed him over and over, screaming like a man possessed. The image of a pale rider flashed into his mind. The searing knife was back—it carved into his heart like on previous occasions. Kei dropped the knife as his own blood spurted out of his nose.

He heard the call to his left. Dark and raspy, like a blade rattling in its throat.

“Keisuke.”

There, the Pale Rider stood. Imposing. Darkness exuded from his very being and covered the forest in a thick haze. An acrid decay clung to the air.

“Kill them all. Show them your power.”

Kei’s eyes widened. He gritted his teeth.

“Who are you?! What do you want from me?!”

The body below him jolted. Black putrefaction rotted its face.

“Kill them all, Keisuke. Even the children.”

Kei punched the face, and the illusion vanished as if a haze had been lifted. Below him was the corpse of the bandit leader. His heart thundered. Sweat dripped from his brow, and blood leaked from his wounds.

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the forest again. He got to his feet and picked up his staff with his left hand. Kei rushed toward the source of the scream. Soon, he arrived at the cage. One of the bandits had locked himself inside with the other prisoners—and someone new.

He was pushing the new girl down to the ground as she screamed. She had long black hair and a short build. Kei rushed toward the cage and charged a spell. A water jet shot out of his staff and sliced open the lock cleanly.

Kei dropped his staff, opened the door, and dragged the bandit out by his ankle.

“The prisoner?!”

He said in a panic and kicked Kei in the stomach. Kei continued to pull him out, pure fire in his eyes. He climbed on top of the man and started punching him over and over with his left hand. The man’s face gradually bruised, blood spurting from his nose. Kei pointed his index and middle finger at the man’s heart.

“Thunderbolt!”

He shot it straight through, launching Kei backward and the bandit up into the air. The bandit convulsed as he landed. A death rattle soon came over him. Kei slowly got up and approached the cage panting.

“Is everyone alright?” he said, half-grunting. The new woman nodded and let out a sigh of relief, tears streaking down her face.

“I came in here to heal them while the rest of my party cleaned up the bandits. Thank you so much—you saved us.”

Soon, the farmer's wife limped back over. Slowly, everyone got out of the cage as the rest of the party converged—four other people in total. The leader of the group approached. He was at least one hundred ninety centimeters tall. He had short orange hair and was clean-shaven. In his hands, a sword and shield.

“Hiori, who is this?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t know who he is, but he saved my life.”

Hiori, the woman Kei just saved, approached him. She placed her hand close to his shoulder wound. Soon, a golden light emerged from her hands.

“It’s not much. C-ranked healing spells are only good for healing scrapes and bruises, but it will help.”

Kei nodded.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

The leader stepped in front of Keisuke.

“The name’s Trent. May I know who you are?”

Kei extended his bloodied left hand. His knuckles had busted open from beating the bandit half to death.

“I’m Keisuke. I’m a solo D-ranked adventurer. I was out hunting slimes, and these bandits ambushed and captured me.”

Trent hummed.

“I see. It is definitely dangerous to go alone out there.”

The farmer’s wife approached.

“This man is a hero. He fought off the bandit leader.” 

The farmer asserted.

“Aye, I saw him kill a bandit that was going to rape him.”

Trent looked at the dead bandit nearby.

“D-ranked, huh? You certainly didn’t come out unscathed, but there’s no doubt you did a lot of good here today. If you’re looking for a group, we’d love to have you. We need a mage who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.”

Kei’s lips curved upward into a smile.

“I’d like that.”

Hiori looked at Trent.

“Let him heal first at least.”

Trent chuckled.

“Of course.”

Together, Trent’s group and Kei escorted everyone back to Telwin.

Kei gazed at his left hand as blood smeared and stained every inch of it. His knuckles ached and stung at the same time.

“I killed three men today… why don’t I feel bad about it?”

He shook his head. He flexed his hand. The pain grounded him—but the numbness lingered.
He blinked at the blood drying on his knuckles, and for just a second, he saw the Pale Rider’s eyes again.

“They deserved it. Fucking bastards.”

After a lengthy visit to the guards’ barracks to report the incident and a trip to the doctor for Keisuke, he finally returned to the mansion midday.

He slowly limped forward. His shoulder and arm had been stitched, along with his left hand. His right arm was in a sling. His face was thoroughly bruised and covered in gauze. As Kei opened the front door, he walked into the kitchen.

Satori was eating lunch. He looked at Kei and raised an eyebrow.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Kei rolled his eyes.

“Too busy living like a hedonist to notice I’m gone?”

Satori laughed.

“Well…”

Kei sat down and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“Alright, you won’t believe what happened.”