Chapter 8: To Flee or to Fight?

In the white mist, a grin stretched from ear to ear, twisted and grotesque. He didn't advance immediately, just stood there, savoring his prey's fear. A true predator is never in a hurry.

-Dammit, stick to the plan and run, Lyne... Lyne?

Lyne, she was frozen stiff. Unable to move despite Kaega's words.

-Lyne! Lyne!

"What the fuck, why isn't she moving again. Should I leave her behind?".

Lyne's body trembled, unable to move, just staring at the "Head Measurer" in despair.

“There’s no other way...”

Kaega didn't leave her behind but decided to drag her away.

Lyne was dragged away without any resistance. The "Head Measurer" just slowly, leisurely followed behind, running through the paths that had been determined beforehand.

Kaega ran, pulling Lyne behind him.

-Ha... ha... what's wrong with you this time.... Lyne, snap out of it.

Though slow, the "Head Measurer" relentlessly kept up. Reaching a sewer entrance, Kaega stopped and looked at the approaching "Head Measurer".

“Why does he seem so calm despite my provocations? He should have run up and torn me to shreds by now.”

Kaega ran into the sewer. He waited for him to approach the sewer tunnel.

“It’s time.”

He lit a fuse at his feet, which led to the explosive bags he had set up in advance.

BOOM!.

Rumble rumble rumble..!

The earth and rocks at the sewer entrance collapsed, burying the "Head Measurer".

But Kaega knew that wasn't enough, so he immediately continued running.

As expected, soon after, the "Head Measurer" emerged from the pile of rubble. Although he looked a bit ragged, he continued to follow him.

-Lyne! Ha... I can't pull you anymore! Wake up now!.

Kaega was starting to get exhausted but still managed to reach another location where he had placed the mana stones he had collected from the ruins.

“If this thing explodes, it’ll be stronger than Thunder Powder, but it’s such a waste...”.

Mana stones were a type of condensed magic, highly valuable, so no one would use them as explosives like he did.

“Can’t wait, I have to increase the distance.”

He didn't wait for him to get closer to detonate it but set it off right away.

Boom!....

Earth and rocks once again crashed down, blocking the "Head Measurer's" path.

“Now the only way out is the southern sewer gate, I have to get out of here.”

He no longer had the strength to run, so he could only lead her at a walking pace.

-”He's aiming for me.... leave me and run...”.

Now Lyne started talking again.

-You can talk now? Then help me run, stop rambling.

-”Leave me, he won't target you anymore.”

Kaega lost his composure this time.

-Lyne, don't you want to take his head? Why are you acting like this now?.

I wasn't joking when I said I'd help you take his head.

Now you're like this, how can you take his head down?.

Lyne didn't answer anymore.

As the two of them approached the southern gate...

The "Head Measurer" was standing there, blocking their way.

Lyne was still trembling, but this time she could speak.

-You run, I... will....

-Dammit.... He's blocking the way here again.

Saying that, Kaega let go of her hand.

The voice in Lyne's head continued to whisper.

-”He will betray you in the end anyway.”

-No....

Lyne looked at Kaega standing in front of her, having let go of her hand.

Just as she thought he would leave her, a familiar female voice appeared in her head:

-”No... even though he is a... ruthless... person... but... he has never... been made to... lose... his humanity... by this place.”

Lyne didn't know if she heard the voice, but now she had to widen her eyes in surprise as Kaega was the one who had taken the knife from her hip.

“I hate this choice.”

Kaega closed his eyes and then drank a stamina potion that he had been hiding for a long time.

-Running away is a good option, but it's not always the one to choose.

Kaega said and threw away the stamina potion vial he had hidden for emergencies.

Now, in front of Lyne, Kaega stood up to fight for the first time.

“At least I still have one secret card I haven't shown Lyne.... but damn, if I take a single hit from him, I'll probably die instantly...”.

Kaega looked at the "Head Measurer".

His mind and instincts were screaming at him to run.

But his heart was pounding. He didn't know if it was because of the potion he just drank, fear, or something else, but now he had to face it.

Not just for the life of the girl behind him, but also for his own survival.

He crouched and moved towards the "Head Measurer", swinging to attack with his left hand.

WHOOSH!!!!!

The swing, with a speed that seemed to tear the wind, rushed towards Kaega.

Kaega stopped, putting the swing out of attack range.

-Attacking so soon, you psycho....

SWISH! THUD! He attacked again with a slamming blow.

Kaega successfully dodged it again.

Right at that moment, while he was in a disadvantageous position, he slashed again.

Slice, the cut was too shallow, not causing much damage to him.

-Shit, too shallow!.

WHOOSH!!!

CLANK! He lunged, opening his mouth to bite quickly, but he still managed to dodge it again.

“This thing is still the first prototype, I've never tested its effectiveness.”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!

Thud! The man jumped and charged like a flying stone bullet.

This time, Kaega was just lucky to be out of the jump's range, but he quickly gathered himself and reached out to grab him.

“Shit, he’s closing the distance.”

Kaega quickly realized and dropped a few bags of Thunder Powder for him.

-I still have a lot of Thunder Powder.

He couldn't catch Kaega but caught the burning Thunder Powder instead.

Boom!.

Smoke filled the darkness, and his palm was instantly blown to pieces, bits of flesh flying everywhere.

But in the hazy smoke before Kaega's eyes, he wasn't worried about his hands at all.

Thump

In the hazy smoke, he suddenly rushed out and rammed his entire body into Kaega, and he couldn't avoid it.

Agh

He was sent flying, straight towards Lyne.

Not far from her, about 3m.

-Are you okay?.

Lyne immediately asked him, but Kaega couldn't answer anymore, he just lay there.

The "Head Measurer's" hand had now recovered... he slowly approached Lyne.

-No.....

Lyne was in despair.... He got closer.

“He has... let his guard down-” Kaega's consciousness was fading.

The "Head Measurer" was very close, reaching out to grab her....

-No!.

She closed her eyes as if unwilling to accept it.

“BOOM!!!”.

An explosion like a clap of thunder roared in the silent space.

Opening her eyes, Lyne saw the "Head Measurer" standing still before her.

His neck no longer had a head; rather, it had been blown to pieces in the air.

-Ha.... ha.... dammit.... had to use it ahead of schedule after all.... how was it?.

you monster.....

Kaega was propping himself up, in his hand was a club made of 6 bone tubes tied together in a circle and smoking black.

Then he vomited a large mouthful of blood and fainted, but a victorious smile could still be seen on his lips.

-Kaega, what's wrong... Kaega......

It's unknown how long it has been... darkness was all around..... Kaega remembered this feeling... it was the feeling of desperate hunger.

Although he wasn't sick at this time... the feeling of helplessness it brought was not much different.... he was just lying there waiting to die but then.....

-Hey brother, eat this....

A little girl with purple hair held an old, dry, and rock-hard loaf of bread, with mold on it.

But it was the only thing that could save his life at that moment.

He quickly took it. Dry, sour, and tough was the simple way to describe it.

-Eat slowly, brother, or you'll choke.

The little girl was still there, smiling innocently despite her face being smeared with mud and her ragged clothes barely covering a part of her body.

-Who are you? Why are you helping me?.

-I'm Lira, I live nearby.

You looked so pitiful, I couldn't bear it, and I figured this loaf of bread I had wouldn't last much longer, so I gave it to you.

-Then what will you eat?.

-It's okay, I have reserves.

The little girl whispered to Kaega about her reserves.

“Maybe I.......”.

Kaega immediately discarded that thought.

He always tried not to let this place assimilate him.

Turn him into one of those who trample on everything to survive.

And the little girl in front of him was just a small bright spot that helped him no longer feel lonely.

“There are some eyes watching here.”

Kaega quickly realized there were some people watching here... they seemed to have noticed the conversation.

Although he had only eaten a little, he could already stand up.

-This place isn't safe, Lira, we should leave....

After that, the two of them walked through alleys, but then they hit a dead end with chasers on the left and people approaching from behind.

The right side wasn't safe either....

“There’s no other way.”

Kaega sat down.

-Lira, hold on to my back.

Lira quickly clung to his back.

-Hold on tight.

-Um!.

Kaega at this time, though not considered very strong, for him, wanting to climb these buildings made of bricks and stones was not a problem.

-Hahahaha.

The little girl Lira laughed happily on his back, and he and the little girl escaped from that place.

Two years later.

Kaega could now easily find food in this place.

He always kept the rusty knife of someone who had lost a fight for food with another.

-Looks like I won't find anything today....

Kaega jumped down from the roof.

-”HELLO~ KAEGA.....”.

A cold voice behind him, it was like the moan of a howling wind.

Kaega quickly turned around. Behind him was a man in a cloak that covered his entire body.

“This person gives me an unsafe feeling...”.

Kaega intended to run, but something stopped him.

Curiosity.

-Who are you? How do you know my name?.

The person laughed, was that sound like a man's or a woman's?.

It was a bizarre combination that could no longer be explained by sound. But he still spoke.

-I am a trader, and you are a very potential customer for me.

-What do you sell or buy....?.

-I can sell everything.... power... status.... money.... everything you currently dream of.

-So what's the price?.

-It's the thing you swore you would never throw away.

The thing that is currently shaping the person you are.

-You mean my humanity, right?.

-Hahaha.....

The person just laughed without answering. Kaega began to observe him.

Looking at the one who claimed to be a trader.

“His skin is pieced together from many different pieces of skin.... a Morveth".

-Now that you know what I need, do you want to trade with me?.

Kaega never had any intention of trading with him, so he quickly refused.

-Hah... you'll accept my offer soon enough......

Saying that, he left slowly... he also decided to leave.

“I will never trade that thing with you.”

Kaega didn't look back.

Another day, he was running... running because he had stolen some money from the wandering rats after they had picked it from the corpse of a foolish merchant who had haggled over the price of bodyguards in this city.

A hand grabbed Kaega at a corner with a four-way intersection.

And he disappeared from the sight of his pursuers.

Kaega immediately looked at the person who had stopped him... a girl with purple hair.

-Lira? Why are you here?.

-Shh, be quiet, brother Kaega.

I came because of something....

After that, the two moved to a place Lira called her home.

It was a room hidden inside a wall.

Inside was a map and a piece of paper with information.

“A head of a member of the Blood Cult gets 400 gold from the Hunters' Guild.”

-Kaega, do you see it?.

-Lira, but.....

-Look, it's a huge bounty, we can leave this Aquila with that money and have a life that's no longer like hell.

Kaega looked at Lira, now without the innocent eyes and naive smile of the previous year, but now.

Standing before him was a survivor.

But even though he knew Lira was no longer the little girl from before, she had saved his life.

-Kaega, please help me.

I believe with your abilities, we can take the head of a Blood Cult member.

-Alright, we'll kill one and get the money to leave this Aquila.

Lira smiled at Kaega, and the two of them planned together.

Kaega went to find greedy, easily manipulated rats.

Then came an empty promise, gathering them into a group, equipping them with rusty knives, and all of them ambushed a person wearing a red cloak and a bone emblem, a proof of their identity.

-Come on, brothers, let's go! Just kill him and we'll get 400 gold.

-First, the actor goes up to distract him.

-He's let his guard down, the assassination team approaches.

-Assassination failed, swarm him from both sides and push him towards the ambush point.

-Prepare to throw knives.....

Then followed a long battle. The dark mage, though powerful, facing the large number of rats under Kaega's command, the dark mage from the Blood Cult died.

But it wasn't over yet. When everyone had gathered.

Kaega retreated deep into the shadows and began to watch the show.

As expected, before the greed of the people here, they began to fight over the dead body.

-I lured him in here, the bounty should be mine....

-I slashed his leg.

That's why he couldn't run, the money should be mine....

-I'm the one who killed him.

I'll keep his head....

-I took a hit for you so you could have the chance to kill him.....

Eyes began to glare at each other.

Then a fool started it all by cutting off the head and taking the emblem, intending to leave alone.

Kaega wasn't worried because immediately someone killed that guy and took the head.

Kaega in the darkness watched the madness of this city unfold.

His heart felt whether he had made a mistake that day by refusing that person....

In the end, one last person, breathing heavily, held the head and the emblem over the pile of corpses of those who had once fought together to achieve it.

-Ha... ha... hahaha.... in the end, no one can-.

Before he could finish his words, his neck was slit by a knife.

The one who struck was Kaega. The man clutched his neck, looking at Kaega in disbelief.

Then he fell down, unable to say anything but a few groans.

Kaega didn't look at him but picked up the head and the emblem, then returned to Lira's place.

“In the end, does it still exist here?”.

When Kaega returned, the secret wall had been broken.

He quickly ran inside; he didn't see Lira anywhere.

Inside was a mess, but he spotted a clue: footprints.

-”WE MEET AGAIN, KAEGA~”.

A familiar cold voice.

-LIRA, WHERE IS THE LITTLE GIRL?.

DID YOU HIDE HER.

The Morveth this time looked at the furious Kaega and said with a smile.

-No~ we never force a trade, we only.... appear when you need.....

-THEN SPEAK, WHERE IS LIRA.

-She was taken by the cult of the one you killed.

The Blood Cult... and tonight that little girl will be chosen for the ritual....

Hearing this, for the first time, Kaega felt despair... how could a street wanderer who could single-handedly fight off over 100 people as strong or stronger than him for an hour have failed.

-Desperate..... what's wrong, now we should trade.... but this time I will sell you.... STRENGTH..enough for you to save the little girl alone~.

-What do I have to trade with you anymore.

-No~... you still have it.....

Kaega couldn't believe his ears.

But he suddenly realized that if he just needed to save the little girl, he didn't need to fight.

-No... I won't trade with you.....

Saying that, he followed the tracks left behind. Then he went to a Coal Cave in northern Aquila.