The Invader (Part 2)

<??? POV>

Pulling the arrow out of the boss’ neck, I swept his legs off the ground, letting him fall near the edge of Isle’s City walls of his own volition once I heard his ragged breaths.

“Hrk!”

Grunting, the mage jumped back in his best attempt to create distance from me.

How cute.

Run away, why don’t you?

Don’t these vermin know by now that they are most likely to be killed when running?

I lunged towards the mage. With the same arrow I used against his boss, I pushed it into his chest.

The target was his lungs. And I was successful in hitting it.

“Ack!”

The mage grunted.

“Hm? Did that hurt? Do you want to scream?”

I scrunched my face and grinned from ear to ear, taunting the once cocky mage. Oh, how wonderful it was to see the pain in his eyes, and how wonderful it was to hear it from his breath.

With labored breaths, the mage collapsed onto the cold floor.

“Kakaka~” I laughed.

The mage grunted.

“G-go to hell!” the vermin spat.

“Hell?”

The word raised an eyebrow.

“If you’re referring to the depths of the Underworld, then I have been there, and I must say…”

With wavering vision, the boss and mage gave me their undivided attention, anticipating ‌my truth. My answer.

How hilarious. But I’ll allow them to know the truth, that…

“The cruelty within the Underworld is laughable compared to this world! Kakakaka!”

Arching back, I laughed while the top half of my body faced the night sky.

“You vermin, all you do is take and take and take! Whether it’s lives or resources, you people always take, but never give!”

Glaring at the two imbeciles on their backs, I continued.

“Tell me, are you two knowledgeable of even a single species that your people have wiped out? Huh?!”

Lying on the ground, heaving, these two humans didn’t need to say a thing. Their eyes told the answer.

And the answer was no.

If that’s the case…

“Then allow me to educate you…”

With thunderous thuds coming from the stairs emerged a dear being, a being that was close to my heart, even though his complexion was now purple.

“Krk…what is…that?” the guard boss asked.

Standing over 7 feet tall, with gigantic fists that could shatter every bone in a human’s ribcage, and two dagger-like teeth visible from his underbite, my dear buddy growled at the two vermin.

“That,” I said, “was once an Orange Giant. A peaceful and loving species that your people of Isle City hunted until there were none left. And all of that carnage, that chaos, was all done in the name of…fun~!”

I leaned in, laughing as a pathetic jester would.

“Kakakakaka! Isn’t it hilarious?! Huh?! Tell me?!” I screamed. “For a group of men to chase down a peaceful creature, agitating and cornering the poor thing and keeping it in that very same corner to hit, stab, and cast ridiculous spells upon until the poor guy passed away. Then after committing such an atrocity, heading home to brag and drink, while exaggerating the story to bring out laughs! Tell me now, mage! Do you find it funny?!”

My eyes bulged in sync of my broken and yet agitated heartbeats.

Meanwhile, the mage said nothing.

“Huh? No answer, I see? Then how about you, boss? Do you find that story amusing?”

“No…but…”

“Buuuuuut?” I hovered my ear over the vermin’s hand. “What?”

“We didn’t have anything to do with the thing’s extinction…”

I leaned away from the boss, placing a hand on my chin.

“Hmm, that may be fair, but…”

I couldn't mask the anger in my eyes.

“We didn’t have anything to do with the extinction either. My friends and I, living in Orange Forest, ‌never gave ‌you vermin a reason to attack us. We were peaceful! And yet still, you attacked not even to satiate one’s hunger—but merely to feed the egos of oneself!”

I dropped the heat-filled anger shortly after, along with my tone. What came next was intense, yet earnest.

“That’s why it doesn’t matter to me whether you or your cocky mage took part in my friend's extinction. In our eyes, you’re all evil. And now…”

Peering over the many houses of Isle City, I spread my arms for my Queen to witness.

“We want revenge...”

With stomps that shook the stone beneath us, the Orange Giant now turned purple, growled as it stepped closer to the vermin lying on the ground.

I smiled.

“You can kill them now, Buddy.”

Revealing its toothy grin, the giant stepped closer.

“No! To hell with you! Back away! Don’t kill me! I beg you! Don’t kill me!”

The mage cried, making my head tilt ever so slightly.

“Oh? So the cocky mage is going to beg for mercy now? Even though you were the one who suggested your comrades kill me?”

“Yes, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry for attacking you! We were just doing our job and—!”

I raised my fist to interrupt all his squealing.

“Enough with the tears. You know they won’t affect me.”

The giant raised its leg, keeping 450 pounds of force on standby.

Tears ran down the mage’s snotty face.

“Please…” he cried. “Please…”

I sneered.

“You people really are pathetic.”

The giant stomped on the mage’s head, putting an end to his tears and creating a puddle of blood on the top wall of Isle City.

“May you never find salvation, cocky mage.”

I turned to the mage’s comrade and sighed at the sight.

“He’s already succumbed to his injuries. That explains why he was so silent.”

The boss lost too much blood over the course of this little spiel. Granted, that was what an arrow pierced and withdrawn from the neck would do to a man.

My giant friend wiped his bloody foot against the floor, and in doing so, almost slipped.

“Kaka, are you alright?”

My friend nodded.

“Good.”

Standing by my side, my friend and I observed the scenery below us.

“We have a long night ahead of us. 5,000 humans is what we’re up against.”

The giant growled with concern.

“Am I worried?”

I laughed.

“I’m not. Not when the Lich Queen has blessed us with this second chance.”

The giant nodded with an understanding gesture.

“We’re going to get our revenge, Buddy. For us, for our families, and for all our comrades who were forced and cornered into our same path. We’ll get it back in blood. And once we do, we will have brought this world one step in the right direction.”

My buddy laughed, low and rumbling, similar to that of a rolling boulder.

“I agree. I’m excited as well. But we must hide for now.”

Walking past the deceased archer, whom I took out first, we walked along the perimeter of the top wall.

“May we hope that our friends and comrades fare well with these city folk. Though it’s fine if they can’t. After all, we have a trick up our sleeves.”

A trick that was 3 years in the making.

My buddy nodded, laughing once more.

May the people of Isle City be aware of what’s coming and perish, nevertheless.

That is all I want…