Interlude - The Southeast Forest.

The sounds of nature fills the forest.

Crickets made sounds piercing through the silence with their echoing noises. Birds chirped as they jumped from their branches and flew away into the sky. Ants are coming in and out of their hill, some are leaving to find food, while others are going in the place the food inside.

The stream of the river overpowers the sound of the cricket and the bird, for the strength of the shallow water hitting the rocks for eternity made a sound even stronger than a roar. However a single loud sound can be heard through undefeated sounds of a strong river flow.

*crunch*

A twig snapped making a crunching sound, however its sound was made irrelevant by the immense noise of the strong stream. The twig was stomped by brown shoes, the color of leather. The perpetrator wearing said shoes lifts his legs to see what he has stepped on. He releases a breath of relief to see that it was nothing of importance.

Just after he let out a breath of relief, the man; who was covering his face with a hood, wiped his forehead that had become sweaty from the sun mercilessly heating up the forest he was in. He removes his hood and revealed a sweaty young man with silver hair, Jeyson Arostarea.

"Huff.. huff.."

Sweat ran from Jeyson's face as he lets out heavy breaths. He lifts and presses the shirt on his chest, circulating cool air all across his body.

-I should've brought water. I'm tired. Good thing I found a river.

Jeyson thought to himself as he fastened the leashes of his weapons on his back before moving towards the river.

He walked towards the river and placed his weapon which was a bow, an arrow case filled with arrows and twin swords to the side.

Jeyson moved to the edge of the river and crouched down. He scooped the water from the river and splashed it on his face.

"Haa."

He let out a breath as his face became cool after being exposed to heat for the entire morning. He then scooped more water, but this time he drank it, releasing another refreshed breath. After doing so he laid down and rested.

-Yusof Harim.

He thoughts of the man who suddenly came for work at Mikra and then asks about being a mercenary shortly after, it made him suspicious. It wasn't because he was acting suspicious, like snooping for secrets. He is completely devoid of knowledge of this world. It feels like he was acting dumb not knowing what is the Mercenary Union.

Jeyson raised his hand into the air. He recalls the time Mikra did the Reveal Weakness spell on Yusof, his Magic Flow leaked out. The sensation that he felt during the time, it was nothing like he ever felt before, his skin tingled uncontrollably, the alluring feeling towards the Magic Flow was too great that he had to hold back to not give in.

-Monster

That is Jeyson's only thought of him. He has no prior knowledge of this Yusof, and suddenly he comes in and releases an immense Magic Flow. There was also something about him that made Jeyson so sure.

-The power of the god that went silent

His face became nervous as he thought that. The god that went silent, the god that didn't want anything to do with this world, the god that practically didn't exist. Yet he has the Magic Flow with his power. This thought intimidates Jeyson, making him feel like he should be eliminated. However, the only thing stopping him from slitting his throat was Mikra's order.

-He hasn't done anything suspicious. Mikra treated him well, that means he trusts him now.

Jeyson lowered his hand and closed his eyes in his train of thought.

-I still haven't, I'll wait for him to slip up, and I'll immediately take that chance.

-To kill him.

Jeyson opened his eyes, his expression became serious as those became his thoughts. He was prepared to kill him from the beginning, his anxiousness towards the unknown made him rash. His face quickly turned to a sullen face as he closed his eyes.

-I don't want that to happen again.

He thought of that as his face became sullen. He remembered a tragedy of the past.

One that made him like he is now.

"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING!"

Jeyson jolted up as he heard a scream echoed in the distance. He quickly equipped his weapons that he placed on the ground, covered his head with his hood and hid himself.

____________

"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING! IF DERMON FINDS OUT ABOUT THIS YOU'RE ALL AS GOOD AS DEAD!"

A man who looks in his 30s with dark blue hair wearing a black robe covering his body scolded 5 people who were also wearing similar attire as him.

Just as the man screamed at them, one of them threw a rock at a squirrel that had been tied up at the tree, he missed by a tiny margin. After that, They all turned around and two of the five replied.

"C'mon we're just playing around a bit."

"Yea, don't be so bloody serious old man."

"YOU ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GUARDING THE CONTROL STONE! AND DON'T CALL OLD MAN YOU #$&@"

The dark blue haired man replied with an even louder scream than the one before. They five became more annoyed with this and another two of the five replied to him, trying to ease him.

"Don't worry Relon, No one is going to come here."

"Yeah, even if they are someone who came here we'll just kill them, hahahaha!"

Relon, The dark blue haired man, had his furiousness has gone down a little after hearing those words. However it isn't completely gone, so he spoke again with a loud voice.

"You're right, but we haven't completed our mission yet. So we have to do it properly, to avoid risks!"

The 4 men made bored faces, the last one spoke up while walking towards Relon.

"Don't we have enough? We've been doing this for too long now, the Kingdom might get suspicious of the tro- GUUUUUUH"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence because Relon punched him in the gut. The man fell down on his stomach and Relon spoke in a loud whispering voice.

"SHHHHHHHHHHH! Don't say that out loud! Who knows who might be listening."

The man recovers himself and looked at Relon, the other 4 with intimidated faces also did. They became speechless because of his actions. There was a moment of silence since everyone was afraid to speak back to him.

"Now? You're all done? Get back to your stations!"

Relon raised his voice ordering them and they complied without resistance. They lifted both of the shoulders of their ally who still hasn't fully recovered from the punch Relon gave him and moved towards a building behind Relon. He stayed behind waiting for them to enter the building while he surveyed the area for eavesdroppers.

The building behind Relon looked really run down and extremely unmaintained that it was near unrecognizable. It had considerably high length and width, being barely able to stay hidden under the trees of the forest. There was mold, moss along with big and small cracks alike all over the walls and almost half of the windows that stretched until the end of the building was broken.

After a while since they were gone, Relon, who finished surveying the area for eavesdroppers, looked at the squirrel they tied up and saw that it was still alive, squirming, trying his best to escape even with injuries. Relon looked below to find a rock, he spotted it and took it. He aimed at the squirrel and threw the rock at it with strength. The rock hits the squirrel's head and it no longer moves, for it is dead.

"They've been playing for a long time and couldn't even kill it. Huh, incompetents."

Relon said mockingly as he turned around and went into the building.

____________

In the distance, Jeyson had his eyes on the building and everything in front of its entrance.

He hid his presence behind a tree while eavesdropping and observing them. He had seen everything that happened.

Jeyson tried his best not to reveal himself as the dark blue haired man in matching dark robes as the other 5 men surveyed the area. It was a difficult task, for he had to suppress his breath and hold back the gritting of his teeth.

His blood was boiling ever since he laid his eyes on them and only intensified with each passing second. His patience has reached its absolute limit as he saw what Relon did to the squirrel.

-Monsters.. Monsters... Monsters.. Kill.. Kill the monsters.. No.. Patience.. Wait for the perfect time..

Jeyson suppressed himself from rushing forward. After a while of waiting, Relon entered the church. As soon as the coast was clear, he went towards the tied up squirrel that was dead and cut the ropes with a small knife he kept.

He carried the squirrel's body and rested it behind a tree. He looked at it with a sullen expression as he stood up and covered his head with his hood.

"Rest in peace"

He said in a sympathetic voice as he took out his bow and arrow. Jeyson's straightens his face as his eyes filled with anger focuses on the building.

"You're all going to die."

____________

Around an hour after being ordered by Relon to get back to guarding. Two of the men with black robes are standing outside and are at the left and right of the entrance.

The man on the left has sleepy eyes and is wobbly while the man on the right is still on full guard. The man on the right has energy but. Finally he sees his partner who is visibly unmotivated. His face became irritated looking at his laziness and decided to wake him up.

*SLAP*

Being at the receiving end of the slap, the man who was sleepy just a moment ago was immediately refreshed.

"What was that for?" He lashed out at his partner for slapping him.

"You were almost asleep." The man on the right replied with a straight face without looking at him

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm not letting myself suffer alone with this stupid job."

"Tch.. whatever, it's not like there is anyone going to find this place by chance anyway, just let me sleep." The man on the left said he was about to position himself to sleep. However before he was able to, his shoulder was being held by the man on the right who was making a scary face.

"If you make me do guarding alone I'll punch your stomach myself." The man on the right threatened him.

"Oh? Trying to act strong huh? You can't even hurt the thing tied on the tree." The man on the left replied with a smug look.

"I wasn't trying to hurt it, and it's called a squirrel, stupid, didn't your mom ever tell you?" He said making a face as he was sorry for him.

"Excuses excuses. No wonder you can't get a girlfriend, you're full of excuses and bullshit." He retorted still maintaining his smug look. The man on the right was making a clear irritated face.

"You.... Fine! I'll show you, I can hit the squirrel and hurt it." He raised his voice at his partner and crouched down to find a small rock.

"Oho? Bring it on." The man on the left replied as he followed his actions to pick up a small rock.

After they both found their rocks, they moved closer towards the tree where they tied the squirrel. However their faces were painted with surprise as they saw that the squirrel had disappeared.

"Wait.. where is it..?" The man on the left asks in confusion.

"Did Relon... No.. He doesn't care the slightest about them.." The man on the right answered, also in confusion.

They looked around the vicinity searching for any abnormalities but there wasn't anything. Their confusion and concern are increasing by the second. The man on the left, whose voice is starting to crack and sweat dripping down his face, spoke to his partner.

"Oy... We should repo-"

*shoot*

Before the man was able to finish his sentence an arrow that came out of nowhere pierced his eye, blood poured out like a waterfall as he fell down on the ground lifeless.

"aa..aaa..AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH." The other man who had his partner killed right in front of him screamed in horror as he frantically looked around.

He lifted his right hand, which had a peculiar ring being worn on the middle finger.

"Release!"

As he said that the finger glowed and shadow like matter oozed out his right hand, it moved into the man's shadow and manifested itself on the ground as a small circle around his legs.

"W-W-WHOSE THERE? COME OUT!" The man screamed in clear panic, still looking around frantically for the person who shot the arrow.

-I manifested my Dark Magic. If what they said about my ability was correct, I will be able to block the arrows and fight long range attackers.

He thought to himself while being on complete guard, looking out for anyone.

*shoot*

Not long after, another arrow was shot, it was quicker than eye, but the dark matter from the shadow appeared quicker and blocked the arrow. The man's attention was immediately moved to the event.

-I see, so it works like that.

*shoot* *shoot*

Two more arrows were shot, and both of them were intercepted by the dark matter. This gave the man a confidence boost, he screamed out again to the person shooting them.

"COME OUT! YOUR ARROWS WONT WORK ANYMORE!"

There was no response, It was quiet for a while.

-Did he retreat?

The man thought, but just as he was about to retreat, he heard a loud rustling noise in front of him. He was on his guard again and his focus was at his front.

Suddenly he saw a glimpse of a rock being thrown at him.

"Ugh!"

He closed his eyes by reaction. The rock was blocked by the dark matter from the shadow. The man's eyes were closed and he heard loud noises of footsteps, as he opened his eyes to discern what it was, he saw a person running at him at a high speed.

"AH!"

He tried to move to the side but a he was bit late, the shadow wasn't able to intercept the man because it was still recovering from blocking the rock.

After regaining himself, the man sees a hooded person with a bow and arrow case behind him. He was holding a short blade and it had blood dripping from it.

"Ugh.."

The man sees that his arm had a cut because he was late in evading him. He looked at the man who was slowly walking towards him.

"Who are you?"

He asks, but the man didn't answer, he rushed towards him. He relied on his shadow to block his attack and only moved slightly.

The man swung his blade downwards with great force, as expected, the shadow blocked the blade. The blade was stuck in the dark matter, the hooded man tried to nudge it but it didn't work.

"Hargh!" The man tries to retaliate with a punch. However, he was slower compared to the hooded man which resulted in his punch being easily evaded.

The hooded man repositioned himself and pulled out another short sword and rushed forward without hesitation.

"Urgh!" The man's shadow was still recovering from blocking the blade, his face became troubled as he tried to evade his attack.

The man was unable to evade the attack because the hooded man was faster and the shadow wasn't able to block the upcoming attack. This resulted in a clean slash towards the gut.

"Guuuh." The man fell onto the ground.

He placed his hand on his stomach to see what is causing him this pain, he saw his hand was completely covered in blood. The blood continued to flow out of his stomach uncontrollably as he hit the man's shadow and retreated back into his hand because he was unable to keep its shape.

The man's vision becomes blurry as he feels sleepy and the pain fading. He finally sees the hooded man coming over and crouches down to retrieve his sword. The man's final sight was the glimpse of silver hair from the hooded man, after that the pain fades completely as he draws his last breath.

"Monsters deserve death"

The last thing he heard before he completely ceased movement.

____________

Jeyson had cleared the two guards at the front of the entrance. He was absolutely sure that the noise alerted those who are inside, after picking up his blade near the deceased man. He ran quickly towards the entrance.

*BANG*

Jeyson kicked open the door to the building. The interior was bland and empty, there was nothing covering anything, which helped him alot as he was instantly able to see 4 men rushing around and a peculiar looking object oozing dark matter at the end of the building.

-Monsters

Jeyson thought to himself. They all noticed Jeyson at the entrance and looked at him.

"H-He's here! Quickly, kill him!"

The man who threw the stone that killed the squirrel, Relon, ordered the 3 men. 2 of the men had their hands with the peculiar rings on their fingers ooze dark matter that manifested into a dark sword and a dark bow. One of them grabbed the peculiar object then gave it to Relon, he immediately stood in front of him in a position ready for battle as if he was guarding Relon.

Jeyson stood silent as he also commenced a battle stance against them. Holding his two twin blades.

The man with the dark sword rushed forward and Jeyson followed, rushing towards him with intent to kill. Jeyson was about to deliver a strike at him but the one holding the dark bow shot a dark arrow that led Jeyson off his intended course which resulted in him not being able to attack.

-That was close.

"Take this!" The man with the sword swung the sword down at Jeyson who was unable to attack, it was fast, but he was faster.

Jeyson tried to rush towards the one with the bow but the man didn't give Jeyson any time to recover.

"You're not going anywhere!" He says this as he makes consecutive attacks towards Jeyson, which he evades all. The man with the bow was also a problem, as he couldn't attack freely due to the ranged support.

-These guys have good teamwork.

The man with the sword then did a sloppy attack to follow up and Jeyson took this opportunity to recover the distance. The man with the sword also recovered himself and the man with the bow was at standby to shoot his dark arrow.

-How can I disrupt them? 

Jeyson thinks to himself as none of them made any moves towards him yet. His opponents are waiting to make first move. He glances over the arrow and notices that along it's course, it grazed his comrade's robe. This observation led him to devise a plan.

-Hmm. Let's try this.

He rushed forward again and made a swinging motion downwards with his left hand which was inevitably blocked by the man and as he tried to follow up the attack with a reposition and right sword attack, the bow shot in his direction, but barely missed his comrade.

-I see, I can do this now.

With this test, Jeyson formulated a strategy. He recovers his distance and stance then charges again. He lifted both of his swords and swung them down hard simultaneously, the man was able to block the attack but only barely because of the force of the swords.

"Ugh!" The man said as he was barely able to block the attack.

Jeyson then does lighter consecutive attacks with each of his blades which the man with the sword was still able to block. However due to awkward position from the first block, the following blocks became less faster and less precise, which prompted him to step back with each block to decrease his chances of getting hit. Jeyson keeps attacking forward and steadily the man keeps stepping backwards to maintain distance.

-Now!

Jeyson repositions himself as he did the test and the man with the bow shoots, and this time he hit, but not Jeyson, it was the leg of his comrade.

"AAAaah!"

"S-Sorry!" The man who got shot screamed in pain as the man who shot it was panicking and made a scared expression.

-He isn't adept with the bow. If he was then that shot would've been easy, No- this entire fight would've been easy for them if he was.

The man with the sword kneeled on one of his legs, unable to stand let alone fight. Jeyson took this chance and rushed towards the man who was using the bow. He was panicking and he wasn't able to reload or evade in time. This resulted in Jeyson who was rushing to attack him successfully slicing his arm, severely wounding it.

"Uuugh." He groaned as he laid on the ground bleeding like a waterfall. Jeyson stood up and fixed his position to see Relon who was standing behind another person.

"You're next." Jeyson said with an intimidating tone.

Relon had sweat drop from his face from fear, but it quickly turned into laughter.

"Sorry! But not Today!"

As he said that, a dark circle appeared under Relon, the person in front of him and at the man who had an arrow in his leg. The darkness rises and intestified, slowly covering the bodies of three.

"You're not going anywhere!" Jeyson screamed as he rushed towards Relon.

"That's where you're wrong! Good luck next time! ehe." Relon said the last time before the darkness completely covered them, Jeyson kept rushing at the darkness with the position to slash it. He quickly slashed at the body of darkness, but as he did it dispersed, and then they disappeared.

"Damn it!" Jeyson screamed at himself infuriated. He had completely failed and they escaped. He wasn't able to avenge the squirrel and failed to find out anything either, Jeyson gritted his teeth and gripped his blades harder.

-If only I had…

As Jeyson was in his thoughts lamenting about this outcome, he heard someone speak.

"They.. left me.." The man behind Jeyson spoke, he turned around and saw him lying on the ground laughing to himself as he kept bleeding, his face from being one of panic and fear just a moment ago was now of content.

They were 4 people here, but Relon only teleported 3. They didn't bring along the person who was severely injured, the man knew it was because he would be a burden so he was practically left behind for dead. Still, even if he knew that, it wasn't something he could accept easily.

This situation is favorable for Jeyson, since this means he can obtain information from him, his mission isn't a complete failure. With that, he sheaths his blades and approaches the man with only one question in mind. He lifted the man by his neck and asked.

"Where did they go?" Jeyson asked with an angry voice.

"Hahaha.. I wouldn't be telling ya, but since they left me to die.. might as well have ya bring them to me in hell.." He laughed to himself as he said that. Jeyson was getting impatient and tightened his grip on the man's neck.

"Ack! They're.. in the forest.. close to here.. near the roads.. at the troll camp."

"Troll camp?" Jeyson asked in confusion.

"Our mission.. was to attack the carts…. that carried resources... for something big… the trolls.. are just tools." The man continued to explain, his breath getting heavier, the blood keeps flowing out, it seems his time is almost up.

"What's that weird thing they brought with them?"

"That?.. That's the Control Stone.. it's what we used.. to control the trolls.. ya can't miss it.. the Dark Magic Flow.. from it.. is too strong.."

Jeyson had heard all he needed to know. He threw the man back on the floor and began to make his way out.

The man who had just been able to breathe again, lifted his head slightly at Jeyson and spoke in the loudest volume he could.

"*cough* *cough* Bring them.. to hell… for me.. I'm counting on ya.."

Jeyson stands still after he hears his final request, he has no intention to share more words with monsters like him. He turns around to look at him, he has already ceased movement.

Jeyson straightens his head, continuing to walk towards the exit. When he arrived outside, he glanced at the bodies one last time, thinking nothing but how those monsters deserve their fate. He turned his head to the right and started running in that direction that leads to the roads. To find the troll camp near them.

"Manipulating trolls to attack people passing by. They truly are monsters."

He spoke to himself one last time as he ran faster.