A Life For Revenge

After so much conversation, our little campsite has grown silent. Normally this would be a cause for my concern. However, I couldn't be upset if I tried. After all, all of these kids are busy stuffing their faces in farmer's porridge and slices of bacon.

"Quite the worthwhile purchase, if I must say!"

The whole pot has found itself completely emptied by a set of hungry mouths. Considering what I've seen these past couple of days, it's no wonder that their bodies are craving more. I've been stuck with nothing but hard bread during some rough months and I would never wish it on anybody. Even if your teeth survive, your heart doesn't

"Thank you, Rado."

Bernard is the first to put his bowl down. After his third serving, the young knight looks incredibly alive.

"Don't worry about it! Where I'm from, a good meal is all you have to look forward to when you rise in the morning. That, and a good drink of course!"

"That sounds…quite glum."

"Life on the farm, kid. You get used to it."

On the other side of the fire, Katherine struggles to lower her bowl onto the dirt. Her face betrays a pain that reaches into the depths of her stomach. I'm sure that wasn't there before she went back for seconds.

The only one left is the boy slowly picking at the remaining pieces of barley with his spoon. He hasn't said a single word since joining.

"What about you, kid? Like the food."

"It's…good."

"Glad to hear! I've had it so many hundreds of times that I've lost count, but it never fails to give that little push you need!"

I lean back against my bag as a cushion and let out a long sigh. Even though Leon has finished, he doesn't return to his isolation. Seeing my opportunity, I take it.

"So, what brings you out here? You looked real heated back there."

"I…"

Surprisingly, the young hero responds. I had half expected him to retreat as soon as I prodded him.

"I'm here to kill demons."

"The Demon Lord?"

"No, all of them."

A heavy pressure seems to consume his entire being, the immediate result being a quiet snapping from the wooden spoon he still holds.

"I can't rest until every last one of those fiends are dead!"

"Got a bad history?"

"They…they took everything from me."

Flames burst out in his hands, magic fueled by rage. The poor utensil was left completely scorched by his rampant emotions.

"Our village was attacked in the night, burned to the ground. My father tried to protect my mother and I as we fled. He was killed quickly, my mother also dying from arrows and flames. I narrowly escaped by falling into the river and being washed away."

I see the reflection of the campfire in his eyes. However, that small kindling is completely overpowered by the burning world that he envisions. That fire isn't just a memory, it's a promise to the ones who brought him such pain.

"I'll burn every last one of them! I'll make them feel what my people felt that day!"

"I see…"

Those words, that scorn, it carries scars that have probably long faded visibly. However, those scars run deeper than his skin suggests, deep enough to compel him forward. The unbearable amount of loss brought on by a single day leaves nothing by emptiness. It's a void that must be filled with something or else be discarded altogether. Leon chose vengeance to fill the vessel of his heart. That alone is why he has lived long enough to be here today.

"But…"

The way he brutally murdered that demon, it makes my skin itch. I'm no sympathiser to the monsters, of course not. However, that face Leon made in that moment, there is no peace to be had there. Whatever closure, if he still believes in such a thing, gained in such a way will not last. Eventually, the vessel will become empty once more.

"What will you do once you have removed them all?"

"Hm?"

Leon blinks at my sudden question. For a single moment, it looks like a normal boy had returned to take his place, lost and unsure of the future. The image was what he should be, only for it to cloud once more with rage.

"There are hundreds of demons beyond this rogue pack. I will travel the continent and kill them all."

"To what end? Where does all of this killing take you? I'll warn you now, kid, it isn't pretty."

Kill one wolf and a few more will appear a few months later. Trying to hunt each and every last one is the same as pushing for a quick death. This road, it will never end.

"What are you saying, peasant?"

Leon stands from his seat and looks down at me, the dim light only highlighting a part of the young hero. I can only see the side that is filled with wrath.

"I will kill them all. That is my purpose! If I don't get revenge for my people, nobody will!"

All of this anger is currently directed at me, but I feel no fear. There is no way to calm the young boy down even if I wanted to. Instead, I take in every last bit of it.

"You could never understand my pain! The pain of being left with nothing, crawling through the dirt hoping to be saved! Even after surviving, you must live with the fact that the ones responsible are running free and with delight at your burns!"

A hand reaches forward and grabs onto my shirt, pulling me close to that face twisted with grief.

"How could you!? You're just a filthy farmer that happened to find some use in your sorry life! So just do your job and don't get in my way!"

He spits those words before dropping me to the ground. My body aches, but I managed to pull myself together soon enough to watch him retreat back into his solitary corner. I can feel the light dimming around us when he leaves.

Bernard moves in to help me to my feet, continuing the stiff silence as I brush myself off.

"Revenge, huh…"

A life for revenge. For somebody with nothing left, that reason is good enough to keep drawing breath. I'm sure that even if Leon tried, he could not find another meaning to his life, the life of a survivor.