Chapter 36: Returning to a Familiar Place

Luke gasped as he sat up. His chest heaved as he frantically scanned his surroundings for his pursuers but saw that he was alone.

Where was he?

The last thing he remembered was falling into a river, but that was impossible. There was only one river near his hometown. He remembered crossing it while on the run.

Did he somehow get turned around and ended up back at the river?

It was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with, and it did explain how he ended up encountering all those people so soon after fleeing. If he had ended up backtracking, it was no wonder he crossed paths with them.

Speaking of his pursuers, he had to quickly confirm where he was. He couldn’t just sit around and hope they didn’t find him again.

As he scrambled to his feet, he studied his surroundings.

This place didn’t look familiar, so it likely wasn’t a place near his hometown, which really didn’t help him narrow it down. The river was long so he could be anywhere.

Suddenly, he could hear voices in the distance and ducked behind some shrubs for cover.

He gripped the hilt of his sword, which had miraculously stayed within him despite the current. Soon two figures stepped into view, and his eyes widened as he recognized the townspeople he had helped not that long ago.

How had he ended up near Waldbhau?

It was north of his hometown. Even if the same river flowed near the two towns, it still made no sense for him to end up near Waldbhau. The river flowed south, so if anything, he should have flowed further south. None of this was adding up.

Luke remained hidden as he heard one of the townspeople ask, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to go this far from the town?”

“Don’t be a coward. It’s not that far from the town. If something happens, we can make a break for it,” the other townsperson said.

“But what if there are monsters?” the first person asked, clutching the bow in their hands.

“Did you forget? That monster hunter already dealt with them. There’s nothing to fear,” the second person said.

The previous person was still not reassured and asked, “Still, what if they come back?”

“Everyone knows that monsters don’t show up in the same place that quickly. Something about how they avoid places that might be dangerous to them. We’re safe for now,” the other person said, pushing forward without a care.

So far he hadn’t learned anything useful from them. Everything they said was things he already knew.

As if sensing his annoyance, dark energy began to wrap around his sword again. The moment he noticed what was happening, he silently cursed and released his grip on his sword. The dark energy dissipated from the sword, but it continued to leak from his sword hand.

He gritted his teeth as he gripped his wrist with his other hand like he was trying to strangle the dark energy out of it.

Luke couldn’t let a repeat of what happened earlier occur.

The memory of all the people he killed because he lost control of the dark energy he received from the evil god made his stomach churn.

He was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to save people, not kill them.

“You’re still going on about that nonsense? You stopped being a hero the moment you were sealed with me and made a deal with me,” the evil god said.

Luke didn’t respond, focusing his attention on the dark energy still wrapped around his hand.

There had to be a way to control it so it didn’t control him, but how?

Asking the evil god would be foolish. He wouldn’t give Luke a straight answer and might even manipulate him into killing more people.

The two townspeople grew closer to his position, unaware of the danger lurking nearby.

He didn’t dare to move, worried that he might alert them of his presence. If that happened, they would likely die at his hand. He absolutely couldn’t make a sound.

They stopped right in front of his hiding spot when one of them said, “I don’t see any prey. Where do you think they went?”

“They likely were frightened off by the monsters and won’t return that easily,” the other said, observing the surroundings.

“Does that mean we have to go deeper?” the first asked unhappily.

“Unless you want to return empty-handed,” the latter person said as they were about to take a step towards Luke.

Luke tensed, feeling the dark energy surge again. The townsperson unexpectedly stopped and retracted their foot with a strange look on their face.

“What’s wrong? Is it a monster?” their companion asked with a fearful expression.

“No. Aren’t those footsteps?” the townsperson said, pointing at the trail left by Luke.

He cursed himself for not hiding his traces before hiding behind the shrub.

Granted, it would have been hard to do a decent job quickly before the townspeople showed up, but he could have at least made it harder to tell it was a person who left the trail. Now they knew he was there. He couldn’t let them report him.

The urge to kill them shot through him, and he gripped his sword again.

Surprisingly, the other person scoffed and said, “Are you sure your eyes aren’t going? Those don’t look like footsteps.”

“I’m being serious here,” the person snapped.

“Then are you suggesting someone decided to go for a swim without telling anyone?” the other townsperson asked dryly, effectively silencing their partner.

Luke struggled not to lunge at them and strike them down with his sword, his body trembling from the effort.

“You know what? Forget it. Let’s just head back,” the person in front of the shrub said, throwing their arms up in exasperation.

Before their partner could say a word, they stormed up with a dark expression on their face while mumbling under their breath. Their partner trailed after them until neither of them could be seen.

Once they were no longer in sight, his bloodlust vanished.