To be a Wielder - Part 3

"Well, are you going to answer me? Osada." No longer fighting to hold him in place, I gaze up at the face of the man who casually slaughtered four people without hesitation. I stare into his eyes through his rectangular-framed glasses, making no effort to hide my disdain for him.

"That depends, Sugawara. Why are you here?" I put on a show of strength despite my weakened state, standing my ground and keeping a firm grip on the frame of his scythe.

"And why should I answer that?" 'That condescending tone and gaze of his really irritates me.'

"Because this back and forth we have, is going to get us nowhere. Now stop wasting our time and tell me why you came here?" 'Thinking back for a second, I've never been this aggressive when dealing with Sugawara in the past, chalk it up as another effect of Vestra's spell.'

Sugawara's eye twitches as his face shifts to an irritated expression, but he continues to look down upon me regardless.

"If you must know, I came here to deal with these bandits. The guild in Trokuto made a request, it piqued my curiosity, therefore, I accepted." 

Tokruto, a trading post nearly twice the size of Alameria, it serves as the main trade hub across the heart of the country. 'If he's here because of a request from Tokruto, it's likely because the trade between them and Alameria has ceased.'

"Cut the crap! You and I both know you don't care about what happens here in Other World. So why don't you tell me why you're really here?" Sugawara appears undaunted by my accusation, maintaining his calm and cold demeanor.

"Should have known you wouldn't buy that. Fine, I'm not here to complete some foolish guild request, nor deprive you of your bounty. I'm here for the weapons."

"The weapons?" I glance back at the bandit behind me, who appears confused by the interactions between Sugawara and I, focusing on the large rifle by his side, the reason for Sugawara's interest becomes clearer. "So, you heard something about bandits armed with advanced weapons, and decided to investigate?"

"While I may not care for this world, I can appreciate the advanced technologies in it. So, how about you let go of my weapon, get out of my way, and I'll get out of yours." Sugawara attempts to pull his weapon back as he finishes his sentence. However, I reaffirm my grip, struggling to hold it and him in place.

"You want the weapons, you can have 'em. However, I've got dibs on the last two survivors... And their gear. Fair?" Sugawara appears displeased by my demand, but he doesn't contest it. 

I release my grip on Sugawara's scythe, and we share a gaze that doesn't hide our dislike for each other. As Sugawara turns to walk away, his weapon shifts its form into a small doll-like figure sitting on the edge of his shoulder.

"Fine, since you served as an adequate decoy, I'll grant your request, this time." As Sugawara is leaving, my sole focus is on the small figure sitting on the edge of his shoulder, draped in black garments, their face hidden by a thick hood. 

'I've fought with Sugawara in the past, but I've never seen his partner's humanoid form before.' When he walks far enough away, I could swear his companion glanced in my direction, but still not enough for me to get a good look at them.

"Yeah, whatever." I get a last word in as Sugawara leaves to retrieve the weapons of those he killed, suppressing my irritation for a more relaxed and focused demeanor, I then turn my attention to the bandit slumped at my feet.

I stretch out my arm towards him with my palm open, "Come on," the bandit gazes up at me before reaching out for my hand, but I pull my hand back before he can take it.

"Oi, not you, the gun." He appears dejected from my harsh and uncaring tone, glancing between me and his weapon a few times. He takes hold of the gun by its built-in handle, raising it up to hand it to me. I grab the weapon by its grip, being careful not to touch the trigger, and point it at the bandit, who squeals in terror as I do.

"Wait, please don't shoot me, I was only doing as I was told." The bandit makes a pointless plea for his life, I can't help but scoff at him in disgust.

"You made a conscious decision to shoot at me. As I recall, you were to first to shoot at me after that sneak attack." The bandit gulps at my words before looking at the ground in shame. 'Judging from the size of this thing, it must fire something close to 50 caliber rounds.'

Examining the large and heavy gun in my hand, I get a feel for its weight and heft, then handle it properly with both of my hands, I examine the area through its sights. Slightly tempted to pull the trigger to test it, deciding against it, I eject and examine the gun's magazine, noticing that the rounds are pretty close in size to my estimate, 'around 50 caliber, but not quite.'

Imitating a move that I once saw in a movie, I slide the magazine back into the gun, finishing with a slap to lock it in with a loud click. Handling the gun with my dominant hand, I aim it at the bandit, and with a quick flick motion, direct him to go and check on his fox partner, who has been lying on the ground unconscious.

Scanning the area for signs of Sugawara, I realise that he has left the area, likely the moment he finished gathering the other bandits' firearms. 'I'll need to take a closer look at this thing later.' Turning my attention back to the bandit, I follow him as he crawls towards his fellow bandit.

Cradling her in his arms, he gently rouses her awake, as the fox woman opens her eyes, tears well up at the sight of the male, and she starts bawling like a child in his arms. I can't help by sigh at the sight of the pair, 'These two aren't really cut out for the bandit lifestyle; they're too soft-hearted for it.' 

"You two have to be the saddest excuse for bandits I've ever seen. Just what was it you were trying to accomplish here anyway?" The pair gaze at me with confused expressions, which adds to my own bewilderment. Collecting themselves, they stand up together and address my question.

"Well, the thing is, we don't really know." 'Seriously!' My expression tells them I don't buy their answer. "We were just following Jakaris' directions." The mention of a Jakaris has me a little confused; then I surmise that they must be referring to their now deceased leader.

"So, the two of you don't know anything?" A despondent head shake from the pair ruins any hope for an answer to that question. "What about the weapons, the Slytzars? Do you know anything about them, at least?" The guy appears to know nothing, while the fox woman displays a different reaction.

"Well, we can't tell you anything about them, Jakaris just showed up carrying and handing out the weapons one day, and that controller guy was following him as well." Judging from the fox woman's tone and behavior, it doesn't seem like she's lying.

"He just showed up, carrying the weapons and the Slytzars in tow?" My question is answered with a nod from her. "Where did he get the weapons from? Which direction did he and the Slytzars come from?" The fox woman brings a finger to her temple as she thinks on what she can remember.

"He... He came from the West. I don't know where he got them from, or when he picked them up. But when he returned to us, he came from the West with the Slytzars and that controller in tow. That's all we know."

'It's not what I was hoping to learn, but at least with her help I've learned something.' I turn to gaze in the direction of where the bandit leader's corpse is, I can't help but let out a deep sigh. 

'Great, trust Sugawara to come through recklessly, and make things harder for me than they should be. Fortunately, she said West, that means I'll need to head that way to find out more. But first.' 

The mention of the Slytzars has me curious about the two that were tangled up during the start of the fight, I leave the pair with an intimidating "Stay Here!" which works surprisingly well, considering their scared expressions.

Making my way around the treeline, I spot the Slytzars still lying where I last saw them. One appears completely immobile, while the other is biting at something I can't see. Walking over to them, I'm met with a threatening hiss from the active Slytzar as it spots me.

I instinctively aim the gun at it in response but continue to approach cautiously, walking around to see what the active one was biting at. I spot the controlling blade embedded in its body; despite its motionless state, it appears to be breathing. 

"Huh, look at that, sticking around to help its buddy." I glance at the Slytzar staring at me with hostile intent before returning my focus to its immobile partner. 'Looks like the Slytzar went limp the moment the controller died. I'll need to gather these blades before returning to Alameria.' 

I cautiously approach the motionless Slytzar, while its active friend continue to hiss at me in a threatening, but concerned manner. I ignore its threats and walk up to the blade; the hissing stops from the active Slytzar, as it now appears to be more curious about what I'm doing. 

I give a reassuring nod to the Slytzar as I grip the blade, exerting all of my strength to pull it out. A gush of red blood nearly splatters onto me as the blade comes free. Released from the blade's control, the once immobile Slytzar goes into a full panic, realising the moment it can move again.

In the Slytzar's panic, it begins violently thrashing its whole body around after being freed. Taking a hit and being thrown back by its hind leg, I barely avoid its sharp claws and land painfully on my backside. 

After recovering, I back away to a safe distance and watch as its partner wraps around it again in what appears to be an attempt to calm it. Once again, I'm fascinated by the intelligence and emotions of the creatures of the Other World.

After the creatures have their moment, they gaze at me for a brief moment, causing me to feel a little worried about what they might do. However, they turn and walk away from me in what I assume to be a southward direction, likely heading for a more comfortable, warmer climate zone.

As I make my way back to the centre of the grove, a cool breeze blows through, prompting me to gaze upward and observe the changing colours in the sky as it shifts from the lovely red to a beautiful shade of violet. 'Looks like night is just about upon us; I'll need to hurry this up.' 

When I reach the centre of the grove I notice that the bandit pair hasn't moved, and is staring at me. Considering my next action, I snap my fingers and point at the pair, re-imposing my previous order for them not to move. I then make my way over to check on and loot the bodies of their fallen comrades.