Heart of Blood 1

Move you stupid legs!

I thought those words over and over again. It didn’t matter how tired I was or how loud my stomach rumbled, I had to keep running. Otherwise, they would kill me.

A sudden shift swept over the war-torn forest. Oh crap! I threw myself to the ground, which was the correct choice. A slash of wind flew over my head, slicing through the trees as if they were made of butter. At first, nothing happened. But ever so slightly, the trees began to topple.

My face paled as I picked myself back up, trying to escape the deadly ensnarement. A dodge to the left. A slip to the right. Anything to make it out alive – to see tomorrow. Though honestly, in this Eternal War, tomorrow would be the same shit as today.

Sizzle.

Come on, again already?!? I dove forward, making no effort to look at the incoming danger. Or maybe it was gone already. Something sounded like it was on fire. Maybe it was the guys who raided our hideout. Or it could’ve been an entirely different group. I wasn’t going to stop and check. Plus, it wasn’t like I could fight back anyway – I didn’t have time to grab my belongings before fleeing.

Rumble. Rumble.

Another attac–oh wait. That’s my stomach. The non-stop barrage of magic and arrows had made me paranoid. Though, I should’ve expected as much. It had been two days since I last ate something. As a descendant of an alligator, I could last a little while before succumbing to hunger, but if I actually got to that point, I’d be dead. Staying anywhere longer than an hour was risky. It was pure luck our hideout went undiscovered.

So, food was my first priority. A break t–

WHOOSH!

“Agh!” A wall of water brushed by in front of me. I wasn’t able to stop in time, so my body was carried along for a bit before being tossed to the side. With a gasp, I stood up again, picking a different direction to run. There was no rhyme or reason – I was already lost. Just anywhere but here. There were way too many deadly things: fireballs, earthquakes, air cannons. I didn’t need randomly appearing lakes added to that list.

~~~

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The sky was always in an eternal sunset, as if denoting my endless suffering. The good news was that I hadn’t been beaten or bombarded or surprised in the last… some amount of minutes. Still, I wasn’t planning on stopping. An open forest was the perfect place to be ambushed. However, no matter how far I went, the trees grew sparser.

Am I leaving the forest? But there’s no sign of a town, or anyone for that matter. It wasn’t like turning around would be any better though, so I continued onward.

What I saw was… confusing at least.

There was a single building in the middle of a small clearing. However, it didn’t look like a home or a barracks. It had a more regal vibe. Spires of stone reaching towards the sky. Windows painted with elaborate pictures. An elongated plus symbol displayed proudly on the roof. Oddly ornamental.

The most surprising thing was the place was still intact. In fact, given how clean it looked, someone was definitely living here. The war probably hadn’t reached this place yet. Or maybe no one else found it. Regardless, it was the perfect place to stock up, assuming they had anything. Best proceed with caution. I didn’t want to die after making it this far.

I crept up to the door, which was just as ornate as the rest of the building. There was even a weird lion with a ring hanging out of its mouth. Very tacky.

With a deep breath, I knocked on the door. It made no sense trying to sneak around when I didn’t understand the layout. Introducing myself and catching them off guard was the better play here.

I waited around for a few seconds before footsteps approached the door. A soft voice came from the other side. A female, most likely. I lightly slapped my cheeks and raised my guard, prepared for whoever it was.

The door opened, and…

…

…

I should’ve prepared more.

A girl, somewhere in her teens, appeared on the other side with a smile that could melt even the coldest heart. She wore a pure white gown that covered her from the neck down, just barely hovering above the ground. It showcased her below average breasts in a charming yet innocent way. Hanging around her neck was that weird plus on top of the building. The only thing that looked out of place was the slits exposing her legs, but that was to be expected. It would be impossible to run away in such a dress.

All in all, she was a smokin’ hot babe, almost making me throw caution to the wind.

“How can I be of assistance, o lost one?” Her words sounded as sweet as honey. But lost one? What’s that about? Well, whatever, I can worry about that later.

“Would you be able to spare some food and a bit of your shelter? My home was attacked a few days ago, and I’ve been wandering through this forest ever since.” That sounded polite, right? I made sure to have a pleading expression too. And, as expected…

“Of course, the Master welcomes all, no matter their past. Please, come in.” With a practiced hand, she motioned me into the building.

It seemed like it would work out. Soon, I’d have everything I needed. Then, I just had to kill the woman. Personally, I’d like to have taken her while she was still alive, but you could never be too careful. Doing the deed just after was satisfying too. After all, everyone was at war.

With a slight grin, I gave a silent nod before following.