They remained motionless, staring at each other like two predators measuring their strength.
Damn, I found a lunatic traveling with a horned woman and a Fairy... this can't be good. Must be dangerous.
"Elves are such greedy bastards, aren't they? That's why they're almost extinct!"
WOOSH!
Colin charged forward, and the beast mage fired an arrow that exploded into a cloud of smoke, creating multiple images of himself.
What now, Elf? Try to figure out which one is real.
"I expected more from you!" Colin taunted, with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
He conjured an electric dagger with his mind sharper than ever, and threw it with precision at the real mage, who managed to deflect it with his crossbow, surprised.
How the hell did he... The man pointed at Colin again. It doesn't matter!
Colin ran to finish the job, but a water wolf leaped from the forest and sank its teeth into his arm. Blood splattered across his face.
"A user of the sea realm?!"
An electric discharge ran through Colin's body and exploded the wolf. In the same instant, he threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow that grazed his ear.
Instead of a common arrow, the mage conjured it with water and fired.
Tchock!
Colin ducked just in time, and the arrow went through a thick trunk like butter.
"You should have taken the damn money!"
Tchock! Tchock! Tchock!
The soldier continued conjuring and firing, while Colin hid behind trees, dodging as best he could. His bitten arm bled continuously.
The mage had greater range and more tricks up his sleeve, but was physically weaker and had less endurance.
The drizzle intensified, making visibility worse and the terrain slippery.
It wasn't just one arrow that materialized, but dozens formed with the help of the rain, launched against Colin, destroying any hiding place he found.
The robust trees began to fall one after another, and the beast mage seemed to be just warming up.
He caught his breath, observing the destruction around him.
Still hiding, huh? Must be pissing yourself in fear. He looked at Safira and Brighid. Those two aren't going to interfere? Better for me.
"How long are you going to keep hiding? Come out, you rat! Face me like a man!"
WOOSH! CLANG!
He deflected another electric dagger, unable to identify where it had come from.
"Show yourself, coward!"
WOOSH! CLANG! CLANG!
He deflected two daggers this time.
"You bastard!"
A larger arrow began to form and, instead of aiming where he thought Colin might be, he targeted Safira and Brighid.
"Goodbye!"
WOOSH! BOOM!
A mist covered the two after the explosion. His smile only disappeared when he saw they remained unharmed.
"What? How..."
WOOSH! CLANG!
He deflected another dagger.
"I'm sick of this!"
"If you can't even defeat me, give up on facing them." Colin's voice echoed through the bushes, moving from side to side. "I'm tired of you too, soldier of Ultan."
How did he know?
Colin emerged from the bushes, body curved, advancing toward the soldier. The man concentrated and fired, but Colin dodged and conjured a dagger, which was deflected.
"Son of a bitch!" He concentrated mana in his legs and jumped backward, seeking advantage.
Clang!
Before he could fire, he had to deflect the dagger, and his crossbow shattered.
"What?!"
CRASH!
Colin broke through his opponent's defenses, driving the stellar steel into his abdomen and ripping upward, opening him from stomach to neck.
The soldier fell onto the grass, writhing. Colin approached with slow steps, while the man choked on his own blood.
"My target wasn't you, it was your crossbow. I needed to break it by striking several times, weakening its structure." Colin crouched and searched his pockets, pulling out another bag of coins. "I'll take this!"
The soldier choked for a few more seconds until finally dying.
Colin went to the girl, who shrank back frightened at the sight of him. He crouched, examining the arrow lodged in her thigh.
He pointed to Brighid in the background. "That's Brighid, a fairy. She can heal you, and I can remove this from your leg. Let's get out of this rain, okay?"
Still terrified, she swallowed hard and nodded.
Colin helped her stand on one leg and carried her in one arm. Then, he carefully crouched, picking up the unconscious boy and returning to the carriage.
He gently placed the girl on the bench and laid her brother beside her.
"This will hurt," Colin warned, with his hand on the arrow.
With tight lips and cold sweat, the girl nodded. He broke the arrow with his thumb and pulled it from the girl's thigh, who screamed in pain.
Brighid touched the wound, which began to close slowly as a green aura surrounded her.
When she finished, the pain had completely disappeared.
"All done!" Brighid smiled. "You could run miles now if you wanted!"
The girl nodded, embarrassed. "Thank you..."
"What happened?" asked Safira, sitting beside her.
"Our village was attacked during the night..." She looked away. "My father told me to flee with my brother and..."
"Were they soldiers from Ultan?" Colin asked from the carriage door.
The girl shrugged. "I don't know..."
"I understand." Colin stepped down from the carriage. "I'll hunt something, you must be hungry."
Safira held the girl's hands in a comforting gesture, since both seemed to be almost the same age. "Your father... he..."
"He's alive!" she stated with determination. "My father was once a soldier, he knows how to defend himself and is certainly alive!"
Safira and Brighid exchanged glances.
"I'm sure he is... Where is your village?"
She thought for a moment. "I think a few hours from here... we ran so much that I'm not sure I can show the way..."
Safira made a dismissive gesture. "It's okay, we'll find it. What's your name?"
"...Yamillya... and this is my brother, Miguely..." she answered hesitantly.
"I'm Safira, she's Brighid, and the man outside is Colin."
"Are you... mercenaries?" she asked curiously. "My father once said that strong people who don't work for nobles usually make a living that way..."
Safira forced a smile. "More or less... we've gotten a good job so far... And you, are you peasants?"
She nodded. "My father works in the mines, but we're saving money to move... he says the center of the continent isn't safe..."
"And where would you go?"
"North!" she said excitedly. "Dad says it's safe there, away from all this trouble and the war."
Colin returned as quickly as he had left, holding two soaked rabbits by the ears. He tossed them in a corner and ran his hand through his wet hair, sitting on the bench across from the girls.
"Got lucky, they almost escaped me." He stared at the girl. "Your village was attacked, right? Only you two escaped?"
She looked away. "I don't know... when I fled, it was still under attack..."
"I see... want us to take you back?"
Her eyes lit up. "Wo-would you do that?!"
Colin nodded. "Sure, but what of value do you have to offer me?" He leaned back in his seat. "First, you need to pay me because I saved you and your brother. Then I want payment for taking you back to the village, and more for killing those soldiers who attacked your village."
She swallowed hard. In her current state, she had nothing to give in return, nothing of such great value came to mind, until she touched her mother's pendant around her neck.
It was an extremely valuable ruby piece.
"I have this..." She removed it from her neck and handed it to Colin. "It was my mother's before she..."
"This will do." He pocketed it and opened a wide smile. "If they really are Ultan soldiers, they'll stay in the village having fun for a few days, devouring the cattle, raping the women, and drinking until they pass out. If we leave soon, we can catch them off guard." Colin stood up and exited the carriage. "Brighid, come with me."
"Okay!"
Colin put on his cloak. Brighid stayed inside his hood, flying next to his ear.
"Do you think it's a dissident group? Ultan is too close for their soldiers to attack. All this is their territory."
"Likely," she said thoughtfully. "Do you think it's a militia? A rebel group of ex-soldiers?"
"Maybe they're just corrupt soldiers. I know well how these Ultan bastards do whatever they want."
Brighid noticed the anger in his voice. "Colin... are you really going to keep the girl's pendant? It was a gift from her mother..."
"So what? Want me to risk my life for free? We don't do charity, Brighid."
"Colin..." Her voice hesitated. "Do you really want to join Ultan? They leave nothing good wherever they go, and if we're forced to do that... forced to hurt people because the emperor ordered..."
In a quick movement, Colin grabbed her with one hand.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Colin brought her very close to his face and she blushed intensely. "Co-Colin! What are you doing?"
"Pay attention, fairy. What separates us from the Ultan scum is that we don't hurt innocents, people who have nothing to do with this damned war, and I intend to keep it that way."
Her eyes fixed on his, and there was no hostility in his words.
"O-okay!" she exclaimed, and Colin released her.
"Now we wait for the rain to stop and go to her village."
"R-right!"
◊❱───────⸂◍⸃───────❰◊
The smell of coal and blood permeated the air. The Ultan soldiers were scattered throughout the village, devouring food, drinking, and abusing the most beautiful women.
Sitting outside a house, the squad leader drank wine at a table with another man.
His silver helmet, molded like a face, rested on his lap. His scarred face revealed an experienced soldier.
A girl of about fifteen, eyes red from crying, covered in bruises and with muddy clothes, approached carrying a wine jug.
"So, what will we do, commander?" asked the man, raising his cup for the girl to fill. "Are we going to sell all these idiots?"
He nodded, also offering his cup. "That's right, lieutenant. Some minor principality on the borders should buy them. We'll take some girls with us and dump them somewhere when we get tired of them." He slapped the girl's behind, who almost dropped the jug. "Right, my love?"
She forced a smile and nodded.
"And the guy who killed three of our men? What will we do with him?"
"Nothing." He took a sip of wine. "Skilled people are scarce these days. We can train him and use him in our squad. In a few months, he'll be part of the family."
Another man approached, covered by a dark cloak. "Sir, Cubhishy hasn't returned yet."
"That idiot is still hunting children?" asked the lieutenant. "He should stop that childish behavior."
"Let's give him a few more hours," said the commander. "If he doesn't return, send someone after the bastard."
The commander drained his wine cup and stood up, taking the jug from the girl and placing it on the table.
"Tell the boys not to disturb me, I'll be busy." He grabbed the girl's arm and began dragging her to one of the houses, while she tried to break free.