Ambush

A deep crimson blood flowed from the wound in Wayne's shoulder. His pained grunts and groans filled the tense air as Cassius hastily scanned the horizon. Whoever had shot Wayne was an experienced marksman. Judging the speed and distance the arrow traveled, whoever shot Wayne utilized a longbow. 

Sarina shielded the injured Wayne as Ellie quickly made her way to treat the wound. Blake immediately used his utility rune to view the surrounding area. He sent the bat effigy far into the air for a broad aerial view. 

"200 meters! 10 o'clock!" Cassius looked to his left a bit and managed to spot a tiny dot among the swaying grass. "200 meters huh?" His running speed was now fairly impressive, especially if Ellie buffed him. "I just need… twenty seconds." Cassius put his axe on his back and got in a running stance, his muscles tensed and ready to push him forward. "Ellie, buff please! And Sarina, I need a barrier!" 

The all too familiar warm feeling filled his body, and a glossy yellow film covered his body. One last glance at the grizzly shoulder of Wayne was all the motivation Cassius needed. Firing forward he ran as fast as he could. A whistle flew once again but Cassius was ready this time. He rolled to the left, deftly avoiding the deadly arrow.

Cassius dashed again trying to get as much speed as possible. At this point he was 150 meters away. Another dot flew at him at insane speeds. A quick duck let it fly overhead as he continued his drive. "It's getting harder to dodge as I get closer…" He was now closing in on the assailant as the small dot became a man wielding a bow taller than him. A throng rang out as yet another arrow flew towards Cassius. This time it hit his arm, but thanks to the barrier which was now destroyed the arrow ricocheted off of him.

"Dammit, he can still get another shot off!" He was already 30 meters away from the man and he was knocking another arrow already. Cassius had a scary glint in his eye as he continued to accelerate. A purple hue spread out in front of him. 

The final arrow flew forward, fast as ever. As it entered the purple aura it dropped straight towards the ground. The archer looked up in dismay before backing off. Suddenly two more people appeared from the brush, one was a man with a spear and the other was a woman with a longsword. Both looked lightly armored, and they had the appearance of ruffians. 

"Give us your goods and we'll let you guys go!" The man with a spear shouted. Cassius snorted, he was not going to fall for their bluff. There was a reason they relied on the marksmanship of the longbowman, it was because their skills were subpar. "I'm giving you one chance, leave right now, and your head won't be on the ground!" Snarled Cassius. While Cassius had gotten used to fighting and spilling blood, he was still hesitant to kill a human life. "As if! This is an easy score, you newbies don't stand a chance!" Cassius's eyes narrowed, [So they know we are new huh?] 

Cassius sighed as he pulled the axe off his back. He couldn't accelerate himself using his gravity. However, he had picked up a few other tricks over the last week. Deciding to test the waters Cassius jumped first towards the spearman, as his range would be annoying to deal with later "Not so fast!" yelled the spearman as he unleashed a few thrusts trying to ward off Cassius. He sidestepped the thrusts and swung his axe towards the man's spear trying to destroy it. Before he made contact though his axe was intercepted by the steel longsword of the woman.

Then an arrow was sent towards Cassius's temple. Cassius managed to duck before rolling backwards. No one had landed a hit on each other, but it was clear Cassius was at a disadvantage. That's when another arrow whizzed by striking the enemy archer in the shoulder, like the arrow was getting vengeance for Wayne. Luckily Blake had managed to catch up. "Cassius, I'll take the archer, Sarina should be here any second now!" 

Cassius grinned, thanking Blake in his head before once again running towards the spearman. Cassius was running as low to the ground as he could without falling forward and then as he neared the spearman picked up a clot of dirt and tossed it straight towards the man's eyes. "Gah, you dirty bastard!" Screamed the man as he desperately tried to get the dirt out of his eyes. The swordswoman tried lunging at Cassius with an overhead attack to buy time for her companion, but Cassius already knew she would do this.

Cassius dropped his axe and grabbed a throwing axe off of his belt. He then threw the axe straight at her abdomen. She managed to block it but was sent rolling backwards due to the force of the hit. Then Cassius rolled to the spearman getting easily past the danger zone of the spearman. Cassius tackled the man to the ground, and stood up quickly planting one foot into the man's chest to insure he wouldn't squirm. Then a purple hue surrounded Cassius's other leg and foot as he raised it up. CRUNCH. A sickening noise filled the air as blood and brain matter were scattered all over the dirt and grass. The spearman's body went limp instantly. 

"NOOO!" The swordswoman screamed as she ran over to kill Cassius. A burning fire of hatred was visible in her eyes as the world itself seemed to heat up around her. Her sword became enveloped in fire, and the steel began to change color. It seemed she had a mystic art. 

A laugh escaped Cassius's mouth. "Ahh, another wretch wants to die!" Cassius picked up his axe and lunged forward, ignoring the scorching heat of the air itself. "I'll kill you!" screamed the woman who also lunged at Cassius. Their weapons entangled as they tried to overpower each other. Ultimately the heat was too much for Cassius and he had to retreat a bit.

"Looks like I'll have to use that trick I came up with yesterday…" Cassius ran at the swordswoman again, "You can't get past my fire you fool!" A wave of flames danced across Cassius's vision and the air was distorting. He rolled near the ground before swinging his axe horizontally at her stomach. She tried sidestepping it but a mysterious force kept her from moving very far. A significant cut into her leather armor and flesh remained. 

A significantly dense purple aura resided on the tip of the axe, shaped like a perfect sphere. "Sorry, but no one can escape gravity!" Guffawed Cassius. "Ugh, you bastard!" The woman made an attempt to run knowing she couldn't fight anymore, however she soon struggled to move at all as the damnable purple hue enveloped her. A throwing axe landed squarely in her back. Her face planted into the dirt as she cried out in pain. The terrifying sound of ground crunching from steps approached her ear as she looked up. The last thing to greet her eyes was the bottom of a boot and utter darkness. 

…

Cassius looked up around the battleground, his head finally cooling down. Some of the dry grass was burning, and some of the nearby plant life was wilting. He looked down at his axe and boot covered in human blood. It was disgusting, horrid, and down right repulsive as the sticky brain matter and blood clung to it. However, that was all he felt. The repulsion of how gross it was, not that the warm blood had belonged to two living humans he killed with his own hands. 

[What the hell is wrong with me?] He looked at the destroyed heads of the spearman and swordswoman. He expected regret, but he only felt a little disgust, and even a small bit of pride and enjoyment. It was definitely not normal to kill a fellow human so easily, that much Cassius knew. 

As he contemplated his peculiar mental state, Blake and Sarina approached him. "Cassius, are you all good? All I saw was fire and-" Both of them gasped at the sight of the dead. "I-I don't know what came over me. I just remember fury, and rage-" Cassius tried to explain himself before Sarina shut him up. "It's fine Cassius, things happen in the heat of battle." They were both disturbed at the grizzly sight but quickly reaffirmed Cassius. "There's no telling what they would have done if you didn't kill them. So don't beat yourself up about it." Blake patted him on the back. Cassius couldn't bring himself to say that he could have subdued them without killing them. They might truly question his sanity then. 

"Ahem" Clearing his throat Cassius asked Blake, "What about that longbowman?" Blake raised a thumb behind him, where there was a tied up man, with an arrow hanging out of his shoulder. "I landed a good hit on him, and Sarina finished the job."  Cassius walked over to the archer. "Hey buddy, why did you go and try to off us?" The man tried to spit at Cassius but he easily dodged the loogie. "Not much of a talker huh?" 

Cassius got up to search the two bodies. It seemed the sword of the woman was a runic item, as it disappeared after her death. Upon searching the man's pockets he found a leather purse. In it were some crystal shards with things imprinted into it. Cassius put it into his pocket. He would be asking Lilith some questions very soon, both about his mental condition and this mysterious bag. Nothing else of note was found on the bodies and Cassius stood up. 

"Let's go see how Wayne is doing. Pick up that bastard, we'll submit him to the guards at Poplis." Sarina man-handled the spiteful ranger as they walked over to where they had initially been ambushed. Wayne laid on the ground shirtless, with cloth wrapped around his shoulder. Dried could be seen through the dressings. Luckily, Ellie had successfully removed the arrow and stopped the bleeding. "I put on a salve that should ease the pain and help healing." Said Ellie as the rest of the group approached Wayne.

Wayne looked pale, but he seemed able to walk. "Looks like we'll have to put off drinking for another day…"  Groaned Wayne as Blake helped him off his feet. "Yeah, let's." Sighed Cassius as they set off once again to Poplis. The archer never spoke a word, keeping silent all the way up until they handed him over to Poplis.

The group disbanded and decided the next day they would rest and meet at the Expeditionary Group to sell their goods.

Cassius entered his room and sat his axe on the wall. He went over to the pitcher of water and greedily drank up its contents. He sat down on his bed in silence. "..." All of a sudden bile rose up his throat and he gagged as he ran to the waste bucket. Images of the crushed heads and bright red blood flowing into dirt flashed by as he emptied his stomach. It was like all of the horror of killing a human being hit him right then and there. As he tiredly laid down on his bed after the vomiting fit he had one last thought, [What the hell is wrong with me…]