18 Chapter 18

Wednesday, December 24, 2019 4:42 PM

Harry didn't bother setting any of his traps as ordered; he was too tired, too cold, too frightened, in too much pain, and had lost all confidence in the Skills he'd prided himself on prior to reaching level thirty. Instead, he took out his blanket and wrapped it around himself, clutched his dagger in both hands as he huddled up against the tree, and dropped his face down onto his knees. His emotions were so tangled up and twisted that he couldn't even find the energy to wonder who it was that was traveling with Agil.

The nine year old let out a strangled whimper when the overlarge and violent birds above began making a ruckus up in the tree; an indication that they nearly had enough numbers to initiate their group attack (the cowards never attacked individually). A small part of him wondered if the birds would attack him again before his friend reached him or if the murderous mob would attack his friend the moment that Agil approached the tree. The newest fear that his friend might die because he'd come to save him didn't have enough time to fully manifest before a familiar voice called out his name and he lifted face just enough to glance southwards where he could see a pair of individuals running towards him.

He easily recognized the tall black man as Agil but he had no idea who the shorter person at his side could be; though Harry absently thought the guy looked vaguely familiar. Feeling even more insecure now that he'd pretty much been found, Harry shrank in on himself even further and pulled the blanket tight as he shivered and watched the pair growing steadily closer. His chest hitched as his breath caught in his throat when the two men (or rather one man and one teen) finally noticed him curled up against the tree.

At the same time, the crows in the tree above him began cawing raucously and jumping about the branches as they prepared to launch their attack the moment the pair got within ten yards of the tree. Harry couldn't help but let out a strangled sob as he recalled feeling their beaks and claws slicing through his flesh when they'd attacked him earlier.

"James? Is that you? Are you alright?" Agil inquired as he pulled the two handed axe that he carried off his back in preparation for the inevitable battle without slowing down or stopping.

"Can you run or fight?" the teen demanded on the heels of Agil's questions as he unsheathed a sword from his back and focused his attention up on the dozens of two foot tall Carrion Crows jumping about the branches of the tree.

Before Harry could reply to either question, the entire flock descended upon the three of them with a vengeance. Beaks and claws shredded Harry's blanket in short order and it wasn't long before he could feel the razor sharp appendages ripping through his skin and clothes once more. One of the birds managed to latch onto his left wrist with one foot; its talons ripping through his flesh like razors as he instinctively jerked and roughly shook his arm in an effort to get the Monster off of him.

Angry, terrified, and in pain, Harry lashed out blindly as he ducked his head and pressed his face against his knees once more to protect his eyes from the vicious birds. The longer the attack lasted, the angrier Harry grew until something rose up from inside of him and lashed out at the remaining crows; electrocuting them all in an instant while at the same time flinging their carcasses out and away from him where they promptly shattered into millions of pieces and vanished.

Panting from the exertion and his still churning emotions, Harry slumped back against the tree as a wave of weakness washed through him. If he'd bothered to look up, the nine year old would have noticed his HP Bar (which had already been half empty) dropping dangerously low. It was an indication that Harry had almost completely drained his magical core when his magic had risen to protect him from the crows in response to his emotions and the pain – something that had only been possible because of his soul being integrated into the system.

When a shadow fell over him, Harry automatically threw himself to the side with a sharp cry and scrambled backwards as he immediately thought that he was about to be attacked again only to freeze the moment he looked up and saw Agil standing over him. Swallowing thickly, Harry immediately bowed his head in shame and hunched his shoulders as he waited for the yelling to start.

"Is that really you, James?" Agil asked softly as he crouched down just a short ways away from Harry in an obvious effort to not to appear quite so intimidating.

Harry glanced up through his fringe before slowly nodding, his eyes shining with tears, before he dropped his eyes back down to the ground. He scrubbed at his arms beneath the ruined sleeves of his shirt, smearing the blood seeping from his multiple injuries and drawing Agil's and the teen's attention to the multitude of gashes littering his arms, the back of his neck, and his back.

"Why are you bleeding? How is that even possible?" the teen questioned with a frown as strode up to Harry and reached down to grab hold of Harry's arm.

Harry scuttled sideways and jerked his arm out of reach of the vaguely familiar but still unknown teen. It was a rather childish reaction but Harry was a child and he'd had a rough few days, so his defensive instincts were still in overdrive despite the exhaustion and pain that was weighing down on him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the teen stated as he backed off a bit and sat down on the ground beside the black merchant. "I'm Kirito, by the way."

"What happened to you, James? How did you end up with the Avatar of a child?" Agil asked in confusion as he leaned forward and tried to catch his eye.

Harry began playing with the hem of his ruined shirt, absently noting how it moved and felt more like real cloth now, before he took a shaky breath and replied, "This is me; the other me was my Avatar. I don't know what happened to me, though. After I got bumped up to level thirty, everything went wrong."

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