Chapter 17 - Return to Dokkel

The sun revealed itself and amidst a field of yellowed vegetation, someone was walking, dressed in a brown cloak, feeling a fresh wind blow against their body.

The person was walking when they noticed a shadow above their body. As they looked up, their hood fell, revealing the face of Edgar, who extended his hand while stopping his walk.

In an instant, a bird descended at high speed, revealing the Kujura, but this time with whitish feathers, landing on the young man's arm and starting to preen its feathers with its beak while Edgar brought his hand closer, holding a coin that looked rusted.

'I hope you accept it... by now, Sifritt should be arriving...'

When it received the coin, the Kujura stopped preening and turned its face to the young man, who swallowed hard, seeing the small animal squint its eyes slightly, as if judging him. Soon, he felt something in his hand and retrieved it from the bird's pocket as it took off without any gratitude, making Edgar lower his eyebrows slightly as he said,

'It seems this mage projects his bad personality onto his summons...'

Edgar removed the seal, and soon rumors piled up like leaves, revealing the news that Edgar read as he resumed walking.

However, as he read a specific passage, the swordsman clicked his tongue and sighed, returning the seal and tucking the scroll back into his backpack, covering his face again as he concluded,

'They are fast...'

Time passed, and when the sun illuminated the lowest point of the valley, the torch stuck in the wall had turned into a piece of burnt wood that Sief stared at with a tired expression, covered in something with silver fur stained with blood.

The night had been difficult due to the wound that wouldn't stop bleeding, and when it was finally staunched, Sief had prepared to sleep, but every movement he made reopened the wound, making it practically impossible to sleep for more than a few hours.

He sat up and groaned, feeling a pang in his belly, which, when removing the fur cloak, revealed his shirt given by Tom, pressed against his abdomen with an old bandage to stop the bleeding, which Sief moved slowly, seeing that the wound was still bleeding but much better than the previous night, making him pensive.

'Maybe that resistance ability Edgar talked about isn't complete nonsense...'

Leaning on the ground to stand up again, Sief saw that the alpha's body had already decomposed, making him sigh, seeing the monster's sharp claws stored in simple pockets that were nothing more than holes in the waist of his pants.

'I hope I have new pants when I visit Tom again...'

Sief packed the fur in his backpack and slung it over his back after putting his shirt back on, resuming climbing to the top of the valley, opening the map and revealing his location, which was a little past the halfway point, making him sigh in frustration and, finally, quicken his pace slightly,

'I have to make up for the time lost yesterday—'

However, when he stepped on a rock, the simple movement made his belly ache as he felt the cut reopen, furrowing his brows and grunting as he leaned his body slightly forward.

'I killed an alpha alone... but I can't traverse the territories like this.'

Breathing deeply, Sief leaned on the wall and continued despite the pain, taking slower steps while climbing slowly, seeing the sun illuminate the top of the valley.

The day passed, and already far from the valley, Sief found himself surrounded by a group of three goblins.

Sure, here is the translation to English:

A goblin lancer advanced, and Sief focused his eyes, seeing that the monster seemed to move much more slowly.

The thrust came, and Sief dodged, letting the spear pass under his arm. The goblin was surprised, and with a knee strike, Sief destroyed the spear, grunting lightly, but advancing and stabbing the goblin, who fell to the ground lifeless before it could scream.

Sief grunted lightly and saw another goblin lancer advancing. However, one goblin jumped from behind, making him turn his head, but not fast enough, receiving a club strike to his head that knocked him slightly to the side.

The assassin gritted his teeth, feeling the blow, and the monsters resumed attacking. However, Sief moved quickly, dodging the monsters' strikes, which were killed with a single blow each.

With the end of the combat, Sief was slightly panting but clicked his tongue, grunting and lifting his abdomen to see the wound bleeding again, with the bandages already soaked with blood.

He pressed his shirt and grunted, trying to cover the wound while walking again, forcing an irritated smile as he said,

'I am stronger... but this pain...' Sief raised his head and sighed, concluding, 'The forest is the most dangerous region... the monsters here must have served as food for that alpha... just a bit more...'

However, when he felt something wet in his hand, Sief looked at the wound, where the blood had now reached his hand, making him furrow his brow. He tore a piece of his pants with the dagger and folded it to serve as a bandage to stop the bleeding.

Midday arrived, and Sief found himself on a high, green hill, feeling the wind blow against his face while he pulled the map close, igniting the glow in his eyes and the flame that revealed his location, making him give a slight, tired, and trembling smile, whispering,

'Outskirts of Dokkel.'

Even though he was in an open field, he saw no nearby monsters, but he still descended the hill slowly, seeing in the distance the forest where he used to hunt, increasing his pace gradually until it became a light run.

The place felt somehow welcoming; despite being in a territory, Sief felt at home, starting to run faster, breathing steadily while feeling pain in his belly again, but he continued to run nonetheless.

The crossing through the plain was quick, and Sief hardly saw any monsters, entering the forest and already finding the path he always followed when hunting.

The entire environment was familiar, making him take the shortest path, passing through bushes and trying to leap over branches and roots, stumbling on some, but continuing to run with an excited smile while lightly pressing the wound that seemed to start dripping, making him grit his teeth and whisper,

'Just a bit more...'

The forest was strangely calm, but it didn't last long as Sief's eyes widened, seeing a wooden club advancing towards him.

He quickly dodged by ducking and grunted, lifting his head rapidly and finally seeing a ghostly willow wielding another club and advancing on Sief, who gritted his teeth and moved forward, getting in front of the monster before it could strike, surprising the willow that was hit by a thrust to its head. It struck Sief's head with its club, but it wasn't strong enough to cause harm to the assassin, who didn't let the monster hit the ground and resumed running.

When he looked back at the forest, Sief noticed other willows approaching, but he furrowed his brow and ducked, running as fast as he could, escaping the willows that were left behind thanks to his speed, continuing to follow his path, thinking,

'Not now... just a bit more...' He lifted his head and followed his path, dodging obstacles and fleeing from monsters. 'It's not warmer here, and the screams have stopped... there's no way they could scream for... 3 days... was it only 3? Damn, it feels like weeks...'

Sief forced a smile and continued to cross the forest, seeing the light at the end of it and leaping as fast as he could to escape the monsters, crossing the trees and revealing the landscape ahead.

The sky was already orange due to the passage of time, and around Dokkel, there were some carriages with outsiders, seemingly just four separate groups observing the same result as Sief.

Sure, here is the translation to English:

The walls now were nothing more than piled stones scattered across the field and surroundings, and the wooden bridge had collapsed into the river around Dokkel, which now was nothing more than a trickle of water almost invisible from the distance Sief was.

All the houses were destroyed, and there were debris scattered everywhere. Focusing his eyes on the square, Sief saw a single clear spot with all the surroundings devastated, the wood reduced to charcoal and the stones completely destroyed.

Seeing that scene made Sief feel the surroundings distancing themselves as he approached with slow steps that barely seemed to support his own body.

The raised platform had completely disappeared, and there wasn't a piece of ground free of rubble except for the square itself, with no sign of the cabin they lived in or any people inside the town.

From afar, inside a carriage, a bald man with a huge hammer on his back sat next to one of these carriages with his head bowed and his body covered in bandages that looked recently changed.

He glanced slightly at a person in front of him and responded,

"I understand... thank you for your service and courage... we from the guild will reward everything that—"

The bald man raised his head and saw the man in front of him turning towards the same direction he was looking, seeing Sief walk closer to the bridge to see the scene more clearly.

In the place, the smell of burning still lingered, and there were small smoke spots, even though days had passed. Sief could feel on his skin the same heat from that day, while his hands trembled slightly and his legs gave way, making him kneel before the town.

The white walls that once stood there had completely disappeared, giving him a full view of the entire scene.

However, he just lowered his head, thinking of a single person.

Flashes of memory appeared in his vision, where he saw Beatrice, smiling, sulking, pouting, or even sleeping.

He relived the scene of burying his siblings from the orphanage, her expression, and finally the scene they were in previously, where he saw her slowly turning her face, once again witnessing that transformation in front of him, making him tremble.

The scenes repeated rapidly, over and over, as Sief's arms trembled, his vision blurred, and the emptiness in his chest grew more and more, bringing nausea and weakness.

His whole body started to ache and chill while he felt a scream trapped in his throat. He swallowed and contorted, still trying to control himself as tears began to form.

But soon, a step stopped beside him, crushing the grass and making him look towards a man who also seemed young and carried a scepter.

His hair was short and black, with eyes the same color as his hair, revealing a tired and somehow familiar face to Sief.

"You... you are that boy..."