Chapter 10

Lucas brought the sword close to his face as he dissipated the flame on his sword. He looked at the castle as his unruly bangs fell down on his face. His eyes glowing with a tinge of red. "Let the hunt begin!"

With a swift movement, Lucas lunged forward, his body a blur of motion. He crashed through the flimsy wooden gate, his sword gleaming menacingly. The bandits barely had time to react.

Lucas's blade swung in a deadly arc, cleaving the first bandit in half. Blood sprayed across the ground, painting it in a gruesome shade of crimson.

Another bandit charged at him, but Lucas was faster. He ducked under the man's wild swing and thrust his sword upwards, piercing the bandit's jaw and skewering his skull.

The body twitched violently before collapsing in a heap.

The captives screamed, drawing more bandits into the fray. Lucas welcomed them, a twisted smile on his face.

He spun on his heel, his sword slicing through flesh and bone with sickening ease. Limbs were severed, heads rolled, and the air was filled with the metallic scent of blood.

"You'll fucking die here BOY!" ,One particularly large bandit charged at Lucas, wielding a massive axe. Lucas sidestepped the clumsy attack and brought his sword down in a brutal overhead strike, cleaving the man from shoulder to groin. The bisected body fell apart with a wet, tearing sound.

"So much for a heap of muscle." Taunted Lucas as he spat on the mangled body of the man.

Lucas laughed, his eyes gleaming with a psychotic light. "A symphony of screams awaits."

He moved with lethal grace, his sword a blur of silver and red. A bandit tried to run, but Lucas caught him by the hair and yanked him back, slicing his throat in a single, clean motion. Blood gushed out in a dark, pulsing stream, soaking Lucas's hand.

The remaining bandits looked at him with fear in their eyes, but Lucas showed no mercy.

"Who are you why are you killing us?" the bandit shouted with fear and terror consuming him to his very core.

He cut them down one by one, each kill more brutal than the last. He decapitated one with a single swing, sent another flying with a powerful kick before impaling him on his blade, and ripped the guts out of a third with a savage upward slash.

"Please, no! Spare me!" one bandit begged, but Lucas's blade was merciless, ending his pleas in a gory spray.

Finally, the courtyard was silent, save for the moans of the dying and the whimpers of the captives. Lucas stood amidst the carnage, his chest heaving, his sword dripping with blood. He glanced at the captives, his eyes cold and detached.

"Time to free you," he muttered, his voice devoid of emotion. He summoned his sword back into his ring and walked toward them, ignoring the blood and gore that covered him.

As he cut their bindings, the captives stared at him with a mix of horror and gratitude.Lucas didn't care. He had painted the town red, and he relished every moment of it.

"Hog shit, I shouldn't have killed them all. Now where will I get my info?" Lucas regretted. "Well, whatever. Let's get back to business. Whew, that was easy work." He moved his eyes over the heaps of bodies.

Lucas started searching the dead bandits. "Hope they got some gold on 'em," he muttered, rifling through the bodies with a carefree attitude, unfazed by the blood now staining his clothes.

"sssshhh" A faint sound of movement reached Lucas's ears. "Lucky me, someone is alive," he muttered, a smile creeping across his face as his voice reverberated through the courtyard.

"HOLY SHIT, THAT MONSTER HAS SEEN ME, FUCKING SHIT," the bandit screamed in his mind, violently clamping his hand over his mouth to stifle any sound.

"OOH, DEITIES, PLEASE SAVE ME FROM THIS ONE. I PROMISE I WON'T DO ANY BAD," he cried silently, hoping for divine intervention.

"Oye, how about you come out of your hiding, and I won't torture you. Just a few questions, and then I'll peacefully kill you," Lucas shouted, amused by the development.The bandit, hiding behind a cupboard, tried his best not to move even a muscle.

"So, you wanna play hide and seek? Okay then," Lucas said laughingly, amusement dripping from him.

"FUCKING MONSTER, JUST TAKE THE MONEY AND GO AWAY," cried the bandit in his heart as sweat poured from his body. He had wet himself from fear. His fearful eyes darted right and left, desperately seeking an escape.

CREAK

"Oh, nothing nice. Would have been disappointed if I just found you here," Lucas said as he pulled his sword out from a wooden box, still a bit of distance away from the hiding bandit.

"Huh, again nothing. Am I being paranoid or something?" said the confused Lucas as he checked behind a cupboard.

He opened another one, and nothing was in there.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, PLEASE HELP ME," cried the bandit in his mind.

"Well, it looks like I'm just being paranoid and there's nothing," said Lucas, sheathing his sword.

"Let's get out of here. I took their things, so nothing's left." As he walked out of the castle, his footsteps reverberated through the courtyard.The courtyard went silent.

"Oh, Thank You Divines," muttered the sweating bandit, sighing with relief and happiness. He unclenched his mouth and relaxed. He looked up, and his whole being was struck with terror.

He stared at the emerald eyes glowing with a tinge of flames.

"So, you're here," said Lucas, his stoic, smiling face only moving as he spoke, his eyes intently locked on the man.

The bandit pushed himself out of the cupboard using his arms while still in a prone position.

He kept his face locked onto Lucas as he dragged himself out, his legs paralyzed with fear.

"Please, leave me. I PROMISE I won't tell a single soul about this," pleaded the bandit, hoping for even a tinge of mercy.

Lucas nodded and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him to the center of the courtyard.

The bandit was terrified, surrounded by the mangled corpses. His mind couldn't believe a child could cause such carnage. It was a slaughter.Lucas dragged him to a chair and sat down face-to-face with the bandit.

"I PROMISE I won't kill you if you answer my questions," said Lucas."Really?" said the bandit, finding some hope in this ordeal.

Lucas nodded and spoke. "First, tell me everything you know about the Wykes and their job with the elves. Where it happens and how? Tell me everything," questioned Lucas, his eyes staring intensely at the man.

The bandit gulped, his fear evident in his eyes as he sheepishly looked around, trying to avoid Lucas's intense gaze. "O-okay, I'll tell you," he stammered.

"The Wykes have sent an encrypted message to all the hunters in Dicathen. I don't know how you found out, but it was something only the slave traders knew. They have a location where a representative receives elves and gives payment according to the 'item.' More money for women and young girl slaves, while men are worth about the same as a normal human boy."He paused, looking back at the cold emerald eyes. Lucas stared at him, unblinking.

"So, where do they store them?" Lucas asked.

The bandit, succumbing to the icy gaze, bowed his head, trying to avoid further eye contact. "I don't know. I just know where they receive them, that's it. Please, leave me. I have a little brother to take care of," he pleaded, placing his head fully down.

"Okay. Tell me the place," Lucas demanded.

The bandit swallowed hard and spoke, "In the Beast Glades, about fifty miles east of Marlow City, not in the human domain but deep within the Beast Glades."

"Okay, so North-West of the Beast Glades," Lucas said as he fiddled with a dagger he picked up during their conversation.

"You aren't going to kill me," cried the bandit."Nah, I assure you I won't," Lucas replied.

"So, my final question: do you have any real treasure other than what they have?" Lucas asked."The boss had some artifacts of the ancient mages in his room. Upstairs, in the right room," the bandit answered.

Lucas nodded. "Now, from your boss, I remembered. Who was he?"The bandit pointed at the corpse of a big man, bisected from chest to groin.

"Oh, the big man. So generic.""Anyway, thanks for the info," said Lucas as he picked something up from the ground.The bandit breathed a sigh of relief, feeling happy that the maniac had let him go.

"STAB"

The bandit gasped, his eyes widening in shock as he came to face reality. "As I was saying, I won't kill you, but anything else can," spoke Lucas as he moved his hand, which was gripping a detached arm.

The bandit looked down and saw the dagger planted in his stomach, a butchered hand holding the knife. The bandit looked up with eyes full of despair and betrayal. He spoke, his voice cracking, "W-Whyyy?"

"Because I'm trash," said Lucas, smiling at the bandit as his head slumped forward, his soul leaving his body.

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