Village(6)

Amidst the myriad orbs of light rising from the dead soldiers, Cale gazed at the approaching figure.

"How do you feel now that you've done it?" asked Cale as he saw the blood dripping from Leo's hands.

"I...feel even angrier," Leo muttered with his head lowered to the ground. After spending nearly five minutes tearing every inch of Warden's body, Leo's anger only rose. He couldn't help but blame himself for his own uselessness and inability to protect his family.

"Please...make me stronger," Leo said with determined eyes that later became slightly watery again.

"I understand that you're angry right now and want to destroy the whole Romulus Kingdom, but that's an impossible feat. Your innate talent is too weak and even after centuries of training you will never reach a level comparable to the Romulus Kingdom," Cale replied.

"I am just asking you to make me stronger....is that so much to ask?" Leo gnashed his teeth together.

"I don't feel like helping you, kid. I don't want to spend my precious time assisting someone who'll just die later," Cale said casually, and after seeing Leo's annoyed gaze, added, "What? Since I was so kind earlier, you thought I'd just help everyone? I'm just as selfish as everyone else"

"Then what do you want? I can help you with anything, just make me stronger!" Leo stated angrily.

An inner smile flitted across Cale's face as he said, "I want you to be a part of my army"

'Army?!' Leo cursed inwardly before furiously answering, "Whatever you want! If you can make me stronger than that stupid king, then I won't mind giving you my life!"

"Good," Cale said nothing more as he turned around, "I have a few things to do. You should take care of the villagers now," he added after looking around the area where countless bodies rested, including Aran, Nok, and Layla.

Leo didn't even answer, but Cale managed to notice a few veins popping out of his bloody forehead. With a face swelled with hatred, Leo walked towards the corpses of his dear family.

-

"Poof..." With some difficulty, Cale opened the door to the hut. He didn't even want to imagine the death of Fenrir since he grew quite attracted to this little wolf.

Fortunately, as soon as the door was pushed, a small creature jumped up to Cale and snuggled tightly around his leg.

"You're a pretty lucky wolf, aren't you?" Cale smiled inwardly and let his hand slide through Fenrir's fur. Surprisingly, he had not only stayed alive but had also returned to his original state.

"Have you been training while I've been gone?" Cale joked before the air around him turned sharp again. Glancing through the window, Cale saw Leo sitting right next to Layla's bloody figure, crying uncontrollably.

"Fenrir, this is the true nature of humans," Cale explained aloud, "Any of them wouldn't mind killing a few kids just for some money to keep their skin alive. But as soon as they are the ones being hunted down, people fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness. They are selfish, cruel creatures, and each of them must be found and annihilated..."

A dark aura enveloped Cale from inside and out, sending vibrations throughout the hut, "...I will be the one who destroys this world to begin a new era without such things as desire and selfishness. I will be the one to bring a change."

"...And to begin this process, I will create my own army that will destroy every kingdom without any struggle...The Kingdom of Lulah included"

"Nnn" Fenrir, although not understanding half of Cale's words, still nodded when he saw the determination rising from his body.

"I will make you stronger too Fenrir," Cale said as the atmosphere around him calmed down, returning to its primary state, "Now let's go, I will introduce you to our first soldier."

-

"Sniff...Sniff...I'm sorry father, grandfather...Layla" Leo sobbed at the sight of the three bleeding figures. He had already buried every villager in the ground, but for some reason, he couldn't bring his hands to even touch the corpses of his dearest people.

"You want me to help you?" Cale popped up right behind him and asked. He didn't bother taking Fenrir out of his armor after seeing Leo's pathetic state.

"No...I have to do it myself," Leo didn't even glance at the warrior. Subconsciously, his hands moved, and after only half an hour, three more holes appeared in the ground. All the while, Leo cried incessantly, to the point that the tears no longer wanted to come out of his eyes.

"Rest well..." With his eyes shut, Leo bid farewell to his family. On the other side, Cale watched this scene intently. Suddenly, an image of himself crying in front of two graves popped in his head before reverting to authenticity.

Shocked by such an unforeseen picture, Cale nearly fell to the ground.

'So I wasn't mistaken...he truly reminded me of myself...lost, beaten, humiliated, left alone,' Cale thought, looking again at the tearful figure, "I will make you strong, Leo. You can rest assured"

Thud!

As if paralyzed by Cale's words, Leo fell face forward onto the ground. Certainly, that was to be expected since he had been injured so many times. It was already a miracle that he had enough power to bury all those bodies without passing out.

"I'll take care of Leo," Cale affirmed in front of Aran's grave. After a few seconds of complete silence and the hiss of light orbs, Cale bowed one last time to the vaults of the villagers.

"Lead the way, Fenrir," Cale took the beast out of his armor and placed him on the ground. Fenrir was a little startled to see so many corpses and blood spread out on the ground, but after seeing Cale approaching from behind, he marched off as well, soon disappearing into the abyss of the forest.