Human Nature (1)

"Fuck... Just how far is she going?"

Berkah muttered to himself, gliding above the clouds.

Beneath him, Jane was persistently rowing her canoe despite her injuries, two hours had already elapsed since she came out of the barrier.

[My wings are starting to get a little sore.]

Berkah glanced back at his pitch black wings.

But he endured nonetheless, he had to peserve his Mana because he did not know how many people he would have to fight.

He assumed that Jane belonged to an organization of sorts, so it only made sense that the number of enemies he would soon face were nothing to scoff at.

[But... Can I really do it?]

[Kill a Human?]

He chewed his lips in an attempt to regain his resolve.

But could he really do it? He declared that he would kill them all due to his anger, but he had never taken a life willingly before.

After all, he is still a modern day human at heart.

In the midst of his doubt, Berkah remembered the lifeless body of Ava, the stench and warmth of her blood still fresh in his mind. The embers of his rage were lit anew.

[What am I thinking?]

[Anyone who would do that to a kid cannot be considered as human. ]

[Killing a child just for a quick buck?]

[She and all the people in her organization are no different from wild animals.]

[I would be doing the world a favor by Killing them all.]

[Besides... Mom's wings are white...]

[That's what really pisses me off!]

Berkah's rage surged uncontrollably within him until it seeped out of his pores.

His piercing blue eyes became cold and detached, shining brightly with immense blood lust.

His doubt was no more, he was now fully committed to killing those Huma— No, those animals.

///

Thirty more minutes elapsed and Jane stopped rowing and allowed the waves to carry her.

"Hm? Has she arrived?"

Berkah sensed that Jane had ceased her movement beneath him.

*Flap!*

He beat his wings and descended beneath the clouds.

"An island?"

Narrowing his eyes into the distance, he saw an island.

"I guess that's the place..."

He glanced back down at Jane who was lying on her back, seemingly catching her breath.

[It's gonna take a while before she reaches the island.]

[At that speed, it'll take her atleast 45 minutes before she reaches the shores.]

"*Sigh*... I'll end up just killing her if I have to wait for that long..."

[I should go check it out for now... That island...]

*Flap!*,*Flap!*

Berkah flew in the direction of the island for a few minutes and hovered above it.

[!!]

Contrary to his previous assumption, it seemed like where Jane was headed wasn't the headquarters of some organization, but rather...

"A village?"

"No it's a bit too large to be one..."

"A town?"

A town was the accurate word for what he saw beneath him, the settlement was too large to be considered a mere village and too small to be considered a city.

From above he beheld hundreds, if not thousands of Humans gallivanting up and down in the streets between the dense buildings.

Overcome by curiosity, Berkah descended into the jungle surrounding the settlement, where no Humans were around, only dense vegetation.

*FWOSH!*

He fell into the jungle like lighting, hardly anyone would have noticed him.

*Thud!*

He landed, glancing around he found himself surrounded by trees that he thought closely resembled Palm trees, but the color of their leaves and shapes suggested that they were not.

[They would definitely start attacking me If they see my wings.]

He glanced around for something he could use to hide his wings.

Berkah walked around the jungle for a few minutes until he finally found what seemed to be an abandoned carriage.

He opened the wooden door that crumbled with little effort.

He rummaged through it until he found a dusty thin blanket within the carriage.

[Ugh... Why does it smell like ass?]

Berkah's eyebrows distorted and he held back his gag reflex.

[Whatever... It'll do for now.]

*crack!*

"Urk!"

Berkah forcibly folded his wings on his back, inducing a pain akin to getting your arms twisted.

He wrapped the ass blanket around his being and tied it around his neck.

[Hmm... It's not bad...]

He glanced behind his back and noticed a small hump.

[They'll probably just think I have a hunchback or something.]

He mused, making his way toward the town.

"Kraahh!!"

As soon as he came close, he heard the painful screams of some sort of creature, followed by laughter.

"Haha! Hey you missed!"

A rowdy voice echoed in his ears.

Berkah stepped out of the jungle and began walking on a gravel road leading to the town.

[!!]

"What the..."

Next to the road, he saw three middle aged men dressed in leather armour, shooting arrows at some sort of creature tied to a tree in the distance.

The creature had dark green skin, long ears, a short stature and a feral look in its eyes, the arrows stuck to its shoulders and knees allowed a trickle of its purple blood.

[Is that... A Goblin?!]

His eyes shone brightly, as a fan of the fantasy genre, he couldn't help but be excited at seeing a Goblin with his own eyes.

[I know Goblins can be a bit out of pocket, but...]

[Why don't they just kill it already?]

He mused, strutting towards the town.

"Hey brat! Stop right there!"

One of the men spoke, drawing his sword and running toward Berkah.

"Who are you brat? What are you doing here? And where did you come from?"

The man asked placing the edge of his sword on Berkah's neck.

[Ask one fucking question at a time bro...]

"I am looking f- for Jane, s- she's my mom."

Berkah purposefully stuttered, tears welling up in his eyes as he put on an Oscar worthy act.

"What? Bahahaha!!!"

The man bursted in laughter.

"Hey! This brat says he's Lieutenant Jane's son, Haha!"

He called the others.

[Lieutenant? Are they a part of the same organization?]

"What really?! She has another one? She breeds like a fucking rabbit haha!"

They all laughed in unison.

"Excuse me mister... Do you work with her?"

Berkah asked, balling up his fist and ready to kill him upon hearing his answer.

"No I'm not a Pirate, I'm just a guard."

"Anyway, Jane's house is on the third block, just ask around and you'll find it."

The guard said, pointing at the cluster of buildings in the distance.

"Thank you mister!"

Berkah replied, releasing the tension on his fist.

The guards glanced at Berkah who was slowly making his way into the city.

"Hey, was it really okay to just let him in like that?"

One guard asked the one who was just talking to Berkah.

"Yeah, I don't doubt he's Jane's son."

"I think she abandoned him because he's a little deformed. "

The guard pointed at Berkah's hump.

"Ah... I see."

"I wish I could be there to see their reunion Keke!"

They all cackled.

//

Berkah finally entered the town teeming with Humans of all ages, and walked around the streets, analyzing its every feature.

[The designs of the houses are so shabby.]

[They remind me of medieval housing.]

He mused, glancing at the dense houses made of concrete and stone.

[I'll wait for Jane at her house...]

Berkah intended to take Jane's children hostage and use them to get her to tell her everything about her little pirate group.

[!!]

Suddenly, something very disturbing caught Berkah's eyes, he hadn't noticed it beforehand since he was busy plotting.

[The clothes that woman is wearing...]

[The quill on that man's hat...]

[The hand fan that lady is using to cool her face...]

"..."

[Those are all... Harpy feathers?!]

Since Berkah was a Harpy himself, he could easily recognize the feathers of his kind.

[What the fuck!!!]

He audibly gnashed his teeth and thin strands of lightning crackled around his body.