20 Chapter Twenty

A/N: Sorry I have been ill for the past week, I couldn't update or write. thanks for those who still supported with your power stones to keep it active this week. enjoy

p.s: play with earphones on: 'Till the light goes out' by Linsey Stirling for the first part and 'Warriors' by Imagine Dragons.

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Chapter Twenty

/Rearing Ground/ Same night/1116/

After the two originals left the house, they were escorted to the little house the villagers had prepared for them. Olof was the man who led them and out of curiosity, he asked

"So, you came for the hunt too?"

" Yes, we did. Heard from the tales of drunks and whisperers. We decided to take our chance." Olof could only reply with 'hmmm' after Finn had confirmed his guess. For the remaining walk, they kept quiet until they got to the new house did olof say anything.

"I understand how we hunters can be, but I'll advise you lads. Take it from me. If you ever go, you might never return" he says as Finn and Henrik widen their eyes upon this statement.

"So you know..." Henrik says only for olof to scoff over it while speaking

"Have been a hunter long enough to know that look on your faces. Look, it is honorable to have the desire to help but don't take a path with no guarantee to come out alive" after olof spoke he turned without looking back, leaving Finn and Henrik to take in what he had said.

If only they knew.

When they had entered their lodge, they remained quiet, taking in every information they had gotten from the village head, Benjen.

"Hee...that idiot actually said it would not be difficult....what do you think the beast is?" Finn asks while cussing his brother Elijah.

"Unknown, it could be many things. Truth is there are alot of flesh eating monsters and beast we can think of. From what Benjen said, it is fast and smart." Henrik says, after a while he asks Finn " when should we leave?"

"The moment the last of them begins to sleep. By midnight we should leave and go hunt it. *Sigh*... It reminds me..."

"Of us, when we still lived in our home. Yea I felt it also. We were just lucky it was only on the nights of full moon and they were sane enough" Henrik completes the thought of Finn, who at this time his eyes shows a lot of doubts and contradictions..

"If you...if nothing had happened to you....if mother hadn't turned us like this....we would have been like them. Living life dictated by those stronger....I have always doubted our existence..was it worth it? Why become this when we could be normal? But now....is normal even good in this world we live in?...sigh" Finn shakes his head still questioning his existence.

"Brother, I'm not going to tell you that being like this is better....but....but what I can assure you is that our existence can be however we want it.... protect what we love with the power we have...or make the world cower under our superiority...it's left for us to decide...when I died that day...I saw....I can't explain it but I knew, whatever allowed me back here. Wanted me to help. It's the reason I'm here. Telling the others, they might have seen me as a fool but when it came to you...it felt I could trust you...I...I can't just explain it really " Henrik explained with his shoulders down, and for the first time Finn knew the amount of weight his younger brother must be carrying.

He knew now why he was so adamant in creating an organization, in making sure their family stayed together.

The more he thought of it, the more he knew how much of a burden he carried and no one cared enough to ask.

"Bloody hel...." Finn mutters as he realized how much of a useless elder brother he was. He cursed himself so much, he, the elder, couldn't even see what his younger brother had been going through. His anger towards his transformation had blinded him so much from what had been going on amongst his family. He cursed himself so much.

Finn raises his head up enough to realize his brother was still deep in thoughts with his head also down and then he vowed, never would he be a burden to his younger brother Henrik. He would help him just as much as Henrik had helped him and more.

Placing his hands on Henrik's shoulder, with a stronger conviction, rather than hate what he is, he would use it to help Henrik. Then he spoke

"Doubts or not, I'm here with you all the way Henrik. I promise to help you in achieving your goal. No matter the difficulty brother, I'm here with you." Finn vows towards Henrik and just like that, it felt like a little load had been removed from his shoulders when Finn had spoken.

The atmosphere became lighter and they became calmer.

"So what's the plan?" Finn asks with a smile on his face and eyes devoid of doubts. Henrik grins towards him and replies

" We send it to Hela's domain!"

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At midnight, two silhouettes could be seen running through the woods, both suddenly makes a stop. Looking around their vicinity, searching for clues

"I smell blood Henrik" Finn says

"Yea...that and a strong stench of rotten flesh. We are almost close. Whatever it is must be close enough." Henrik replies still eyeing his surroundings.

Both of them continued their journey, this time, they became more cautious, with Henrik armed with his battle axes and Finn, his heavy sword.

As they made their way deeper into the forest, a heavy stench of rotten flesh hit them. The grounds littered with bones of varying sizes, muddy and wet like a swampy field. Growlings could be heard from afar, coming from a dark crevice situated just ahead of them on the hillside within the forest. It was a cave.

"Bloody hel. Finn, they said beast. That doesn't sound like beast. They where wrong. Seems like they have been feeding a den of monsters without know." Henrik whispered

"Yea, now we know why the hunters couldn't survive, whatever these vermins are, will end tonight."

They continued onwards, into the damped, humid cave, although they could see in the dark clearly, Henrik still decided to conjure a ball of flame lighting up a handmade fire torch, which Finn decided to take hold of.

As they moved deeper into the cave, the growls came to a stop. This made them pause, looking at each other before they continued. The deeper they went, the larger the cave became till they got to the edge of a larger hole. Their eyes widen as they came into view of the larger part of the cave.

At the end of the cave, a group of humanoid beasts no more than a fifty could be seen. They growled excitedly, looking towards their new preys and at their front, a larger beast could be seen. Having no hair with skin grey and flesh looking rubbery with scales on them. Their faces doglike, fangs filling up their mouth, some with flesh or blood in between, their claws long enough to dig deep into a flesh of a human.

Both sides facing each other, waiting for the first to make a move.

"Ghouls" Henrik spoke up, with much hate than he could contain. Still remembering the description in the books that his mother had for beasts and monsters encountered by travellers. His eyes heavily focused on the larger and fat one at the front.

" It looks like we have seen the master mind behind their so called plans, aye?" Finn keeping vigilance around the terrain while still looking at the group.

"Yes, evidence of how much flesh it has eaten to evolve into what it is now. It looks like they have been here much longer than the village knew by the looks of the leader." Henrik continues

"Well what do we....!!!!" Finn was about to speak when suddenly from behind, he felt a presence and his instincts screaming, reacted fast enough to turn and block a claw that aimed for his head.

CLANG!!!!

the sound of clashing metals echoes loud in the open cave, the heavy blow strong enough to push Finn few metres away from where he once stood.

Holding his stand, he finally caught a sight of what had pushed him further and still trying to exert more strength on it's claws which he was still blocking

'GREEEEEEEEE!!"

*swoshhh*

The beast jumps away dodging a coming swing of axe from it's back. It was Henrik, who immediately reacted to ease his brother up. They both stood once more on guard, looking towards the new participant. It was another ghoul, this one looks large, but still not as big as the leader.

"Hehe, you must be the general then?" Finn asked towards the new comers, looking more excited for the battle ahead. The ghoul looking at him could only answer with it's growling

"I guess that must be a yes to you brother!!...WHAT SAY YOU EH!! LET'S SEE WHO'S STRONGER...YOU LOTS??? OR WE...THE ORIGINALS!!!!!" Henrik screams, already leaking bloodlust, battle readied.

ROOARRRRR!!!!!

Feeling insulted, the ghouls roar out loud and rush towards the two Originals leaving only the two large ghouls behind, waiting for an opportunity.

Henrik and Finn with their own battle cry rush towards the ghouls.

Finn takes a low slid towards the ghouls closer to it, sending his blade across their torsos easily dividing the few ghouls at the front, evident of his superhuman strength as well as the enchanted blade now glowing with runes with every swing he makes. He continues onward, and with every swing, a head or two separates from their body. Suddenly he raises his empty hand behind him grabbing the head of a sneaky ghoul, and with his strength bursts the head of the ghoul. Even with how fast the ghouls were, Finn marched up with their speed and strength, toe to toe. A few got a mark or delivered heavy slash on him, getting a low grunt from him whenever he was hit but..

Nothing his regeneration could not fix.