4 Timely Intervension

Elder Davis stepped out the village gate, letting it close behind him.

"Good luck Elder Davis." A villager shouted.

Elder Davis nodded his head as he watched two hundred bandits storm forward. The bald man leading them signaled for them to halt. He stepped forward sneering at the old man in front of him.

"I am the village representative, Davis, we would like to negotiate with you. Would you tell me your name?" Elder Davis spoke up showing no fear.

"Oh? You can call me Hugo." Hugo noticed the old man's calm demeanor, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Most of the people he preyed on cowered in fear, yet this old man was different.

"Well Mr.Hugo, We are willing to give a large portion of our money, food, and alcohol, to you if you are willing to ignore our humble village."

"What's stopping me from taking it anyway, old man." Hugo said imposingly.

"We have at least one hundred well-armed people willing fight to protect our village, we'd like to avoid losing people and I'm sure you would too. Also, I can forge weapons for you, this old man can attest to the quality." Elder Davis spoke undeterred, embellishing the numbers while showing no fear in front of this large force of bandits.

"Gimme a sec to think old man." Hugo walked back to the group, speaking to a thin man in a black long coat.

"You think we should take the deal, Q?"

"Hmm, A force of one hundred is still a bit much to deal with, most of our men aren't using proper weapons. I'll go scout around, you accept the deal for now. Once they open the gates I'll shoot the old man if the numbers are manageable, that'll be the signal to charge."

"Right, Anyway I like getting my rewards without work anyway."

'You said you liked to fight, you lying bastard' Q thought inwardly before stepping into the crowd. He made his way to the back of the crowd, before sneaking into the woods. He found a tree and began climbing it, showing off cat-like agility. Standing on a large branch, he pulled out a spyglass, scouting the village forces.

'Lying old bastard , It's at least forty combatants. Though they are better armed than most of us, we could overwhelm them through sheer numbers.'

Meanwhile, Hugo returned to speak to Elder Davis.

"How would I know if these weapons are good?" Elder Davis thought for a moment, then drew a silver sword from the black scabbard attached to his hip.

Hugo was startled for a moment, but then was distracted by the sword.

It was a 3-foot long silver sword, with a black grip. The double-edged blade was 6cm wide. The overall design was very simple, but it gave off a dignified feeling.

"Heh. Heh. Heh. Pretty good old man." Hugo praised Elder Davis, but thinking differently inside his heart. 'How can I let a golden goose like you get away.'

"So do we have a deal, Mr.Hugo?"

"Yeah, Have your people bring out the stuff old man, we also need fifty good swords."

"Hmmm, I can give you half of it now and half in a few hours. As long as your people comply with the terms."

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing."

Elder Davis turned around and walked towards the gate, "Open it!"

He shouted to the villagers behind the gate.

"Elder Davis, you sure we shou-"

"Just open it, they would get in somehow anyway

The wooden gate opened, as the forty villagers tensed up. Three carts were lined up near the gate. Each cart held; weapons, food, alcohol, and money.

"Haaah." Elder Davis sighed, looking at the large of amount of things they had to give away. He turned towards the bandits, seeing the undisguised greed in their eyes. But just then an arrow came flying towards Elder Davis who drew his sword to deflect it.

"Grandpa Davis!" Benjamin shouted.

Hugo made his move swinging a huge battle-axe towards Elder Davis. Quickly prioritizing which one was more dangerous, Elder Davis used the the silver sword blocked the great axe, but the arrow to tore through his leg.

"Gaaargh!" Elder Davis shouted, limping backward to retreat behind the gate. The forty villagers surrounded him, brandishing their weapons. Meanwhile, the two hundred bandits poured in, killing twenty villagers who were too slow to retreat.

"Wait! Wait!"

"Stop please!"

"NOOOO!"

The unlucky villagers died being swarmed by bandits.

"Surrender, you bastards! We may even spare you!" Hugo laughed loudly while swinging his giant battle-axe. The scar across his face contorted with his smile.

"Grandpa!" Benjamin grit his teeth, glaring at Hugo. Clark gripped the sword yet still couldn't draw it, his face dripping with sweat. Amy assumed a battle stance, staring fiercely at the bandits, while readying the spear. The villagers nervously held their weapons, their apprehension giving more courage to the bandits.

The stand-off intensified as the bandits crept closer.

....................

"Got him." Q said boastfully as he put away his bow.

"Nice Shot!" Q was startled as he turned around to see a boy, no younger than sixteen, standing on the tree branch with him. His hair and eye color were odd, but the strangest thing was him being nude. It was none other than Ira.

Q used a skill called Quickdraw which allowed him to instantly draw his bow, and then aim at the boy.

"Oh wow! That's pretty cool!" The boy shouted excitedly. He smiled, exposing his shiny white teeth. Q didn't respond as he released the bowstring.

Ira disappeared, as the arrow struck the tree instead.

"Would you kindly stay still?" Q heard a voice behind him. He turned around, drawing a dagger hidden on his waist, and stabbed toward the boy.

"What the fuck!?" Q yelled out, as Ira caught his wrist. His face was still smiling but his eyes were holding an expression of indifference.

"Aaaaargh! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

With a crunch, Q's wrist hung limp as he grimaced in pain, dropping the dagger.

"I haven't killed anyone before so..." Ira's hand reached towards Q's face. Q trembled as if he could see the Grim Reaper reaching for him.

"Try to bear with me." Ira said as his hand gripped Q's face tightly.

"Wait! Please stop!"

Q's skull creaked under the immense pressure, as he wildly flailed his arms. His eyes and nose began bleeding, he cried out in fear.

With another crunching sound, his body went limp, the boy pulled him closer and began to take his clothes. Holding them under one arm, he used the other arm to throw the body down from the tree.

He then waved his hand over the clothes causing them to disappear, only leaving very minute traces of black mist behind..

"I killed someone..."

He clenched his fist, and closed his eyes. He had watched scenes of people killing each other before. No guilt was felt, just a reassurance that this was the way the world worked. People killed and people died, the only thing consistent was that someone lost their life.

"I killed someone..." He said as his yellow eyes opened.

"Hahaha! I killed someone!" Ira laughed as if reveling in a victory. Truthfully, he felt as if killing was him carving his place into the natural order. He calmed down and then disappeared from sight, leaving black mist in his previous spot.

...................

"So no one's gonna give up?" Hugo smiled at the villagers. He kept swinging his battle-axe while eyeing them.

"Damn it!

"Fuck you!"

"We can take him!"

Three villagers rushed up to Hugo, swinging their swords.

Hugo's axe drew a white line in the air, swinging towards the three charging men.

The torsos of the men instantly separated from their bodies.

"Hahaha! Who want's to step up next!" Hugo taunted.

The remaining seventeen villagers went silent, some even crying. Clark stared on, unable to move at all. Benjamin's pudgy body shook, as he held tightly onto his Grandpa's arm.

"Benjamin you need to leave now! Go hide with the other!" Elder Davis reprimanded him. Benjamin shook his head in response and stayed. Elder Davis could only grit his teeth as he was too injured to carry Benjamin away.

Amy, seeing no one else move, stepped forward.

"Amy, come back!" Elder Davis, Benjamin, and Mrs.Ann shouted simultaneously.

"You wanna have a go, girly?" Hugo looked at her, lust clearly filling his eyes. The bandits began laughing at her. Amy glared as she stayed silent.

"Clark! Go stop her!" Amy's mother, Mrs.Ann shouted clutching his arm.

"..." Clark stayed silent, his eyes becoming cloudy.

"Fine girl! I like them with a little fight, too bad I'll be breaking you in soon." Hugo yelled, advancing forward.

The battle-axe swung forward. Amy dodged showing dexterous footwork, but the Axe was relentless under the guidance of Hugo.

Amy's movements began slowing as the Axe swings increased in intensity.

"You gotta attack girly!" Hugo taunted her, unyielding in his offensive.

"Knock her down boss!"

"Let us taste her after you finish with her!"

"She's a feisty one boss!"

The bandits joined in on the taunting.

The villagers began cheering for Amy, nervously watching on.

"Get em' Amy!"

"You can do it!"

"Don't let him distract you!"

Amy clenched her teeth, she twirled her spear before stepping forward to swing it, finally attacking.

The sound of the Axe and Spear colliding multiple times rung out, sparks flew, ultimately Amy failed to gain the upper hand in the brief exchange.

While she took some distance, Amy's spear thrust forward, but it appeared to be three spears closing in on Hugo.

"Damn!" Hugo shouted putting his all into defense.

The spear nicked Hugo's side.

Then stabbed his shoulder.

"Fuck!" Hugo yelled as the last one headed for his neck. However the spear stopped short of Hugo's neck, Amy was unable to deliver the final blow. Normally a fifteen-year-old wouldn't be able to kill a living person. Once she looked in his eyes she felt hesitation, he was a living, breathing, human, as same as her.

'Why can't I do it!' Amy couldn't kill the enemy right in front of her, causing her heart to sink.

Unfortunately, Hugo wasn't willing to return that grace, "More trouble than you're worth, bitch!"

He swung his Axe down, intent on killing the girl who humiliated him.

"Amy!" Mrs.Ann jumped in front of the Axe, attempting to protect Amy. The Axe flashed past and then was withdrawn.

Silence pervaded the area until Mrs.Ann's body split into two halves before falling to the ground.

Amy fell to her knees dropping the spear, in shock, "M...Mom...Mom! No!"

A mournful screamed filled the ears of everyone, causing all the villager's heart's to fill with anguish. Elder Davis looked on, saddened by the loss of his people. Benjamin grit his teeth running forward, dragging Elder Davis' silver sword behind him. Before anyone could stop him he was out of the encirclement of villagers.

"Benjamin! Get back!" Elder Davis shouted. He tried to give chase but his leg prevented him.

"Clark stop him!" Clark stared blankly ahead, murmuring, "I cant...I...can't...I...can't...."

Though it was almost unheard of, Clark was suffering from something people called Battle Sickness. Sometimes Soldiers would come back from bloody and terrible battles and be plagued with nightmares and episodes of delusion. What Clark displayed was no different, the only cure was time or a skilled priest.

"Clark! Damn it Clark! Help him!" Elder Davis continued yelling, yet Clark didn't move an inch.

"I'll kill you!" Benjamin shouted, lifting the sword and swinging towards Hugo's feet before he could react.

The sword cut through Hugo's boot, leaving a shallow wound.

"Hahahhahaha! These are bloody thirsty kids boss!", The bandits laughed on.

"Fuck! You little shit! That hurt!" Hugo's expression turned rotten, as he lifted his Axe once again. Benjamin turned to run at the same time exposing his back.

The Axe cut across his back leaving a long wound, while he fell to the ground.

"Nooooo!" The villagers cried out, yet none ran to help. They shook with fear and anger as they watched on.

"Benjamin!" Elder Davis yelled to his grandson's unmoving body, he tried to stand yet the arrow prevented any movement. Clark still stood in place, frozen, murmuring incoherently. Amy's tears fell as she stared at Clark. Feeling disappointed with Clark in her heart.

"Clark! Clark do something-"

A loud crashing sound resounded and caused everyone to turn quiet. Dust rose between the villagers and the bandits.

........................

"Damn it! I must have been a little off!" A voice spoke from the dust. As it cleared all eyes focused on the source. A sixteen-year-old boy with black hair, yellow eyes, and a black symbol on his left hand. His youthful face could be considered very handsome, even by the standards of nobility. No one spoke as they noticed the boy was...completely naked. It was none other than Ira.

"I really need to figure this out...wait...huh?" Ira, stood up, looking around, noticing that a lot of eyes were watching him.

"Guys...don't be stare at me like that!" He smiled widely, scratching the back of his head as if he was embarrassed, yet he made no movement to cover up.

"Who the fuc-" Hugo was the first to speak.

"Shh!" Ira responded holding a finger up to his lips. He pulled clothes from thin air and began dressing under the eyes of everyone. Finally, he straightened the black long coat, buttoning up his white shirt, before fixing his black pants.

"Where'd you get those-" Hugo once again spoke to the boy.

"Wait a second!" The boy knelt down to adjust his black leather boots. He then did a few kicks, nodding his head satisfactorily. He stood back up grinning at everyone.

"Perverts." Ira whispered, yet it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

No one had the mind to contemplate Ira's contradictory statement, instead, they were cautious towards his sudden appearance.

'Just who is this kid?' Hugo thought to himself, he wanted to attack, but for some reason the kid made him feel cautious.

"My name is Ira. Nice to meet all of you." Ira introduced himself, waving his hand. He couldn't remember the last time he saw actual people.

"Where'd you get those clothes from, kid?" Hugo asked in a cold voice.

"Oh, these...The previous owner didn't need them anymore." Ira responded cheerfully. He began examining the corpses on the ground. Seeing the lifeless bodies failed to change his expression.

"Oh!" His gaze landed on the body of Benjamin. He walked over and picked up the silver sword.

"Nice!" Ira yelled as he examined the sword. He then gave it a few swings.

"I..." His face grew solemn, his smile fading, the air around him seemed to stop moving, causing everyone to feel nervous.

"I don't know how to use a sword!" He said before laughing loudly. When he was given knowledge of the World, he witnessed people using weapons but didn't actually gain any skill.

"Hey, Kid!" Hugo finally spoke again, his voice containing anger.

"Hm?" Ira responded, yet his eyes stayed glued to the sword.

"What happened to Q?" Hugo asked, gripping his battle-axe tightly.

"Who is that?"

"The guy who owns those clothes from."

Ira slowly turned his head, looking at Hugo, his smile still apparent, "He died."

"How?!" Hugo shouted getting angrier and angrier.

"I killed him." Ira responded nonchalantly as if murder was an ordinary thing to do. Well, at least in his mind it was.

Hugo felt his spine tingle. Murder was something Hugo did all the time, yet he still couldn't ignore it. He used alcohol to drown the feelings of guilt, reminding himself "the weak are meant to die.". Even today he probably would get very little sleep tonight, seeing the scene of a mother being chopped by his axe repeatedly.

"Bastard!" A bandit charged forward, with a club in hand, swinging downwards.

Ira reflexively kicked him in the chest sending him flying 30 or so feet backward, before hitting the ground. The sound of his bones breaking filled the air, increasing the tension in everyone's heart.

"Fucking bastard!" The bandits yelled, secretly glad they didn't rush out to attack.

"That was uncalled for." Ira said in a lazy tone, making the sword disappear from sight. He began walking towards Amy, causing her to shuffle back. He knelt down and looked at the spear before drawing closer to Amy's face under everyone's silent gazes.

"Is this your spear?" Ira asked while smiling broadly at Amy.

"Y...yes." Amy answered while stammering, traces of nervousness on her face, as she looked at the boy a few centimeters from her face.

"Can I borrow it?" Ira asked politely. He realized he could just take it, but he decided to be friendly to the people he just met.

Amy thought for a second before her eyes flashed with clarity, "If you can do something for me, you can have it."

"What is it?" Ira asked.

Amy looked up while pointing in the direction of Hugo and his bandits.

"Kill all of them."She said, her tone contained grief, hatred, and rage, her finger shook as tears ran down her face.

"Hmm." Ira held his chin, contemplating,"Ok."

There wasn't much for him to think about. Killing with a purpose, killing without a purpose, in the end someone would die so did it matter? This was a world that, from his perspective, didn't hold any reservation toward killing. People died from asking for food, in such a world he had no reason to hesitate.

Ira picked up the spear and looked at the group of bandits. He began walking forward. Hugo gripped his battle-axe, readying his skill.

"Come on boys, it's only one of him!" They began charging forward, but black mist rose from Ira's feet as he disappeared.

"Huh!" Everyone was dumbstruck, bandits and villagers alike.

"Where did h-"

Creak.

The sound of the gate moving caused everyone to look over, only to see Ira pushing it closed, before locking it. He dusted his hands off and turned around, smiling. His wolfish grin caused everyone to feel unsettled. His yellow eyes scanned over the crowd of bandits as if they were prey. He slowly took off his black long coat and his white shirt, storing them within the sigil of four wolves.

"So, can we start?" He asked enthusiastically, his smile as bright as ever. With each bandit he killed he felt as if his place in the World would become clearer.

...........................

"Captain Avery, we've cleared the road." A robust man dressed in knight's armor spoke to a young woman wearing a dark green military officers uniform. If she could be described in one word it would be "beautiful".

Her face held a serious expression, she had sharp eyebrows, full lips, and a strong facial structure. The woman stood at 5'8 with, long dark purple hair that reached her back, clear silver eyes, and a strong build. A saber inside a brown leather scabbard hung on her waist. She appeared to be no older than eighteen, but her true age was twenty-four.

"It seems someone intentionally tried to slow us down." The man continued on, waiting for the woman to respond.

She looked down the road seeing a village in the distance, "Robert, tell everyone to move out immediately."

"Captain!" Robert saluted before running off.

"We might be too late.", Captain Avery said plainly while climbing onto a horse. A group of thirty knights gathered behind her, "We move now!"

The group began moving but eventually, they stopped again, seeing a half-naked corpse with a crushed skull and broken limbs.

"Captain, What could've done this?" A knight said trying to hide his apprehension.