Power

[Lucia Holm]

I dodged this Cyclops' giant hand when he took advantage of the gap I gave him to advance.

I saw him land a punch right in the middle of Alejandra as she went flying,

Mateo appeared just in time to catch her before she went through the third tree.

I put myself in front of the cyclops trying to buy time for them to recover

I activated my talent, and ran towards him to cut him in half.

'Come you ogre son of a bitch'

I threatened to cut his leg with my scythe when he started punching, this time with absurd speed.

I saw his fist getting closer and closer, when he was just a foot away from hitting me I jumped to the side and started my counter attack.

As soon as he realized it was a trap he tried to retract his arm but it was too late, the trunks of the nearby trees moved like arrows and pinned his arm to the ground.

I jumped towards him to cut him vertically

He leaned over like he was giving up and I saw the muscles in his legs contract before he jumped and moved like a bullet towards me.

I crossed my arms defending myself from the headbutt but it was too much, I felt the impact and my consciousness was gone

I felt my cheek burning when I opened my eyes Alejandra was screaming but I didn't understand

Mateo was in front of us with her discussing something, when they glanced at me and then turned to the ogre and stood close, in front of me.

Anyone who saw it would think they were trying to defend me but it was another case

they were indirectly trying to kill me in case someone was watching the mission

'I'm finally going to meet you again'

I closed my eyes accepting my ending as I felt the earth shake and get closer to me

TUM!

I heard a loud noise and many trees breaking, I opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I saw

"Kneel."

I felt his aura flood the area like a flood, suffocating the two in front of me as I fought to stay awake.

"What the hell is this attitude? Do you know who I am?

Retract your aura now"

Alejandra was the first to speak and shit as always

He looked amused as a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"Ooh are you important?"

I saw a small golden line create near his head when it flew and hit Alejandra in the hand, pinning her to the ground

"I'm a little irritated right now so I'm only going to ask once..."

The man let us feel the weight of his threat, Mateo swallowed hard as he made eye contact with Alejandra

In a second, the two jumped to each side and attacked the man at the same time.

Mateo tried to stab with his spear

while alejandra fired three arrows from a distance on the other side

I saw the man's eyes turn yellow with his mana before he dance-like dodges two arrows

I tried with all my might to drag myself and run away, knowing that we wouldn't be able to win.

but my body didn't move, the only thing I could do was look while

the man held mateo's spear by the shaft, because of the angle mateo couldn't see the golden sword materializing in his blind spot

the man released the spear after a few seconds and stepped to the side to avoid two arrows

looking at alejandra he asked

"What did you guys come here for?"

"MATEO NO!"

Mateo tried to take advantage of the opening the man gave him but it was a trap, the next thing we saw was Mateo's arm flying towards the man

when with all brutality he grabbed his arm and threw it at his own owner, making him fly and hit a clearing and causing him to fall hard to the ground

The ground began to shake at a rapid pace as the fast-as-an-arrow giant appeared behind Alejandra and grabbed her by the legs,

I heard the sound of bones breaking and my fear began to intensify, I looked at the scene in disbelief as the man and the Cyclops looked at each other for a long time before the Cyclops took Alejandra dragging her on the ground into the forest

He approached and I looked at him with a cold look, we stayed for a while looking at each other but without moving, he because he didn't want to and I because I couldn't.

it was simply humiliating to be in that position so I answered his question

"We were sent here because the forest hides many dungeons to improve ourselves"

The man frowned but didn't say anything, making me break out in a cold sweat and choose my next words carefully.

"These two were nobles, so their lives were very important"

He didn't seem to understand as he tilted his head.

"And yours? Isn't it important?"

and asked me a question I would never have imagined

I felt the whirlwind of emotions when I received even the slightest bit of care from someone, even if that person was the last person I would see.

"I..."

I looked at the sky with sadness

"I don't have someone waiting for me, nor a place to return to, so let's say that dying here wouldn't be all that bad, since I'm cursed"

"PFFFFFT HAHAHAHAHAHAH"

I felt my blood boil with his laugh, sounding like mockery and making me regret ever opening up to someone so son of a bitch.

"WHAT'S SO FUCKING FUN?"

He looked at me seriously and only the noise of the winds and trees sounded between us

"Do you want to live or rest in peace?"

he asked me, honestly, without games or irony in his voice

I thought about all the times I was humiliated by the accidents that happened in my life, the death of my mother, my father and my sister, it was as if my life had gone wrong from the beginning

I thought about giving up a million times, but I never had the courage to take my own life.

so I lived to prove to other people that they were wrong, but

'Am I not to blame? What if I live and bring more misery to other people's lives?'

"I don't know"

He seemed to understand what I meant when he shook his head

"What about your companions? Do you resent me doing what I did to them?"

I started to smile when I thought about this 'lucky' encounter, getting a strange look from the man, making me smile even more

"They would probably abandon me, it's not like anyone would punish them for 'cleaning up' the outskirts"

He started walking towards me and gave me a little flick on the head.

I felt my brain shake before I blacked out