Blood and Cries(2) - The Woman

Keiran reacted with a defensive block.

The figure was merciless with its attacks as it read him completely. With great fluidity, it weaved its right hand beneath Keiran's shield and drove a punch into his guts.

*Bleurgh!*

Keiran grabbed onto its hand and delivered a kick to its head.

Pushing it to the ground, he wasted no time hitting it with a barrage of attacks.

If anything, his training with Mother taught him to harness his good attributes to compensate for his poor attributes.

He knew perfectly well he couldn't throw an excellent punch, but a barrage of punches would deliver the damage, right?

Pain swallowed his knuckles, but he forced himself to continue what seemed to be a meaningless attempt.

Punch after punch. His attacks were accurate. They pinned the figure to the ground without giving it anytime to break free from his attack range.

Suddenly, just when Keiran felt the wave of adrenaline leave him, the figure noticed the difference in his following punches.

It blocked his incoming right punch, countering it with a chokehold that instantly changed the flow of the battle.

Keiran could have sworn he heard a chuckle from the figure.

Was it mocking him?

Was it mocking his weak punches?

Sighing, Keiran struggled to break free from the chokehold. It was as tight as a bear's hug. There was almost nothing he could do in this situation… well, 'almost'.

Keiran let his body fall under the control of the figure.

He channeled all his energy into his knee. In an instant, the figure heard the wind make way for something dangerous, but it was too late.

Like the snaps of lighting, Kieran's knee smashed into the figure's face.

Blood gushed out its nose as it stumbled away from Keiran.

'What is that?'

The red blood was like a guide that shone the way to light.

Ironically, it washed away the black liquid on the figure's face, revealing a cream skin with the hue of a golden sun.

His mouth wide open, Keiran was disoriented for a few seconds.

"Enough of this!" A strange voice escaped the lips of the figure.

Keiran broke out of his stare. The figure lunged at him with its fist curled up, clearly preparing for something disastrous.

Seeing this, Keiran knew he would be foolish to attempt a block. The figure boasted of a physical strength that would have easily crushed him if he wasn't so adept at countering those with insane physical attributes.

'Thread through the needle. Gentle water to calm the raging fire.' His mother used to instill those words into him every training.

According to her, it was to develop his path as a warmonger, even though he wasn't qualified to be one

Just like the figure said, it was time to end this nonsense. He was starting to get annoyed.

The whole world stopped as Keiran took a solid, yet slow breath.

It was the breath of an eagle before it took to flight. The last serene breath of the menatre flower as it watches the prey that flies towards its bud.

Following his muscle memory, Keiran's right hand advanced forward.

The wind brushed on his face. The world moved as usual.

Surprise took the figure as Keiran appeared before its inner circle.

His curious eyes sparkled, and his hand attacked her in the blink of an eye.

*Thud!*

Dirt jumped from the ground, clouding the surroundings.

Keiran thought he was successful in his attack, following the last sound he heard.

'Ma was right. It does work on other people.' His mother had made him concentrate on this fighting technique since he was young.

Even though it could only be used by warmongers who already established a connection with Ether, she crazily expected him to imitate the technique.

However, it was hard to tell if he truly could imitate it, just based on his sparring with his mother. That woman was legendary, and nothing he did seemed to work on her.

But today….!

When the dust cleared, Keiran's eyes widened in fear.

He could feel a warm skin glaze over his knuckles.

The figure gazed at him intensely. It looked at his hand, which was infinitely close to its chest. However, two fingers stopped that from happening.

Did those fingers just shift the trajectory of his attack?

Was that even possible?

They guided his punch away from the figure, along with the massive force hidden in his punch.

Now, where had the force disappeared to?

These two fingers quivered like a cold human. It matched the horrific look in the figure's eyes. Those eyes were filled with sparks of anger and pain.

It punched Keiran immediately, smashing him into the lake.

Before Keiran could swim back to the surface, the figure jumped on him, giving him a stomp.

Keiran grabbed its leg with him into the water.

And like that, they continued fighting until the figure dragged Keiran deep into the water.

As he struggled to breathe, it clamped his lips and signaled for him to stop.

It was then he noticed that something was wrong. He could hear the hissing sound of some creature.

The shadow of a familiar gigantic worm blessed the lake, and gory snakes infiltrated it.

Keiran knew the routine.

He acted like a log of wood the moment he spotted the snakes.

Like normal, they ignored him and swam back to their host.

Keiran waited a few minutes after the worm's shadow disappeared.

He brought his head out of the lake to spy on his surroundings. The worm was gone. It was safe again.

Pants wildly escaped his lips as he lay beside the lake. The figure jumped out of the lake after him.

It stayed cautioned beside him.

Keiran glanced at it with one of his eyes open as he panted. His intention was clear, even though he didn't speak. 'Do you intend to continue where we left off?'

The figure was as still as a dead body, but its eyes rolled back, showcasing humane emotions.

It splashed water against its skin, expanding the patch of creaminess that had caught Keiran off guard a while ago.

Soon, a female human stood before Keiran in the same spot the black figure once stood.

Keiran's eyes trembled as he understood why he had been getting a strange vibe from the figure all this while.

'Oh god, she is just like me….'

The young lady had unique features.

There were two captivating silver rings that surrounded her black pupils. Her sneering smile matched well with her black hair with silver highlights, but her dark red lips were more attractive.

She was alluring, to say the least.

Most of all, whenever Keiran stared at her too much, he would feel a stubborn headache wash over him.

'There is something weird about her.' He acknowledged.

The lady smiled with a tinge of secrecy. "Well, are you gonna keep staring?"

Feeling bashful, Keiran looked away, finding something to spot in his vicinity.

Rather than stressing about the strangeness of the lady, there were more pressing issues at hand.

First of all, where is he?

He already established that he was in a forest, but there seemed to be something special about this forest.

The gigantic worm was a prime example.

It was not in the Savage Codex that his parents had made him read countless times… and that was saying something.

The Savage Codex recorded every creature that walked the earth!

'Of course, it can't be every creature, but I'm pretty sure it's not easy to miss out on this worm. Ahh, this is giving me headaches…' Keiran sighed.

"Give up. It is meaningless to keep looking. We are in uncharted territory," said the lady.

Keiran merely glanced at her momentarily. Perhaps she was right.

"Hey, pretty boy. You don't talk much, do you?"

"Pretty boy?" Keiran questioned with furrowed brows.

"What? You never told me your name." She raised up her arms innocently. "Do you not like this name? Ok. Ok. How about 'doll' or 'cutie pie'?"

Keiran scoffed, "What a crazy lady?"

"Huh? What did you say?" She pretended to not have heard him.

"No-Nothing."

Was he cursed to forever meet deranged individuals?

Anyway, he could not waste time entertaining.

Keiran stood up to leave the vicinity. It was not safe here. The worm might return anytime soon.

"Kaleyx." As he was about to fade away into somewhere unknown, he heard the peculiar voice of the lady.

"Huh?"

"My name is Kaleyx-edt," announced the lady.

Keiran thought to himself, 'What language system does that name belong to? It is quite bizarre, just like the lady. I shouldn't associate with her.'

After deciding on his next course of action, Keiran introduced himself. "I'm Keiran."

He looked in a particular direction and instantly settled his mind on that destination.

In no time, he advanced northwards, towards the silhouette of a lone mountain that appeared on the horizon. It would be worthwhile to gain a better perspective on his situation from the mountain.

Yet, something was bugging him.

Keiran sighed as he heard the sound of a familiar stalker. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"What are you doing?" Keiran finally bit.

"Isn't it clear, pretty boy? I'm following you." Kaleyx stated the obvious.

"Of course, I know that, Mania. Why are you following me?"

Mania was his pathetic attempt to get back at Kaleyx for calling him a gigolo.

It seemed to not work. Instead, it boosted her ego more.

Donning a serious look, Kaleyx spoke grimly, "This forest is dangerous. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. It will be foolish to navigate alone."

"So, we should move together?" Keiran turned to look at Kaleyx.

"Yes. I have seen you fight. While you were ultimately defeated by me, I trust in your ability to be of assistance, pretty boy."

Keiran sighed, "Whatever. Just don't get in my way."

A period of silence ensued. Keiran finally inhaled the smell of peace again.

He was quiet with his steps and his mind couldn't be more aware. If any monster sprung up, his mind was prepared to dash away like there was no tomorrow.

"So, where are we going to?"

"The mountain." Keiran pointed towards the gigantic silhouette that was almost unnoticeable.

"Oh, that. Good decision, pretty boy."

"Thank you, Mania."

The conversation went on and on.

Thanks to it, Keiran learned a few things. For instance, Kaleyx arrived at this place in a similar way to Keiran. She was asleep and dreaming of something dubious, according to her, when she found herself floating in the air.

She said she arrived a few hours earlier than him, which was why she covered herself with mud and hid in the lake. It was safe to say she had already encountered the worm a few times.

On their way, they heard the rustling of bushes close to them.

Instantly. Keiran and Kaleyx got into cautious stances.

They strained their eyes on the certain bush that made the noise.

A man wearing a fur robe came into view.

He had burns on half his face and he walked strangely as if his bone structure was deformed.

The man maintained a smile as he got closer to the duo. "My. My. I never thought there would be another survivor."

The winds whistled smoothly.

In the blink of an eye, Kaleyx appeared beside the man with her hands on his neck.

Her eyes stared deeply into him as she said, "Who are you?"

"Wait… Wait… I come in peace. Hey, lad, control your lady." The man begged Keiran.

Keiran crossed his arms and sighed, "....."

He understood why Kaleyx did what she did. The man was too strange to take easily.

Kaleyx smiled, "He won't help you here. It would be wise to listen to me."

"Ok. Ok. My name is Aeron. I came here to save you. You won't last a night here without my guidance."