Most Wanted Part 2

-A few weeks later-

"Get down!" Alan yelled. 

I ducked and a person flew over me, hitting the man I fought, sending the two rolling down the road. 

Getting up and looking around, I saw several men scattered across the ground, bleeding and with broken bones. Were they dead? I don't know. I stopped caring a long time ago.

One of them was getting up, but before he could do that; I ran toward him and raised the baseball bat. According to Alan, this metal club is called a baseball bat. What is baseball anyway?

The man raised his eyes only to see me bringing the bat down on his head, swinging it with all my strength, and sending him to the ground, bleeding and without moving.

Looking to the side, I saw Alan hitting a man's head against a tree near the road, only stopping when the man didn't move anymore.

"This is the second group of bounty hunters we've encountered so far, if it continues like this I'll have to start using magic." Alan said, leaving the man behind and approaching me with Noir beside him.

"Lord Alan, if you allow me, I'll finish off everyone who gets in your way." Noir said angrily, quickly floating in front of Alan's face.

"Thanks, Noir, but we attracted too much attention in Fool's Marsh, if we destroy everything in front of us with magic, the situation will worsen."

"I understand, Lord Alan." Noir replied disappointedly, floating away.

"So, how is Rubrum doing?" Alan asked smiling.

I patted the bag hanging on my shoulder, verifying if Rubrum was still there. She helped me during some fights; let's say blows I couldn't dodge were stopped by a red magic barrier.

"She's fine, a little quiet, but she seems to be happy." I replied, smiling too.

"That's good to hear. Let's continue our journey; we are almost at the border." Alan answered, patting my shoulder and pointing to the path ahead.

-Near the border-

"This is worrisome, extremely worrisome!" Alan said nervously, and rightfully so.

There was a city ahead of us, nothing wrong with that, the problem was what we saw from the city gate. Bodies wrapped in pieces of cloth piled through the streets, placed on carts and buried in communal graves.

People covered in dirt, wearing rags sat on the floor, begging for help either from people or from some God, but no one helped.

A man passing by convulsed, then he vomited on the floor and passed out on top of his vomit. Another man came to his side and put a hand on his neck, he shook his head negatively and called two more men, together they wrapped the corpse in cloths.

A woman came out of an alley, knocking several people down; she was extremely pale, with blood pouring out of her mouth and nose. The woman scratched her body furiously, tearing her dress apart, revealing a body covered in blisters and pustules, each one of them bursting and spilling pus on the floor.

I stepped back, horrified by the sight, and jumped surprised when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Rose let's go." Alan said seriously, pointing to the trees near the city. 

We walked deep into the forest, making sure we didn't catch the disease, and sat down in a clearing, facing each other in an overwhelming silence.

"Lord Alan, Miss Rose, are you all right?" Noir asked worriedly, floating between us and breaking the silence.

"I don't know, Noir. Those people… so many bodies…" Alan replied tiredly, joining both hands in front of his face while looking at the ground.

"I heard about plagues before, but never saw one personally, that was…" I couldn't finish, the words died in my mouth as I averted my gaze.

What should we do? We're so close to the border, but the plague is spreading like wildfire. It's going to be a matter of days before it spreads to the rest of the land.

"What will happen now?" I asked Alan.

"First of all, a large number of deaths, with such a large part of the population dead, wages will rise in response to the shortage of labor. However, worst of all are the persecutions, driven by religious fervor and fanaticism, various groups such as Jews, friars, foreigners, beggars, pilgrims, Muslims, lepers, sodomites, and gypsies will be targets of persecution and found guilty of spreading the plague. Surely many will believe that the plague is a punishment from God." Alan replied.

"But none of these people are guilty, are they?"

"No, but they will still be persecuted as the authorities and the church have no idea how to cure the plague."

"And you know how to?"

"No, but I know how to increase our chances of not getting sick." Alan answered in a happier tone, smiling weakly at me.

"How?" I asked surprised.

"Well, for starters, we should take regular baths and wash our hands, we could also get thick leather gloves, and thick fabric masks, and social distancing also helps. After all, these were some of the measures taken when the plague spread across my Homeland."

"But that still doesn't solve our problem, how are we going to get to the border?"

"We need to go around the big cities if we want to avoid the plague, travel on less used roads and through forests, but this will delay us a few weeks. It's better than getting sick, isn't it?" Alan said, taking the map out of his backpack and showing me the planned path.

"Yes, I can't deny it!" I replied, analyzing the map.

"We will stop in a small town on the way, maybe the news of us being wanted didn't reach there and we can ask a seamstress to prepare the clothes necessary to survive this plague."

"I hope it doesn't end up like the last time we went to a seamstress." I said, shuddering when the horrible memories came back.

"Come on, Maria wasn't that bad..." Alan complained.

"Lord Alan! People are approaching!" Noir screamed, quickly opening his pages and turning to the tree line.

SNAP!

I heard the sound of a branch breaking near us followed by footsteps. Several men wearing leather armor and carrying swords came out of the trees and surrounded us. I counted ten in total.

One of them, probably the leader, stepped out of the group and approached us, resting a sword on his shoulder while smiling cockily.

"Look at what we found here! Midgard's most wanted criminals! You know, I expected you two to hide harder since your rewards increased!" The man said arrogantly, throwing two wanted posters toward us.

The wanted posters fell at our feet, Alan and I quickly read their contents, and my bounty increased to 500 gold coins and Alan's to 750.

"Tell me, isn't there a way we can solve this peacefully?" Alan asked politely, approaching the leader of the group with open arms.

"Yes, just surrender!" The man replied, pointing his sword at Alan, making Noir shake furiously.

Alan sighed, turned back, and sat down on a rock, lowering his head with both hands together on his forehead.

"Noir?" Alan asked emotionlessly, without looking at the book.

"Yes, Lord Alan?" Noir replied with barely contained anger.

"Finish them."

"As you wish." Noir answered politely.

Suddenly, two hands came out of Noir and grabbed two men by the legs, repeatedly smashing them against the ground and throwing their broken bodies toward two other men with enough strength for me to hear the bones breaking.

Then, Noir spun in an arc while firing magic projectiles, piercing three more men and filling their bodies with holes. 

Noir created two hands right after, grabbing the two men on the right and left side of the leader of the group, and smashing their heads together in a shower of blood. 

It was a massacre, and now only the leader remained. 

"P-please spare me, I p-promise to l-leave and never come b-back." The leader begged, falling on the ground and dragging himself backward until he hit a tree.

"The last time I let someone go, we became wanted criminals. I won't repeat the same mistake twice. Noir!" Alan ordered, pointing at the man on the ground.

Without saying a word, Noir created a hand and punched the leader's head, smashing it against the tree, and splitting the tree in two.

Alan then got up and packed our stuff in the camp, meanwhile, Noir absorbed the blood of the dead men.

"Alan, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, grabbing his arm.

"Yes. I'm getting better at using magic, it barely hurts anymore." Alan replied tiredly without looking at me.

"That isn't what I meant." I answered, letting go of his arm and stopping in front of him.

"I… I don't know… Let's put it this way, I don't like killing, the problem is that it's getting easier. Remember the conversation we had a few weeks ago? About if killing would become easier. Unfortunately, killing is getting easier. I had Noir kill all these men and it doesn't bother me that much anymore." Alan responded, opening and closing his hands repeatedly while looking at me scared.

"I feel the same way, I don't mind anymore when I kill the bounty hunters who chase us." I replied, giving him a comforting hug.

"We need to be careful Rose, who knows when we'll do something we'll regret." Alan whispered, hugging me back.

I thought about what he said, who knows when we'll do it?

-Forests- 

I stood among the trees near a town while waiting for Alan to find a tailor to make what he called 'protective equipment'.

"Noir?" I asked the book out of boredom.

"Yes, Miss Rose?" Noir replied politely, turning towards me.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course we can." Noir answered, waving slightly.

"Tell me Noir, do you still have those dreams?"

"Yes." Noir said in a sadder tone.

"Has anything about them changed?"

Noir went silent for some time before answering.

"Many things, one constant is that there is always a boy, a girl, and me. Things change from there, our ages, the place where we fight, and finally the weapon we use to kill each other, sometimes it's knives, our own hands or…" Noir stopped before saying the last part.

"Or?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Blank grimoires, sometimes we use Grimoires to kill people, only for them to be absorbed by the Grimoire. I'm afraid, Miss Rose, afraid that my purpose isn't just to protect Lord Alan, but something more sinister." Noir said worried as he shuddered visibly.

"How do you feel about your purpose?"

"At first I thought it was just to protect Lord Alan, but as time went on I started to have my doubts, there must be something else. All I know is that I must serve Lord Alan until the end of something called Project Gestalt. However, what is the Project Gestalt? I was never told what I should do after finding the Original Gestalt, only that I should protect and serve him."

"I've no idea what this Project Gestalt is, but I hope you find the truth about your purpose." I replied, giving Noir a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Miss Rose." Noir answered relieved.

"You are welcome Noir." I said, patting the cover of the book.

"Guys I'm back!" Alan yelled, stepping out of the trees and scaring us a little.

"Well Rose, here's our protective gear." Alan said, approaching and handing me a pair of leather gloves and a fabric mask with straps on the sides.

"Try it." Alan said.

I put on gloves and a mask.

"Rose the mask isn't a chin guard." Alan said annoyed.

I adjusted the mask.

"Rose, you also have to cover your nose." Alan said sighing disappointedly.

"But I won't be able to breathe!" I exclaimed, removing the mask. Suddenly Alan shivered and placed a hand on his forehead after hearing my answer.

"Please don't let Rose be that kind of person. Rose, we will have a conversation about masks, the importance of vaccines, and the reasons why the Earth isn't flat."

I didn't understand what he meant by that, but the conversation that followed was quite enlightening. I learned about viruses, vaccines, and pandemics, and for some reason, Alan was determined to hammer in my head that the Earth is round.

-Surroundings of a City-

"We're going to have to do this aren't we?" I asked.

"Yes." Alan replied.

There wasn't any other option; we needed to cross the city ahead of us. The Lords got tired of waiting for someone to capture us and sent their men after us, trained men using the best equipment possible. Alan feared that a mage was among them.

Going around cities wasn't an option anymore. The plague spread to even the most isolated places, and the Lords' soldiers patrolled the forests we hid. We needed to cross the border as quickly as possible.

"Noir, get in my backpack." Alan spoke to the floating.

"Yes, Lord Alan." Noir replied, doing what Alan said.

"How is Rubrum?" Alan asked me.

"She's in my bag." I said, patting the bag in question.

"Nice let's go!" Alan replied and together we entered the city gate and walked down the streets, doing our best to avoid the sick.

"Ouch!" I screamed slapping my wrist and seeing a dead mosquito squished on my glove. 

I hope that it doesn't become a problem.

-Unknown location-

How did it end up like this? I thought as I threw up in a bucket beside my bed, we crossed the town without problems, but I felt sick a few days later, with a cough and fever. Then it worsened, I coughed up blood, had headaches, dizziness and now vomit.

Alan and I found an abandoned cabin inside a forest and stopped our travel; we were so close to crossing the border! Damn it, I'm going to vomit again!

The bucket floated beside me with a red light around it and I threw up inside it.

"Thanks Rubrum!" I said to the red book on a table beside my bed.

"You're welcome." A soft voice came from the book.

"Miss Rose you need to escape!" Noir screamed, suddenly barging into my room, almost ripping the door off its hinges.

"Noir! What happened?" I asked surprised while trying to get up with difficulty.

"There is no time to explain Miss Rose, you..." Noir spoke nervously, but a series of screams interrupted him.

"CATCH HIM!"

"LET'S GO, HE'S ONLY ONE!"

"MY ARM, MY ARM!"

"WAIT! STOP! AAAHHH!"

"They found us, Miss Rose! Take Rubrum and get out of here! If you ever return to this place, Lord Alan buried all the money under the apple tree at the back of the house!" Noir exclaimed before floating away from me.

"Noir wait!"

However, Noir ignored me and quickly left the room.

I got out of my bed, picked up Rubrum, and saw the outside through a window where crushed, punctured, and ripped-apart bodies surrounded Noir and Alan.

Noir created a hand, grabbed a handful of stones, and threw them towards a group of men at great speed, tearing apart the men and the trees behind. However, more men came out of the trees, and more, and more, and more…

Suddenly, Alan turned around, spotting me through the window, and screamed.

"Run!"

A mage left the group of men and cast a spell towards Alan and Noir. Noir fell without moving and Alan fell to his knees where one of the soldiers slammed the pommel of his sword into Alan's head, knocking him out.

I jumped out of the window and ran around the house. I ran, I ran for hours with Rubrum in my arms, I ran until I was out of the trees and I ran until I couldn't take it anymore. 

From that day on, I became a horrible person; people called me the Pink-Eyed Witch. What is the reason behind it? Well, I had a magic book and I became an assassin.

I killed everyone who got in my way, men, women, children, and the elderly, if they had something I wanted I would get it. If I needed money, I would kill a merchant; if I needed food, I would kill the owner of an inn. Hell! I even killed a nun for food; she was pretty, with long blonde hair. 

Rubrum stopped talking to me after that, I don't blame her, and I deserved it. One day I broke into a house while searching for food and killed a family in front of their daughter. Before killing their daughter, she asked me

"Why?"

Good question, why? Then I realized! There was no "why". At first, I killed because they were after me, then I killed for fear of the person I robbed snitching me to the guards or wanting revenge, in the end, I killed for no reason. 

Killing became easy, I killed because it was the easiest solution, and I killed a whole family to get some food.

They found me eventually. I did my best to kill everyone and hide the evidence, but it's hard to do that when the number of people you killed is in the triple digits. 

The plague also took all my energy, so the knights surrounded me, tied me up, and took me to Cathedral City. I don't know what happened to Rubrum but she must be better off without me.

-Midgard, Year 995, Cathedral City-

Now here I am, tied to a metal pole on a stone platform in the center of Cathedral City! Beautiful accommodations, right? I wonder when they will serve me my... I mean... Our dinner!

What do I mean by ours? Well... there were five girls beside me; they were being punished for committing serious crimes, just like me! 

They were the daughters of noble families who revolted against the Lords. What a bunch of idiots! They were handed over by a traitor before the revolt even started!

Unlike them my torture was much lighter, I was whipped for every person I killed, I didn't feel anything anymore, a mixture of the plague with the wounds on my back, and I also couldn't feel the rain falling on top of me.

I looked at the girl beside me, she had needles stuck in her eyes, burned hands, and rotted feet. I can't say why, but unlike me, this girl had a great sense of justice, after all, she led the revolt.

"So that's my story, from the fateful day on that bridge to the events that brought me here." I said to the girl next to me, I couldn't help but laugh at how sad the situation was.

"Please don't cry." The girl next to me mumbled.

"I'm not crying, I'm laughing!"

The girl went silent for a few seconds.

"Thanks." The girl said weakly with a tinge of happiness in her voice.

"Thanks for what?" I asked confused.

"For chat with me a little bit. So thank you, Rose." The girl smiled. 

"Don't call me Rose, that's not my real name, I was born without one, I've no name, I've nothing. No money, no home, no family, no… friends... I've nothing, nothing at all. All I've is a life that is about to end. I ended up as a zero." I laughed again.

"Please don't cry…"

"I already told you I'm laughing." 

However, the girl didn't answer, she stood there with her head low and a sad smile on her face.

"Hey!" I screamed, but there was no reaction, looks like I'm the last one now.

The Lords decided that the last one to survive would be burned alive with the bodies of the other five. 

The first of the group bit her tongue when she heard it, the second died when they were dragged into the square. The third died before the rain and the fourth during the massacre, leaving the girl who just died and me.

Good luck burning me with this weather, maybe they'd try to bury me alive with them instead. 

At least we can all take comfort in the fact that she wasn't the last to leave, it wouldn't have been right if the only girl who showed compassion to others until the end died in the worst possible way.

How I hate this fucking world! 

The rain got heavier causing my hair to cover my face, suddenly; I was brought out of my thoughts by a cacophony of frightened screams.

"RUN!"

"HE WILL KILL US ALL!"

"WHERE ARE THE GUARDS?"

The screams came from a building at the end of the street, if I remember correctly, this was the Magic Institute. 

The institute doors opened and a crowd of mages and researchers came out running for their lives, but stakes came out of the ground and pierced them before they could go too far.

"FORWARD!"

"CALL ALL OUR MEN!"

Several soldiers and knights passed around the platform and ran towards the institute. Looking better, there weren't only knights, but archers, mages, and cannons too. They all surrounded the institute front. What the hell was happening?

Suddenly, a red light flashed through the windows and a gigantic hand destroyed the front of the institute, sending pieces of wood and stone flying and crushing the people below.

That hand was familiar…

Don't tell me that...

A smile formed on my lips, and I couldn't help but laugh with all my might.

"HAHAHAH!" I laughed! I laughed like there was no tomorrow! Because for me there wouldn't be, but at least I'd die seeing a good show! I laughed even as blood came out of my mouth!

Suddenly another hand came out of the institute, this one through the roof, and then another, and another, and another…

There were five gigantic hands in total, all of which could easily bring down the great towers of Cathedral City!

"HAHAHAH!"

The hands crushed everyone in their path! Someone wasn't going to die without a fight!

However, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention, a flower with pink petals, pink like my eyes. I wanted to touch it, I received a flower once in my life, and I never wished for one, nevertheless, I loved this flower.

"FIRE!"

The cannons fired shot after shot.

"SHOOT THE ARROWS!"

The soldiers screamed in fear.

I didn't know what was happening, but a soldier's upper body landed beside me, however, I didn't care, all that mattered was the flower.

It was so beautiful... My life may have been wasted, but this wasn't such a terrible thing to see. As its growing petals filled my field of vision, I greeted the flower with a quiet smile.

I heard the footsteps, and between the petals that covered my vision, I saw an angel. 

The angel had rock-gray skin, with his body covered in bright yellow and red lines similar to an intricate tattoo, his arms legs, and hips were black in color, covered in a mass of darkness.

The angel had long black hair that reached down to his back, a pair of glowing yellow eyes, and a pair of wings made of darkness coming out of his back, also covered in lines like the rest of his body.

The angel also carried a large double-bladed ax, the weapon being larger than he is and two books floated beside the angel, a black book, and a red one.

"HAHAHA!" I couldn't stop laughing! I'm hallucinating! The situation was too good to be true, flowers and angels! As if I'm going to heaven after I die!

The angel raised his axe. Looks like I'm right, you are here to take me to hell!

Isn't it true, Alan?

The angel lowered his ax, and all I saw was a white light followed by the sound of an explosion.

END OF CHAPTER