Chapter 20: Village Raid!

13 hours had passed by, and the Static Storm, more commonly called by the locals as a Sand Storm, had also ended as per the usual 20 hour period.

The Sandstalker had left in frustration at mot being able to exact its revenge to kill me.

We will meet again one day.

I had approached Jess and taken her to a far away place from the village.

Steele would have definitely given up on me by now.

I brought Jess to this place for one specific reason.

I roughly pushed her forwards and she fell onto the ground.

I stood over the mid twenties girl and aimed a strange looking gun at her.

Jess: "Please! I thought you were my friend!"

The look of horror she had on her face at my unexpected betrayal.

Raime: "Sorry, but you wouldn't believe me even if I told you?"

I asked in a questioning manner, I wanst so sure myself, but I do believe she would never believe my reasons for doing this.

*Bang*

Without dleyaing this any further I fired the strange gun in my hand, directly directly her heart.

...

15 minutes later...

I had returned to the village after I had conducted my business. I deposited a certain "someone" and left the village thereafter with Laura.

I took her to a safe place, and left her there for a while, I set up surveillance systems to keep an eye on her so she doent leave.

I went back to the village and made sure to cover any parts of my body with mud to hide my heat signature from any thermal devices.

I waited for hours, and taht was when I heard it.

A communications on my hacked Atals echo channel.

??? 1: "Is this is it?"

Athena: "Yes. Get ready everyone, turn on your thermals, it's night so we wont be able to see much without them due to the recent after effects if the Sand Strom that swept past here recently."

Athena and her Atlas assassin "sisters" had arrived.

Finally.

I just remained here and watched everything unfold as tge village was massacred, should I have saved them?

Yes.

But this would have happened even if I did. There was no way I could escort them across the distance of the barron Plains by myself.

Even if did, where could they go?

New Haven had dangers along the way, and they all would die, even if I and Laura protected them.

That was how dangerous Pandora was.

I did do a "certain something" around the village...with some "help".

...

I saw what I needed to see. Athena had just killed the last if the villages, and when she removed her thermals, she screamed in horror and rage.

My business here was done.

I teleported to a remote place not too far from the village and entered a small cave.

???: "Ohhh, I had begun to think you had forgotten about little old me?"

Raime: "Cut the crap Vulgrim. You are no one little, and if anything, I am suprised you didn't run on off back down your Serpant Holes. It would have been fitting for a conniving snake like you to do so."

The "help" I received, was from Vulgrim. I had him draw some runic inscriptions around the village, and now I've come to collect exactly what it did.

Vulgrim: "You wound me Young "Rider of the Golden Horse". I would never go back on a deal such as this, I am an humble merchant above all else. One must make a living somehow."

I had earned a new name upon obtaining Kaal, my Phantom Horse.

The "Rider of the Golden Horse". I'm called that because Kaal had Golden tattoos and marking across his body similar to my PhaseRime markings that took on irregular and angular shapes.

Raime: "Do you have the souls of the villages Vulgrim?"

Vulgrim: "Right here, in this urn, and now...payment for my services?"

I took out a vial, with a single drop which I removed from my full vial of the Well of Souls water I had gotten from Death, and given it to Vulgrim.

Vulgrim's eyes shined with madness, as if he'd kill me me the rest of it, but he held himself back and gave me an glowing green glass urn that looked to hold one litre of water inside.

I looked through the System and saw it did indeed have the souls, and names of said souls, of the villagers.

I will create artificial biological bodies for them one day, the only one missing was Jess.

As for what I did with hers...that's a tale for when I save Angel.

I wouldn't want those Atlas higher ups to find out and overhear me as I told you readers, now would I?

Anyway, with that done, I made my way back to the Arid Badlands, then it will be off to New Haven.