Hero?

-Midgard, Land of the Forests, Village of Lyllenas-

A few seconds had passed since I asked the question; the soldiers around me stared silently as if they had not slaughtered a village a few minutes ago.

Finally, one of the soldiers recovered from his shock and rushed towards me, letting out a war cry and raising his sword. 

I quickly severed the arm holding the sword with a swing of my ax and before the soldier registered what happened, I landed a second blow, decapitating him.

This roused the other soldiers; they immediately drew their swords and raised their shields, letting out a series of furious screams.

"FORWARD!"

"AVENGE OUR COMMANDER!"

"KILL THAT BASTARD!"

The first soldier tried to cut me in the chest, I stepped to the side, dodging the attack, and slashed him in the hip, ripping a chunk of flesh, then swung my ax over my head, slashing the soldier in the chest with a spray of blood and sending him to the ground.

A second soldier approached right after. I slashed at him while he raised his shield, but that did nothing to protect him as my blow split his shield and arm in two, then I swung my ax upwards, slicing him from the groin up to the neck.

Two more soldiers approached this time. I lowered my ax on the soldier coming from the right, but he stopped in time, while the soldier on the left advanced, and avoided the blow that split the ground.

Applying more strength, I dragged my ax across the ground while grunting in effort, ripping pieces of earth and throwing them towards the soldier on the left, blinding him. 

My show of strength surprised the soldier on the right, paralyzing him with fear. I took this opportunity, advanced towards him, and sank my fingers in his armor.

"AAAAHHH! LET ME GO!" The soldier screamed as I lifted him above my head.

"If that is what you want." I replied, throwing him at the blinded soldier and sending the two rolling across the ground.

"Noir, take care of the soldiers far away, I will deal with the close ones!" I ordered the book beside me.

"I will do as you wish, Lord Alan." Noir replied, creating a series of Dark Spears and firing at the soldiers in the distance, piercing them and sending them flying away.

However, more soldiers approached. This was not close to ending, so I ran towards them and slashed everyone I saw in my way. 

A soldier tried to cut my head off, so I crouched down and swung my ax low, cutting the soldier's legs off, and stuck my ax in his back when he fell to the ground.

Another soldier approached behind me, so I put my foot on the head of the dead guard, ripped my ax from his back, and pushed the ax handle back, piercing the approaching soldier's neck with the metal spike in the ax's butt.

Three soldiers bearing great shields rushed at me, trying to bash me while forming a metal wall in my path. I slashed at them, but the shields endured my blows, leaving only slits in the metal.

"Noir, give me a hand here!"

"You can count on me, Lord Alan." Noir replied, creating a Dark Hand and punching the shield wall.

The punch threw the soldiers off balance, putting their shields out of the way and allowing me to slice through all three soldiers simultaneously.

Five soldiers joined the fight now. I cut two of them in half while Noir pierced another with magic bullets and Rubrum blew the remaining two to pieces with her magic orbs.

However, the soldiers kept coming, ten soldiers this time. 

Before I did anything, Rubrum created a magic bubble around her and threw herself toward the soldiers, crushing those that could not dodge in time.

"DIE... ARGH!" Someone screamed behind me.

I stepped back; scared by what I saw when I turned around. It was a perfect copy of myself, with his fist raised and with a red line on the ground connecting the copy to me. 

The copy turned around and stared at me, waiting for something.

"Noir, is this your thing?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Lord Alan, this is called Dark Phantasm, a perfect copy of you, capable of helping on the battlefield." Noir said proudly.

"Hm… I have a Stand now, I'll think of a name for it later." 

Now how do I control this copy? Maybe if I concentrate? I focused on making the copy fight and it did just that.

The copy shot towards the soldiers, the red line connecting it to my body stretching as it moved. 

The copy punched a soldier in the face, knocking him out, and shot in a different direction, repeating the process of punching soldiers and moving away. 

Then copy returned to me at high speed, colliding with my body and disappearing right after. I touched my chest, searching for the copy, but nothing happened, it looked like everything was fine.

"HE IS A MONSTER!"

"HE CAN USE MAGIC!"

"WE DON'T HAVE MAGES HERE?!?"

The remaining soldiers screamed in panic. Most of them retreated, but there were still those wanting to fight.

I cut two soldiers in half with one swing and spun my ax right after, cutting two more in the chest; finally, I raised my ax above my head and brought it down on another soldier's skull, almost splitting his body in two. 

I do not know how long I fought, but I kept cutting and cutting. Arms and legs flew everywhere while Noir and Rubrum absorbed the blood.

The books helped me with their magic too, spears cut the air and red spheres exploded the soldiers' bodies. Screams of pain and fear echoed through the forest as the soldiers ran away.

"RUN!"

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

I slammed both of my hands against the ground, using one of Noir's spells, and making several stakes rise from the ground, impaling the fleeing soldiers. Only the furthest away escaped unharmed.

I heard footsteps approaching behind me, so I turned around with my ax raised and saw a soldier, but an arrow came from above and pierced his head before I finished him off.

I saw one of the elves waving at me upon looking in the direction the arrow came from, so I returned the wave, it seemed that the battle was over. 

Looking around, I saw that I stood in the center of the village with dead and sliced soldiers scattered on the ground. A few seconds passed with nothing happening and then Noir and Rubrum came to my side.

"Lord Alan, are you injured?" Noir asked worriedly.

"No, Noir, I'm fine, thanks. And you?" I asked back.

"I'm fine, Lord Alan, I just need a moment to restore my magic." Noir replied tiredly.

I nodded in understanding and focused on the other book.

"And you Rubrum are you hurt?" I asked to the red book.

Rubrum floated happily around me; I think she was okay.

Nobody showed up yet and the soldiers left, I guess I should go too as I drew too much attention. 

However, an arrow pierced the ground in front of my foot as soon as I took a step forward. I stopped and looked around, gripping my ax harder while Noir and Rubrum readied their spells.

"Get ready, someone is watching us." I replied said to both books.

I saw something running behind a house out of the corner of my eye, then through the trees, into the space between two houses, and the branches above me. 

Four elves holding daggers in each hand appeared around me in the blink of an eye, surrounding me as a few more appeared in the trees, aiming their arrows at me.

I held my ax with both hands as magic flowed through Noir and Rubrum's pages, looks like I will have to fight my way out of here. 

I stepped forward, simultaneously; the elves raised their daggers and pulled their bowstrings, however, a scream interrupted us before we killed each other.

"STOP THIS ALREADY!"

An old and short elf, with white hair and walking with the aid of a cane screamed.

Several elves, male, female, children, and elderly, accompanied him as they entered the village, I also saw the elf I had saved among them.

"But Chief Elyon, you saw what that thing did to the soldiers. What stops us from being the next ones?" One of the elves holding daggers asked, fixing me with distrust.

"And what stops him from killing all of you like the soldiers? What exactly can you do to stop this man?" The chief of the elves, now known as Elyon, said as he pointed at me with his cane.

The elves surrounding me eyed each other hesitantly until they finally lowered their daggers, but the elves in the trees held their ground, ready to fire.

"Please, young man, put your weapon down and let's talk." Elyon said politely as he approached me.

I did what he asked, is best to avoid animosity between the elves and myself, so I thrust my ax towards Noir and my weapon disappeared within its pages.

"Well, would you mind joining me for a walk?" Elyon asked with a small smile as he nodded his head further into the village.

I nodded back and waited for his reply.

"Perfect, follow me, please." Elyon answered happily.

We walked through the village and the view was not pretty, the trees and houses became piles of ashes, and dead elves and soldiers covered the streets. 

The elves disposed of the soldiers' bodies without any kind of care, staring at them with hate, but they cared for the bodies of their friends and family.

Elves rummaged through what remained of the village, collecting everything of value while other survivors gathered and met with their families, exchanging hugs and tears.

However, my presence drew unwanted attention as the elves stopped what they were doing and stared at me as I passed; giving me looks of fear, admiration, distrust, and curiosity, but they immediately looked away when I stared back. 

For a moment, I glimpsed the elf I saved and her daughter meeting with a male elf, probably her husband.

"Tell me young man, what is your name?" Elyon asked without looking at me, breaking the silence.

"It is Josef." I replied, without paying much attention.

"Young man, were you never taught that lying is bad?" Elyon laughed.

"And how do you know I'm lying?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Please, I'm a centuries-old elf. I experienced enough to know when someone was lying to me. So, would you mind telling me your name?"

"Damn it, I wanted to keep my cover! My name is Alan." I sighed defeated.

"That is it, just Alan?" Elyon asked confused.

"Yes, just Alan, is there a problem with it?" I asked back, crossing my arms.

"No, not at all, and my name is Elyon. Elyon Quintus Pontius Caletus, it is nice to meet you, Alan." Elyon said, offering a handshake.

"It is nice to meet you too, Elyon." I replied, accepting the handshake.

"Look at that, what a polite young man, much better than that brat, Nero." Elyon said sadly.

"Who is Nero?"

"Nobody, forget what I said." Elyon replied, waving his hand as we returned to our walk.

We walked until we stopped in front of a tree house, bigger than all the others in the village, and far enough away to stay untouched by the fire. 

Looking up, I could not see where the tree ended, but saw that the tree had glass windows on its trunk and a wooden door with a welcome mat in front of it.

"Please enter." Elyon said, opening the door and stepping to the side.

"Excuse me." I said back, wiping my boots on the mat and walking into the house with Elyon closing the door behind us.

It was a comfortable house, with a living room with shelves full of books, a small coffee table with a tea set on it, and two rocking chairs near the shelves.

"Thessalia, are you here?!?" Elyon screamed with a hand on his mouth's side.

I heard footsteps coming from a wooden staircase that spiraled upwards, built into the walls inside of the tree. An elf, old and short, with hair as white as Elyon, and carrying a pair of daggers came running from that staircase.

"Elyon, you are alive!" The old elf screamed, doing her best to run towards Elyon and hugging him.

"Yes, I am, thanks to this young man and his magical books. They defeated the soldiers and stopped the attack." Elyon replied, returning the hug.

"Thanks for saving our village and thanks for saving my idiot husband." Thessalia said, leaving the hug and bowing with difficulty.

My heart almost stopped upon seeing an elderly woman trying so hard 

"Please stop, there is no need for that, a thank you is enough." I said as I ran towards Thessalia and helped her to her feet.

"Oh! What a well-mannered young man." Thessalia said, trying to pinch my cheek, but she could not reach it, and smiling at me.

"Thessalia, don't bother our guest, we have a lot to talk about. Please sit down." Elyon said, leading me into the kitchen where I saw a table with four chairs around it, I pulled one out for Elyon to sit down.

"Thank you." Elyon replied as he sat down, sighing relieved.

"I'm going to make some tea." Thessalia spoke, walking past us.

She picked up a kettle, opened the lid, and muttered something. A magic sigil appeared above the kettle and poured water inside it, and then she placed the kettle on top of a wood stove made of stone.

"Honey, could you light the stove?" Thessalia asked Elyon.

"Yes, of course dear." Elyon pointed his cane at the wood inside the stove and muttered words that I did not understand. 

Another magic sigil appeared at the tip of his cane and a small fireball hit the wood in the stove, igniting it. With the stove lit, Thessalia made tea while Elyon and I talked.

"I guess I should introduce myself properly, you already know my name, but I'd rather try again now that we're in a more comfortable place. My name is Elyon Quintus Pontius Caletus, the chief of the village of Lyllenas, and the beautiful elf standing beside us is my wife, Thessalia Quintus Pontius Caletus."

"Oh, you flatter me too much." Thessalia replied as she placed a kiss on Elyon's cheek.

"But it is true." Elyon replied as he kissed Thessalia back.

I stared at Noir and Rubrum, giving them a questioning look and they both stared back at me.

"If I'm interrupting something, I can come back later." I said nervously to the elf couple, ready to get up from my seat.

"Oh, I am sorry about that! Sometimes we get carried away by emotion." Elyon said embarrassed while coughing on his hand.

"Don't worry about it, actually I'm glad to see how close you two are, it feels like you've been together for a long time." I replied, waving both hands.

"Two hundred years to be precise." Elyon replied.

"Two hundred and ten, and do not forget it again!" Thessalia cut him off, pinching his cheek.

"Two hundred and ten and I will not forget it again." Elyon corrected himself tiredly.

"Excuse me if I am being rude Mr. Elyon, but why am I here?" I asked, going straight to the point.

"We will get there; you have to be patient young man. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Of course you can."

"I know this will seem like a rude question but what are you, Alan? I lived for centuries and met many races in and out of Midgard, but never saw something like you."

"You may not believe this but I used to be human."

"Hm… This is hard to believe. How did you get like this?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but it has something to do with Noir and Rubrum here." I said, pointing at the books.

"Lord Alan took this new form because of us." Noir said politely with a sad tone in his voice.

"The book can speak!" Elyon screamed as Thessalia and he looked at Noir in surprise.

"Noir can do much more than that, Rubrum can talk too but she rarely does that." I shrugged.

Rubrum floated around the kitchen and looked at Elyon and Thessalia curiously after I spoke.

"Life does not cease to surprise this old elf, but that still doesn't answer my question." Elyon said.

"To answer your questions, Mister Elyon, Lord Alan assumed this form when Rubrum and I absorbed as much magic as possible to free him." Noir replied.

"You're crazy, you don't mess with magic like that, it's a miracle the boy is still alive. And what do you mean with 'to free him?'"

"Noir, Rubrum, a friend of mine, and I became prisoners in Cathedral City by order of one of the lords." I replied, flinching when the painful memories came back.

"Poor boy." Elyon and Thessalia said in horror.

"What happened to your friend?" Thessalia asked worriedly, gripping Elyon's arm.

I did not answer and looked down in silence.

"I'm very sorry." Thessalia replied, putting a hand on my shoulder.

PPPSSSFFFHH!

Fortunately, the kettle whistling interrupted us, breaking the somber mood.

"The water is ready; do you prefer mint or chamomile tea?" Thessalia asked with a nervous smile, holding a pot in each hand.

"Anyone is fine with me." I replied, giving her a shaky smile.

"I want chamomile, please." Elyon replied, sighing tiredly.

Then Thessalia made the tea while Elyon and I talked again.

"Can you tell me what happened next?" Elyon asked, giving me a sympathetic look.

"I escaped my cell thanks to Noir and Rubrum, but we arrived too late to save my friend."

"Then you are the one responsible for the destruction in Cathedral City."

"Do you know what happened?"

"The news takes a while to arrive here, but from what I've heard, an angel killed most of the cathedral city's forces and a flower-shaped explosion opened a crater in the middle of the city, you must be that angel."

"You are right, but I have no idea about the flower."

"Fair, now tell me Alan, what brought you to Lyllenas?"

"It wasn't my intention to come here, I wanted to escape to a location where the lords wouldn't find me, and so I came to the Land of Forests where I spotted smoke coming from the trees during my trip and decided to investigate. I found the village being attacked, so I decided to help."

"So it was by chance, we were lucky to have you here." Elyon said with a dark look, which disappeared with Thessalia's return.

"The tea is ready!" Thessalia said, holding a series of saucers and cups.

"Let us help you, Miss Thessalia." Noir said, creating three hands and placing the porcelain saucers and cups on the table while Rubrum used her magic to make the teapot float and poured tea to us.

"Thank you, dear." Thessalia said as she sat down at the table.

 "It's delicious." I smile after blowing on the tea and drinking a little.

"I'm glad you liked it." Thessalia said, returning the gesture.

"Thessalia has a knack for it; no one can make tea better than her." Elyon said proudly, making Thessalia laugh and blush.

We drank our tea for a while; a pleasant silence took over the kitchen as a light breeze blew through the windows while the noises of the village muffled in the distance until Elyon broke the silence with a sigh.

"Young man, I don't know how to ask you this, you helped us a lot today and have no reason to stay here. We owe you a lot, but…" Elyon suddenly stopped.

"What my husband is trying to ask is if you could stay in the village and help us." Thessalia said, exchanging a hopeful look with her husband

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Young man, you saw what happened today, we elves surpass humans in skill, but the forces of the lord surpass us in numbers, we would all be dead if it weren't for you. If my wife and I were a few centuries younger we could finish off the soldiers using our magic but that is no longer possible." Elyon said, extending a hand to his wife.

"So we wondered if you could stay in Lyllenas and help protect the village, I know we have no right to ask that after what you've done, but we're out of options, we won't survive if another attack happens." Thessalia said as she held her husband's hand tight.

I placed my cup on the table and looked up in thought. Stay here and defend the village? This is not what I want to do in the Land of Forests; I want to find a place where I could get some peace. 

I did this village a great favor, however, the way that Elyon and Thessalia look at me hopefully, the way they loved each other… Who knows what would happen to them if I left?

I looked out the window and saw some elves working on rebuilding the village, this is their home and they will die to protect this place. I wish I had that kind of determination. 

I then looked at Noir and Rubrum to see if they had anything to say, but they went silent. I guess they expect my answer; these two will follow me wherever I go.

Taking a deep breath, I gave my answer.

"I'll stay here."

The two's posture rose as their eyes widened and they smiled happily.

"But I would like something in return."

The smiles on their faces diminished with that.

"Something in return… Of course… You will be risking your life for us; we can't expect you to do this for free." Elyon muttered, averting his gaze.

"What do you want, exactly? We don't have much, but I think if we make an effort we can give you what you wish." Thessalia completed as she looked worriedly at Elyon.

"I don't want much; but I would like a few things, a haircut, a bath, some food, and a place to live here in the village." I replied, leaning back on my seat and crossing my arms.

Elyon and Thessalia looked at me in confusion.

"Do you want just that?" Elyon asked.

"We expected something worse." Thessalia completed.

"There is one more thing I would like to receive." I replied, raising a finger.

"And what it is?" Elyon asked suspiciously.

"Could you teach me how to use magic?" I asked bowing and joining both hands in a prayer gesture.

Elyon and Thessalia sighed relieved.

"And why do you ask that? You and those books are quite capable of using magic from what I saw during your fight."

"Yes, but I feel that there is still more to learn. We waste too much magic using spells and do not have a good understanding of magic itself. I also do not know what I can do with my new form. So, could you two train me in how to use magic?"

Thessalia and Elyon looked at each other and then nodded.

"We accept it!" They responded simultaneously.

"Great, then it's a deal!" I replied, quickly drinking the rest of the tea.

"The tea was delicious! Noir, Rubrum, come on, we have a lot to do!" I said, running towards the door with the two books accompanying me.

"Please wait a moment!" Elyon and Thessalia called me, but I ignored it. I left their house and ran through the village, stopping in its center.

"Noir, Rubrum, let's help the elves rebuild their homes. Noir, can you create more of those copies?"

"Yes, I can, Lord Alan." Noir replied before creating two more copies that appeared beside me.

"Excellent, Rubrum, I want you to use your magic to move the rubble and help transport building materials!"

Rubrum nodded her head happily.

"Well then, let's get started!" I spoke to the two before approaching a group of elves moving the partially burnt remains of a tree house.

"Hey, let me help!" I said to the group.

The elves looked hesitantly at each other.

"This is not necessary; you've done enough for us." One of the elves answered politely while waving his hands.

"Nonsense let me help you. Where do I put this?" I asked picking up a large piece of wood.

Therefore, Noir, Rubrum, and I spent the afternoon helping rebuild the village. It was tiring but worth the work, helping these people took my mind off the emptiness I felt.

-XXXXXX-

I stayed further away from the crowd of elves in front of me; it would be rude to intrude on what happened. Right now, the elves hold a funeral for those who died during the attack.

The elves wept and prayed in front of the graves of their loved ones. A wooden symbol that I could not identify with any religion I knew stood above each grave as the elven equivalent of a cross.

Elyon gave a speech, but I did not pay attention to what he said, this funeral brought back some bad memories about her death. I shook my head as I sighed, you need to get over this Alan and you cannot let this bother you forever.

"Excuse me." Someone called me out, catching my attention.

I turned around and saw the elf I had saved holding her daughter in one arm while hugging her husband's arm with the other.

"Can I help you?" I replied as Noir and Rubrum paid attention to the funeral.

"I would like to thank you for saving my wife and daughter." The male elf replied, bowing politely.

"It was no big deal, no need to thank me." I answered embarrassed, returning the gesture.

"You do not need to be so modest, you did something great today." The female elf spoke.

"I still don't think you need to thank me so much. By the way, I do not know your names. My name is Alan, and yours?"

"My name is Kesefeon Arruns Sabucius Sosius." The male elf replied.

"And my name is Sarioch Arruns Sabucius Sosius." The female elf spoke right after.

"And you little girl, what is your name?" I asked the elf hiding her face in her mother's chest. 

I bent down to look at her but she flinched in fear, my face must be scary for a child.

"Come on, you don't have to be afraid, say your name to Mr. Alan." Sarioch said, patting her daughter's head.

"I am called Narioch, Mr. Hero." Narioch answered shyly.

"Sarioch, Narioch? Is this a tradition within your family?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, the female side of my family has the tradition of giving their daughters similar names, my mother was called Tarioch and my grandmother was called Karioch." Sarioch replied.

"And when I have a daughter I will name her Arioch." Narioch smiled.

"Arioch, it's a good name." I replied, smiling back.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Hero." Narioch answered happily.

Hero, I guess I would not mind being one, but it is weird to hear someone calling me that, heroes are something my world needed.

"I heard from the chief that you are going to help protect the village. Is that true?" Kesefeon asked.

"Yes, that's part of the deal I made with him."

"That's good to hear, I look forward to working with you in the future." Kesefeon replied.

"Are you part of the village defense?"

"Yes, I am." Kesefeon replied proudly.

"Can you give me some advice on how to defend the village?"

"I recommend keeping your eyes and ears open; soldiers have a habit of attacking at night."

"Night huh… Tell me, do you know any tailors?"

"Yes, I know, why the question?" Kesefeon asked confused.

"I would like to order a special outfit." I said while smiling from ear to ear.

-Village of Lyllenas, forest, night-

A small group of soldiers walked through the forest towards the village of Lyllenas; they carried a few torches to light the path in front of them. This group sought to deliver a surprise attack on the village while everyone slept.

However, a shadow darted across the group and swept one of the soldiers away as they walked through the woods.

"AAAHHH…" A dreadful silence cut the soldier's scream.

"What was that?" One of the soldiers asked scared.

"Where the hell did he go?" Another soldier asked. However, none of them saw the shadow that took their friend away.

"We shouldn't have come here." One of the soldiers spoke, backing away until he hit his back against a tree.

Unfortunately, the soldier did not notice a pair of hands approaching the sides of his head.

"What… AAAHHH!" The soldier screamed as something pulled him up toward the treetops where he disappeared.

The remaining soldiers formed a circle, torches in hand and swords drawn.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?"

"THIS FOREST IS HAUNTED!"

"WE DON'T… AAAHHH!" The soldier never finished as something grabbed his legs and dragged him away toward the darkness.

However, he was not the last one.

"NO!"

"HELP!"

"AAAHHH!"

The soldiers disappeared one by one, hands came from above and pulled them to the treetops, something grabbed their legs and dragged them into the bushes while a large shadow passed by the group and took a soldier away.

Only one soldier remained in the end, the soldier looked around, panicked until he saw something watching him between the trees.

The thing looked like a tall man, wearing a type of dark and quality suit that helped him camouflage among the trees.

"AAAHHH!" The soldier screamed as he ran and hid behind a tree.

He felt something brushing his hair as he leaned against the tree, jumping away, the soldier saw a sheet of paper with a pencil drawing of the creature he saw with word writhen beside it.

"Don't look… Or he'll take you."

The soldier saw the creature approaching out of the corner of his eye.

"AAAHHH!" The soldier screamed again as he grabbed the sheet of paper and ran through the woods where he found another sheet of paper stuck in a rock.

"HELP ME!"

Unfortunately, the soldier did not have time to think, as he heard footsteps behind him. Quickly, the soldier grabbed the sheet paper and ran away.

Moreover, this happened for a good part of the night, the soldier would run away from the monster and find more sheets of paper with cryptic messages, but the monster would become more aggressive to the point of seeming to multiply with each sheet acquired.

Finally, the soldier acquired seven sheets and found the eighth as he fled through the forest.

"Behind you…"

The soldier shivered as the sound of footsteps closed in, turning around, the soldier saw the monster approaching through the trees.

"AAAHHH!" The soldier screamed as he tried to run left, but the monster stood on his left, so he tried to run right, but the monster stood on his right, so he tried to run forward, but the monster stood in front of him.

No matter where he looked, the monster stood there, getting closer and closer, the soldier closed his eyes and everything went silent. A few minutes passed in total silence, the soldier hesitated for a few seconds until he opened his eyes…

Only to see two glowing yellow eyes staring back at him.

"AAAHHH!"

The soldier screamed one last time before his torch went out and the forest fell silent.

END OF CHAPTER