A Morning That Holds Secrets
The morning sun penetrated through gaps in the foliage, waking Alice with a strange sensation that made her shudder. Her Divine Eye activated without her willing it—something that had never happened before.
A terrifying aura radiated from the direction of... the kitchen?
Alice rose slowly, her heart pounding like war drums. That aura was so immense, even surpassing the dragon Istaroth. Like the presence of a creature from another dimension—a high-level demon, or perhaps... a god.
With careful steps, she approached the source of the aura.
What she found was only Han, sitting casually beside the campfire, stirring something in a small pot. His face was calm, even humming softly.
"H-Han?" Alice swallowed. "Was... was there something here just now? Something big?"
Han turned, eyebrows raised. "Something big?" He laughed lightly. "The only big thing is this morning's hunger, Alice. Why? Is something wrong?"
Alice shook her head in confusion. "I felt a very terrifying aura from this direction earlier. But now..." She used her Divine Eye again. Han looked normal—even his aura was still as weak as last night.
"Maybe you had a bad dream," Han shrugged. "Or maybe a side effect from using that eye ability too often?"
Alice was still uncertain, but didn't want to ask further. "What are you cooking?"
"Simple breakfast. I hope it's enough for the six of us." Han smiled warmly. "Come on, wake the others!"
---
Not long after, all six adventurers sat in a circle around the fire, eating mushroom soup with rabbit meat that Han had somehow obtained.
Rina pouted while chewing. "Brother, why didn't you wake me to help cook? Hmph! I can cook too, you know!"
"You were sleeping too soundly," Han stroked his sister's hair. "It would have been a shame to wake you."
Ensei looked at the food in admiration. "Seriously, Han. How did you gather ingredients this good in the middle of the forest?"
"Experience?" Han answered briefly.
Rudes nodded while spooning food. "Delicious! Thank you, Han."
Tsubasa, as usual, ate in silence. His eyes never stopped watching the surroundings, as if expecting danger to come from anywhere.
Alice still stole glances at Han, smiling faintly with her mind full of question marks. But before she could think further...
"COME OUT, YOU TRAITORS!"
A thunderous shout came from outside the old building. The sound of footsteps approached. Fire began licking the trees around them—someone had set the trees ablaze to force them out.
A group of black-armored soldiers emerged from behind the smoke. In front of them walked a large man with a general's insignia on his chest. Five elite soldiers flanked him on both sides.
"You can't run anymore!" the general barked. "Surrender and come with us, or die here!"
Tsubasa rose slowly. His entire body trembled—not from fear, but from blazing anger.
"Let me handle this, Master Han," his voice cold as hell's ice. "Kingdom people... I hate them all."
Han only nodded. "You're always like this when you see them. Go ahead, Tsubasa."
Han, Rina, and Alice retreated to the back, while Rudes and Ensei stepped forward. "We're joining!" they shouted.
The general sneered at Rudes. "Rudes, the village boy. The kingdom has been watching you for a long time, young man. The officials even wanted to invite you to join." His tone turned mocking. "But you went to the dragon ruins like a fool instead. When the kingdom has the antidote for your dying mother."
Rudes's jaw clenched hard, anger surging in his chest. "You human trash! You're the ones who killed the elderly in my village! You're the ones who poisoned my mother through that damned Ranga!" He pointed at the general with the tip of his sword. "This was all your plan to force me to join, wasn't it? NOT A CHANCE!"
Tsubasa's eyes glowed red, his face filled with controlled rage. The shadow sword in his hand began to shimmer with a dense darkness aura.
"All kingdom members," he hissed, his voice trembling with hatred, "are cursed garbage."
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Slash!
Two soldiers fell in pools of blood, even before they realized what had happened.
The general laughed, not looking surprised at all. "Amazing power! Darkness like the hero Ranga's, yes?" he said with a mocking tone. "But still far from it!"
Rina, frightened, went back into the old building accompanied by Alice.
And in an instant, the battle began.
Rudes drew his fire-wrapped sword, his body moving at high speed. Ensei moved like a shadow, his arrows shooting in rapid succession. Tsubasa fought with controlled fury, each slash of his sword carrying an aura of death.
But the general was strong. Very strong.
He fought against all three simultaneously without appearing overwhelmed. His fire sword created small explosions each time it clashed with their weapons.
"Hahaha! You're all impressive, but this is as far as you go!" he shouted, releasing a tremendous fire wave that forced all three to retreat.
Tsubasa raised his hand, stopping Rudes and Ensei who were about to attack again.
"Back off." His voice was colder than usual. "Let me finish this alone."
Rudes hesitated. "Are you sure you can—"
"Back off."
There was something in Tsubasa's tone that made Rudes and Ensei immediately step back.
Tsubasa walked forward slowly. His darkness aura grew denser, creating false shadows beside him. The general sneered, raising his fire sword.
"Brave young man! But courage alone is not enough!"
The final battle began.
Fire clashed with darkness. Explosion after explosion shook the forest. Trees fell, the ground cracked, the air filled with smoke and dust.
Suddenly, the general's sword pierced straight into Tsubasa's heart.
"Haha! No matter what, experience cannot be defeated!" the general mocked.
But Tsubasa only stared coldly, his eyes gazing emptily at the general.
"Experience?" his voice trembled between laughter and anger. "You don't even know what you're facing."
The pierced body slowly faded—just a shadow.
From behind, the real Tsubasa appeared like a nightmare, his darkness sword already piercing through the general's back.
"H-How...?" The general gasped, blood spurting from his mouth.
He collapsed, dying. "You... will regret this... The kingdom will hunt you... to the ends of the earth..."
Tsubasa crouched beside him, eyes burning with uncontrolled hatred.
"Let them come," he whispered. "I've been waiting a long time for this." He raised his sword high. "I will finish you all, kingdom trash. From this world... to hell."
Slash!
Instantly the general died by Tsubasa's sword.
Tsubasa stood, staring at the sky that was starting to cloud over. His face radiated anger and such deep anguish, his eyes still glowing red from the remnants of rage.
Han, Rudes, and Ensei could only remain silent, not daring to comment.
They had just seen another side of Tsubasa.
And it was... terrifying.
TO BE CONTINUED...