Chapter 159 - Maximum Abhorrence

"Thanks for the food." 

"It's not free."

Just those three words from Samson sapped away the smile from his face. Looking back up, it was impossible to tell if it was just his paranoia or reality; he swore that Samson's hand had gone closer to his sheathed blade, perched on his thigh. 

"Excuse me?"

--Don't make me do this. 

Ren asked with a slight chuckle, a part of him wanted to believe he misheard the man--or that he was at least joking around with him. 

"We worked hard to gather that fruit; it ain't free, man."

"Yeah, I busted my ass getting that exact one! Took a whole lot outta' me."

Dendhrug chimed in with his raspy, deep voice that came through the visors of his metallic helmet. There was no doubt; as Ren moved his pupils side to side, the armor-clad half-giant had his hand rested against the hilt of his silver greatsword, Yoel had both hands covering the sheathed daggers on the sides of each of his thighs. 

"...I didn't know."

"Sorry, that's just the way it is. So, whaddya' got for us?"

"I don't have anything, really. I've barely been scraping by as it is. You know the struggle, right?"

--I don't want to do it. Please, just let it go. 

Trying to play off the malice that was clearly building up around the campfire, Ren gave a nervous laugh as he ruffled his head of snowy locks. 

"Sure you do; that pretty blade at your hip there, those fine clothes--hell, even your body has some usage. Isn't that right, boys?"

It wasn't just malice; at least not the vibrant aura of bloodlust--it was evil. Ren could feel it--these men were tainted, corrupt--anything but good. In response to Samson's alluding words, Yoel's tongue left his lips, while a repulsive, gargling-like chuckle left the armored man. 

"Huh?..."

"Just the three of us, fighting to survive here--hardly any women to speak of, we get a bit "bored", you know? You know the struggle, right?"

Thoughts went vacant within Ren's mind as the tainted words from Samson met his ears. All of that quelled rage he attempted to subside began to cook up once more, feeling his entire body heat up as his vision became obscured with a slight blur of red. 

There was no avoiding it now--attempting to bottle it up this entire time, the rage he felt had reached a boiling point, toppling over as the disgusting nature of the men became clear. Imagining what Aiko had experienced in her time with this group sent him into a further daze. 

Before he knew it, he had already stood up, sliding Belus out from its sheath without a single thought or hesitation gliding past his mind. 

Dendhrug had risen from his seat, grabbing hold of his greatsword in response to the clear malice now flowing from their enigmatic guest--but the colossal man was too slow. As his blade was brought over his head with a heavy grunt to back up its weight, his left arm was flung from his shoulder, causing him to drop his blade down. 

Bewilderment came across the three men at that moment; the clean, precise slice came with such swiftness that Dendhrug had not yet even registered what had happened, looking over to see crimson squirting out from the nub sitting on his left shoulder. 

As Ren opted to continue his assault, moving forward as he prepared to direct a slash against the exposed abdomen of the half-giant--his blade was stopped by another. 

Before him wasn't Dendhrug, but the man bearing the lion sigil, stopping Belus with his sword. It was different from his own longsword; having a pronounced curve that seemed to end in a thicker form of steel towards the end. 

"Leo!..."

Ren did away with the falsities, exposing the true identity of Samson as he held his blade against the man's own. 

Behind the two men, the half-giant collapsed onto the ground as a puddle of crimson began to form around him. Howls of agony came from him as he clawed at the stone, forcing Ren to avert his focus from the consequences of his own actions. 

"You knew? Did someone send you? Come here for revenge?"

Even as his companion was delimbed, Leo held a fierce smile as he pushed his curved blade against Belus, a radiance of bloodlust shining through his gilded iris. 

Not giving an answer, Ren nearly found his rage dulling his senses--narrowly stepping back as Yoel attempted to pierce him through the back with his silver and black dagger. The cloak-wearing man proved to be swift, his attack missing as a blur as his hood collapsed, revealing his shaggy, black hair. 

--I let myself succumb to it...That was dangerous. I can't be reckless; I don't know what they're capable of. 

Finding his footing as he flipped backward, Ren held his blade up as he slowly maneuvered, keeping his eyes on Leo and Yoel as they circled him together. 

"Your friend will bleed out quickly if you don't help him. He'll die."

Ren didn't know whether his cautionary words for them were out of an attempt out of some sort of resolution or trying to prevent himself from becoming a murderer. In the blanketed rage that fought for superiority over every other emotion at this moment, it became impossible to tell what his own feelings were. 

"He'll be fine! Dundhrug is a tough bastard!"

As Leo yelled out with an anxious smile, a worried glance came from Yoel, who responded in opposition to these words. 

"...He's right, Leo...Dundhrug isn't going to make it with a wound like that!"

"Shut your damn mouth! I said he's fine so he's fine!"

No words could convince Yoel of his comrade's survival; Dundhrug was heaving on the ground, wreathing in pain as his helmet slid off of his bald, almond-colored head. The cobalt armor of his had been soaked in his own blood, but he began to stand once more--the look in his eyes seemed as if they were going to pop out from the strain of standing. 

"...I'm fine."

The assurance came from Dundhrug's saliva-dripping lips hoarsely, grabbing onto his greatsword with his only arm, using it as a crutch to stand. 

--He's back up from that? What is he made out of? 

Seeing this, the mood around the campfire shifted as a resolved look came over all three men's eyes; putting Ren on his complete guard. 

"Yoel! Can I trust you to handle him for a minute?"

Leo called out, ushering a perplexed look from the dual dagger-wielding man, who simply responded with a nod. 

--Here he comes. 

Feeling the animosity rise from the swift man, Ren turned to face Yoel as the ex-argonaut went to help out the delimbed, burly man. 

He had no practice against this type of fighter; both in the fact that Yoel was a dagger-user and a dual-wielder. Unlike most of his foes, there wasn't a potent force behind each quick-strike--proving to be a hindrance on his senses that grew accustomed to heavy attacks. 

Even so, he evaded the edge of the daggers, noticing as one narrowly passed by his eyes that they were coated in some sort of substance. 

--Poison? Shit--just one more thing to worry about. 

Ren didn't like the idea of leaving his back to Leo and Dendhrug, but there was no choice when facing such a swift opponent. It was difficult to keep up with the continuous, rapid slashes with just his longsword, having to compensate with his own footwork to subvert the attacks. 

Faced with this difficulty, Ren remembered something--reaching to his side to retrieve the obsidian dagger he acquired previously. 

It was a sudden development; he had no experience wielding a dagger, let alone dual-wielding it with a longsword in his right hand. Seeing his target equip the beautiful steel, Yoel's cat-like eyes watched Ren carefully with a hint of caution before going in for a dual-strike. 

The attempt was completely halted as Ren stopped both daggers with Belus, leaving a window of opportunity for him to retaliate this time, slashing his obsidian blade against the shoulder of Yoel. 

"...Bastard! Not bad...Dunkel: Shadowstep!"

--That's,,,?!

A familiar incantation, briefly leaving Ren paused as he heard it come from the mouth of Yoel as the man vanished into an air of darkness, propelling forward. There was no time to counter with a spell of his own, leaving Ren to meet the unseen strike head-on with a wide slash from both of his weapons.  Backed by the violent speed of Shadowstep, clashing with the agile man packed a heavy impact, dragging the soles of Ren's boots against the stone as he held back the attack. 

"What the hell? Are you made out of stone or something?!"

Yoel looked up in confusion at his attack being completely halted without much exertion from his opponent, receiving a knock on the head from the pommel of Belus. 

The blunt force instantly sapped the consciousness away from Yoel, who slumped over onto the ground with a thud. 

--Crap...I might've hit him a bit too hard. 

His thoughts were interrupted as a chilling wind ran up his spine as a cautionary sense, causing Ren to roll forward to just barely evade an impact from over his head. It looked as if a boulder attempted to pulverize him; the dust settling to reveal it was but a single swing of the one-armed man's greatsword, who was now standing side-by-side with Leo. 

--The bleeding, it stopped?

Narrowing his gaze, the area of bisection of the man's arm had steam emanating from it. Swinging his gaze towards Leo, the same steam was drifting from his glove. 

--He cauterized it? I see. 

"You're going to be sorry for fucking with us, boy. The things we'll do to you...I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

A disgusting expression, a repulsive emotion came from Leo's twisted words and smile--it was an ecstatic rage, a bloodlust fueled by joy.