Chapter 39 - Thirst

My foot suddenly stopped.

My eyes looked straight towards the skeletons that were quickly approaching. My arms were crossed and put in front of my chest, my chin was tucked in so that my neck was covered.

Then my legs bolted forward.

My mind was ready to activate the healing spell and like a game of red rover that was taken too far, rushed straight towards them.

My charge was aimed to be between two skeletons, who both reached out towards me.

Their bony fingers were sharp, tearing deeply into my forearms. My teeth grit painfully, but my steps continued forward.

My charge was able to barely push through their arms. My momentum was greatly slowed and there was a swipe on my back.

The loss of blood made my consciousness waver, but a gentle feeling covered my wounds and let me continue running at full speed.

After rushing straight for the middle, my eyes locked on a pedestal there, filling me with hope.

Upon reaching the pedestal, my eyes quickly inspected it.

The pedestal was white and at the top was a large indent, as if something used to be there...

A hint of despair seeped into my heart.

In desperation, my hand pulled out the large gemstone that Leon gave me.

Pushing it into the indent, there was a large rumbling.

...But, the gemstone began to crack and shattered into pieces.

The rumbling stopped and something pierced my back.

My vision darkened.

...

"Um, why are you here?"

...

Running...

My feet were pounding hard onto the grass.

My breath was ragged and heaving.

My right arm was dangling uselessly to the side while my left hand held a small knife.

There was a lush green forest in front of me, while a village was behind me.

There were people chasing after me, one was flying through the air. It was a man with red robes and brown hair. He was currently chanting a spell with both hands in front of him and his eyes closed.

There was also a man running, but his feet hardly touched the floor as wind pushed him forward. He was in white clothes while holding a wooden staff that had a spell mostly conjured on top of it. Other than a small frown, his face was expressionless.

The last person was a young man in tight fitting black clothes simply running as fast as he could. His eyes were narrowed and he had a refined running posture.

Despite being in such a perilous situation there was a smile on my face.

The red robed man's eyes suddenly flew open and a large ball of fire was launched towards me.

My hand holding the knife aimed forward and there was sudden pulling that stretched my whole body. For a split second my vision was black and there was a tight sensation wrapping around me.

The next moment, my figure reappeared a few meters forward, while a crater had been left by the explosion of a fireball.

Within a few seconds, the spell above the staff finished and countless miniature wind blades surrounded me.

My chin tucked in and my good arm was held in front of my chest.

The wind blades pierced me, but before they did any real damage, my figure disappeared and reappeared a few meters forward.

My knees immediately buckled and my head was sent backward, like a limbo champion.

While I was wondering what my body was doing, a leg brushed past my face. The man wearing black had whipped his leg where my face just was.

My legs nimbly navigated the forest, as did the rest of them.

A chuckle escaped me.

"Of all people, I thought you guys could understand me."

The man in black clothes sneered.

"As if we could understand the workings of a murderer."

The man holding the staff frowned.

"You believe there is a comparison to be made between us?"

The man in red robes furrowed his brows.

"How could we understand why you killed so many innocent people?"

A wild laugh broke out of me.

"Innocent? You think that those people are innocent? They beat me, whipped me, and made me starve. They only got the retribution they deserved! Yet, I am the murderer? The one who killed innocents?"

The man holding the staff clicked his tongue.

"You were captured, and that is your own fault."

My eyelid began twitching.

"So I can't even fight back? I question your intelligence."

The man in black clothes frowned.

"At least we are not insane, like you."

A giggle seeped through my lips.

"I'm insane? You all are the crazy ones defending pieces of filth."

The man in red robes grit his teeth.

"No matter how justified you think you are, YOU HAD NO REASON TO WANTONLY MURDER."

A bitter smile appeared on my lips.

"It seems we won't come to an agreement."

My feet pushed hard off the ground, launching me in the air. My body curled into a ball.

My surroundings began to warp violently. Trees were uprooted and the ground was lifted

The three that were chasing me paused and watched me disappear.

There was a violent shaking, like a being on a rollercoaster that was on the verge of breaking. There was an increasing pressure as if my body was slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

Suddenly a bright light hit my face, my body was sprawled out on top of a tree.

My breathing was very ragged and my body was mostly limp.

My body was laying there for a while.

Time passed and the sun started to fall. My eyes began to flutter and were about to close.

Then my figure disappeared and reappeared on the ground.

Behind me, a tree was knocked over and burning.

The three were already on my tail, chasing.

My eyes narrowed and a sharp breath was sucked into my lungs.

After stepping behind a tree, a light feeling wrapped around me.

My figure reappeared behind another tree, out of their vision.

This process repeated itself until the three had no idea where to find me.

They split it up into three directions.

The man in black clothes ended up going in my direction. My foot stopped for a moment and paused behind a tree.

The footsteps quickly approached, but before he got too close, my figure disappeared and reappeared behind him.

There was a crafty smile plastered across my face.

Then it quickly turned into a frown.

The man had noticed me and was already on my tail.

" HE IS HERE."

Turning around to face the man, now I was charging him as well.

My knife was held out and a tight feeling wrapped around me.

My figure disappeared and reappeared behind the man with black clothes.

The person in question fell down to his knees while his hands were tightly clutching his chest.

This time there was no hiding, just running.

My eyes peered over my shoulder to see the three together. The man with black clothes raised one hand to point towards me.

Yet, instead of chasing, the two of them helped the man with black clothes up and retreated.

My steps continued forward and the night was fast approaching.

"If only... I had more power... with more power... I can do anything..."

My forehead was uncomfortably hot and the air around me started to feel cold.

There was a two-horned demon in the forest ahead that noticed me.

It lifted its saber and charged for an overhead swing.

My foot slowly raised, but the rest of me was still.

The moment the saber swung down, my foot stepped to the side.

The saber brushed right next to me and sunk deep into the earth, while my knife plunged into the wrists of the demon.

This... way of fighting is so reckless.

The demon let go of the saber and attempted to swing its fist at me, but my body lunged backward, only feeling the effects of the wind from its strike.

Before the strike finished, my knife plunged into the side of the demon's chest. The demon tried to grab me but my figure was too elusive.

My knife nicked the top of the demon's hand, after which, it roared. Its foot lifted up with a white glow and slammed down.

A ripple traveled across the ground and earth walls appeared around us.

The demon swung its arms around wildly, yet it always seemed to be just a touch away from hitting.

The walls didn't seem to obstruct me, instead, it was the demon that ended up ramming into the walls most of the time.

My knife was not still. Little nicks appeared on the demon's elbow, wrists, and neck.

The demon started to slow down, after which my knife cut into the back of its knees.

The demon proceeded to fall down to its knees and gradually stopped moving.

There was a smirk on my face. My knife went into the demon's chest and plucked out a translucent gemstone.

My teeth bit down onto the gemstone, while my hand pushed the knife into a compartment in my belt.

My hand took the gemstone out of my mouth and gripped it tightly.

There was... mana flowing into my arm.

After climbing out of the earth pit my figure returned to the forest.

And continued running.