Knocking the sword from his hands, I aimed for his neck. Concentrating all my strength into this blow.
– I won!
Seeing how he raised his forearm to defend, I only smirked wider at this pitiful attempt.
Clang!
«Armor!» – flashed through my head as I saw my sword stop against his armor, and immediately seeing him preparing to counterattack, I was faster and sent him flying with a kick to the chest. I watched as he managed to regroup in the air, never taking my eyes off him the whole time. I understood more and more that before me was a monster.
Looking into those bottomless eyes of the adventurer, my grip on the sword became even stronger; thanks to my ability, I could perfectly read people's feelings. This had always helped me against them, for however hard they tried, I could always catch the perfect moment to attack, when they doubted the most or felt pity for me.
Because of this, I always had a tactic: if someone strong was before me, I had to grovel and pretend to be weak, and when I felt a sense of superiority over me, I attacked when they were not ready for it. Of course, it did not always work, especially against significantly stronger opponents. I could only distinguish monsters from all others, for only monsters have two feelings: hatred and some other one, which I could not understand however hard I tried. Reasonable races could not have just one feeling; there were always several: one stronger, another weaker, and it had always been so until today.
The boy running at me changed that. He changed what I had considered impossible. His feelings were the same as a monster's. I would not have distinguished him from a monster if his feelings had not been trying to devour each other. Greed was both stronger and at the same time weaker than hatred. But the same could be said about hatred. That was the only thing that distinguished him from monsters.
Crack!
Hearing the familiar sound, my smile disappeared. Without hesitation, I ran to my comrades, ignoring the boy running after me. Dodging the attacks of killer ants, I reached the unconscious Albert and Rein and, hoisting them both into my arms, ran upwards.
If I had kept fighting him, it would have definitely killed them. But even if I had won, the monsters would not have left me alone.
«I had to get out of here as fast as possible.»
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling and, looking around, immediately guessed where I was.
«The Captain's house.»
I had only been here a couple of times, but I still remembered it well. I thought, starting to slowly get out of bed. Pulling back the curtains, I shielded my eyes from the bright light, but after a few seconds, my eyes fully adjusted.
«Was I unconscious for a whole day?»
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Hearing approaching footsteps, I turned my gaze to the door, waiting to see who would enter. I did not have to wait long: the door swung open, and I saw the captain.
– Oh, captain! I…
– How are you feeling?
He interrupted him, not even giving him a chance.
– Huh? Everything's fine, captain, I'm healthy as a bull! – Striking a confident pose and tensing his muscles so hard that his face turned red. – Don't worry.
Nodding, he left the room. Rein immediately followed his captain. Looking at his serious behavior, Rein felt that something was wrong. All of the captain's behavior told him this.
«Did something happen in the dungeon?» – he thought, vaguely imagining what could have happened after he lost consciousness. – «Maybe they lost? No, it can't be.» – He clearly remembered hitting him in the shoulder. – «So it's impossible that the captain and Albert lost.» – but the captain's serious behavior was alarming, plunging him into an abyss of doubt and fear.
– Did something happen in the dungeon, captain?
Unable to bear it any longer, he asked.
– …Yes.
«It can't be!»
– You lost?! – Looking at the captain's back with eyes full of disbelief and fear.
– No.
Before Rein could exhale calmly, the captain continued:
– And we didn't win either… we simply ran away.
– Ran away?!
– Yes, ran away. We fought for so long that new monsters appeared, and the best I could do, I did.
– I see.
But in truth, he could not understand, however hard he tried. They had been in the party so long that they perfectly understood what they were capable of. He even knew that the captain was at the peak of level two. He could challenge those who had recently risen to level three. And Albert had the most experience among the three of them, but he always looked down on those he considered weaker than himself.
Even if they were tired, to run away… Maybe that adventurer was hiding his level? But judging by how he had hit him with an arrow, it was foolish to assume he was higher level than the captain. Or was it a perfect act? Maybe he had decided to pretend to be weak, and when the captain and Albert thought they would win, he showed his true strength at the last moment.
«What happened!»
Rein understood that everyone was different and everyone could take pleasure in anything. Some lived for sex, some liked to fight and got wild pleasure from it. Maybe they had run into such a person. He did not want to believe it, or could not.
Entering the room, they saw Albert.
– Albert. – But before he could rejoice, his gaze caught on the sleeve where his arm should have been. – Your arm. – raising shocked eyes to him, he only smiled.
– Arm? – Unconsciously, he touched the place where his arm should have been. – It's nothing, Rein, don't worry… Don't worry. – he whispered the last words to himself.
– How? – Unable to say anything more, Rein asked, casting a glance at the captain's serious face and then at Albert's face, filled with pain, which he was trying with all his might to hide.
– You ask how? Well, you see, I just relaxed and paid for it… – He turned away from them. – When you hit him, I thought it was the perfect time to kill him. Because of that, I let my guard down… And that's when I lost my arm… Well, enough about me, how are you feeling?
Turning halfway to them, a smile began to adorn his face again.
– And I… I'm fine.
– I'm going back.
Albert said at once.
– What? What do you mean?
– You understand perfectly. I'm going back home, to the village.
– We can…
– No, I understand what you want to say. Even if we all chip in, we won't have enough money. So now… now… you two continue this path, or you'll find someone new. As for me, I'll just go back to my village.
Rein could say nothing; he just stared at Albert in shock, not understanding how they had come to this.
«It's all because of him.» – he thought, beginning to clench his fist so hard that his nails pierced his palm and drops of blood began dripping onto the floor. But after a while, he pulled himself together and managed to suppress the raging hatred and anger.
– When… When will you leave?
– Ah, well, I think tomorrow, probably. I'm not sure.
– Enough. – The captain spoke for the first time, placing a hand on Rein's shoulder. – He needs to rest; let's go, Rein.
– Of course, get well, Albert.
Rein cast one last glance at Albert and followed the captain. Looking at the captain's back, he said:
– Is that adventurer dead?
– I don't know.
– Captain, did you report this to the guild?
– Yes. But you understand yourself that his whole face was covered in blood and dirt, so I couldn't describe him to the guild. I just said it was a teenager, that's all.
– I understand.
– And one more thing, Rein.
– …
– Control your emotions. When the mind is calm like the surface of water, that is when we are strongest. Albert lost control and look what happened to him… even I lost control back then and almost died. Do you understand?
Turning around and looking seriously into Rein's eyes.
– Yes, captain. I will not let emotions control me… but even so, I want only one thing – to kill the one who did this to Albert. No! Captain, I want to break his life just as he broke Albert's, to plunge him into an abyss of despair.
– Yes, you're right. Death would be too easy an outcome for that bastard.
The next day.
– Well, goodbye, captain and Rein. I believe you will only grow stronger. BYE!!!
– Yes, take care, Albert. Give our regards to everyone.
– Alright.
– I hope we'll see each other again someday. Bye.
And when Albert disappeared from Rein's sight, his smile vanished. He knew Albert perfectly, so he could immediately tell his true feelings from false ones. The pain in his eyes… it only strengthened his hatred and thirst for revenge.