Chapter 7: The First War
[1 month later]
The moon hid behind the dark clouds, the night was as dark as a shadow.
Somewhere in the middle of the forest, there was a meeting, "Tonight will be the night I–No, we avenge our family and all our slain comrades who died because of the lies of the minotours!
They said they wanted peace, they said we could live together, but what did they do? They killed our children, they killed our family. Tonight will be the night they pay—Are you prepared?!!"
"YES!" The soldiers chanted in unison.
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AETHER'S POV:
I sat behind the soldiers, and was placed in the cleanup squad.
"We are invading the Minotours tonight. I have learned quite a few magic spells so I should be alright.
Although I convinced Lord Fenris to include me, he only kept me on the cleanup squad. I need as much experience as I can from this battle."
Excluding myself, Lord Fenris, and General Mordo, there were 60 Werewolves ready for battle. The army consisted of 10 scouts, 40 front liners and 10 in the cleanup squad.
General Mordo yelled out, "The scouts have relayed that all the minotours' guards have been killed! Once we reach the area, the assigned 10, known as the Cannon squad will use cannon boulder to weaken the gate, then I'll use fire blast to finish the job.
Once I destroy the gate, all soldiers are to enter. And remember, the order is to kill on sight! we will head out immediately!" He initiated the march
Slowly and carefully, we gradually went closer to the Minotours' village…
A few minutes passed, and we finally arrived at their gate, "Cannon Squad, do it now!"
"{Earth Element: Cannon boulder}!!!" They roared in unison as 10 cannon flew towards the gate.
"BOOOM!" A thunderous sound echoed throughout the forest
"My turn!" General Mordo thrust his hand forward, "{FIRE ELEMENT: FIRE BLAST}!" A massive flame-cannon tore through the gate, completely destroying it
"Charge!!"
Everyone charged inside, but not me.
From the back lines, I saw a chance to make my move as well, "Training everyday for the past month isn't without its benefits, {Mana detection}"
Everytime I use Mana detection, my eyes glow purple, and it allows me to track and read mana in a limited range. I don't exactly know how I acquired this Kaidan, but it's a useful skill.
I ran at the backside of the village, and glanced around searching for something or someone that could help me gain some experience.
From one of the houses, I saw a dark mana leaking out
"There!" I bolted towards it
I saw that the door was planked shut with wood
"Such futile attempt to defend yourself, "{Wind Element: Wind Scythe}!" I drove my arm forward and released a slash of wind
"Fwooosh-BOOM!" I destroyed the door completely
I carefully walked inside, and each of my step echoed throughout the room. I saw a man standing inside, his hands bathed in blood.
A face that was thought to be lost from Wolfvillage, was standing before me
"I never thought I would see you here, Kor of the village council"
The dark room was painted with blood splatters across the walls and ground, and an unpleasant stench filled the room.
"You have been doing quite the job here Kor, but I'll have to put you down right here"
He laughed, "You're just a human kid Aether. And our deeear Fenris and the others are busy slaughtering those innocent Minotours, yet here you are, aaaall alone with me, Hahahahaha. There is no one to save you here, boy genius"
"It seems like you're pretty messed up up there, asking you any question is pointless—so I will be going straight into business" I dropped my coat to the ground, and readied myself for battle.
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***While Aether and Kor were about to start their clash, chaos had erupted at the main gate***
FENRIS' POV:
"Charge!!" we shouted, and the soldiers rushed in
The destruction of the gate woke up the minotours, and so they panicked and hurriedly left their houses to run away.
"Don't let them escape, kill them all!" General Mordo commanded
Strangely, there were not any Minotour soldiers inside the village, only women and children running for their lives
I looked to my right, and saw one of our men standing before a crying minotour, "Please...please, not my daughter, take my life, do whatever you want with me—just spare my daughter," she cried, her voice trembling as she shielded her child with her own body
But... "Schlukkk!" The blade drived through the women and her daughter's heart
Once again, I saw the true terror of war and its savagery. The sight of death, even if it's our enemy, never gave me any satisfaction.
Amid the screams of women and children, I headed towards the Minotour's mainhouse, where Solgale—the general of the Minotours, awaited
"Is your lord a coward, who hides within his tent while his people are getting slaughtered?" I asked Solgale
He replied, "Lord Thrax is a warrior among warriors, he is not a coward who would look away from his people, he must have a reason for it"
"Your loyalty is admirable, but I will be asking you to step away from that door, General Solgale."
He stood straight and proud, "I was told to guard here, and I will do as I am told. If you wish to enter, you'll have to go through me."
I drew my blade, "Out of respect for your honor, I'll ask you to draw your weapon."
"Hmh, I appreciate it Lord Fenris, but I don't need to draw mine, {Earth Element: Earth Hammer}!"
"Rrrrmmmeee—crkkkkhh!" A giant stone hammer, emerged from the ground
"Let us begin our battle, Lord Fenris!!" He yelled out a battle cry
I lifted my sword up, and casted a spell upon it, "{Wind Element: Wind Veil}"—A swirling green wind, coiled around my blade, "As you wish, General Solgale"
I lunged toward him, "Let's see what you are made of" I jumped, swinging my blade at his head
"CRRKSHHH!"
He blocked my attack with his hammer, stopping me mid-air
"{Earth Element: Earth Pillar}!" Stone surged upward from the ground, forming a massive pillar. It slammed me directly at my stomach, "Ughhh!" I groaned, bleeding out from my mouth
As the pillar was driving me upward to the sky, I kicked into the pillar and hurled myself back to the ground.
Luckily I did not suffered any lethal injuries, "{Wind Element: Triple Wind Blade}!"
"Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh" I chanted quickly, releasing three slashes of wind
"{Earth Wall}" He blocked my slashes, "Weak spell like that won't be enough Lord Fenris!!"
But I already knew he would use earth wall to block my attack, that was why I rushed from the sides, "Over here!
Earth Wall blocks your front vision, so you're vulnerable from the sides to quick attacks."
"You—"
"{Sound Blast}!—THRRRAAAAMMM!!"
The sonic blast ruptured the air itself, blasting directly at him.
He lied on the ground, completely knocked out
I stared at my hand, even surprising myself that I managed to release such powerful spell, "I finally unlocked Sound element, the next level of my Wind element" I wiped off the blood from my mouth," Well then, I'll be going on ahead. That was a good fight, General Solgale."
I walked to the mainhouse, and opened the door. I looked inside the dark room, but the sight before me stunned me into silence.
Corpses were lying all over the floorboards, blood staining the walls and doors
I saw Thrax at a distance, his body propped against the wall. I went to check if he was still alive.
Though only barely, he was still breathing. His breaths were shallow and his eyes struggled to stay open. Then, a faint whisper broke the silence, "It looks like...your promise came true. I have suffered a death worse than I ever imagined…"
I remained silent, not knowing what to say
He continued weakly, "We, we were tricked. I am sorry about your people, I really am. Forgive me old friend." His final breath faded as his body fell still.
I simply stared at his breathless still body, speechless.
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***The battle of Fenris reached its end, elsewhere, another begins***
AETHER'S POV:
"It seems like you're pretty messed up up there, asking you any question is pointless—so I will be going straight into business" I dropped my coat to the ground, and readied myself for battle.
He clenched his jaw in anger, "You think you can fight me you little piece of shi—"
Before he could finish his sentence…I activated my spell
"{Lightning Element: Lightning Cloak}"—
"CRRZZZZAAKK!!!" The sound of the lightning was reverberating throughout the room.
"I invented this spell myself, and you'll be the perfect test subject for it" My whole body was covered in lightning
"Y-Y-You, d-dont try to scare me you human garbage, {Wind Element: Wind Scythe}!"
I ran forward, slid down and dodged the wind slash, "Fwooosh!"
After dodging, I lunged even faster and instantly reached him. I thrusted my hand into his stomach with full force, "BOOM!"
He got flown back breaking the back of the house.
He lied on his back, and I saw him unable to get up.
I immediately followed up the attack, "{Fire Element: Fire Blast}!"
He struggled to lift his hand, but managed to thrust it out, "{W-Water Element: Water Blast}!"
"SSSSHROOSHHH!!"
A surge of steam bursted out as our two spells collided
"{Magic Detection}" I rushed towards Kor's mana without wasting a single second
"That damn kid... how is he so strong, but I'll use this mist to escape. I will kill him next tim—
"CRACKLING!!"
"W-Why are you here already!"
"You cannot hide from me, Council Kor"
I released my lightning cloak, and made a slow step towards him.
He dug his hands into the ground, shoving himself backwards in panic. His eyes were filled with fear, tears leaking out. His body couldn't stop shivering
"W-Why is a kid like you letting off such an intense pressure! Don't come near—"
"Is this your first time feeling despair?" I whispered
"W-W-What are you—"
"Let me show you what despair is, Village council Kor"
He panicked even more, "I-I will tell you everything, I'll tell you w-who the mastermind is, please I'll do anything, just spare my lif—
"Squelch!!"
His plea was cut short as a spear bursted through his skull
"Huh?" I muttered—I was caught off guard. I quickly scanned around, and saw a dark figure at a distance, "Who the hell is that?"
The figure removed his cloak, and he started yelling, "He...Heh—Heahahehah—Hhaehaaahhahaha, that was fun, that was sooo fun Wasn't it, that was the BEST!
I let them kill each other for ab-so-lutely no reason, Heahahahahhaha—I want to see more, I want to seeee moreeee!"
The more I listened to him, the more frustrated I became, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Who am I? Hahahahha, my name is Maniac, a loyal servant of Kronos, and I am here for the Paragon that appeared here"
"Paragon?"
"Yes, Pa-ra-gon. The last Paragon has finally descended to this world, and according to our intel, the mana surge came from this part of the forest.
Ahhhhhhh! If I catch the Paragon, I'll finally be able to become a member of the Goroseki, yes, Goroseki, we'll rule this worlddd!"
Telling him that I am a Paragon would be a foolish move, so I didn't, "You just said that they killed each other for absolutely no reason, what do you mean by that?"
"Oh that? You wanna hear the big reveal? Hahaha, you see, the minotours were never hostile towards the Werewolves"
"What do you mean by that?"
"You want me to spell it out for you? It means that I, have been, manipulating those innocent minotours. And now they are completely slaughtered by the Werewolves for something that they didn't even do, Hahaaahahhhaha!"
Hearing him talk, made me clench my fist in anger. His lack of empathy pissed me off, he was the same as the Patriarch from my old world, "Your name is Maniac, am I right?…"
"Hmm? What is it? You got more questions?"
"No, I don't have any more questions. But what I do have is a promise. As long as I am still breathing, I'll use every limb, every muscle, every organ of mine to make sure you don't live to see another day—I am going to kill you"
End of Chapter 7