“Shit. I don’t even know what’s going on anymore… Just what the hell happened to this country?” The blue haired warrior had barely arrived at Fiore. For the last couple of days, he had spent his days hopping from one blackwater village to another. From what he had heard, Fiore was supposed to be a thriving country. Not a superpower by any means but being a country with such notorious magical guilds made Kenzo figure that they’d at least have some semblance of prosperity. The reality before his eyes though, was far from what he expected. It was not something that the mercenary could put into words. Spending most of his life fighting as a mercenary in the eastern country of Joya had taught him what a war-torn place looked like, but this was different… It was as if a war in a scale Kenzo had never before experienced ravaged Fiore. And yet, he was still unsure why he felt restless as he saw the destroyed fields and houses. Perhaps there was something wrong with the people? No, that was not it. Something strange lurked in the atmosphere. He hesitated for a moment before noticing at last. Fear?

After travelling from the border to the surrounding lands of the grand capital Crocus without rest, Kenzo decided that he needed to gather more information. Even if he was lost within his thoughts and had a hard time processing what he had just went through in Joya, at least the environment in the country made him realize that at least he was not alone in misfortune. Hmm… perhaps there’s something here that might serve as a clue. The thought razed through his mind unconsciously. He tried to dismiss it as soon as it came, he was not in the mood to deal with false hope. But. What if there was? For reasons he could not explain he could feel a connection between whatever was responsible for the current state of affairs in Fiore and the demonic brand in his torso. Trying to think in something else, the blue haired mercenary slowly approached what appeared to have been a once prosperous villa.

[361/1000]

”Oi brat. What’s going on here?” Kenzo’s unapologetic tone broke the eerie silence as he directed himself to a child that dragged a pair of fallen tree branches through the mud. It appeared that he was taking them to the mansion at the center of the villa. An improvised palisade surrounded the main building as women in maid outfits and men in work clothes ran around the place carrying branches, improvising spears, cutting stakes and digging a small moat. No matter how you saw it, they were definitely preparing for an attack. Startled by the sudden question, as if brought out from the deepest parts of his thought, the boy let go of the branches and suddenly turned to face the man. Upon seeing Kenzo’s appearance, the kid trembled with fear as he pointed towards the protruding jawbone in his cheek. ”Eeeek!! A-A-are you o-one of th-them??” Them? Kenzo’s expressionless face suddenly turned into one of curiosity as he answered to the kid. ”Huh? Who’s them?” As if what he said had lifted a huge fear off his shoulders, the kid regained his composure and answered back. ”S-So, you’re not one of those demons mister?” A sudden drop of cold sweat ran down Kenzo’s spine. This was not the first time he had been called a demon. Many times through his life people ran in fear after witnessing the sinister jaw in his cheek. However, this was the first time someone had hinted to having seen or met other “demons”. His hunch was right. Coming to Fiore was the right decision after all. ”I sure as hell ain’t a damn demon. Now… tell me what’s going on here. Why does it look like you’re all building a fort?” A slight hint of impatience was notable in Kenzo’s voice. The boy, calmer by now responded. ”There is a pack of hungry wolves roaming around the villa… For some reason they’ve been getting closer and closer to the property. Just yesterday, two workers were attacked and eaten. We-we’re afraid of them killing anyone else. The people that could fight in the villa went to Crocus to ask for help, but they have still not come back-” As he finished the sentence, the boy’s eyes grew in size as a thought raced through his mind. ”You look strong mister! Please help us!” As he heard the boys plea, Kenzo simply smirked. ”Hmph. I hope your master’s pockets are big.” The man simply chuckled at the thought. ”I guess I’m still a mercenary after all.”

[782/1000]

”Shitty gear” Kenzo cursed as part of his rusty armor grazed him as he tried to adjust it. As he retreated from the ambush in Joya, he took whatever he could scrape from a dead soldier lying around. Unfortunately, he’d have to save to buy some proper equipment. However, he had just struck a deal with the owner of the villa. In return for helping them kill the hungry wolves, he’d be paid in Jewels, Fiore’s currency. A simple guarding mission. [color=#33cccc]”Not sure how conversion rates work here though”[color] thought the warrior as he focused his senses to the surroundings. From what the owner of the villa had told him, there were 5 wolves that roamed in the pack. He’d need some help if he was to finish with this quickly. As he supervised the progress of the barricade, he approached two men who adjusted the strings in their bows. ”Can you hit with those?” he asked coldly. Without muttering a word, both men nodded. They were a pair of seasoned hunters that had stumbled upon the villa through their journey. Apparently recruited to help with the protection of the place as well. With a small on his face, Kenzo followed as he turned towards the empty fields. ”Just make sure you take out one each. I’ll get the other two.” Almost as if perfectly timed, howls could be heard in the distance as he finished his remark. ”Let’s go.”

The wolves approached fast. Something about them was not right either. They seemed to permeate the same weird energy that was lingering in the air. Whatever it was, those wolves were not normal. Without a care, the beasts charged towards the garrisoned villa. They ran in a straight line, as if almost possessed by something, not minding their surroundings. ”Better for us, I guess.” As he muttered the words to himself, he made a signal to both hunters to shoot at the wolves. In unison, the release of two strings swooshed in the air as the arrows traveled directly to their targets. In an instant, two wolves fell to the ground, being stopped in their tracks. Unphased, the remaining three beasts charged in a straight line at Kenzo, one behind the other. Gathering strength in his feet, the mercenary lunged forward with his shield at the front. As the animal at the front jumped for his attack, his snout was destroyed by the impact with Kenzo’s buckler. Without wasting a single second, the blue haired swordsman slashed his sword in an open motion and cut the second wolf’s body. The impact was strong, however. Even if the man could boast of having superior strength to most people, the impact threw him back a step. As he regained his composure, he tried to draw his blade off the second wolf’s corpse. Unfortunately, the rust in the sword had been caught by the carcass of the dead animal. ”Fuck.” The fangs of the beast caught Kenzo in the right side of his waist, crushing the defective armor and digging into his skin. Letting go of the stuck sword in his left hand, Kenzo twisted his waist and delivered a powerful punch directly to the wolf’s head. He could feel as part of its bones snapped.

As he caught his breath and saw to his injury, he noticed the red glow in the dead beasts’ eyes slowly disappear. ”Something’s going on here.” As he muttered the words to himself, he decided he’d travel to Crocus to gather more information. But that would be after he cashed his reward. As he walked back to the villa, he took one more glance at the bleeding wound. It was not deep, but it still had to be treated. ”This is gonna sting tomorrow…”
-Exit-

[1409/1000] Done!