Ikazuchi was currently making his way through the Worth Woodsea on foot. Blood was splattered across his armor, still wet from the recent massacre he had committed. The guards and leader of the previous village had suffered due to their choices, and he intended to do something worse to the elven village. They had been the primary offenders, and they were currently sheltering the former leader of the village that Ikazuchi previously defeated. His rage had already reached the limit, and something that was hidden by his extremely cold expression.

He knew that Kaen likely wouldn’t approve of his methods, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake that he had last time. He would dominate the tribes with fear, and kill any that suggested they were going to rebel. Thanks to his unique ocular powers, this was easy for him. He would know their alignment and general beliefs, so he could easily silence any resistance.

The scent of blood carried on the breeze drawing the attention of various animals, but none were brave enough to attack him. His drawn swords were enough of a warning for the intelligent creatures inhabiting the area. ‘The beasts are smarter than the people around here…’ He couldn’t help but feel this based on the intelligence of his wyvern and the beasts who understood that there were some things that they shouldn’t mess with. From his perspective, if the people who attacked the village stopped to think for even a moment, they would realize that they shouldn’t have targeted a village associated with him.

He wasn’t extremely well known throughout the world, but his name had started circulating recently. Even if they didn’t actively associate with the major towns, the villages received news regularly and would know of him. They would also know that he was related to the village. He intended to make sure that they regretted disregarding him.

Word Count: 310

Ikazuchi knew he couldn’t sneak around the village due to the stench of blood wafting from him. The elves were sensitive to scents like that, so he didn’t even consider sneaking around. His arrival was in the afternoon, and it seemed that the elves were expecting him. They had organized themselves into proper formations in order to face him. Normally, Ikazuchi would be excited by this fact. Like many other members of his guild, he was a battle junkie of sorts. Proving himself through combat was something that he always enjoyed.

Unfortunately, Ikazuchi didn’t have that luxury as his gaze fixed directly onto a familiar elf in the back of the formation. “They healed your arm?” He couldn’t help but mumble as he stepped forward. There wasn’t any exchange between the two sides as the elves started firing off magic at Ikazuchi. He wasn’t sure what method they had used to gather information, and he didn’t care. It didn’t change what he would be doing now that he arrived.

Word Count: 160
Total Word Count: 470

“Kill him! Kill that trash!!” Ikazuchi could hear a familiar voice shouting at the others as he weaved between the spells, nullifying the ones he couldn’t avoid. ‘You’re going to die slowly…’ He actively swung his sword in ways that would require him to nullify the least number of spells in order to break through. He didn’t want to waste any of his mana on these spells if possible, so he tried to act as efficiently as possible.

It was a slow process for him to enter into melee range, but he was steadily progressing towards that. He had already tuned out the elf’s voice that seemed to contain traces of fear mixed with his obvious anger. Ikazuchi could only assume that the man had some amount of authority among the nearby elf tribes for him to order the members of another tribe around like this. ‘If only they knew that he was selfishly inviting a disaster…’

It was when he finally reached ten meters from the formation that Ikazuchi finally lunged in and commenced a bloody sword dance. Each swing of his sword took a life, cut a spell, or blocked an attack. He was putting his skills on full display while trusting in his armor to take any of the other attacks. Fear was gradually creeping into the hearts of the elves after seeing his display, but it was also too late to back down.

They continued fighting knowing that their life depended on it, all of them blaming the bastard elf who was targeting Ikazuchi to begin with. The leader of this tribe didn’t seem to be present either, so it was possible that they weren’t led by a warrior. If they were, it was likely that the tribe wouldn’t be showing such a shameful display. What kind of leader sends their soldiers to their death like this?

The dead bodies were piling up, but Ikazuchi continued to move unhindered as they flew ten meters away when he dealt fatal blows. The corpses affected the elves more than him, creating a more favorable battlefield as it continued. “Why can’t you all kill him?!”

Word Count: 350
Total Word Count: 820

It was at this point that Ikazuchi saw that familiar elf turn his back and flee as he was dealing with the remaining soldiers. He felt the strong urge to ignore the remaining soldiers and pursue the man. If they were innocent, he might have done exactly that. Unfortunately, he could feel their connection to the raid on the village. There wasn’t a single man present who hadn’t participated, and Ikazuchi wasn’t willing to spare them after seeing Kaen’s condition. He could only imagine what would have happened to the elves that had been captured and brought back to this village.

‘You better hope they’re alive…’ He couldn’t help but think that as he finished off the last of the men that hadn’t surrendered to him. Of course, the only surrender he accepted was from the very few that were unrelated to the raid on the village. Even though he was enraged, he didn’t want to see the village wiped out due to a total lack of manpower. He may even encourage them to merge with Kaen’s village if the corruption and hatred wasn’t too deeply rooted.

Ikazuchi didn’t spare a second glance to the defeated guards after the battle came to an end. The condition of his equipment had deteriorated, but he wasn’t worried that anyone here would be a threat to him. ‘If they follow that trash, they can’t be too strong…’ He thoroughly searched around until he discovered a particularly large building that was obviously where the leader would reside. From within that building, he heard the same annoying voice that had been demanding his death earlier. “Found you…” There wasn’t any doubt or hesitation as he strode up to the door and shattered it with a kick, shards of wood scattering inward.

Word Count: 290
Total Word Count: 1,110

“Come out, come out, wherever you are~” Ikazuchi’s voice carried throughout the entire building after he realized that it had fallen silent due to his arrival. “Ikazuchi?!” This muffled shout could be heard from behind a door before a resounding slap echoed out immediately after. ‘There you are…’ He charged forward immediately after hearing that. The door that he encountered was enchanted, but was easily cut through by Spellcutter before Ikazuchi made his way down a staircase.

‘A dungeon?’ This was all Ikazuchi could imagine as he proceeded down the staircase. From his perspective, he couldn’t imagine anything else being underground and fortified by various enchantments. The anger that had been slightly reduced after venting his emotions during battle grew stronger once more. His hands clenching his swords tightened even more as he heard whispered conversation, crying, and angry voices.

What he saw at the bottom of the stairs was a long series of cells full of vaguely familiar elves. Some of the females had dead eyes, others were covered in injuries, even the children were showing signs of malnourishment. His breathing immediately became irregular as he witnessed the mistreatment. His footsteps felt heavy as he noticed the hope returning to the eyes of everyone in the cells as he went by.

His growing anger and burden meant that Ikazuchi was ready to snap when he finally caught sight of a particular cell at the end. An overweight elf who he recognized as weak was standing next to the former leader of the tribe that merged with Kaen’s. In front of them was the man who took over for the leader he defeated, Aldon. That was who had called out to him earlier.

His condition was terrible, but he had a smile on his face after seeing Ikazuchi. “Aldon, are you ready to go home?” This was all he said after seeing what was going on. The elf’s smile grew wider as he responded. “Of course!” Ikazuchi nodded solemnly as he gave a response. “Aldon, I can’t spare him this time.” Aldon’s expression shifted to sorrow as he understood what would happen, but he could only nod his head and accept that. No matter what Aldon said, his father had crossed a line that should have never even been approached.

Word Count: 380
Total Word Count: 1,490

Ikazuchi didn’t waste any words as he stepped into the cell where the two men fearfully stood. It was at this point that the heavyset elf stepped forward bravely ‘oh?’ His eyebrow raised, unsure where someone so weak gained the courage to challenge him. “GUARDS!!” Ikazuchi couldn’t help but sigh after hearing that. “They’re all dead, you stupid pig…” His sword moved and decapitated the man, clearly not intending to wait for another response.

“How dare you-” Ikazuchi’s sword quickly found its way to just in front of the man’s throat, a trickle of blood running down his neck. Beads of sweat immediately formed on the man’s forehead. “Save it, I don’t care.” Ikazuchi stared at him for what felt like a long period of time after he spoke. “Aldon, is there anything you want to say before I send him off?”

“...I’m sorry that I couldn’t stop you, father…” Ikazuchi felt bitter after hearing the man say this. He focused on the expression of the man at the end of his sword, swinging it without hesitation as he saw the man’s expression contort with anger. ‘I’m sorry Aldon, those aren’t the last words you deserve…’ He didn’t say anything as the chained up man broke down crying. He simply cut the chains near the cuffs and left the cell to release the various others.

Ikazuchi immediately located a healer who he sent to Aldon as he made his way through each cell. His anger didn’t fade after he killed his enemy, so he could only suppress it as he attempted to appear as kind as possible to the children. While there weren’t many familiar faces, they were all important to Kaen’s village so he treated them just like those original villagers.

After freeing them all, Ikazuchi led them out of the dungeon. It was unlikely, but if someone was brave enough to attack after the battle then he should be sure to defend them. Thankfully, that was an unnecessary concern as no one could be seen anywhere within the village. Instead, he had to deal with the fear that was directed towards him for having killed his way into the village. It was a perfect example of how contradictory the nature of people can be. ‘Oh well, it’s not like I was expecting any thanks.’

After that, He slowly led the former captives back to Kaen’s village. He was careful during the time due to the poor condition of everyone, particularly the kids. He had to maintain his concentration to ensure that no creature gave into their urges and targeted the easy prey that he was protecting. He was about halfway to the village when his wyvern appeared after some much needed rest and assisted with this protection.

Word Count: 450
Total Word Count: 1,940

Eventually, they safely arrived at the village and were greeted by all of the teary eyed members of it. Hugs were given all around as the racial divide completely disappeared. Kaen and Aldon gave each other a firm handshake as Ikazuchi gave the crowd their space. ‘I shouldn’t hang around for that.’ Even the members of Kaen’s village looked at him strangely due to his blood stained armor, so he didn’t think he had a place in their reunion.

He was in the process of preparing for a peaceful flight back to the guild when he noticed Kaen and Aldon approaching. “Ikazuchi, thank you for bringing them back.” Kaen was naturally the one who spoke due to his relationship with Ikazuchi. “You know I don’t mind Kaen.” The two shook hands with a smile. After that, Aldon also stepped forward and offered his hand. “Thank you for saving us…” he paused briefly as if resolving himself before adding. “...and for stopping my father.” Ikazuchi couldn’t think of anything that could be said, but he was grateful for the gratitude he received.

After that, Ikazuchi directly mounted the saddle on his wyvern before speaking to the two. “There shouldn’t be many people brave enough to mess with the village now that there is an example of what will happen, but be sure to contact me if there are any signs of it happening again.” Both men nodded in response, causing Ikazuchi to smile. “Until next time.” After that, his wyvern ascended into the sky with the guild as its destination. Ikazuchi was unaware, but Kaen had actually placed jewels in the storage on the saddle. This was something he would only learn once he returned to the guild.

Word Count: 280
Total Word Count: 2,220

OOC: Quest Completed