On behalf of Rick.
"Damn broad!"- the boy thought angrily as he dodged another blade of wind, "I guess I pissed her off for nothing, but there's no going back."
- Boy, stop! If you stop right now, get down on your knees and apologise, your sister will kill you quickly....
- Aunty, you should get your head fixed, - he laughed and shouted, - I'm even willing to sacrifice my own time and take you to a psychiatrist, maybe he can help you!
- BASTARD! AS SOON AS I CATCH YOU, I'LL TIE YOU UP AND TORTURE YOU FOR A LONG TIME! A VERY LONG TIME!
- Aunty," he said in a serious voice, slowing down slightly and looking at the woman, making even her pause slightly and listen to him, "Maybe you're not having a stroke?
- What? - Milinda was slightly taken aback, but fully comprehending what he said... Her face turned purple and a very heavy murderous intent descended on the whole clearing, -N-ne-dotrach?! I'M GONNA FUCK YOU SO HARD YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE DEAD!
- Auntie, I'm sorry," he said embarrassed, scratching his cheek, "But I already have a lover, and I'm not interested in old ladies, I'm sorry.
- YOU LITTLE BITCH! - dozens of wind blades flew towards Rick, seven he dodged, two he fought off, but the last one managed to catch his arm, - KILL! KILL! KILL!
- You should see a psychiatrist," the boy summed up, but the woman didn't hear him. It was the first time in her life that she had been so badly pissed off, and at this moment she had only one desire, to torture and kill the boy, by any means necessary.
As the woman imagined in her mind how she would torture Rick, he looked left and right, looking for one particular mark... Ten more minutes passed and the boy began to tire, and there were three more wounds on his body, one of which ran along his back. The woman continued to shout and threaten him, but he had long since stopped paying attention to her screams and concentrated fully on the search.
At that moment, he spotted two piled up trees, crosswise.
"That's it!"- Rick thought happily and ran straight up them to the small mountain, "Auntie, why are you so slow?! You call yourself a wind wizard!
- I'LL KILL YOU! KILL! KILL!
- That last one was a shame, what did my mate do to you? He didn't attack your innocence, and I doubt you still have any," Rick shouted, laughing at the top of his voice.
But the woman didn't answer, and continued to chase him with spells, but the next moment he saw the smirk on her face and she just disappeared. It was already too late to do anything. A strong gust of wind appeared in front of him and blew Rick away.
His back slammed into the tree and he tried to get up, but the next moment a foot with a sharp heel hit the trunk a centimetre from Rick's head, causing him to freeze in place.
- It's the first time I've ever been so pissed off," her calm voice made the blood freeze in the boy's veins, "In all the time I've been chasing you in my mind, I've killed you forty-five times... Of those forty-five times, twenty-eight times you begged me to die, ten times you killed yourself, and the remaining seven times you..." she stopped talking.
At that moment, she stopped abruptly when she saw Rick's smirk.
- What's that grin? - Milinda asked in bewilderment, "Are you crazy?
- No, it's just that a guest has finally arrived," the giant shadow of a humanoid creature loomed over them.
- G-guest? - The woman felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and started to slump forward, but a large hand picked her up and threw her on his shoulder.
In front of Rick stood a gigantic four metre long creature, with big pointy ears and a long chin, it was completely covered in green fur, except for its chest, face and arms which were pink in colour.
- Female, female, female, female, my female! FEMALE! - shouted Forest Vulcan and began to beat his chest.
- She's yours, I have no claim on her! - Rick said with a smirk as he struggled to get up.
For a few seconds the Vulcan eyed the boy suspiciously.
- My female!
- Yours, yours! - He scratched his head and jumped up into the tree, disappearing from sight after a few seconds. "Good luck Milinda, and I think you're going to need it..." the boy said with a nasty grin.
He remembered that he had once read a book that described a lot of monsters, and Rick had memorised the whole book so that he would be ready if he ever encountered one. There was also a description of the Forest Volcanoes and one thing he remembered for sure, it was marked in red and was meant for girls, that unless they were at least S-rank mages, it was best not to wander into their territory from July to August. Because during that time, it was mating season and the Forest Vulcans were especially hungry for human women. And if they get their hands on them.
- He shook his head to get it out of his head, "Eros said he'd run to the biggest tree, we have to hurry," he took a step and grabbed his side, falling to his knee, "You old cat," Rick hissed, "The wound's too deep, but..." he got up again and walked towards the tree, "That fool can't beat three people..." he said.
End.
On behalf of Rani
- Come out and fight fair! Stop hiding! - Shouted Rani, dodging another blow from the stone puppet.
As soon as Rani separated from the team, he ran at full speed towards the nearest trap, but not even a hundred metres away, human-sized stone puppets began to emerge from the ground, with the enemy hiding somewhere nearby, controlling them. He simply could not do anything against him, and the dolls were made of stone, so the fire did not take them and he only had to dodge every blow.
- Scared, huh? Are you shaking in your bones or are you wetting yourself and afraid to show your face to me? - but the provocation had no effect, "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! What an uncomfortable opponent! I only have to dodge the dolls' attacks, it's good that they're slow enough, but I won't last that long anyway, half an hour, an hour and I'll be exhausted and it won't be hard for him to finish me off."
Rani tried again to get out of the encirclement and when he almost succeeded, another puppet appeared right in front of him and he had to quickly retreat backwards. After half an hour, Rani began to show signs of fatigue and it was at this point that the enemy chose to attack.
Once again dodging the puppet's fist, a rock the size of his fist flew out of the ground and hit him right in the side and for a moment the distracted Rani was hit in the face and was thrown back.
- Su*a! - He hissed, holding his side.
But overcoming the pain, he quickly jumped onto one of the trees and ran towards the nearest traps again. Perhaps it was a gesture of desperation, as Rani himself realised that traps against this mage would be useless until he got out of the ground.
"What to do!!! Think, think, think!"- he looked right, left, and back, but there was no sign of the enemy, - "We must lure him out, and to lure him out I have but one way..."- the man felt a slight shiver run down his spine. Sighing, he sped up slightly.
Another five minutes passed and the speed began to drop, one of these moments the enemy chose for a surprise attack. Stones started flying out of the ground at a fast speed and Roni had no strength to dodge, some stones hit his legs, others hit him in the side and head.
Rani fell to the ground and didn't move again. An orange magic circle lit up next to him and a two metre tall man with dark short hair emerged from the ground.
- Minus one," he said quietly, pointing his hand at Rani, and an orange magic circle lit up on it, but before he could activate the spell, a red magic circle appeared under it, and the giant's entire body was enveloped in bright scarlet flames.
- I'M SO SICK OF YOU! DIE ALREADY! - Rani shouted, intensifying the flames... At that moment, a giant shadow loomed over him and before he could even turn around, he felt a sharp pain and lost consciousness.
End
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Fucking Shikamaru!"- Eros thought angrily, dodging the spikes constantly popping up from the ground, "I won't last that long, and as long as he's in the shadows, I can't get him!"- Sensing something, the boy jumped back sharply.
In the next second a silver arc passed through the branch where he was standing, and above it stood a man with short green hair, holding a sword.
- Indeed, the reaction is great, but how long can you dodge for? - With a smirk on his lips, he asked.
- Enough playing around, we need to finish this matter quickly," their leader, Juro, appeared next to the green-haired man.
- What's our hurry?
- Idiot," the leader shook his head with a sigh, "Do you think they just set the forest on fire? - He asked with a smirk, "They're trying to stall for time, waiting for help.
- The green-haired man disappeared from sight and the next moment he appeared right above the surprised Eros, but he quickly pulled himself together and drew his dagger, blocking the blow. But the force of the blow was too strong, so he was thrown off the branch and began to fall to the ground.
"Strong! What fucking injustice is this!"- but he was given no time to complain about his life by the shadowy spikes that appeared on the ground, "YOU'RE FUCKING LAUGHING!"- Eros turned around sharply and slashed the thorns and simultaneously fired several dozen Destruction Bullets at the remaining two in the tree, but they easily dodged and stood on both sides of him.
- Surrender, I'm sorry to kill such a talented child," Juro said in a calm tone, "Our guild needs people like that.
- I'm sorry, but I refuse, - Eros grinned and walked backwards, cutting the rope, on his right there was a small rustle and a few dozen wooden stakes flew straight at the two dark mages, but when they were a metre away from them, they stopped abruptly, - Huh?
- Pity, then die, - said Juroi, waving his hand, the stakes turned and flew straight at the titan, but when he dodged them, they abruptly turned and flew at him again.
"I'm wondering how many times I've done this in the last three hours, but... are you kidding me?"- Eros exclaimed in despair, moving away, but the spears continued to pursue him.
- Hey Juro, you're playing with him yourself! - exclaimed the green-haired swordsman with anger in his voice, "And you forbid me! That's not fair! You can just pull him to you!
- If I could do that, I would have done it a long time ago," he frowned, "But my magic doesn't work on him!
- It doesn't work?
- Yes, it's probably the dagger.
- The dagger, huh? - An anticipatory smirk appeared on the green-haired man's face.
"First this shadow scum's spikes, now my own spears, what happens next!" - the moment Eros exclaimed this, a giant black wall appeared in front of him, which he crashed into with his whole body, - A wall yes? - he said with fatigue in his voice as he slowly slid off it and fell to the ground.
- You're caught, kid, you can't escape now, - the smirking dark mage came out of the shadows and approached Eros, who was lying there, - What do you say before you die? - The titan's lips slowly moved, -What, you can't hear a thing, speak louder! - Having said that, he came closer to the boy's body, but to protect himself, the dark mage tied his hands with a shadow.
- I say...
- What?
- Die fucking Shikamaru," the next moment, the dark mage's eyes filled with horror when he saw the silver magic circle in the language of Eros, but it was too late to dodge and the next moment, half of the mage's head disappeared. Abruptly, a large fountain of blood spurted out, completely flooding the titan, and the standing body of "Shikamaru" began to sway and fell down beside him," Indeed, idiot," he tried to get up, but there was no more strength. Past wounds made themselves felt again, as well as new ones and a general fatigue came over the boy's body.
- Hey, Juro! Look at you! - A voice above him sounded surprised and amused at the same time, "That kid killed Darky, and he's smirking!
- I can see that without you," said the calm voice of the leader of the mages, "Would you consider my offer? Our guild needs such ruthless and talented people.
- I have to refuse," Eros replied dryly.
- Too bad, then die, - the next moment the wooden spear that the titan had prepared against his enemies pierced his chest.
"Am I really going to die like this?"- thought the Titan with a tortured smile, "You've got to be kidding me!"
========== Chapter 8: Help. ==========
Commentary on Chapter 8: The Help.
Enjoy your reading!
As soon as Eros' breathing stopped, Juro lost all interest in him.
- 'Take the dagger, and let's go,' he said with the same indifference, turning and walking off in the opposite direction of the corpse.
- Yes, now," the green-haired man ran up to the boy's body, searching him, he easily found the dagger, "I found it, all that's left is to find the rest of the children and it's done," he laughed out loud and ran up to him, and a bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face, "Fool, you gave me a weapon against myself and as soon as you're dead I'll be the new guild master!"- a metre away from Juro, the swordsman drew his blade - "Now help your grandfather and DIE!"- swinging, he was about to cut him in two, but abruptly froze, "WHAT?! I can't move, what the fuck?!"- The green-haired man stared in horror at the slowly turning mage.
- Have you decided to betray me, Locus? - his indifferent gaze, made the swordsman feel animal terror, -You know what I do to traitors and you did it anyway.
- It was a joke! A JOKE! You know me, I would never do such a thing! - Shivering all over, he tried to justify himself.
- It was a bad joke," Juro sighed with relief and even smiled slightly.
- Yeah, yeah, sorry," Locus replied with a nervous smile, "Lucky he fell for it!"- the swordsman thought with relief, but the next moment, he was pierced by five wooden spears, "What...?
- And before you die, I'll tell you one thing," he looked into the eyes of the still alive Lukos, "I could have used my power from the beginning, but I wanted to test the loyalty of my men and the first one who failed was Shika (Darky's nickname), who deceived me, and the second one was you, who tried to kill me. You were useful to me, that's why I didn't want to kill you and arranged the test, but you didn't pass it, alas, - but the swordsman couldn't hear the last words.
- Eros..." came Rick's shocked voice.
Juro turned around and saw a boy with red hair staring at the corpse in disbelief.
- You're just in time," he said with a slight sneer in his voice, "Tell me where the other children are and then they'll survive and return to the guild, but I'm sorry, you're going to die regardless of your answer.
- You killed him.
- Well, so what? I killed an enemy, that's normal in the adult world, and if your enemy is so talented, there are only two ways to go about it, that's to poach him or cut him out," Juro said as a matter of course, "And as you can see, he made his choice and I respect it completely, that's why he's lying dead.
- A choice, huh?
- Yes, that's right... - at that moment, Juro stopped abruptly, because the voice that said the last words was not a child's voice. It was the voice of an elderly man.
He turned to the voice and saw a short old man with grey hair growing only from the outer edges of his head and a large moustache. Dressed in orange trousers and a jumper, and on his head he wore a blue and orange striped cap. He stood in front of the boy's body and looked at the mage with rage.
- Is that why you killed that child? - There was so much pressure on Juro's shoulders that he didn't last a second on his feet. He was pressed into the ground and sinking harder and harder with each passing second, -Who are you to force a choice? Do you have the power to do that?! A position?! Wealth?! You're nothing but a lowlife from a second-rate dark guild!
- Я...
- SILENCE! - I didn't give you the right to speak," Juro felt fear for the first time in his life, the man in front of him was a monster in human skin, "I've already learnt everything about your guild from one man, and if I knew of its existence, I would personally come to destroy you myself. Such heartless monsters should not exist.
- Eros... - Rick knelt before the body of the titan, crying, - I haven't repaid for our salvation yet! Get up, come on... Eros! Get up!
- Shut up..." came a weak voice from outside, "I'm sick of you, I'm going to dress you up in Lily's dress after all.
- EROS!
- I... I... stop yelling already! - The titan hissed, looking at the stake in his chest, -It sucks, it's the first time in my life I feel so dead... and I'm sleepy... -he closed his eyes again, and his breathing became weak, -Rick, if I don't survive, protect everyone, a good choice would be to join the Fairy Tail, Roni told me a lot about this guild and I like their ideology, you'll be safe there.
- EROS! Don't be daft! We'll all survive! Don't sleep! - The boy exclaimed in horror, starting to shake Eros, at that moment an old man came up to him and grabbed him by the arms, quickly began to examine the titan, checking his heartbeat and breathing.
- How is it possible...? - he whispered in disbelief, - The boy is still alive, but very weak, he must be taken to the healer as soon as possible! - frowning, he quickly said, lifting the boy's body.
- And the stake?
- Don't touch it," he said in a serious voice, "It's better to keep it still in him to stop the bleeding.
- Don't worry, members of my guild are on their way here, stay here, you'll explain everything to them and show them where the other children are.
- Yes, please save him!
- I'll take him to the greatest of healers, she'll definitely get him back on his feet," Makarov said in a serious tone and disappeared from sight after a second.
- Who is that old man? - quietly whispered the boy, not knowing why, he decided to trust him....
Already a couple of minutes later, Makarov stood in front of a large tree. In the centre of the tree stood a huge ornate door, and on the sides were small windows. And in front of the tree were several steps leading up to the door.
- Makarov?! - The first thing the old man heard was the angry voice of an old woman, "How many times have I told you not to bother me!
Polushka was a tall elderly woman with pink hair tied up in a bundle and pinned up with two large crescent-shaped pins at the edges. She had red eyes and a mole just above her chin. She wore a dark green blouse and a long red skirt, as well as a red cloak covering the blouse.
- Polushka, please help this boy," Eros was still bleeding from his wounds, and because of the speed at which Makarov was travelling, most of the flowing blood got on him, covering his moustache and clothes.
- What happened!!! - she quickly approached him and immediately began to examine Eros, - How could this happen, - the old woman said in shock, - How can he still be alive?
- Paulyushka...
- I know without you," the old woman snapped, "Bring him to my house and put him on the table! FAST!
Poliushka's house was decorated rather sparsely, with no unnecessary furniture, just a bed, a table, a few stumps replacing chairs and a lot of drawers. As well as a large collection of books, placed on shelves set into the trunk of a tree.
- Clutter and PROVAL!
- YES! - Makarov exclaimed and disappeared from the house.
When he left, Polyushka went up to the boy and began to examine his body.
- Who could have done such a thing? - quietly whispered the old woman, looking at him with pity, - Hm... he must have been patched up before... - she said thoughtfully, having examined the wounds, - But the magician was weak and could not help much....
Makarov could not calm down and walked back and forth, constantly looking back at the door. For him, this boy was nobody, but because of his good-natured character, he could not see how children suffer. Makarov's very personality did not allow him to pass by a person in need of help.
- Master! - Two men came running out of the forest, the first was of medium height with short, protruding dark blue hair, straight dark eyebrows and eyes. He was wearing light coloured trousers and a blue blouse. The second was of the same height. He had brown hair with a pompadour style hairstyle and dark glasses. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black trousers. He had a cigarette in his teeth.
- Macau, Wakaba, what about the children? - The old man asked anxiously.
- 'Everything is fine master,' Makao said with a smile, 'We were helped to find them by that boy, Rick.
- We brought the children out of the forest where they were met by other members of our guild and now they are halfway to the guild," Wakaba added as he took a puff and let the smoke out.
- Good," Makarov said with relief, and for the first time all day, a smile appeared on his lips.- About the dark guild... - the old man's smile faded, deep wrinkles appeared on his forehead, and a steely glint appeared in his eyes, which made the two mages shudder.
- What's wrong with them?
- We found all six of them, but...
- But?
- Two are dead, one in the cave of the Forest Volcano, but we were a bit late, - remembering the scene we saw in the cave and the woman's moans, both of them shuddered, - Two were in the forest, one was badly burned, but not fatally, and the other claims that he is no longer a dark mage and you can vouch for him.
- Yes, there was one," Makarov nodded thoughtfully.
- The last one, the leader of this group...
- What about him?
- He tried to escape three times and once he almost succeeded, so, - Wakaba, embarrassed, started rubbing his neck, - We knocked him out every time he came to his senses.
- Good," the guild master sighed with relief, "And the base?
- All three of them refused to say where it was, but that boy said he knew where it was and was willing to lead us there, so we wanted to know what to do next.
- I thought that as soon as you knew where she was, you'd be on your way to her....
They both had embarrassed smiles on their faces.
- What are you master, how can we..." Wakaba said with a nervous gulp.
- What's wrong? - Sensing something wrong, the old man asked.
- Well... - Wakaba looked at Makoa, but he pretended to be a jackass, whistling as he looked at the beautiful tree trunk. Realising that his friend had betrayed him, and cursing him twenty times in his mind, he turned his gaze to Makarov's worried face, - Well... on the way we met Gildarts, he was just returning from a mission....
- ? - sweat began to roll off the old man in hailstones.
- We told him everything and saying that he would sort it out himself and we had nothing to worry about, Gildarts left....
- Where to...? - Makarov asked dryly, falling on his knees and trembling all over his body.
Seeing the condition of the master and realising that the next words could cause a heart attack in the poor old man, Makarov and Wakaba looked at each other and made the most correct decision possible... To escape! Which they tried to do, but were caught by the scruff of their necks.
- Where did he go?
- To... the direction where the dark guild is... - at that moment, the hands that were holding them, as if lost all their strength and sank to the ground, - We even argued with the guys, how much global destruction will be and whether the Dark Forest will exist in the future... - looking at the master, who looked whiter than any dead man, Macao realised that he had said too much.
The old man knelt down, and a strange white substance that resembled the transparent figure of Makarov himself flew out of his body.
- MASTER!!!
***
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