Kalie emerged, she ran a hand down her face. “What’s with all the shouting?” She looked up and when she locked eyes with me, she froze.

  I pointed a finger at her.

  She dove behind her co-worker and crashed behind the counter.

  “Bang.” I raised my finger to my lip and blew away the imaginary smoke.

  The entire guild watched in petrified silence. All of these hardened killers and cheap drunks gawked as children witnessing their parents cry.

  The hardened Kalie.

  Terrified of a little boy.

  I approached her step by agonizingly slow step.

  The mercenaries scrambled to step back.

  When I reached the counter I raised my hand and summoned a waterball. I made it big and powerful enough to shatter the counter without going through it.

  “Lafayette no!” Daniel rushed forward.

  And fired.

  The counter exploded into a cloud of dust, papers, and wood splinters.

  Kalie shuddered back against the wall, her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as she outstretched her hands.

  “Lafayette, he was gonna kill me. I… I didn’t want to die, I couldn’t… I was scared!”

  I laughed. “No, it’s fine. I just didn’t like how you hid your face.”

  I stepped forward and lowered my voice.

  “Come on, stand proud.”

  Daniel grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me back. “Lafayette, stop!”

  “Or what? You’ll crush my shoulder?” I tapped a hand against his chest. “I wasn’t gonna kill her.”

  Daniel clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Then he turned his attention to Kalie,

  “Why are you acting like this?! He’s just a kid, the same kid you took in!”

  Kalie lowered her head but kept her hands up. “I don’t know. I don’t. I just thought he was as good as dead. So when he came back it only made sense he’d try and kill me. That’s what anyone would’ve done.”

  Daniel gritted his teeth. “You’re acting like he’s a mercenary! He’s just a kid, you shouldn’t expect him to be like us! That’s so…”

  Daniel fell silent as he listened to his own words.

  He looked at me again.

  I smiled.

  And there it was, that look of realization and regret.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  I could’ve easily rubbed it in, let the wound burn and fester.

  But that would require me to put in more effort than I care to give.

  No, this was enough.

  I turned away from him and approached Louise. “Can you do me a favor and take your blood out of me?”

  She quickly nodded and brought a trembling hand to my face. A second later I could feel something rising through my body and out of my mouth.

  I coughed up a smooth crimson ball about the size of a ping pong ball. It was covered in my saliva.

  Louise then brought the ball to her mouth and swallowed. I tilted my head curiously. “Why’d you do that?”

  Her face was bright red.

  “W-well, that’s because it’s my blood. It’s different from the blood summoned by Ouro. I can’t regenerate it as fast.”

  Interesting.

  I raised a hand against her chest and fired a high-pressure water ball. It sent her flying back and crashing through the wall.

  Fuooom!

  “Louise!” Daniel shouted as he rushed after her.

  I raised my palms back and rocketed forward with a powerful thrust of water.

  Daniel reached Louise and knelt.

  She lay spread atop a pile of rubble and badly bruised. Daniel looked over at her with a distraught expression, then up at me as I launched myself on a rooftop.

  He frowned and shouted, “LAFAYETTE! THIS ISN'T OVER! YOU HEAR ME?! ITS. NOT. OVER!”

  I ran across the rooftops with a manic grin.

  But before I left this city I had one more destination.

  Kalie’s apartment.

  I slammed down with a splash that washed the streets with water. I marched up to her stairs and blew the door open.

  The dragon hummed curiously as I stepped into the dim room.

  “What’s this? Getting sentimental already, and here I thought you learned better.”

  I chuckled.

  Shut the hell up.

  I walked over to the corner of the room and ripped open the secret stash where I kept my map and money.

  I took both items with the addition of a coat.

  I slipped into the coat and dumped the money in a leather pouch. Then I pocketed the map.

  The dragon spoke again as I exited the room. “Why the map? You only need the money for the ticket across the inner sea.”

  I placed both my hands in my pockets as I stood outside Kalie’s apartment.

  The populace below scattered and fled.

  I sighed.

  I’m done trusting my life in the hands of others. That captain would sell us out the moment something went wrong.

  And I’d have no one to blame but myself.

  The dragon laughed joyfully. “Logical thinking, but if we aren’t going by sea…”

  We’re going through the federation, which should serve as good target practice. Gonna need it anyway for my fight with Lilith.

  “You still plan on going through with that suicide mission?” The dragon asked in disbelief. “She’d end you.”

  I glanced out the side of my eye at an orc patrol that raced towards me.

  That’s the point, to fight her and die. I raised my hand and opened fire with rapid-fire water balls.

  Thoop.

  Thoop.

  Thoop.

  They pelted into the orc’s skin. It was hard to break through it because of their internal Ouro enhancements.

  The same kind of regular humans like Daniel use.

  Except to a greater effect.

  Still, it wasn’t enough.

  I charged my water ball with arcs of orange and white streaks of chaos. The water balls ripped through the orcs' reinforced skin like a shredder to paper.

  Screams filled the air as others watched in horror. Limbs ripped from torsos and blood painted the walls and road.

  My expression was blank as each shot ripped through its target.

  Skiw!

  Skiw!

  Skiw!

  Eventually, I lowered my hand when the last orc fell into a pile of flesh, blood, and water.

  I sighed.

  I turned away from my carnage and launched myself onto the rooftop with a forceful blast of water.

  Then, I began my long journey to the gates and slaughtered anyone who stood in my way.

  It had been easy before to fall into this state. I tried to resist it, to resist my true nature. But that was a bad decision.

  For that, I must apologize, Lilith.

  However, I still have to fight you, that’s all I live for now.

  That one, last, fight.

  — — —

  I reached the gates of the city where traffic still flowed. I dropped down and ripped a man from his wagon, a demon man.

  He hit the ground with a loud pap.

  He sat up with the urge to fight, and that’s when I extended a palm charged with chaos.

  “Tumma fol’cuk.”

  Stand down.

  The demon gritted his teeth but stayed down.

  I walked around the wagon and freed the fox-like creature that pulled it.

  I climbed on its back and kicked my heel in its side as I whipped the beast around by the fur on its neck.

  It jumped forward and raced past the gates.

  I leaned forward, and the wind whipped past me and sent my hair flying in all directions. This beast may not be Gargon, but it sure races like him.

  It’s a shame too, I’m really gonna miss him.

  — — —

  I rode until the sun began to set, but before I left in the middle of the day, I wasn’t close to an outpost yet.

  Which unfortunately meant sleeping outside.

  And there was thick vegetation all around us.

  That meant nightcrawlers.

  I groaned as I debated my options.

  Stopping wasn’t an option. It would only invite the nightcrawlers to pile up and attack. But moving meant running into them along the way.

  As I debated my options I heard a sound, the sound of loud clicking. I looked around but I didn’t see anything.

  I was still in the open grass plains, so if the clicking came from nightcrawlers I should at least see them, right?

  That’s when I noticed the creature I was riding was very careful where it stepped. It stared at the ground intensely.

  What could it be looking for?

  I followed its gaze.

  The beast I was riding on began chirping as the clicking grew louder and the grass began to split apart.

  Whatever was approaching us, it was coming fast.

  I kicked into the side of the beast and it raced forward once more. I aimed my palm back at the split ground.

  The creature that was following us shot up from the dirt like a geyser.

  It revealed itself to be the size of a large snake with glowing blue skin and black eyes.

  That was it?

  Was a nightcrawler a snake?

  Boom!

  Boom!

  Boom!

  Boom!

  Boom!

  Dozens of them began popping up from the dirt and giving chase. “Ah… there's the catch.”