Chương 23: Chapter 22: Bloody Footprints

The night was deep, and the red ground of the Rashia Plains was hidden under a veil of darkness. The Kingdom of Velkyne was said to be cursed by the Constellations. No stars were visible in its skies. But this was outside the walls and some stars were still visible. The night, however, was still as dark and ominous as could be. The snatches of starlight that were visible here and there were too weak to light up the darkness, and low, purple venomous fog flowed along the ground like a river.

The campfire was spluttering out, burning the last remaining twigs. Every time the flames rippled, the shadows that had been cast around the carriage danced in strange ways. Yuto sat in the front seat, watching the flames. Beside him, Flokiro was sleeping under a blanket, and from inside the carriage came Rivian's soft breathing. This was a peaceful moment, but Yuto was as tense as a bowstring. Death was close in this place.

As soon as the warmth of the living was felt here, hungry beings hiding in the darkness would bear their fangs. Yuto turned his head quietly, and at the same time, Flokiro's ears perked up. He got up instantly and growled quietly into the darkness. They could hear the sounds of feet against dry soil all around them. These were not normal animal noises. They were regular, and they were surrounding the carriage. Yuto jumped out of his seat lightly and spoke.

"Get up, Rivian," he shouted tersely, his voice echoing in the darkness. The door of the carriage burst open and Rivian jumped out, staff in hand. She had acted surprisingly quickly, even though it had seemed that she was deep in sleep. Maybe some part of her had remained wary.

"Wh-what is it?" She looked disheveled, but she spoke clearly and tried to understand what was happening around her.

"We have guests," Yuto said, glancing around into the darkness. They had been using public roads on their way here. They had never been ambushed in the night or encountered thieves. From here on out, however, they would be traveling through a lawless land that was not managed by surrounding kingdoms or cities. Red, glowing eyes came into view in the darkness one by one. There were over twenty sets of eyes. Then the visitors themselves came into view. They were as big as bears and shaped like wolves.

Blood Wolves, Evomon that originally lived in the mountains, but had apparently smelled food outside the walls and traveled down from their homes. Their fur was dark red like dried blood and purple saliva dripped from their mouths. They growled, showing their sharp teeth. Most of the roads to Velkyne were controlled via gates; humans were rare prey. These wolves seemed excited. Yuto opened his palm as he watched them. The Obsidian Dagger burst from Void Storage and entered his hand.

The closer he got to Velkyne, the more his feelings had fluctuated between ice cold and flaming hot. This trip was having a varied emotional effect on him and that had become a frustration which he hadn't been able to get rid of. In a word, Yuto wanted to explode. He didn't care how it happened. He wanted to lose control and vent his irritation, annoyance, and hatred. The dark sky, and the faint stars beyond that seemed almost to mock him, were provoking him even more. He welcomed these nighttime guests.

Yuto's eyes flashed with hostility, and his lips formed a twisted smile. This was not pleasure in the genuine sense of the word, or the relaxed response of someone who was sure of victory. It was simply an explosion of the deep emptiness and hatred bursting from inside him. Almost like a scream of silent emotions. The massive creature, which seemed to be the leader of the pack, lunged. The bear-sized creature cast a heavy shadow over Yuto's head. The massive mouth would swallow Yuto soon.

Black tendrils burst from behind Yuto and formed a huge hand. It was Void Hand, and it grabbed the wolf's stinking snout. Yuto then swung his dagger. The Obsidian Dagger split the tough hide and hard bones. Yuto was now level nine, and his strength was on the level of a grown man. Because his body had been further enhanced with ether, it was easy enough to split the belly of a Blood Wolf, even with his small body. The belly spilled blood and intestines.

The creature was still alive and squirming, but the Void Hand refused to let go, and it couldn't even make a sound. The hand tossed the creature to the ground, and Yuto's shoes splashed in the puddle of blood that had formed. It was far more cruel and overdone than was necessary, and Rivian's mouth fell open.

"Yuto—" Before she could finish, he vanished. Using Void Steps, he dashed boldly into the pack. He slammed the dagger into the head of the wolf closest to him. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. It released a bizarre scream and twisted from the pain of having its brain pierced, but Void Hand gripped this wolf, too. The spine snapped, and the body fell limp. Other Blood Wolves came at Yuto, but Yuto did not use Void Steps again.

Instead, another Void Hand acted for him, swatting the creature away. Yuto didn't let the Void Hand kill it, however. He wanted to do that himself, with his dagger. Rivian pulled herself together.

"Y-Yuto!" she shouted. She injected ether into her staff. A flame formed at the tip and lit up the darkness. A fireball struck the Blood Wolf who had been moving up from behind Yuto. It rolled on the ground, enveloped in flames. Rivian didn't stop. A powerful gust of wind formed around Rivian. The Blood Wolf who was writhing in the flames was cut to pieces by the dagger-sharp wind.

She had sounded proud of herself when she said she had excellent grades in offensive magic from her academy, and she hadn't been bluffing. The pressure of being in an actual combat situation made her fingers shake, but her magic remained accurate and deadly.

"Yuto! Don't expose yourself to too much danger!" she yelled. Yuto flinched. His dagger had just sunk into the neck of another Blood Wolf. Yuto quivered, then looked at his hands. They were covered with blood. His gaze faltered. He heard a low crunching noise from nearby. Flokiro had joined the combat and crushed one of the skulls of the creatures. Flokiro's gaze moved to Yuto, and Yuto felt the emotions in that gaze. The two of them shared the same failure and despair.

Flokiro understood the reason Yuto wanted to go on a mindless rampage, but at the same time, he didn't think it was right. It would only let him vent his emotions for a short time. And it would not be refreshing in the true sense of the word. If this became a habit, then madness and violence would build up in his heart. Yuto bit his lip. The body that had heated up from the blood of the wolves and the excitement of combat suddenly cooled.

The heart that had been beating wildly from hostility slowly regained its usual rhythm. That wasn't like me, he thought. It was unworthy of a knight to let emotions mess with his head. In the past life, he had built up the skill to remain calm in any battle. But traces of the past had destroyed that in a flash, made quick work of it. He felt an intense sense of self-reproach.

"Flokiro, Rivian, let's take care of the rest," he said, his calm voice back. Flokiro nodded quietly. It didn't take long for the rest of the wolves to be wiped out. Yuto displayed no more violence. He used Void Hand to end his enemies efficiently and stopped using his bloody dagger. Some of the wolves tried to run away, terrified of him, but Flokiro and Rivian's magic stopped them. They all died in the end. The battle was over. Yuto wiped the blood from his weapon and walked amid the bodies.

Rivian followed him with a complicated look on her face. Her gaze remained on Yuto's bloody shoes. Every time he walked, he left bloody footprints on the soil.

"Yuto," Flokiro said after returning to the carriage and sitting nearby.

"That wasn't like you. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Yuto said with a nod. Yuto looked down at his dagger and his hands. He had cleaned them, but they were still sticky and smelled of blood. Red marks remained, refusing to come off like ink.

"Uh... I don't know much about you..." Rivian stammered.

"But I sensed that what you just did seemed different from your usual behavior. It was almost as if you were possessed by something, or even a monster overcome with hatred for something or someone." There was worry in Rivian's voice, but also a touch of fear.

"There's some sort of problem, right? The closer we get to Velkyne... the more dangerous you seem. Even more than when we first met." Yuto didn't respond right away. Instead, he tossed another piece of firewood onto the campfire that was spluttering out.

"It was the smell of blood that set me off, that's all. And the mood of this place was so threatening. I was on edge," he said after a brief silence. It was a lame response at best. Rivian chewed her lip and glared, but Yuto didn't let her say anything more.

"Was that your first real fight?" he asked.

"Yes... I'm sorry, what?"

"This fight. I have a feeling that it was. A daughter of House Marigold couldn't have been on a battlefield... And the most that you will have experienced at the Academy will be a sparring session overseen by an instructor."

"Yes... You're right. That was... My first time in an actual fight," Rivian said hesitantly. Yuto grinned.

"That was excellent for your first battle. It seems the education you received at Maria Academy wasn't wasted," he said.

"Is that... a compliment? Thank you. Ahem." She wanted to grin from ear to ear and sound triumphant even, but the gravity of the situation didn't let her. The carriage was surrounded by the bodies of the massacred Blood Wolves.

"This smell... I don't ever want to get used to this. Don't you think it would be better for us to get rid of the bodies?"

"Leave them be. Other Evomon will come and eat them. That way they won't touch us," Yuto said. He opened and closed his sticky hands. Rivian sighed and picked up her staff. A large drop of water floated to Yuto.

"You were fighting like you wanted to be covered in blood. But you don't like it very much now that you have blood on you, do you?" she asked. Yuto smiled bitterly and used the water drop to wash his hands.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it. There was nothing difficult about it," she said. Despite her claim, her eyes were deeply tired and about to close. The tension of the battle had left her, replaced by a crashing fatigue.

"I will watch the carriage for the rest of the night. You get some more sleep," he said.

"But..."

"No questions. You will need to rest to recover your ether. It's suicide for a mage to enter a battle without ether," he said. By tomorrow they would be inside Velkyne's gates. Rivian gave in and nodded.

"All right, thank you." She went back into the carriage. Yuto was now alone in front of the fire with Flokiro.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Flokiro asked cautiously. Yuto watched the flames for a moment.

"No, I'm not sure," he said quietly. He knew that he shouldn't let emotions control him, but it was easier said than done. It felt inhuman to resist these emotions, just as it felt wrong to give in to them. Yuto repressed a sigh and covered his face with his now-cold hands.