Must Live On

''Who are you?'' Jax replied as he tried his best to act calmly. But even with his best, he still found it hard to control his raging emotion. It was revealed through his eyes, which were now ready to shed tears of anger any time soon.

How could he not, if his friends just suffered from this man? Even killing him now couldn't be enough to appease the anger he felt at that moment.

But an insignificant him couldn't do anything yet against that man. He knew that full well, and he needed to act accordingly if he wanted to at least survive.

And also, he needed to know who this person was. So that one day, once he escaped this calamity, he could avenge his friends who had just died from his hands.

With that in mind, Jax wore resolute eyes as he spoke again, ''I don't believe the Landlord paid someone like you to get rid of us. Judging from your appearance, you must be a person of high standing in the capital city of Maharlika. What brought you here? Why did you kill my friends?''

As watery as his eyes had become, he needed to hold it in and be patient.

''Oh? You seem brave despite being frightened. I like your guts, kid. And also, you seem to have some knowledge of the world despite being a pest of society.'' The man in red armor replied with a cold smile as he took a moment of pause before he continued, ''But it's not you who should be asking questions. It's me.''

"..." Jax fell silent. He narrowed his eyes slightly and gritted his teeth inwardly. If he couldn't get any information from him, then he would definitely just etch his face to his bones to remember him well even when he became a ghost.

Seeing Jax losing his composure, the man in red armor finally walked to approach him. He stood before him the moment he reached a meter distance. Then he looked down on him as if Jax was an insignificant ant that he could kill any time he wished.

Then he revealed a sinister grin before he finally spoke again, ''Now, tell me kid. I found traces of Tikbalang here. Since I found you living here in this place, you must be quite acquainted with that beast. Tell me where it is. I promise I'll spare your life if you cooperate well.''

''What?! You killed my friends just because of a baseless accusation? How are we supposed to know the whereabouts of such a mythical beast?! We don't even see its furs being scattered here!'' Jax finally lost it. He responded indignantly and revealed his emotion. Something very unlikely of him. He couldn't believe that this man was being unreasonable now. Was he a lunatic madman? Treating lives as his playthings?

But the man in red armor simply laughed aloud as he replied, ''Hahaha, of course, there's no way you will know that. Tikbalang is unfriendly to everyone, after all. I'm just actually here to pass time by playing a hero for exterminating the pests of society.''

''Aren't I a hero? You think so too, right?''

''What? You... You... Bastard...'' Jax couldn't hold it in anymore. His eyes turned red, tears finally dropped from the corners of his eyes. Not only did that bastard feel any remorse for killing his comrades, but he also insulted them.

As if their deaths could even save the world.

''Now then, since you don't know the answer to my question, you're prepared to die, right?'' The man in red armor then spoke, his voice grew colder. Then again, he unleashed a terrifying bloodthirsty aura, suffocating Jax and leaving him breathless.

However, it only lasted five seconds before the aura completely vanished again. Jax really thought that he was going to die at that time. So, when the suffocating bloodthirsty aura suddenly vanished, bewilderment naturally flooded his mind.

''You've got an interesting thing here, kid. From whom did you steal this?'' The man in red armor suddenly spoke as if the thing he found was undoubtedly stolen.

He reached his hand forward to grab Jax's wrist and raise it to chest level. Then, with his other hand, he snatched the small bag in Jax's hand before he let him go and ignored him.

He opened the small bag and when he saw the gemstone inside, a wide smile surfaced on his lips, ''Haha, isn't this an Agimat? What good luck. To think I would find this kind of thing here in this backward place.''

The gemstone was a small red bead, enough for an adult's hand to grab it whole. It was heavy for its size, about one kilo. It looked ordinary on the surface and it didn't exude the slightest amount of mana. But what it could give was more than enough for even the powerhouses of the kingdom to put their interest in it.

And the red knight wasn't excluded.

That was just how enticing it was, even though it was of lower grade.

"..." Jax didn't speak at that moment. He only gave off sharp glares against the other party as he racked his brain to find a solution to how he would escape from this bastard.

Although the gemstone was important, now that his friends were already killed, it didn't hold much value to him anymore.

And also, he didn't really know exactly what kind of gemstone that was. He only knew that it was an important treasure of the richest Landlord of the town.

So, they stole it.

If it was Mecaella who would see it, then she would know what kind of treasure it was. But she was no more anymore. There was currently no one he knew who had good knowledge of that treasure.

Putting that aside, Jax really needed to devise a plan to get away from that guy now. His guts were telling him that if he stayed there any longer, he would be killed just like the others.

He wasn't a coward.

He was just not a fool who would act recklessly.

He understood it well that if he too died here today, then there would be no one else in the world who would come to avenge his friends. If he died now, it would be their end. Their corpses would only likely be eaten by savage beasts. They would be forgotten so easily as if they didn't even exist in the first place.

That was something he didn't want to happen. He must live on no matter what!