Kalim Can Do What?!

Kalim took down the first 2 with little effort. They fell towards the ground while holding their throats. This made the rest of them halt in their tracks. Patient like a butcher, Kalim whipped his sword, cleansing it of the dirty blood that sullied it. He seemed to be almost bored by the cowardice of the other bandits. However, a large man, almost as tall as a bear, decided to step forward.

He carried a sledgehammer that looked more like a boulder attached to a stick than a weapon. He swiped Kalim with a sledgehammer. It hit the air as Kalim twirled out of the way. The large bandit made an overhead attack next. Before it could land, Kalim moved in and slashed at the man's chest. The giant man roared in pain and swiped at Kalim, who danced around it like water. He covered his wound with one hand as Kalim returned where he was only seconds earlier, unharmed.

Rikkard watched the whole transaction in pure awe. Kalim was good. Well, he already knew that, but he was much stronger than when he was training with him. Heck, he could probably take care of them all without his help.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, prompting him to duck. The space where his neck was a second ago was invaded by a sword swipe. A frustrated growl followed suit. The bandit who attacked him readied his weapon for another. Wasting no time, Rikkard swept his foot at the ankles of the bandit. The man gave a surprised shout before crumpling.

Standing over the fallen enemy, Rikkard raised his sword. But it never came down. Noticing this, the bandit jabbed with his eroded sword. Rikkard dodged back then kicked him in the face. There was a crunch and the bandit cried out in pain, holding his nose as he rolled across the ground. The other 3 bandits, weary of attacks, spread out.

Taking some breaths, Rikkard tightened his grip on his sword. These guys were scared, just the mention of the Order sent these guys in panic. It's the only reason that they weren't swarming him. And he would've done the same thing in their shoes. A gurgled shout pulled Rikkard's attention towards the other side of the battlefield.

Kalim had just removed his blade from the chest of the one-eyed bandit. He slumped over, dead long before he hit the ground. His blood mixed with the others, becoming an indistinguishable puddle of red. Ripples raced across as Kalim took a slow stride towards the remaining bandits, who looked like sheep to the slaughterhouse. They glanced at each other. They dropped their weapons before getting on their knees.

Rikkard let out a sigh of relief. Good, it's finally over. However, Kalim stopped just a few yards away. He wiped his blade on the corpse of the large man and sheathed it. Then he looked at the Rikkard, specifically his sword.

"Rik-," Kalim started but then his eyes widened slightly. "Look out!" he shouted.

Rikkard spun on his heels and swung his sword instinctively. It swept wide but completely missed. He managed to see a blur of brown below him before the wind was knocked out of him. The ground did little to cushion his fall. Pain jolted all along his back. He something sharp pressed against his chest. When he tried to move his sword arm, it didn't budge. He was completely pinned.

"Don't move!" his captor screamed. "I'll kill him! By Saint Annaline's sword, I swear I'll kill him." He pressed his sword a little deeper into Rikkard, cutting through the leather plate and pricking his ribs.

Crap, I messed up. There was another bandit, probably hiding in the tree-line as a backup. And judging from the other's relieved expressions, he seemed to be the real leader. Rikkard carefully strained his neck up. Kalim's hand hovered over his curved blade. He could throw it with extreme accuracy if he wanted to but Rikkard knew that there was the chance of the bandit killing him before the blade could. He glared at the bandit.

The heavy bandit, realizing that he had the advantage, grinned toothily. "Toss your weapons away," he barked.

Kalim didn't move. The bandit dug his boot deeper into Rikkard's arm, earning him a pained yelp. "That wasn't a request."

Reluctantly, Kalim tossed his weapons to the side and raised his hands. The bandit nodded towards the rest of the bandits, who grabbed their weapons and walked up to Kalim.

"If you even blink, this kid's going to get it," he reminded Kalim. The rest of them edged closer, keeping themselves at an arm's reach, but ready to slay Kalim.

No! They were going to kill him! Rikkard squirmed underneath the weight of the lead bandit. Which earned him a smack across the face and the taste of his blood. He didn't mind. He was more worried about Kalim.

"Rikkard. Stop."

Kalim's voice stopped Rikkard in his tracks. The bandits were getting closer. Death was guaranteed by the end of the whole affair. Or worst, slavery. And the strangest thing about it all was his expression. Kalim seemed almost bored by the whole situation. He even had the gall to yawn!

"It's fine. I got this." Kalim reassured Rikkard. Everyone halted and the leader opened his mouth to shout something at Kalim but the words never came. They never will. What happened next surprised Rikkard beyond anything he's seen since the destruction of the village.

Before anyone could react, Kalim's left glove started to change white, different from its usual gray. What's more, a cloudy mist blanketed the air around his hand. Suddenly, a large shard of ice grew from the palm of his hand. Kalim flicked his wrist ever so slightly and the crystal launched.

It soared through the air in a blink of an eye. One moment it was in Kalim's hand. The next, it was planted in the lead bandit's skull. The weight on Rikkard's arm lessened as their leader fell over to the side, dead.

The others were only able to look shocked before Kalim closed his mist glove and made a horizontal sweep. A blast of cold air had gone through the bandits, stopping just short of Rikkard. Frost covered the ground and a light blanket of snow touched Kalim's cloak. He let out an annoyed sigh, his breath visible for all to see.

Once he had caught his breath, he stepped around the bandits and headed towards Rikkard. They didn't move a muscle. When he stood over Rikkard, he extended a hand. It was the gray one. Still in shock, Rikkard took his hand was lifted to his feet.

"Wha- Wait. What? What the hell was that?!" Rikkard asked astonished. He'd never seen anything like that. Kalim didn't answer. Instead, inspected Rikkard and patted him down. After he finished investigating, he gazed at Rikkard with a strange look.

"You hesitated," He stated bluntly.

"What?"

"Back when you had the advantage over that bandit, you hesitated. Why?"

"That's what you're worried about after what you just did?"

Kalim ignored the accusation. "I suspected as much during our training, but I'll just ask: You've never taken a life before, have you?"

"No… Never. Why would? There wasn't a need to do so back in the village. Look, can we just talk about what just happened? You made ice appear out of your fucking hand! How'd you do that? Are you a wizard or something?"

"I see…" Kalim ignored the other questions. "Let's get moving."

He turned around, put his hood back on, and continued down the dirt road. Along the way, he retrieved his weapons. The white on the glove dissipated and returned to its natural gray. Snow still covered the edges of his cloak but he didn't seem to care.

Rikkard grabbed his sword and hurried to catch up to Kalim. On the way, he noticed that the bandits still hadn't moved a muscle from where they stood.

"Hey, Kalim. What about the-" The words died on his tongue when he got a good look at the bandits. From behind, they looked fine. But from the front, he could see that their entire bodies were frozen. Their mouths solidified in an eternal scream that will never be heard. Locked in the last pose they ever made.

Rikkard gulped and hurried to catch up with his guardian. What else was Kalim capable of? On one hand, that kind of power scared the crap out of him. But on the other hand, it was pretty cool. If he had his hands on that kind of power, Corrupters would be a breeze.

Right above him, thunder clouds began to form. He felt a small drizzle as it began to rain. A chill ran down his back as he was reminded of that dream he had a couple of nights before. Just as they picked speed to avoid the storm, he reminded himself in the future:

Never get on Kalim's bad side.