Chapter 5

I stumbled, clutching my head and steadying myself against Styrkur's body, the harsh sunlight made walking on the highway inconvenient. Everything had happened so suddenly but I had to adapt, it was probably xiushe's way of getting back at me. Glancing at my right arm, I grimaced at the swelling, luckily it wasn't half as bad as the huge lump that was on my arm until a day ago. I sighed, annoyed at the slow pace we moved at and the fact that it was the fault of that stupid snake.

"G-give me a sec to catch my breath." I muttered exhausted.

"Quit being so whiny, I used only a bit of my venom. The fact that you survived shows that we have great affinity with each other and this will help you use that cursed blade of yours better." Xiushe huffed, I turned to her, glaring with as much strength as I could muster.

"Ignore her, you should be fully recovered by tomorrow so rest for now." Styrkur said glancing at me. Nodding, I mounted him and dozed off almost immediately.

…

Slowly opening my eyes, I looked around, the holes on the roof of the building we were inside let in rays of sunlight and the absence of nausea welcomed me to the new day. I turned to the side, fur brushing across my face.

Did Styrkur let me use him as a pillow? I smiled, slowly rising in order not to wake him. Staring outside, a sense of tranquility came over me, I glanced back at Styrkur, his eyes widened.

An enraged yell startled me forcing me to dive away as the building collapsed. My muscles tensed up as I hopped up from my roll taking a fighting stance, studying the environment. Another war cry from my side made me spin, throwing up my hands to guard against a person's punch. My arms rattled as his fist connected with my arm. Hopping back, I observed the heavy breathing man in rags and a full beard as he glared at me.

Who the hell is he?! And what's he got against me?

"TRAITOR!!!" the man yelled, startling me and charging forward wildly. 

I clenched my fists and waited, the enraged man rushing wildly a moment after. Everything seemed to slow down as he threw a punch at me, I pushed his fist aside and jabbed at his stomach, lowering him and shot my fist forward, connecting solidly with his face.

That should…huh? I blinked, barely ducking as a wide kick of his nearly collided with my face.

He's fast, I should put him down now. I thought clenching my fist and channeling mana into them, strengthening them. The man turned to me, more collected than before but still as enraged. I hopped from side to side, my lips tilting into a small smirk- I wasn't the same weak piece of shit that was killed by those corpse bastards, I was going to make him regret coming after me.

Styrkur, Xiushe stay out of this.

I WASN'T PLANNING ON HELPING YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE, BOY.

OH, SO WE AREN'T HELPING HUH?

I shook my head, dismissing the smug face I believed that xiushe was making, and dashed forward throwing a jab and guarding my face against his. His hit rattled my arm once more but the satisfaction of seeing blood spill from his broken nose made up for it. Pushing my left arm forward, I landed another blow to his face and continued relentlessly. He threw a few desperate punches- I didn't know if it was due to my assimilation with Styrkur's abilities or if it was Xiushe's that had improved my speed -but I dodged every single one of them.

I threw a right hook, bashing out a few of his teeth when a blow to my torso knocked the breath out of me. Time seemed to slow down once more as I glanced up to see the man swinging his arm at me- a surprisingly enormous amount of mana strengthening it. Pain exploded as my bones rattled and shattered, an uncomfortable but recognizable numbness following after as I dropped on the ground, or at least a part of me did. Darkness- the one I truly resented -claimed me once more as everything faded or so it seemed.

…

I glanced at the motionless body before me, my anger far from fading. My face ached when I frowned and my jaw was sore but none of that mattered when this bastard was right in front of me. I threw another punch, the intact part of its skull cracking as my fist connected solidly, the monster jerked forward, its hands flailing meaninglessly beside me. Winding up, I was prepared to return the favor from our fight, my fist slammed into its face, a cry escaped its lips, blood and a crushed eyeball splattering on the ground.

"This is for Sung!!" I smashed the monster's face in once more, another cry as its skin tore up to expose more of its skull.

"This is for Kim!!!" Its skull cracked, a reddish-pink lump of flesh sticking out as I slammed my fist into its face. It jerked forward much more violent than the first time as tears streamed out of its empty and bloody eye sockets

It deserves it. Its skull ruptured and its movement seized, blood and flesh splashed on both me and the ground.

It killed everyone. My knuckles cracked the ground, his head nothing but a bloody mess. I raised my left hand once more, mana gathering around my knuckles as I drove it down, shattering the pavement, his upper half exploding into a bloody mess of organs and bones. Collapsing on my rear, I glanced from my heaving chest to the surrounding area, freezing in place as an overwhelming presence neared me.

…

Sighing angrily, I hopped down and approached the two humans. The man sprung up, facing me with his fists raised and clenched.

KNOW YOUR PLACE HUMAN, JUST BECAUSE I LET YOU KILL THE BOY, DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T EASILY CRUSH YOU. I growled, staring down at him.

The man wavered, clenching his jaw and fists tightly a moment after. Where he found such resolve, it eluded me, but he was of no interest to me, at least for now.

"Are you his ally?" the man's hoarse voice reached my ears.

AND WHAT IF I AM? The man scowled at me, dropping his hands to his sides in defeat. I glanced at Xiushe who stayed quietly watching the entire exchange as a gust of wind alerted me that the human had leapt at me.

FOOL. I casually lifted my paw smacking him aside. Sighing in disappointment, I glanced from the collapsing building the fool had crashed into, to the bloody mess of flesh, bones, and clothes that was Chan-yeol.

Xiushe slid closer, inspecting the body with what I believed was a frown. Turning to me, she asked, "So how long will it take for that guy's power to kick in?"

"I don't know. Last time it took a day but he wasn't half of a mess as he is now." I replied quietly, raising my head to sniff the air.

"So, how's it gonna be? I don't see him mending any friendship with that guy at all, and you know that he is a valuable ally for Chan-yeol, that's why you didn't kill him, or am I wrong?" Xiushe stated some weird amusement glinted in her eyes.

"I still find it baffling that you're this perceptive considering how stupid you are." I lowered my head gazing at the mess before me on the ground, ignoring Xiushe's witty remarks, I continued. "But it doesn't matter after all, because it seems he takes away the human's memories of his death before allowing him to revive, a side effect of the power so to say."

"Tch, he's just being unnecessarily caring, he would be much better off acting like you." She stated with a slight frown.

"I won't question anyone's form of training, like for mine, if the boy doesn't prove himself, I will leave him to die." I stated solemnly.

"Heh, is your uncaring attitude coming from the betrayal of a certain go-"

"Xiushe!!" I growled, interrupting her.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't know about your origins? Like the fact, the major reason you put up with me is because I remind you of a certain relative." Xiushe ended with what I knew was a smirk, judging from my own experience with serpents. Growling deeply, I turned away from her.

"Alright, I won't say anything again, besides it seems their little bout attracted some trash." Xiushe stated, her eyes following the beasts moving in the shadows.

"Let's guard for now, I believe he needs to remain here before its power activates." I said quietly, facing the wary Xiushe.

…

A familiar but uncomfortable sensation washed over my entire body, the soothing warmth of the first time was absent. I felt myself drift about, a force pulling me upwards, away from the cold void.

SO…CONTROL…PHO…POWER. The words I could get hold of echoed in my head as I escaped the void. I jerked up suddenly, my hands instinctively shielding my eyes as the sunlight briefly blinded me. I held my breath, focusing on my other senses as my eyes adjusted to the light.

"What happened?" I muttered, my eyes widening as I spotted the man from before, just standing beside me. Leaping with a spin, I instinctively planted a strong punch on his side, knocking him several paces away.

CALM DOWN, HUMAN. Styrkur approached me, Xiushe at his tail.

"Styrkur! What the hell is the meaning of this?!!" I yelled, furious as I turned to face him. "Did you betray me for this bastard?! You too Xiushe!"

"I'm glad, you're alive," The man said with a wince, holding his side.

"Oi," I called through gritted jaws, my knuckles growing white as I clenched them. "Who the hell are you?!!" My voice came out as a low rumble almost similar to that of Styrkur.

"It's understandable that you're pissed after all I outright attacked the one I call my brother."

"Who the hell are you calling brother?!" I barked.

Giving a small smile, the man replied me in a calm familiar voice "Don't tell me you've forgotten your best friend already?"

"Yo...Yonghoo?" I muttered filled with disbelief.

IT IS INDEED, YOUR FOOLISH FRIEND. Styrkur glanced at the man who called himself Yonghoo as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I said "How...I thought you had died."

"Well, I couldn't just die like that, especially when the bastards responsible for this were still alive." Yonghoo locked eyes with me and I noticed the guilt and pain he had been carrying all this time. I sighed and turned to Styrkur and Xiushe.

"Do you mind explaining why you let him kill me?" I said irritated.

"I wanted to find out something, besides I'm impressed that it took you only two days to revive completely." Styrkur stated a hint of delight in his tone.

"H-huh?" Tch, thinking about this is making my head hurt, literally. I take it you told him about everything or well most of it.

WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?

A partner who would let his ally die just to satisfy his curiosity.

OF COURSE, I WOULD TELL HIM ONLY ABOUT THE ESSENTIALS. Styrkur ended, ignoring my cheeky comment. For some strange reason, I wasn't angry, the thought of him abandoning me to die like that didn't piss me off, or more like the thought of death hardly frightened me…I had realized something…I couldn't remember, once again.

"I'm glad you're alive." Yonghoo quietly said with a relieved sigh, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"No thanks to you…you know what forget it, how did you find me?" I asked with a slight frown.

"It was by chance I found you, I was too busy tracking the chimera." I paused at his statement, my gaze slowly rising to meet his.

"Did you find it?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah." I instinctively covered my mouth with my palm as I noticed the disturbed expression on Yonghoo's face. But he had every right to be disturbed, everyone that had seen me grin in such a twisted manner- my eyes twinkling like a sadistic bastard that had come across his prey -had an expression like his, especially since I wasn't this type of person before.

"You won't listen to me if I told you not to, now would you?" Styrkur asked, his yellow eyes felt like they were gazing into my soul.

I flashed a toothy smirk and replied "Now why would I let such a beautiful opportunity go to waste." Turning to Yonghoo, I continued "So then, why don't you lead me to the bastard so we can make it pay."

He looked at me for a moment before asking "Was it really the one that caused everything that happened to the camp?" I studied him for some time, sighing.

It's no good, he's doubting. He won't get involved in the fight if he finds out that the chimera had nothing to do with the wendigo attack on the camp, that's how he's always been. I can't allow that. Not when I've gotten so close, he'll have no choice but to help me.

"Yes, it was responsible for everything that had happened." I said, solemnly.

"That was all I needed to hear, let's go kill the bastard." Yonghoo replied with a frown cracking his knuckles. Glancing away from the disapproving look Styrkur gave me, I followed Yonghoo with a single goal in mind- to end the chimera.

…

"So, you're really alive Chan-yeol?" Yonghoo asked, the question annoying me.

"And for the twelfth and final time, yes." I replied staring down at him from the top of Styrkur.

"And you have no idea how you got the power?"

"Oh yeah, so there was this genie that appeared and he told me to make three wishes and that's how I got this power."

"Really?" He brightened up at the thought of an answer.

"No, I was being sarcastic," I stated with a deadpan, earning a frown in reply. I sighed, troubled as I delicately touched the scar on my chest.

It didn't disappear…why? Now that I think about it, I got the scar on my chest before I died, so it should've disappeared. I reached for my back, noting a set of scars that ran along it.

FOCUS AND LEAVE THE TROUBLESOME THINGS FOR LATER. Xiushe glanced at me, perceiving my thoughts.

Adjusting my posture to sit cross-legged on Styrkur's back, I muttered "Didn't peg you as the type to care."

"If we have to take on a nuisance like the chimera, I rather you be at your peak, in other words-"

"Focus."

"Focus." We said in unison, earning a chuckle from the rest of the group. I smiled to myself, shutting my eyes and channeling my mana throughout my body.

"We're here, get off me." Styrkur stated as we stepped off the bridge.

Glancing around, Yonghoo said, "This would be a good place to set up camp, it's getting late." I looked up noting the ominous feeling in the air.

"I'll take a look around."

"Don't stray too far." Styrkur called out after me. I waved him off, walking into the highway that led away from the bridge.

With every step I took, the eerie feeling in the air got much stronger, the shadows in the ruins of the apartment buildings and skyscrapers alongside the highway felt like they were holding a horde of beasts, ready to attack me at any moment. But I wasn't afraid of them, not anymore, I am stronger than before, besides there was no way I was dying that easily.

Déjà vu.

Something was ahead, something familiar.

Please.

I ran forward, the presence I had sensed and my hope for it being what I wished for it to be, growing stronger. Crossing the road, I hadn't realized how far I had gotten until the background had changed from the ruined city to rocks and trees. I studied the surroundings, contrasting feelings of familiarity hit me. I walked off a cracked artificial path and stood in the middle of a mid-sized clearing, several trees encircling it. Turning around, I noticed the distant mountain peak, confused as to how I could see it clearly with the clouds covering my only source of light.

I should've carried a torch…no that would make me stand out. Besides, where am I? Is this the Namsan garden?

AND HERE I THOUGHT I HAD KILLED YOU ALREADY. I paused as an overwhelming presence came from behind me.

Chuckling, I replied eagerly. "I've been waiting for you, you bastard!" I spun and faced it, the beast who gave me the taste of death for the first time, the one who showed me true pain. The bastard hadn't changed one bit from the last time I saw it. Its lion head stared me down as its eyes glowed a menacing red, its snake head peered at me from the side, its body extending from the chimera's rear and the constant huffing made me aware of the presence of the goat head on its back. Its large claws dug into the ground as its muscular arms arched.

It sneered, its rows of razor-sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight and I grinned back, my hand resting on the handle of the cursed great sword at my back.

A whistle made me leap back as a dozen spikes stabbed where I was a moment ago.

"Leave him, leave him, we'll handle him." Voices in chanting tones rang out across the trees as the sound of flapping wings announced the entry of two large creatures. They both had the body of a large lion with a scorpion's tail and what I presumed was a man's face. Their scaly wings spread out as they landed in front of me. I unsheathed the sword, leaving it wrapped, I held it before me, both hands tightly gripping the handle. I blinked and found a stinger of one of the beasts darting towards my face, throwing up the sword on instinct, I deflected it away, dashing for cover behind a tree as a volley of spikes marked the ground where I was.

Running between the trees, another stinger flew just a breath before me as if predicting my movement. Skidding to a stop, I grabbed hold of the spiky stinger and struck it continuously with my wrapped blade until a green sticky liquid sprayed out from it. A loud cry echoed through the not-so-quiet night as a blur of grey fur burst into the clearing, taking one of the beasts with him as he dashed out.

FOCUS ON THE CHIMERA, WE'LL TAKE CARE OF ANY DISTRACTIONS. Styrkur's voice resonated in my head while Xiushe's enlarged body wrapped around the second beast, slowly crushing it. I turned to face the chimera who had its jaws opened wide as if to roar. Knowing better, I dived behind a weathered rock on impulse, a sea of bright orange flames covered the entire clearing, setting a good number of trees ablaze. Steadying my breath and waiting for the flames to die down, I raced from behind cover a moment later, circling the chimera from behind the trees surrounding the clearing. Spotting me, the bastard unleashed another wave of fire, turning his head and trailing me in order to overtake me with the flames.

"Jump!!" Yonghoo yelled from the safety of a pine tree, speeding up, I leapt and caught hold of his outstretched arm. I settled on the branch beside him studying the chimera's movements.

"Let's go." I muttered and Yonghoo nodded. Diving from the tree, time seemed to slow down as I reached an arm's length from the goat head and swung my wrapped blade down hard. Interrupting the swing and lifting the sword to guard my left side, the blow from snakehead threw me back-first into a tree, knocking the wind out of me. Still gripping the sword tightly, I frowned at the snake's dagger-like fangs that my sword held from closing on my arm. The flames momentarily cleared as Yonghoo sprinted through landing a solid punch to the side of the lion's head.

The creature skidded a few paces back and all three heads shot him a death glare, then it happened. I sprinted forward only to have blood spray on my hands that guarded my face.

What the…? I froze as Yonghoo's left arm fell to the ground with a soft thud. Turning to my left, I frowned at his fatigued expression as he clutched the arm in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

He won't be of any help like this.

YOUR FRIEND IS IN SUCH A SHAPE AND THAT'S THE FIRST THING TO COME TO YOUR MIND, YOU REALLY ARE  AN INTERESTING HUMAN. Styrkur said, walking into the clearing, with an authoritative aura. AND HERE I THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED THE CHIMERA, ESPECIALLY WITH ALL THAT TALK OF YOURS. He glanced at me with a…smirk? I raised a brow at his expression and shook my head, dismissing it and focusing on the chimera before me. Yonghoo stood beside me, less exhausted and without any bleeding.

"How'd you do it?" I asked stealing a glance at him.

"Let's just say acupuncture and mana together does wonders." He replied cheekily, "Anyway, won't this be a good time to unwrap that sword of yours?" He asked, glancing at the sealed blade in my hand.

"Might as well put my life force on the line, right?" I muttered.

Surprised, Yonghoo turned to me asking. "What do you mean?"

"Honestly, there's no time to explain, so let's take down this bastard first, ok?" I stated before turning to Styrkur, slowly unwrapping the blade. "We're charging in."

"I'm more used to that than you would know." He replied with a growl as I dropped the last of the sealing cloth and clutched the handle properly, staggering forward as a wave of energy drained out of me.

Tch, it's begun already. Alright then. I sprinted forward towards the arrogant bastard with Styrkur and Yonghoo at either side of me. Opening its mouth, flames rushed towards us.

"Scatter!!" Styrkur commanded, the rest of us moving out of the fire's path immediately. Shielding my face as I fell through some of the flames, I grimaced at the uncomfortable heat I felt. The wind parted the smoke to reveal whose groan had made me as anxious as I was, the sight stirred all sorts of emotions; mainly rage and irritation.

I didn't know how I had gotten there so fast or how the blade was already a moment away from beheading the chimera's stupid snakehead, but it happened. Amidst the entire ruckus, the sound of metal tearing through flesh and bone was music to my ears. The chimera recoiled as its tail- the snakehead -dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"Xiushe!! Check what you can do to help Styrkur get rid of the poison! Hur-"

BOY, FOCUS!! A blow, faster than what I could react to, knocked me aside. I coughed standing up, my hands instinctively shooting to my stomach. Strangely, the pain surged from my torso instead of my arm, that felt the blow or the one that crashed into the grass. The pain was strangely familiar, but for some reason, I couldn't recall where or when I had experienced something like this before. I lowered my head slowly, my breathing got heavier at each second as I saw the blood that rushed out from the tear across my torso.

Déjà vu …oh, so that's where it's from.

The blood rushed out of the tear like it was trying to escape from my body. I tried to slowly rise but unlike last time, it seemed that this tear was much deeper. The organs peeking out of me were clear evidence of that. I collapsed, my entrails spilling out a bit as a brief moment of shock went through me, numbness, the kind that usually spelt the restarting of things, took over.

I'll just start over again. I thought.

I'll train much harder and get much stronger so I can kill the bastard in the way he deserves. I thought to myself. My eyes closed slowly and the noise in the background faded away as I drifted off.

…

NO!

H-huh?

FIGHT!!

But I'm not strong enough, this is just a tactical retreat, I'll come back when I'm much stronger.

BUT YOU'RE ALREADY STRONG ENOUGH, WE ARE ALREADY STRONG ENOUGH. STOP HIDING LIKE A COWARD AND FACE IT, FACE THE CHIMERA AND KILL IT ONCE AND FOR ALL.

But…?

No, he's right. I will kill it. I will kill that Chimera and make it go through everything it did to me…everything.

Wha?…wait a sec, who are you?

Simple, I'm the Chan-yeol who's aware.

Xiushe frowned, this was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Styrkur had gotten poisoned by both the manticores and the chimera because he was being reckless trying to protect a rash human-like Chan-yeol, who laid motionless by a tree, a portion of his innards spilling out of him. It was the same with Yonghoo. She glanced at him as he laid beside her, his exposed lungs slowing down and the pool of blood that surrounded him was slowly growing. She sighed, she was left alone to protect them from the enraged chimera. She realized nothing was stopping her from escaping, the chimera would be satisfied killing the three of them and it wouldn't waste its breath on her, but she knew better. She looked at the approaching beast; it had a few bruises and cuts, but its tail- where the snakehead was -hung limply behind him. It neared her, flames that were voluntarily restrained, filled its mouth.

IS THIS IT?

"You are such a nuisance," Chan-yeol stated, casually walking between Xiushe and the chimera. Glancing at Xiushe, he instructed. "Get them to a safer place. Now then…"

Flames rushed at them, but Chan-yeol didn't budge. Instead, he held up the blade. Flames ignited off him and the blade, and the scars and wounds faded off completely from his body, holding the blazing sword and setting it to his left, he swung at the flames, scattering them harmlessly aside.

THE HUMAN CAN USE HIS POWER?!!

Lunging forward and taking a deep breath, he charged at the wounded beast, who blasted out another sea of flames in response.

He slid underneath it and swung at both forelimbs leaving behind a trail of fire and blood, easily separating them from the main body. With a roll, he avoided being crushed under the weight of the chimera and leapt once more spinning over the goat head. The last thing the goat head was able to see was a trail of fire and darkness followed by a crippling pain. The Chimera roared as it thrashed around, knocking down the surrounding trees. Chan-yeol hopped in a spot, dashing forward and swinging the flaming sword, dismembering the last two attached limbs.

Slowly walking to the flailing chimera, Chan-yeol tilted his head with a cocky smile and said, "Sucks to be on the other side, now doesn't it?"

YOU BASTARD HUMAN, YOU THINK IT'S OVER BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU BEAT ME. The chimera glowered irate at him.

"I don't think I beat you, I did beat you." Chan-yeol casually responded, plunging his sword into the chimera's side earning a pained groan from it.

"It hurts a lot, right? The sword was made especially for your kind, didn't know about the firepower though."

HAHAHAHA, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT RESIDES IN YOU, WHAT GRANTED YOU YOUR POWER, OR WHAT ENEMIES YOU HAVE NOW!! MANY WILL COME FOR YOU AFTER ME AND THEY WILL NOT REST UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IT TAKES. AND IF YOU DO SURVIVE YOU WILL ONLY REGRET, BECAUSE THEN HE WILL COME FOR YOU HIMSELF AND NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU! YOU WILL FALL JUST LIKE YOUR BENEFACTOR DID!!

"So bloody noisy," Chan-yeol muttered with a frown, cleaning out his ear with his pinky finger.

"Who's this he you're constantly referring to?" he asked.

NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU, NOT THE NORSE, NOT THE CHINESE, NONE OF THEM!! HAHAHA!! Chan-yeol frowned, he was fed up with the stupid antics of the beast. He lifted the great sword and brought it down, the fire trailing after the blade beautifully reflecting off the droplets of blood that had splashed up as Chan-yeol beheaded the chimera. Xiushe gazed at him with a smile, she could see why he was chosen. Turning to meet Xiushe's gaze, Chan-yeol pushed back his sticky hair and approached her.

…

Huh?

Everything had suddenly gone black and an extreme amount of pain racked my head as it collided with the ground.