Chapter 3-Midnight Pups

My brief conversation with Khione is interrupted when we hear a few cries come from outside!

"They're here, Midnight Pups is here!"

I raise an eyebrow at the voice. "Midnight Pups…what's that?" I ask as I turn to face Khione, but when I lay eyes on the girl, I see that her face is pale and her entire body is trembling. "What's the matter?"

"You've…never heard of Midnight Pups?" Khione trembles.

"We'll you've never heard of the Rain Bearer, so I only think it's fa-" I begin to say with a shrug, but Khione cuts me off.

"Midnight Pups is the strongest, meanest group of bandit pillagers around," Khione explains, "They go from village to village and pillage whatever food and riches they have left, and kill the villagers if they have nothing to give them!"

"Midnight Pups…" I snicker.

"What's so funny?" Khione asks.

"That's just…such a stupid name," I answer, "Why would they call themselves PUPPIES?"

"Everytime, Master F was able to drive them out, but with him asleep, I don't know what we can do…" Khione replies as she sadly peers down at her sleeping master.

"Can't YOU do something about this?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at Khione.

Khione's eyes widen as her face shoots up to meet mine. "ME," she cries, "What can I do?!"

"Isn't the powerful Master F your master?" I ask, "And isn't it the duty of a disciple to pick up their master's slack?"

"Master F and I haven't eaten in a while due to the drought plaguing our village," Khione sighs, "And because of that, neither of us can E-Charge, so he hasn't trained me in a while…"

"E-Charge?" I ask, "What's that?"

Khione blinks. "You…don't know what E-Charge is? Can't you control the water?!"

"Uhh…yeah…" I answer.

"And you don't know what E-Charge is?!"

"Does it have something to do with how your master there can control sand?" I ask.

"Of course!" Khione exclaims. "E-Charge is-"

Khione's explanation is cut off when we hear some cries and commotion come from outside, which makes it sound like Midnight Pups has begun their pillage."

"No, they're here!" Khione cries as she jumps up to her feet. "W-we're doomed…"

"Don't worry," I say as I stand up.

Khione stares up at me with tears in her eyes. "What…are you going to do…?"

I peer down at Khione and smirk. "I'm going to intervene. It's my job to help the villages that I go to, afterall."

"Thank you…" Khione sobs.

I rush out of Khione's hut, where I spot many of the nearby huts on fire.

"Help, help!" One of the villagers cries as they point to their hut on fire.

"Don't worry, I got this!" I exclaim as I thrust my hands towards the roof of the hut, and a torrent of water springs out of my house and douses the roof of the house, extinguishing the fire.

The villager's face brightens. "Thank you, sir!" They cry.

"No problem!" I answer, "This is what my job's about!"

I hear some cries followed by a loud crash, causing me to flinch.

"Midnight Pups…where are they?" I ask.

"A-at the village gates!" The villager panics.

"Thank you!" I exclaim as I bow to the villager, before hustling to the front gates of the village.

As I make my way through the village, I continue to put out the fires engulfing the villagers home, earning many cheers of praise for my heroic acts along the way.

After a brief jog, I make it to the front gates of Tanhatam Village, where I find a bunch of rough lookin' thugs wielding swords and spears surrounding a group of bloody villages trembling on the ground in fear, with their own swords and spears thrown haphazardly around.

"Dat' all you got?!" The largest and meanest looking bandit wielding a huge wooden club wrapped in barbed wire cackles, "Where the Flint guy at? Without Flint you're POWERLESS to stand up against the might of Midnight Pups!"

The rest of the bandits begin cackling as they storm the village, using their weapons to attack the villagers and pillage their homes. At one point, one of the villagers lights a bottle of alcohol and tosses it at a nearby hut, setting it ablaze.

"We won't let you destroy our village," one of the villagers grunts as they shakily stand up and aim a sword at the bandit, his arm trembling as blood drips from a large gash on his forehead.

"And what is YOU gonna to do 'bout it?" The bandit smirks.

"THIS!" The villager answers with a battle cry as they charge the bandit, but before they can get very far, the villager's body begins wobbling as they fall face first to the ground, their sword slipping from their hands and clanging to the ground.

The bandit states down at the villager in disbelief.

And then…a sadistic smirk spreads across the bandit's face.

The bandit tears into the sky and lets out a long, drawn out cackle.

"PATHETIC!" The bandit books as his laughter slows down, "Hella pathetic!"

The bandit then readies his spiked club.

"AND NOW…YOU DIE!" The bandit roars as they swing their club towards the villager, who flinches in fear.

"STOOOOOP!!!"

Before the bandit's club could smash the villager's face in, he thrust a hand towards the bandit, spraying his face with a weak stream of water.

The lowers his club then furiously shakes his head from side to side, shaking the water off.

"WHO DID DAT?!" The bandit roars as he furiously looks around.

The bandit then lays eyes on his Sri Lankan subordinate behind him. "WAS IT YOU, CHANAKA?!"

"N-no sir!" The unemployed subordinate bandit stammers as they frantically hold their trembling palms up in surrender.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR TREASON!" The bandit roars as they swing their club, smashing it into the side of their subordinate's head as the bandit is sent flying backwards, blood spraying everywhere.

"Ow…" I wince, "That's gotta hurt."

"Stop right there!" I exclaim as I take a step up to the bandit.

"Woah you are?" The bandit growls as he turns to face me.

"Uh…don't you mean 'who are you'?" I ask.

"That's what I said!" The bandit snaps.

"Right, most people out here in the sticks can't speak well," I sigh.

I then stand up to face the bandit with a smirk as I place both hands on my hips.

"I…am the Rain Bearer!"

The bandit cocks an eyebrow at me. "The Rain what…? What do you mean?"

One of the other Sri Lankan bandit with a 0.92 GPA's eyes widen. "Careful boss, this guy's an E-Charger!"

"I ain't asking you, Ashwa!" The bandit snaps as he swings his club towards his subordinate without even batting an eye, and keeping them trained on me.

The other bandit lets out a girly scream as he's sent flying backwards, blood spraying from his wounds.

"You are an E-Charger, huh?" The bandit smirks, "We gon' have fun!"

"I don't know what that is!" I cry as I thrust my palm towards the bandit.

In response, the bandit flinches and brings his club up to defend, anticipating a powerful attack. But instead a mere stream of water springs from my hand, splashing the bandit's club.

Slowly…the bandit lowers his club and raises an eyebrow at me.

"Is…that all?" He asks.

"Y-yeah," I answered.

The bandit pauses.

A wide smirk spreads across his face."

"NOW YOU DIE TOO!" The bandit roars as he swings his club towards me.

Instinctively, I flinch my head down and bring my hands up to block, knowing that my defense won't do anything to protect the spiked club from caving my skull in.

But before I could surely meet my doom at the hands of this random thug, a voice calls out: "Permafrost!"

I hear the frosty crackle of ice ring through the air as the bandit lets out a confused grunt, and as I lower my arms to peer up at the bandit, I see that his club is encased completely in ice.

"Woah…" I marvel as my eyes widen, "First sand, and now…ice…?"

"Stay away from my village!" A familiar voice cries, and I turn around to where I heard the voice, watching as Khione pulls up to the village gates as well.

"Khione!" I excitedly cried, "You came!"

"I couldn't just stand back as I let a passerby hog all of the glory for saving the village," Khione smirks, "Your words inspired me, Noah! And also…you're incredibly weak…"

"Hey!" I snap.

"A two E-Charger, huh?" The bandit smirks, "This is my lucky day! I SHOULD STEAL YOU TWO AND SELL YOU TO SLAVERY!"

And with that broken-English battle cry, the bandit readies his ice-encrusted club and chargers.

"Alright, Khione, give "em what-for!" I cheer as I throw a fist into the air.

"I can't!" Khione cries.

"Wh-what not?" I stammer as I lower my fist.

"I don't have the strength to use another spell!" Khione cries as she turns to face me.

"Oh no…" I softly say as I peer up at the imposing bandit looking over us.

"Oh no…" Khione softly adds as she peers up at the charging bandit as well.

"We're so screwed…"

With a roar, the bandit continues charging Khione, then swings his club towards us, causing Khione to flinch and cover our heads.

But AGAIN, before our skulls are caved in by the bandit's club, a voice shouts: "Sand Whip!"

The bandit lets out a short cry, causing my eyes to widen as I lower my hands then peer up at the bandit, who's arms are bound to his sides by two tendrils of sand.

"Master F!" Khione cries, and I peer over to the girl, who has a beaming smile on her face.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"This is one of Master F's spells!" Khione excitedly explains as she turns to face me.

"So are you the one trampling over MY territory?" A voice asks, and I turn and peer over my shoulder, watching as the gray-haired man from before struts over to the bandit, cracking his knuckles as he does so.

"Flint…" I softly say.

The bandit sneers as he peers down at Flint. "So is you are here all along?" The bandit asks. "We is waiting for you."

"Don't you mean 'WERE'?" Flint asks, causing the bandit's body to tense up.

"Oh no!" One of the other bandits cries.

"Flint's really done it now!" Cries a second bandit.

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" The bandit roars as he swings his club towards Flint, who doesn't bat an eye or move a muscle

"Oh…this is my favorite part!" Khione swoons with a smirk, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I turn to face the girl.

The bandit's club continues flying towards Flint, who doesn't move at all to defend or counter.

"He's gonna kill 'em!" I cry.

"Just wait," Khione smirks.

With a roar, the bandit smashes his club into Flint's head, but the club simply passes through Flint, as his head turns into sand.

"HE'S MADE OF SAND?!" I cry.

"Not exactly," Khione smirks.

Flint's entire body turns into sand then merges with the sand below. A lump of sand then begins to rise out of the ground behind the bandit.

"Sand Charge: Level One!" A voice calls as Flint rises from the sand, "Sand Clone!"

"You dead meat, Flint!" The bandit roars as he spins around to face Flint as he swings his club towards the man again.

"Sans Charge, Level Two-" Flint begins to say as he resumes the stance that I saw Flint in when he attacked me earlier, with his heels and pointer and middle fingers of his two hands pressed together. Golden-tan sparks of energy swirl around and burst from Flint's body

"-Sand Spear!" Flint shouts as he lifts his knee and releases a rapid-fire flurry of kicks towards Bandit as his leg turns to sand, firing off arrow-head after arrow-head of sand towards the bandit.

The bandit lets out a cry of pain as Flint's sand arrows tear into his chest, dousing crimson-red blood all across the ground below, which glistens under the light of the setting Sun.

The bandit lets out a small groan, before falling to his back to the ground.

"Boo-yah, that's my master for ya'!" Khione cheers as she throws her hands into the air in celebration.

My eyes widened. "Woah…"

The rest of the bandits are speechless.

"Flint just…took out our leader with one attack…?" The Bengali bandit, the broke-bum Mahi whimper.

"How is…that even possible…?" Whimpers a second meek bandit, an Alabian Shit Cleaner, Eralf.

Flint narrows his eyes as he turns to face the rest of the bandits and leers them down.

The bandits flinch in fear.

Whimpers and murmurs escape the bandits as they exchange nervous glances back and forth.

"Anyone else…?" Flint growls.

The bandits pause.

"GET 'EM!"

"AVENGE OUR CAPTAIN!"

"DOES THIS MEAN I'M THE BOSS NOW?!"

With a symphony of battle cries, the bandits ready their spears and whips and such as they charge Flint.

Flint states the bandits down as he moves into that same stance.

"Sand Charge, Level Three-" Flint begins to say.

Khione's eyes widened. "A level three spell, huh?" Khione smirks, "This is gonna get good…"

"Is this a particularly strong attack…?" I ask as I turn to face Khione.

"SANDSTORM!" Flint booms as the sand below his feet begins to swirl around his body then explode outwards, releasing a burst of razor-sharp grains of sand that douses the bandits and causes them to yelp in pain.

The bandits let out a chorus of groans as they fall to the ground in pools of blood.

"YIKES!" I yelp as I recoil a step back, "Remind me NEVER to tick Flint off!"

"I've made that mistake once!" Khione laughs.

Flint sighs as he stares down at the carnage around him, before peering up at Khione and I.

Master, are you alright?" Khione asks, "You don't have the strength to use these kinds of spells…"

"KHIONE!" Flint barks, causing Khione to flinch, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO NEVER CONFRONT BANDITS ALONE!"

"But I wasn't alone!" Khione pleads as she points to me, "I'm with Noah!"

"Huh?!" I cry.

"The so-called 'Rain Bearer'…" Flint growls as he takes a step over to me.

"So now it's MY fault?!" I cry.

Flint takes another step towards me, and I flinch in response.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't purposely try to get your daughter killed-!" I begin to stammer, but I'm caught off when Flint holds a hand out to me.

"Huh…?" I ask as I stare down at Flint's hands.

"Your words inspired Khione to take action," Flint says, "Thank you."

I peer back at Flint and flash him a wide smile.

"My pleasure, sir!" I exclaim as I reach a hand out to Flint, but before the two of us can shake, Flint's eyes roll into the back of his head as he falls face forwards to the ground.

My hand hangs in the air for a moment.

"This again?!" I cry as I peer down at Flint.

"Master F!" Khione cries as she rushes to her master's side.