Chapter 19: Attack on the village (1)

An explosion awakened Liam. He rushed outside, grabbing a sword from the side of his bed. What he saw nearly made his jaw drop. The village was on fire, screams arose from the villagers. With a sense of urgency, he rushed, sword drawn, ready to confront whatever danger it was.

He made it to the village, and the scene was even more horrific than he thought. Bodies littered the ground, some he recognized. Fire licked the buildings. Some collapsed immediately. Laughs arose from the middle of the village. Bandits? Liam thought.

This wouldn't be the first time they had an encounter with bandits, but it was the first time this much damage had been dealt. A cough from someone interrupted his thoughts. He turned, his eyes widening. In front of him, an old woman leaned on a burning building, her elder features now highlighted by the fire's light. Her legs were missing, clearly cut by something. Blood leaked from the stumps, coloring the ground red. Granny Miriam, Liam thought with panic. She was the lady who used to tell stories to the children of the village.

He rushed, kneeling to help her, putting the sword aside.

"Granny Miriam," Liam said, clutching her hand.

Granny Miriam coughed once more, turning her head and with difficulty opened her eyes, staring at Liam. A small smile formed on her face as she brought her other hand and cupped Liam's face.

"Run…" she said lastly, as her arm fell to the side, her eyes closing.

Liam's eyes flickered. This was just the same as that night. He recalled that grisly night where his mother and father had been massacred, his home burned to ashes. He was powerless then to defend his home, and he was still powerless now. His hands began trembling in rage. No, he wouldn't run this time. No, he would fight till the bitter end.

He grabbed his sword, kissed Granny Miriam on the forehead, and ran towards where the laughter was coming from. Along the way, he passed more and more dead bodies, some belonging to children, some to women. He knew all of them. Tears began flowing from his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. He would make sure the person responsible for this would pay, he thought.

As he turned a corner, he saw them, the perpetrators. In front of him, two men stood in front of a woman. Liam instantly recognized her. She was the owner of the flower shop. The men, though, were rugged. They hovered over her like predators on top of prey. One of them was shirtless, tattoos covering his entire body. His ears had been pierced, with large iron earrings dangling. He carried a sword in one hand and an alcohol bottle in the other. A whip dangled on the side of his trousers. A typical bandit.

The other one, though, didn't look like any bandit Liam had ever seen. A dark robe covered his body, allowing none of his features to be seen. Around his neck, a chain of sharp teeth and beads. He carried a brown staff with a red crystal on top of it.

"What about her?" Liam heard the bandit ask the masked figure.

"She'll do," the masked figure responded with an eerie voice.

The bandit laughed and bent over, grabbing the woman by the hair, pulling her and dragging her along. She tried to fight back, but the bandit raised a fist, smacking her on the head. Liam's anger boiled over. He raised his sword, running towards the bandit. By the time the bandit turned around, Liam was already upon him. He swung the sword in a wide arc, beheading the bandit with one swing. The head flew in the air, blood spraying everywhere in a shower.

Liam turned, ready to attack the robed figure, only to find he was no longer there.

"Interesting," a voice said.

Liam turned to the direction of the voice. It was the robed figure. He had teleported himself a couple of meters away. Now Liam could fully see his face. He was a gaunt and frail figure, his cheeks sunken in, his face painted black with some paint.

"I didn't expect to find a null body here. He will be very pleased," the mage said.

Liam raised his sword once again, surprised at how fast the mage had found out he had a null body. He dashed to the mage, sword raised high. With a shout, he swung the sword downward, aiming to bisect the man. Only his attack never landed. A red barrier appeared between the two. The robed figure flicked a finger, and the barrier exploded, sending Liam crashing into a nearby stall. The stall broke into pieces, a large piece impaling Liam in the leg.

Liam screamed in pain as he tried getting up, but he couldn't. The masked figure appeared in front of him once again, his eyes glowing a dim red.

"Sleep," he said.

Liam felt his eyelids grow heavy, but try as he might, he fell into slumber.