Heavy breathing, sweat drops and blood.

Eric and Grem continue to stare each other down.

"Just give up Eric, let me end your misery."

Grem tries to taunt him, its effectiveness lacking due to his exhaustion.

"Huff, is death all you know Grem? When will it end?"

"Never! I will not rest until you're dead. Once i've accomplished that, i will continue my brother's legacy and bring forth a new golden age of the Black Marauders!"

"Only if you kill me first."

"Tsk!"

Grem dashes towards him, holding his greataxe high above his head.

He closes the distance quickly, ready to strike Eric with a downward swing.

But his position looks over exaggerated, his left leg in the air, the greataxe almost touching the ground behind him, as if he was charging it or something.

The attack is nothing but obvious, Eric can easily dodge it.

Unless, he isn't aiming for Eric, but instead the ground below him!

"EARTH SHAKER!"

He swings his greataxe down at great speed and power.

Eric jumps back to avoid it, then the greataxe hits the ground.

The impact produces a thunderous sound and the ground around the greataxe shakes and grumbles violently, like an earthquake, sending dirt and stone everywhere in a 10 meter radius around the greataxe.

The ground beneath Eric breaks and he looses his footing, falling to his knee.

Even if the greataxe didn't him directly, he still suffered damage due to the impact traveling along the ground into his feet and then through his body.

He looks up at Grem, who changes his grip on the greataxe, holding it by its end with one hand.

He then begins spinning it counter-clockwise above his head.

It rapidly gains speed and the blade cleaves through the air like a tornado.

Because he's holding the end of the handle, his range is also extended.

"If that thing hits me, it will surely cut me in half."

Grem begins slowly advancing towards him, causing him to weigh his options.

"Do i dodge it? Dive beneath it and aim for his legs? Can i block it without my sword breaking?"

"Hahaha! How will you deal with this Eric!"

He dashes towards him, the blade slices through the air towards Eric's midsection.

"Hell Cleave!"

"Screw it, i'm blocking it!"

He brings his sword to his left side, holds the broadside of the sword against his forearm and braces for impact.

CLANK!

The greataxe hits his sword and creates sparks.

"Endure!"

The force of the impact is immense, but Eric stands his ground.

"'Endure', is a technique which allows the user to momentarily root themselves to the ground!"

Although the greataxe only hit his sword, the wind it produced still slices other parts of his body.

"Gah!"

He winces in pain as cuts appear on his face, torso and legs.

"It's like i'm being sliced by a hundred knives!"

His sword strains under the greataxe's weight, small cracks forming in the blade.

The momentum finally stops and Grem breathes out heavily, visibly exhausted.

This doesn't go unnoticed by Eric and he begins his counter-attack of rapid sword strikes.

"HAAA!"

"Shit!"

Grem panics and holds the greataxe with both hands in front of him, retreating while trying to resist Eric's onslaught.

Eric manages to cut him through the gaps in his defense, building up damage.

"Using two techniques when you don't have the stamina, a foolish move, Grem! You will fall like your brother!"

In desperation, Grem attempts a diagonal downward swing, but he lacks the strength to hold his greataxe properly and misses when Eric dodges it.

Eric gets past him and cuts his calf.

"AH!"

He falls on his knee.

Eric swings towards his exposed neck but Grem swings his greataxe towards him, forcing him to back off.

"Haa, haa!"

Grem keeps his eyes on him, his breathing ragged.

Eric begins circling around him.

Cautiously, he tries to attack him from different angles but Grem forces him to keep his distance.

"Look at yourself, Grem, you can barely stand. Can't you see you've lost?"

"Silence! I will avenge my brother!"

He tries to stand and attack but fails and falls back down.

Seeing Grem in such a pitiful state makes me grin a little, serves him right.

Eric seems to agree.

"Grem, your brother forced my hand, i had to leave."

Grem growls at him.

Eric looks around himself and at our burning home.

Anna comes out of the front door, holding a bucket, coughing and covered in smoke, looks like she wasn't able to extinguish the flames.

There goes my room i guess.

"Look, Grem. Unlike your brother, i'm willing to let you go, on the condition that you will never show your face here again. Refuse, and i will kill you."

Hearing this just makes Grem angrier and he punches the ground.

"Mercy? Are you showing me mercy!? Don't you dare look down on me! I'm stronger than my brother, i will surpass him!"

He tries to force himself to stand by using his greataxe as support, but he falls again.

The bandits hopelessly watch their boss being on the verge of defeat.

They could go and safe him, but the fear of facing Grem's wrath prevents them from doing so.

"Stand down, Grem! You know you can't win!"

He tries to reconcile with him, but he refuses to listen.

There's silence for a moment.

"Ha... ha..."

Eric looks at him, baffled.

"Is... is he laughing?"

"Hahaha!"

Grem stands on his knees and looks Eric in the with bloodshot eyes and menacing grin.

"RAHAHA!"

An aura of violence emanates from him and then begins to fill his lungs with air.

"Is he going to...? Grem, don't do it!"

"RAAAH!"

Grem roars into the sky, activating 'Enrage' once more, his muscles bulge and veins pop, but also blood spurts out of every wound he has.

He picks up his greataxe and stands up.

Blood from his calf soaks the grass behind him when he dashes towards Eric with blind rage.

"You... YOU FOOL!"

Eric rushes to meet him head on, his sword on his right side.

"HELL CLEAVE!"

Grem roars and swings sideways.

Eric drops to his knees, sliding under it and slicing Grem's stomach.

"GAH!"

Grem turns to face him for another attack but suddenly coughs enormous amount of blood.

"You have no stamina left, Grem! Anymore and you'll die!"

"BLRGAAAH!"

Their weapons clash and they trade rapid blows.

Eric presses the advantage, any temporary boost Grem gained from 'Enrage' is now gone and he's forced on the defensive.

Slice, slash!

Eric strikes a cross pattern on Grem's torso.

Grem tries to hit him with a left hook, but it's blocked by Eric and countered with a headbutt, this time breaking his nose.

He reels back in pain while holding his nose.

Eric stands in front of him, slowly raising his sword high.

Grem manages to open his eyes slightly.

He has trouble making out Eric's face, only seeing his eyes and the fury behind them, which spells the word "Death" to him.

Overcome by despair, he trembles and screams.

"AAAH!"

"SAVAGE STRIKE!"

Eric strikes down with all his might towards Grem's head.

Grem holds his greataxe in front of him as a final act of desperation.

The sword hits the wooden handle and it bends under the force.

SNAP!

The handle breaks and the sword cuts flesh.

Something flies through the air and hits the ground, top half of a blade, Eric's sword had broken along with the greataxe.

SPURT!

Eric intended to split Grem's head in half, but what remained of his sword only managed to cut from top of Grem's forehead, all the way to his chin, splitting his face open right in the middle.

"AAAAH!"

Grem screams in agony as blood sprays into the air.

Eric looks at Grem and then lets out a deep sigh, feeling conflicted.

He was going to kill him, but failed.

But he doesn't have the strength or the will to finish the job, the fight is over.

"Boss!"

The bandits come to Grem's rescue with their horses, ignoring Eric.

They struggle to put Grem on a horse as he keeps pushing them away, so they have to tie him.

"I'll kill you Eric! I swear i'll kill you! Mark my words, i will hunt you down to the ends of the world! The Black Marauders will rise again!"

Eric looks away and the bandits run away towards the forest with Grem, his screams fading out as they disappear into the distance.

 

"Come on men, extinguish the flames!"

Eric turns his head towards our house.

The town guards have finally arrived.

He wants to get angry, but is too tired to do so.

They could've arrived sooner, but it doesn't matter anymore, at least they're here now.

Buckets of water in hand, they rush inside the house and with superior numbers, they begin to extinguish the flames with the help of the rain.

Suddenly, he remembers and shouts.

"Alex! Go to Finriel's house to make sure they're safe!"

I nod to him and run down the road.

 

As i run, the ending of their fight goes through my mind.

I feel... weird, i don't know what to think.

At first i was amazed by how Eric killed those bandits and fought Grem, it must've been due to the adrenaline.

But now, seeing their dead bodies on the ground makes me feel conflicted.

Eric didn't hesitate to cut them down and he didn't seem to enjoy it at all.

Even after defeating Grem, he didn't celebrate or look triumphant.

I might've downplayed the gravity of the situation.

Among the dead bandits were also people from our village, people who lived here.

I finally arrive to Alfreda's house, there are also guards here.

There's a horse and three bodies on the ground with bloody sheets over them.

Two guards come out of the front door, carrying someone on a stretcher, also covered.

What happened here?

Alfreda and Elvina follow behind them and stop at the front door

They're both crying, Alfreda clinging to Elvina's leg.

The guards set the stretcher down on a nearby wagon.

Alfreda sees me enter through the gate and she lets go of Elvina and rushes to me.

"Alex!"

She hugs me and cries.

"P-Papa, he's... he's...!"

So it's him on the stretcher.

"What happened, Alfreda?"

"A... A bandit came on a horse a-and he killed those villagers!"

A lump catches her throat, she's in immense distress.

"The bandit broke into our home and p-papa told us to hide..."

She pauses before continuing.

"Papa stabbed him with a knife from behind but the bandit took it from and he... and he..."

"You don't have to say anymore."

She tries to dry her tears but they won't stop flowing.

"A-Are you okay, Alex?"

"I'm fine. I..."

I look around me, my eyes darting everywhere.

"Sorry, i have to go."

I take her hands off me and i run.

Running through their gate, across the road and into a grassfield.

I stare ahead and continue to run, a million things going through my mind and i stumble on a rock i didn't notice, causing me to hit the ground hard.

"Haa, haa!"

I breath heavily as i get on my hands and knees.

Hyperventilation, trembling hands, rapid heart rate, nausea, sweating.

Stay calm, focus damn it!

There's pressure in my gut, my stomach churns and i vomit on the ground.

I spit and wipe my mouth.

What is this!?

A-Am i panicking!?

The image of the stretcher flashes in my mind.

Was it my fault?

I see the dead villagers on the road, our burning house and fields.

Did i cause this?

Did this happen because of me!?

I punch the ground.

"Fuck! Shit!"

I curse loudly and collapse on my back.

Rain drops fall on my face as i stare at the cloudy sky.

My fist clenches and i grit my teeth.

NO!

I didn't cause this!

They were going to raid our village anyway, their plans were ruined because of me.

The casualties would've been much higher if it weren't for me!

I don't consider myself a hero, nor would i want to be one.

What happened here wasn't my fault, i refuse to believe that!

"Grunt!"

I get up and head back home.

 

The guards managed to put out the fires of our house by the time arrive, the rain has also stopped.

In the distance there are more guards, taking the bodies and putting them in wagons.

I don't see Eric or Anna anywhere, they must be inside to assess the damage.

They're in the kitchen, sitting at the table and talking.

Eric notices me.

"Alex? Did you go to Finriel's house? Is he okay?"

Gulp.

I'm unable to look him in the eye.

"He... died defending his family."

His eyes go blank and he lean's his face against his palm.

"Is that so... then his death wasn't in vain..."

I can see that the news are affecting him greatly.

I'm not sure what kind of relationship they had, they might've been friends.

I never paid any attention to Eric's and Anna's social life.

"I'm going to check my room."

A cold breeze hits my face through a hole in the collapsed ceiling, alongside the smell of smoke and burnt wood.

My desk and dresser have burned.

I open a drawer, a few pieces of clothing has survived, so i decide to take them with me.

My bed though, didn't survive, completely burnt and wet.

Out of the corner of my eye, i see something under the rubble.

From under it, i pull out a book, it's the story book i read to Alfreda, half-burnt of course.

The floor boards creak as i walk down the hallway towards Eric's and Anna's bedroom.

It's a mess in here too, everything's ruined.

The whole upstairs has to be rebuilt if we decide to continue living here.

I set my spare clothes down on the bed in the guest bedroom and head outside.

Lots of smoke comes from the fields which has been extinguished from the fires.

The guards have finished gathering the bodies and are now beginning to leave.

Is it possible to return to normalcy after this?

Will people eventually forget what happened today?

As i continue to watch the guards disappear into the horizon, a horse and its rider emerges from between them and is coming this way.

As they get closer, i notice the horse's gray armor and its white fur underneath.

They stop in front of our gate and the man riding it dismounts.

He looks official, his uniform is white and red.

"Hello, child. Is this the Helmund residence?"

"What's it to you? Can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

He looks around and sees the smoking fields and our house.

"My condolences, but i have come from the capital to deliver a important letter to a man named Eric Helmund."

"That's me."

Eric answers from the front door.

The man salutes him.

"Greetings, i am a scout from the king's army, and i've been sent here to deliver this letter from our generals."

He hands Eric the letter.

"My mission has been now completed, i shall take my leave."

The man mounts his horse and rides away.

I follow Eric back inside to the kitchen.

"Who was it Eric?"

Anna asks him.

"A letter from the king's army."

I take a seat at the table as Eric opens the letter and reads it out loud.

"Eric Helmund, before you were allowed to settle in the territory of Kingdom of Mercia, you were required to provide information about your previous careers. Your exceptional career in the military has been noted by the generals in the king's court. Recent developments in relations between Mercia and the Kingdom of Warmon, has resulted in the latter declaring war on us. The king's army is in need of experienced warriors to lead us to victory, as such, we are requesting you to lend your skills. We have also noted your occupation as a mercenary, so refusal is not an option. Should you refuse to answer to the king's army within 30 days, your permit to live within the borders of Mercia will be voided."

Anna covers her mouth in shock.

"They can do that!?"

Eric grips the letter, pursing his lips in growing anger.

"They promised to keep that information a secret!"

He says loudly, causing Ava to cry, Anna immediately comforts her.

"S-Sorry..."

He takes a deep breath and controls himself.

His outburst is understandable, considering the things that happened today.

"So, what're you going to do?"

I ask him.

"Tsk, i have no choice but to answer the call. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. Let's clean this place up before nightfall."

We spend the rest of the day tidying up, cleaning what remains of our house.

Since the whole upstairs is pretty much unusable, Eric disassembles the stairs and covers the hole to make a improvised ceiling to prevent any future rain or snow.

We all have to pretty much share the guest bedroom as it has the only bed left.

 

At night, i stare at the moon through the window while lying on the floor on a spare mattress we found.

It's thin, so i can feel the floor underneath me, making it hard to fall asleep.

Ava shares the bed with Anna and Eric sleeps in the living room.

"Sigh."

I wonder what tomorrow will bring.