80

Christopher forced his body not to transform. If he showed his Gift, a lot of religion would surely purge him. 

Instead, he used his brute force to face them. The first bandits rolled out when Christopher gave him a kick in the stomach.

 Christopher may have never touched a weapon for four years but he had a warrior's instinct. He had experienced fighting multiple people, his only downside was he couldn't utilize his Aura, that's why he was always in a dangerous situation. His brother was not here to protect him anymore. 

Another man tried to sliced him but Christopher evaded it. He could see their movements clearly, his body was now faster and stronger and his vision was like an eagle that could hunt its prey. 

He held the man's arm and gave him a headbutt. The man's nose bled, Christopher took his sword and stabbed him. He twisted the blade and punctured his organs,  the man stopped moving and died. He immediately released the blade so the Faux Pas won't trigger. 

The other bandits halted their advance when they realized that Christopher was a strong opponent. They began to look at him attentively, they encircled him. 

Christopher took out his dagger. 

Christopher clenched the blade, he was not sure if he could defeat these bandits. He felt the three at the back was Intermediate. And behind these three, he felt the presence of a Master. 

"Wait."

A voice commanded the bandits and they stopped. Their boss approached Christopher. Donovan, the leader, was walking towards him. On his back, two machetes were hanging. The atmosphere became silent just by his appearance. 

 

"You look strong young man, but I didn't detect any Aura in your body.  It seems that you have a Gift, tell me."

"I won't tell you."

Christopher didn't think about his answer. Telling your Gift was like telling your greatest secret. 

Donovan nodded, he already knew his answer before he even asked. 

"You got courage, but it's unfortunate that you meet us. I will ask you, why are you going to Moroni? If I don't like your answer then I will cut your head off. "

This time, Christopher didn't know what to reply. Should he say that he wanted to go to Moroni because he wanted to use the Gate to end the war? He was not sure if this man would accept that answer. 

"I… I'm not sure if you are going to believe me."

"Haha, it depends on me if I will believe you or not."

Christopher gulped, he understood that fighting a Master was not a good plan. He steeled himself and gradually spoke. 

"I will go to the Moroni to end the war."

"Pfft-"

Donovan couldn't control his emotions and laugh. That was the most impressive lie that he ever heard. He cackled, his underlings looked at him, after some seconds some of them laughed until all of them did. 

"You? You will stop the war!? Haha, kid that's the craziest joke that I ever heard. Haha"

Donovan touched his stomach. The answer made him laughed. However, as time passed, he began to regain his calm. 

 "Now, I'm serious here, I will ask you again. What is the reason why you're traveling?"

Donovan put pressure, the atmosphere became heavy. Even his underlings felt the heaviness. His Aura materialized and rose from his body. 

 Christopher didn't change his answer. Since he already said the truth, he decided to stick to it instead of saying any excuse.

"I already said it."

Christopher stared at him, he was oblivious about what's going to happen. His Auburn War won't help him in this situation. The book didn't even mention his name because the book still recognized him as dead since no one in the main character knew that he was alive. 

Donovan was surprised that this man was serious? He recalled a man that he met 9 years ago. At that time, Donovan was still a Knights in the Capital, however, an unfortunate thing happened which caused him to become a bandit. The man helped him to escape the Capital because he became a wanted criminal. 

' I didn't know why but I remember Vincent when I see his eyes. Still, he killed one of my men so he needs to die. '

Donovan shook his head, the idea of saving the Empire was close to impossible. The only man he knew that could make it was already dead. Vincent died, the talented man died. Donovan knew that miracle would not occur. 

He unsheathed his machetes and spun them.

"I don't like your answer. We both know that three kingdoms were fighting near the border and even the central was in a civil war. Your dreams will end here, young man."

"W- wait!"

Christopher tried to talk but Donovan made his move. He was one of the Masters that took the Path of Mobility, it's different from the Path of Speed because his Path was more on overall agility instead of focusing on quick movement. 

Christopher evaded his blade and the attack didn't hit him. Though another swing came, Christopher thought the blade would hit his leg thats why he jumped. However…… 

"Your wrong, kiddo, I'm not targeting your leg."

Donovan released his two machetes. 

Donovan took his arm and bent it, Christopher groaned in pain. Donovan stole the dagger that he was holding. Christopher tried to get it back but Donovan stabbed him. 

"Gah!"

Christopher stumbled and Donovan twisted the blade inside him. Christopher shivered, his organs exploded and he started to bleed. 

"Did you like it, I just copied what you did to my henchman. "

Christopher lost, he struggled on the ground. He saw his blood flowing out. 

Donovan let him die slowly, he grabbed his machetes and walk away. 

"What a foolish dream, no matter what you do, one man couldn't end a war by himself. Your just an immature man, I'm not sure about your status but I don't care. Your gonna die here-"

*Thump thump!*

A beating sound interfered with his sentence, Donovan turned back. He was surprised that Christopher was still alive. 

"Aaaaggghhh!!!"

Christopher screamed and he forcefully took the dagger out of his body. He gritted his teeth and knelt on the ground. 

(I'm thinking if should I make a discord, I'm not a frequent user of discord so I don't know what's the positive reason for creating one. Anyway, I will post it in the synopsis if created a discord, hope you will join me, although I'll only post cringey memes there.)