The women in the cages saw the slaughter with their own eyes. These people have tormented them and made use of them. Their slaughter was a joy to them, but they were afraid, afraid of the unknown that slaughtered these men. They cowered, shook, as the being with Obsidian Skull Mask turned his eyes to them.

“Were you all taken here?”

“Yes, Sir,” a girl mustered up the courage.

“Are your villages still around?”

The girl shook her head, “They burned them. Ah, they also took the girls from the other villages. Some of them were sent to Central East to be slaves.”

The red eyes of the Deadman were trained on them, “Do you wish to live? Despite it all?”

The voice of the Deadman was colder than ice, he continued, “I can end your life here if any of you can’t continue.”

The eyes of the slaves lit up the moment death was mention. They shivered and their teeth cackled as they looked at the Deadman who said those words coldly. The Deadman continued to stare them, “All of you should ask why you are all still holding on to your lives. What made you come this far?”

He flicked his hand, turning it into a blade made of obsidian flesh, “Are you willing to die here? Or are young to continue forward? Tell me, ladies, are you just going to lay there?”

“No!” The girl shouted, bawling her eyes out. “I refuse to die!”

“Good,” he slashed the doors of the cage open. “Thank Lady Claudia of the Tower of Nimrod, she will be hiring all of you. From now on, you will be part of her maidens or you could work under her businesses. She will receive you and you will be treated with care.”

The Deadman transformed his hand back to normal. He walked to the other cages and did the same. The slaves composed of men and women. They looked at the Deadman with both awe and fear. The Deadman gathered them in front of the cave and looked at them. His eyes trained on the men and women who were trying to suppress both of their happiness and fear. He gathered them for information and asked them about whatever they found. The Deadman had followed a trail and only came across this bandit camp after squeezing them out of the bandits that he found.

The slaves had information about the other camps. They all told the Deadman about what they knew. The Deadman waited for the people of Claudia to arrive. The Deadman noticed a band of riders riding their mountain horses up the bandit camp. Once they saw the Deadman along with the corpses, they all approached with a tinge of fear plastered on their eyes. To slaughter the bandit camp alone had rid them of their airs. Along the way, they saw the corpses that were strewn across the road. Like the scene before them, they were all killed by a spike to the belly.

“The Black Dogs?” The Deadman asked.

“Yes.”

“Take care of them” The Deadman stood. “Take them back safely and make sure they make it back to the domain. Don’t get any ideas of taking any single one of them. And gather all the loot back to Rufus and wait for my call again. I will be taking care of the Bandits that plagued this infested mountain.”

The Deadman left after that. The back of the Black Dog Mercenary was cold with sweat. The eyes of the Deadman had him in shivers. It was like looking at the eyes of a monster who would devour him.
 
                                                                                                                ***
 
“You really are a monster, Old Man,” Einar said to the Deadman.

The old soul who was in control this time, said, “I am used to hunting Bandits. They are scum and considering that they are plaguing the mountains. It’s about time we rid of them.”

“Is this okay?” Einar said. “I can take care of this.”

“I know you can,” The Deadman said. “But leave this kind of missions to me. I know how to handle these types of scum. You’ve done this before but for now, let me vent this fury that dwells inside of me.”

Einar said, “I understand, still, to think you’d be able to slaughter them like this. I can manifest the wraith form but never the ability to manipulate the obsidian flesh.”

“I wish I could give it to you as well,” the Deadman said. “I’ve tried to but my soul cannot do it, no, the one that owned this power doesn’t want to leave my soul. It won’t recognize you at all. I apologize.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Einar said. “Also, you really don’t want me to call you by name now?”

The Deadman smiled through his skull mask, “A Deadman needs no name. Einar, I want you to the last person to know my name. Once my soul crumbles, then I will be a part of your ego. For now, let me help you as best as I can. Watch me slaughter these fools who dared to hurt your family.”

Einar said with a saddened tone, “I consider you family, Old Man. And I know that the only reason I can be this strong is because of you. The only reason my soul is strong is because of you. You have given everything to me. Don’t be like that. We are family.”

“I know that,” The Deadman said with a lonesome tone. “But even so, I’ve lived long enough and what I want to do now is to give you a good life. That’s what I am here for. I wasn’t blessed and because of that, I want to bless you with my strength. Take this as my other wish. Let me act selfishly for the sake of you, Einar.”

“Okay, Old Man.”
 
Einar thought of the soul inside him. He respected his wishes but he couldn’t accept the end of the Old Man. He thought of it as sad and yet he cannot do anything about it. He was powerless to convince the Old Man who had given his everything to him. He could only accept the Deadman’s wish.