As he slowly lifted his head in shock, still clutching his small sister close to him and hiding her face against his chest, he looked up to find that the cultist had dropped his bloody dagger to the ground.
"...How…fascinating…" The cultist mumbled as crimson liquid oozed from his split neck.
It was a confusing sight at first, but as the maddened figure collapsed to the ground, dying instantly, another figure was seen standing behind the cultist's body.
["That day, I met a strange man. He was a living miracle to me–I owed my life to him."]
Puffing smoke from the cigar between his lips, a man with dark skin, layered in scars and having a scruffy beard looked over, swiping his curved daggers to expel the cultist's blood from them.
"You alright, kids?" The stranger asked, pulling the cigar out from between his lips as he exhaled smoke that smelled like the pine of trees.
The man's left eye was closed, sealed shut by a scar running down it, but his right was prominent by the platinum iris that looked straight at the boy. Still in shock, all he could do was slowly nod, earning a delayed response from the dark-skinned man, who took another puff from his cigar.
"...Well, crap. I can't leave you two here alone, huh? Alright, then. Come on–I'll look after ya', at least for now," the stranger offered.
["The stranger who saved my sister and I took us in. I still remember that sight–being carried away from the burning village. He tried shielding our eyes from it, but…there was no unseeing that. Vandread–well, he preferred being called just "Mr. V" since he said his son inherited his name. Mr. V was a strange man, but I believe he had a heart of gold."]
"Pyuh–!"
The half-elf boy winced as he was hit against the cheek, stumbling back as he spit out the sharp pain from his mouth.
"Too slow," Mr. V said.
"But, you're just too fast, I can't–" Jin complained, holding his red cheek.
Again, Mr. V hit the boy, this time striking him in the gut as Jin spit out saliva, knocking the boy back. Jin rolled across the ground of the rocky cavern, holding his stomach.
"Jin!" The young, half-elf girl rushed over, checking on her brother.
Jin slowly picked himself up, coughing, "I'm fine, Celly…"
Taking a puff from his smokey cigar, Mr. V looked over at the boy, "If your opponent is too fast for you, then predict where they'll go. Think hard and predict what their next action will be; how they respond to you; how they'll move; where they'll attack."
["Mr. V was strong. To me, he seemed like the strongest person in the whole world. I idolized him. Still, I couldn't help but feel bad for the son he left behind, especially when he was taking care of us like we were his own. Whenever I asked, Mr. V said the same thing: 'I'm not that kind of guy. If I raised that boy, he'd become just like me…I bet he'll still try to follow in his old man's footsteps anyway–the stubborn brat.'"]
Sitting on a flat rock after some intense sparring, Jin was huffing, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he found a red-skinned apple held to him. Looking over, he was surprised to see Mr. V sitting beside him, offering the fruit.
"Take it," Mr. V insisted, "Can't get any stronger on an empty stomach, brat."
"Thanks…" Jin accepted, taking a bite out of the apple as he looked over, seeing his sister asleep on the mattress made out of leaves.
They were always on the move with the man; after all, he was a dedicated adventurer, taking on new jobs every day.
Rain poured outside of the cave entrance, cascading down the slick, emerald leaves of the outside forest. It was nearing winter, as autumn came to a close with the blossoming of luscious green.
Mr. V watched the rain beyond the cave with a melancholic look in his single eye, "Wonder how he's doing."
"How who's doing?" Jin asked.
"Oh, nothing," Mr. V said, brushing the question aside, still watching the rain before standing up, "Alright, how about we put your lessons into actual practice?"
Going from intense sparring with the ruthless instructor, the young half-elf was tested as he wielded real daggers for the first time, set up against a wild goblin in the forest. Though goblin's sat at the bottom of the food chain of monsters, for a mere child, they were a life-or-death encounter; ruthless, brutal creatures that held no mercy against people, no matter their age or condition.
It was a tough fight; one that took every ounce of skill and strength the boy had, but using the teachings of Mr. V, he overcame the goblin; after deflecting the green-skinned creature's blade, he jabbed his dagger into its throat.
"...I did it…" He breathed out.
For the first time, he found himself earning the acknowledgement of the stern instructor as Mr. V's hand gently patted his head.
"Good job, Jin," Mr. V smiled down at him, holding a certain warmth in his eye.
["It's amazing–the power of affirmation. No matter how cut-up, bruised, or callused my hands became, how tired I was, I always tried my hardest, all striving to impress Mr. V. I worked myself to the bone, and that's how I got where I am today."]
They were together for years; the two, half-elf orphans stayed by the often stern, but oftentimes kind man, traveling across Vasmoria, sometimes in a carriage, sometimes on foot. During this time, the young girl did not speak much, instead the elder brother spoke for her–often because Celly found Mr. V to be an intimidating figure.
["At first, I was weak–helpless, even. Over time, though…"]
Amidst their training, the now teenage half-elf sprung into action with a swift dash, wielding a pair of daggers as he slashed them swiftly. The blades clashed against those wielded by his instructor, who deflected the strikes, though didn't look disappointed at all.
They were able to contend with one another, as Jin adapted the unique fighting style taught to him by the cunning fighter: the "Godless Style"--utilizing swift movements and attacks with no wasted movement, using everything to one's advantage, whether it be the environment or weapons.
"Not bad, brat," Mr. V complimented.
["What he taught me is, what's more important than how you lived, is how you die. Make sure when your clock is ticking, when your time is up, to give the world something to remember you by. Even if you were a nobody yesterday, be a hero today."]
Rain poured down upon a certain day that forever etched itself into the mind of the half-elven boy; that final lesson was hammered into his mind, taught to him firsthand as he ran with his younger sister in his arms.
'Just keep running. I have to keep Celly safe. I-I can't waste the opportunity Mr. V gave us,' he told himself.
Back at the spot the elven siblings fled from, the platinum-eyed, jaded man held a small smile of his own, watching the two become distant. Surrounding the dark-skinned man were figures shrouded in dark robes, having him cornered.
"So, so, so, brave of you!" One of the robes figures said with madness infusing their words, being a man with snow-white skin and sunken eyes.
Mr. V wiped the blood from his mouth, looking down at the stab wound left on his abdomen as crimson fluid leaked out, trickling down his skin with the downpour.
'Good job, Jin. I taught you well–at least I left some positive in this world. Sorry, Vandread. I couldn't be a proper father to you–I regret it every day. I guess this will be my last day regretting, though,' he thought.
"Don't believe for a second that the children will escape us. After we're done with you, we'll—" one of the black-robed people said, holding up their hand as they conjured a black fireball.
Before the robed figure could find an end to their words, they were cut short as their head fell from their shoulders with a fountain of blood spraying. Holding his bloodied dagger up, the dark-skinned man looked towards the others of the same group.
Even for the robed strangers who had long since lost their sanity, the dagger-wielding, cold-blooded killer oozed a bloodlust unlike any other, watching them with an icy gaze that was indifferent to life or death.
"Come on, then. Let's all go to hell together."
From the treeline, more and more of the cultists revealed themselves, tossing black fireballs in his direction. Driven to the edge that bordered on reality and the afterlife, flickering from life-and-death, the man moved without any regard for his body, dodging the magical attacks and cleaving through his enemies.
"Gyah–!"
"--Pyhh!"
Blood sprayed across the damp soil, feeding the forest with the liveliness of the madmen as the ruthless, dagger-wielding man cut through them without any hesitation.
As he stood there after slicing through the midsection of one of the cultists, the wounded man was too slow to react as a fireball soared straight towards him, crashing against his left side with an abyssal explosion.
"Ghh–!"
The group of enigmatic cultists gathered around the explosion, standing ready as the smoke billowed into steam with the falling rain.
Like a force of nature itself, the scarred man erupted from the smoke, with half his body burnt and still aflame, yet swiftly cutting through another pair of the lunatics.
–Even still, the man who was infamous as being like a demon himself; inhuman and evil–as thought by other adventurers, Mr. V was still human.
After cutting down countless cultists, the man fell to his knees with a body covered in burns and cuts, bleeding onto the pale grass below him.
'My time is up. Keep on runnin', kids. Don't ever stop, not for anybody. Guess it's time to check-in to hell,' the man thought.
As he looked up, sparks of embers met his gaze as he was surrounded by the remaining cultists from the ambush, completely encircled by the fire-wielding strangers. All he could do was keep his head up, not shying his gaze away from the inevitable.
'So long.'
A massive explosion rang through the rain-drenched forest, bringing the young, elven man to a stop as he looked back towards the source of the tree-shaking impact.
Jin muttered out, "...Mr. V."
In his arms, he held his sister, feeling his heart ache, knowing what that flash of fire in the distance meant.
["Mr. V taught me that there's nothing in life worth abandoning yourself for. Even if you have to lay down your life at some point, if it's to protect what you believe in, if it means protecting those close to you–do it. Since there's no point in living with a mountain of regret on your shoulders. Teaching that to a kid is something else, but I'm glad he did."]
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