The Path of Ruin

Chapter 46: Return of the Abnormal Storm

After twenty minutes had passed, Kael realized a few things.First, the forest was indeed full of soldiers. All over the place.

Second, they were now prepared for him. They had learned of his presence.

And thirdly... he was being trapped.

'This... is not good.'

Each of the last soldiers he encountered appeared at a certain point, positioned in such a way as to direct him to a certain place.

This was largely because he was trying to avoid groups of more than four soldiers.

But... there was nothing he could do.

'Maybe I can try to hunt them down one by one.'

The soldiers he had encountered so far were all normal people. Yes, there were some really strong ones among them... some he could have sworn were even stronger than Laen.

But being 'normal' was still a disadvantage for them. A big one, even. Because Kael was not normal. He was much faster than they were, and despite his tiny size compared to adults, he could win in a battle of strength with most of them.

But when they traveled in groups, the risk was too great.

And they must have realized it too, because every group he had encountered in the last three minutes had consisted of at least three, on average four.

'So... I have to be more careful.'

And so, Kael kept running, hiding, and killing whoever he could.

What if there were too many of them? If they were scattered everywhere?

He knew this part of the forest almost by heart. He had been wandering around for more than two months here, killing creatures and animals.

He could tell where he was wherever he looked, he could accurately predict what he would encounter. On top of that, weeks of practicing silence and stealth were paying off.

All of this made him a very difficult target to find, to detect.

And indeed it was.

Yet, he was making a big mistake.

Kael was a novice, and he was up against... real professionals. No matter how skilled he was, his training was inadequate. Even if he realized that his movements were being manipulated, there was nothing he could do to counter it.

He was simply inexperienced, very inexperienced. And although this was not apparent in the first few minutes, it became more and more obvious as time passed.

With each passing minute, he was becoming more and more trapped. He couldn't help feeling like he was facing more and more soldiers.

And after only a few more minutes... he finally stopped moving, running away. He paused as his steps gradually shortened. His head, often bowed, straightened and his eyes became even sharper than usual.

In the end, he only sighed lightly. His lips parted, and his voice was cold despite what he said.

"I am aware."

At first, nothing happened. The abnormal silence of the forest lasted for a few seconds. But at the end of those few seconds... an abnormality other than silence made itself known.

A figure jumped down from the trees, a few meters away. He was dressed in black, looking like a real assassin. His face was obscured by the mask he wore up to his nose, but he had black eyes.

"How long, then?"

He answered the question calmly.

"Since the third or fourth group."

"Oho?"

He could see that the man before him was surprised, but he didn't care. He continued, keeping the same tone of voice.

"And... I'll die if I take three more steps."

The man before him raised his eyebrows even higher. But... it was not only that. His lips curled slightly upwards, visible even under his mask.

"No, you're not going to die."

"I don't feel that way because of those who are hiding."

The man in black shrugged his shoulders.

"It's up to you whether you believe it or not. You can do what you want. But... if you're aware of the situation you're in, I think you realize what you have to do to live."

Kael did not answer, he remained silent.

Even though he had stopped moving, he was still

And now... that storm and this rain, which was getting faster and faster every second, had exactly the same feeling.

'What the fuck... is going on here?'

He was pretty sure that it wasn't anything good.

*(A/N: The end of the free chapters is near... and there will be more chapters tomorrow. As I said, I will make up for the day I took off.)*