10 The First Village To Fall
The curtain of night was drawn over the sky, draping the forest in darkness. But this darkness was what Raven felt most at home in. To him, there was no better time to strike the village than when the cover of darkness hid his tracks.
.
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Muramasa, the village chief, peacefully left his house in the center of the village. His arms were folded at his back as he studied the village. Torches lit up various parts of the village, allowing the people to see at night.
As he walked through the village, a strange feeling overcame Muramasa. He felt as if... he was being watched.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew along the path he was walking and a torch to the side went out. Muramasa's eyes darted around quickly. The uneasy feeling in h is heart rose with each passing moment.
In his younger days, Muramasa had been a hunter so his senses and intuition were quite sharp. He truly believed that something was wrong here.
"I know someone is out there. Show yourself!" The aged man said.
"Your senses are quite sharp." A voice rang through the darkness as more torches were snuffed out. Then a figure stepped forward. The more distant torches barely lit up his face.
"Who are you?! You are not from this village!" The village chief held up his hands. He was not carrying any weapons on his person, but he was someone who could use some level of magic. It was for this reason that all the villagers deferred to him and allowed him do as he wished.
An invisible wind gathered around his outstretched hands and he prepared to fight. He was a different kind of mage. Unlike those who preferred to cast spells from afar and keep their distance, his low talent had manifested in him using his magic to fight in close quarters.
"I am a vengeful soul, here to punish." The young boy opposite him said and instantly dashed forward.
'Hah! Fool!' Muramasa laughed internally and formed a blade made of wind around his hand. Because of how dark it was, it was hard to make out the blade. After all, it was made of wind.
In the next moment, Muramasa's eyes opened wide as he saw the young man manifest a black flame across his arms. He waved his arms and sent our gouts of the black flame.
"Dark Magic! A Dark Magic practitioner!" Muramasa yelled out loud as soon as he saw it. He could instinctively feel that what was being used by the young man was the very magic that the White Empire hated the most.
He held up his arms to block the black flames that were surging toward him but was shocked when the black flames burned right through the wind barrier and scorched his arms.
"ARGGHHH!" His scream tore through the night, drawing the attention of the villagers. Heads popped out of windows and doors swung open as people came out with weapons. They heard the earlier shout from the village chief and had prepared themselves to burn another villager for a crime they had not witnessed.
But this time, they were surprised to actually find him fighting against someone they had never seen before! The sight stunned them for a moment before they realized that the man must have actually been telling the truth!
"Kill him!" Muramasa yelled at the stunned villagers before they snapped out of their daze and kicked into action.
Axes, knives, cleavers, stones, everything that could be used was carried as the villagers rushed to surround the dark magic user. But when they came close, the young man waved his arm and released a wave of black flames that instantly engulfed a man that was the closest to him.
The man immediately started screaming as he threw his weapons away and tried to pat out the fire. He eventually fell to the ground and tried to roll and douse the flames, but they kept eating at him until he stopped moving. Anyone who had tried to help him was also in a similar situation.
"We can't get close!" Someone called out to Muramasa.
"Then attack from a distance! FOOLS!" The man blew his top as he struggled to keep up with the black flames that sought to devour him. He had never heard of flames like these, something that slipped past every barrier that he put up. It was just absurd!
The villagers began to throw their knives and other weapons at the attacker from afar, determined to bring him down. But he nimbly dodged what he could while using his flames as a buffer for the rest.
"Damn bastard! Just die!" Muramasa jumped forward, braving through the black flames and tried to get a hit right at Raven. He burst through the curtain of black flames, the fire burning at his exposed skin and clothes, but was met with a foot right to the chest, slamming him down on the ground.
"Did you think you could get up close?" Raven leaned down and held onto Muramasa's neck. The man immediately started fighting and kicking against him as the black flames burnt into his skin. The smell of his skin burning mixed with the smell that already permeated through the air from the other burnt bodies.
All around them, bodies burnt and people screamed. The black flames spread from the people and begun to catch onto the houses all around. The flames were impossible to put out through normal means and Muramasa lacked the strength to overpower Raven.
Burn for your transgressions. I will send you off to meet those you have sentenced to death." Raven whispered in Muramasa's ear before the flames burst forth and consumed his body, not even sparing his bones.
Raven got to his feet and looked around. All around him, people screamed and rolled on the floor. Their agony was apparent on their twisted faces, yet he felt no pity. He only felt satisfaction run through his veins. These people did not deserve the tiniest ounce of his pity.
