2 Malefactor

Winter Ashkin, previously an honorable official in Lunargard Faction, found himself escaping as a suspected malefactor.

Though, he couldn't put much of a disguise for his haste leave.

His jet-black hair was shaggy and damp, beads of sweat coating his forehead and tricking down the sides of his face after a long, long day. He pushed to walk forward, taking in deep breaths, in and out every few moments.

It was the winter season of the year, and Winter was alone on the peak of the mountain. Not even animals were outside to accompany him on his messy excursion. Normally, he would be clad with Lunargard's dragon-slaying armor, but now he only had thin chainmail and a wood-colored tunic to cover and protect his torso. On the bottom half, he only wore the worn-out pants he received from Blaze a couple of years ago.

He may look like a wreck, but his profile was much too enticing that anyone would still find him attractive despite seeing him from such a careworn angle. If even a single person was around, he'd be immediately recognized and hunted down.

No, that was not quite right. Who would give a sh*t about petty dragon-slaying armor and weapons if he had a Frost Dragon's blood coursing through his veins? The freezing night temperature of the mountain peak didn't even bother him anyway.

'Damn it, Blake! How could you do this to me?' Winter spontaneously complained in his head. 'You're the worst person there can be!' Although the former was dead, Winter wanted to kill him himself for the second time, blaming his deceased best friend for the mess he was in now.

A stab of pain suddenly shot through his head and the fugitive man stifled a groan before leaning back against the trunk of the nearest tree. He slid down against it till his perky butt hit the ground, sending clouds of dust flying in the above ground.

His human body had not fully accepted the Frost Dragon's blood yet, and he suffered the effects of his system struggling against the foreign entity. Yet he managed an impressive display of its ice powers on the Ember Tribe. The horrifying spectacle of the end he himself had brought on his tribesmen flashed in his head, his expression twisting with pain, guilt, and disgust with every replay.

'What the hell happened today, Winter?' Winter wondered hopelessly, anguished, mulling over the various possible alternatives if only they had...

No.

He abruptly ended his train of thoughts before he could lead himself down a hole of disorientation in which he would not be able to pull himself out of. He decided to let bygones be bygones. There was no point thinking about the other possible outcomes if things happened differently in the past if he couldn't rewind it, no?

There was nothing he could change. Nothing, and he forced the thought into his head to keep from dwelling on what had already passed.

Besides, he already injected the 'Frost Dragon Serum' he stole from the Lunargard Faction. He didn't want to do it since it would prevent him from staying welcomed in the faction. But there was no other way, for it was necessary for the plan to succeed!

The hardest decisions in life required the strongest will, after all.

After ridding himself of those pointless thoughts, his mind wandered off. He beamed with helpless pleasure, thinking back on how effective the Frost Dragon's blood was in his endurance during his last moments of ecstasy with Blaze.

'That was such pleasing farewell sex, Blaze.'

Man, Winter couldn't even count with his fingers the number of times she climaxed during their rigorous intercourse. After having a few rounds of it with Blaze, he wondered how long before she could manage to stand again.

But by this time, she was probably back on the Ember Tribe's territory, their home, letting out broken whimpers once she was struck hard with the reality she was met with.

How would she feel if they meet again somewhere?

Winter shook his head in strained discomfort. He didn't even want to imagine what happened to her. From this day onwards, he would be a ghost in her life. Or so he thought.

A woman wouldn't easily forget. After all, he took advantage of her heartfelt emotions and her athletic yet curvaceous figure one last time even after he had injected the serum. No ordinary man would be able to satisfy Blaze anymore, it could only be him.

With that thought in mind, a gentle smile alleviated the cold-hearted man's lips.

A shadow suddenly fell into Winter's vision, and he looked up to see a man's broad figure appear before him.

"So you're here," Jarak Lockster greeted Winter with his languorous uncanny voice. Jarak Lockster was one of the top mercenaries in the Death Reaper Organization, having been a dragon-slayer who had abandoned his faction to join the secretive syndicate. With the former's usual frosty demeanor, it seemed he wasn't at all pleased to see Winter.

"Where's your talkative partner?" Jarak asked nonchalantly.

The bastard didn't even bother to apologize for being late!

"Don't look for the dead." Winter painstakingly stood up and approached Jarak. "Where's the leader? I already accomplished what he asked me to do."

"You will meet him soon. You will go on first and I will investigate what you did. You see... the organization is very comprehensive about the recruitment process."

Winter flashed him a pointed glare, not afraid to match the other's level of repulsion towards him as the topic of investigation was brought up between them.

Jarak glowered at his unprecedented, daring response, eyeing him up and down in disbelief. "Do you have a problem, you crazy bastard? Were my instructions not clear enough?"

"No, I heard," Winter answered him coolly. "But I'm warning you…" He stepped forward and placed a threatening hand on the mercenary's shoulder, and he stiffened under the sudden contact.

"When you're down there, you better not cause any trouble," he hissed through his teeth. "Stay out of sight, or you won't live to see another day."

And with that, Winter pushed aside the man, whose face was turning red from the rage he suppressed as he couldn't believe this newbie's bold, undisciplined attitude. But he didn't retaliate… he didn't want to be known as the first to break.

Winter smirked as set off on the rest of his journey to the organization's hideout, leaving Jarak behind to fume by himself. Without bothering to look back, he waved his arm casually in the air for their parting.

"I await your good news…"