1 Must We Do This Every Year

The sun rose from the east side of a small mountain, bringing its light unto the world below it.

Beside the mountain, there was a small settlement, like a little village which was as long as three soccer fields arranged one after the other. It was about a kilometer wide before leading to the mountain.

The settlement wasn't considered all that. There were a myriad of huts which consisted mainly of mud walls and thatched leaves serving as roofs. There were a few 'fancy' houses that had some traces of cement and roves fashioned from timber logs, but asides from that, there wasn't really anything special.

Despite the small size of the settlement, there was a lot of life and activity within the small space. A few dozen figures simultaneously exited their area of abode and were all trudging towards their respective destinations, or rather, they were headed towards the same place.

To the far west of the small settlement, there was a hooded male figure. The hood that the male figure wore exposed his a few strands of white hair. There was a short sword strapped to the right side of the waist of the male figure.

In front of the male figure, there were a dozen or so men holding pitchforks and torches, seemingly in protest of something. One thing was common within the dozen or so men looking at the hooded figure, there was hostility in their eyes.

Seeing the men in front of him, the hooded figure chuckled. He raised up his hands seemingly in surrender. "I come in peace" He said.

"That was the same thing that you said last time" One of the braver men retorted as soon as the hooded figure finished talking.

"And the last time, you all didn't exactly allow me in, did you?" The hooded figure responded.

"Doesn't matter. You went on to kill three and seriously injure five innocent men while forcing your way in" This time, it was another man that replied.

The hooded figure chuckled again. "So you all know what happens when you decide to keep me from entering" The hooded figure let out a sigh. "Look, I want to pay my respect to his grave and that's all. I'll be on my way as soon as I'm done"

"May my successors be damned if I let you enter this village without a fight"

The hooded figure laughed. "Originally, I planned to come in without a fight but since you've gone ahead and involved your descendants, I guess I have to fight on their honor"

"Well I didn't – " The person that spoke earlier wanted to swallow his words. It was too late however, his eyes widened in shock when he saw the sight in front of him.

There were four large tentacles protruding from the back of the hooded figure. Each of the tentacles were dark red in color and they were as thick as the arms of a chubby adult.

"Attack him!" One of the figures holding the pitchforks screamed at the other men close to him.

The hooded figure chuckled. One of his tentacles swung out at the men and simultaneously knocked five men off their feet and sent them flying for some distance.

"Who's next?" The hooded figure had a smile on his face as he asked that question.

Now, there were still a lot of men holding pitchforks and torches. Matter of fact, they were constantly being joined by one or two more men, adding to their numbers.

However, in spite of their number advantage, they still looked at the hooded figure like they were looking at a demon.

"Alright then, I guess I'll take my pick" The hooded figure said, This time, two of his tentacles swung out simultaneously and knocked a lot more men off their feet and some distance away.

Some of the men who considered themselves smart held on to the tentacle. Their 'smart' actions however proved to be very stupid.

Another low chuckle sounded from the hooded figure. Immediately, the tentacles smashed on the floor, causing the figures that held on to it to be heavily injured.

"Oh, would you look at that five injured already" The hooded figure let out a small laugh. "I'm very sure if we keep going then we'll have a lot more casualties"

The man who spoke initially looked at the hooded figure for a few seconds before letting out a low sigh. "You were right, I've already involved my successors so I have to fight for their honor!"

The hooded figure laughed again. "Do you have a son?"

The man who just spoke had a confused expression on his face, but he still answered the question thrown at him. "Yes"

"Good" The tentacles attached to the hooded figure lunged at the man, wrapping themselves around him before squeezing his body. "I'll be sure to tell him that his father died for such a stupid cause"

As soon as the hooded figure finished speaking, the tentacles crushed the man into a bloody paste. The other men holding pitchforks and torches could only watch wordlessly as the blood dripped on the floor.

"Anybody else want fight for the honor of their successors?" The hooded figure asked.

The men present were focused on the blood that was dripping from the tentacles. The question from the hooded figure snapped them out from their reverie.

As soon as they fully processed the question that had been thrown at them, each and every single one of the cleared the path and granted the hooded figure entry to the village.

The hooded figure looked at the small pool of blood on the floor and at the injured people. He let out a small sigh of pity. "Must we do this every year"

He walked into the village and within a few minutes, arrived at a grave yard. All the tombstones on the graveyards were all filled with flowers and letters and photos. Only one stuck out like a sore thumb.

The flowers placed over it were either wilting or already dead. The hooded figure heaved a sigh and walked towards it.

He brought out a flower petal from inside his robes and placed it on the grave. After heaving a small sigh, he removed the hood that covered his face