3 3. Eyes Of A Killer

"Stop!" Hunter halted his 'brother' from singing. "Who wrote that song?" 

Kavius's face lit up, completely misunderstanding it. "Ah, so you do remember this one! Remember that traveling bard that we almost killed? He taught it to me. But the true creator of the song is said to be a Hero God who lived tens of thousands of years ago."

Hunter frowned, "What's a Hero God?" 

"Oh, Holy Hero!" Once again, Kavius's face fell. "So you even forgot the faith we follow? I guess we can stop by a temple. Maybe it'll jog your memory. Rex, Hero God is the epitome of all beings. The most divine, the greatest, the strongest, and the kindest of all! The one who lives in the Firstland. The one who leads the world and protects us from The Rot!"

"So it's a living man?"

"Of course, he's living! It's blasphemy to want him dead, Rex. Never say that again!" Kavius looked left and right as if he was scared someone would hear it, "Hero Gods are summoned by the Three Emperors after the passing of each era, which is marked by the death of the previous Hero Gods." 

'Summoning their own gods?' That made little sense to Hunter. 

"Why summon?"

"Long, long ago, when the ancient Demon Emperor finally ascended to godhood, he tried to take over the entire world. Desperation led to the use of a forbidden summoning spell for the first time, bringing about three Heroes from a world of mysteries. The three, with their talents and divinity, slayed the Demon God and ushered the world into peace.

"Since then, the three Emperors have summoned new Hero Gods after the passing of the last one to ensure peace and prosperity across the world." Kavius proudly told the story, "That's the short version in the history books. It's the first thing we get taught in school."

'If that song's the same one I know, then the Hero Gods are just regular folks from my world?' Hunter pondered, continuing to walk side by side with Kavius, 'Pretty interesting world.'

"Who are the three Emperors?" 

Kavius' shoulders fell in utter defeat. The more Hunter asked him questions the more he felt dejected. 

[New Kavius Favorability: 2/5]

"I never thought I'd be made to sing that poem from our childhood again." Kavius muttered, rubbing his face, "Remember this poem, Rex. It's the easiest way to remember all the continents and their nature."

'Nursery rhyme?' 

Right then, Kavius started. Although it felt like a nursery rhyme, the way Kavius sang with his melodious voice made it sound almost like a real song. He waved his free hands, his lips curved into a smile. He truly enjoyed singing, that was certain.

♫Nobody goes to Nomada, or to Asurium, 

Mythia, Culvaria, Galantis of equilibrium. 

Vulcan Technocracy sits on the Monex Line, 

Confusing Unitum Union, you can't define.♫

♫Fearful of gods, Tresha Theocracy sits atop Pox, 

Fish Isles to the west, with a million docks.

Then comes the supreme, existence so grand,

The dwelling of the Hero God, in the Firstland.♫

"How was it?" Kavius finished. 

"Gonna need a few more times to memorize it, Kavius."

Kavius sighed and started singing again. 

"Again."

So the handsome lad sang once more.

"What's the last line?"

The rhyme was sung yet another time. 

Hunter smiled rather impishly, "I think one last time will suffi—"

"Oh, come on!"

"Just messin' with you, pal." Hunter patted Kavius' back and looked at the road ahead. "But gotta say, you sure got some pipes on y—I mean, you sing very well."

"Pipes?"

Hunter grunted, once again reminding himself to be careful with his speech habits and accent. "Ah, look, someone's coming this way."

"Dammit! Hide!" Kavius tried to push Hunter to another roadside tree.

"How long are we going to hide? It's better to accept this situation and move on."

Hunter didn't move this time, caressing his curse mark around his left eye. "This ain't going anywhere."

"You don't understand, Rex. People kill for the smallest reasons, and we have no energy to fight." Kavius, although very tall and visually strong, acted too timid even then. "What if—Fuck! It's a guarded stagecoach."

The two quickly stepped to the side of the dirt road and waited for the small entourage to pass. Four men were at the front, all dressed in black gambeson, with leather chest armor on top. They had old silver metal gauntlets, knee greaves, and foot sabatons—no helmets. Their shoulders also had metal pauldrons holding the marking of a deep red star with ten sharp pointed edges.

Their hands were ready on the waist, atop the hilt of their sheathed swords. They glanced at Hunter and Kavius before looking ahead. 

However, as the stagecoach with golden gilded parts passed by, the passengers revealed a sneer so apparent that it could be heard despite the sound of hooves and wheels. A rich-looking man with a double chin stared at Hunter the entire time before spitting out of the window, growling loudly.

"Fucking traitorous bunch," the man cursed. "Your kind should be outlawed. Even dare look at us fol—"

Before the man could say more, someone pulled his head back into the stagecoach, and loud, audible feminine scoldings followed soon after. 

'Hated just for existing.' Hunter pondered, 'Buying food ain't gonna be easy.'

"Ignore that fat fuck, will you?" 

To their shock, someone spoke. It was one of the four horsemen guarding the back of the stagecoach. The man had stayed behind on the horse as the rest of the entourage moved on.

Kavius tried to shield his brother, "We don't mind it, Sir."

The man atop the horse smiled, his brown gaze fixated on Hunter's face. But then he removed his hand from the sword's hilt and tugged his fingers between the neckline of his gambeson, pulling it down and revealing a thick, deep black, almost red scar. "Name's Henry Xeldan, and I'm no Sir."

"You're an Akursed too?" Hunter asked. 

"Now I am," said Henry, shaking his head in visible pity, his ear-length black hair waved with the breeze. "Fate has dealt a rotten hand to you, my friend. For the mark to appear on your face, with red eyes even—hell is a small word to describe what your life's going to be."

Silence lingered as Hunter didn't know what the man wanted. Why reveal himself as an Akursed when he was clearly hiding it? 

"But I see a killer when I look in those eyes." Henry commented, his smile turning into an unsightly grin, "The Xeldan Brotherhood will welcome you with open arms."

'Danger!'

Hunter's hand went to his waist once again to reach for the dagger. He could feel the tension and the malice in Henry's eyes. It wasn't aimed at him, but rather, it looked like the man's natural state. "Mercenaries?"

"That, and adventurers. Escorting, swords for hire, adventure party for hire, you get the gist." Henry reached for a pocket on the horse's saddle and took out a paper. "Report here if you want to earn a living."

Clop!

But just after the horse moved a few steps away, Henry looked behind again. "What is your name?"

"Hunter."

"A fine name for a killer." Henry nodded and started moving again, waving his hand without looking. "With that face, I have a feeling I'll see you soon. Don't die, Hunter."

Just like that, the horse galloped and joined the entourage again. Soon to disappear from the view. 

This little exchange felt too bizarre, even for Hunter, with his experience as a detective. There was something disgusting and evil about Henry that he couldn't quite place his finger on. Just an intuition that sent his body into alarm.

"Why did you lie about your name?" Kavius asked him after calming down. 

Hunter took a long breath and started walking again. "You said I'm accused of murdering my father. I can't be Rex anymore, Kavius. Folks might be lookin' for me."

Kavius defeatedly sighed, silently nodded, and walked beside him. 

That was all they could do on that empty dirt road. With the chirpings of birds and buzzing of insects around, they felt some solace in those unjudging sounds. The future seemed bleak, a little unnerving for the unknown future to which they were bound. 

####

"I'll stay here. You go into the village and buy us some food," Hunter said, taking out coins from his pocket. "Seeing how that man in the stagecoach acted, I'm sure the villagers won't be much different."

It was almost sunset, and they had luckily arrived near a farming village. Hunter, with some general knowledge of medieval history, knew that such villages were extremely close-knit communities. Everyone knew everyone, and whenever any unknown face appeared, it stood out like a clown in a group of kids. 

Although travelers were usually welcome to stay in the villages since the people could hear information from the outside world and kill boredom, Hunter had no doubt an Akursued would be on the list of unwelcome guests.

Kavius took the money and left his bow and arrow behind, keeping only a sword with himself. "I'll be quick. Please don't go deep into the forest, Rex."

"Hunter."

"Yes, yes, Hunter." Kavius quickly set off for the village.

Meanwhile, Hunter stepped out of the dirt road and found a large tree aside to sit down and lean against. It was slowly getting dark, reminding him that not even a day had passed since he arrived in this strange reality. 

He willed it, and the magical book materialized in his hands. Its familiar cover—a skull with horns—reminded him of his last memory. Then, he remembered the faces of his loved ones. 

'If this is a coma, I hope I wake up soon,' he muttered to himself. 'If this is real… I'm sorry, Mom. Take care, Annie and Marcus…'

With nothing to do, he silently reminisced about his old life and, at times, stared at the magical pages of the book, trying to make sense of a few things he didn't understand. He could guess Attribute Points let him improve his core skills, such as strength and agility. Shop Tokens were self-explanatory. It was Ability Cards that confused him. 

'Points make sense. But cards?'

Shh…!

Hunter jumped to his feet as the rustling of leaves echoed nearby. Night had come. It was almost pitch-black darkness with a few beams of moonlight falling. He peeked from the side of the tree trunk and saw Kavius returning. Face down, shoulders hanging low. 

"What happened?" He rushed over. 

"I failed," Kavius muttered defeatedly. "Someone saw us together coming this way. Before I could step into the village, everyone knew I was with an Akursed. They came with pikes and torches to throw me out."

Hunter felt exhaustion wash over him that instant. It had been three days since they last ate, and 'he' had even performed the Bloodmoon Ritual. He could feel his belly caving in from hunger. 

"It's alright." Hunter patted his brother's shoulder, "We'll look for wild berries or somethin'."

Dragging his dejected cousin deeper into the woods, the two soon started hunting for berries, edible mushrooms, or any grass that could be eaten. Kavius knew zilch about such things, but Hunter, being trained as an ex-detective, knew a few things. 

"Call me if you find a rabbit hole. I'll catch it," Hunter instructed, continuing to look. 

Other than a few berries, they didn't have much luck. It didn't help that they were in the North of the continent, which was colder than the rest. Not much grew there, and even animals in the area were quicker and sharper. Such was the Nine Ring forest.

"Psst…!"

"Psst psst!"

Hunter looked behind. It was Kavius lying on the ground behind a short bush, gesturing for him to come closer. 

Wondering if Kavius saw a rabbit, Hunter quickly laid down and crawled over to Kavius' side. "What is it?"

Kavius whispered back, excitement in his voice, "Rex, have you ever eaten ass?"

"..."

Not replying, Hunter looked ahead from the gaps in the bush. The moonlight helped that night. "T-That's a donkey… it's sleepin'."

"Let's eat it," Kavius suggested, his belly already rumbling with boils of excitement. "I'm sure once cooked, it won't be much different from chicken, goat, pig, or cow."

Hunter felt the same rumble in his belly. Forget a donkey. He felt hungry enough to eat any critter that moved and wasn't human. "Let's surround it. I'll go around to the other side, and then we'll pounce on it together."

"Heh…" Kavius just nodded, his crazed, hungry eyes fixated on the sleeping donkey under the tree. "I'll wait."

Hunter agreed and carefully crawled all the way around to the other side. He was careful to not break any twigs or make too much sound. Sadly, halfway, he realized he underestimated how hungry and what a dumbass his brother was. 

"Get that ass!" 

"Dumb bastard! Why'd he yell?!" Hunter cursed and jumped to his feet too; Only to watch the most painful scene he could imagine. 

The donkey woke up in an instant, panic in its eyes. 

Bam!

Kavius received a fine backkick straight to his face. 

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

"F-Fucker's laughing at me," Kavius growled, feeling blood oozing from his nostrils. 

But to their shock, the Donkey didn't run. Instead, it launched at Kavius on the ground, aiming to finish the job its kick couldn't—kill. There was an animalistic thirst for blood in the donkey's gaze. 

"Fuck! Hunter!"

Bam!

"Here we go!" Hunter lunged from behind a bush right then and landed on top of the donkey's back. 

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!..."

The donkey went crazy like a bull, reminding Hunter of the good old Houston Rodeo show he went to once. But this time, he was the rider being thrown around. How the heck could a donkey be so strong went beyond common sense. 

"Easy there…" Hunger remained tightly on the donkey's back, his arm tightly choking the animal's neck and pulling it upwards to break it. "Eaaaasy boy~"

The neck was too damn strong. 

With great effort, Hunter took out his dagger from the waist and held it beside the donkey's neck. His determination to eat the damn thing couldn't be challenged tonight. 

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

"I'll be quick." Hunter pointed the dagger's tip at the side of the throat. "Easy~"

"Hee-haw! Let me go! Let me go! Let me goooo! Noooo! Humans, let me go! Hee-haw!"

Clank!

The dagger never plunged into the neck. No blood spilled. As shocked as Kavius, Hunter rode the donkey in bewilderment. 

"What in tarnation! The donkey's talkin'!"