Now that the girl was once again down on the ground, the apes slowly moved closer to check on her. Their eyes fitted between the girl, and each other, and they voiced something amongst themself, but really, their focus should have been on the one still on their feet.

  When one of them reached out to poke Vivian, Gale, still in their sight, but out of their focus, threw the wooden sword in his hand away and quickly stepped in to grab Vivian’s sword.

  His sudden charge startled the apes and they jumped back in surprise, but their slow and sluggish body couldn’t get away from the boy.

  Once he had an ape in his blade’s reach, he thrust his sword forward into its neck. It screamed out for a moment, before gurgling as blood began to seep and trickle down the blade’s length.

  The poor ape tried to pull the sword out, but shortly after grabbing the blade, Gale twisted the handle, and after a short yelp, the light quickly diminished from the beast’s eyes and it went limp.

  He had caught the first by surprise, but the others collectively screeched after his first blood, and had rage burning in their eyes.

  Gale used one foot to kick the ape away and pulled his sword out before he quickly made his way towards the next one closest to him.

  It panicked and tried to make some distance, but before it could do anything, Gale already had it in his reach, and once again thrust forward to run the ape through its stomach.

  Rooted in place with his sword inside the ape, Gale was then hit from the side. His ribs ached for a moment, and a horrid smell filled his nostrils, and as he recoiled, another ape made use of the opportunity to grab his sword arm, pulling on it, and another jumped in to grab his other arm.

  Before any more could pile on him, he swiftly kicked the ape’s body in front of him to free his sword, and the steel flew along the wind towards the ape pulling on his arm, making a cut on its torso.

  It wasn’t deep enough to be fatal, but it made the ape reel back and let go of his arm.

  With his sword arm freed, he quickly turned the tip around, and thrust his sword towards the ape pulling on his other arm. But before the tip of his blade could reach the furry animal, another two apes jumped in and held him back.

  He turned his head to look at the apes behind him, and found one with its fang barred. And despite his efforts to get away, the ape bit into his arm.

  Its sharp fangs ripped through the boy’s skin and flesh, and a quick whip of its neck pulled a good chunk of flesh off.

  The gory wound left a burning pain, but though his expression remained unchanged, the missing chunk of flesh weakened his arm, and he dropped the sword in his hand.

  But it hadn’t weakened his will.

  His mentor’s philosophy that had been beaten into him ever since he first took hold of a sword up until this very day ran through his mind, and after seeing the display of courage and strength Vivian had put up, he finally understood what the words truly meant.

  When Vivian shouted her warcry, he felt it deep inside him, a force pushing him forward. Voices from deep within told him he needed to move his body, told him that the person before him was someone he had to protect.

  Even now, as the apes quickly piled up on him to pull on him and bludgeon him with their whip-like arms, it called to him. Resonating within, it drove him to take the fight, and his body moved in accordance.

  While his limbs were being pulled towards either direction, and he could make no use of them, he caught one of the arms swinging down on him with his teeth.

  His are not fangs as sharp as the ones inside the ape’s mouth, but chomping down with all his might, he was able to draw blood nonetheless.

  The ape that was bitten quickly reeled back its arm and screeched out in pain. Then, in anger, it tried to return the favor and went in for a bite, aiming for the boy’s neck.

  The beast’s uncanny fangs reflected in Gale’s eyes should have bore fear through him, but he kept his teeth gritted, and pulled his head back, before whipping it back forward. And just as his forehead was about to meet the beast’s face, and just before the beast’s fangs was about to meet his flesh, a hand reached out from behind the boy, grabbed the ape’s face, and pushed it away.

  From the palm grabbing its face, flickers of flames appear. It quickly burst, covered the ape’s whole head in flames, and seared the flesh on its face.

  After pulling back, it desperately tried to put out the fire raging on its face. It repeatedly beat its own head over and over, before rolling on the ground, but was unable to do anything until it eventually went still.

  Screeches filled the air, and the apes let go of the boy before scrambling in all directions away from the newcomer, but he wasn’t about to let them go that easily.

  When he went to chase the apes, Gale caught sight of his back.

  It was the broad back of an adult man, without anything particularly standing out other than the flames that flickered on his palm that grabbed onto yet another ape.

  “Hey!” he shouted out with an ape thrashing in his grip. “Don’t you dare come back here, you mindless beasts! Take your shit elsewhere, you hear me?!”

  The apes all screeched as if voicing their surrender, and eventually, they all went out of sight and ear shot, and the man finally let go of the ape still cooking in his grip.

  When it stopped thrashing about on the ground, he pulled out a waterskin and poured water over the ape’s burning head while repeatedly kicking down on it, quickly dousing the flame.

  Afterwards, he swiftly made his way to the first one he burned, and did the same to it.

  Satisfied, the man let out a breath of relief, but his job wasn’t done yet.

  He approached Gale who was now kneeling on the ground with an open wound on his arm.

  “Be strong now, boy,” He said as he grabbed Gale’s arm with one hand and wrapped another around the wound. Flame then erupted again from the palm of his hand, but it didn't rage to set the boy’s arm ablaze, and charred his flesh to cauterize the wound instead.

  Despite feeling the heat of the burn, Gale didn’t let out a peep of noise.

  “Shit, is it the poison? Hey, can you feel your arm, boy?”

  The boy offered no response, and got the man nervous despite the fact that he was still behaving as normal. But of course, there was no way for this newcomer to know before he rushed to get up and make his way towards the girl laying on the ground behind the boy.

  He recognized the face.

  She’s the daughter of the village’s watchmen, and with just a quick look, he could see numerous brown marks that have a horribly foul stench to them, enough for him to immediately let out a series of curses.

  The ape’s waste contains poison that seeps through the skin. Though not incredibly fast acting, it can prove to be very lethal if enough hits their mark.

  He had an antidote she could drink in his pouch, but her unconscious self had blood pooling in her throat. It’s no condition to force antidote through one’s mouth.

  “Hey, boy—” he called out before turning around while reaching for a vial in his hip bag, only to find the boy laying on the ground.

  The man snapped his head back to the girl. Albeit very weakly, her chest was still rising and falling in a steady rhythm. So he let out yet another series of curses, before scooping up both her and the young boy behind him from the ground.

  “Just because I live in the forest doesn’t mean I’m strong damn it!” the man shouted to himself. “You two hold on, you hear me?! I’m gonna save you no matter what, you damn brats!”

  Both of them together weighed quite a lot, and slowed the man down considerably, but he should still be able to save them, and he resolved to do so. Thus, he quickly made his way deeper into the forest with the two children in his arms, all the while yelling to the two, telling them to not give up.

  “Where are they?” Robert asked as he walked through the door frame.

  “Laid ‘em down on the bed. Come here.”

  Robert follows the herbalist through his house and into his bedroom. There, he found Vivian and Gale on the bed, both unconscious.

  The thick smell of medicine lingered in the air and he could see bandages on Gale’s arm.

  “One armed apes did this?”

  “Yeah—fought ‘em off myself.”

  Robert then approached Vivian to inspect her further.

  She was covered by a thin sheet, and pulling it down revealed that her clothes had been removed so that medicine could be applied to her skin, evident by the patches of ointment of some sort on every part of her body.

  He turned his attention to Gale besides her, and noticed there were also patches of the same thing on some parts of his body.

  But unlike Vivian who had almost all of her skin covered, Gale only had small patches of it every here and there.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “I did what I could, but the poison went too far already.”

  He could see that from the color on Vivian’s face—pale as if she was ready to go to the Divine Mother’s side this very moment. Her faint breaths were only barely visible from her chest gently rising and falling.

  “She’s been hit too much by the ape’s shit. Neutralized the poison, but the damage was done. She’s gone in a couple days if we don’t do something.”

  “What about Gale?”

  “He wasn’t hit as bad, but the boy’s body is exhausted. His arm though—only by the Divine’s will could it ever recover.”

  Robert turned his attention to the bandage on the boy’s arm, and saw the clear indentation where a chunk of flesh was missing from his arm. It's a brutally gruesome wound—or so he’d heard.

  “You can’t do anything for them?”

  “No more than what I’ve done.”

  “The temple it is then.”

  “You have money for divine arts? The girl won’t be fixed in a week or two.”

  “Two decades her father fought for the lord alongside me. It had to mean something.”

  The herbalist looked at him in the eyes for a moment before letting out a slight sigh. “Then I wish you the best.”

  Robert nodded.

  “I’ll help you take them to the village. Wait here.”

  The herbalist then left Robert and the two children in the room, and he stepped away to look at the room he’s in.

  On a table in the corner of the room, the man found a barely familiar sword in its sheath. Vivian’s.

  After putting his own sword down and letting it lean on the table, he unsheathed the girl’s sword from its scabbard.

  The blade was stained with blood, a clear sign of the battle’s aftermath, and he couldn’t help but feel his heart ache with regret upon the sight. If only he hadn’t sent the two alone into the forest.

  “Brought some clothes for the girl.”

  Robert turned around, and found the herbalist on the bedroom door with a piece of cloth in his hand. He might have had to rush when treating Vivian, so her clothes were roughly treated, leaving not much left but scraps on the floor, and they can’t very well bring Vivian back in the nude, so they covered her up with a large piece of cloth.

  “Ape’s blood, that,” The herbalist said, referring to the blood on Vivian’s sword. “I counted at least four dead by the blade. Must have fought with everything they had—heard the girl’s warcry from way off.”

  “Why are one armed apes here? This isn’t their territory.”

  “The woods are changing. Something is expanding their territory, and they’re pushing everything to our side.”

  “Something more dangerous than those apes?”

  The apes are terrifying creatures. They hunt from a range, raining poison down from the safety of the trees’ canopies.

  Not only that, the first round of volley is usually invisible as they silently crept over their prey, masking their approach with the sound of leaves dancing in the wind. Also, while not the fastest, they could easily catch up to anything that's been poisoned.

  Their only weakness is how useless they are once up close with their enemy. Their slim, absurdly long arm, while capable of hurling something at incredible speed, hadn’t much strength to do anything else.

  But despite that, they could have easily become the apex predator in this forest. There weren't many creatures that could kick them out of their own territory.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Robert then sheathed the sword, and brought both Vivian’s and his over. “Could you help her to my back?”

  The herbalist helped carry Vivian and put her on Robert’s back for him to piggy back. With the two swords in his hand, he propped Vivian up by his lower arm, and hunched his body for her to rest on.

  Together with the herbalist who had Gale in his arms, they then warily made their way back to the village.

  Their trek through the forest was thankfully uneventful.

  They were tense with a couple of kids they had to protect, and the slightest rustle in the wind caused them to stop and observe their surroundings, but they eventually made it to the outskirts of the forest where a couple of mothers awaited them.

  “Vivian!”

  “Gale!”

  The mothers both approached their children and quickly paled when they saw the condition they were in.

  “What happened?” Kristine asked with a shaky voice.

  “One armed ape’s poison. We have to get them to town.”

  “I-I don’t have money for divine arts,” Alise said meekly.

  “Your son is fine. He wasn’t that badly poisoned. By the Divine’s will, his arm will recover. But from what I’ve seen, unfortunately, it would more likely cripple,” the herbalist said.

  Despair crept up to Alise’s face as she brought her hands to her mouth to stifle a gasp.

  “But his life is in no danger.”

  “We won't leave him to the Divine’s whims. I’ll figure something out and ask for a priest’s help,” said Robert

  “B—but I could never repay you.”

  “Please, let me do this,” Robert said in reply, the guilt apparent in his eyes.

  Though Alise meant to reject the offer despite her son’s condition, she saw the sincerity in Robert's eyes and decided against it. “Thank you,” She said to the man.

  He replied with a nod.

  “We better hurry. The faster we get them to a temple the better,” said the herbalist.

  They then made their way to the village’s square. Rowan’s caravan should still be there, and since they’re on their way to town, Robert hoped to tag along with them.

  Though the village might lend them a wagon if he asked, the one used by a merchant was built better and was more comfortable to ride on.

  When Robert found the head of the caravan, he went to him and asked for his help. Whilst he did so, the sun started to set behind them and the sky was turning a golden hue.

  It was about the time that farmers got off their field work and made their way home, and a lot of them went through the village square on their way, either to go to the alehouse with their friends to drink a few mugs, or just to reach their house on the other side of the village.

  And when Alise noticed the bunch of them coming, she started fidgeting in place, until the reason showed himself.

  “Oi! What’re you doing?!” One of the approaching farmers asked.

  The farmer made a beeline straight to Robert’s group, practically stomping and frothing at the mouth with anger.

  When she heard him coming, Alise recognized the farmer as her husband, and stepped in to try and stop him, but the man just pushed her away and continued on towards the person holding his son in their arms.

  He immediately grabbed the herbalist’s collar as soon as he got close, and brought his face closer to his own.

  “I asked what you’re doing?!” he demanded, before someone suddenly reached to grab his arm and hold him back.

  “Sir, your son is injured,” Robert said while holding the man back by his arm.

  “What’d you do to ‘im, then?”

  “He was attacked by one armed apes in the forest.”

  “What’s he doin’ in the forest then?!” Razh asked with spit flying from his mouth to Robert’s face.

  “I had him go there. And I intend to take responsibility for it.”

  “Huh?! You!”

  Blinded by anger, Razh pushed the herbalist away, and quickly swung his fist towards Robert.

  The former soldier’s eyes followed his fist, but he closed it as it approached, and gritted his teeth as he held his ground.

  “How you intend to take responsibility, huh?! You went and left this village to become a soldier, and you came back without an arm! What’s a cripple like you can do?!”

  “Razh! Please!” Alise pleaded to her husband while tugging at his arm.

  “Shut up, woman!” He shouted as he turned to push her away.

  Alise was sent tumbling back and was about to fall onto the ground before Kristine caught her.

  After making sure the woman wasn’t harmed, she then looked up to Razh, disgust and anger apparent on her face.

  “What’re you looking at?” Razh said as he took a step towards her with his arm raised, only to be stopped after a single step.

  “You’re making a scene,” Robert said as he held the other man back by his shoulder.

  When he looked around, sure enough, there was a crowd gathered around them.

  Rowan’s caravan was just packing up their wares, so a lot of housewives were still gathered at the village square gawking at whatever had yet been loaded into a cart.

  These housewives, alongside their farmer husbands that just got off their fieldwork made for a pretty large crowd that was all looking at Razh.

  “I’ll take all responsibility,” Robert said to the man.

  He looked at his eyes for a while, before shifting it to the side to look at nothing in particular.

  “Yeah?” he asked before swatting the other man’s hand away from his shoulder. “Better bring ‘im back well,” he said before walking off, mumbling to himself on the way.

  “Pleasant fellow that one,” said Rowan as he approached Robert.

  “Yeah, not the friendliest sort. Didn’t even know he cared this much about his family. I heard that the only thing that ran faster than his fist was his mouth.”

  Robert then turned to look at Vivian on Rowan’s arms. Her breathing was still faint and her face seemed to have gotten paler in the short time he took his eyes off her.

  They needed to make haste and he quickly brought the two children to a wagon and prepared to set off. But just as he was about to hop on the wagon along with Robert, Rowan saw the worried look on both Alise and Kristine’s face, before then turning to look inside his now mostly empty wagon.

  “You two are welcome to come with us if you want. Must be worried for your kids.”

  Kristine turned to Alise to see what she’s going to do, and in turn, Alise turned to look at the direction her husband went off to. She quickly picked up on her fellow mother’s worries and grabbed her hands to reassure her.

  “I’ll look after your boy,” Kristine said.

  “Thank you,” Alise said before grabbing her hand in return.

  “Hope you don’t mind me coming along, Rowan.”

  “Ain’t no problem, ma’am.”

  Once Kristine climbed onto the wagon, Rowan then made his way to the driver’s seat, and Robert turned to the village’s herbalist.

  “Stay in the village for a while. Before we know what’s going on in the forest it's too dangerous in there.”

  “My work’s in the forest. Nothing here to make anything with. If they come, we need as much medicine as possible. I’ll stay there until winter. Someone need to figure out what’s going on in there anyway.”

  “Yeah? Then you stay safe.”

  “I have my own arts. I’ll be fine,” the herbalist said proudly while flashing the man a grin.

  “Right. Your mana arts,” Robert said as he looked down on the man’s hand.

  When used well, it’s a powerful weapon much more dangerous than his blade. It excelled even at a range and is something he can make good use of against lurking beasts in the forest. Even in close range, he could easily burn them down. There was no need to worry about the herbalist.

  “Thank you for what you’ve done.”

  “Ain’t nothing to worry ‘bout. Just pay me when you got the coins, yeah?” The herbalist said after forming a circle with his thumb and index finger.

  “Hahaha. I will.”

  After his ears picked up on the end of the two men’s conversation, Rowan nudged the driver sitting besides him, and the wagon began making their way out of the village, towards Duraintsburgh, the capital of their province.

  The rest of the caravan followed after, and Alise stayed to see them off, far longer after the last cart went out of sight.

  The mother had both her hands clutched on her chest with worry for her son and the slightest feeling of guilt. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this is because she had told her son to hide the fairies from Vivian.

  If she hadn’t done so, maybe they would’ve helped both him and Vivian and would’ve prevented this incident from happening in the first place.

  But alas, the only thing she could do now was hope for the best while biting down on her own lips. That, and to resolve herself to accept the truth.

  The truth that her son is, in fact, one that has been blessed, and if he was to live with that blessing, she must let him make use of it. For his own sake.

  That, and to also accept the fact that she must prepare herself to see him off with a smile when the time inevitably comes for him to leave her.