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CHAPTER START---
---December 5th, X769, 8 AM…
"I hope you don't mind the cold, I'm afraid it will only get worse," Oberon hears as he enters the small home. Dusting the snow off his clothes.
"It actually reminds me of home," Oberon says as he looks around.
He sees the old woman already moving to sit beside the fireplace, he hears people moving in the other room, but he pays it no mind.
"Would you like some tea?" the woman asks as she sits on one of the chairs by the fire.
"Uh, no, I'm fine, but thank you," Oberon hangs up his coat to reveal his long-sleeved blue t-shirt and matching pants below.
As he's about to take his boots off, the woman waves, signaling him to leave them on if he'd like, which he does.
"So, is there anything you can tell me about him?" Oberon asks, ruffling his hair to get the show away.
"He passed through just over a week ago," the woman says as Oberon sits opposite her. "He took some meat, and firewood, then moved up to the cave at the top of the mountain."
"Did he hurt anyone?" Oberon asks.
"No, he was nice enough, didn't know he was so dangerous until we got word from the Rune Knights. They sent some of their people up there, but only a few came back down, which is when they must have called you."
Oberon relaxes in his seat, enjoying the warmth of the fire. "So, is the path to the cave clear?"
"Yes, but the blizzard is only getting worse. It's best to wait a few days before you go up there."
"I'll be fine," Oberon says. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
The woman thinks for a moment before she nods, "he was carrying a box, not sure what was in it, but when he passed through here and bought supplies he never let go of it."
"I see, and the cave, does it lead anywhere?"
"No, but from it, you can see the eastern border of Fiore, the view would be excellent if not for this blizzard."
"Well he must be waiting for someone to pick him up, or heading to the border to get out of Fiore," Oberon says. "If I wait for the blizzard to pass he'll be long gone."
"Well if you need anything be sure to let us know," she says as Oberon gets up.
"Thanks for everything, if two days pass and you don't see me, tell them I'm probably dead," Oberon says as he begins walking to the door.
As he puts his coat on and is about to open the door, he turns back to the woman, "You know, usually people are surprised that a kid is taking this kind of Job."
The woman laughs for a moment before smiling at him, "Age isn't always an indicator of power in this world. After all, I used to be a Guild Wizard too, but even after all these decades, it takes everything I have just to start this fire," she gestures to the fireplace as a match flame dances across her fingers.
"Oh, I can't wait to learn that," Oberon says before stepping back into the heavy snowfall.
Oberon takes a deep breath, feeling somewhat comforted by the cold air, memories of his village atop the snow capped mountains flooding back.
Then he pushes them all away.
"It's still morning, if I wrap this up before lunch I can get back to Magnolia by tonight," he says while walking toward the edge of the village.
He quickly gets to the clearly marked trail leading up the mountain, pulling his coat tighter as he begins his trek.
After a few minutes of walking the snow reaches his knees, causing him to use his Gravity Magic to walk atop the fresh snow.
"Well, at least it's not a desert," Oberon mutters. "There must be some kind of Magic to deal with extreme temperatures, that'll be a good investment. Or maybe some kind of Magic clothes, like a belt. Yeah, a belt that keeps me warm or cool depending on what I need…"
After almost an hour of walking, just as Oberon's face was beginning to go numb from all the harsh winds, he sees a flickering firelight through the snow.
'That must be the cave,' he quickly makes his way over to the cave, and carefully peeks around the entrance.
The cave itself was small, but he could see there were multiple levels, with the highest level hosting the small fire, and a man's shadow being cast along the wall.
"If he's distracted by the fire maybe I can—"
"Are you coming in?!" the man's voice fills the cave as the shadow turns toward the entrance. "Or do you plan to freeze out there?"
Oberon takes a deep breath then enters the cave, and carefully makes his way up to where the man is sitting by the fire.
The man was wearing heavy winter clothes, and had a greatsword resting beside him.
He glances at Oberon for a moment, then scoffs and goes back to looking at the fire, "I heard your voice, knew you were young, but a kid, really?"
"Since when do you have a problem with killing kids?" Oberon asks.
"Yeah, I've done that before, but those were always for a Job, nothing more," the man says.
"Hmm," Oberon carefully eyes the man. "This isn't what I expected…"
"I get that a lot, what'd they tell you, that I'm some bloodthirsty monster?"
"Something like that?"
The man looks over at Oberon before leaning back against the wall, "Hair like a void, filled with stars…you must be Oberon, so Fairy Tail sent a Wizard after me huh."
"You know me?"
"Your Master has a big mouth, he got drunk a few days ago at a Guildmasters conference, and couldn't stop bragging about you, his new talented Wizard," the man says.
Oberon smiles, "Wow, he really said that?"
"While he was drinking with all those damn traitors," the man says bitterly. "You know, I did a lot of work for a lot of people, Wizards, Guilds, powerful businessmen and nobles, even some of the people sitting on the Magic Council today."
"Why would they hire an Assassin?"
"People need to die for others to rise up," the man says. "And now, after all the years I spent killing for them, they turn around and start talking about making Assassination Jobs illegal, tch, fucking traitors. After I spilled so much blood to help them achieve their ambitions, they want to ruin my way of life, to make all that I am illegal. What a fucking joke!"
"So now you feel betrayed, killed one of your former clients, and plan to leave Fiore," Oberon says. "Is that it?"
"Pretty much," the man sighs. "And now they're sending people after me, but I'll give you a chance to walk away, unless you want to end up like the last three Wizards."
Oberon narrows his eyes at the man, "Why not just take regular Jobs instead of Assassination Jobs?"
"Why not just become an entirely different person because the world wants you to?" the man sees Oberon scowl. "Yeah, exactly…"
"Well, at least I know you'll understand, that I can't just walk away, even if I did care about that sob story."
"Yeah, I get it, this is a business after all," the man looks over at Oberon, then back into the fire. "Don't take this personally…"
The sound of steel shattering echoes through the cave as the man in front of Oberon disappears in a flash of light, the illusion dispelled.
Oberon quickly turns around to see the man behind him, holding the greatsword that was broken in two, hands trembling as he winces in pain.
"What the hell? What are you made of?" the man asks while groaning in pain.
Oberon just gives him an annoyed look, "Did you just try to stab me in the back?"
"No…" the man says as he swings the sword again. "I tried to cut your head off!"
This time Oberon casually raises a hand to block the blade, shocking the man yet again.
The man tries to leap away but Oberon grabs the blade with his fingers, locking the weapon in place.
"Strong," the man grumbles. "But you're dead either way, the blade is coated in a Magic Poison!" he says while still failing to pull the blade away from Oberon.
"That's fine," Oberon says while pressing down on the blade, and the man raises a gloved hand to support the back of it, preventing it from crushing him.
"What the hell!" the man groans in pain as a sudden immense weight crashes down on him, forcing him to kneel as he strains to push against Oberon's one hand. "The poison! You should be dying right now!"
Oberon, now at eye level with the taller man, just gives him a bored look, "Yeah, if it was actually touching me."
"What do you—"
Oberon leans back before slamming his head into the man's face, breaking his nose and knocking him out instantly.
Oberon then drops the shattered blade and begins looking around, rummaging through the man's items.
And helping himself to the Jewels his captive was planning to flee with.
After packing up he glances at the man, 'I really wish I had Sleep Magic so I wouldn't have to worry about him trying to escape, or maybe some kind of Binding Magic like Wayne has,'
With a wave of his hand, he makes the man almost weightless and picks him up, after wrapping him in some blankets.
'I need to work on Cosmic Armor more, if that guy kept talking for another ten minutes I would have had to drop it for a moment to rest, and if he attacked then I would have definitely died,' Oberon thinks as he rushes down the mountain.
END CHAPTER---
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pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
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