The odor of decay and perspiration drifted in the air, so much that it made even breathing a tiresome task.
Dampness clung to the walls. The moon glanced through the gaps of the wooden structure.
A young boy observed as yet another girl was being pulled away. The rest of the captives could protest, yet no one could produce a sound any longer.
"Let her go!" The child shouted, desperate, weeping and eyes bloodshot.
Only one rushed towards certain death. Towards the bulky figures gripping the girl.
The bald muscular man held a coarse stick firmly and struck the boy in the head, knocking him unconscious. As he dropped, he thought "Grandmother…"
"How dare you?!" The figure shouted, stepping toward the unconscious boy.
"Please don't! He is just a child!" She cried out.
The men glanced at the captured girl, unable to restrain their twisted expressions, they ignored the motionless boy. They hauled her outside as she kept shouting "No!" "Stop this!" "Please!"
In a thick forest, along a slope near a narrow stream, a recognizable figure could be spotted. Body dripping with perspiration, soaking his long black garments with a faint odor.
He kept panting and muttering "my screen time…" and "main character rights…" like a madman.
Down the short slope, he noticed a fenced gate through the shrubs. The structure appeared recently constructed, entirely made out of wood. Two men oversaw the whole place. One sat on a chair, the other dozed…
Amamuren's eyes sharpened, he witnessed a horrifying scene: men, women and children alike scattered lifeless within the enclosure. His expression stiffened.
He gazed down at the stronghold from the forest, clutching the tree to the point his hands bled.
A girl was being dragged outside by her hair. The men forced her down under the faint yellow moon. The struggling girl ceased resisting after she realized it was impossible to escape their hold.
As the man near her legs slowly reached for her garments, she could only gently close her eyes.
Her vision had nearly faded, but she saw a fist slam into the man's face. He dropped.
Blood splashed. Not of the bulky figure, but that of Amamuren's already injured hands.
The others quickly looked toward the entrance where two of their comrades could be seen, at first he had assumed they were resting… However, with a closer look in the darkness, it could be seen that they were bleeding out.
Amamuren gazed at the bewildered criminal. His eyes were cold, not hiding a single trace of killing intent he held toward these men.
He stabbed the bandit in the chest, ending his life instantly. Only 4 remained.
"So this is what you resort to, you brutes."
"Get him! Quickly!"
Amamuren sprinted around the camp and finally hid in the shack, where one of them entered, with a hammer in hand.
"Where is that bastard?!" The three kept searching around.
"Aagh!!" The fourth's cries of agony echoed throughout the stronghold.
They closed in on the source of the voice – the shack. They watched in terror as Amamuren slowly came out, holding a sword in his right hand.
The men quickly rushed, only for one of them to see a glimpse of a sword heading toward their face. It pierced, the man collapsed.
Amamuren quickly shut the door and pulled with all his strength. The other two attempted breaking the door open. Amamuren gripped the doorknob firmly, but a sword pierced through the door, narrowly missing him.
He grabbed the hammer that was right beside him and struck the side of the sword with everything he had. The sword bent slightly.
Amamuren quickly kicked the door open. The bent blade could not be retrieved fast enough by the criminal, who then got struck by the door as a result.
Amamuren closely followed the door with a stabbing motion while holding the large hammer, striking and knocking the man down.
From the side he got targeted by the second bulky man, which he could not evade.
Amamuren sacrificed his hand and it got pierced through. He did not waste a second and swung the hammer at the brute.
The first person was trying to stand, who was then finished off.
He looked toward the girl.
"Hey hey!" He called out, cheerfully jogging toward the near-victim while waving his hand.
The frail girl watched in terror. She quickly crawled backwards, unable to stand nor flee.
Amamuren slowly stopped, smile fading and his hand gradually dropped down. He looked down and told himself "what am I doing, this is not a comedy skit… this is… real…"
The wind gently blew. His long black garments fluttered in the wind along with his hair. He looked at the girl with sympathy.
Amamuren got on his knees and placed his hands on his thighs.
"It is okay now, I defeated those guys."
He watched the trembling girl with care. After a dozen breaths, the tension eased slightly. She was still frightened.
"May I come closer to check your injuries, please?"
His brows curled up, worry washing over his face. The fearful maiden could only nod cautiously.
Amamuren slowly got up and approached.
The girl stepped back, but stopped midway.
Amamuren quickly examined visible injuries: tangled hair – she was dragged as they gripped her hair, reddened wrists, torn skin at the knees – also from the dragging.
"What is your name?"
"L-Lian Yue…"
"Lian Yue, what a lovely name. Here you go, use the water inside to wash your knees. Just in case."
She hesitantly took the bottle and poured water over her knees.
"Try to walk now."
Lian Yue attempted to stand up, however, her legs gave out while trembling.
"It's okay, use me as support to walk." He said as he extended his hand.
She flinched.
She hesitated.
Then she grasped the hand that was offered to her.
"If there are others, help me find them."
"… They are over there, in that house." She pointed.
"Are there any more of the bandits?"
"N-no…"
They slowly moved toward the prisoners.
A foul odor filled Amamuren's nose as soon as he entered the building. The sight of the prisoners scattered with lifeless expressions and even some corpses would make any person feel sympathy.
Some took notice of Lian Yue, who was leaning on Amamuren, and so did the recently awakened boy.
"Why did you do this?! She did nothing wrong to deserve this!" He shouted, gripping the bars firmly.
"Chen'er, nothing happened… he saved me."
"…! Please wait here, I will find the key."
Amamuren took the girl to a nearby chair and calmly sat her down. He then ran outside to locate the keys. It needed to be quick so as not to worry the prisoners.
"I'm back, sorry for taking a while."
"Sir… I'm sorry… I thought you were a bad guy."
"It's okay." Said Amamuren as he unlocked the door. Many of them were corpses. He did not hesitate and guided everyone out.
After locating some food and water, everyone had enough strength to at least make it to the nearest village.
After a long walk, they had finally reached the village.
Some elderly woman was frantically asking around.
"Have you seen Lian Yue and Lian Chen?"
"I have not, my husband had also gone missing…" A woman replied.
"Have you seen my grandchildren?"
"No…" Said an elderly man.
"Have you seen Yue'er and little Chen?"
"I'm sor-" A young girl tried to reply, she was then cut off by a shout.
"Grandma!" The siblings shouted.
The woman's eyes widened and lit up. She quickly walked toward them as she cried and hugged them tightly.
"I was so scared…"
"It's okay, we are fine grandma." Said Lian Yue.
"But, what happened to your legs?!"
"Oh, I fell over and hurt them."
She took a glance toward the other prisoners, who were led by Amamuren, only to not see her savior.
She then looked over at her younger brother, who shook his head… Amamuren had left, leaving some money for everyone.
"My husband… where is he, has anyone seen him?" She asked the prisoners at the back.
"Auntie Suyin… He passed away trying to protect us all…"
"… What…?" She said as tears welled up in her eyes.
Amamuren had vanished far from the town, hobo stick over his shoulder and a sack attached at the end. He kept humming and whistling along.
.
.
.
After a month, Amamuren had traveled toward the south. He reached a certain city built on a mountain, surrounded by massive walls.
The entrance was surrounded by many people. In fact, Amamuren had to wait from early in the morning to late midnight. The entrance was barely visible in the dim lighting.
However, unlike the entrance, which was dark and silent, the inside was beautifully illuminated by floating orbs of light.
Amamuren tried to grab one, which was slowly drifting like a snowflake, only for it to gently fall through his hand.
He looked around and found the city spotless. Not a single spot could be considered dirty. Though, he couldn't find a place to stay.
After wandering aimlessly, he found a large three-story tavern at the edge of the city. Gray lighting surrounded the place, along with tall trees and bushes. There were houses on the opposite side of the street, but the tavern itself occupied the other half. A sign was hung above the door with the following text: "The Million Drinks."