Legacy Of The Extra-Chapter 34: The First Ash

The Blackthorn forest was quiet except for the sound of leaves rustling. A few small mana beasts ran across the snow, leaving behind their trail of footprints. A prize for a hunter.

But that was not what I came here for.

'This is the area, right?' I asked, looking at the map that visualized before my eyes.

'I see.'

THUD

The snow scattered as I dropped down from the branch of the tree that I was hanging onto. The atmosphere is cold and quiet for a huge forest. Trees were either withered or fully covered with snow.

"Only 20 minutes," I muttered, looking at the gray sky above me.

Out of the two hours, it took more than an hour and a half to get here in the forest. If not for Croft, I would've been lost.

I moved forward, dragging my feet through the thick snow that covered the forest grounds. It made my momentum slow, which was annoying.

I could use my lightning magic, but I had to preserve my Mana. No one knows how many bandits I might have to fight.

So, Mana preservation comes first.

[Noah, I feel some essence of Divine power nearby.] Dante informed me.

'I think it's Aeris's legacy. Do you know how much far away the energy is?'

[Not much far, about 150 metres to your left]

'Great,' A smirk played on my lips, 'I can use my magic if that is the distance'

[Voltstep] I muttered, looking at a withered tree.

My body moved in a purple flash as my feet planted themselves on the tree's branch.

[Voltstep] 

My body perched onto the branch of another tree and then another and another. I parkoured through the vast trees by swinging off of the branches and using a low-level movement spell. It was fast and efficient.

Moving through branches, I spotted something from the side of my eye. Wooden walls with spikes on top.

I halted my momentum and narrowed my eyes to see if anything in the distance moved. ''I need to get closer,''

If there are wooden walls surrounding an enclosure, it is most likely a village in the wilderness. And if I remember correctly, in the game, the village inside the Blackthorne Forest was abandoned.

Which meant it was a perfect place for Bandits to take refuge and plan their crimes.

[Noah,] Dante's voice rang out, [The energy is coming from that area near the wooden walls]

'Then let's move, shall we?'

[Storm Stride]

Mana surged in my whole body as amethyst lightning crackled around my whole being. I took a step forward and blitzed past the remaining trees and the branches, stopping right behind a big rock to take cover.

I pressed my back against the cold and hard surface and peeked my head out slightly to see if any bandits were on standby near the walls.

"None here. Let's find a way to get in."

I moved closer to the walls and followed their alignments, hoping to find a crack or an entrance somewhere that would let me enter the enclosure.

And find I did—A hole in the walls that would let me enter.

First, I put my head through, looking for anyone nearby and then entered through the hole.

The inside of the enclosure was filled with ruined structures—burned and turned into ashes. Few houses stood, but the exterior seemed to have rotted for not being maintained.

It looked like an abandoned place, alright.

I silently moved between the destruction. The structures were now cold, the burn marks were slightly faded, and there was no smell of burning, meaning the place was abandoned long ago.

I stepped inside one of the burned houses. As I opened the door, dust scattered everywhere. A few burned pictures of families were still hanging on the wall, with damaged furniture sprawled all over.

'Dante, where are they? Are you sensing any energy?' I asked, not finding any signs of life anywhere.

[The energy is indeed in this village but not where we are.] Dante informed.

'I see. Then I will move for higher ground.'

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

I ran outside of the house and scanned the building for any ledge I could hold onto. As soon as I spotted a ledge, I moved towards it with full throttle, jumping and grabbing onto it. I pulled myself up onto the ledge.

Micheal's training is handy for sure.

I climbed onto the roof. It had patches of broken space, but I jumped over them. I jumped from roof to roof, trying to find any sign of life. The enclosure was quite big for a random village in the Blackthorne forest.

Splash!

As I was jumping, my ears picked up the sound of someone splashing water somewhere. I moved towards the direction of the sound. The rooftop made a creaking noise as I moved.

When I reached the place of the splashing noise, I halted and spotted two people down below—Both of them were wearing ragged clothes with leader chest plates over them. Not much protection. One of them was keeping their foot over a spilled bucket.

They were neither too thin nor too heavy-looking. Both of them had their features covered by a black bandana. One of them had an arming sword strapped on their waist while the other was holding a spear which looked like that would break any second.

And they looked like they were chatting.

I descended from the roof, hiding behind a ruined structure. Keeping a safe distance away from the two bandits who were most likely standing guards. But close enough that I could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Man, it's cold! When do you think we are switching the posts?" The one with the spear asked, his frame trembling from the cold as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"A bit more and then we can go inside." The one with the armingsword replied. He seemed far more poised than his friend.

"I just want to go inside and have my way with the women we captured recently."

"Me too. The Elf we recently captured is a beauty." His smile widened. "I can't wait to break her."

"Same here, but the boss will definitely have his way first." The spearman replied his tone tinged with disappointment, "Well, I can just fuck some other woman for today."

I listened to the conversation of the two bandits. From their exchange, one thing is verified: the Elf is none other than Aeris. She is here and not yet touched.

I leaned my back against the wall. 'What should I do now?'

[You can't just go in?]

'I can't blindly rush in and wipe them out.'

I don't know how many bandits are there other than these two, but I am sure there are a lot of them inside.

Then, suddenly it clicked—A plan started forming inside my head.

[Shade] I mumbled, imagining a small girl child in my mind.

The shadows beneath my feet moved, taking the form of a small child. She had black hair and silver eyes. She was wearing a ragged red tunic, giving her the look of a child who was starving and lost.

"Now go," I said to the shade, pointing towards the two bandits. "And cry as loudly as possible."

She moved, her expressionless face turning into that of a crying child as she slowly left my side.

"Let's get this over with."