READ WEBNOVEL [12] Death’s Glare
Baron Cliff walked through the dirt road path.
The canopy of trees shrouded his left and right side with glimmers of sun sapping through the wide leaves above. If he squinted through the rays of light, he could see a clear blue sky.
He huffed as he stared back onto the road, "Dammit all and damn them too!"
Baron Cliff had just had a run in with the guards of Aclair, just a bit south of his current position. His iron chest plate was a bit charred from fire magic and his shin guards had received a dent from the sneak attack of a sword.
They had chased him even into the forest, unwilling to let the bounty on his head go. Although, he had the last laugh as his blade passed through the neck of both guards. Trying to catch Baron the Brute with merely two knights was a pipe dream.
He revealed a hearty, loathing laugh from his lips.
Still, he was quite angry at the thought of having to spare some change to repair his equipment. Even the sword sheathed at his left hip had been slightly charred. This was one of the reasons he hated fire mages above all, they may die, but they would still cost you when they did.
Thankfully, the area around here held little beasts and what little it held were the lowest of tiers. The chances of entering another battle was slim.
He shook off the heaviness of his body, rubbing and shaking his ruddy head of brunette hair, and continued to walk.
It wasn't long before a strange sight caught him and forced him to stop in his tracks.
Two girls walked unhurriedly towards him. Both dressed in the oddest of attire he had ever seen in his life, one even having two jagged holes in her clothing. However, they were both...beauties.
The one at the front had a head of luscious, almost daring, black hair that waved behind her and crimson eyes. While the one at the back held golden-blonde hair that almost touched the ground and the same colored eyes as the other—however, only her left eye was visible as half her face was covered by a white mask.
'Are they related? Why is she wearing a broken mask of all things?' He pondered silently, his heart already beginning to beat in excitement.
Noticing him at almost the same time, they both stopped.
"Excuse me?" The one in front called out.
Baron calmed his excitement for the moment.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Can you point us to the nearest town or city? We have gotten a bit lost."
Were they travelers? He didn't know and felt little motivation to ask nor care about the backstory of the two.
"A city or town around here? That would be Aclair, just continue to follow this road and you will soon reach it. Be careful not to venture into the forest, although the beasts within might be low tiered, they still aren't the types two young girls can handle."
His eyes seized up the full figures of the two as he answered the girl's question and began to ponder just how much they could fetch. They both looked stunning, he could tell that had a mask covering half her face would be stunning when naked in full glory. With their beauty and young bodies, he was sure a noble or maybe even a merchant or two would be more than willing to pay two gold for each. Even more so, their features were unique and more than rare, he was certain that asking for three or four gold coins wouldn't be out of the picture either.
"Mhmm, thank you for your help, we will try our best to be careful," The leading one said, nodding once, her voice soft but dry.
Baron wondered, should he take them in as pure virgins or have a taste himself before? His heart wavered, but he decided to sort the thought out later and first capture them.
However, the quiet girl at the back suddenly turned towards him. Unaware of a reason, he stared and was truly captivated by her crimson eyes.
'Yup, I'll have my way with her first,' He finally settled on a decision and prepared to act.
Yet, the girl's eyes glimmered a sharp luster.
At that moment, Baron's world turned black.
"What the heck...?" He looked around, glancing through every direction he could.
It was an endless void, and after a moment had gone by, he began to realize the dread that he had found himself. His heart was beating furiously, as if it would jump out of his chest. Yet, he could not feel anything else but his heart—widely beating heart.
There was no smell in the black void. There was no light. There was nothing to hear and nothing to see. He couldn't tell if he was standing on something. For a warrior, a true adventurer who had pride in his strength and had even ventured into a new craft, this was the first time he was experiencing this level of extreme powerlessness. Even the sword saint hadn't made him feel this much fear.
Suddenly, his life saving skill screamed an alarm in his head.
Chills rose across his skin as every hair on his body stood up, he felt cold sweat roll down in droves and his heartbeat increased to the point where he knew it a danger if it remained so for too long.
Baron strained his senses, what little of it, to perceive his surroundings.
Suddenly, a crimson light shot out at blinding speed. The depths it came from? He had no clue. He quickly unsheathed his weapon and struck towards it in a clean slash.
However, that light arced and dodged his blind and ruthlessly bore through his left leg.
That pain, the only thing he could feel, felt ten times more dreadful. He had been impaled by many weapons before, some brutal, and others as small as tiny knives. However, this was the first time he had felt this.
A scream escaped his lips as blood, too, flowed out with it.
Yet, there was no one here to hear him and even he wasn't quite sure if he heard his voice. He only had a feeling that he had screamed.
He looked down to see a blood red spear impaled through his leg and coming out its width. Blood splattered across the wound, but if he were to remove it, he knew the consequences would be far greater.
His head jerked up, this time, there were three lights.
One struck his right leg, and two struck his remaining limbs.
Before he knew it, a harrowing scream escaped his lips, he was forcefully jerked back and impaled into what he assumed to be the ground.
Blood splashed from his lips and his vision dyed red. But that wasn't the end, pain shot through his bones as he felt the weapons that had impaled him liquify and squirm around his robust body—even more dreadfully, heat permeated his skin and he could feel them hardening back.
"No no! Please! No!" He screamed in desperation, he had long lost any sense of pride.
Soon, he was encased in a cocoon of red, the only visible parts left before him being his chest and eyes.
The next moment, up above that grand sky, he saw a single spear descending.
He tried to move, he tried to scream, he could only squirm around with a muffled sound escaping his lips. His hazel eyes were wide open in absolute fear.
A crimson light fell.
There was a crash as he felt his heart rip apart.
At that moment, it was as if his body had shattered.
His senses grew foggy and the world spun in blackness. There was a nauseating sensation as the world regained color. And before he knew it, he was back, standing before the two girls that he had held the thought of kidnapping.
Looking once more at the seemingly harmless duo, especially the one with a half-mask. His entire figure shuddered and beads of sweat rolled down his head. The strength in his arms felt weak, and his body lifeless.
It was as if he had been stripped of all will to fight. He instinctively realized, then and there, only a second had passed.
Baron Cliff fell to his knees, cowering and shuddering before the two girls. His heard held down and tears falling from his eyes, he didn't dare to look back up. At that moment, the only thought he had was that the job of human trafficking no longer suited him.
Claire raised a brow as she walked past the man. 'What had gotten into him all of a sudden?' She momentarily glanced at the quiet vampire that was following her.
Noticing her glance, Alicia smiled brightly, her fangs showing. It was almost like she was looking for praise for something? Claire couldn't help but imagine a wagging tail behind her.