Rise Of The Hoarder

And just like that, he finished off the rest. In merely a single blow, he condensed the crimson energy surrounding his weapon and gave a powerful, horizontal slash toward the multitude of Demons.r

>BOOOOOOMMMMM< An eruption of pure energy exploded, turning the enemies into burnt corpses.r

I could smell their bodies cook, and their blood evaporate.r

The Demons… all of them, died instantly.r

Seeing their bodies fade away, leaving only ruby-like stones on the ground, the poundings in my heart began to reduce.r

It was then I finally took the first clear view of my savior. He wore a dark hooded cloak, and had black trousers with a matching shirt. Everything he wore was black, except for what he used to cover his face.r

It was a fox mask, one I had only ever seen in movies.r

He knelt and faced me, opposite from where I stood, and only inches from my face. Dropping his weapon, he used both hands to embrace me, tightly gripping my body and enveloping me in his warmth.r_.

“I’m sorry, young one… I was too late. If only I had been a little earlier…” He spoke, his voice filled with emotion.r

Even though it wasn’t his fault, even though it was our powerlessness that brought this upon us, even though he wasn’t obligated to save us, the stranger made such a statement.r

His pure intentions made me tear up, pouring out all the tears I had stored away and letting out my pain and loss as I also embraced him.r

“It’s okay… now that I am here… you’re safe now!”r

As I concluded the first portion of my story, sobbing uncontrollably, I glanced at my faithful listener with a corner of my eye.r

‘Oh boy, I should get an Oscar for this. Am I good or what?’ I mused, noticing the emotion I had spurred from my target.r

Ana’s face depicted horror and pity as her eyes displayed an emotion no one had ever shown me before. Tears flowed from them and dripped down her cheeks as she sobbed while hearing the sad tale.r

‘Did I go a little overboard?’ I asked myself, feeling slightly guilty for coming up with such a moving take.r

“I-I’m so sorry… you went through all that and at such a young age? I’m so sorry!” She said to me with sincerity, her voice trembling.r

“It’s alright, It’s fine. None of it was your fault!” I quickly protested, appearing flustered by her emotional outburst.r

Using my two hands, I rubbed the fake tears away from my face and sniffed to create an additional effect to garner pity. Now stiffening my face to show Ana my resolve to move on, I continued speaking.r

“…Besides… there’s nothing I can do about it now. Feeling sorry for myself and staying fixated on the past won’t change anything or bring my dead family and friends back…”r

She was slightly stunned to hear me say that, but her expression displayed that she totally understood. Even though I had supposedly lost everyone I cared about, I couldn’t keep mourning them in such a dangerous world. Doing so would only result in my death.r

Also, her apologies and pity would only further reopen my wounds, so she had to stop, though her intentions were pure.r

“You’re right… I understand.” Ana whispered.r

I nodded, looking a little distracted, as I had to maintain my naïve and innocent demeanor to her.r

“So, if you don’t mind me asking… the man who saved you, what happened to him after that?” She finally asked the question I wanted her to.r

I had to quickly control my facial expression, lest I would give away the wide grin that almost curled from my lips.r

‘No… not yet. Hold it in!’ r

Everything that had happened so far, from the moment I rescued her and her team, was for this moment. After all, the disguise I wore during my subjugation of the monster that nearly killed them was the same as the mysterious man in my sob story.r

‘She must have realized the connection between the two, and her curiosity was currently piqued.’r

To answer Ana’s question, I had to continue my story, which I was already enjoying myself.r

After the mysterious man saved me, he took me with him as we scoured the apartment I stayed in. As time passed, we became close, and I depended on him for my comfort and safety.r

We pillaged the houses of my fallen comrades and took all their useful properties. While my savior admitted to feeling guilty for plundering the resources of the dead, he had a very good reason for doing so.r

“Jeremy, you might not fully understand this now, but in this world, there are many who are suffering even more than you are. And no matter how powerful I am, there’s nothing I can do for them!” He told me on one particular occasion while gathering many goods with him.r

Of course, I didn’t believe what he said. To me, my savior seemed all-powerful, and there was no one he couldn’t possibly save.r

“Power is one thing… Resources are another. To survive in this world, you need both!” He corrected my flawed logic.r

It took some time to explain it to me, but after he did, I understood what he meant. Hunger, thirst, harsh weather conditions… they were all problems that couldn’t be solved by flinging weapons around. One needed resources to live, and what he kept doing was akin to that.r

But, unlike what most people would do, his motivation was the opposite.r

“I intend to travel around the world and help those who are lacking in either power or resources. That’s why I’m taking as many as I can. So that others won’t have to suffer the same way you did, due to lack of power, or even lack of resources.” His voice warmed my heart.r

After spending a lot of time together, not just in my apartment, but in others around, we finally got to this place, making it our base. Of course, I had noticed it for quite some time, but I didn’t want to mention it… the fact that I was slowing my savior down.r

Unlike him, I had limits and was not very useful in killing Demons or gathering materials. r

Yet, he never abandoned me for once. I knew it was selfish, but I didn’t want to say anything since I feared he would leave me.r

But, that all changed one day.r

“Jeremy. I have to go!” He finally dropped the bombshell.r