The last thing that he remembered before he blacked out was some knuckles landing on his face with immense strength and speed.
Then nothing else.
Iovos slowly opened his eyes as they had to get used to the lights of the hospital room.
He had most of his head covered in bandages, and in the meantime, it was also aching a lot.
A cute nurse with blue hair, grey eyes, a tan skin tone, and a rather slender body was taking care of most of the meds on Iovos' bedside table before finally turning towards him.
"Oh, you're awake, Sir Iovos. How do you feel?" Said the nurse.
"What...what happened?" groaned out Iovos as he clutched his aching head. "Where am I?"
"You are in the main hospital of the kingdom, Sir. You were brought here by some guards of the Palace...we found and cured many fractures all over your face, replaced all your broken and missing teeth, and had to fix your nose. For the rest, you should be fine, Sir."
"Ah, I see, thanks for the help."
The nurse bowed down as she then left the room.
Iovos was now alone in his room as he looked down at his legs.
Memories were flooding his mind.
What happened the other day...That immensely humiliating defeat...It would have been carved inside his mind forever.
He clutched his fists and clenched his new teeth with anger and shame.
How could he, one of the great generals of this kingdom, be defeated like that?
It was unacceptable.
It was Blasphemous.
It was the most disrespectful thing that had ever happened to the army of the human kingdom.
And it happened to him.
But he had really little time to mourn his defeat as the door opened again.
Iovos looked up, and his eyes widened as he saw Prince Draeven enter the room.
"Prince Draeven, how come you trouble yourself to visit a General who lost and didn't do his job properly?" Said Iovos, bowing his head.
"Oh, don't worry, my friend, there is no trouble. You can trust me," Answered Draeven with a kind and calm smile as he sat on a chair near Iovos' bed. "On the other hand, I hope you won't mind my visit while you are in such a pained state."
Iovos quickly shook his head. "Not at all, Prince, I would never mind a visit from you."
"Good, Good, I'm glad about it." There was a minute of silence before Draeven returned speaking, this time his smiling and warm face turned into a serious one. "Now, let's go to the important things: who or what did this to you?"
Iovos gulped down "It was a man that I have never seen before...he looked pretty much ordinary...brown short wavy hair, green eyes, a light complexion and a clearly trained body...even what he was wearing was something of ordinary...just some brown rugged clothes, a green and long cloack and white bands that were wrapped around his hands...he looked like a normal civilian of a normal countryside village that nobody even cares abo-"
Draeven interrupted Iovos. "I get it, Iovos, but if he was so ordinary, then how did he manage to get you here on the hospital bed?"
"This is the problem, that man was anything but ordinary with his actions...He moved far too fast, so fast that he looked like a blur, some of the guards even failed to catch up with his movements...and his attacks...they were either strong and destructive or controlled and fluid...I saw him flip down all the guards in an instant with such movements that were impossibly fluid...he completely used their own momentum to flip them across the air...but with me, he was too strong...my attacks weren't even able to touch him and not only that he completely shattered my sword with his bare hands before I could even realize it...he made me become like this with just 2 attacks...just 2 punches" said Iovos with a crescendo of clear concern and fear in his voice as he recalled those memories while Draeven listened in silence, then, he added "Prince, I don't know what we are facing this time...but whatever that thing is...it's for sure the strongest thing that ever crossed our way"
Draeven listened in silence, waiting for Iovos to finish.
"Understood? That's your next target," said Draeven.
"Yes," said a Voice from the corner of the room as a man stepped outside from the shadows.
It was a relatively tall man who was wearing a black assassin suit with a hood and a neck mask that covered his mouth and nose.
The only things that clearly stood out from his appearance were two flaming eyes that were staring deep down inside Iovos' soul.
Iovos almost fell backward on the bed as his eyes widened in shock.
He didn't see the man enter the room, nor did he sense his presence.
Draeven turned towards Iovos. "General Iovos, he will make sure we won't have to deal with that monstrous man."
"But who is this man?" Said Iovos, looking at the stranger.
Draeven smiled, "This is one of the best Assassins and mercenaries in the whole kingdom. You can call him "The Silent Satan"...he had a record of over 400 missions accomplished...You will see that he will do a flawless Job."
...
...
...
Meanwhile, in a wooden house in the forest, miles away from the kingdom.
"...and Remember, don't get yourself involved into any trouble that you can't handle, the continuity of the story just began since you met Kaelen so from now on you are fully inside the story" Said Avos to Mujin as Aja, helped by Kaelen, was setting up the last things for their trip since they were called from the Gods' realm.
"Yeah, don't worry, I have all under control," answered Mujin, patting Avos on the shoulder.
"I hope so, weirdly, the message this time was more demanding than usual, so maybe it will take some weeks for us to return here. I just hope that you and Kaelen will not get hurt while we are away."
"Don't worry, I'll be as careful as possible," Said Mujin to reassure Avos.
"...aaaaaaaand done, ok, it's all ready for the trip, thanks for the help, Kaelen," said Aja, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"You're welcome, honestly, I still owe you a lot since you saved me, so this is nothing."
"Oh, don't worry about it, you owe us nothing," Said Aja, patting Kaelen on the shoulder.
She then turned towards Mujin, "Well, I guess it's time to say Goodbye...Don't do anything stupid and don't die. I am the only one who shall kill you, don't forget that," Said Aja, extending her fist towards Mujin.
"What what? Tell that to yourself...YOU aren't supposed to die because I am the only one who shall kill YOU," Said Mujin, fist-bumping Aja. "Have a nice trip, annoying girl."
"Thank you, Moron"
She then turned towards Kaelen, "Good Luck with Mujin, my friend, he is weird...good luck," She said, laughing before stepping back to make Avos say goodbye to both of them.
"Goodbye, Mujin. Let's see each other in a few weeks, ok? And be careful, please."
"Sure thing, Avos, have a nice trip, dude," Said Mujin, extending his hand towards Avos, who shook it gently.
He then turned towards Kaelen as some guilt quickly invaded his thoughts before he shook his head.
"Goodbye, Kaelen, I hope you get better with your health," said Avos in the end Avos.
"Goodbye Avos, thank you, and have a nice trip," Answered Kaelen.
And so Avos and Aja stepped on the handmade altar inside the house, as they then disappeared in a flash of light.
...
...
...
Now Kaelen and Mujin were alone.
They looked at each other in silence before Mujin pulled out a pack of cards.
"Want to play poker?"
"Yeah, sure."
And so they headed towards the kitchen, obviously, to the fact that someone was watching them from the window.