"Who dares to lay a finger on my grand daughter?!"
Came the voice of the cloaked man. Before him was a giant well over two times his height.
In the presence of this new figure, the aura of the over bearing giant didn't even feel significant anymore.
CRASH!
He looked back at his 'grand daughter,' she was fine. That was his utmost priority at the moment. He turned back to the giant before him. He had attempted to run away earlier after seeing this new figure appear but he couldn't. It was like an unknown pressure had kept him in place, pushing him down to the ground face flat.
"I- ugh.... We didn't know she-"
"Silence..." Ordered the man. His voice was aged and composed but still a hint of rage was evident in his tone.
"I must applaud your courage in pulling off something like this under our noses... Here's my thanks..."
"Please no–"
"Die..."
In an instant a dark flicker of energy left his frame and the next the man's body was engulfed in some kind of black flame. He screamed but his screams were silent.
There was no other way to describe the scene. The black flames vanished with the man's screams and corpse alike as if he never existed to begin with.
The man's expression was hard to tell under his mask and hood but he was indifferent towards the dead man. Instead his gaze shifted to the forest. He stared for a few seconds focusing on something on the distance.
"Grand father!" The girl called out to him.
"Oh..."
He turned to see his daughter holding an unconscious black haired boy by his head, a look of concern in her eyes. The boy was injured all over his body. The most recent were the torn muscles on his arms and legs.
Even with his experience he was still surprised as to how someone so young could get so injured.
"Please..." She begged him. "Heal him..."
She knew that he would've done it either way, but for her to beg him for someone's sake was something he never expected his granddaughter to do.
"He saved you hmm?... I see..."
The cloaked man walked over to the boy and held out his hand. Out of nowhere a red potion popped into his hand. It was a health potion sure, but judging from the gentle him of mana within, it was clearly on another level than the regular ones in Fairhaven.
He opened it and poured the contents onto the boy and in immediately his injuries began closing at a faster rate. It wasn't instantaneous, but it was fast. Given the severity of his injuries, at best he woul be healed in 30 minutes.
The man stood up and gave the boy one last glance before reaching out a hand to the purple haired girl. It was time to leave.
The girl on the other hand wasn't quite satisfied. She removed the golden ring on her finger, starling the man before her.
"You can't be serious..."
She slid the ring into his middle finger with utmost care, trying not to wake him up. Once it was set on his finger it glowed faintly before returning to normal.
She finally stopped and walked beside her grandfather. She gave one last look at the unconscious boy as a smile formed on her lips.
'I hope we meet again... hero.
*****
A cloaked figure jumped from tree to tree, going deeper into the forest, fleeing away from the cliff with every ounce of strength he could muster.
'Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit!'
He'd watched as his partner was taken out by that unknown man, what's more the man noticed his presence when he was already trying hard to conceal it.
He was clearly outclassed. The moment the man's gaze drifted from him he ran away without so much as looking back. One thing was sure, if he stayed he would die.
With that frame of thought he made his way back to the streets of Fairhaven. By now he was already about a mile away from them. He mind relaxed, he was safe or at least he thought so until he felt something... A presence staring down at him. He immediately collapsed to the ground with a crash. He couldn't breathe he couldn't move a muscle. It felt like what he saw his partner experience back on the cliff edge.
'No... It can't be...'
"You really think you can run away from the likes of me with that meager level?... Pathetic."
'How is this possible?... I was sure I wasn't followed... Impossible! I'm a 2nd tier assassin for crying out loud!'
"Now answer me..." The man said, completely losing his almost friendly attitude as his gaze turned cold. Even the pressure on the assassin multiplied as he spoke. "Who sent you?"
"..."
*****
"What do you mean you failed?!" Screamed the voice of a young man. He pulled angrily on his brown hair as the news reached his ears.
Their location looked regal and well furnished, almost like the house of a noble but not quite there. This was the house of a wealthy baron, Atticus Daystar. The young man making a fuss was the owner of this room, the last son of the noble, Rourke Daystar.
He'd already payed a fortune to hire two second tier fighters, an assasin and a warmonger to ensure the operation was successful and stayed discreet only to hear that his plans were crushed?! Impossible!
"Why... Wait where is your partner?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"He was killed... sire..." replied the assassin who was already kneeling before this noble.
"Gah-...." Rourke was on the verge of screaming but he held himself back. That wasnt his priority... Depending on what happened he could bounce back, yes. He just had to make sure the girl was secure, after all failing the mission could mean anything.
"Ok... Fine where's the girl?"
"About that sire..." The assassin began, recounting what happened after the savior was knocked out, up until his encounter with the girl's grandfather and even his message to the assassin at the end.
'Tell whoever sent you that if you so much as lay a finger on my granddaughter again, I'll make sure you receive a fate far worse than death."
At this point, Rourke's blood had run cold. He was the owner of this illegal slave business. Not even his father knew of his work. It was a lucrative business and he was a somewhat popular client.
At times people would come to him to kidnap some people and make them slaves. This was one of those times. Yet it was unlike any of those times. This job was given to him by shady individuals. They promised him his head if he failed. He couldn't die, he was too young... Why would he die from failing a job? They didn't say. He was too blinded by the reward to refuse. His pride got the better of him and now...
"Damn it!!!" He screamed, thrashing his room as his unleashed his rage on everything around him.
The assassin was indifferent towards the scene, he was just a hired blade for the job. He wasn't entitled to this young man, he was a free man so he couldn't care less at the reason for this man's rage.
After thrashing everything around him for a good few minutes he finally turned to the assassin.
"You didn't see the man... Ok good, the girl is gone... Ok good!... What about the freaking savior! Or did you not see him either?!!!"
The assassin pondered for a moment before describing him.
"He is a young boy of around the girls age, black haired and handsome."
"Handsome?... We're his eyes crimson by any chance?" Rourke asked, calming down a bit.
"Yes sire."
The assassin's confirmation brought a maddened grin to to the noble's lips. He looked like a madman at this point thanks to his dishevelled hair but that didn't matter. If he was going to die either way, then he was taking someone with him.
He let out maniacal laughter before speaking up more to himself than anyone.
"Long live the Daystars!"