Chapter 10: Warrior Rising

The horses kicked up dirt with each step they took as they trotted through an open field. Tall grass swayed gently in the breeze as they rode past down a worn dirt path. Birds chirped in the trees as the leaves rustled and the mid-morning sun and bright blue sky glinted between the branches. Everything thus far was peaceful as far as the eye could see with no monsters moving amongst the brush. Joshua kept his eyes and ears open as the war had taught him ambushes could come from anywhere at any given time as they began approaching the forest.

"So far nothing...just birds, blue sky, and sun...I don't got a rifle or shotgun so I'm at a slight disadvantage in terms of modern firepower. Wish I had my Krag–Jørgensen with me...that rifle carried me through most of the war..." Joshua thought as they rode through the forest.

Monsters rarely drew too close to Lescatie. Such an act was nothing short of suicide as Lescatie was a kingdom known for producing a vast quantity of heroes in this world. There were still those plotting the kingdom's downfall from within the shadows and were simply waiting for the right time to strike. The inner-circle was no better. Lescatie was caught in a form of cold war with itself mainly due to the high priests putting their own interests first instead of uniting as one, but Joshua was unaware of this. The priest's micromanagement of the kingdom even bordered on invasive at times when it came to the lives of others including the lives of the heroes.

Joshua scanned the trees as they rode through the forest looking for any sign of trouble. Every snapping twig or sudden shaking branch caused his paranoia to grow stronger and stronger. He could hear the sound of running water in the distance as they drew further and further from Lescatie and they eventually came upon a stream. They stopped which confused Joshua until he looked down and saw the wolfsbane growing along the shores of the stream.

"What monsters are we most likely to encounter this far out?" Joshua asked as he dismounted and set the buckler down by the shore.

"Mostly werewolves, alraunes, and mandragoras but that's only if we're really unlucky," Yuriy replied as he knelt down and began picking flower bulbs and pulled the wolfsbane jars from his knapsack.

Joshua knelt down and began picking plant bulbs as well and once everyone was done they only had managed to fill one and a half jars of wolfsbane. Joshua knew the job wouldn't be that easy, and Rome wasn't built in a day, but one and a half jars this fast felt rather lucky to him. He watched as Yuriy stuffed the jars back into his knapsack but the sudden rustling of bushes far off to the group's left broke his train of thought. A figure leaped from the bushes, doing a flip before landing square on their feet. The figure was a werewolf who had a smug grin, black fur, and her white blouse undone to expose most of her large breasts. on her head sat a wide-brimmed hat which she adjusted as her eyes locked onto the four of them. her brown trousers only went down to her knees and she had what looked like a smoothbore handgun hanging from her belt on her right hip with the holster cut short and a leather strap going across to hold the gun in the holster.

"Well, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting to find any humans in the forest today? And look at those goods~." she said with a smug grin as her ears twitched when she looked at Yuriy.

"I'll make this simple: hand over everything you got including him and you're free to go." She added as she pointed at Yuriy.

Joshua quickly drew his dagger and threw it straight at her head but the werewolf was too quick. In a single move, the dagger flew past her right cheek and grazed her, and planted itself in the tree behind her. Everyone but Joshua gave a look of surprise as the werewolf wiped her cheek with her right paw and felt the blood smear on her finger. Joshua's face was stern as he glared daggers at her and his right hand hovered over his pistol concealed under his clothes and his left hand hovered over his baton.

"Huh...this is the first time in three months someone other than a hero managed to draw my blood...I'm getting sloppy again." the werewolf mumbled as she looked at the blood on her finger. "What even is that thing? I can't sense any spirit energy coming from it..." she added.

"I'm going to give you one warning. leave now and this won't have to get messy." Joshua hissed. His eyes watched every twitch the werewolf made and paid special attention to her right hand.

The werewolf smirked as she pulled a white rag from her back pocket and wiped her cheek off. Whatever Joshua was, he may be worth more than she could possibly imagine if she sold him to the right monster. She did know a litch who would be more than curious about him as well. The demon lord herself would probably pay the most hands down if she was available if only to pass him off as research material.

"Well, you've certainly got my attention. I am Quickdraw Annie. I have the second fastest draw next to that Ice Flower bimbo Paula Tronmail. Tell me...what's your name?" Annie said as she stared intently at Joshua.

"Ivanov. Mikhail "Deadman" Ivanov. best shot this side of the Asacreta Mountains." Joshua replied as he slightly leaned back and squinted.

Joshua was ready for a cowboy quickdraw at the sound of a pin drop. His grandfather taught him drawing techniques since he was sixteen using his Colt Single Action Army that Joshua later inherited when he died. Joshua developed a love of revolvers thanks to him but preferred semi-autos for concealed carry based on several stories his grandfather told him of his police revolver going down during the rare firefights he encountered when he was an active police officer.

"Hmmm...I have a proposition. I'll leave those three alone, but only if you come with me." Annie said as she flashed a grin. "You're worth more than what they got."

Joshua scowled as he was about ready to draw his gun. Annie was watching his right hand closely but didn't notice Joshua's left hand reaching down towards his waist. The sound of a sword being drawn drew his attention only to see Luciana gripping her large sword tightly with it drawn halfway. Annie chuckled as she began to draw but Joshua was faster. Before she could fully break leather, Joshua drew and fired, hitting her dead in the chest. Annie had a look of shock on her face as she looked down and saw the blood trickling between her breasts. When she looked back up her shock turned to fear as Joshua was steps away and was holding a small, black cylinder. Joshua quickly flicked his wrist and the strange object turned into a baton. Annie drew her pistol and fired at his head, a black beam hitting him square in the head and knocking his hat off, but he was unharmed. In a single, quick strike to her chest with the baton, Annie fell to the ground trembling in fear at how fast it all happened.

"W...w...what are you?" Annie asked as she tried to back away from the creature before her.

Joshua looked down and his scowl turned into a toothy grin. Eristia, Yuriy, and Luciana all stared in amazement at him. It had only been five seconds since he fired a shot at her to the point she lay on the ground. The three of them looked at each other nervously then back at Joshua as he leaned down close to her face. He pointed his baton at her chest wound then raised its tip to just under her chin. Annie's eyes began welling up with tears as she realized what was about to happen to her.

"I'm just a man. Tell me...how does getting shot feel? That burning you feel in your chest isn't shame, after all." Joshua replied as he pulled his baton away from her chin. He then slammed the tip into the ground next to her, causing Annie to wince in fear as she watched him put it back in its holster.

"W...w...wait! I was j-just joking! Please don't kill me! You l-l-look like a lonely and handsome y-young man! I-If you let me live I'll show you a good time!" Annie pleaded as a nervous grin spread over her face.

A scowl spread over Joshua's face once more and he lined his gun up with her head. A shot rang out through the trees and Annie's body slumped to the ground. Joshua shook his head as he clicked the safety on for his pistol before reholstering.

"Die with some dignity why don't you?" he muttered in disgust as stood up.

Joshua walked over to the tree the knife dug into and gave the hilt a firm yank before returning it to its sheath. He reached up and felt his head only to find his hat was missing. As he was looking around in a panic for his hat, Luciana approached him and gave him his hat back.

"I can't believe it...you killed Quickdraw Annie! Paula has been hunting her for at least a month now with no luck. Guess she's going to have to give up that bounty now..." Luciana said as she handed him his hat.

Joshua knelt down and grasped Annie's pistol. With a single swift tug, he prised it from her dead paw and handed it to Luciana.

"Give this to her. She gets the credit and the money for the kill so long as I get my money for this job." Joshua replied with a smile.

Eristia and Yuriy watched from afar as they both mounted their horses. The two of them still couldn't believe how fast Joshua had ended that confrontation. He even took a shot of demonic energy to the head and was still himself. Eristia began pondering how he hadn't changed but then she remembered his lack of a soul. No soul meant there was no mana for the demonic energy to corrupt meaning he could probably spend years in a demon realm and remain unaffected by the demonic energy. This revelation was for sure going in her report. Luciana and Joshua rejoined them and mounted up again. Joshua had grabbed the buckler and checked to make sure he had everything before hopping back up behind Yuriy.

"Where did you get that baton?" Eristia asked him in a slightly irritated voice.

"It was in my backpack the entire time I've been here," Joshua replied with a mischievous grin. "Grandpa always taught me to have a plan B."

"I can't believe how quick you were in dealing with her. The only person to ever give her any real trouble was Lady Tronmail, but Annie went into hiding hoping a day would come when she could give Lady Tronmail a run for her money." Yuriy said in amazement as they trudged on horseback through the forest.

"My grandpa would have been six microseconds faster than I. He taught me everything I know about gunplay to the point I was able to win a pistol shooting competition by the age of twenty-one." Joshua said with a smug grin.

"Paula's got some steep competition now that you killed Quickdraw Annie. She's going to keep her eye on you especially since you took a demonic energy bullet and brushed it off so easily." Luciana chimed in with a smile.

"Wait...she actually shot me? I thought she aimed a little too high and hit my hat instead! I guess I really am the man who cheats death..." Joshua said as the realization hit them.

The group began their trip again, bantering along the way as they rode towards the Asacreta mountains. From the bushes near Annie's corpse, a figure emerged. Another werewolf, younger than Annie, stared down in horror at her limp body. Her white blouse was buttoned over her large breasts and her brown skirt kept her tail hidden. The werewolf couldn't believe someone had finally done her in. She reached down and took Annie's rag from her back pocket and could feel her anger slowly building as she held it tightly in her paw. She watched the group as they headed towards the Asacreta mountains and clenched her teeth as her eyes narrowed on the soulless man riding with them.

"Why?...even after sis offered herself to that thing...why?! That thing didn't even bury her..." the young werewolf muttered angrily.

The young werewolf dug a makeshift grave and carefully buried Annie as best she could. The sun had just begun to set as she placed a bouquet of yellow water lilies on the grave. Tears framed her face but soon turned to tears of anger.

"I don't know what you are...but I will have my revenge..." She said before darting through the bushes towards the mountains.

Joshua's group was getting close to the base of the Asacreta mountains. They soon came upon trees with bright yellow flowers growing amongst the branches in small clumps. They had finally found the Solar Glory that they needed to complete Gali's list. The four dismounted and set their bags off to the side as Joshua walked over to a tall tree and began sizing it up. The Solar Glory was basking in the late afternoon sun near the top of the tree and Joshua began to climb. Yuriy was climbing another tree close by while Eristia and Luciana rummaged through Yuriy's bag for the empty jars. Joshua made it to his prize, plucking the bulbs one at a time, and stuffing them into his jacket pockets.

Yuriy was stuffing flower bulbs into a small satchel tied to his belt as he clung on tight to a tree branch. He swatted a honey bee that had gotten curious and hovered too close to his face. The bee quickly zoomed off as Yuriy went back to picking flowers but he felt a sharp pain in his left hand as another bee flew away from it. He pulled out the stinger and rubbed the slight bump from where it had been before picking the last of the flower bulbs and climbing back down. Joshua had just finished and had begun his descent and quickly leaped down from the tree at the halfway point and landed firmly on his feet. Both Joshua and Yuriy emptied their flower bulbs into the jar for the Solar Glory but were shocked to find that they only picked enough t fill the jar halfway.

"...You're kidding..." Joshua grumbled in annoyance.

Joshua looked in the direction of the Asacreta mountains. With the sun just beginning to set in what was nothing short of enemy territory if one took Annie into account then the mountains made him nervous. He didn't know what types of nocturnal monsters prowled around at night and being this far from the sanctuary of Lescatie made him realize his own vulnerability even if he was with three other people. He didn't have the ammo for a large group of monsters and it wasn't like he could scavenge ammo off them like he did with Chinese soldiers during the war nor were there any modern-day gun shops around.

"This is just like survival horror games on their highest difficulty while trying to do a pistol and melee only run but unlike videogames, there aren't any ammo pick-ups..." Joshua thought as he began scanning the mountainside for unusual movement.

"We're going to have to cross the old rope bridge over by boulder pass," Yuriy muttered as he looked up at the sunset.

Eristia motioned for them all to mount up just as the sound of crickets and cicadas could be heard throughout the forest. the group traveled southwest on horseback closer towards the mountains with Joshua scanning the far distance with his monocular. The wind whispered amongst an almost empty forest as they trotted down a worn footpath. Joshua's eyes kept drifting back and forth looking for anything that wasn't a person. To him, it felt like all those times when the American resistance fighters were traveling in-between states and everything was too quiet just before they would be ambushed by Chinese PLA soldiers. Every snapping twig and rustle in the bushes immediately drew his attention only to see a squirrel or rabbit darting about.

She thought about how fast he had taken Annie down and his newly discovered immunity to demonic energy. Maybe he really was the answer the order had been looking for? At the very least he was on their side and showed no mercy to Annie. Mersé was going to be pleased her thoughts on him were validated at the very least. Eristia then thought of the name Joshua gave to Annie, Mikhail "Deadman" Ivanov, and began to wonder which name might be his real name. He also kept his baton a secret from her which still slightly irritated her despite how he only turned it on a monster. She didn't want to have t interrogate him a second time but it seemed as if it might be necessary given the circumstances.

"Hey, Joshua, where did the name you gave Annie come from?" She asked him curiously.

Eristia's question really caught him off guard. Mikhail Ivanov had been his original birth name before he met his grandfather who had it legally changed and warned him to never seek out his biological father. He didn't listen and that led to a terrifying three days of amnesia and almost being sold to the Russian mob when he was eighteen. All of it because his father had a "debt" he felt he had to repay. It was thanks to this he learned of his father's time as a Russian soldier, specifically Spetsnaz, and his work in the middle east in the '80s.

"It's my original birth name. God knows how much I hate it..." Joshua replied reluctantly. "Please just do me one favor? Don't ask about my father because that man caused me a great deal of trouble and I want to forget about all of it."

"Where does "Deadman" fit into that?" Yuriy asked him curiously.

Joshua began chuckling to himself. "Deadman" had been an inside joke with his friends and stemmed from his uncanny ability to "cheat" death at times. This even led to him getting a tattoo on his back written entirely in Latin that said Go ahead...do your worst, for no matter what you do to me I shall always come back stronger and stronger still. The tattoo soon became his personal motto after he got it when he was nineteen.

"It's an in-joke with some of my old friends. It came from my uncanny ability to survive situations that most certainly would be death for others." Joshua replied with a chuckle and a big smile.

"Able to survive a shot of demonic energy to the head...fast and powerful...a good shot with a gun...current name is not his original name... can survive near-death situations...Mersé's going to be pleased with this report once it's finished." Eristia thought as they rode towards the old rope bridge.

Joshua's laughter soon ended as he began scanning the mountainside again looking for more possible threats. Where one fight had been, another sat in the shadows. The sky had just begun to turn dark red as the sun decided to call it a day and take its leave. Joshua's mind began thinking of shelter, for the night not only brings out the dark of night but a foul darkness even worse than the night.

A/N: And here we go. Uploading these now as I still have a lot of work to do on chapter 11 and my laptop's original charger broke. I'm currently using a "universal" charger but it only charges it when the laptop is in sleep mode or completely turned off. Anyways...MERRY CHRISTMAS!