Hey guys what's popping ? This is almost over and I can say with a proud heart that this is the most I have posted and updated this year. It serves as prove that I am finally overcoming my procrastination.

Anyways I wish you guys the best of this holiday. I plan to write this story up to the second part before that's over. So keep supporting me until then.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the oc and the effort and time taken in writing this fiction.

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Chapter 2

The loud cracking of fire could be heart from some distance away. The burning inferno illuminated a part of the night sky . The thick black smoke created by the fire formed a dark cloud over the village blocking out the moon and stars hoping to shine their brilliance over the village. It was the complete definition of hell. The screams of terror and despair coming from within the burning village only served to prove this point even more.

Inside the burning village those who hadn't succumbed to the burning inferno or fallen victim to the monsters rampaging around the village ran helter skelter looking for a way to escape this hell or a place to hide.

"Koi, koi!" Kira shouts from a distance as she ran towards them.

Koi's heart skipped a beat when he saw Kira running towards them, covered in dirt and blood. He hurriedly ran up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. They melted into each other's embrace. It was almost like they haven't seen each other in days. They momentarily forgot the chaos all around them. Giru smiled sadly at the two of them. If he had the power he would have liked to give them a more fulfilling life. Inwardly he swore that he would do everything in his power to get them away from this hell.

Kira's face was covered in dirt and sweat. There was even blood on her dress, which nearly gave Koi an heart attack. Her once pretty and lively eyes was now dim and filled with fear and horror after all the things they had witnessed.

"Are you okay? Hope those monsters didn't come near you?" Koi asked as he checked her body for any injury but she keeps pointing her hand in the direction that she came running from. She had a panicked look on her beautiful face. Something that Giru and Koi noticed.

"What is it? Did something happen? Why aren't you saying anything?". Giru asked as he looked at Kira with a worried expression. Kira was really acting strange. But it wasn't surprising considering what was happening in the village right now. Koi's heart aches at the thought that she must have had a run in with one of those monsters.

Kira seeing the worried expressions on the face of the two people she called family. Temporarily ignoring the fear she currently felt in her being, she steeled her resolve and said.

"A … A strange man was after me, he see…seemed like their leader because I saw him ordering those monsters around. I don't know if I saw right or not but I think I saw him absorbing the souls of the villagers. He would have done the same with me but I managed to escape. It… it was awful" Kira teared up when she recounted her experience. Her father was one of those people who had their soul absorbed becoming an husk of a corpse

"Kira…" Koi didn't know what to say to comfort her as right now he was also a mess. It took everything he had not to break down right then and there. After all, he was just an ordinary farmer living an ordinary life not too long ago before everything went to hell.

A sorcerer? Was the first thought that came to Giru's mind after he heard Kira's words. Sorcerers were seen as the symbol of death and destruction. They are monsters that do as they like with the lives of others. Moreover, to a sorcerer people like them were nothing more than dispensable tools for their sick experiments. If what Kira said was true then this village was done for.

"Koi we have to leave the village now" old man Giru said with an gloomy expression. How could he be happy when the place he had ever known was now turning to ruin right before his eyes.

Koi looks at him with a sad face. "Where to, where do you want us to go, Kira is in no condition to run around, I suggest we go into hiding for now "

Giru looked at him and shook his head in disbelief . "Can you hear yourself right now, Koi. Look around you, where you do want to hide? The whole village is up in flames. There is nothing left for us here." Giru scolded angrily.

They could still hear the loud scream of people dying, the sinister laughter of those monsters and the unending cracking of fire. The fire still burned lively and doesn't look like it was going out anytime soon. Thick black smoke obscured the night sky making it difficult for them to see too far ahead.

They were already finding it difficult to breathe.

Koi gritted his teeth as he knew that Giru was right. However, abandoning his village just doesn't sit well with him.

Kira immediately grabbed koi's hand snapping him out of his thoughts. She knew just how stubborn her husband was but now wasn't the time for that.

As much as it hurts her to forsake the village that her father had worked so hard to develop, she knew that old man Giru was right.

"Come on, Koi" Kira said, pleading with him. However, old man Giru wasn't willing to dabble. Whatever koi's answer was he was will still dragged him out the village.

Fortunately, that wouldn't have to do any of them, as koi's next reply eased up his worries

"Alright, let's go" Koi said causing the others to sigh in relief. Whatever he wanted doesn't matter. Right now, he needed to get Kira to safety.

Without wasting any time the three of them quickly made their way towards the village exit ignoring the cries of despair and agony.

They even crossed paths with some group people also making their way towards the exit but none of them had time to care about the other.

Along the way they saw the villagers abandoning each other or downright sacrificing their friends or families to escape.

This sight cause their expressions to turn gloomy. They found it hard to believe that the same people that they always had a smile on their faces and were eager to help others, were the ones now committing such atrocious acts.

Especially for Kira who as the village chief's daughter had in one way or another interacted with this people. Hell, some of them had even been present at her wedding. Koi and Giru even saw some of the farmers that they had returned to the village together doing the same.

The three of them were enraged at the sight, but, at the same time it made them realize that they couldn't trust anyone but themselves.

The three of them eventually decided to distance themselves away from the new group to avoid what they had just seen from happening to them.

Despite the fact that the village wasn't large, the gate suddenly felt so far away. With such a large group there was no way the tarkatans wouldn't notice them. Immediately they did they gave pursuit.

Those who were too slow were killed without mercy causing the number of survivors dwindled as they continued to run towards the gate.

By the time they got to the gate the group had already reduced by half. However, before they could feel relieve, some tarkatans came out in distance towards them with a long bearded old man in the lead, dressed in brown robes.

Kira's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the old man, her expression turning fearful. Something that Koi and Giru noticed.

"Kira, what's wrong?" Koi asked worriedly. However, even when she heard his voice, Kira didn't look at him.

Instead she immediately pointed at the man in the lead, saying, "That is the man, he is very dangerous. Giru immediately handed Kira's hand to koi.

"Go deep into the forest, do not stop until you can no longer see the soil of this ground" Giru commanded as he picked up an axe.

"What about you father?" Koi asked fearfully not knowing what Giru wanted to do. "Go, I will help you slow them down"

"What the hell do you mean? The three of us can still get out of here" Koi frowned when he heard Giru's words. The tarkatans we're still a safe distance away, they still had a chance.

However Giru shook his head. Although it might look like they can escape from this distance but he had seen the tarkatans in action, they could cover this distance in less than a few minutes. Moreover they had a pregnant woman to consider. With her speed it was already a miracle that they managed to make it this far.

Koi's pupils shrank when he saw the old man shaking his head. "Why are you being so fucking stubborn old man?"

"Please we have to leave. They are coming" Kira panicked when she saw that they tarkatans had already taken notice of them and were already making their way towards them.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the blood dripping from the blade on their arms. It took everything she had not to scream in fright. But nothing could stop her from shivering in fear.

Koi frowned when he saw this and he couldn't help but curse the old man inwardly for waiting time.

Giru's expression turned gloomy as he turned to his adopted son and shouted. "Listen to me koi. There is no use for an old man like me. I have already had my full of life, but yours are just beginning. The least I can do with the little life I have left is to buy the two of you time, no Mather how little. But you Koi, you have a wife and an unborn child to protect. So take them with you and escaped from his hell hole."

"But…" Koi hesitated even though he knew that the old man was right, it's just that the thought of abandoning the old man never once crossed his mind. Moreover, he would be abandoning one family to save another.

Unfortunately Giru didn't give him any time to decide as he angrily shove him away and shouted. "Go Koi! Protect Kira and your baby. Now go!"

Koi hesitated for a while before turning around to leave with Kira. "Come in Kira"

"We can't leave him behind. We have to go back. They'll kill him" Kira shouted when saw the old man standing in front of the approaching tarkatans. She knew just how ruthless those creatures are. They'll kill him mercilessly if he was lucky. If not then old man Giru was in for a world of torture and torment.

Koi gritted his teeth holding back the grief he was currently feeling and said. "There is nothing we can do now. He has made his choice."

Kira craned her neck to looked at old man ken one last time with a look of unwillingness. Everything was happening just way too fast. Everything they had ever known had fallen in just a few hours.

She never dreamt that one day she would be forced to flee from her home. Her heart clenched as a feeling of sorrow and grief greater than any one she has ever felt before washed over her.

…….

Tears rolled down Giru's eyes as he watched them leave. Koi and Kira continue their run while old man Giru stood between the approaching tarkatan and the fleeing koi and Kira.

He has made a lot of bad choices and mistakes in life, some that scarred him, others that filled him with regret. But they were what made him into the man he is today. However the best choice of his life was picking up the baby Koi on that day.

Truly, koi was a blessing to him. He and his wife had tried for years to have a child but never succeed, this filled his wife with grief and depression. The two things that would later on lead to her death. His wife was everything to him, and he was nothing without her. Just not being able to wake up to her beautiful face anymore left him heartbroken and depressed.

He went to the farm after her death to grief and probably end his life when he found koi. After seeing the state that he and his mother was him his had a change of heart and decided to raise the boy as his son.

Koi wasn't just a blessing, he was his second try at life. If only his wife could have been there to raise koi with him. Just how happy would she had been to finally have a child to call her own.

A smile played on Giru's lips as he imagined the scene of his wife being overprotective of koi and babying him even as an adult.

However that smile soon disappeared as he faced the approaching tarkatans with a firm gaze. Even if he was going to die this day, at least he would go out protecting the ones he loved.

The only regret he has now is not being able to witness the birth of his grandkid.

Koi, Kira. Take care of my grandkid for me.

……..

As Koi reached the entrance of the forest with kira, He looked back to see old man Giru soul being absorbed by the wicked sorcerer.

'Father' Hot tears rolled down koi's eyes but he never stopped running for even a second.

Unsurprisingly the tarkatans continued chase even after the old man had been killed. Since they had seen the three of them together, naturally they had to kill them too.

Koi and Kira nearly lost their minds when the saw the tarkatans chasing after them. The two of them ran like wild dogs. At that moment koi even forgot that Kira was pregnant as he dragged he roughly through the dark forest.

Unfortunately or not for the tarkatans they lost them during the chase. After it got dark it became hard for them to trace koi and Kira. Therefore, they were forced to return back to their leader empty handed.

"Where are they you useless morons?!" The sorcerer bellowed as he grabbed one the tarkatans by the neck. The others moved back in fear knowing that they were in big trouble. Despite the sorcerer's old look they knew that he was someone very powerful.

He didn't give the tarkatans he was holding any time to answer before he snapped his neck and turned to the others.

"Why didn't you find them? Are you taking this task for granted? If you fail to complete your missions, I will not be lenient. I assume you all know the punishment for failure?" The sorcerer questioned as he looked down on down like they were insect that he could squash underneath his feet. The tarkatans shivered in fear when they felt his gaze on them. Their whole body immediately became drenched in sweats. They were afraid that one of them might be the next person to go. Although they might be considered of the low or even cannon folders but they still valued their lives.

Once he made sure that they understood the situation they were in, the sorcerer gave a smile that wasn't really a smile and said. "We go on the hunt for them tonight. The mission will be completed without any flaw. And I will make sure no nuisance is born from this."

With that said the sorcerer turned around and walked towards the forest to finish what he started. The tarkatans immediately followed after him for fear that they would be killed if they were too slow.

…….

I'll be ending to this here. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

I'll be off to my next story update.

Until we meet again

Ja ne