༺ River Styx Flows Indifferently (3) ༻
“Damn it, it’s fortunate that we met, you damn stalkers!”
“Heuhahaehag!”
Spitting out those words, I then went on to land a punch on that Skar fellow, whose jaw I had already broken, moments before.
With the armor adding its weight, my fist was falling on them like an iron hammer. It looked extremely lethal to any onlookers.
“Gaaghh!”
The fellow with the broken jaw, Skar, had already started sobbing. With my fists having landed on him, his body smashed head first on the ground, a pained groan leaking out of his dislocated jaw. Foaming from his mouth, he soon passed out on the spot.
“W-What the fuck!?”
Faster than the others, the swordsman reacted to the situation.
“Son of a bitch—”
Just as he was about to slash his sword at me, I smashed the handle of his sword with my fist, before punching him straight on his head.
Puk—
“!”
Unable to even let out a single groan, the man’s head slammed on the dirty floor, after being knocked out by my heavy wristband-enhanced punch. It seems that the difference in physical strength mattered a lot in combat involving blade-wielders.
Furthermore, the shock they received at the effectiveness of my defensive gear, which was efficiently blocking every one of their hits, furthered their hesitation, eventually ending in their inevitable loss.
It went without saying that buying this expensive armor had just saved my life. This is why expensive gear is worth it, regardless of its astronomical price.
“Damn it, you savage bastard!”
The leader of the stalker group, the bald man, was now the only one left standing among them. Not that his subordinate’s helplessness against Hassan, did anything to lessen the hostility he was emitting now. Is that how it is to be a boss?
“You better not underestimate me just because this Sir Uther’s lowly subordinates have been dealt with. I’ll have you know that I have the rare Blessing of Light, from the Sun God himself.”
I couldn’t prevent my shoulders from trembling at that bold declaration. Why did the Sun God bless such a hooligan? Besides, I had heard that the God of Light didn’t give his blessings to any Tom, Dick, and Harry, which made this situation even more absurd to me.
“Oh mighty God of Light and Sun! Your son Uther, earnestly prays for your assistance!”
While listening to his prayers, I wondered if the gray clouds covering the sky would suddenly clear out, letting the bright sunshine through, illuminating the surroundings with an all-encompassing shower of light.
Wave—
A bright light was reflected from his shining forehead, suddenly blinding my eyes.
“Ugh…”
To be honest, this was a very effective attack. No way in hell could I have expected anything like this. I reflexively frowned, narrowing my eyes due to the blinding light. Such bullshit…it’s so dazzling—
“You spineless bald bastard!”
“This is the light of the Sun God! There’s no way for a savage like you to even dare to look at it.”
“Damn it, you bald bastard! How cowardly of you to use such a wimpy trick!”
“I’m not bald, it’s the Blessing of Light, okay!? ‘Bald this’, ‘bald that’, that’s all you can bark, huh!? For your knowledge, baldness is a sign of overflowing masculinity, you ignorant and savage buffoon.”
“Damn it, you baldy!”
“Bastard son of a bitch, just die!”
I heard the sound of his heavy steps spluttering the mud, in the short moments when my vision was obscured by the bright rays of light. Fearing the inevitable assault, I hastily threw a fist in the rough direction of the sound. Unexpectedly, I ended up hitting nothing but air.
“Did you think I’d be hit by a blind, mindless attack like that?”
“Fuck!”
My vision being impeded didn’t mean that I was powerless and unable to attack anymore.
Randomly, I began throwing my fists and kicks all around like an angry gorilla going on a rampage.
“Guaak—”
“Such a master of fights in the wild! Still, I’m not gonna fall for this stupid trick— Ughhh!!!”
Puk—
I felt like my haphazard blows had landed on something heavy. Without hesitation, I threw more and more arbitrary attacks in the direction of the pained groans, it seems that I was fortunate enough to place some hits on his head or his torso.
“Ughhh—”
I wondered if that heavy hit was enough to end that god-forsaken skill of his, blinding my vision. This shit was strong enough to turn my vision completely white, despite my eyes being tightly shut.
It was as if the sun itself had fallen on the ground, right in front of my eyes, blinding the surroundings with its brilliance. Although ridiculous, having this kind of blessing that can spout so much light was nothing to scoff at in the least. Damn, didn’t it feel like I was facing the sun itself?
“M-my nose is bleeding? Son of a bitch! I’ll kill you! I’ll offer your blood to my dual swords!”
Brrrr~
I felt a chill running down my spine, hearing his wrathful roar, directed toward me.
My danger sensor, which had been painstakingly cultivated during the past two years by going through all sorts of hardships and mishaps, began ringing again, right at this moment. Judging by how loudly it was ringing in my head, things were about to get really rough, really soon.
I was momentarily out of breath, having mindlessly swung my arms and legs for a while. Meanwhile, my sight was still completely blocked by that dazzling skill of his.
It was then, that I remembered Nemea’s warning from before, ‘Watch out for the light’. I was at a complete dead end. Shit, what should I do in this situation?
“L-Let’s go, guys! Hurry up! Let’s help Hassan!”
I heard some screams mixed with familiar buzzing noises coming from my surroundings at that dreary moment. When my fears were slowly turning into despair, knowing my inevitable fate — death.
“Argh, it stings! What the fuck just bit me?”
“What’s going on?! It’s so bright, I can’t see shit!”
“Huh, what! I-It’s a bee! There are even more! Where the fuck did they come from?”
I was confused by what was happening in my surroundings, but it looks like a commotion arose because of whatever the baldy did. I could still hear the damned voice of the bald guy among the blinding light, and the previous screams.
Buzz—
I could also hear sounds reminiscent of a helicopter’s propellers, rotating at max speed, every now and then. Of course, there was no such thing as propellers, or helicopters for that matter, in this barbaric world, leaving only one possibility for the source of that bumbling sound.
“Shit, Luna, it stings! They’re going after me too!”
Honestly, It stung a lot. I’ve already experienced the stinging of these creatures, that love to cling to your body, yesterday, during my first quest as an adventurer. I’ve never thought I’d have to go through it again! That too, so soon!
“I-I’m sorry, Hassan! We were just trying to help!”
“You’re not helping shit! Does helping mean stinging your ally!? Damn, they’re even coming underneath my clothes! Fuck!”
My body was violently quivering because of the stinging pain from the bees’ assault.
“Damn it, it’s that weird sorceress! But, I’m not going to lose! Die, you wretched witch!”
“Ugyaaa—!”
Shatter— Plop—
I heard the screams of a familiar girl along with the roars of a furious man.
The sound of something shattering resounded near me, following which was a huge ‘plop—’ that was reminiscent of the sounds of an object dropping to the ground.
Amidst this disconcerting situation, I could clearly tell that Luna had beaten the baldy. What I heard earlier was probably the earthen pot she usually carried shattering on top of the man’s head, smashing his shiny stadium in the process, followed by him collapsing on the ground.
I only knew her for a day at most but she was still an incredibly pretty girl who talked to me, a very unpopular guy, in a friendly and free manner. She was unlike any girl I’ve ever met.
Also, she might be the only lead for me to gather more reliable information about the Styx Oath I recently made — unknowingly as I did. To die just like this? This is so frustrating.
I suddenly frowned at that moment since I wasn’t feeling the blinding effects, and the searing pain, of his blinding skill anymore.
Fade—
The dazzling source of brilliant light started losing its power, gradually dimming to nothingness.
Gray clouds were covering the sky again by the time I began fluttering my eyes open, the light rays were getting thinner as well, slowly receding back behind the clouds.
It was only then that I could properly see what was transpiring in my surroundings.
People around me were scampering away from the aggressive bees that were buzzing around, all over the place, attacking everyone that came into their path.
A few paces ahead, Luna was lying helplessly on the ground, her mask, now broken and cracked, not too far away from her. Most importantly, the bald man was standing in front of her, both of his swords raised high in the sky, seemingly intent on killing Luna by slashing her into pieces.
“Hey, damn it, you bald bastard!”
“Shit, did my skill end already?”
“What a weird trick. Just die already, god damn it.”
I put strength in my legs and pushed the ground as hard as I could. My tightly clenched fist, containing all the power I could gather, was directed straight towards him as I punched him square in the face.
The man, after being hit on the chin with my fist strike, fell to his knees, eventually crashing directly on the floor like a bowling bowl. His body then slammed head first directly into the ground.
“Gaaghh—”
“Bastard! Fuck, I’m in trouble now!”
“I have no choice then… O’ Almighty God of Light and Sun, I beg thee to protect me with your everlasting light, lead me with your ever-brilliant wisdom, protect me from death and from my enemies, g-great fortune…”
“Give up.”
“…What?”
I stepped towards him, casting him under the dark shadow of my huge body. I could feel the man’s eyes, hidden in the darkness, frown at me.
“There’s no light here.”
“Ha…”
The nosebleeding goon sighed in despair as my hammering fist was nearing his face, ready to knock him out of his senses.
Puk—
“Ugghh—!”
Thud—
***
“Hassan, here, I found 2 coppers in his pockets—!”
Luna and I started rummaging through the pockets of the now beaten and unconscious stalkers. We got around 10 coppers in total and three swords.
“Fucking beggars.”
I spit on the floor, firing curses nonstop, seeing the beggar-like state of my assailants.
Well, getting 3 swords wasn’t too bad either… I think? I didn’t have enough money to buy a weapon anyways, after getting that expensive piece of lifesaving armor. So getting these blades was quite the overhaul.
Though, not everything was usable, unfortunately. The ax, for instance, was incredibly rusty and was even missing some of its teeth along the edges of the curved blade, losing more than half of its effectiveness with that fact alone. I’ll just throw this away, then. I don’t think it can be used in the least.
Anyway, I added the 10 coppers to my money pouch and hung the short sword with its sheath around my waist.
With this, I became Hassan the tri-swordsman, a practitioner of the Santoryu style! I can feel my combat power rising already!
Well, it wasn’t like I knew anything about swordsmanship, to begin with. All I could do was aimlessly swing my swords like any other amateur, new to the art. Still, I was aware of how powerful a sword could be! Even in the hands of a newbie like me.
I could even sell two of them since I had three.
“P-Please, don’t take my swords away… They’re the foundations of my business, they cost 5 silvers a piece!”
The bald man began pleading with me, it was insane just to think he was still conscious after all that beating I inflicted on him.
Clearly, he was strong enough to be the leader of the gang. Even if it was a ragtag gathering of stalkers!
“W-Without it, I’ll starve to death…”
Hesitation took over my weakening heart at the pitiful appearance he projected now.
“He’s still awake!”
Suddenly, Luna started screaming at the top of her lungs, picked up a rock lying next to her feet, then smashed the baldy’s head with said rock, all done in a smooth and systematic motion. The man’s eyes rolled inside his sockets and he crashed to the ground with a thud once again, hopefully, for the last time as he finally seemed to lose consciousness.
I can’t believe she nonchalantly smashed the man’s head. This isn’t normal either. I again questioned the sanity of the people of this barbaric world.
Damn it, I hope the baldy isn’t dead. Killing people in the city is a bit of a risky move.
Even if they were the ones that were picking a fight with me, I’d still be severely interrogated by the guards if this fellow really ended up dead. Because I was nothing but a savage Samaritan in their eyes.
My anxiety was rising through the roof at the realization that my lack of money or status practically dictated that I would only end up being directly imprisoned if this damn miscreant really ended up kicking the bucket.
Anxiously, I placed two of my fingers on the necks of the collapsed bastards. I was trying to check if they had any pulse and whether they were still breathing or not.
“L-Look at that! He’s trying to kill him, he’s trying to strangle him!”
“No, he’s trying to skin his face! I heard Samaritans skin the faces of their defeated opponents.”
The onlookers who had yet to leave the area despite the onslaught of the bees promptly started whispering. I’ll get misunderstood no matter what I do in this damned place, aren’t I?
Clank— Clank—
“What’s all the fuss about?”
Soon enough, city guards, armed to the teeth with swords, round shields, and red cloak armors appeared on the scene. The commotion quickly ceased to a tense silence with their sudden arrival.
“No, it’s these bastards that hit me first. Wielding a sword against me while I was unarmed. Anyway, they’re pure bad guys. They’re Daphne’s stalkers, all of them. Yeah—”
“Hmm.”
I had to explain to the city guards that my actions were born out of self-defense and weren’t excessive in any way, making me a bit sweaty with ever-growing anxiety, waiting for their reactions to my reasoning. Even if we committed the same crime, the law would be much harsher towards me as a black-haired savage.
“These hooligans are pretty well known around these parts.”
“I saw those bastards picking up a fight first! Then there was a bright light that blinded me for a while. The commotion had ended by the time I could open them again.”
I was lucky to have the onlookers defend me, resulting in me being able to avoid the scenario — where I would get immediately thrown in jail without even being able to justify my actions.
In this world, without the presence of any CCTV, the testimony of people around you had a big weight. It could either be beneficial or detrimental depending on the individual that was the subject of the people’s speech.
A simple duel. That’s how the case was closed.
“As the Gods and the royal palace have decreed, those who are defeated in a duel are to be imprisoned.”
“And remember not to make a fuss, you savage. This city isn’t like the chaotic wilderness you might be used to, the laws of the Gods will follow you everywhere.”
“Hey, let go! I am Uther, offspring of the Sun God! Uhm, someone who has been blessed by the Sun God, damn it!! Release me!!!”
“We know your father, you damn miscreant! He runs a cloth shop near the north gate. Now, shut up and follow us already.”
My legs were trembling uncontrollably as I was watching the guards tie up the three men and drag them away.
The adrenaline that had kept me excited during the fight was no more, and hearing the word ‘jail’ was enough to sober me up and cool my head.
Losing a duel meant going to jail. Not even mentioning the fact that in this world human rights were moot. Going to jail was synonymous with dying or worse.
“Sigh~”
All in all, things went well. It was truly fortunate that I could avoid being injured while fighting three armed guys simultaneously.
My fists were still throbbing, the bee stings were still burning, and throbbing pain surged throughout my body. Well, that was still a cheap price to pay to deal with the three armed gangsters so it was worth it, I guess…
“Hassan, you know I didn’t do that on purpose, right? Bees don’t know who’s on whose side… My voodoo skills aren’t good enough at controlling them… yet…”
Luna was stammering while shyly looking at me. She seemed to remember my pained cries each time I was stung by one of the bees she released to ‘help’ me.
“Still, I’m alive thanks to you.”
“Really? That’s right? I knew it, right?”
I politely thanked her. If Luna hadn’t shown up at that opportune moment, while I was still affected by the dazzling light, I probably would have been the one being dragged out by the guards.
Maybe what had remained of me would be nothing but a mere corpse by then.
“These bees would have brought me 20 coppers if sold. It’s heart-wrenching to think I had to release the bees I caught yesterday and today. Even my amulet mask has been damaged…”
Luna started sobbing when she saw the broken pieces of wood scattered on the floor. The wooden mask was unrecognizable after countless people stepped on it again and again.
The item must have been very important to her since she prioritized protecting it instead of her body when we got attacked by the goblins in the forest.
Should I give her the 10 coppers I got from the robbers? I decided against it since I was struggling to get by myself. I didn’t need to give her anything she didn’t ask for.
I need to change the mood at the very least, though. So I tried talking to the intermittently sobbing Luna.
“How did you get here?”
“Oh, I was looking for you. I went back to the inn after stopping by the guild. They told me you had already left by then. I then went to the guild again, thinking you might’ve gone there to get your rewards. From there I went to the library, as I heard that Daphne sent you there. Coming here, I thought I heard your voice in the park near the library, so I came to check, only to stumble upon this scene of chaos.”
Luna systematically explained what she had gone through to get to the point of helping me in the fight against the stalker gang.
“Anyway, you’ve been looking for me?”
“Yeah, we were going to make a child. We swore on the river Styx and established a vow, don’t you remember?”
Shock—
“Ah! I think I remember that, yeah…”
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Well, well, well. What do you guys think of this chapter? Definitely one of my favorites lmao. It’s undescribable lmao. Uther is my new favorite character, fuck the rest. The ’s title is ‘child-making date with Luna’ lmao. See you all then. By the way, this chapter and yesterday’s one should have been posted last week. So we’ll have at least two new chapters in the following days.
By, by, the way, We have a new editor. Don’t forget to show him some love in the comments, he’s a little shy lmao.
