Riya's eyes became moist seeing Alex safe and sound and she wrapped her hands around him and sobbed while resting her head on his broad shoulder while thinking about the disaster they suffered a few days ago.
Alex caressed her back and as she stopped crying, he wiped her tears and spoke"Here, eat something. You will feel better."
Riya looked at the place Alex pointed and saw roasted meat placed over the leaves.
There was a fire burning quite near that place which provided them with some warmth.
"Hmm!" Riya nodded and munched some meat while Alex caressed her head.
"It's been tough on you and others but we're alright. That's what matters in the end."
Riya nodded and enjoyed the warmth and rested her head on his chest.
Alex snuggled a bit and after enjoying her company for some time, he raised his hand.
Flickering golden light enveloped everyone.
The entire cave was lit by the golden shimmers and even illuminated the darkness outside the place.
The brows of the people in the cave furrowed and the expressions on their faces distorted.
As if waking from a horrible dream, many cried out suddenly.
"Ahhh!"
"Haaa...Haa..."
"Huff…..Huff"
Each one of them breathed heavily.
Sweats trickled down from their back.
A nauseating smell assaulted them.
"Am I in hell and heaven?" Max muttered while looking above at the dark ceiling. His vision was a flurry and his mind was in a mess.
"Where are we?"
They squealed like a pig who seemed to be slaughtered a moment ago only to find out at the next moment that they are alive.
The horrific scene of the disaster appeared before their eyes which made their body shiver in fright.
"You all are neither in hell nor in heaven?"
"You all are alive."
The words calmed them down but soon the cold bucket of water was poured on them.
"Out of everyone here, I was only able to save this many of you"
All of them looked at the source of the sound and found Alex staring at them with hollow eyes.
As they calmed down, they remembered the horrific experience that they had undergone.
Never, did they want to suffer such a thing again.
Before the impact, all of them felt as if their existence was going to be wiped out.
They were nothing but ants who could have been crushed by that guy.
Their minds seemed to be shut off for an instant and their consciousness seemed to erode but the pain their body went through cannot be described by mere words.
It was already good enough for them to think straight after going through that kind of experience.
"What happened to others? Are all of them dead?" Johnson was the one who broke the silence.
But his question brought another wave of deathly silence. The reality of losing so many people within a snap of a finger struck everyone hard.
It was a terrific nightmare.
The Supreme rank wasn't even present there physically and it was just a will of his still he was able to eradicate everyone.
It might be considered a blessing for them to live and the man who made the impossible possible. They owe their lives to this man.
Just thinking about this, made their whole body shiver in fright.
For the first time, Alex was at a loss for words.
His feelings were in a mess. Everything inside him seemed to be tangled.
"10,000 soldiers followed my will. If I hadn't decided to defend and fight with Arkham, all of them might have escaped to Western territory and wouldn't have suffered such a calamity."
"That Anonymous guy came for my head and Arkham forces but you all were just trapped in between."
"It was my mistake," Alex spoke with a lifeless gaze.
The surviving soldiers looked at Alex and wanted to soothe him but none of them was able to speak after seeing that cold gaze.
Alex closed his eyes to sort out his mind and opened it.
His eyes became sharp and flickered with a cold glint.
"This sin, I will carry in my heart. I will find that being.No, I will find that entire organisation and hunt each one of them down."
"Once I reach that level I swear on my name that I will hunt every piece of trash stuffed in that organisation. I will hunt them until the end of the world. If they are dead, I will dig out their corpses and defile them. If there is no corpse left behind, I will hunt their souls no matter whether their souls are in hell or heaven, I will hunt them and torture them."
"I know you may be sceptical about it but once I reach that level I could even pull out their soul from hell and heaven and then I would show them the true meaning of cruelty," Alex spoke while clenching his fist tightly.
His body was covered with a murderous glint.
The murderous intent only hovered around him but it was extremely dense to the point that everyone could see millions of corpses behind Alex.
The small protruding stone on which Alex set seemed to be a mountain of corpses and Alex's eyes seemed to carry the wrath of the millions of beings who just wanted to crawl out from the ocean of blood and purge the world into a bloodbath.
"Alex!"
"Control your blood intent."
The thick bloody aura disappeared from Alex in the blink of an eye and snapped everyone out of their thoughts.
"Sorry, it seems I just lost myself for a moment," Alex spoke with an embarrassed smile.
"My Lord, we will also become stronger and take revenge on the behalf of our dead brothers," Max spoke while clenching his fist.
"My Lord, where is this place? Are we near the Western territory in Kinley or somewhere else?"Aeon asked with a confused expression.
"We seem to be on the outskirts somewhere."
"I have waited for all of you to wake up so that we can head out together."
"So, before we leave this place. You all can eat to your heart's content. I have hunted many games during this period."
GROWL!
Hungry voices emerge from everyone's stomachs as soon as they hear the food's name.
Swallowing their saliva, all of them pounced on meat greedily.
"I have never felt this much alive," Max spoke as he munched on the meat.
Alex felt that even this much meat might not suffice them but fortunately, this was enough.
After everyone had their fills and finally got some energy, Alex decided it was time to pack up.
They rested for the night and then at the earliest morning they bid Goodbye to the place which they have been inhabiting for the last eight days.
Leaving the cave, the group wandered around looking for signs of humans.
After walking for six hours following the direction of sunrise, Alex finally felt a minor mana fluctuation.
"There are three humans nearby."
"Follow me Quickly."
.......
Crackle!
Two pieces of leg of the hunted game were hung over the fire.
Three men sat in a circle and salivated looking at the meat.
Rustle...Rustle.
They suddenly heard the rustling of leaves and one of them muttered"The wind seems to be quite strong."
"Strong wind my ass...What the hell are you saying, there is no wind blowing today."
"You have been hungry for too long and you are hallucinating."
"Yeah, it can be," Glen said while scratching his head.
The sound of rustling increased which alerted everyone.
"Hey, is there a beast nearby?" Ken spoke with a cautious expression.
"Shit! It seems the smell had attracted a wild beast."
"What should we do?"
"Let's run away leaving this? If this is a strong one we will surely die?"Glen spoke.
"Shut up" Ken and Rony shouted at the same time.
"Food is scarce nowadays due to the destruction of the land. Our village has been blessed by luck and that's why there has been a rise in the number of beasts."Ken spoke and stared in the direction of the sound.
"Let us take a look first," Ken suggested.
Three of them got up and looked at the bushes.
The rustling sounds became closer and their breathing became rough.
Finally, their eyes caught the sight of a person with a bulky body holding a broken axe with a bare chest with blood stains.
All the hair on their body stood up in fright and they shouted"Oh God! It's the Bandits."
