Chapter 52: Slut or Virgin
"Get the boy!" Kaelor shouted, spurring his horse into a furious dash. The hooves of his mount tore across the trembling earth as he surged into a whirlwind of panic; massive horned sheep bleated and scattered in every direction, and the sky above was a maelstrom of leathery wings. Morning fog still clung to the ground, giving everything a hazy, dreamlike quality, and yet, it was all too real. Bats the size of men swooped and shrieked above, darkening the sky.
For a flicker of a moment, amidst the chaos, Kaelor’s mind drifted, his old life flashed before him. A life of calloused hands, lifting blocks under the unkind sun. A man who served the grind of survival.
But this... this was who he truly was.
A rider in the thick of death and danger. A blade in the storm.
A Lord.
Shing!
His sword left its sheath with a clear metallic cry.
Without warning, a sheep dropped beside him from the skies, a deflated husk of bone, fur, and stretched skin. It hit the ground with a heavy thump, but Kaelor didn’t flinch.
His eyes were locked onto the creature clutching Lan, Kan’s young son. The bat was grotesque, nearly human in size, with enormous wings, flared ears, and a snarling maw of fangs. But it was the two protruding canines, like daggers jutting from its jaws, that gave it a nightmarish edge.
If Lan died here, it would shatter Kan. And Kan was too valuable. Loyal, steady, irreplaceable, for now. That wasn’t the only reason Kaelor raced forward, but it was the weight he couldn’t ignore.
His horse screeched to a halt, rearing violently as a Colossal Uru charged into their path. The beast was mountainous, its shaggy shoulders wide as a cart, horns jutting like spears. Kaelor tugged his reins sharply, forcing a turn that stole his momentum. The interruption cost him precious seconds.
Behind him, Vi’s voice rang out, but not in her usual tone. It was lower, otherworldly, like two voices speaking in harmony. Her Focus Crystal pulsed with power, a glow so bright it shimmered through the morning mist.