Chapter 18: The Crimson Executioner
989 Words
The crimson aura spread through the ruined village like a living tide.
The air became unbearably heavy.
The ground beneath the Royal Vanguard cracked as if it could no longer bear the stranger’s presence.
Leaves spiraled through the air before crumbling into ash the moment they touched the crimson energy.
Azul tightened his grip on his sword.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He’s… stronger than the Shadow Fang.
Much stronger.
Master Kael stepped in front of the six recruits, shielding them with his body.
“Stay behind me.”
Bashan frowned.
“We can fight.”
“No.”
Kael’s voice was calm, but firm.
“You can die.”
The words struck harder than any blow.
For the first time since joining the Royal Vanguard, Bashan saw genuine concern in his master’s eyes.
The old warrior wasn’t underestimating them.
He was protecting them.
The crimson-armored man chuckled.
“So this is the famous Master Kael.”
“I expected someone taller.”
Kael smiled faintly.
“And I expected the Crimson Order to send someone stronger.”
The stranger’s smile vanished.
“You still have your tongue.”
“Let’s see if you keep it.”
Without warning—
He disappeared.
Azul’s eyes widened.
“Where did he—”
CLANG!
A deafening explosion of steel echoed across the village.
Kael had already intercepted the attack.
The clash of their swords unleashed a shockwave that shattered the windows of the remaining buildings.
The Royal Vanguard was forced several steps backward.
“So fast…” whispered the dagger wielder.
Neither combatant had moved more than a few feet.
Yet the force of their collision had torn a deep trench through the ground.
The stranger pushed forward.
Kael met him head-on.
Steel screamed against steel.
They exchanged blow after blow, each strike too fast for the recruits to follow.
The only proof of their movements was the destruction left behind.
A house collapsed.
A stone wall split in half.
The earth itself trembled beneath their feet.
Bashan clenched his fists.
“I can’t even see them.”
“That’s because you’re watching with your eyes.”
Everyone turned toward Azul.
He wasn’t looking at the fighters.
He had closed his eyes.
“What are you doing?” asked the spear-wielding girl.
“I don’t know…”
Azul answered honestly.
“But I can feel them.”
He could sense every movement.
Every shift in the air.
Every pulse of energy.
It was as though the blue power sleeping inside him was guiding his awareness beyond ordinary sight.
“There!”
Azul shouted.
“Master, above you!”
Kael reacted instantly.
He leaped backward just as the stranger descended from the sky, his crimson blade crashing into the earth.
BOOM!
The impact blasted a crater nearly ten meters wide.
The stranger glanced toward Azul.
His crimson eyes narrowed.
“So…”
“The Stream has begun to awaken your senses.”
Kael seized the opening.
His sword flashed.
A thin cut appeared across the stranger’s cheek.
A single drop of blood rolled down his face.
Silence.
The Crimson warrior slowly touched the wound.
When he looked at the blood on his fingertips…
He smiled.
“You actually wounded me.”
His smile widened into something terrifying.
“It’s been twenty years.”
The crimson aura around him doubled in size.
The sky darkened.
Lightning crackled overhead.
Master Kael’s expression changed for the first time.
“Retreat!”
The command stunned everyone.
“But Master—”
“NOW!”
The urgency in his voice left no room for argument.
The Vanguard turned and sprinted toward the forest.
None of them wanted to abandon their teacher.
But they trusted him.
That trust might be the only reason they survived.
⸻
As they ran, explosions echoed behind them.
Each clash between Kael and the Crimson warrior shook the forest.
Birds fled into the stormy sky.
Trees toppled one after another.
The battle raged like a natural disaster.
Bashan looked over his shoulder.
“We can’t leave him!”
“We’re following orders,” the shield bearer replied.
“But he’ll die!”
Before anyone could answer—
A deafening roar erupted from behind them.
The force of it knocked the six recruits to the ground.
Azul looked back.
Far above the treetops…
A column of brilliant blue light collided with a pillar of crimson energy.
The two powers clashed like rival storms.
The heavens themselves seemed to split apart.
Then…
Everything went silent.
The light vanished.
The wind stopped.
Even the rain ceased.
“No…”
Azul whispered.
His heart sank.
He didn’t know why.
But deep inside…
He felt as though something precious had just been lost.
⸻
Miles away, inside the royal palace, the ancient crystal beneath the throne room pulsed violently.
A second c***k spread across its surface.
The King, who had been standing before it in silent prayer, suddenly staggered.
His hand pressed against the crystal.
He closed his eyes.
“Kael…”
The Queen hurried to his side.
“What happened?”
The King’s voice was barely audible.
“Our oldest shield…”
“…has fallen.”
Back in the Whispering Woods, the Royal Vanguard stood frozen.
The silence that followed the battle was far more terrifying than the battle itself.
Then, from the darkness ahead…
Slow footsteps echoed.
One…
Two…
Three…
A familiar figure emerged from the mist.
His cloak was torn.
His armor was stained with blood.
Master Kael.
He was alive.
But the look in his eyes told a different story.
“The mission…” he said weakly, “…has changed.”
He looked directly at Azul.
“They know who you are.”
He coughed, blood staining his lips.
“And next time…”
“They won’t send just one.”
As Kael collapsed into Bashan’s arms, a single thought echoed through every member of the Royal Vanguard.
The war had truly begun.
- Writer
