Devastated! That was the word best fit to describe the distorted landscape preceding the isolated settlement. The ground was razed to pieces, leaving behind holes and depressions for every few meters of soil and the massive crater resembled a gaping jaw of a giant predator, one large enough to swallow the village in its entirety. Any forms of vegetation that had occupied the field were completely and utterly obliterated, and the dreadful battle had even flattened the large trees in the distance that had marked the beginning of the woods.

"Hah hah hah!" the cloaked mage, not too far away from the horrific aftermath, wheezed with a trembling physique.

The high tensed battle had left him exhausted and the continuous casting of magic spells with increasing complexity made for only a part of that reason. Although it was for an instance, the man had witnessed the feeling of death up close. Had it not been for the temporary barriers created by the magical ring, his soul may have already departed to the afterlife, and that very conjecture ignited a sense of immense dread within him.

"Ughh! Ahh, it hurts!"

It was not long before another man joined the mage's company, dragging along his miserable body through the massive potholes that filled the rocky terrain. Blood dripped from all over his face, making the mangled flesh on it look even more hideous. One of his hands constantly caressed a bluish bruise on the abdomen and it could only be assumed, that he carried an expression of extreme horror and pain at the moment.

"Damn it! this shit's not just gonna end up with just a scar!" the scar-faced man roared with fury as he plopped down onto the ground beside the mage.

"What the hell was that woman!"

"Even I want to know that!" the cloaked mage shouted with exasperation.

Both the men were strangers. They didn't even know the other's name and could be no further apart in status or class within the society. But at this very moment, albeit for an instance, their thoughts and emotions matched one another.

'What a monster!'

Both of them boasted a fair share of experience within these vast lands, and could be considered among the upper echelons in their respective fields, But never in life had they witnessed something so overbearing and powerful yet strange and bizarre at the same time. No amount of words could describe the sheer amount of shock that had rippled their minds and an awkward silence dawned upon after for a while.

pat! pat!

Dull and heavy footsteps resounded from within the direction of the village that grabbed the duo's attention and not long after, a massive figure of the crimson giant gradually grew in their vision.

Bojorn's state appeared far, far more miserable. Deep bloody gashes run all over his bare physique along with painful patches of dead blood that had accumulated just below his skin. The most damaged part was the man's face itself with the lower jaw being torn off from one side, dangling down like that of a rotten zombie. Even then, not a tinge of pain could be found in the chieftain's expression as he walked upright and chest out, approaching the scene.

The mage shivered. Standing so close to the berserker's aura made him realize the mountain toppling strength this class was bestowed with. But then again, such a sensation only raised the feelings of dread against the woman who had overpowered this beast.

"I take it you have finished off that...thing," he asked, trying his best to maintain composure.

Bojorn glared at the comparatively puny mage for a few breaths much to the latter's terror. The horrific sight of the giant's broken jaw could make anyone infer about the possibility of lost speech. Only after a slight nod from the man did the mage settled down.

"It's just one thing after another," he sighed. "The situation has gotten more and more complicated."

"I was right in my conjecture about the girl's whereabouts, but it seems some people are pulling strings behind the back. Not only did they caught wind of the raid, but they also managed to acquire external help."

"And then there's this..." he gazed at the ravaged field with incredulous eyes. "I need to hurry and report all of it before our plan crumbles."

The scar-faced man's interest was piqued at the mention of external assistance, but before he could voice his curiosity, Bojorn silenced him with a gesture. The collapsed bandit made a frown at the abrupt signal while the chief's expression was unreadable as he silently extended his giant hand towards the mage.

The latter almost jumped back in fright, only realizing the berserker's intent a moment later. It took almost all of the man's willpower to pacify his trembling arm as the party went through an awkward and tensed handshake.

"I-It was a pleasure working with you. W-We may contact in the future if the situation needs your assistance," the mage stuttered with anxiety.

Gazing at the scarlet pupils of the giant that appeared as if looking down on a tiny existence incited a sense of crisis within him. The scholarly man pulled out his hands from within the unnaturally strong grip before turning around in a hurry.

"W-Well then, I shall take my leave. Have fun with your rewards!"

The cloaked mage dashed away with brisk steps, exiting the scene with an agitated trot. Only now did the man realize how sweaty his palms were as he stared at the hand that had turned slight purple...

'Was he trembling?' A suspicious thought grasped his mind at the end moments before the mage's figure disappeared into the darkness.

Bojorn maintained his stern and sturdy posture for quite a long time as the two bandits silently gazed into the mage's direction.

shhhhhhh!

Then suddenly, as if waiting for a signal of some sort, the man's berserker presence drained out like a deflating balloon. His upright chest drooped down, and his legs wobbled as if they could not hold onto the immense weight before the massive body came crashing to the ground with a loud thud!

pop! popopopopop! crack! crack! riiip! riiip!

The bandit's body emitted gruesome bone popping noises as the giant framework began shrinking down to the original size. The ripping of muscle fibers and tissues could be cleanly distinguished as the wretched insides of the man, convoluted even further with torn blood vessels and damaged viscera.

Bloody red patches appeared just beneath the skin as a result of severe internal bleeding. Bones were fractured. Ligaments were torn. Organs were smashed and the skin had turned deathly pale due to lack of blood.

Sabotaged! could be one of the few words that well described the state of the bandit's physique. It was no doubt that he lay at the corner just near death.

"Alathia's mercy! That's the most hideous backlash you have ever received. How does it feel~~ " the scar-faced man joked despite the situation, and that only contorted the giant's broken face in consequence.

"Here, swallow it."

The man took out a pouch tied to his belt that contained two small reddish vials of liquid. Making the chieftain chug down one with difficulty, he emptied the other in one go with a distorted frown.

"geh!, So bitter, can't they make a wine flavored one?"

shimmer!

A brilliant glow enveloped the duo for a breath or two before dimming out. It could be seen that some of the lost complexions had returned to the chieftain's visage as several bruises and dead blood clots cleared out in an instant. The superficial injuries of the scar-faced man had similarly receded away and any prevalent bleeding had halted, but their battered physique still showed no signs of any drastic recuperation.

"grrrrr.....?" Bojorn emitted a furious growl in a questioning tone.

"Yeah, Yeah I know.", the man seemed to understand his chief's implications as he eyed the disfigured village walls. "With that idiot of a mage reporting our situation, the puppeteers would not mind cutting off loose ends. The possibility of such a scenario had always existed."

"That's why...", the scar-faced bandit smirked, as he whistled hard with two of his fingers.

screech!

"I had already made the preparations," an annoying smug donned on his lips that incited a heavy grunt from Bojorn.

Within a matter of seconds, three bandits hastily approached the duo from within the settlement, and their eyes widened in disbelief in an instant gazing at the collapsed chieftain. The trio appeared stupefied beyond measure but none of them dared to utter a word after a glare from the second in command.

"As you can see, we have little time left," the scar-faced man explained. "Light the signal and take over from here. You know what to do right?"

"Y-Yes vice chief! Do we take the goods to our usual hideout?"

"Do as you wish!"

"Yes!"

The trio scurried back with haste, and within no time, lit a spark of fire onto one of the thatched structure at the village entrance. Ravaging flames drowned the hut within a few minutes and a towering stream of smoke escaped up into the sky, very distinctively visible under the silvery moonlight. Bojorn gazed at the blackish mass that surged to the clouds as he lay sprawled, before gesturing at the bandit beside for an explanation.

"Well, even though you were hesitant about it, I had mobilized the entire brigade," the scar-faced man replied, scratching his chin. "Thought that it would be a good opportunity for those runts to learn something and...act like a decoy if the situation turned for the worst."

Yellowish aura surged from within the bandit as he hopped up, before his slender physique picked up the collapsed man, astonishingly hurling the massive body of Bojorn onto his back.

"This one's an utter failure," he sighed. " Even if we get you patched, I wonder how many years would it take to for you to get fully healed. Not only did we lose our entire group, gathered and filtered through such hardships, we have also caught the eye of possibly powerful and unknown foes."

Bojorn displayed a face of extreme regret at the man's words that stung like a poison needle. This decision of his was a complete and utter disaster. Feelings of loss and humiliation clouded the chieftain's mind as he looked back at the settlement with mixed emotions. This was the second time in life he had to experience such a thing.

He was fleeing. The almighty berserker was fleeing for his life, running away from a poor human settlement in the outskirts.

"...why didn't you kill the woman?" the scar face man questioned as he lowered his waist.

"..."

"Forget it. I think I know but, let's fix that broken jaw first."

shua!

Like a ghost, the figures of the two bandits instantly vanished from the scene, never to reappear again until a very distant future.

Half a dozen carriages lined themselves along the path as they slowly and steadily traversed the rocky valleys of the region. Pulling each of the vehicles were a pair of bipedal lizards that greatly resembled a scaled-down T-rex. Each one of them stood as high as an average human, with reins being strapped all over their scaly mouths that prevented anyone from a glance at the menacing fangs that may have laced the insides of their jaws.

creak! creak! tok! tok!

The carriages were entirely made out of wood, a small square platform sitting atop four roughly sculpted wheels, which was in turn barricaded by thick bamboo-like poles along the perimeter. It could be the farthest in comparison to a luxurious noble's carriage, and trapped inside these moving prisons were the pitiful figures of the village women that sobbed in silence and tender children that could barely restrain themselves from wailing like a ghost.

Vicious bruises peeked out of the torn and ripped clothing of many women and their bloodshot eyes had gone too dry to produce any further drops of tears. Their agonizing faces, disheveled hair, and shivering physique spoke volumes about the nasty torture that may have rained upon. The will to live had long since left their bodies as they stared into the distant sky, where a massive trail of jet black smoke loomed over the place upon which their peaceful home once stood.

The culprits of the tragedy marched alongside the carriages, forty or so people wearing blood-stained rags and sinister smiles. Although this new group carried a similar and threatening savage atmosphere, one could easily discern their weakness in presence compared to the first wave of bandits that had assaulted the village. The three men who had directly received orders in the presence of the chieftain led the group with unusual frowns. In contrast, the newcomers displayed faces of excitement as they occasionally glared at their harvest now and then.

"Is something the matter?" a bandit reinforcement asked.

"Just focus on your task at hand, newbie," one of the trios replied with irritation. "You will be just like your worthless seniors if you ever let your guard down."

The newbie bandit flinched at the mention of the dead brigands and corrected his sloppy postures right then, before backing away with a face of trepidation. For such a savage lot, death remained as the only thing that could incite any response of cautiousness and concern. At the leading bandit's angry rebuke, the rest of the relaxed greenhorn's straightened up their spines with a face of seriousness. If their powerful seniors had to meet an untimely death against such a run down the mill settlement, then what about them?

"hmph! Cowards!".

"They are still learning. Even you used to be like that during your initial raids."

"I wasn't as bad!"

"You had pissed under the chief's glare~"

"Shut up!"

"SHHH!", the third member silenced the banter. "Pay attention! The area seems fuckin strange, for god's sake!"

"Yeah well, I haven't heard a single noise for a long time."

"It's gonna be dawn soon. Where have all the monsters gone??"

"I don't know? Did you feel anything strange?"

"Nothin. It may be just your imagination...!!"

whooosh!

Just as the trio bickered around with uncertainty, a presence suddenly drowned the entire region within a few breaths as if it had overlapped the sky itself.

It felt as if their hearts were skewered. The bandits shivered in sheer terror at the sudden sense of dread that assaulted their senses. They who lived on the verge of death at every instance within the wilds were highly susceptive to such a feeling.

It was killing intent. One so frighteningly powerful and terrifying, it seemed almost tangible, materializing itself in the air. The bandit brigade felt as if it could touch these very emotions of insatiable wrath and hatred that had submerged the forests with their flesh. Every member of the brigade could imagine a razor-sharp blade hanging just above their necks that could claim their lives at any moment.

"Wha-What is this!!" one of them whispered, as if afraid of angering the overbearing presence. He very well knew that the being emanating such pressure was too far away in distance, but his instincts just did not let him shout under fear.

"Th-This! Is it some sort of an archaic monster!"

"I don't know and I don't care! Hurry up and move lest you want to meet that thing!"

The group was in a total state of disarray as the newbie bandits trembled in horror. The murderous aura that filled the air stiffened their breaths as they remained rooted to the ground. It took a good few minutes to calm their panicking minds before they regained control. By that time, their bodies had already been drenched in a cold sweat.

Within the carriages, the groups of women and children could not sense a single thing. They were too shocked at the situation, gazing at their burning home with too transfixed a gaze to witness the change. The ones who did notice prayed to the gods for the possibility of a terrifying monster to butcher the vile lot.

"These folks are crazy! Living this close to a disaster, what were they thinking?"

"Wait! I-It was not them, right! I had been wondering where had they run off to. The ones who had chased that huntress' kids!"

"Idiots!"

"This raid's the worst! Just how many members are we gonna lose? Apart from the chief and vice chief, only we..."

"Like...I...said! Hurry up and move dammit! I don't wanna spend another single second in this accursed region."

The terrified group increased their pace in a hurry, trekking through the rocks and thickets of the valley with a strange smoothness since not a single monster presented itself as a hindrance. It was not long before the terrifying intent receded away like an ocean tide and brought forth a similar but the usual calmness to the region.