riiip!

"Argh$#@!&$!!"

The man's infernal scream echoed around the silent woods, as the boy squirmed about, releasing himself from the grip on the head. The haughty man faltered backward, his waist bending down in crippling pain as a bright splatter of blood dripped onto the ground from the torn mouth.

"Haaaaaa!"

A wave of unimaginable fury drowned the bandit's bloodshot eyes in that instance as pulsing veins bulged out on the face before he charged at the young figure, his fists clenched tight with a radiant purple aura swirling about. The punch was swung with all of the man's anger and it picked up fierce winds as it traveled, aiming to obliterate the boy's head in one go.

swish!

However, much to the man's confusion, his devastating fist whizzed past the jet black hair, barely grazing its target. And right then, when his balance had crumbled for a moment, the bandit could only see a tiny fist that gradually grew in his vision, emanating a bone-chilling black aura laced with a shade of green. It was all too late for him to put up any guard by that time.

Baaaang! crush!

The momentum was so massive that at the point of contact, a fierce shock wave traveled from the man's head, to the foot, before eroding the grass beneath in an expanding circle of a few feet. Any more, and it felt as if the bandit's head would have ripped off. The punch followed through all the way, launching the man into the woods like a bullet as his purple clouded body bounced around the adjacent trees like a pinball. Leaving behind a trail of sawdust, broken branches and swirling leaves the human body tore through the thickets at an insane speed before colliding against a boulder in the far distance.

Boooom!

Under the heavy impact, the massive hunk of stone was crushed into smithereens with a fierce outburst of rocky shards. The bandit's body lay sprawled among the broken pieces, his arms twisted, his torso crushed and a menacing circular depression that adorned his face within a pool of blood. He had died on the spot.

The mohawk bandit involuntarily clasped his nose out of sheer dread, spectating the horrific event with incredulous eyes. Even he had not exactly followed the young hunter's speed, only being able to catch a glimpse of the boy's perfect counter. It was the same move, the one he had received back at the village that broke his nose, but the power and aftermath couldn't be more further apart. The rest of the group similarly displayed a face of stupefaction as they clutched the weapons hard enough to vibrate and a heavy sense of crisis pounded the bells of their instincts. They knew the worse for them had yet to come.

shccing!

As the boy turned around with a blank, puppet like face, the bandits witnessed a strange transformation of his wretched body. Jet black tentacles emerged out of nowhere from below the feet, ingraining themselves like permanent markings on the tanned skin before they traveled along the limbs as if they were flood dragons climbing a waterfall.

Legs, thighs, stomach, chest, arms, the tentacles endlessly coiled around, forming eerie tattoos all over the young hunter's physique.

The strangest thing about the already bizarre markings was their effect, that cured the miserable wounds and bruises of the boy at a visible rate whenever they passed through one. With astounded faces and dilated pupils, the bandits looked upon at the inconceivable event and they could feel the crackling power hidden within those ripped muscles that appeared tiny in comparison to their own.

schiiing!

The markings had made over to the boy's cheeks, and at that moment his pitch-black eyes gradually turned into a pair of ghastly green orbs that glowed with an ominous glint. And just at this instance, Legas' mouth curved upwards, and his previous blanked out face, turned into a mind numbing smirk.

whoosh!

An incredibly tyrannical and oppressive aura submerged the area, spreading itself throughout the vast valleys of the region. The presence felt ancient, like the fury of an enraged archaic beast that had awoken from its deep slumber. The bandits felt a never before sensed stifling pressure weigh down on their minds and their scalps went numb under sheer horror.

Any living being within the area of the presence stood no different. The animal like locomotive monsters trembled, halting any of their actions as their heads cowered down in fear and submission. Some had enough tenacity to persist through and hide in that instance while some got agitated as they thrashed around the woods like a maddened beast. The various plant like creatures closed off their petals as if going into a deep sleep or shriveled up their bodies to resemble dead vegetation. The domineering aura had sought attention from every corner of the valley.

The state of the bandits who took the direct brunt of the pressure could be imagined. Their instincts screamed, frantically warning them to flee the place. Cold sweat glistened atop their bare bodies that shivered with goosebumps. The boy's hideous face laced with dried blood, strange tattoos, green eyes, and a creepy smile appeared no different than an abomination from hell in their eyes.

swish!

Suddenly, the dreadful figure disappeared from their vision as a frigid chill ran along the brigand's back at that moment.

bam!

Legas had reached beside one distracted bandit in an instant as if he had teleported over. The man's body instinctively emitted a reddish aura for defense as it sensed the danger, but it was for naught. The boy's pitch black energy tore apart the red mist like paper and planted a brutal kick right at the man's midsection.

boom!

A fierce shock wave had burst forth from the other side of the bandit's body before puncturing the liver within a fraction of seconds. The man immediately plopped down like a doll as his legs give away, his face distorted to the extreme in a wince under the crippling pain.

The other four bandits were jolted awake at the abrupt attack and their bodies finally tensed under the pressure of survival, getting ready for a fight. Just as the kneeling bandit was about to get hit with another explosive blow, a dazzling aura covered sword made it's way over, aiming to cleave apart the monstrosity.

slash! bang!

The boy continued with his action, not taking any heed to the environment in the slightest. He delivered another ferocious punch to the bandit's face that was instantly disfigured with broken teeth and torn gums before the man flew back into the distance. The sword strike arrived right after, running along the young back with a powerful screech!

pssh!

However, the exalted face of the bandit swordsman crumpled soon after as he witnessed his strongest slash only being able to graze the boy's skin. The heavy impact only made him stumble two steps forward and the shallow wound had already begun regenerating at a frightening rate. Shocked at the inconceivable event, the bandit gazed upon with widened eyes at the terrifying smile that Legas displayed as he turned around...and disappeared the next moment.

"AHHH!" the man screamed, a colossal wave of dread drowning his heart as he randomly swung the sword in the air.

bam!

The impact almost made the bandit fall back in fear, but very soon he realized it was not him that was hit. As he opened his eyes, a blonde mohawk of his fellow brigand member covered up the man's vision, clenching his fists with a face of agony. The dreadful figure of the little demon knelt on all fours on the ground far away, a vicious bruise being visible on his cheeks that was rapidly healing.

"You wanna get us killed! Get a hold of yourselves!" the raspy voice pulled back the man from his dazed stupor.

Just as when Legas was about to pounce at the terrified bandit, the mohawk guy had butted in with a powerful strike, flinging the boy away. But the man had instantly regretted this decision for his writs went sore at the impact. It felt like punching a block of steel.

"Don't get carried away brat!! Haaah!" the mohawk guy's interception was followed by the fourth bandit in line who had immediately charged ahead.

swish! bang!

The boy hadn't made his way up to the feet when the bandit swung down his morning star (spiked mace) with an air splitting sound in an attempt to bludgeon the boy's head. However, just like before, the swing completely missed the target as Legas avoided the strike with the minimalistic movement, letting the mace crash onto the ground. The bandit had understood the pattern, hence immediately followed up with another strike as he tensed his triceps for a backhand swing...

swish!

... that once again missed it's mark, slicing through open air.

"I swear I'll kill you, demon!"

swish! swish! swish! swish!

The bandit unleashed a terrifying assault as he put forth his everything into an effort to catch the boy's flesh. But it was as if Legas could see the world in slow motion, swaying his upper body left and right like a graceful feather as he avoided the mace that would always barely graze the air above his skin.

swish! bang!

Another missed strike whizzed past, as the morning star crashed onto the ground forming a giant crater. However, due to intense exhaustion, the bandit was an instant late with the follow-up strike this time and the young hunter didn't miss the chance. With pitch-black aura surging out, Legas raised his leg high before slipping in a brutal stomp at the man's knee.

kadach!!!

"ARGHHHH!!!"

A gruesome crunch rang out within the woods, followed by the chill-inducing dreadful screams of the man who had his leg bent outwards from the kneejoint, almost severing the lower half of the limb. The heavy mace landed with a dull thud! while the bandit pitifully plopped onto the ground as he clutched his mutilated leg. It was in a state of absolute mess. The '|' shaped limb had broken into a disgusting '

The entire scenario had unfolded within a few breaths. Even before the group could rush forth to surround the boy, the man had already lost the encounter, and under the bandits' frightened gazes, the finishing blow arrived right after.

swipe! riip!

Legas swung his hand at the brigand's tearful visage for a strike that resembled a vicious monster claw rather than a human fist. The attack gouged off the flesh of over half of the man's face before his body dragged through, digging up a deep trail on the ground. Colliding against a tree around a few meters away did the body halt, never to get up again. His appearance didn't resemble a human anymore, with the nose, lips, and cheeks being ripped off the bones, leaving behind a half bloody skull and two utterly destroyed eyeballs that dangled from within the bone sockets. It appeared horrifying.

The bandit group sucked in a breath of cold air as their hands went numb at the overexertion of grip strength. The very first bandit with the destroyed liver had made his way over with wobbling legs and an expression of agony, just in time to witness the dreadful scene. At this point, each one of them could finally experience the fear, despair, and hopelessness the villagers had experienced during their frantic struggle in the darkness, and grave feelings of regret dawned upon their hearts. Just how misfortunate was the instance when they had decided to raid this accursed village?

But they knew, regretting the past held no further meaning as the calamity had already befallen them. Resolving their hearts for final strife, the group took on their battle stances with difficulty, glaring at the image of the smiling Legas that bolted forwards in the next moment.

bang! bang! swish! pssh! bam! pow! slash! bang!

It was a dogfight. The experienced savages used all of their abilities and coordination to surround and attack Legas from all sides. And during the intense battle, they did manage to land a multitude of hits on their opponent, but it appeared more as if the boy just didn't bother evading any of those attacks. He didn't even make an effort to protect his vitals, and rightfully so since the bandits' strongest slashes couldn't cut deeper than his skin and their strongest thrusts couldn't reach the bone.

Even as wounds piled atop Legas' physique, the conditions of the savage brigands got more and more miserable as time went on. Each blow from the boy felt as if an explosion had set forth within their bodies. Fractured bones, ripped ligaments, cracked muscle tissues, crumpled organs, the injuries seem endless. However, all of this viciousness paled in comparison to the mental blow they had received, which stemmed up from the feeling of uselessness against a twelve-year-old kid. The boy was simply playing with them, and they all knew this fact.

bang! crush!

One of the bandit's head exploded with a gruesome splatter of blood and brain matter as Legas' fist punched right through the skull, his lifeless body crashing down onto the ground with a thud!.

swish!

Just then, a horizontal wide swing approached from the side, which Legas dodged for the first time, jumping into the air as the sword slashed just below his airborne feet. As the boy spun in midair for a magnificent front flip, the bandit who had glanced above could only see the back heel of the foot closing in on him with a dreary force before his vision went eternally dark.

splash!

The axe kick struck directly above the man's skull and his head sunk into the torso by a few inches with another gory spilling of blood. The momentum traveled all the way through his head to the feet as cracks formed on the ground, before his disfigured torso collapsed down, making for a graphic image that could induce shivers among the spectators. A bone chilling smile still hung up upon the child's face as he slaughtered fellow humans like livestock.

"Ah! Ah! AHHHH!" the man who was previously scared shitless, couldn't handle the immense pressure any further and his mentality broke down, charging ahead like a madman.

"Idiot! Stick together!!" the mohawk bandit roared in agitation, but the man had already snapped into a territory of no return.

zoom!

The crazed bandit gazed at the shadow figure that had instantly teleported to his front before a stream of pitch-black mass approached at a rapid pace. Through sheer instincts, the man had tried to block the attack, but the black streak curved like a snake, twirling above the sword as it connected fair and square.

pssshhhh!

A still silence dawned upon the scene as the remaining brigand pair involuntarily shuddered. When the crazed man glanced below his chin, he could only see the slim arm riddled with tattoos piercing, through the chest.

"Ha haha ahahahah!!!" he felt no pain. The arm had burst forth from within the body all the way through his back, annihilating the heart and lungs in the process.

Only maniacal laughter escaped the man's throat before the hand was pulled back with force, letting the man crash down with a thud! The ground was instantly dyed red in resplendent blood as the luster in his eyes gradually dimmed, only regret and remorse visible within.

swish!

In the distance, the very first bandit had sprawled atop the ground with a battered body. The kick to the liver had already sealed any major contribution to the fight but a few more subsequent blows during the battle had impaired his movement in its entirety. Glancing at the figure above, he saw a pair of ghastly green eyes gazing at him with boredom, as if he was a mere insect. A bitter smile formed on the man's lips on seeing the boy raise his leg high and,

"May Aalathia have mercy on me."

stomp!

The wretched body of the man convulsed a few times under the heavy impact as his chest caved in with a guttural bone-cracking noise. It did not take another few seconds until he suffered the same gruesome fate as his brigand comrades.

Wiped out! The mohawk bandit who had knelt under pain and exhaustion, his body battered and his face distorted, shuddered without control and his teeth clattered involuntarily in fear. He was the only one left and had to witness the gory deaths of his teammates one after another. Gazing at the eerie figure of the boy slowly approaching, it felt as if he had been purposefully saved for last.

"P-Please don't kill me!!" he begged, throwing away the steel sword as he groveled on the ground. "I-It wasn't me!! I didn't order them to kill, those bastards! It was their doing! I only wanted you to be captured!"

The man rambled on, cursing his two brute subordinates in various ways as the heavy footsteps of death steadily resounded in his ears.

"Please! I-I will leave banditry!! Okay!? I-I will help people from now, I promise! Just, just like those adventu-------!!!"

whoosh!

Before the man could finish his words, Legas grasped the top of the mohawk with a stone-cold grip and yanked hard enough for his scalp to tear off.

"Arghhhh! Ughh! Pl-Please spare me!!"

Legas dragged the man through the vegetation under his pitiful and desperate pleas, reaching the very boulder where the brute bandit's severed head had exploded. Grasping the back of the bald head, the boy positioned the man's face in front of the solid stone.

"N-no, what are you doing! Spare me, please! I am begging you!!"

"Then go, and personally rebuke your man for his actions," a low and terrifying growl escaped the boy's throat, and then...

Baaang!

"Arghhhhhh!!!!", the bandit screamed, his face being distorted further with broken bones and mangled flesh, the impact creating cracks along the boulder.

bang!

"AH ah ah!!"

bang! pssh!

"Ugh! argh! *sob* *sob*"

bang! bang! bang! bang!

"P-Pl....ea...se.....s-spa....."

BANG!! splatter!

Legas pounded the man's head onto the boulder without any flicker of emotion until his hand went right through, and there was nothing left to clutch. In a disgusting and nauseating explosion, the mohawk bandit's skull contents spilled onto the grass, marking the final symbol of the group's annihilation.

The imagery could induce frigid chills, the gruesome slaughter around that had dyed the luscious forests in the taint of bloody gore. With the bandit group being wiped out, the greenish tinge finally receded away from the boy's pupils and his tattoos dimmed in luster. In no time, Legas reached beside his sister before lifting her cracked body with the utmost care and,

shua!

disappeared from the scene in the next instance, letting peace and tranquility dawn upon the grievous land.