With Barone defeated, Morgana can only sigh in relief. Before she could close her eyes, drops of rain fell from the sky. Relieved that she can at least drink some water, Morgana opened her mouth, drinking rainwater.

Thank you. I need water. That fight is so taxing

With a slow walk towards, Musa, Morgana woke him up. Apparently, he fell to sleep during the battle between Morgana and Barone. Shaking him up, Morgana managed to successful wake up the sleeping bladesman.

Upon waking up, Musa saw the damage in the surrounding ruins. He also saw the unconscious body of Barone. Struggling to get up, Musa crawled towards Barone. Upon reaching him, Musa drew his blade, and aimed it towards Barone. Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, he caught a glimpse of Saya’s bracelet.

Remembering his times with Saya, and what his time with her, Musa wondered if she would approve of his actions. Gripping his blade tightly, Musa is struggling with himself, with his desire for revenge, and if his actions were truly right. Hesitating, Musa simply threw his blade, knowing that Saya will not allow him to shed blood in cold revenge.

“I thought you would go for the kill.”, said Morgana.

“You expected me to?”, asked Musa.

“Kinda. After all, he killed your wife.”, said Morgana

“She won’t like it.”

“I’ll still do it if I was in your place.” said Morgana

“Fair enough”, said Musa.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to be a judge on your behalf.”

Musa then faced Morgana and bowed his head to her.

“Thank you for defeating Barone. I don’t what he might have done if he won.”

After hearing those words, Morgana struck a confident pose. She then said,

“A mere bandit like him will not beat me. After all, I’m going to become the strongest.”

“I wish you luck.”, said Musa.

Just then, a crow arrived at the scene bearing a letter. Landing beside Musa, he recognized the crow as Yuuno’s. Opening the letter, he read Yuuno’s message. It read,

Master don’t worry. The ambush has been foiled. I, Yuulah and Moto have defeated the attacker. The young ones are improving in their skills and teamwork. I hope that by the time you read this letter, Barone would be down and out.

“At least, they’re safe.”, muttered Musa.

A gust of wind suddenly blew across the ruins, and after it passed, there stood Zidros. Looking at the scenery, he saw an injured Morgana, a barely standing Musa and a knocked-out Barone.

“I’m impressed, who dealt the finishing blow?”, asked Zidros

“She did.”, said Musa.

“Congrats, Morgana”, said Zidros

But as he looked towards Morgana, Zidros saw that the sorcerer has now slept, exhausted from her fight against Barone. Seeing the sight, Zidros simply smiled. From his robe, Zidros took a metallic object and placed it on Barone’s arm.

“That should hold him for a while.”, said Zidros.

“Huh, so you sorcerers have nullifiers?”, asked Musa.

“Well, of course. The Alliance usually gives one when we go on quests.”, said Zidros

“I never knew that.”, said Musa.

Zidros then used his magic to blow a gust of wind over the ruins, signaling his guildmates that Barone has been defeated and the combatants need to be healed. After a short while, sorcerers arrived at the site and healed the still sleeping Morgana and Musa.

Once Morgana and Musa were healed, they were brought back to the camp to rest. Once Lance saw them, he moved towards Morgana, smiling

You’ve done it again. Impressive

Lance then talked to Musa, wanting to know why he became a wielder to begin with.

“Well, my journey began with this blade. When my parents were alive, they bought this blade, but no one can wield this one. Until I decided to try it out of curiosity.”

“Your current blade?”, asked Lance.

“Yeah. The same one. Once my parents died, I took it upon myself to protect my brother since we I’m his only family member remaining.”

“There is more, isn’t it?”, said Lance.

“You’re an observant one kid. Wielders usually battle other wielders. Just like your friend, I also have another dream. I wish to be the strongest wielder in the world, and to do so, I need to defeat the strongest. I want to beat Midea.”, said Musa.

“Midea? Even I know that name. The strongest rune wielder in the world. Someone who is rumored to defeat entire armies using their blades. You indeed have lofty goals Mr. Musa. I wish you luck.”, said Lance.

“Likewise.”

With the rest of Zidros and Fil’Gharn’s guildmates disposing of the bandits in the ruins, Lance and Musa decided to take a short sleep at the camp.

Upon opening their eyes, Lance and Musa saw Morgana eating a bunch of food with the other sorcerers and fighters.

“More please.”, said Morgana

One of the cooks wondered if she has a bottomless stomach. Other wondered if she spent a lot of energy in the fight against Barone. While they were eating, a group of sorcerers arrived at the camp. They were dressed in the mark of the Wizard Alliance.

A familiar face showed up in the camp.

It was Merlock

“Grandpa. Nice to see you.”, said Morgana

“Hahahahahaha. You destroyed another bandit group, huh, didn’t you?”, said Merlock

“Yeah, I did.”

Merlock then patted his granddaughter on her head.

“Good job, Morgana. Continue eating. You need to have more reserves in you.”

“Will do, grandpa.”

While Morgana and the other fighters were eating, one of the captured bandits woke up. It was Barbarone. The sorcerers guarding him readied themselves to take him down, but the bandit simply shook his head.

“I lost. Don’t worry, I won’t try to escape.”, said Barbarone.

Contemplating the events that happened, Barbarone became nostalgic and wondered if they could have made a different choice.

Can’t say you did the right thing brother, but at the same time, we need to survive in this world.

As he closed his eyes, Babarone remembered his childhood and how he grew up with his brother.

X-----------------------X

When Barone and Barbarone were merely eight years old, the conflicts of the land deprived them of their parents. With no one to look out for them, the two were left to fend for themselves. Older by few minutes, Barone became the protector of Barbarone.

Sometimes, Barone would raid other people’s houses simply to provide food for his brother. Other times, Barone would work odd jobs to help his brother. He would work for farmers and for other artisans in the city to provide for himself and his brother. Unwilling to let his brother do all the work, Barbarone confronted Barone.

“I can help you big bro.”

“No, I need to work hard so that the two of us can survive.”

“But…”

“No buts, I’m your older brother, and as such, I will provide for you.”

Eventually, after surviving for many years, Barone and Barbarone joined a small bandit group. Their skills and talents are apparent at a young age. During those times, Barone found out his affinity for magic, particularly Earth Magic. After raiding a village, Barone found a book of spells. Practicing at his free time, Barone got better at using Earth Magic. After learning the basics of Earth Magic, he realized that he and his brother could improve their standings in life.

The two of them quickly rose in rank in their bandit group. Soon, the two brothers are the leaders of the bandit group. Under their leadership, the group grew in numbers and soon terrorized an entire countryside. However, the Wizard Alliance caught up with their acts and set up a trap for them.

Finding out that one town is filled with gold and riches, the brothers decided to raid the said town. Upon reaching the said town, named Hildrant, the group were ambushed by the Alliance. Realizing this, the bandits abandoned Barone and Barbarone to their own devices, leaving them to fight the Alliance. This incident cast a dark cloud over Barone. He swore to his brother that they should only trust each other and simply use other people to further their goals.

After they were captured, Barone and Barbarone became hunters for the Alliance in exchange for freedom. Quickly gaining fame or infamy during his time as a hunter, and with each successful hunt, Barone’s ego grew larger. At the same time, his insecurity grew larger since other hunters were given more recognition for going after high level rogue sorcerers, despite his feeling that he works just as hard as the other hunters. Slowly growing jealous of other hunters, he looked for the top targets for the Alliance. After looking at a poster, he smiled, finding his mark.

Barone decided to hunt the fugitive Dusa, one of the higher ranked rogue sorcerers. The Alliance warned him to be careful of the sorcerer, but his pride gave him overconfidence. Engaging the sorcerer at her lair, Barone attempted to capture her, but was crushed by her in a one-sided beatdown. After his crushing defeat, the sorcerer told him that the Alliance is using people like him since the Alliance merely fights at the whims of weak rulers, and that he should take charge of his own destiny. Already having doubts on the Alliance, Barone became more resentful towards the organization.

Remembering his previous promise to his brother, Barone left his hunter duties, with Barbarone following him. The Alliance simply let him go, thinking that Barone has fulfilled his duties as a hunter.

With enough resentment and anger growing in his heart, Barone started his own bandit group, with the aim of targeting nobles, since he felt that the nobility doesn’t deserve their riches and all of them must pay. With each noble successfully attacked, Barone grew bolder, and more innocent people were caught up in the mess. At first, Barone was remorseful that their attacks affect innocent people, but as his group got bigger and bigger, he began to see others as noble lapdogs. Soon enough, they targeted Kuldro, hearing of the riches of the new noble family leaving there, but they were thwarted by a runewielder and the Alliance. After this failure, Barone decided to buy more time to attack Kuldro once again. Slowly gathering his resources, he hesitated to attack, knowing that the Alliance still has a presence. It wasn’t until a large bandit contingent arrived at his camp, offering a proposal.

Large bandit forces would raze and take over the Southern Provinces. Take prisoners and sell them to the highest bidder. Intrigued, Barone, joined and quickly became the leader of the newly formed Alliance of Bandit Fighters. With this force, Barone and his men razed the Southern Provinces hoping to get more wealth and prestige.

On the sidelines, Barbarone stood quietly, although he is conflicted with his brother’s actions, he is the only family he had, and Barone has always stood beside him. For Barbarone, his brother is only protecting them, wanting to live better lives.

X------------------------X

Brother, we may have made some mistakes, but at the end of the day, you were there for me.

“Guards, I just have one favor to ask you.”, said Barbarone

“A favor?”, asked one of them.

“When I go to prison, I want to share a cell with my brother. He is the only family I have.”, said Barbarone.

“Granted.”, said a voice.

“Master Merlock?”, said one of the guards.

“Yeah, I know, they might try to escape, but I believe that they won’t.”, said Merlock

“What makes you so sure.”, said Barbarone.

“Losing to a rookie sorcerer probably broke your brother. I want you to help him and make him realize the error of his ways.”, said Merlock.

“But what if we try to escape and do nasty things again?”, said Barbarone.

“Then we will just capture you again, after all, there are promising rookie sorcerers out there.”, said Merlock

Barbarone simply remained silent after hearing the words of Merlock.

“Come now, I’ll be escorting you to the prisons. You and your bandit friends may have a brighter future if you change your ways and reform.”, said Merlock

Realizing one thing, Merlock called on Lance. After the latter arrived, Merlock handed him a small bag. Upon opening it, Lance saw a ton of GolCreds.

“Share it amongst yourselves. That’s the reward for capturing Barone and the other bandits.”, said Merlock

Excitedly, Lance sprinted back the camp, telling the others that the reward has been given. With the guilds sharing it amongst themselves, they continued with their feasts.

“Come on, no need to hide, Vul’Kish.”, said Merlock

“Observant as ever, Merlock.”, said Vul’Kish as he appeared out of hiding.

“I don’t want to be ambushed.”, said Merlock jokingly.

“Your granddaughter is impressive. She’s making quite a few friends for herself.”, said Vul’Kish.

“Do you plan to join her group?”, asked Merlock

“Nope. I do things my way.”, said Vul’Kish

“You know, petty thieving is an illegal activity.”, said Merlock.

“I know that. But I cannot escape the thrill.”, said Vul’Kish

“On a serious note, do you still plan on going after him?”, asked Merlock.

“Of course, I do. He attacked my family, he must pay for his crimes.”, said Vul’Kish

“Just don’t go overboard.”, said Merlock.

“I know. Farewell, Merlock.”, said Vul’Kish

Vul’Kish then disappeared from the sight of Merlock. With that, Merlock left the camp and went on his way with the captured bandits.

After the feast, the sorcerers went back to the Wizarding Outpost at Kuldro. Weary from the fights, they rested for at least two days. Meanwhile, Morgana and Lance were invited by Musa to stay at his castle for a while, so that their wounds would be tended by Yuuno. During their three day stay at Musa’s castle, Morgana and Lance would go to Kuldro from time to time to buy supplies and souvenirs for themselves.

On their last day at Kuldro, Morgana asked Musa one important thing,

“Lance here told me that you want to become the greatest rune wielder in the world, don’t you?”

“What if I do?”, said Musa

“Then join my guild.”, said Morgana

Musa is conflicted, his desire to be the strongest is conflicting with his desire to protect his brother. Before he could answer, Yuuno, Yuulah and Moto came to the hallway.

“Brother, I can defend myself.”

“Master, I can protect Moto. The two of us have not trained together, but we can become stronger fighters at Kuldro. We will protect Lady Saya’s castle.”

Musa saw the determined look on their faces and smiled. Knowing that they have defeated a bandit commander, Musa is confident that they can take care of Saya’s castle.

“Master, look at Lady Saya’s amulet. Inside is a message for you.”

When Musa opened the amulet, it simply read,

Go and become the strongest, I will support you

With that out of the way, Musa decided to go. To become the strongest, he needs to face the strong challenges ahead of him, and he might even face Midea along the way. Before he could leave, he went to his brother and whispered to him,

“Before I leave, I want you to show Yuulah how you feel. I don’t want any excuses on how shy you are and if you’re not worthy. I know what you mean to her, now I want you to show her how you feel. It’s only right that she knew.”, said Musa.

Breathing deeply, Moto went to Yuulah and kissed her on the lips. Heavily blushing, he quickly pulled away, but Yuulah kissed him back.

“Hahahaha, about time.”, said Yuuno.

And with that, Morgana, Lance, and Musa left the castle. When they arrived at the gates of Kuldro, Fil’Gharn and the other sorcerers greeted them.

“Mr. Musa, me and my guild will defend this town in your absence.”, said Fil’Gharn.

“I know you will. Get stronger, young sorcerer.”, said Musa.

“I will. And on behalf of Kuldro, thank you for being its guardian.”, said Fil’Gharn.

Soon, they were joined by Moto, Yuulah and Yuuno. Upon seeing them, tears flowed on Musa. He then said,

“Thank you for everything you have given to me and my brother. Thank you for not resenting me. I promise, I will come back.”, said Musa.

And after a tearful farewell, the three left Kuldro.