May 10, 2020

  Mara hasn’t spoken a single word since then. When Waldo’s temper lowered and he calmed down, he reluctantly used his cursed technique on her to put all of the shattered ribs back together. However, he purposely refrained from healing Mara’s eye, allowing her to have a substantial scar stay with her. That is meant to remind her of what would happen if she did such a thing again.

  (It still hurts so much… This hole in my eye is so painful.)

  It has been 4 days since Waldo caught up to Mara and punished her for her escape attempt. Any thought of defying Waldo or another escape attempt was no longer plausible to Mara. Being able to think of such scenarios seems foreign to her now. She knew from the beginning that Waldo was something frightening, that going against him would end up bad. But when presented with the best possible opportunity to escape, she had no choice but to seize it. Of course, the outcome was not the best, but at least she is still alive and on her own two feet. She is grateful for that much at least, as well as Waldo treating her internal wounds.

  The both of them then sense some activity up ahead. Mara lets go of the wagon and takes a couple of steps forward. Waldo crosses his arms and glances at her.

  “You know what to do. I expect to hear satisfactory results.”

  Mara nods silently and heads out. She activates her technique, causing her hands to glow once again. This time, she heats up the air to slightly propel herself forward as she runs. She can’t run nearly as fast as Waldo could run, but this would have to do for now. Suddenly, Mara’s instincts tell her to move out of the way. Following her instincts, Mara quickly jumps back. A very long and fleshly tongue with a needle at the end hits the ground. Mara looks up and sees someone coming out from nowhere.

  (That’s camouflage! He blended in with the tree’s color to hide his presence and surprise attack me. His cursed technique could be tricky)

  “Darn it! You dodged my clever surprise attack! That’s not how it’s supposed to play out you stupid girl!”

  Mara couldn’t help but notice that the person has scales across their body. With their camouflage, scaly body, and that tongue attack, their technique must have to do with chameleons.

  “Now that I pulled you away from that frightening beast, I’m going to take you hostage and force my way into all of your food. I haven’t eaten in days, you know!?”

  “Sorry, but I must refuse!”

  The person grunts in anger at Mara’s refusal and dashes towards her. He unleashes his claws and throws a flurry of swipes at Mara. Mara dodges all of the attacks, kicks off of a nearby tree, and throws a kick across his chin. The man takes the kick and stumbles back. Their eyes widen at the power Mara wields, as it is more than they anticipated.

  “So you want to play it rough, eh? I didn’t know you were a violent child. I was going to just take you in silently, but I think I’m going to hurt you now!”

  Mara doesn’t wait for the man to finish his speech and immediately goes in for a punch. The punch was simply a feint and Mara goes down low for a sweep. However, the man smirks, dodges the sweep, and kicks Mara in her chest. Mara quickly gets back up. She sees a rock at her side, picks it up, and hurls it towards the sorcerer. The sorcerer then opens his mouth and his tongue comes out again. The needle pierces through the rock and grazes Mara’s shoulder. Mara ignores the injury and takes a deep breath. She then appears in front of the sorcerer, using the air to propel herself, and lands a clean punch to their face. The sorcerer falls onto the ground a little too easily and looks up at Mara. Mara looks down at the sorcerer with a glare.

  “Please, let me go! I’ll admit it, I messed with the wrong people! I’ll leave you and your food alone. I’ll just find something else. Please, I beg! You can just leave me here and I’ll go the other way. Promise!”

  Mara’s glare softens a bit and she lowers her guard. At the end of the day, she’s still just a child. Not a seasoned warrior. Unlike Waldo, she lets her human nature show mercy to her enemies. She takes a breather and unclenches her fist.

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  “Ok, just leave this place. You should go before he sees you.”

  Mara’s arm suddenly goes limp and numb. She clutched her arm and sees her veins gradually becoming purple. Some parts of her shoulder also begin to turn purple. In that moment, she realizes something. The needle at the end of the sorcerer’s tongue was laced. It must have a poison that slowly decayed the body of anyone it comes into contact with. Mara falls to her knees and begins to breathe heavily. The poison is taking a heavy effect on her. The sorcerer smirks and starts to laugh out loud.

  “You’re kidding me! I didn’t actually believe you were this stupid! Did you really think I would just leave like this? Of course I wouldn’t, I’m doing everything I can to survive in this new hellish environment. Even if I have to take the life of a child, it’s all for the good of nature.”

  The sorcerer gets and walks over to Mara. He opens up his mouth and his tongue slithers out. As the sorcerer’s tongue gets even closer to Mara, an unknown pressure is suddenly exerted onto the sorcerer that causes them to immediately withdraw. Their body refuses to move, and they are struck with an intense fear. A booming voice and clamping footsteps can be heard from within the shadows.

  “And just like the way of nature, it is imminent that you filthy humans are to suffer at my hands.”

  The sorcerer starts to sweat bullets. They grit their teeth, trying to keep themselves standing from the intense pressure. This must be the curse that was with the child. But how can he exert such pressure? There is only one thought racing through his mind: Do not resist.

  “And just what do you think you’re doing, Mara? I did not expect that you would come out of this so pathetically. You and I will have to discuss some matters when we return, understand?”

  Mara nods and tries to get back up. Waldo suddenly appears next to her and uses his cursed energy to hollow out the poison. He wasn’t aware that he could do that until a couple of days ago. Mara has no clue as to how he could do this. There are still many mysterious things revolving around Waldo. Where did he come from? What is his technique? Who actually is he? Once Waldo finishes things up with Mara, he turns around and throws an intense gaze at the sorcerer.

  “As for you… you thought you could outmaneuver me and steal my possessions. You even dared to mess with the child. Even for a human, you are one of the most foolhardy creatures I have ever seen. Just like you said, it’s in the good of nature that you suffer by my hands. After all, I am the War Spirit.”

  The sorcerer falls on his back and tries to scurry away. In a desperate attempt to get away, he opens his mouth and shoots out his tongue at Waldo. The needle hits its mark directly into Waldo’s eye. The sorcerer grins, hoping that the poison will now allow him to escape. However, Waldo moves his hand down like a blade and cuts the tongue in half. Waldo then removes the needle that is stuck to him and drops it onto the ground.

  “A futile attack like that… had no reason to be avoided.”

  The sorcerer retracts their injured tongue and begins to sob. Tears flow down their face as they crawl away, unable to stand back up. Suddenly, Waldo appears in front of the sorcerer. He yelps in fear and looks at the War Spirit. In a flash, his back and spinal cord are crushed by Waldo’s stomp. The sorcerer screams and vomits out blood. He didn’t know that a curse could be so cruel. He thought that they were just like wild, undomesticated animals like the ones he killed before. Before his last moments, he quickly looks at Mara and pleads for help.

  “Save me! Please, don’t let him kill me! Have some mercy!”

  Mara stands there, unfazed by the sorcerer’s cries for help. When the sorcerer realizes that neither Mara or Waldo will spare him, he angrily shouts out: “Curse you!”

  With a single punch, Waldo turns their head into nothing but a bloody paste.

  .

  .

  “Hm… this is just mediocre at best.”

  Waldo tosses the heart behind him, allowing the wagon to crush it under its wheel.

  “That human wasn’t very wise nor appetizing. Their flesh was strange. Not to my taste. Perhaps it was because of his strange composition. I’ve never seen a human with scales like that.”

  Waldo and Mara continue on their way after dealing with a straggler jujutsu sorcerer. Mara caresses her cheek, the place Waldo punched her after they got back to the wagon. He was utterly disappointed that Mara fell into a very obvious and naive trap.

  “In the heat of battle, you must throw away all morality for the sake of winning. Opponents will throw deception at you and if you allow yourself to get raveled in it you will lose your life. Never spare anyone, even another human. Humans are hateful creatures. How do you think you all got yourselves into this mess?”

  Those were Waldo’s exact words to Mara, and they have no trouble getting engraved into her mind. She refrained from really hurting the sorcerer fatally because she wasn’t ready to kill another human just yet. Her father was killed not too long ago, and she would be killing another human. She couldn’t bear having blood be stained on her hands. How could she face her parents like that? She would just have to endure any punishment that Waldo gives her.

  “Stop the wagon right here.”

  Mara suddenly comes to a stop and lets go of the wagon. Waldo has also come to a stop. His eye intensifies as he walks forward toward a large tree. He senses something, but Mara doesn’t see or hear a thing.

  “Your hiding skills are pitiful. Show yourself, you slimy coward.”

  From behind that tree, some sort of amalgamation comes out. It’s in a humanoid form, but it certainly isn’t a human. It’s some kind of mutated creature. Waldo wouldn’t be surprised if this toxic environment began to morph humans into other things. However, Mara’s eyes begin to fill with tears upon the sight of the mutant. It looks… oddly familiar. Could it be?

  “…Dad?”