"Fascinating, kekeke, this is the highest resistance I have ever seen in a contracted individual."
Alaric slowly turned his head backward as he came face-to-face with a man who looked worse for wear. He wore black clothing, disguised like a modern rendition of a ninja, he looked so skinny, it felt like the right amount of wind would take him to God knows where.
"What an amazing specimen," the man said while moving around the corpse of Jack like a madman, ignoring the young Alaric, who was slowly walking backwards.
"So much contradiction in a man, kekeke, I thought his will would have already fully corroded by now after so long being bound by that contract. What a wonderful surprise." The man kept on saying things Alaric didn't care about at the moment, to fully grasp.
When Jack signed that contract a few years back, he signed his life away to the unknown for a chance at life, not knowing that there were hidden clauses in the parchment he signed.
One of those clauses was that if ever he tried to betray them or escape his duty, he would have to bear unimaginable pain, a pain so intense, even people who have certain tastes avoid it at all costs. But if one has the will to overcome such pain? That's where another effect takes place, which is to slowly corrode the will of the contracted, making them more susceptible to the commands of the contractor.
It was believed that Jack's will was already rewritten to follow commands, but he suddenly took a little control and actually held back fighting the red-haired boy. He even waited for the boy to slowly adapt to his fighting style in order for him to kill him and obtain freedom.
No one has ever resisted the corrosion of the will, especially not one from a backwater place like this.
"I wish I were strong enough to study his very essence, to figure out how he did it. Alas, I am too weak to carry out such an experiment," the man sighed in resignation before quickly turning to where Alaric was.
"And you…. kekeke boy, you are a wonder. Such talent in a barren place like this is unheard of, I am going to be heavily rewarded for this kekeke." The man drew closer to Alaric.
Alaric was staring at the man as he kept making distance between himself and the man. From the moment the man showed up, Alaric knew he wouldn't win in a fight against him. His senses were going crazy just watching him, and his intuition told him he would die in a head-on clash against such a foe.
When the man started moving towards Alaric, Kong, who was nervously watching from the beginning, suddenly jumped at the man, swinging his make-believe staff at the black-clothed man, putting all his strength into it.
Seeing this, Alaric jumped into action, not to run nor to attack, but to rush towards Kong. "Kong, no, stop".
Try as he might, Alaric was too slow, as the man feeling Kong in the air, smirked and brought out a hidden dagger from his clothing, dodged Kong's swing, and stabbed him in the chest. He then struck him on the stomach with his leg, carrying Kong, who had dropped his staff towards the approaching boy.
"Filthy monkey," the man commented.
Alaric, seeing Kong flying towards him, quickly brought his hands forward, stopping his momentum. "Hey, hey Kong, stay with me now, it's ok," Alaric said to Kong, who opened his eyes weakly, looking at Alaric with sad eyes. He didn't want to die, he wanted to go on adventures with Alaric when he was old enough to move on his own.
That seems to be a far-fetched dream right now. "Kong, look at me, don't die, please, you are all I have left".
"Mm, you speak as if you are sad, but you don't look sad. Are you sure you cared for this damn monkey?" the man said looking at the expressionless boy, while contemplating, then he hit his forehead as if realizing something "oh silly me, of course you don't, it's a monkey, why should we care for our lesser?"
Alaric ignored him as he took off his shirt, trying to put pressure on the wound, but that did little to stop his life from slowly slipping away.
"All your efforts a wasted. That dagger was laced with poison; it's a prototype I have been working on, and I haven't even developed the antidote. His death is inevitable." The man commented.
Kong's struggle would not be rewarded, for he took his last breath after trying to fight for a few minutes of life. Alaric just held his corpse in his arms, staring at it for a few seconds before turning to the man.
"You." Alaric's voice was colder than the grave. "I will kill you."
"kekeke, come at me then boy". The man replied.
Alaric, dropping Kong, dashed at the man with his supernatural speed, closing the distance in an instant. Time seemed to slow down as Alaric tried to study the man's movement.
That was when the man suddenly disappeared from his spot, and Alaric felt a very sharp pain on his chest, and he started moving opposite direction. He was hit with so much force, when he hit a tree, it snapped like a twig.
"Did I kick him too hard?" the man said, asking no one in particular as he walked towards the now unconscious boy.
He grinned, confirming he was alive with only a few broken bones. "He took that much force without dying. He has a few broken bones, but he'll live".
As he hoisted Alaric, a silver pendant slipped from his robes, engraved with a serpent coiled around a tower. The boy would fetch a pretty price, then looked around. "What a mess this is. I should clean up the rest of the bandits, we have no use for them in this area anymore," the man said ominously as he began walking towards the village to wipe every bandit out.