An Archer's Promise

Chapter 30: Crimson Hell

Beta read by Shigiya, Fluffy Slayer and DOOMRAIDER.

There'll probably won't be any updates next week for this story as I will be reworking a previous chapter. The one where Archer faces the thugs in Maia's kingdom. It felt off and is just bad.

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-Geofu-

Where did it all go wrong...

He couldn’t fathom it. Everything was flawless, the planning, the coordination between the mercs and knights… even the location was perfect. It was supposed to be a quick victory with him indulging in the screams of the outlander as he hacked off his limbs one by one. Watching him plead for his life and calling out for Maia and that other bitch to save him.

Yes, that was how it was supposed to go, but everything went to shit the moment they sprung the trap. Not only was Archer’s magic unaffected, but he also summoned and used swords better than any mage he had ever seen! He was both strong as Vault and nimble like Maia.

To end up pushed to the edge of the barrier, soaked in blood and cuts as well as the unexpected loss of his hand—Hicks snapped and cried out to Kin for help.

'Yet that traitor abandoned me!'

But things got, even more, worse by the second.

A new threat jumped out of the woods, covered in snow-white fur and blood stains. It had a large monstrous body that dwarfed him and even Archer. Carrying a greatsword on its back resembling that of Vault's. The bloodlust emanating from the beast was suffocating.

A Lycan.

How the hell did one get here of all places? This was a deserted but secure area near the border of Geofu and Ken. There was nothing but abandoned mines surrounding the area and all previous settlements had been abandoned ages ago.

Despite that, here he was, standing face to face with a fearsome beast armed to the teeth.

Scrusht!

A single swipe was all he saw, followed by this blinding white light that obscured his vision. But it didn’t matter because everything went pitch black within seconds, forever shutting his sight.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!"

The pain was immeasurable as if someone had poured molten lava on the right side of his face. He tried to touch it, but even his touch felt like needles stabbing his nerves. Worst of all, it felt slimy, wet, and warm.

Hicks' brain couldn't catch up with everything that happened. He grabbed something sliding down his cheeks, opening his palms to find a black pupil and part of his own brown-colored iris staring back at it. A gel-like substance mixed in with his own blood.

"Haha…"

A single drop of tear fell from his still intact eye, the pain and disarray of his mental state intensifying towards insanity.

"Hahahaha!"

Maybe it was a reaction erupting from his subconsciousness, or maybe he wanted to have the last laugh before dying.

Memories of the past started flashing before his eyes

He remembered the day he used to play on the streets with the other kids whose names he can’t recall. It was the first time he met that young redheaded girl, with nothing but skin and bones on top of that hollowed face. All pale white, begging on the streets with her legs near her chest while her cupped hands were left open for anyone offering alms.