Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Twenty - The Master of Our Lives

Techno

The pirates ran around the streets with crazed smiles on their faces and fiery torches in their hands. They had already set some of the houses on fire, and the villagers who were trapped in those houses rushed out the backdoor with clothes over their mouths. The pirates would sometimes point their guns or swords at the villagers, extracting them from their homes with chains and fear. The pirates had even dragged supernatural creatures into the fight. Animated skeletons with bows fired recklessly at anything that moved, and large beasts with weirdly shaped noses called Ravagers used their tusks to rip apart buildings. Green skinned creatures that smelled like gunpowder would sacrifice their lives to create huge explosions. Any villager that died was immediately given life by a gray-skinned pirate holding a leather book with dark blue-gray spirits circling him. The villagers, however, were not given back the lives they had. Insead, they became bloodthirsty zombies who swung their rotting fists at the living.

Techno stood at the edge of the village with his axe in his hand. He waited for a moment to strike, wondering which threat he should tackle first. Everything in the village was dangerous and life-threatening, but Techno had to make the decision of which one needed to be taken out first. He needed to make a tactical choice, and his godly companions were not helping him. Alex wanted him to fight everything in sight, and Steve was not around Techno.

Techno was about to make his decision when he saw his mortal companions. He had forgotten they were there, some part of his mind going back to the time when he would fight alone. Lilka jumped off Mother Wolf with her bowstring pulled back, blue energy solidifying to create an energy arrow. She shot it at the closest skeleton, and she continued firing even when that particular skeleton went down. Mother Wolf ran towards the Creepers. The giant wolf grabbed each one with her teeth, throwing them away from the village so they would explode midair. Gunpowder fell to the ground, but Mother Wolf growled at any pirate who was going to set the gunpowder ablaze.

Steve was floating around Kristin. He pointed towards the Ravager, whispering something to her that Techno couldn't hear. Kristin nodded along, reaching her hand out into the open air. Purple cracks appeared across her forearm, all merging together to make her fingertips a solid dark purple color with glistening spirals. The energy poured from her hands as slow as honey, and it shot out towards the sides instead of going all the way to the ground. A long scythe appeared in her hand with a black hilt and a purple colored blade. Kristin's face broke out into a smile as she held the weapon close to her, but Steve pushed her forward. Kristin's smile disappeared as she ran to the Ravager. She jumped into the air, her scythe spinning around her body before striking the Ravager's back. The blade sunk into the gray flesh, and purple cracks shot out from the spot like Kristin had used the Touch of Death.

Techno felt something heavy lift from his chest. He had never fought with people before. When he was younger, he would protect his farmlands all by himself. He had fought the monsters in the eastern forest by himself, too, and every mission he was given by the Blood Church was a solo one. Alex and Steve helped Techno, but they couldn't exactly fight alongside him. They could only tell him the weaknesses of his enemies and direct to him the best places to hit with his weapon. It was a new experience for someone to be there with Techno. He didn't really trust Kristin or Lilka (or Shrub), but he instinctively knew that they had his back.

Techno jumped into the fight. He set his sights on the pirates, leaving the supernatural creatures to his companions. Alex whooped as Techno's axe landed in the shoulder of a pirate, going so far into flesh that Techno heard bone breaking. Techno pulled his axe out with ease, lifting his foot up to kick the first pirate to the ground. Techno jumped over the bleeding body to strike the next target. This pirate lifted their sword up to parry, but Techno's axe fractured the metallic blade. The steel fell to the ground like broken glass, and the pirate barely had time to look terrified as Techno pushed his axe into the man's chest. The pirate sputtered before falling limblessly to the ground.