I couldn’t tell if the vision I was seeing was a dream, an illusion someone was showing me, or a flashback. I could, however, discern that it was slowly receding into the distance. Wait. Don’t go. Still leaning against the wall, I hobbled forward to chase after the vision.
✦ ✦ ✦
A giant of a man covered in tattoos faced off against Richter.
“Who’re you? A Valkaan?”
“I have been called that before. But my name is Richter. I’ve come to challenge you to a duel.” Richter drew the curved sword at his waist and pointed it at the man.
“Draw your blade. If you do not wish to fight, then leave this village and never return. I promise to spare your life if you retreat.”
“Hah! You sure know how to bark! But can you bite?!” Cackling, the man jumped higher than should have been possible for a regular human. His movements were so fast it was impossible to track him with the naked eye. “Diiie!”
Richter casually dodged out of the way, not even bothering to block the man’s attack.
“A chain user?” he asked calmly.
“You can’t beat my chains with that tiny sword of yours. But it’s too late to back out now, fool!” Agar pulled back his weighted chains and smirked. “What good is one sword against chains that can wrap around anything?! Take this!”
Still unperturbed, Richter dashed forward. Agar stared at him in shock.
“What?!”
Chains need centrifugal force to function, so they’re stronger at longer ranges. But if I can close in... Richter drew his sword back in preparation for a thrust, and Agar smirked again.
“You fell for it, idiot!” Agar threw away his chains and moved to grapple Richter. “Those chains aren’t my only weapon! I’ve got the strength of a hundred men too!”
Any self-respecting chain user would have countermeasures for dealing with opponents at close range. And, of course, grappling is the most natural choice. Richter also threw away his sword and grabbed Agar’s arms. He then swept Agar’s legs out from under him and pinned him to the ground.
“Argh!”
Normally, Agar would have been able to throw Richter off using his superhuman strength, but Richter was also a Valkaan. Furthermore, Richter was the more skilled wrestler, so he could keep Agar from bringing his full strength to bear. Agar’s frantic struggle accomplished little more than gouging out the ground around him.
As Richter continued applying pressure, Agar’s bones began to creak.
“S-Stop! Wait!” Agar pleaded.
“Valkaan have no higher power holding them in check, so their words cannot be trusted. I’m afraid I cannot accept your surrender. This is your punishment for walking the path of carnage.”
There was an ominous crack as Richter snapped Agar’s neck.
Though people call us Valkaan—War Gods—we are not true gods. We can be killed. Richter got back to his feet, and Shumar slowly walked up to him.
“Um, is it really over?”
Richter picked up his sword and resheathed it, then turned to Agar’s corpse and brought his hands together in prayer. “Forgive me, Agar. I did not have the strength to go easy on you.”
“Y-You’re really strong, Richter,” Shumar said in awe.
“No...” Richter shook his head. “Agar was just weak. He clearly wasn’t used to fighting other Valkaan. He must have been one of the weaker ones who was driven away from the river and ended up settling here.”
“I didn’t know some Valkaan were weaker than others.”
“There’s a hierarchy even among us, Shumar,” Richter said with a sad smile, turning away from him. “The threat to your village has passed. All that’s left is for me to take my leave. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“P-Please, wait! We haven’t even given you anything in return!”
Richter started walking off, ignoring Shumar’s pleas.
“To the people of this village, I’m no different from Agar. Just another Valkaan,” he cautioned. “Everyone will feel safer with me gone.”
“Hold it right there! Why are you in such a hurry to leave?! Hey, everyone! Hurry up! We gotta hold a feast for Richter!” Shumar ran over, grabbed Richter by the sleeve, and tried to pull him back.
Sighing, Richter stopped.
“Let go.”
“Never! It goes against my principles to leave a debt unpaid!”
“But look at how scared the rest of the villagers are.” Richter pointed to the crowd staring at him from a safe distance. They were hiding in the shadows of nearby buildings, half grateful, half terrified that Richter would just replace Agar. It was clear he wasn’t welcome here.
Shumar looked sadly over at them. “Come on, guys, he saved our village! You don’t have to be scared of him!”
“It’s fine, Shumar. If a tiger kills another tiger, it doesn’t change the fact that there’s a tiger prowling around. It’s not their fault they’re afraid.” Richter bowed politely to the villagers. “I’m sorry I caused such a ruckus. But I have no intention of disturbing the peace of this village. Farewell.”
“Waaait! I’m not letting go, no matter what! I refuse to become a leech who doesn’t repay their debts!”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Shumar, but it’s fine. Really.” Richter resumed walking. However, Shumar refused to let go and let himself be dragged along.
“Please, let go.”
“Never! Not even if it kills me!”
“Good grief.”
Richter came to a halt once they were far enough away from the village. Shumar was covered in mud and scrapes, but his grip on Richter’s sleeve was as tight as ever.
“This is about my principles, Richter. No matter how you feel, I won’t leave. Not until I’ve properly thanked you for saving my village. If you believe you can’t stay there, then I’ll leave too.”
“I understand how you feel, but...” Sighing, Richter looked into Shumar’s eyes. His appearance and personality are totally different, but he reminds me of a certain vice-commander I once had.
Veight’s carefree smile flashed through Richter’s mind. Shaking away that nostalgic image, Richter looked down at Shumar again.
If he were here, he wouldn’t tell Shumar to leave. And, well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint him. Richter let out a small laugh.
“Hey, if you’re laughing, that means you’re willing to let me come with you, right?” Shumar asked.
“Fine, fine. It’d be dangerous to leave you out here alone anyway. You’d probably stalk the mountainside for days looking for me.”
“How’d you know?”
“I once had a friend much like you, and he would have done the same.” Smiling, Richter picked Shumar up with one hand.
“Whoa?!”
He set Shumar down on his feet and wiped the mud off his face.
“You just never stop being reckless, huh?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Who can say?” Richter looked off into the distance. “I suppose I can’t just turn a blind eye to the Valkaan’s villainy. I’m thinking of traveling the land and saving as many villages as I can. It’ll be a dangerous journey, but will you come with me?”
“You bet.” Shumar nodded, a determined look on his face.
“Then let us journey to the ends of the world together!”
“Okay!” And so, the two men’s journey to save Kuwol began.