Hero Is Now Villain

"I can explain, Kisha," said Ryzen hurriedly. Garbiel gathered herself and retreated behind Ryzen's back, looking a little disappointed and definitely annoyed by the interruption.

"No, no, finish up what you were doing. Should I come back in the morning? I know it takes a full night for your d.i.c.k to get flimsy again," hissed Kisha.

"Kisha, this is Garbiel. Garbiel, this is my traveling companion, Kisha," said Ryzen, rubbing between the eyes feeling guilty for some reason.

"Hello," said Garbiel coldly, to which Kisha simply ignored completely.

Ryzen got up and put up some clothes over his n.a.k.e.d body—his p.e.n.i.s still enlarged and hard—and stood before Kisha.

"How did the trade go?" asked Ryzen with an awkward smile.

"Do you honestly care?" scoffed Kisha, her face a myriad of feelings, but mostly contempt.

"You are mad because I did not show up as I promised."

Kisha blinked, followed by a reluctant nod in skeptical agreement.

"... And I have not eaten anything for the entire day," muttered Kisha.

"Let us go eat then. Right now."

"You speak as if you are the one holding the pouch full of gold," said Kisha, still eyeing Ryzen disapprovingly.

"I thought we were business partners like you said."

"I could have just run off with the money... not that you would have cared at all."

Kisha threw an acidic glance toward Garbiel, who was silently and gingerly putting on her clothes—save the ripped, torn rag of an u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r, which she, to Kisha's eyes, flaunted rather amusingly and fondly before throwing it away to the corner.

"You could, but you came back," said Ryzen, thankful but also curiously surprised.

"And I see that you are sad because I did."

"That is not true. I am glad," said Ryzen earnestly.

A momentary awkward silence between Ryzen and Kisha was broken when Garbiel, fully dressed, broke it with a cautious cough.

"If it is about whose money to spend for supper, I could pay. I am quite hungry myself, you see," said Garbiel, trying her best to sound amicable towards Kisha.

"Get lost, fatty, and fill your large stomach somewhere else," said Kisha with pure animosity.

Garbiel opened her mouth in disbelief and turned to Ryzen as if wanting some defense on her part.

Ryzen blinked at Kisha.

"She is not—"

Then Ryzen turned to Garbiel.

"You have just the right, perfect body, I—"

Ryzen swallowed and shut his mouth as he was caught between Kisha's murderous stare and Garbiel's indignant face.

"Do they serve drinks down here?" Ryzen asked Garbiel with a sigh.

.

.

.

"You told me you did not drink," said Garbiel, watching Ryzen sip his beer carefully and reluctantly.

"I just realized there are things more stressful than death in this world," said Ryzen sardonically.

Ryzen, Garbiel, and Kisha were sitting on the same table, with clean dishes and each a glass of beer in front of them. The diner was crowded and rowdy with people enjoying their hot meal and beverages. There was only one table that was oddly quiet, inappropriately somber, and visibly hostile.

"Food was nice, was it not, Kisha?" asked Ryzen with a faux cheerfulness.

"Stop acting friendly, rapist," said Kisha.

"You r.a.p.ed her too?" asked Garbiel, staring at Ryzen with a regained disgust.

"Several times, in fact," said Kisha coolly.

A passerby who unwillingly overheard the conversation did a double take as he looked back over his shoulder at the group.

"Could you lower your voice, Kisha?" pleaded Ryzen.

"Why? It is not as if you feel bad about the whole thing. If you ever felt bad, you would have stopped, right?"

"I do feel bad. I just cannot help myself," Ryzen clicked his tongue in frustration, in shame.

"Spoken like a true rapist. You see, he admits he will not stop, and that means there will be more women like you and me in the future."

Garbiel stared at both Ryzen and Kisha with a hung mouth, followed by an innocent blink.

"I guess," said Garbiel.

"You guess?" frowned Kisha.

"I mean, he did seem he felt bad, and given his circ.u.mstance, I understand that he sometimes acts on impulses and drives."

"What circ.u.mstance?" asked Kisha sharply.

"Obviously, the circ.u.mstance."

"What is she talking about?" asked Kisha this time to Ryzen.

"Oh, she does not know?" Garbiel, with a faint look of triumph, also turned her face to Ryzen.

"I tried to tell you—"

"But you did not," said Kisha, cutting off Ryzen's words.

"Because I thought I would scare you away."

"It did not scare her away," said Kisha, jerking her chin irritably at Garbiel.

"I found it rather fascinating, in fact," said Garbiel.

"So you intend to stick around further?" asked Kisha boldly.

"Ryzen asked me to, and I accepted," answered Garbiel, with a slight blush at the end.

"What, as a whore to suck his d.i.c.k every night?"

Garbiel looked shock, but only for a brief moment before she spat her own pointy words.

"I am sorry. Was it your job? Are you scared that I may be taking it away from you?"

"Ladies, please," intervened Ryzen.

"Shut up, pervert," spat Kisha.

"Yes, leave yourself out of this, Ryzen," said Garbiel coldly.

Subdued and silenced, Ryzen took another sip of the beer, thought better and drank the remainder of the drink in one long take.

"I happen to be his business partner. A mutually beneficial relationship, if you will," said Kisha, leaving out the part where nightly services were also exchanged in a mutually beneficial manner.

"And I am a scholar of magical artifacts. Ryzen allowed me to study further on his sword as—"

"He stuck his d.i.c.k inside you, yes, I saw what happened."

"—As I accompany him on his journey," finished Garbiel, clearing her throat multiple times towards the end.

"Are you sure when you say you are studying a sword you are not just thinking of rubbing yourself against it, playing with the hilt and what not?"

"That is the most vulgar thing I have ever heard in my life."

"But not the most vulgar thing that have entered you, I am sure."

"That would be me," said Ryzen, slightly drunk and heavily tired by the looks.

"What?" frowned Kisha.

"The vulgar thing, the only thing that penetrated Garbiel. Me."

Garbiel turned her head away while Kisha stared at Ryzen.

"You are seriously bragging about having a r.a.p.ed a v.i.r.g.i.n?" said Kisha.

"Not bragging. Guilty."

"I am fine," said Garbiel, not looking fine at all.

Garbiel then got up looking uncomfortable as she put some gold on the table for her food.

"I should go."

"Really? Losing a v.i.r.g.i.n.i.t.y of all things makes you embarrassed? After all the talk we had?" scoffed Kisha.

Garbiel seemed hesitant to speak further words, glanced at Ryzen who was still face-palming in guilt, and left hurriedly.

"I am a monster," g.r.o.a.n.e.d Ryzen, his head still down and covered by his hands.

"You are a moron. Get up, now," said Kisha, urging Ryzen to stand up and pushing him towards the stairs.

.

.

.

Ryzen and Kisha entered the room.

"Look, Kisha, if you still want to know about who I really am—"

"You are a moron, and a l.u.s.ty womanizer with a giant d.i.c.k hanging between your legs. What more is there to know?" scoffed Kisha, with unsmiling eyes.

Then Kisha's eyes flashed a look of determination—of jealousy—as Ryzen, weak and lethargic, was suddenly pushed off by Kisha onto the bed.

Ryzen did not even have the energy to complain, let alone ask for the meaning of the abrupt action.

"This room smells like her... of her," sniffed Kisha unpleasantly.

"If you want another room—" said Ryzen, trying to get up from the bed.

"Shut up, and take your clothes off," said Kisha, looking down at Ryzen as if he were some dead insect.

Ryzen tried to protest, but his hands were already taking the shirt off while he hated himself for doing so, as usual.

"You are not just a monster. You are a horny, helpless rapist whose d.i.c.k gets hardened at every and any girl passing by."

"You are right," sighed Ryzen, taking out the black, giant p.e.n.i.s he had been trying to suppress through supper without success.

"You feel guilty over raping a v.i.r.g.i.n, but you have no qualm about repeatedly violating a sixteen year-old?"

Kisha was taking off her clothes as she spoke. The lean, muscular body contrasted sharply with Garbiel's soft, curvy silhouette from the earlier. Either was more than sufficient to keep Ryzen's p.e.n.i.s erect and hard for a very long time, of course.

"Stay down. I will be on top, all night," ordered Kisha, slapping Ryzen's swollen p.e.n.i.s as she climbed onto the bed.

"All right," breathed Ryzen.

Kisha rubbed herself before crouching down and sat on top of Ryzen. The p.e.n.i.s rolled deliciously and stickily into the welcoming, young v.a.g.i.n.a of Kisha.

Kisha then slapped Ryzen hard across the face.

"Look at me," spat Kisha.

"I am."

"Tell me I am prettier."

"You are beautiful, Kisha."

Kisha started to bounce and rock on top of Ryzen, m.o.a.ning and breathing hard like a beast on a run.

"Tell me I am tastier," cried Kisha.

"You are delicious, Kisha, your inside, your t.i.t.s, your lips, everything," murmured Ryzen as he raised his upper body to bite Kisha's perky n.i.p.p.l.e and lick the sweat off her collarbones and neck.

Kisha had o.r.g.a.s.med several times while riding Ryzen, and in the middle of another heated session, she got up with shaky legs and pushed Ryzen to lie down on the bed once again.

She then sat on top of Ryzen's face.

"Roll your tongue. Stick it inside."

Ryzen ran her tongue over the v.a.g.i.n.a, inside it, and even tasted the jolting anus.

"Now open your mouth," said Kisha shakily as she lifted her bottom from Ryzen's face and let thick, viscous string of saliva drip from her mouth into Ryzen's.

Ryzen swallowed, locking eyes with Kisha's passionate, fervent eyes.

"And here comes your favorite," smiled Kisha, perhaps for the first time in the evening.

Kisha readily and freely peed all over Ryzen's face. Ryzen closed his eyes, mouth still open, drinking and tasting all of Kisha that night.

.

.

.

Next morning, Garbiel was already waiting by the counter for Ryzen and Kisha to come down the stairs.

"Good morning," greeted Garbiel stiffly, as she guessed correctly that the two had spent the night in the same room—the room Garbiel was violated just half a day earlier.

Kisha passed by Garbiel without returning formalities and threw the room keys to the sleepy-eyed innkeeper.

"Hey, old man, why is the kitchen not running? Where is my breakfast?" asked Kisha rudely.

"Do I look like a cook to you?" answered the innkeeper irritably.

"I do not care what you look like. Where is my food? I am ravenous."

"We do not serve breakfast, only lunch and dinner."

"Some inn this place is."

"Howling like that all night, you are bound to be hungry. I could not sleep because of you two," said innkeeper angrily.

"What? You want me to apologize for f.u.c.k.i.n.g at an inn?" scoffed Kisha brazenly, and a little loud as if intending for Garbiel to hear.

Garbiel had been pretending as if she heard nothing from the counter.

"Just leave," sighed the innkeeper, waving his hands helplessly.

"You are here early," said Ryzen awkwardly but not at all displeased to see the pretty blonde again.

"I had to. I cleared my room and promised the landowner that he could lend it out starting this morning."

"You cleared your room?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"I was hoping to see you use your Mana Cloud, ask for a specific information in the meantime."

Garbiel blinked for a second, smiled reassuringly afterward.

"The spell circle can be drawn again. It takes time, but it can be done anywhere, not just my room."

"That is good to hear."

Kisha had returned from quarreling with the innkeeper.

"So you really are coming," said Kisha, eyeing Garbiel with clear dislike.

"Let us try to get along, Kisha," said Garbiel, extending her hand with a forced smile.

"F.u.c.k off," scoffed Kisha, slapping the hand and walking away.

"You will get used to her," said Ryzen.

"I do not think I want to, to be honest," said Garbiel, reciprocating the same look of distaste to Kisha's back.

.

.

.

The stable that stationed Laabyrinth was rowdy even in the early morning. As Ryzen's party approached the stable, it became clear that all the commotion was because of none other than Laabyrinth itself.

"I will pay ten thousand gold for it. Ten thousand, do you hear?" a man leading a half-dozen other men was raising his voice, sounding almost like a threat to passing ears.

"I keep telling you, I do not own this horse. I have no right to sell a customer's property like that. Please try to understand, kind sirs," pleaded the stable owner.

Then the owner spotted Ryzen and widened his eyes in welcome and relief.

"That is him. He is the owner of the black stallion," the owner pointed at Ryzen excitedly.

The group of thugs eyed Ryzen and the two women beside him with interest.

"You the owner of that horse?" asked who seemed to be the leader of the unruly, snickering men.

"Yes," said Ryzen simply, handing the stable owner the due gold and taking the rein of Laabyrinth casually.

"Some beauty you got. And not just one, but three," smirked the gang leader, eyeing Kisha and Garbiel greedily.

Ryzen ignored him completely and turned to the stable owner calmly.

"We will need two more horses for the ladies."

"Just one. Laaby can take two of us easily, so why not save some gold on the cost?" said Kisha.

"Laaby?" Ryzen laughed softly.

"Yes, Laaby. It sounds better than its ridiculous full name."

"Hey, are you listening?" the gang leader approached Ryzen threateningly.

Ryzen faced the leader calmly and collectedly.

"The horse is not for sales."

"I am offering ten thousand gold."

"Even a hundred times that amount is not enough."

The gang leader stared hard into Ryzen's, only to back off after a few seconds.

"I understand. I envy you, rich sir, for owning and riding such beauties so regularly, whenever you want."

The thugs laughed cruelly at the vulgar joke.

"That is not even clever," said Kisha.

"I think he just called us p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es, Kisha," said Garbiel, her face calm and finding the cackling men pathetic.

Ryzen was handed the rein of a gray-white horse and helped Garbiel climb on it before he got on Laabyrinth himself. Garbiel watched with subtle jealousy as Kisha climbed on Laabyrinth and hugged Ryzen's back casually.

"If you want a handjob on the way, just say when," said Kisha playfully as she rubbed her hands on the metallic bottom armor piece.

"No, Kisha," said Ryzen sternly before turning to Garbiel.

"You trot on ahead. I will follow along."

"Which way?" asked Garbiel, turning the horse toward the city gate.

"North, for now."

Garbiel nodded and headed off.

"Why north? You know it always snows above Sappling, right?" asked Kisha.

"And that means fewer people," said Ryzen, trotting Laabyrinth after Garbiel.

"Naturally."

"Good, then."

.

.

.

It was almost noon when Ryzen's party stopped and set up a temporary camp for a simple lunch. Sappling was only about some ten miles away, but there was already snow visible in the woods.

While Ryzen and Kisha prepared for food, Garbiel had drawn an intricate spell circle on the hard, nearly-frozen dirt ground with a white chalk.

"It actually helps that the ground is firm. Soft dirt or sand leads to cruder lines, and that leads to foggy communication," explained Garbiel as she stared down at the completed spell circle with a small pride.

"Looks crude enough for me," said Kisha in passing.

"I did the best I could," said Garbiel, blushing.

"You did well, given that this is not your expertise. I thank you greatly," said Ryzen.

Garbiel beamed and eagerly sat on the center of the spell circle.

"We can start right away. What do you wish to glimpse into?" asked Garbiel, closing her eyes.

"The same thing I said yesterday. The rumors and speculations about General Betrard Falen."

"Former General Betrard Falen, you mean," corrected Garbiel nonchalantly.

"... Yes," said Ryzen with a suppressed pained look.

A few seconds passed, and there came a look of incredulity, of confusion, on Garbiel's kind, youthful face.

"Interesting."

"What is?"

"No, I have not found anything on the topic. The absence of information is interesting. It has never happened. Mana Cloud stores thoughts and minds of even centuries ago. But this, this feels as if the information was deliberately deleted, washed away."

Garbiel's eyes flickered beneath her closed lids in consternation. Ryzen, while finding her troubled pretty face cute and lovely, frowned at the gravity of the situation.

"Are you saying that the mages are no longer talking about my—about Falen's death?"

"It is not that the mages have stopped talking about it," said Garbiel, trying to her best to remain calm.

"It is as if the talk is being banned, thinking about Falen is disabled for sharing in the Mana Cloud," added Garbiel gravely.

"What does that mean?" asked Ryzen sharply.

"Yeah, what does that mean, fatty?" yawned Kisha, biting off the beef jerky in a solitary indifference.

"Wait, I found it... But I cannot access it. Only Mages of higher caliber and selected persons are allowed access to it."

"What is 'it'?" asked Ryzen.

Garbiel opened her eyes and stared at Ryzen.

"The entire collective thoughts cache on Betrard Falen."

Ryzen blinked a few times.

"Why, though?"

"I do not know, but I cannot read it. I am sorry I cannot help much, Ryzen."

"Can you keep looking? Perhaps you missed something because of the spell circle drawn in the wild?"

Garbiel seemed to want to say that the result would be the same, but she smiled and nodded just to reassure Ryzen that she did her best.

"You know, the soup is getting cold," called Kisha, bored and left out, by the stove.

"Go on ahead without us," said Ryzen.

"I already did—"

Kisha closed her mouth at the approaching sounds of galloping horses. More than a dozen, by Kisha's estimate.

Ryzen had heard it too, and he picked up Bloodrink and raised a hand to assure Garbiel who had opened here eyes and was watching worriedly at the direction of the noise coming towards them.

"Keep looking, Garbiel."

Garbiel nodded, but she did not seem to feel safe to close her eyes.

"The men at the stable, I think," said Kisha, drawing her old war axe herself while crouching like a nimble cat.

"It is them," confirmed Ryzen, whose eyes had already made out the distant faces from the morning.

"No need for any of you to take any action. I promised I would protect both of you."

"But there were at least ten of them—" stuttered Garbiel, whose words were cut off by the casual tone of Kisha.

"I am not worried. I am holding an axe in case I have to cut a hand or two to get the loot off the grips. Do not mind me while you slay away," said Kisha to Ryzen's unmoving, composed back.

Garbiel in turn stared at Kisha, who seemed peaceful and unconcerned by the approaching enemy, even a little hopeful and anticipatory of the upcoming bout.

The hors.e.m.e.n—the same thugs by the Sappling stable in the morning—came to stop before Ryzen, who was standing a good twenty yards away from the camp and the two women.

The frozen ground let no dust to rise even with twelve horses stomping and rustling amongst themselves.

The leader on the horseback scanned the area and looked down at Ryzen, standing on his feet.

"Where is your horse?"

"Waiting," said Ryzen calmly.

"For what?"

"To eat."

Kisha alone giggled softly at the meaning of Ryzen's short responses.

"So, nearby?"

The leader turned to order his men to search the ground, expecting to find a giant black horse lazily chewing grass in the vicinity—when Ryzen cleared his throat dramatically.

"Do not send your men elsewhere. Let them stay here."

"What?" frowned the leader.

"I do not want to chase you dirtbags all over the place, and rather have your dead bodies gathered on one spot for Laaby to feed with more comfort."

"See? It rolls better on the tongue," said Kisha, only to be heard by fear-stricken, nervous Garbiel.

"Are you mad, rich sir?" scoffed the leader, taking off a plain looking steel sword.

Ryzen, too, drew out Bloodrink, its black blade glistening ever more ominously under the clear sky.

The leader's, and his men's, eyes sparkled at the beautiful Daemonic sword.

"The horse, the woman, and now the sword. Today is our lucky day, boys!" cheered the leader, with his men laughing and hooting in the back.

"You may want to close your eyes, if you are not used to seeing so much blood," said Kisha to Garbiel, gently for the first time.

Garbiel blinked, uncomprehending what Kisha meant.

"Are you sure we should not go help him right now?" asked Garbiel.

"How? I could take down one of them if I am lucky, and you, will you be dancing n.a.k.e.d on the side to distract those pigs?"

"How can you be joking right now? Ryzen is in danger."

"Is he though?"

Just as Garbiel opened her mouth to speak, she saw in the corner of her eyes that Ryzen started to move gracefully, deathly, off his feet and jumped out of her view.

Garbiel turned her head, looking for a black-armored man she was worried about and for to death at the moment. And Ryzen stood as if nothing happened, just a few feet away from where he was originally standing.

The only change within just a moment of a fraction of a second was that the three hors.e.m.e.n in the front—the leader and his two men—were missing their heads.

Garbiel gasped silently, not due to horror, but to amazement at the sight she was witnessing.

The blood from the three decapitated men hung in the air forming a crimson arc over their bodies.

The arc dwindled and seeped into the black sword held loosely on Ryzen's hand.

Even from the distance, Garbiel could see Ryzen sighing.

She also knew that was not the sigh of fatigue or sadness.

It was of contentment, and joy.