I No Clown

Another Way

"No, wait, please! Spare my life, please―"

Stab!

The thirty-year-old man died with five holes in the face. His body still twitched for a few seconds before settling down.

Mathias grinned at the bloodied fingers of his right hand. He stood up and glanced towards the back left.

"Wh-Who are you? Why are you killing them?" said another person in the corner of the room, a very messy room.

"You're the one named Aoris?"

The man in the corner gulped, face pale, eyes wide as he looked at the heavily hooded man approaching him.

"I-I..." In the end, he nodded albeit stammeringly.

"Then you must die as well!"

"Why?" cried Aoris. Cold sweat dripped down his temples. "What wrong have we done?"

"You know better than I do!" Mathias stopped a step in front of Aoris.

"B-But, but we're Purbha's soldiers! We're fighting against the Demon Army!"

Mathias grinned faintly. Slowly, he removed the hood that covered his head and part of his face.

Aoris grew choked up as he looked at the face that was now clearly visible.

"Ma-Mathias?" he couldn't even gulp down his saliva now. "W-Wait, wait, please. Listen to me, Mathias."

Aoris realized the sins and mistakes he had committed, the shadow of death closing in.

"Where's Ryvel?" He crouched down in front of Aoris. "Hmm?"

"Please, listen to me," Aoris tried to inch away, away from the figure with the terrifying gaze. Unfortunately, his back was blocked by the wall. "I-I didn't do what you think. Please believe me, Mathias. Your sister, I―"

Grabb!

Aoris was forced into silence by Mathias' tight grip over his mouth.

"Don't think you can lie to me!"

The horror became clearer in Aoris' eyes as Mathias' hand gripping his mouth seemed to emit a dim bluish light.

He tried to struggle, but his body seemed to be nailed to the same spot.

The faint blue light further covered Mathias' entire right hand. Like fine threads, the light moved through several spots on Aoris' forehead and head.

"You don't need to tell me," Mathias said, "I'll search inside your head myself."

Increasingly, Aoris felt so much pain that his body convulsed and shook violently with suppressed groans.

In an instant, Mathias had gotten the information he wanted.

As for Aoris, he died with veins protruding violently all over his face and body. Even blood was slowly flowing out of his eyes.

After ensuring that the three bodies in the room would never live again, Mathias left the room on one floor of the barracks building, without anyone being able to notice.

The waves crashing against the large rocks on the shore seemed to be overpowered by the whistling wind.

Mathias just stood on one of the rocks on the beach. His gaze was dark, fixed in the middle of the sea.

There was nothing he could do there for now.

There were three other men left to pay for Alicia's suffering and death, Ryvel and the two men who had always been his accomplices.

Unfortunately, those three had long since left the Land of Purbha to head to the Middle Lands, Svarnabhumi.

"Even in Hell," Mathias said in anger, "I will find you, Ryvel. I will!"

***

They say the Land of Dakhsina is a place of outcasts, forgotten by time. And here Mathias was, on a medium-sized ship with a dozen other passengers.

The land to the south was made up of a complex archipelago and was always cold, covered in ice and snow. Only two or three islands were not covered by the cold and were home to people who had left the hustle and bustle of the townships.

He had no choice.

No other ship would leave Purbha, not even to the other smaller territories.

This was the only ship left and Mathias was lucky that he had come at the right time, when the common people were about to leave the land of Purbha which was almost completely overrun by monstrous and huge creatures.

So, like it or not, he had to board the same ship in order to avenge his sister's death.

For the rest of his life, this was the first time Mathias had left the Land of Purbha.

But he didn't care. Not the weather that would never be the same, not the obstacles and barriers he would encounter, not anything.

As long as he could find and kill Ryvel and the other two men, then it was all worth it.

After all, it was closer to Svarnabhumi from Dakhsina. At least, that was the information he got from some of the people on the ship.

Even though the chances were small, he took them anyway, for Alicia's sake.

"Hey, young man!"

Mathias glanced back. A man approached him with a bowl.

"Here, eat up!"

Inside the bowl were several pieces of dried fruit and bacon.

Mathias simply nodded as he accepted the bowl.

"It's past midnight," said the middle-aged man with his hands on his waist, "you'd better get some rest. Besides, it's getting cold."

"That's fine," Mathias replied. "I'll be here for a while longer."

The middle-aged man tilted his head, as if to say, it's up to you. And then, he walked away, leaving Mathias alone at the bow of the ship.

Mathias cast his gaze back to the far end of the sea though all he could see was darkness.

"Five more days, huh?" he muttered.

***

The beautiful, naked, face-down body writhed softly on the luxurious bed. The thin blanket covering her waist finally sagged to reveal her beautiful buttocks.

"Are you awake?"

Cindy blinked and tried to sit up. "You've been up long?"

Ryvel chuckled and then sipped hot coffee from the cup in his hand. He sat on one chair shirtless.

"This sail is really boring me."

Ryvel chuckled. "Go take a shower," he said. "I don't think anyone is using the bathroom at this moment."

Cindy stifled a giggle. "Yeah, for sure!"

After all, it was only the two of them who always overslept on the big three-masted ship. It was as if this was a private ship that was taking them on their honeymoon trip.

The girl walked out of the room with only a long cloth wrapped around her naked body.

A few seconds after Cindy left, a servant entered the same room. Both hands were full of a large tray.

"Just put it on the table!"

The servant nodded and placed several kinds of food, fruits, and drinks on the table.

"I heard," Ryvel continued, "that in less than half a day, we'll be arriving at Svarnabhumi. Is that true?"

The servant nodded. "That is correct, Young Master. And in fact, we are now in the Emperor's domain."

"Is that so, huh?" Ryvel gave a small nod and took another sip of the hot coffee in his cup.

"Is there anything else you need, Young Master?"

Ryvel moved his left hand, the servant nodded again and left the room.