The Scarlet Alchemist

Chapter 004

Brand brandishes his axe and looks at the monster carefully.

Its red round insect-like eyes are looking at him carefully like a hunter waiting for its prey to enter its range.

Its arms are steady waiting for it's time to cut off the prey’s head.

(Brown Sickle… wait for its prey to make the first move.)

(If I run it will jump towards me and cut off my neck.)

(If I move forward it will prepare until I get inside its range and it will start to attack me non-stop.)

Brand slowly moves forward taking one step at time while looking at the monster's arms.

He can even feel the blade touching his neck for some weird reason but he tried to calm himself up and slowly move forward.

Gripping the jar on his left hand.

He continued to slowly walk towards the monster and then.

He noticed it.

The very description he heard from his training.

Click! Click!

The monster's body is slightly bent.

Then.

Fooooossssh!

The monster dash forward towards him.

He knew that the monster would attack his neck but he can only block one side of it and he doesn’t want to gamble his life so he leaps backwards and throws the container on the ground.

Shattered!

A small fog of flour appeared on the ground and…

The monster stops its track.

Click! Click! Click!

It's moving its head side by side but it is not moving forwards like it didn’t see me at all.

I took advantage and swung my axe as hard as I could.

Pang!

I tried to finish it with one attack by cutting off the joint in its neck area but.

Pang! Pang!

The one that falls down is its left arm or I should say its left blade.

“Tsk! I missed it!”

Brand immediately falls back instead of attacking once again because the monster also jumps out from the small cloud of flour.

He immediately prepares another jar on his left hand and then he notices that the monster is now looking at him.

He prepares to fight the monster once again.

Click! Click! Click!

The monster's head  turns side to side.

Click! Click! Click!

It moves its hands like it feels that it is missing its arms.

Click! Click! Click!

Then it prepares itself once again.

A steady looking stance waiting for its prey to make a mistake.

“This monster is a headache… but… Damian… it works… it really works!”

Brand grip the jar more tightly.

He began moving forward once again and finally when he knew that he was in striking distance.

He threw the jar at the monster's feet.

Fuuuu!

Shattered!

He is about to dash forward then he suddenly stops.

The monster avoided the jar and leaped back several distances.

“Wha… What!”

Click! Click! Click!

Click! Click!

The monster moved its head, arms and legs like it was checking its limb once again.

Click! Click! Click!

Immediately after witnessing it he grabbed another jar in his pocket.

“Last one.”

He glanced back at Damian’s house.

“If I miss this one I need to run towards Damian’s house to get more.”

While thinking, Brand takes a step backward.

He didn’t mean to run but he is just trying to fix his stance…

The monster thought differently.

The Brown Sickle rushed forward towards him and ready his blade.

Brand was taken by surprise step backward for a little bit more and he even try to leap back to dodge the monster attack but.

Puck!

Slash!

He didn’t escape unharmed.

He felt a searing pain from his left arm going towards his chest.

Together with a hot, warm feeling, he knew he was hit.

His heart beats rapidly.

He knew that this monster is dangerous but he didn’t feel its danger up until now.

Cold sweat ran through his forehead and panic ran in his heart.

This time he really felt that his life was in danger.

And unfortunately.

He also let go of the jar.

Shattered!

Pang! Pang!

A cloud of flour appeared in his feet.

“GAAAAAAAAA!”

Feeling the pain and with a sense of danger and urgency he shouted with all his might.

He then swung the axe horizontally targeting the monster in front of him.

This time there is no plan… this time it's just full of panic.

Wanting to survive.

That’s his goal for now.

Wanting to see tomorrow.

Wanting to see his friends.

This is running in his mind as he swings his axe in full force.

Puck!

He felt the resistance.

He knew he hit the monster.

But he didn’t care.

(I don’t want to stop! I will not stop!)

Recovering from the attack he immediately swung the axe diagonally from left to right.

Puck!

Brand felt another resistance.

He wanted to continue attacking but…

Brand lost his strength to pull it once more so instead he jumped back several times, looking back towards the house and glancing back at the monster.

But then he stopped moving.

The feel on its knee.

A part of his head is hanging backwards and it seems like that a small amount of muscle is holding it so it didn’t fully fall off the body.

Then Brand notices that the axe is  plunged in its right shoulder going towards the right chest.

“Hufff! Huff! Huff!”

He was looking at the monster… waiting for it to move and attack once again but it didn’t happen.

He waited… 

And waited some more…

And finally he relaxed.

He sat down looking at the monster in front of him.

“I… I killed it…”

…

…

“Damian you bastard…it really works…”

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”

But then the wound hurt once again.

“I have to thank that bastard once I see him once again.”

Brand stands up.

Hold the monster using his right foot and he pulls back the axe.

Puck!

He looked at the ground once again and noticed the white flour scattered in the ground.

“Still… I don’t remember that flour could create that kind of cloud… is that a specialty flour that Damian uses?”

He thinks about it for a bit.

He remembered that when his mother is still alive they also bake bread but he didn’t remember that flour could do that somehow puffy cloud.

“Arghhh!”

Brand shakes his head.

“I will just ask him when I see him.”

Brand picks up the axe and moves towards the encirclement once again there is still a lot of work to do.

But before go he looks back at Damian’s house once again.

And decided to bring some of those things just in case.

Ting!

Ting!

Ting! Ting!

Brand is running towards the encirclement once again this time he is carrying a shoulder bag with a couple of jars.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

“Get ready!”

“Fire the arrows!”

“Attack on the side!”

“Hold the line!”

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

“Arrgggghhh!”

“Help!”

Brand thinks that the fight between the villagers and the monsters are finished or about to finish when he is running back from Damian’s house but on the contrary it isn’t.

Most villagers are still fighting and this time he could see some of the villagers in the ground covered in their blood.

At a distance he saw Roger still fighting the Forest Striker.

There may be several monsters that are already lifelessly lying on the ground but the fight is far from over.

Brand runs and scans the area and he runs towards one of the encirclement walls.

When he looked sideways he noticed that the villager saw him too and nodded back.

Then he looked forward and saw the monster in front.

A Brown Sickle fighting three people, all of them are equipped with shields with a one hand weapon on the other hand.

Brand dash forward.

“HEY!”

Someone shouted at him, he believes that it is one of those villagers that is currently fighting the monster.

Then the monster looked at him.

With blood still dripping on his arm he continued to dash forward.

“Do you want to die! Get back!”

“Brand get back!”

Click! Click!

Click!

The monster dash forward.

“Idiot!”

“Kid!”

The voices are full of concern and annoyance.

But what he wanted to do cannot be conveyed through talking.

Most of the villagers will not believe him.

He knows that… because he is one of those villagers.

He picks up a jar and throws it between him and the monster.

Shattered!

Pang!

Ting! Ting!

Click! Click! Click!

The monster stops his tracks.

“Huh!?”

“What!”

“Hey!”

A dumbfounded expression can be heard around Brand.

Then Brand shouted from the top of his voice.

“Attack! Attack!”

He swung his axe and…

Slash!

Puck!

He slash the monster chest area and that seems to wake up the other villagers.

This time, they rush towards the monster and attack relentlessly.

Slash!

Slash! Slash!

Attacking the joints of the monster and targeting and cutting off the neck finishes off the monster immediately.

The Brown Sickle body slump down the ground and the other villagers look at me with awe.

“KID! That is amazing!?”

“What is that!?”

There are still monsters around so…

“Here… this is flour, it stops the monster tracks for a moment.”

He gave several items to the villagers.

“Fl…flour?”

“Yeah I cannot explain but it works right… this is only effective on Brown Sickle… so let's help the others.”

After nodding, the other villagers pick up several jars and rush towards the other but then I call out one of the villagers.

“By the way what happened here…”

I look around the area and it seems like he notices what I am asking too.

“Tsk! There is an increase of monsters! Some of them even escape the encirclement… some of the villagers chase them to prevent them from reaching the Village Hall.”

The man sighed.

“Thankfully most of those monsters stay here.”

Brand nodded in response and looked at the guy once more.

“Thanks! The number of monsters increases. I hope this helps! Let’s go!”

Just like that, they pick up several jars full of flour and run towards the direction of a Brown Sickle.

So as a Brand.

He rushed towards the next Brown Sickle nearest to him.

When he arrived at the  scene.

Cain is fighting a Brown Sickle together with three more villagers.

The strategy is a basic hit and run and encircling the enemy.

The goal is to prevent the monster from getting outside the encirclement and tire it out.

The small enemy is agile and when it is in this alert condition it is hard to hit.

Brand arrives beside Cain.

“Cain! This might stop the monster temporarily!”

“Huh!”

Cain didn’t look at me for too long instead he just glanced at me with a questioning look.

“Just trust me!”

“Sure!”

Cain was easily convinced.

Brand watches the enemy movement and when it charges towards one of the villagers.

He picks up a jar full of flour and throws it to the monster.

Shattered!

Pang! Ting! Ting!

A cloud made out of flour emerges.

“GO!”

Brand shouted from the top of his voice and almost immediately Cain flew.

Slash!

Using his favorite long sword!

The head of the Brown Sickle falls down together with its body that slumps down immediately.

The villagers look confused and amazed at the same time.

Then I hear Cain mumble.

“So… it really works huh!?”

(I guess he didn’t forget it.)

Then I said to him,

“Yeah… It did, didn't it.”

“That guy really is really something right?”

“Sighhhh… Cain doesn't praise him ok it will go into his head and become more lazy.”

“Unfortunately, you're right. I want to give him some credit for this but…”

Then Cain looked around.

“Well I think we are late, Brand… the information will spread and that guy will boast around. By the way, how was he and Amelia?”

Brand shakes his head.

“I didn’t see them in the house, most probably they already escaped and joined the others in the Village Hall.”

“Sigh!”

Cain shakes his head.

“He will be scolded once again.”

Cain looked towards the fight and looked back at me.

“We still have a lot to do, Brand.”

Brand nodded in reply.

“Let’s go!”