Chapter 1: Encounter

The Fallen One

Chapter 1: ENCOUNTER
In the middle of the night, within a little courtyard, there stood a young man, his head faced upwards with his eyes closed. The night was unlike any other, the moon was brimming with red light, and it was as if death was on its way. A few moments later, the young man that was still in the courtyard with his eyes closed, mumbled.

"Father, mother, I had become stronger after you left me."

He gradually opened his eyes and looked at the night sky. If anyone could see his eyes at that moment, they would think that it was just beautiful, so beautiful it would take their breath away. His left eye was brimming with red light like the bloody moon above; and the other one was dim green, as though life itself was getting weaker and weaker, every second that passes by, he retorted.

"No, On the day that you died, was also the day that your son died!"

His gaze was a little livid and wild as his red eye was. He slowly looked at his hands, and slowly muttered.

"I-I became the infamous Bandit Slayer! These hands of my were already soaked by the enemies blood." A drop of tear fell as he stared at his trembling hands. "I-I will follow you soon, mom and dad. So you don't have to wait for me any longer."

He gradually fell to the ground, and cooed, "Dad, mom..." The wind whistled as it brushed against his hair. He closed his eyes, and slowly fell asleep.

...

Having fought into a thousand battles against several groups of bandits for roughly four years after his parents and family were massacred. For four years of fighting against the villains, Hei Long did not care whether they were the small group or the big group of bandits. He would still find a way to fight and kill those bandits with everything he had in his arsenal; poisons, traps, and mainly using the beasts of the forest to exterminate bandits, were his favorite things to do when he does not rest, that was his life.

A few years later, after avenging his family, Hei Long was now 16 years old. Heilong had killed the killers of his family; he killed all those bandits that had once feasted upon his village. Unfortunately, while he was fighting his enemies, he got stabbed in the back by a knife covered with poison. The one who stabbed him was the leader of the bandit, his name was unknown to him, but his title was quite notorious in the city. It was he who massacred Hei family; it was also the bandit who was bound to be killed by Heilong — The Great Pillager.

"You've almost killed us all, but remember this! I will bring you down with us, and we will have a reunion in hell," The man laughed hysterically, and later on, died while standing.

......

After killing the bandits, Hei Long unhurriedly came back to the place where his parent rest. He was now sitting in big mountain rock; the surrounding areas were covered with lush plants and trees; in front of Hei Long was the Great Tree, it was also the place where his parents and his people were buried rest.

"Father, mother, I have finally avenged you all — you can now rest in peace..."

Blood was dripping as he stood up. Then, he strolled his way towards the Great Tree of the mountain. When he arrived there, in front Hei Long, held a Peachtree; he took a glimpse at it and bowed to it.

"You had once protected me; I'm very grateful for what you've done, yet, I'm also resentful for what you've done; however, I think I'm about to die... I want to request something from you... I want to die here and buried here, with my family. Can you do that for me?"

The tree showed no sign of answering his request; it only stood there without moving,

Without waiting for the tree's reply, he tilted his head towards the graves that held.

"I lived in this world like a prisoner being tortured by the passing of time. And every time I slept, I'd always remember dad's lessons, about the sword, and everything else. In the end, I wasn't able to love someone again, I-I was afraid to lose something again; I wasn't strong enough to protect those who are in need of my protection; I wasn't ready to take the family's responsibility at that time, dad. I am sorry. But, can all you forgive me for what I have done, and let me rest in peace here?"

"..."

His face was white as a sheet of paper, the light of his eyes was slowly losing its brimming light, his black hair unhurriedly turned white, his youthful face aged bit by bit — he was dying. Dying at an unhurried pace; his eyes leisurely became lifeless.

"The day that all of you died, was also the day, your son died... Demons consumed my soul for revenge that I desired; the powers I got was in exchange for my soul —your child's spirit." He started to cry his eyes out, his left crimson eye that had always shined the brightest was slowly losing it red tint: changing from crimson-red to golden-white -- it was breathtaking to behold. He said. "I'm tired..." He fell to the ground.

The light wind caressed his head as he quietly went to sleep.

A verdant green light gradually covered Hei Long who was asleep on the ground soundlessly with a slight golden touch on it. After a few moments, the light eventually dispersed as well as the body of Hei Long.
The tree that Hei Long love was swaying its branches as though it was sad that Hei Long was gone; its leaves were withering non-stop. After a few days, the leaves of the Great Tree withered to the very root itself — it was dead.

.....

In a dark, cold cave, a young man appeared out of nowhere. The man's eyes were unusually eye-catching with those different color was quite odd: left golden-white eye that could probably devour anyone that block its way, and his right green eye that transpires nature itself was just beautiful.

"Where am I?" Hei Long asked his surrounding with expectant eyes. "Is this hell, or heaven?"

Before anyone could even answer his questions, the dark, cave that he was currently resting on, shudder.

"Shit! Is the place going to collapse?" Hei Long frantically turned his head left and right. If anyone could see the world through his eyes, they probably wouldn't believe that they can see the tiny crooked places inside the cave, it was as if a cave so dark itself, was as clear as day in Hei Long's eyes. The eyes that could see even in the darkest of place in the world were one of his most outstanding ability. He acquired this skill when one of his enemies blinded him in a fight. The Great Tree was distressed to see that he became blind at such a young age, so it healed Hei Long when he was still recuperating. By the time he woke up from his slumber, his brown eyes, turned crimson in color, while the other set green. He didn't know, that every time he got wounded or ill, the Great Tree would sacrifice its life-force to heal him, but while doing that. The Great Tree itself did not know that Hei Long's body was changing over time; he became stronger and smarter 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!' was Hei Long's favorite phrase. Sadly, he didn't know that every time 'The Great Tree' helped him, it would also kill its own-self— It's love when a person helped you, doesn't expect something in return.

He only sat on the ground, even when everything seems to be chaotic, it as if everything was normal for him, "what am I getting flustered? If I'm dead, what is worse that could happen?" he looked at his body to find if the things that he always carries was still there. However, to his dismay, his clothes were the only thing that was present, the sword that he'd always held dear wasn't there. After looking for a moment, he gave out a sigh, "Ha, father and mother, I thought we're going to have a family reunion after I died, but who would have thought that I'll be in this damned place..."

After the shaking of the ground had stopped, an angry growl reverberated 10 meters ahead of him. "Moooooo!" the sound of footsteps rang through his head, "tack-tack-tack" He turned his penetrating eyes in the direction of where the sound came from, he frowned and said in a rough voice, "Now then, what's this, a battle?"

"tack-tack-tack," the echo of the footsteps of the unknown creature was getting nearer and nearer by the second. The beast that was slowly making its way towards him had two horns protruding on its head. Its eyes turned out to be red; it was thanks to that red eyes that it could see through this dark place. The face of the creature was like a Minotaur of the legend that he had once heard. The creature that stood in front of him was 5 meters in height and 3 meters in breadth, it was humongous compared to Hei Long who was only 2 meters tall.

Without a weapon in hand, Hei Long took up a fighting stance, he lifted his hands up, and prepared his feet to run towards the creature, when he suddenly heard a melodic voice, saying,

"Don't fight it, how can you fight it without a weapon on hand? Are you an idiot?"

Hei Long turned his head left and right in search of the owner of the voice. He saw a girl around the age of 16-18, and a group of Orcs was chasing her. Hei Long only gave her a glimpse and thought. "What are you doing by bringing that thing over here, are you trying to kill me?" when he spotted that the girl didn't stop running toward him, he shouted at her, "I'll deal with this cow, so don't worry about others! You should be concerned about yourself first!"

The girl didn't understand what he had just said; she shook her head in dismay. "Another person is playing hero again, why is there a lot of idiot in this dungeon?"

Hei long who was barehanded ran straight to the Minotaur who was eying him in the first place. The Minotaur didn't wait for Hei Long to attack, so its left hand that was big as a Hei Long's body, came crashing to the ground, where Hei Long stood earlier. "Bam," the ground shook when the minotaur punched a hole through it. After the dust scatters, a gaping hole, marked the ground. The Minotaur slowly retracted its fist. Nevertheless, Hei Long avoided it by a paper-thin margin. However, the pressure of that punch gave Hei Long a scratch on his left shoulder. He looked at the hole where the minotaur's punch landed, and unconsciously simulated a plan in his mind,

"It is stronger than I thought, though, I overestimated its speed."

After missing its target, it gave out another angry cry,

"Moooo!" dust started to disperse through the air, 'It was louder than the first one' Hei long thought as he covered his ears with his hands.

"Bam!"

"This minotaur's punch is basically like a dynamite explosion; one punch could deal a lethal blow if it hits Me." before even the dust disperses through the air, Hei Long decided to battle it head-on. The Minotaur released another punch,"Bam" the punch missed Hei Long again. Hei Long ran over the Minotaur's hands and climbed on its head. He then grabbed one of its protruding horns that were roughly half his size, Hei Long gave out a cry, "Haaa!" a mechanical voice then resounded through his head, it was unknown if it came out from a man or lady's mouth.

<War Cry: Self-made Ability: It could enhance the stats of the creator, and its party by 10 percent within a minute; Proficiency Level: F; Ability Level: F; Ability Grade: DD; Cannot be taught to others; Can be upgraded>

<Proficiency Level: F; Exp: 1%, Proficiency will increase by 1 percent every use; ability could only be used every 10 minutes for 1 minute by trigging the user's soul and mind. After hundred percent proficiency level will upgrade>

<Ability Level: F; Exp: 1%; Exp of the ability will be raised by 1 percent every use; after Exp increase to a 100%, ability level will be upgraded>

However, Hei Long did not care about it; he wouldn't bat an eyelid because of some gibberish that he thought he'd misheard. Therefore, without further ado, he pulled one of the protruding horns of the Minotaur. "Crack~" the horn that he was pulling out was making a crackling, breaking sound. While Hei Long was pulling the Minotaur's horn, the Minotaur let out a painful cry, "Moo!" it reached its hands on top of its head. Although the Minotaur tried to grab Hei Long. On the contrary, Hei Long had already, but, barely evaded those huge hands, evade after evade, he started to rain the Minotaur's horn with his fiery fist again and again, "Bam Bam!"

His attacks didn't seem to be weaker compared to the Minotaur's. He kept on bombarding the massive beast on top of its head. After a few seconds, he finally tore out the Minotaur's horns out of its head. The Minotaur gave out its last anguish cry before it died. The monster's body was slowly dispersing in the form of black smoke, and from smoking black-air to a bright white light. The white light moved towards Hei Long; he tried to grab it. However, it passed through his hands as if it was intangible. He didn't know where it went, so he became worried. after a few moments of being baffled, a bell sounded in Hei Long's mind. "ding~!"

<Level: 2; Exp: 67%; Strength: 50; Agility: 50; Dexterity: 50

Intelligence: 100; Magic: 50; Battle Aura: 1000; Life-force: ∞- (Unless your heart and head is cut into pieces, or destroyed,

you will not die) God's Gift>

"What's this? Ahh, I'll check it later after I finish this mess."

Nevertheless, before Hei Long could even notice anything-peculiar happening inside his body, he was already running straight to the girl who was currently fighting against the massive number of Orcs. With great haste, he exterminated many Orcs on the way; using his newly acquired weapon (Minotaur's horn) he gave out an awe-inspiring air on the battlefield. At the same time as Hei Long, himself wreaked havoc on the battlefield like a beast on the loose, a slaughterer that could use anything in his arsenal and annihilate anything that blocks his path; he was unconsciously letting out an overwhelming and domineering aura around him. The surrounding monsters grew stiff upon seeing that their own kind was slaughter like a fish on a cutting board —waiting to be gut.

When he came near the girl, he had already killed all the nearby monsters that encircled them. With every swing and smash of his great weapon, every time it hits its target, it would either sent the enemy flying through the roof of the cave or smashed to the ground.

After a few minutes of fighting, he had already killed all of the enemies, that he had lost count after scoring 50. He turned his penetrative eyes towards the direction of the girl that was sitting on the ground; he saw that the girl's look was ashen, and without saying anything to her. He looked around the place and thought that it was safe, so he decided to leave the girl there.

However, before he left, he neutrally spoke to the girl without looking at her.

"If you want to survive in this place, you need to follow me."

He pats his head in confusion, thinking that he never said something peculiar ever before, so he just put it away to the back of his head. 'Am I familiar with this place to begin with? Never mind, I'll just deal with those whoever block my path- politely." He was searching for something, so he glanced to his left and right side. He gaze slowly sidetracked, so his eyes landed where girl was sitting on, his imagination went astray as he started to question himself,

'Is she injured or exhausted? Is she sleepy? Is she hungry? Can't she stand up?' A plethora of question started to fill his mind.He put his right hand under his chin, and carefully thought to himself,

'What would Dad do if mom can't stand up on her own?'

After a few moments of thinking, he came forward, after arriving; he carefully placed his right hand towards the girl's neck to check if she was ill without waking her up. When he was trying to put his right hand on her neck, the girl suddenly opened her eyes with a cold look on it; she then hurriedly took a dagger out of her sleeves and pointed it towards the young man.

"What are you doing?"

Hei Long had an indifferent look on his face waved his hands upward and indifferently said to the girl,

"My dad once said that every weak or weakened girl must be protected if they are in danger. Therefore, I thought maybe you are sick and cannot stand up, so I wanted to check if you had a fever. I tried to check your pulse, but you suddenly woke up and pointed that thing at me..." he paused for a moment, to stabilize the atmosphere. The girl was still glaring at him, for she doesn't know what he was currently thinking. He continued, and clapped his hands, "I think you're quite well, alright, so I'm going to leave you here." He waved his hand, he said, "Careful."

Hei Long still had that cold look on his face; he turned his face to the direction where he thought the exit would probably be. Without waiting for the girl to reply, Hei Long gradually walked on the way to the opposite side of the girl. Before he could even take his 3rd step, a soft hand had suddenly reached his right hand. He faced the owner of the hand; he did not speak. The girl pulled his right hand and put it on her neck, with a reddened face, she said in a fatigued manner, "Lily... you can call me Lily, c-could you carry me and bring me outside of here?" her crestfallen face, took Hei Long's breath for a few seconds,

'Thump thump.' His heart was beating frantically, but he didn't know how or what he felt at the moment, he just simply took Lily's right hand.

"I can carry you as long as you are willing to fulfill one of my wishes."

Lily was taken aback by what he had said; she covered her ample chest, and shyly said, "What do you want me to do? A-Are you planning on doing something to me?" Her head was full of exquisite-imagination that only she, herself could ever understand. However, she thought that maybe she was merely overreacting, so she shyly said.

"What do you wish for?"

Nevertheless, to her dismay, Hei Long only grabbed his chest that was madly beating,

"As of now, I don't know... I am not sure if it is a sickness, but my heart is beating like crazy after you touched my hand. It hurts. Did you poison me?" He gave her a questioning look. However, Lily also had an amazed look across her face, and secretly thought, is he hitting on me?' she glared at him,

"What poison, what is there for me to poison you?"

Hei Long grabbed her hands, Lily's face started to turn red like a ripe tomato. She faces her head down when she suddenly felt that her hand that was being held by Hei Long. Only to received a drop of water, "Is there leak inside the cave?" She asked. Without waiting for the answer to her question, she decided to look up, only to see Hei Long's crying face. She asked in panic manner. "Why are you crying?" she was so entranced when she saw that sad figure crying in front of her, Lily's heart shuddered when she saw how miserable Hei Long was. She was confused as to why he suddenly changed from a powerful man into a helpless chap.

'Maybe he is powerful as lonely he is right now...'

"It hurts. I do not know why it hurts... Father, mother, please forgive me. I cannot protect you... I'm tired, too tired..." his hand was trembling while holding his chest. His mind turned blank. Lily caught him when he was about to fall to the ground, and slowly laid him to the floor where she thought it would be comfortable to rest on. She who was only two head shorter than Hei Long, stayed close beside him, comforting him from his nightmare.

"Dad, mom sorry... can't protect you..." was all he said in his sleep, over and over again. A pure child like Lily sympathizes Hei Long for she knew that he had indeed gone through many trials in life, and carry a weighty burden on his back every single day of his life.

"There there,"

She slowly caressed Hei Long's head. "I'm still here, you can protect me instead," she said.

Unexpectedly, when Hei Long heard those words of hers, his nightmare stopped and began to sleep soundlessly.

When she thought of what she said, her face began to turn red, 'Lily you brat, what are you doing, how can you take advantage of this pitiful man?'

Unlike Hei Long who could see through the dark, Lily, however, did not have a night vision. She didn't know whether he was a fine-looking man or ugly man. The only impression she had on him, was that he had a big build and had a beautiful white hair that was currently hiding most of his face. Out of curiosity, Lily's right hand tried to move the glossy white hairs that were covering Hei Long's face. Unexpectedly, Hei Long suddenly woke up and caught Lily's hand.

Their faces were so close to each other that their hearts began to flustered in unison. She was attracted to Hei Long's eyes: the left golden-eye and right verdant green eye of his were so beautiful that she became flabbergasted. Hei Long's face was so beautifully-handsome that it definitely wouldn't lose to a girls beauty and charm, especially with those eye-catching eyes of his, she bet that any girl would find it hard to resist his charm. She touched his face, thinking that it was only a dream, 'How could a man like this become so beautiful?' But, it wasn't a dream, it was genuine... it was her who started to become delusional, believing that it was only a dream. Fortunately, someone brought her back from her delusions and spoke to her in a very gentle manner.

"What are you doing, Lily?"

"..."

..........