Chapter 46 The Exit
Normally defeating a powerful enemy would be the end of the quest, as the winner would receive deserved rewards as well as rest, but in reality, things were a little more complicated.
Zayne defeated the bandit leader, but that was not the end of his problems, it was only part of a long chain.
"Bastard! How dare you kill our leader! We'll tear you apart!" The bandit exclaimed furiously, going to charge at Zayne. The other bandits supported their mate, pulling out their sharp daggers.
The bandits were ready to pierce Zayne at any moment, but suddenly they all stopped. A menacing glint passed over the red sword blade that was aimed directly at them.
"'Freeze. I give you a chance to stay alive, I won't offer any more of that." Zayne said calmly with a serene look as if he hadn't seen any threat from them at all.
"What...? What the hell are you talking about?" The bandit with the wing tattoo on his forehead muttered in confusion as a chill ran down his back.
"Hey, why are we even listening to him? He's alone, so we should just kill him!" The bandit exclaimed as he ran, but the tattooed one stopped him.
Zayne smirked, "You better not step forward unless you want to end up like your leader." Zayne put his sword on his shoulder and started walking from side to side with a careless expression, "Look, I could kill you all right now."
"Hah, you must be out of your mind! Can't you see you're the only one here!" The bandit smirked as he stared wickedly at Zayne.
"Do you really think I came here by accident or for your treasure?" Zayne stopped as he coldly stared at the bandit, "Your leader, was originally my main target."
The bandits were puzzled since it sounded very strange considering Zayne was in the vault where all the treasure was.
"Agh, you all seem to be idiots who can't understand the obvious things. Well, in that case, I'll have to show you this." Zayne sighed, shook his head, and extended his hand forward. The bandits flinched, thinking that Zayne was going to attack, but something else happened instead: a white coin with the mark of the azure sword appeared between Zayne's fingers.
"No way... That's..." The tattooed bandit muttered with wide eyes.
"Looks like, unlike the rest of us, you know what it is." Zayne said calmly before picking up Hugo's head and pointing to his left eye, "Your leader was a carrier of Chaos power, so I was ordered to eliminate him. In fact, if it weren't for that, I never would have been here. Pathetic bandits like you don't interest me at all."
Blood dripped from Hugo's neck, falling on Zayne's boots, which made him frown for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses as he had to play the part flawlessly to survive.
'They seem to be in no hurry to attack, but I have to keep going. They must want me to leave without too much trouble themselves. Agh, damn, that's disgusting, didn't think I'd ever hold a human head in my hand...' Zayne inwardly muttered as he got goosebumps.
'The power of Chaos? What the hell is that bastard talking about? Can a human being use it?" The bandit exclaimed with a frown.
"No, he's telling the truth." The tattooed bandit muttered in a deep voice, "Only a few people knew about it, but the leader actually possessed the power of Chaos... Moreover, this coin means that he can use the power of Fate in urgent cases..."
His words shocked everyone else as their views completely changed, they now looked at Zayne as a secret agent who was many times superior to them.
"Suppose you could kill me, so how many of you would have to die? One? Five? Hah, we know that number would be much higher. Are you willing to believe your luck and that it will be you who survives? I guess not!" Zayne exclaimed as he took a step forward, raising a cloud of dust.
"Argh!" Several of the bandits shuddered in fear as they took a few steps back.
"Hahaha, aren't you too timid for bandits? You'd be better suited to work as farmers or bakers." Zayne laughed with a mocking smirk, then his stare turned serious, "Well, now that we're done with that, I'd better get going. I have no desire to stay in this stinking hole one second longer."
The tattooed bandit hesitated for a while before he returned the dagger to his belt and stepped aside, making way for Zayne. The bandits were surprised at this move as their eyes went wide, but none became indignant.
Zayne remained silent, not because he was afraid to step forward, but because he was preparing to do the most disgusting thing in his life.
'Well, I owe it to myself to finish this spectacularly, then I can definitely get out of here alive.' Zayne inwardly sighed as he abruptly ripped the left eye from Hugo's head.
"What the hell...?" The bandits' faces went pale as they moved further away, not wanting to get any closer to Zayne.
"That eye was a carrier of Chaos power, so I'm obligated to take it. You can do what you want with the rest, but I'll give you a hint. The dead are usually buried." Zayne moved the eye into the ring, turned around, and walked over to the chests.
He didn't have much time, so he quickly took what looked like the most valuable and with a calm look headed for the exit of the vault, keeping his hands in his pockets.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "What... Didn't you come here to kill our leader? Then why did you take some of our treasure?! You just stole them!" The bandit exclaimed with a furious look but didn't attack.
Zayne stopped, stared at him, and with a smirk said, "This is a bonus for my hard work. Money is never superfluous, not to anyone. What's more, what kind of bullshit are you talking about? How can I steal from thieves? That's nonsense!"
Zayne continued pacing forward, the bandits seemed ready to let him go without a fight, until one of them came out of the row, running at Zayne, with a dagger clenched tightly between his hands.
"ARGH! You bastard! You killed my friend! You are going to pay for this! You tricked us!!!" The bandit who sat next to Zayne at the fire shouted with sincere anger and resentment permeating his gaze and voice.
Zayne turned around as a sword immediately appeared in his hands, staring at his enemy with an ice-cold gaze.
Whooooooooosh.
Suddenly a shadow appeared behind the bandit, and with a sharp movement, it pressed him to the ground and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Shit! Let me go! I have to kill him!!!" The bandit exclaimed trying unsuccessfully to get up while tears flowed from his eyes. To him, Zayne was a real demon who appeared one night and destroyed his whole world.
"Don't move if you want to live." The tattooed one said plunging the bandit's head into the ground, then he glanced at Zayne as though asking if that was enough.
Zayne nodded, waved his coat, and headed for the exit under the gaze of the bandits.
He was about to leave the passage when suddenly the tattooed one said, "Wait, can I ask you one question...?"
Zayne glanced at him.
"You've probably been to Chaos Heart... considering who you are, right?" Bandit asked hopefully, "So... Tell me, how strong are the main monsters? What are they?"
"Well, I'll tell you one thing. Even though they are endowed with a lot of Chaos power, they can also be afraid." Zayne said calmly before leaving the caves. Before that, it was all acting, but it was his only sincere response coming out of the only Chaos Hearth he was in.
Zayne had no problem going up and out of Dry Tree territory, heading deep into the forest, but he didn't know that wasn't the end, as the eye in his ring began pulsating.