Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 4

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

Blaze grabbed anything that he could make use of during their journey to find the tree of life. He also made a bag out of old and unused clothes found inside the room of the hut. Then, he rolled the papers he found inside the room and placed them inside the bag that he made himself.

After making sure that he had all the things that he would need in their journey, Blaze stepped out of the room and found the woman standing in front of the shelf where there were jars of black-beating hearts placed inside it.

"These are a rare collection," the woman commented and turned around to face Blaze, who did not even pay any attention to her at all.

"This is not my house, and those are not mine," Blaze answered in a concise manner and started walking towards the door.

"If you want to keep staring at those disgusting pieces of sh*t, then just stay here," Blaze added before he walked outside of the hut.

"Ah, wait!" The woman said and immediately followed Blaze outside. When she stepped out of the hut, she saw him standing in front of the cabin and waiting for her.

"Tsk! Hurry up! Tell me in what direction that sh*tty tree of life is located," Blaze uttered without looking at the woman.

"Uhm, I-I'm sorry, I actually don't know as well," the woman answered.

"What!? You're the one who suggested that idea, and you're telling me you don't know where that sh*t is!?" Blaze yelled at Scarlette, who flinched at his booming voice.

"I-I'm sorry," the woman apologized and looked down at her feet.

"Tch! Useless," Blaze hissed, and the woman heard those words from him, which actually offended her, but she did not try to defend herself anymore because she knew that he was right.

H-He's right. I am truly useless. Scarlette thought to herself as the tears started forming in her eyes again, and she could not contain the sobs that were stuck on her throat ever since Blaze found her in the forest.

Blaze heard her crying, so he took a glimpse of her, and as he saw her crying, it even made him more pissed.

Now, I have to protect this cry baby just to make sure that I won't die before having my revenge on those two? Tsk! Blaze thought to himself.

"Hey! Instead of crying and standing there, why don't you think of some way to find that tree of life!?" Blaze yelled at Scarlette again, which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Y-Yes, I will," Scarlette answered and tried her best to remember if she had any memories with regards to the tree of life. Then, she remembered something.

"That's it. That might help us in searching for the tree of life," Scarlette muttered and looked at Blaze, who was just looking around the place with his cold eyes looking ahead of him, with his left hand holding on the handle of the katana.

"Mister, I think I have found a way to help us locate the tree of life," Scarlette said to Blaze, and so the latter turned to face her and raised his eyebrow.

"What is it?" Blaze inquired, but Scarlette remained silent for a few seconds.

"Hey, woman! Hurry up and just tell me if there is any way to find that tree of life!" Blaze eagerly said to the woman named Scarlette.

"Uhm...well, I remember my grandmother talking about the tree of life before and that there is a map that may help us with our journey as we search for the tree of life," Scarlette answered while trying to remember what her grandmother had spoken to her before. However, she could not remember it because that happened when she was still a young halfling.

"Then take me to your village," Blaze suggested to Scarlette, which surprised the woman. Then, Blaze noticed the uneasiness in her as she stood in front of him while looking down at her feet and her hands trembling.

"I-I... I'm sorry, I can't," Scarlette replied with a trembling voice.

"What do you mean you can't? Don't tell me you don't know the way back to your village?" Blaze questioned, but Scarlette immediately shook her head in disagreement.

"N-No, it's not like that... it's just..." Scarlette stuttered, but she couldn't finish her sentence anymore as she remembered a terrible memory that had occurred just a few days before she met the man standing in front of her now. Scarlette bit her lower lip as she tried her best to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes again, and Blaze noticed that, but he did not care at all because all he could think of was revenge on those who had betrayed him.

"Tsk! If you're worried about those demons, then don't be. We have an agreement, remember?" Blaze uttered to Scarlette, who simply nodded her head.

I am not worried about the demons... it's the place that I am more concerned about...that place...has already been...taken...and I don't want to go back there to see those things again. Scarlette thought to herself, but she couldn't take back her words now that she had sworn to help the man search for the tree of life to cure the poison that was slowly spreading in his body due to the attack he received from a demon. It is not in the nature of a halfling to take back their words or break their promises.

"Just lead me to your village, and I will handle the rest," Blaze said to Scarlette, which left her with no choice but to nod. With trembling hands, Scarlette started walking to the west side of the forest.

"It's this way," Scarlette said in a low volume, but Blaze was still able to hear her, so he just followed behind her. But he also noticed that there is something in the voice of the woman, an emotion that she is trying to hold back. Blaze felt like he needed to ask about it, but he did not do it because he did not know who this woman was.

It's not my business to meddle with her own problem. All I have to do is to find that tree of life, get rid of this poison, go back to the place where those two are, and make them suffer for what they did to me. Blaze thought and clenched his fists as he remembered how his lover smiled at the sight of his death.

While walking to the said village where the woman named Scarlette came from, the two of them are not talking to each other at all, while Blaze is also looking around for food and for any possible attacks from a demon. Then, he suddenly heard rustles from a distance, so he immediately grabbed the hand of the halfling, who was so surprised by the sudden movement of Blaze. Hence, she turned around to smack his hand away from her, but she noticed that he was looking around while his right hand was holding the handle of his katana.

"I-Is everything alright?" Scarlette asked, but Blaze did not answer her. Instead, he just looked around the area and let go of her hand.

Don't tell me there's a demon nearby? Scarlette asked herself as she scanned the area as well while making sure that she would not be separated from Blaze.

Then, all of a sudden, they both heard footsteps, and it was getting louder and louder with each passing second.

"D*mn! We should hide," Blaze said and unconsciously grabbed Scarlette's hand, and the two of them ran together back to the direction of the hut.

"But, mister! We're going in the wrong direction! My village is that way!" Scarlette said to Blaze.

"If you want to go there now, then I won't stop you, but don't ask for my help if that horde of demons surrounds you!" Blaze replied without looking at Scarlette, while the woman was just confused as to what horde he was talking about, so she took a glimpse of what was behind them. Then, her eyes widened in terror as she saw a massive number of red and purple demons running after them. The red demons are the usual demons with two pointy black horns and a black tail with a snake's head at the tip of it. In contrast, the purple monster has three jet-black eyes, four black horns, and a spiky tail.

After seeing the demons that the man ahead of her was talking about, Scarlette sped up her legs and was able to catch up with Blaze's speed.

"How did you know that they are coming towards us!?" Scarlette asked, but just like before; Blaze just ignored her.

"Just shut up and run! I can't fight that large number of demons at once!" Blaze said while the two of them just kept running. They even passed by the hut where Blaze used to stay, and they are now running towards the river.

"Hurry! This way!" Blaze yelled at Scarlette, and the two of them pushed themselves to run across the river. When they reached the other side of the river, they noticed that the demons had stopped following them and halted at the other side of the river. So Blaze decided to stop running for now and lean his back on a tree while catching his breath, same as to Scarlette, who is leaning her hands on her knees while panting.

"T-That...was close," Scarlette commented while looking at the demons. Then, she noticed that the demons had started to cross the river as well.

"D*mn these demons!" Blaze uttered and pulled out his katana, and in that instant, the blade of the katana was covered in blazing fire. As Scarlette saw the fire engulfing the blade, she was mesmerized by its beauty.

Pretty. Scarlette commented in her mind because this was the first time that she was able to see the katana in close proximity and with complete focus. After all, the last time that Blaze fought with the katana was the time that he saved her from the demons, and during that time, she was so scared to even notice about the weapon in his hand.

"Hey! What are you still standing there!? Run!" Blaze yelled at Scarlette, and that snapped her out of her thoughts.

"B-But, you said you can't fight them all at once!" Scarlette replied to Blaze, who just hissed at her before he attacked the red demon who first approached him.

"Watch out!" Scarlette screamed as she saw a purple demon behind Blaze. With that warning, Blaze was able to notice the demon behind him and was able to evade the attack of the demon by using its claws to s***h him.

I won't get slashed by those claws again. I already have this d*mn poison in my back, and I don't want any of you pieces of sh*t giving me any more of this sh*tty poison! Blaze thought to himself and stabbed his katana in the heart of the purple demon, and immediately, the demon was covered in fire.

At first, it looks like Blaze is not having a hard time fighting against the demons, but when the other demons have set foot on the side of the river where Blaze and Scarlette are standing, the situation became much worse.

"D*mn it! There's no end to these monsters," Blaze uttered as he wiped the blood from his cheek. It was blood from the purple demon that he had just killed. Scalette clenched her fists as she stood behind Blaze, who was already out of breath while glaring at the demons standing in front of them.

"W-W-We should run, m-mister," Scarlette stuttered, but her eyes are glued at the demons approaching them.

"Yeah, that would be the best option now, if only we could do that without these things attacking us with our backs facing them," Blaze replied, and that made Scarlette even more scared.

"T-Then...are we...going t-to die...h-here?" Scarlette asked with her trembling body and voice.

"I will not die. Not until I made those two suffer as much as I did," Blaze replied in a low voice, but Scarlette was still able to hear him. Then, Scarlette looked at Blaze and saw his hands burning with the katana's fire as well.

"Mister! Your hands!" Scarlette yelled, which made Blaze alarmed, so he immediately looked at his hands and saw them burning with the katana's flame.

What the~! But wait, it does not hurt or feel hot at all. Blaze thought to himself, and his focus had been diverted to his hands now, which is a huge mistake because he did not notice that a red demon was about to hit them with its massive claws.

Then, suddenly, Blaze and Scarlette heard a gunshot, which snapped Blaze out of his trance, and that is when he saw the groaning red demon in front of him, so Blaze immediately used his katana and killed the demon.

"Why are you two spacing out while fighting demons!? Have you lost your minds!?" A female's voice echoed throughout the area where Blaze and Scarlette were standing, so Blaze immediately turned his head and searched for the woman who had just spoken.

"Let's kill these pests first before talking," this time, a man's voice spoke, and it was followed by a lot of gunshots fired at the demons who were attacking Blaze and Scarlette. The bullets never cease until all of the demons in front of them are dead.

"W-Wow," Scarlette complimented as she witnessed how the bullets were able to kill the demons.

"The demons are dead! Show yourselves now!" Blaze yelled out loud while scanning the area and holding his katana in front of him.

"Oho? Is that the way to thank your savior?" the female voice spoke again.

"I said...show yourselves!" Blaze yelled again, and this time, it was louder than the previous one already.

"Alright! Alright! Such a short-tempered man," the woman spoke again. And in a blink of an eye, a woman wearing a white inner shirt, purple long-sleeved polo, black fitted pants, and a pair of brown knee-high boots stepped down from a tree. Blaze observed the woman's appearance and noticed that she had purple-pink long hair that was braided behind her and that the woman was carrying a sniper made of silver with a moon-shaped crystal on its snipe.

"Hey there!" the woman greeted with a smile as she placed her sniper over her shoulders.

"Where's the other one?" Blaze asked while pointing his katana at the woman. The woman noticed the flaming blade of his katana, which made her furrow her eyebrows.

"Hey, cousin! Is this the one that snotty-man talked about?" the woman yelled, and then, a man suddenly stepped out from behind a tree and walked towards Blaze and Scarlette. Blaze looked at the man and noticed that he was wearing a purple inner shirt, a silver cotton vest, black pants, and a pair of silver knee-high boots. The man has purple hair as well, and he is wearing a moon-shaped necklace.

"Yes, that is the sword that that man spoke of," the man answered without showing any emotions.

"Well, shall we start?" the woman asked while smiling at Blaze, and in that instant, Blaze knew that these two who helped them from fighting against the demons were not just there accidentally, but they were planning something.

"What do you want?" Blaze asked without showing any of his emotions as well.

"Nothing," the woman answered and smiled at Blaze.

"We just want the katana," she added and attacked Blaze with her gun.

Blaze was taken aback when the woman suddenly attacked him, but he had a firm grip on his katana, which is why the woman was not able to take away his katana when she suddenly used her gun to swing the katana off of his hand.

"Tch!" Blaze hissed and did not hesitate to raise his flaming blade against the woman. The latter was so surprised when Blaze suddenly appeared in front of her and was about to attack her, but then the man whom she called a cousin helped her by using his gun to attack Blaze. However, there is something that Blaze noticed while the two are attacking him simultaneously.

They are both not using their guns to kill me since they have not shot me yet. They simply want to take my katana and probably sell it to someone with huge pocket money. Blaze thought to himself and was about to attack the two again when someone suddenly attacked them first by smacking them in the head.

"Stupid! What the hell are you two doing to the prophesied hero?" a man. in his mid-50's suddenly smacked the head of the woman and the man who helped and attacked Blaze.

Both Blaze and Scarlette are confused when the mid-50's looking man suddenly appears and smacks the head of the man and woman who are carrying their guns.

"U-Uhm," Scarlette uttered as she looked back and forth from the 50's old man and the man and woman carrying their guns.

"Hey! What was that for!?" the woman who is still carrying her gun yelled while glaring and raising her fist towards the man who smacked her in the head. But, the man just ignored her and walked in front of Blaze, then suddenly the man knelt down on his right knee and bowed his head at Blaze.

"Welcome, thy prophesied hero," the man greeted at Blaze, which made him confused and creased his forehead. Then, he noticed the man and woman carrying their guns also kneeling on their right knees behind the man.

"What are you talking about?" Blaze questioned as he looked down at the three persons in front of him. As the 50's looking man heard Blaze's question, he raised his head and looked at Blaze with confusion as well.

Huh? Does he not know about the prophecy? The man thought to himself as he stared at Blaze.

"Young man, excuse me for asking, but have you not heard about the prophecy?" the man asked.

"What prophecy are you talking about? And who the hell are you?" Blaze asked while he was still holding the handle of his katana and glaring at the three people kneeling in front of him.

"Ah, yes, forgive us. We forgot to introduce ourselves," the man in his 50's apologized as he stood up and pointed to himself.

"My name is Zagar. I am the chief of the Guanajuato Village," the man who looks to be in his 50's introduced himself. Then, he pointed at the woman standing behind him.

"And this is my daughter, Zoleta," Zagar introduced his daughter.

"Hey there!" the woman greeted while smiling widely at Blaze.

"And this is my nephew, Henson," Zagar also introduced the man beside Zoleta, who simply nodded his head towards Blaze.

"One of my villagers informed us about your existence, and so we have decided to travel across the river to meet you in person. However, this kind of meeting is not what we have imagined. Nonetheless, we are still honored to meet and converse with you, Hero of flame," Zagar said and smiled genuinely at Blaze, who still looks so confused as he listens to the man's words.

What the hell is this old geezer talking about? Hero of flame? Prophecy? The heck are those? Blaze thought to himself while furrowing his forehead.

"It seems like you have not heard of the prophecy yet," Zagar said and smiled at Blaze, but the latter did not even show any emotions towards the man.

"I will tell you more about the prophecy that I have been talking about, but for now, this place is not safe, and soon, another batch of demons will pass through here, so if you would like, you can join us in our village so that we can also show you our hospitality," Zagar added while smiling at Blaze and pointing his right hand at the direction of their village.

"And why should I trust you?" Blaze asked.

"Please, Sir. My people and I will never bring you harm," Zagar replied, but Blaze still doesn't trust him.

"Mister, I think they are harmless," Scarlette whispered to Blaze, but the latter just raised his eyebrow at her.

"I can sense it. They do not emit any malicious or killing intent towards you," Scarlette added and smiled at Blaze.

Is this b*tch sure about these people? Blaze asked himself as he stared at the people in front of them.

"Well, if you don't trust us, you can simply kill us if ever we did betray you," Zoleta said jokingly to Blaze.

"I could do that now," Blaze replied, which made Zoleta feel scared as her face became pale.

"I-I was just kidding!" Zoleta replied while shaking her hands in front of her to stop Blaze from what he was about to do.