Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 14

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

As the five warriors continued their journey, together with the young elf, they have not encountered any demons so far. However, their body has still not received any proper rest which resulted in them being extremely exhausted and tired even though they only started riding for an hour.

I'm so sleepy. Scarlette thought to herself as she looked down at her lap where the young elf is sleeping peacefully. Then, she looked at her teammates and noticed the fatigue on their faces as well, she even saw Zoleta slightly slapping herself with her right hand just to keep herself awake.

"M-Maybe we should rest for now!" With what Scarlette saw, she could no longer hold back herself and called for the attention of her teammates, especially Blaze.

"What!? I'm sorry, I can't hear you!" Henson replied by talking a bit louder.

"I said we should rest for now!" Scarlette spoke again in a louder voice which was heard by Blaze so he took a glance over his shoulder and saw the tired faces of his teammates so he raised his hand and motioned them to stop their horses, and everyone gladly pulled the reigns of their horses and slowed down.

"Let's camp here and rest," Blaze commanded and stepped down from his horse.

"Oh, I hope there will be no attacks coming," Zoleta uttered and yawned as soon as she stepped down from her horse, then she tied up her horse at the branch of a nearby tree, beside the cart that is being pulled by Henson and Havie's horses. Henson pulled the blankets from the cart and gave each lady their own blankets to lie down, then he approached Blaze and handed him a blanket as well.

"Here you go, Sir," Henson said but Blaze simply looked at the blanket before turning around.

"I'll stand guard," Blaze uttered in a low voice which is just enough for Henson to hear which made the latter smile.

"Thank you, Sir," Henson replied to Blaze but the man did not pay any attention to those words and did not say anything in response to Henson.

He may sound mean and rude, but he's actually a good guy, huh. Henson thought to himself before he went back to the ladies. Then, he placed his blanket on the ground and lay himself down. As he closed his eyes, he saw a glimpse of Blaze sitting on a tree branch while looking around the area, making sure that there will be no demons nearby that might attack them. Upon seeing that, Henson closed his eyes with a peaceful mind.

As Blaze positioned himself on a branch, he can see his teammates sleeping peacefully below and while he is looking down at them, his eyes were fixed on someone below, it was Scarlette sleeping peacefully while the child elf is snuggling in her arms.

D*mn brat. Blaze thought to himself as he looked at the child. Then, he stared at Scarlette again, and as his eyes were fixed on her, he remembered what happened to them when they were both drunk.

"Aish. What the hell is wrong with me?" Blaze uttered and looked away from the woman and decided to just focus himself on guarding the area.

I'm not doing this to help those useless humans and an elf below me. I just have to make sure that they are fully energized to kill the demons that I will encounter in this journey. Blaze thought to himself and leaned his back on the tree. Blaze looked up into the sky and saw a last quarter moon-shaped above the sky and billions of stars that fills up the dark sky.

I guess this world does not have any big difference from my world. Blaze thought to himself and as he recalled his past world, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth when he also remembered his cheating ex-girlfriend named Kitty and his best friend known as Marco.

"Those d*mned ass*les," Blaze hissed under his breath and glared at the moon.

Once I'm done with this f*cking tree of life, I will find a way to return to my world and kill the both of you, and if your father stands in my way, I will get rid of him as well. Blaze thought to himself. Then, as he looked up into the sky, he saw a star that is bigger than the rest of the stars around near the moon. The star twinkled as Blaze stared at it as if greeting him with a hello.

Argh, I'm sleepy. Blaze thought to himself again and yawned, but he knew he could not fall asleep now since he still have to ensure his own safety and of those below him as well. Then, Blaze looked down at the ground again and noticed something unusual. Blaze creased his forehead and stared at the child elf lying down beside Scarlette. The child is no longer snuggling with Scarlette but he is still sleeping beside the woman, and Blaze also noticed that the child seems to be having a nightmare as Blaze noticed the sweats forming on his forehead.

Blaze took a deep breath and started climbing his way down to the ground. And as he approached the child elf, Blaze felt uneasy as he took another step towards the child.

What the hell? Blaze thought to himself and looked around the area to check if there is any demon hiding in the forest, but he did not see anything so he kept walking towards the child. Right then, Blaze saw something from the child's neck.

What is that? I can't see it properly since it's still dark. Blaze thought to himself and reached his right hand to the handle of his katana that is still tied at the left side of his waist.

But this might wake the others. Blaze thought to himself again and looked at his teammates, but he quickly shook his head and made up his mind. Blaze slowly pulled the handle of his katana, and in a few seconds, a small part of the katana's blade showed up and in just a second, the fire covered the blade that was out from its sheath. The fire gave enough light for Blaze to see in the dark, and it is also enough to wake the others since they are just sleeping near the child elf, especially Scarlette.

"Huh? Sir Blaze?" Scarlette muttered as she rub her right eye and when she looked up to Blaze, she saw him with wide eyes as he stared down at the child elf, then Scarlette also noticed the katana at Blaze's hand.

"Sir Blaze! What are you doing!?" Scarlette yelled out loud which startled the other warriors near them.

"What? What? What?" Zoleta kept asking as she quickly got up from the ground, grabbed her gun, and raised it to smack someone on the head.

"Argh... Shut up," Henson muttered and turned his body to his right, but when he realized where the voice came from, he immediately opened his eyes and got up from the ground with his knives in his hand, he even glared at Blaze thinking that the man tried to attack Scarlette. Havie also got up from the ground but she did not say anything since her mind is still busy processing the scenery in front of her.

"Sir Blaze, what are you doing!?" Scarlette asked again as she saw Blaze glaring at the child elf.

"What is that?" Blaze asked without looking at any of them.

"What is what?" Scarlette questioned also and looked at the thing that Blaze was looking at.

"Huh?" Scarlette muttered as soon as she saw the child elf's neck. Her eyes are fixed at the child's neck as if she just saw something unusual.

"Tell me. What is that!?" Blaze asked again in a bit louder tone of voice, but no one could answer his question because no one also know the answer.

"I-I don't know," Scarlette whispered and tried to reach for the child to wake him up, but Blaze quickly pulled out the blade of his katana.

"Wait! Sir Blaze, please!" Scarlette tried to stop Blaze again but the man is just glaring at the child, specifically at his neck with purple veins clearly visible from the child's neck. The child also looked so pale and as if he is in pain.

"What is wrong with him?" Zoleta asked while looking at the child as well.

"I don't know. He was fine before we slept here," Scarlette answered without looking away from the child.

"Is he sick?" Henson asked while looking at the child's neck also with curious eyes.

"I don't think so," Blaze answered which caught the attention of his teammates.

"What do you mean?" Havie asked while looking at Blaze.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Blaze whispered but his teammates still heard him which made them wonder.

Blaze bent down on one knee and reached for the child's neck but as soon as his finger brushed the child's neck, the child started screaming in pain and wriggle as he grasp his neck.

"AAAAAAH!!!!" the child's voice was so loud that it startled all five of them.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Blaze yelled out loud and covered his ears.

"What did you do!?" Scarlette asked Blaze as she tried to help the child sit up.

"I didn't do anything!" Blaze answered.

"Then, what is wrong with him!?" Zoleta inquired too as she tried to reach for the child.

"No! Don't!" Havie yelled and stopped Zoleta from touching the child elf. Then, Havie approached Scarlette as well and smacked her hands away from the child.

"Ouch! What is wrong with you!?" Scarlette yelled at Havie but as she noticed the looks from Havie's face, Scarlette started to worry.

"W-Why? What's wrong?" Scarlette raised another question, but Havie just stared at the child elf.

"I don't know either, but I kept having the same feeling as Sir Blaze," Havie answered while her eyes are still locked on the child who is still crying, wailing, and wriggling on the ground while clasping his neck.

"AAAHHH!!!! AAAAAH!!!" the child kept screaming in pain while his tears are also flowing down from his eyes.

"We should do something!" Zoleta said and Scarlette thought of that something that might help the child.

"Let me try healing him," Scarlette said and moved closer to the child, but Blaze stopped her by holding her left hand in mid-air.

"Don't do something stupid. We don't know what the heck is going on with this child," Blaze spoke to Scarlette, but she just stared at him with determination.

"Don't worry, Sir Blaze. I am not stupid enough to not help someone in need," Scarlette replied to him which surprised Blaze since he never expected to see that expression from someone so fragile such as Scarlette. Blaze let go of Scarlette's hand, which gave the woman the opportunity to cast the same spell she did to Blaze when he was injured back on their first meeting.

After chanting the spell, Sscarlette's hands glowed in a mixture of bright yellow and white color, and specks of white dust also kept falling from Scarlette's hands as she placed her hand on top of the child's chest without touching the child's body.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" But even though Scarlette is simply using her power to heal the child, it even brought more pain towards the child, which made Scarlette stop from healing him.

"Why did you stop?" Zoleta asked Scarlette, and so the latter looked at her with worries in her eyes.

"B-But it seems like he's in pain even more," Scarlette said in a worried tone of voice.

"But you're the only one who can help him, Scarlette," Zoleta replied to Scarlette.

"A-Alright. I will try again," Scarlette said and tried to heal the child elf again.

"Wait! Stop! Look! The purple veins are going worse!" Henson said and pointed at the neck of the child.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Scarlette said as her tears started forming in her eyes.

"AAAAARRGGHHHH!!!!" the child screamed in agony as he started hitting the people around him.

"Tch! Hold him down!" Blaze commanded and so Henson quickly helped Blaze in pinning the child down, but unexpectedly, the child is too strong for just two people so Zoleta and Havie helped Blaze and Henson as well. As the four of them forcefully pinned the child on the ground using their strengths, Blaze realized something.

"How come your healing power did not work?" Blaze questioned as he looked at the child's neck.

"I-I don't know. From what I have learned from my mother, the halflings are creatures known to be users of white magic power which includes healing, and as long as the receiver of the power is pure, it will always work," Scarlette explained while looking at her hands.

"Then, does that mean this child is impure!?" Zoleta asked as her mind started filling up with uncensored thoughts.

Don't tell me this child elf is no longer a v*rgin!? Zoleta thought to herself while looking in disbelief at the child who is still screaming in pain.

"No. What I mean is if there is black magic power mixed in the receiver's body," Scarlette said but as she realized what her words mean, her eyes slowly widened as she looked at the child in front of her.

"T-This child," Scarlette whispered as she looked at the child's neck.

"What? What's wrong?" Zoleta asked again.

"C-Check him! Check for any wound!" Scarlette said which made the four confused but they still decided to do what she just said.

"Oh! Here! He has a small scratch here!" Henson said and pointed at the child's right calf. Then, Scarlette quickly moved closer to the child's right calf and checked the wound that Henson just pointed at. After a minute or two of checking the wound, Scarlette's face became pale.

"Oh, no," Scarlette muttered as she covered her lips with her hands.

"What is it?" Havie asked Scarlette who just swallowed her dry saliva and looked at the child's face first before looking at each of her teammates, then she finally looked at Blaze and answered.

"Demon poison," Scarlette answered while looking at Blaze and when Blaze heard that, he immediately knew that the child's situation is just like his.

"Then, we should take him with us to the tree of life," Blaze responded but Scarlette shook her head.

"Why?" Blaze asked the woman but all he saw are tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I-It's...too late," Scarlette said while looking at the child.

"Too late? What do you mean!?" Zoleta asked scarlette but the woman could not answer her question.

"Hey! If it is poison then your power can heal him! Just try again!" Zoleta said.

"Zol! It won't work! If this is caused by demon poison then applying white magic power to it will only trigger the poison more, which eventually will make the poison spread more in his body!" Havie replied to her best friend. But what Havie said did not only affect her best friend, but also Scarlette and Blaze, who both knew that Blaze is also under the same circumstances.

"T-Then, what should we do? Leave him to die?" Zoleta asked but no one answered her. Then, Blaze looked at the child's face filled with tears.

"Henson, take the women out of here," Blaze commanded in a cold and emotionless tone of voice which made the women wonder.

"Why? What are you going to do?" Scarlette asked and approached Blaze, then she held his right arm and stopped him from swinging his katana to the child.

"I'll end is agony," Blaze answered and looked at Scarlette's eyes with his icy cold eyes.

"W-What?" Scarlette murmured.

"Go, no~" before Blaze could even finish his sentence, the child elf suddenly yelled so loud and the child was able to push the warriors surrounding him with an unexpected force coming from a child like him. Blaze and Scarlette were both flown away by a strong wind and the two landed a few meters away from the child, the same thing happened with Henson, Zoleta, and Havie.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!" the child yelled as he arched his body upwards. Then, crackling noises are heard from the child's body, as if something is trying to rip his body apart and come out of his body.

"W-What...what is...going on?" Scarlette asked while her eyes are glued at the child. Blaze could not say anything and he is just staring at the child in front of them while holding Scarlette's right hand and preventing her from running back towards the child.

"RAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" the child screamed once again and as he continued screaming, the tone of his voice slowly changed into something that is very familiar to the five warriors.

"RAAAHHH!!!!" another deep and unsettling voice came from the child elf. A voice that seems to come from the underground, a voice that sent shivers down their spines, a voice so similar to that of a demon.

"N-No...It can't be," Scarlette muttered as she looked at the child elf's body slowly turning to purple, and the crackling noise became louder and louder until all five of them witnessed how the child's body began to rip apart, and something hideous emerged from it.

"W-What is that?" Havie questioned as her body trembled in fear as she watched a child elf transform into a demon.

"Demon. A purple demon, same as to that demon we killed near the river," Henson uttered as he stared at the demon in front of them. The demon started to stand up from the ground and it remained standing still for a few seconds in front of them, and the surroundings became quiet too as if waiting for an important announcement. But that silence did not last for long, because as the demon opened its eyes, another terrifying sound came from its throat.

"GRAAAAAAHHH!!!" a deep and bone-chilling sound echoed in the forest while the five warriors simply stared at the demon, who used to be a young and small child elf, standing in front of them. The voice that came from its throat no longer sounded like that of a child elf, and the face of it no longer have that sweet smile that Blaze saw back at the riverbanks.

The child...became a...demon...because of the poison inside his body. Blaze thought to himself and realized that the same poison, a demon poison, is also slowly spreading inside his body.

Well, I'll be d*mned. I guess if I don't hurry to the tree of life, I will become just like that. Blaze thought to himself while staring at the demon in front of them. Without any warning, the demon suddenly looked at Scarlette, which greatly startled her and made her body tremble in fear. Blaze also noticed that and he knew that he must do something before the woman beside him do something that she will surely regret in the future.