Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 8

*THIRD PERSON'S POV*

During breakfast, Blaze could not even finish his meal since he was so busy thinking about the katana that was still missing, and even though there are people around him, trying to have some conversation with him, he still did not pay much attention to them, all he had in mind is the katana that emits fire around its blade when it is pulled out of its sheath.

Scarlette noticed that Blaze seems to be bothered by something, and she thought that maybe it was because of what happened to them last night, so she stood up from her seat and sat next to Blaze, who did not even notice her as she sat next to him.

"S-Sir Blaze? Is there something wrong?" Scarlette asked Blaze in a low tone of voice with blushing cheeks because every time she looked or spoke to Blaze, she keeps remembering what happened to them last night.

Blaze turned his head to face the woman but he did not say anything at all, and simply looked around the village, trying to check if there is someone who looks suspicious.

Maybe one of them stole it? Blaze thought to himself while creasing his forehead and his eyes are busy scanning every person around the area.

"U-Uhm, is there anything you're looking for?" Scarlette raised a question again as she looked around the place as well.

"Hey, woman," Blaze called Scarlette's attention while making sure not to catch anyone else's attention, and when Scarlette heard his voice, she immediately faced him with an innocent look on her face.

"Yes?" Scarlette inquired.

"Have you seen my sword?" Blaze moved closer to Scarlette and whispered in her ear without looking at her. With this sudden movement of Blaze, Scarlette's cheeks flushed even more so she quickly moved her face away from him.

"N-No Sir, I did not," Scarlette answered while stuttering and placing her right hand on her chest where she can feel the fast beatings of her heart. Blaze looked at Scarlette as he heard the way she responded and knit his eyebrows as if suspecting the woman.

"Are you sure?" Blaze asked to confirm the woman's innocence, and Scarlette looked at Blaze's eyes and nodded her head.

Tsk! This woman seems to be telling the truth. Besides, she's been with me since last night...Ah, sh*t, stop thinking about that. It's just a one-night stand. That's all. Blaze thought to himself as he took a deep breath, and grabbed the handle of his tankard filled with drinking water, and drank from it.

"D-Did you lose it?" Scarlette asked Blaze and the latter simply nodded his head which made Scarlette gasp but she immediately covered her lips with her hands as Blaze glared at her.

"B-But how? I mean, you have been holding on to it all the time," Scarlette inquired to Blaze.

"I was drunk last night, and that's probably when the thief took it," Blaze answered as he wiped his mouth with his right hand.

"T-Then, who was it?" Scarlette asked again.

"You think I'll just sit here and do nothing if I already knew who stole it?" Blaze replied to her with annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Scarlette answered and looked down on her lap as she felt embarrassed by the way Blaze replied to her.

"T-Then, why don't we ask the village Chief for help?" Scarlette suggested to Blaze.

"No. I don't trust anyone here," Blaze answered with a cold gaze on his eyes.

"Not even you," Blaze added which surely hurt Scarlette's feelings. The woman decided to remain silent after hearing those words from Blaze, and Blaze noticed the sadness from Scarlette's expression, but he did not give any care at all.

"I-I understand," Scarlette whispered and faked a smile to Blaze who did not even look at her.

"Excuse me, Sir, Miss," the two heard another voice coming from behind them so they both turned around and saw a boy, around ten to twelve years old, standing behind them.

"Yes?" Scarlette replied to the boy who looked shy in front of Scarlette.

"T-The Gran Anciana said you two should go to the grand hall, especially you, Sir," the boy said and looked at Blaze.

"Why should I go there?" Blaze asked coldly which made the boy scared a little bit.

"U-Uhm, the Gran Anciana did not tell me why, but she said she wants to talk to you about something important," the boy answered and without waiting for Blaze's reply, he run away without looking back.

Blaze sighed and stood up from his seat and started walking, but he noticed that Scarlette did not follow him, so he turned around and called her.

"Hey, woman. Let's go," Blaze said and started walking towards the grand hall again.

"Ah! Yes!" Scarlette replied and quickly stood up from her seat as well and followed Blaze.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Zoleta, who saw Blaze and Scarlette walking away from the dining area, stood up from her seat and called the two. Blaze and Scarlette turned around and looked at Zoleta.

"Oh, Zoleta, we're just on our way to the grand hall because the Gran Anciana called us," Scarlette answered.

"Oh, I see. Do you want me to take you there?" Zoleta offered and Scarlette smiled at her before nodding her head.

"Great! Let's go!" Zoleta said and started walking ahead of Blaze and Scarlette. 

"Are they coming as well?" Scarlette asked so Zoleta stopped on her tracks and turned around, and she saw Henson and Havie following them.

"Ahh, I guess so," Zoleta replied and continued walking, so did Blaze and Scarlette with Henson and Havie walking behind them.

After a few more steps, Blaze and Scarlette arrived in front of the grand hall. It is made of the same materials from the houses in the village, but the place is bigger and it looks sturdier than the rest of the buildings inside the village.

"I wonder what this meeting is about," Scarlette whispered as she looked around the grand hall. Then, Zoleta knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, the door was opened by Zagar who immediately noticed his daughter with her cousin and her best friend.

"Good, you're here. Come in," Zagar said and opened the door wide open. Blaze and the others entered the grand hall and saw Zolaida sitting on a chair at the end of a rectangular table.

"Please, have a seat," Zolaida offered and so the five who just came in took their respective seats in the unoccupied chairs around the table.

"So, why did you call us here?" Blaze inquired as soon as he took his seat. Then, Zolaida looked at him with her eyes filled with worries.

"I will go straight to the point. Sir, do you still want to go to the tree of life?" Zolaida asked.

"Yes, why?" Blaze answered without second thoughts. 

"I see," Zolaida replied and took a deep breath.

"Then, please, allow us to offer you some help," Zolaida said which made Blaze crease his forehead.

"What kind of help?" Blaze questioned.

"Please take our best warriors with you. Zoleta, Henson, and Havie. These three young warriors are well trained and well knowledgable when it comes to fighting against the demons," Zolaida offered.

Upon hearing those words, Zolete could not contain her smile as she realized that she will finally go on an adventure outside the forest.

"No. I will not accept that," Blaze answered with a cold voice.

"What!? Why not!?" Zoleta inquired as she looked at Blaze with disbelief. Then, Blaze looked at her with his icy gaze. With those eyes, Zoleta shut her mouth and clenched her fists.

"Please do not misunderstand this offer, Sir Blaze. We only want to offer you our help because this journey that you have chosen is a difficult one, and it will be an honor to help the prophesied hero with his quest," Zagar spoke as well.

"If you only want honor, don't drag me in with you people," Blaze replied coldly and stood up from his seat and started walking towards the door.

"I'll try to talk to him," Scarlette said to Zagar who immediately nodded at her.

"Sir! Sir Blaze, please wait!!" Scarlette said and quickly stood up from her seat as well and followed Blaze. She grabbed his right arm and stopped him from walking out of the door.

"What?" Blaze asked in a serious tone of voice.

"I-I know you're strong, but their offer is not that bad," Scarlette said to Blaze which made the man furrow his forehead.

"What I mean is, it is an advantage for you if you have people around you who can help you fight against the demons, and what the Chief said was true. This mission towards the tree of life is very dangerous, so please, let's accept their kind offer," Scarlette tried to convince Blaze.

Advantage? I agree that those two are skilled enough to kill the demons since they helped us wipe out those sh*tty b*st*rds when we were cornered at the river, but I don't know if that also applies to Havie since I have not seen her fight yet. Blaze thought to himself and took a glimpse of Havie before looking back to Scarlette.

Also, I am not sure if I could trust those three. Blaze thought to himself again.

"How can you be so sure that they will not betray me?" Blaze asked in a cold and emotionless voice.

"I'm not sure, but I can feel it," Scarlette said with sincerity, and Blaze just stared at her without saying anything.

You can feel it, huh. Blaze thought to himself and took a deep breath before facing Scarlette again.

"If they betray me, I will not hesitate to kill them... and you," Blaze warned Scarlette who shivered from those words, but she still nodded her head and let go of Blaze's arm. Blaze walked back towards the table and looked at Zolaida.

"Fine. I will accept this offer," Blaze spoke.

"Alright!" Zoleta cheered happily but Zagar simply glared at his daughter who immediately shut her mouth.

"However, I have some conditions that they should agree with," Blaze added which made everyone in the room confused, even Scarlette.

"Conditions?" Scarlette asked but Blaze ignored her and looked at Zoleta, Henson, and Havie, one by one. Then, he looked at Zagar.

"First, if they want to accompany me in this mission, they should be prepared to die, and when that happens, it is not my fault. It simply means that they are weak and useless," Blaze stated without holding his words back.

"I'm not weak!" Zoleta complained but she just received another glare from her father which shut her up again.

"Second, don't forget that I never forced any of them to join me in this mission, so I am not responsible for their lives. Third, If ever they become a burden to me, I will leave them behind or kill them myself," Blaze spoke again which made Zagar clench his fists, but he did not say anything and simply nodded his head.

"And lastly, if they betray me, I will not hesitate to kill them," Blaze added with a cold and deadly voice that gave shivers to every person in the room aside from Blaze.

"I-I understand. Do the three of you agree with Sir Blaze's conditions?" Zagar asked Zoleta, Henson, and Havie.

"Yes," Havie answered shortly.

"Yes, I agree," Henson answered too with a nod.

"Sure. You don't have to worry Sir Blaze. I am strong enough to protect you and Miss Scarlette," Zoleta answered with a proud smile on her lips.

"Zoleta, this is a serious mission. Please, do not be so carefree, my child," Zagar reminded his daughter.

"Father, don't worry too much. Besides, you know my skills," Zoleta replied to her father and smiled genuinely at him in order to ease his worry.

"Right. Yes, of course, I know you are skilled enough to fight those demons since I was the one who trained you," Zagar responded while nodding his head.

"Thank you for accepting our aide Sir Blaze. Please rest assured that these three will be the best support that you will have," Zolaida said to Blaze who simply nodded his head before looking at the three young warriors who will accompany him and Scarlette as they start with their mission in searching for the tree of life.

"Now that everyone has agreed to this, I would like to ask one more thing," Zagar said so Blaze looked at him again and waited for his question.

"When do you plan on leaving the village?" Zagar questioned.

"Today," Blaze answered without thinking twice.

"I see. That is so sudden, but I understand that you two are in a hurry," Zagar replied and sighed before he took a glimpse of his only daughter. Then, he looked at Blaze and nodded his head.

"If that is the case, I will call everyone for a small farewell ceremony," Zagar said.

"That is not necessary," Blaze refused.

"Please do allow me to do this much," Zagar pleaded while looking straight at Blaze's eyes, and the latter immediately knew that the Chief wants to do this for his daughter too so he took a deep breath and nodded his head.

"Thank you," Zagar gave a small smile to Blaze and stepped out of the grand hall.

Meanwhile, when Zagar stepped out of the grand hall, he immediately called a young boy that was playing near the grand hall with his friends and commanded him to call everyone to the grand hall for an important announcement.

 The young boy runs towards the middle of the dining area where all of the villagers are gathered and having their breakfast. The boy stopped in the middle and stood on top of a barrel with a cone-shaped wood in his hand, and he used it to call everyone's attention.

"Everyone! The village chief has called for an important announcement! Hurry! To the grand hall!" the young boy shouted using the cone-shaped wood that he used as a megaphone. 

"An important announcement? I wonder what it is," A woman serving a drink asked while looking at the boy who stepped down from the barrel.

"Hey, boy! What is the Chief's announcement?" a middle-aged man asked the boy who was about to leave and go back to the grand hall.

"I don't know. The Chief did not say anything else to me aside from calling everyone to the grand hall," the boy answered, so the man just nodded his head at the boy who immediately run off towards the place, followed by the other villagers who are all curious about the Chief's announcement. 

After a few more minutes, Zagar returned inside the room and called everyone's attention.

"It is time," Zagar spoke in a stern voice and nodded at Blaze, who simply gave him a single nod as well.

"Wait, Sir Blaze, I have something else to tell you," the Gran Anciana called for Blaze again.

"Uhm, we'll just wait outside," Scarlette said and everyone, except from Blaze and Zolaida, went out of the grand hall.

"You may have been wondering where your katana has gone to, but do not worry, I have it here with me," Zolaida said and took the sword out of the cabinet.

"Why do you have that?" Blaze asked coldly.

"I saw it last night under a table. It seems like you have forgotten about it due to being drunk and tired so I took it and hid it here since this is a very important weapon,"  Zolaida answered as she grab the sword and handed it to Blaze. The man immediately took the weapon and pulled the sword out of its sheath, and as the blade showed its sharpness out of the sheath, fire immediately surrounded the blade.

"Spectacular," Zolaida commented while staring at the firey blade of the katana. Blaze did not say anything but he is also staring at the fire that surrounds the blade. Then, they both heard a knock on the door so Blaze immediately put the sword back into its sheath and turned around to face the door, but before he open the door, he stopped on his tracks first and uttered something.

"Thank you," Blaze spoke before he opened the door and left the room, leaving Zolaida inside with a genuine smile on her lips.

Outside the grand hall, Blaze saw the villagers gathered in front of the hall while Zagar just nodded at him and faced his people.

"Everyone! At this very moment, I would like to inform each one of you that the prophesied hero, Sir Blaze, and his woman, Miss Scarlette, will be leaving our village today to finish their mission," Zagar announced to everyone which caused the people to talk with each other and some even tried to stop Blaze and Scarlette from leaving.

"Silence!" Zagar yelled and the commotion did die down.

"We cannot and will not stop them from their journey because it is part of the prophecy that this man will defeat the demons in this country," Zagar spoke again while pointing at Blaze who is just standing beside him.

"However, we will not allow them to leave this village without receiving any gifts from us, so we have prepared some things that will help them with their journey," Zagar said and nodded his head to another man standing near the grand hall. Then, the man ordered three male villagers to carry three wooden boxes and placed them in front of the grand hall.

"These are our gifts. Open it," Zagar commanded again and the men opened the boxes. The first box on the right is the smallest among the three and it has some small vials and bottles inside with different liquids and herbs inside.

"These are potions and herbs that will help you in curing some injuries and other sicknesses while you are on your journey," Zagar explained as he pointed at the smallest box.

"The one in the middle contains some clothes, blankets, and bags that will give you comfort while traveling. I hope you two will make use of these," Zagar said as he pointed at the box in the middle while smiling at Blaze who just stared at the box.

"And lastly, this box contains foods and water inside. These are collected by the women in this village and I assure you that these will provide you energy and strength in your battle against the demons," Zagar said while Scarlette nodded her head and smiled at the Chief.

"Except from these tangible things, the Gran Anciana and I have agreed to send some of our village's best warriors. Henson, Havie, and my daughter, Zoleta, will be accompanying the hero with his mission of defeating the demons," Zagar announced and the people in front of the grand hall could not stop themselves from cheering upon hearing the names of the warriors that will provide assistance to the prophesied hero.

"We are honored to be of help to the prophesied hero," Zoleta, Henson, and Havie said at the same time while bending their right knee in front of Zagar and Blaze.

"With these aids, I wish for the hero's success in battle, and if you ever need some help, please do not hesitate to seek our help for we will be willing to help you anytime," Zagar said while looking at Blaze who just nodded his head as a response.

"Now, may the God of war bless and guide the five of you as you walk your path to defeating the demons who have terrorized this country," Zagar said and placed his right hand on Blaze's shoulder.