Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 15

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

Without waiting for another second, Blaze pulled out the blade of his katana from its sheath, making it brilliant fire surround the sharp blade of the sword.

"W-What are you~" Blaze did not pay any attention to what Scarlette was talking about since his eyes are just focused on the demon running towards them. Scarlette also noticed the demon rushing in her direction, but all she could think of is that demon is also the child elf that they rescued and held responsible for.

No. Please...don't kill him. Scarlette thought to herself as she saw how Blaze stared at the demon coldly as it runs towards them.

"GRAAAAAHHHH!!!!" the demon roared at them, showing hundreds of its pointy teeth and its black saliva drooling out of its mouth.

Blaze stood up from his seat and raised his right hand where he is still holding his katana. Then, he runs towards the demon, leaving Scarlette sitting on the ground with wide eyes as she looked at Blaze and the demon closely approaching each other.

"No..." Scarlette muttered with her trembling body as she tried to get up and stop Blaze from killing the thing in front of her, but it seems like she has already lost her strength from the moment she watched the child elf transform into a purple demon.

As Blaze stood face to face with the demon, he quickly used his reflexes to dodge its attacks and to kill it in an instant by chopping its head off from its neck. Scarlette was not able to do anything as she watched the black blood from the demon spurt from the demon's headless body while Blaze is simply standing behind it, holding his flaming katana in his right hand

Interesting. The flame from the katana burned even the blood that was splashed into the sword and from my hand, but it did not even feel hot or warm, it just felt ticklish. Blaze thought to himself and as the blood from his hand completely burned into nothingness, Blaze took a deep breath and placed the blade back into its sheath. Then, he turned around and saw the body of the demon slowly turning into ashes, and from where he is standing, Blaze saw Scarlette sitting in the same position that she and Blaze were before the demon attacked.

Blaze saw the woman's facial expression; her eyes are wide open as her tears kept running down her cheeks while she's staring at the pile of ashes in front of Blaze. Upon seeing that face, Blaze suddenly felt a bit guilty for what he did to the child elf, but he decided to just brush it off and look away from Scarlette.

It must be done or else, someone else might have been killed. Blaze thought to himself as he clenched his fists and grit his teeth, then Blaze turned to walk towards his horse and tried to calm it down as it was terrified by the demon's terrifying sound.

"Prepare to depart," Blaze coldly commanded his team without looking at any of them, and even though all of them are still shocked from what happened to the child elf, Henson knew that they still have to obey Blaze's orders because he is the leader of their group and the prophesied hero so Henson took a deep breath and stood up from the ground. Then, Henson approached his cousin, Zoleta, to help her stand up from the ground.

"Come on, Zol. We have to leave," Henson said to Zoleta who simply nodded her head before standing up.

"I-I'll go get Miss Scarlette," Zoleta whispered as soon as she got up from her seat. After that, she started walking towards Scarlette who is still crying in silence while staring at the pile of ashes. Henson nodded his head as he watched his cousin walk towards Scarlette, then he looked at Havie who is still frozen in her seat while looking down at the ground. Henson took another deep breath before approaching Havie and patting her gently in the head.

"Hey, Havie, let's go," Henson said solemnly to the woman, but he did not receive any response from her at all, and he knew that he can't blame the woman for acting like that.

I'm sure Havie is also having a hard time processing what just happened. Henson thought to himself and let go of Havie's head before starting walking towards their horses. While walking, he also saw Zoleta and Scarlette walking towards the horses and the cart. Then, he heard footsteps behind him so Henson turned his head slightly to his right and noticed Havie following him, but she's still looking at the ground and her head is still bowing so it is hard for him to see her expression.

What a heavy atmosphere. Henson thought to himself and unintentionally, his eyes moved towards the direction of Blaze who is already fixing the saddle of his horse without showing any emotions on his face. Even without looking, Blaze knew that someone is looking at him, but he just ignored it since he knew that it is only normal for the people around him to look at him with disgust and anger, and he is already used to it.

After making sure that his saddle is fine, Blaze hopped onto his horse and checked his surroundings by scanning the area using his sense of sight. Then, he also noticed his teammates properly riding their respective horses, while Scarlette is already sitting inside the cart.

"Tch. Let's move out," Blaze commanded and started maneuvering his horse to the direction of the west, away from the place where a tragic event happened. Henson, Zoleta, Havie, and Scarlette did not say anything to Blaze, but they still followed behind him since they knew that the journey they agreed to join is still ongoing and that they must complete the goal of this journey, and that is to find the tree of life.

The five of them kept riding their horses towards the west side of the forest in silence, not even the talkative and excited voice of Zoleta is heard during their travel after the moment with the child elf. And when they eventually found another shallow river, Blaze made a decision for his team to rest near the river for an hour or two. Blaze raised his right hand and closed his fist, which means stop, so the others also pulled the reigns of their horses and stopped. Then, Henson and Zoleta looked around the area to check if another demon is nearby, but they neither see nor sense any demon nearby.

"Let's rest here for a short while," Blaze said and stepped down from his horse. Then, he pulled his horse's lead rope, leading the horse towards the nearest tree, and tied it on its sturdy branch. Then, Blaze took a glance at his teammates who are individually resting nearby so he looked around the area again and even used his sense of hearing to check the surrounding area for any demons nearby.

There's no d*mned demon close to this place, so I guess it is fine to leave them here for a short time. Blaze thought to himself and started walking towards the river without saying anything to his teammates. Henson noticed Blaze leaving but he did not stop the man since he knew that it will be much better for Blaze to leave them for a few minutes.

Without looking back, Blaze kept walking towards the river. And when he was sure that no one followed him, he took off his upper clothes and dipped himself in the river so he can wash off the accumulated number of sweats in his body. Before completely submerging himself in the water, Blaze placed his katana on top of a flat and big rock beside him so in any cases that he might need using the katana, he can easily reach for it, and he also made sure that the sword will not fall down from the rock and get swept down by the river.

As Blaze walked in the water, the shallow water of the river only reached up to his thighs, so he decided to just sit under the water, which made it easier for the water to reach his collarbone. Then, Blaze also washed his hair using his hands and the fresh, cold water of the river.

As Blaze lifts his head out of the water, the cold droplets of the water fall from his wet hair, down to his hard chest, and towards his perfectly sculpted abs. Blaze used his hands to cup some water from the river and wash his face, but then, the thought of the child elf's smiling face popped into his mind which made him stop lifting his hands to his face. Then, Blaze stared at his hands and remembered how he mercilessly killed the thing that used to be one of his companions, a child that unfortunately became a victim of the demon poison, and eventually turned into a purple demon himself.

Tsk! Another sh*tty memory. Blaze thought to himself and submerged his hands into the water, then he rubbed his left hand on his right hand as if washing some dirt from his clean hands.

I guess the dirt will never go away, just like the previous ones. Blaze thought to himself again and grit his teeth. Then, he heard rustles from the riverbanks so he quickly lift his body while reaching for his katana, and glared at the direction of the noise.

"S-Sir Blaze?" a woman's voice reached Blaze's ears, and when he realized that the woman standing in the riverbanks is Scarlette, he quickly removed the glares from his eyes and stared at her in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Blaze asked while placing his katana back on the flat rock.

Why is she here? I thought she's still mad at me because of what I did to the child elf? Blaze thought to himself. Then, when he looked back to face Scarlette, he saw her fidgeting with her fingers while looking away from him, and her cheeks with a hint of red color.

What's her problem? Blaze asked in his mind while furrowing his eyebrows and looking at Scarlette.

"What?" Blaze questioned again, and when Scarlette heard his voice, she swallowed her saliva and licked her lower lip.

"U-Uhm," Scarlette uttered as she tried her best to look away from Blaze's exposed upper body, but her eyes kept betraying her as they kept looking at his perfectly sculpted body, and the thought of her spending a night with a man with that body. Blaze noticed that the woman is having a hard time looking at him which made him sigh.

"Just tell me why you came here," Blaze said and turned his back at the woman, and Scarlette also noticed that which somehow made her feel at ease but at the same time, disappointed in herself.

Ahh, I should have stared at it a bit longer...Ack! What!? No! No! No! What are you thinking Scarlette! Scarlette thought to herself and shook her head aggressively. Then, she looked at the back of Blaze, but the back that she was looking at still made her speechless.

Even his back looks so sexy. Scarlette thought to herself again, but then, she also saw the wound that Blaze received from the demon that he fought back when he tried to protect Scarlette. And upon seeing that wound, Scarlette was reminded of the reason why she came to the river and why she wanted to talk to Blaze.

"U-Uhm, I...I wanted to apologize to you, Sir Blaze," Scarlette spoke while holding her hands firmly. But the words that she uttered made Blaze confused.

"Apologize? For what?" Blaze inquired.

Did she betray me as well, by selling me out to the demons? Blaze thought to himself and slowly reached out for the katana on top of the rock.

"I'm sorry for acting like that earlier," Scarlette answered.

Huh? Blaze thought again and turned around to face Scarlette.

"I'm sorry if I tried to stop you from doing the thing that must be done back then," Scarlette added while looking at the water near her feet.

"I-I know that when a creature transforms into being a demon, it is already too late to save them, and the only thing that could help them is to kill them before they can kill someone. However, I still tried to stop you from killing that purple demon, b-because I still think that that demon was the child elf that we rescued from being eaten by a demon," Scarlette spoke again and took a deep breath before looking at Blaze.

"I'm sorry," Scarlette apologized with whole sincerity, which actually touched Blaze's heart, and made him speechless.

"Uhm, S-Sir Blaze?" Scarlette called out because he is not saying anything in return so she thought that maybe he is still mad at her.

"I truly apologize for how I acted earlier, Sir," Scarlette apologized again and bowed her head, which snapped Blaze out of his thoughts.

"Stop apologizing. What's done is done," Blaze replied to her and turned his back at her again. Then, he reached out for his katana and started walking out of the water.

"U-Uhm," Scarlette do not know what to do or say at all so she just stood there without making any eye contact with Blaze as he walked towards her. Then, when Blaze stopped beside her and picked up his clothes, Scarlette could not stop herself from watching him get dressed in front of her.

"You," Blaze uttered which surprised Scarlette and she quickly looked away from him.

"You don't have to apologize for something like that. You did not do anything wrong," Blaze said without looking at Scarlette. Then, he placed his sheathed katana in its belt and tied it around his waist, and started walking.

"I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry," Blaze whispered as he continued walking back to where the other warriors are. But, even though Blaze said those words in a hushed tone, Scarlette was still able to hear it clearly from him, which actually made her smile.

You also don't have to apologize, Sir Blaze. I know that you only wanted to protect us from a demon and that you never intended to kill an innocent child. Scarlette thought to herself with a smile on her lips and followed Blaze back to their minicamp.

When the two arrived at the camp, Blaze saw the other three talking to each other just like before, and he also noticed that the atmosphere is no longer as heavy as before he went to the shallow river.

"Oh! Sir Blaze," Henson called Blaze's attention and the latter just looked at him while waiting for whatever he had to say.

"Thank you for saving us earlier," Henson said to Blaze with a smile on his lips which surprised Blaze, but he quickly brushed the said expression from his face.

"Yes, thank you, Sir," Zoleta also thanked her, while Havie simply nodded her head at him.

"Uhm, I talked with them earlier when you were at the river," Scarlette spoke behind Blaze so he looked at her and nodded his head.

Tch. Why bother talking to them? I know they still hated me for what I did earlier. Blaze thought to himself and went straight to his horse.

But, at least they noticed my intention earlier. Blaze thought again and a small smile erupted from his lips but he quickly controlled himself and hopped onto his horse.

"If you're done talking, then, let's get moving," Blaze commanded in his usual tone of voice which made Henson and Zoleta nod their heads with a smile on their lips. Then, the three went to their respective horses and got on it, while Scarlette simply rode in the cart again with a smile on her lips. Before the cart get pulled by Henson and Havie's horse, Scarlette looked up into the sky and smiled.

At least, you are in a safe and happy place now. Scarlette thought to herself as she recalled the face of the child elf that they met during their travel.

Another three hours have passed and the five of them continued riding their horses as they passed through the forest without any encounter with demons anymore. As they kept riding towards the west, Scarlette also became more anxious as time passes by so she started to observe her surroundings, looking for some hint or familiar trees that might give her some idea that they are already approaching her village.

This forest is too big and my mother always told me that this forest is also alive, which means it undergoes changes too as it grows older, so maybe it might have changed its appearance and added more trees in it? If that is true, then it will be hard for me to recognize if we are close to that place already or not. Scarlette thought to herself while looking around.

"Hey! I can see something!" Zoleta announced which caught everyone's attention.

"What is it!?" Blaze asked since Zoleta is riding in front of him as their frontline since she volunteered herself, and was given permission by Blaze.

"It's a market! A public market!" Zoleta answered with a huge smile on her lips as she saw different kinds of people and creatures walking around the public market, buying and selling supplies for their personal consumptions or for their businesses as well.

A market? Wait! Then, that means we're close to my village! Scarlette thought to herself and smiled as she saw an opening of the forest from a not-so-far distance. But the thought of them getting close to their village also made her feel nervous and sad.

We're close...that means, I will see them again. Scarlette thought to herself as she tightened her grip on the railings of the cart where she is holding on so she will not fall down due to the fast runnings of the horses pulling the cart.

"Should we stop by!?" Zoleta asked as they close into the exit of the forest. Then, Blaze looked at the cart and estimated their supplies, but then he noticed Scarlette's face as she rode in the cart.

What's wrong with her? Why does her face look so down and grim? Blaze asked in his mind and recalled a scene where he also saw the same expression from the same woman.

Ah, that's right. She also had that facial expression when I first asked her to take me to her village. So does that mean she remembered her village again? Or is it because we are coming closer to that place? And why does she look like that every time her village is mentioned? Was she a runaway or a fugitive from her village? Blaze has a lot of questions in his mind right now, but he knew that only Scarlette could answer those questions. Nonetheless, Blaze remained silent because he does not want to be a nosy person.

"Let's stop by and buy some additional supplies!" Blaze ordered as they stepped out of the forest and into the public market.

"Yes, Sir!" Zoleta and Henson answered while Havie also noticed Scarlette's facial expression, a sad face that does not suit her angelic beauty.