Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 240 (Part 1): Storm
It was deep in the forest. It moved as if flying over the mountain range. Agile yet silent movements.
Like a wild beast, but not running on four legs. Bipedal.
It was running while holding a blood-stained sword in one hand.
If someone saw it, they would think of one word:
Monster.
Tattered clothes, a body stained black, eyes horribly bloodshot, cracked skin, swollen muscles.
Once, its demonic energy soared as if it would reach the sky, but now it hung down like wet clothes.
Yet, the murderous intent in its eyes was palpable.
An aggressive instinct to kill, devour, and destroy. This being, full of wickedness, was once a human.
Yes, until just recently.
Before a certain change found him, he wasn’t even an ordinary person.
He wasn’t just any weak and feeble human.
A first-rank Platinum mercenary.
That was a prestigious position not attainable by just anyone.
Becoming a Platinum mercenary wasn’t a matter of effort. It was talent. Talent for Vis. Talent for the sword.
In terms of talent, he was exceptional. He had never seen anyone more talented with a sword than himself in his entire life.
From a very young age, he was different from others.
Although born a commoner, he was incredibly intelligent, quickly learning to read and amass knowledge with minimal guidance, and his physical movements were extraordinary.
He quickly realized that wielding a sword was more advantageous for him than studying.
For a commoner, martial prowess was the simplest means to elevate oneself.
But he was inherently violent and cruel.
Whether something within him made him that way, or if it was his natural temperament, he couldn’t tell.
But his violence and cruelty were beyond the control of reason, and he knew it.
That he was like an untamed beast.
At fifteen, when he ruled as the alley boss, he had a fight with a friend.
That fight stimulated something from within his heart.
Warm or gentle emotions didn’t touch him. Friendship had no effect on him. He had the dullest, coldest heart.
His cruel instinct, like that of a beast, didn’t stop at tearing apart the limbs of insects.
The hand that killed animals soon turned towards humans in anger.
After committing the act, looking down at the mutilated corpse and his blood-stained hands, he realized he could no longer live in this peaceful village.
His parents had long feared him, and so did the villagers.
Having committed murder, he knew he would be immediately identified as the culprit.
What if they did? He could just kill them all. It was an evil, tempting impulse.
But the thought he had immediately didn’t come to fruition in reality.
He was cruel, but not cruel enough to slaughter an entire village.
He was still human then. Reason and faint affection held him back.
But now he was a murderer. Leaving the village and changing his identity, he decided to become a mercenary.
Though an untrained swordsman, his talent alone was enough to make him a mercenary.
Other’s swords seemed laughably slow, and Vis quickly became part of him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t make an effort, and he enjoyed real combat.
As a mercenary, he learned swordsmanship by watching knights and other mercenaries, improving his skills.
It went smoothly. Knowing his own nature, he mainly took on jobs dealing with magical beasts rather than humans, and escort missions rather than guard duty.
At twenty-six, he reached the position of first-rank Platinum mercenary at a young age.
Since becoming a mercenary, he had encountered minor conflicts but lived a smooth life, proud that he had lived without any major problems.
Until that incident happened.
He was on a mission to hunt beasts, a type of mission he enjoyed.
During this time, he met the priests of Lumen for the first time in his life.
Were the priests the problem? Something about them stirred him deep within his heart.
It was a strange sensation. Although the priests were not hostile, there was an aura of threat from them.
As if they would annihilate his existence. Irrationally, it shook the vessel within him.
It was a vessel that had been slowly filling drop by drop since birth.
He was aware of the vessel within him that was about to burst.
He knew that when the last drop fell, the filled vessel would completely change him.
Knowing that all his talent, strength, and everything came from something lurking within him.
Though he didn’t know its name, he knew its existence.
Like he had made a pact with the demon lord said to have perished in ancient times, he knew that one day he would have to pay the price for having what ordinary humans did not.