CHAPTER 42: THREAT

The total disregard for life and death made Zephyr appear unkind.

Jack clenched his fist.

"Are you really working for the necromancer?" He asked apprehensively.

Zephyr shrugged his shoulders and replied.

"No."

"Then, help us."

"Why should I help the people who almost killed me, Jack? You also saw what happened, right? I still remember their eyes burning with fury. After mistakenly believing that I killed the chief, they tried to lynch me." Zephyr paused and breathed a sigh.

"The only reason I am alive right now is because of leaving the village—that too, forcefully. If not, some of your dear villagers would have come to kill me. I had heard them talk about killing me after all."

Jack heard what Zephyr had to say silently. His eyes darted here and there, avoiding Zephyr’s eyes. Unmistakably, he must have heard that.

Zephyr smiled seeing that. He was over their betrayal.

"You believe that the life of your chief is important. And yet failed to protect him from the necromancer’s machinations. Then, your people fell for his trap and blamed me, who was trying to help."

"You know, I was forced to kill two people that day. Think of that as a parting gift. I eliminated the men who were being controlled by the necromancer before leaving."

"So, simply put, I did everything I could to save the villagers."

"What more do you want from me?"

"Do you wish for me to risk my life and save your people?"

Zephyr chuckled, his voice ringing in the quietness of the night.

"Isn’t that the definition of asking for too much? Is my life not worth as much as your chief’s? Would you have asked the chief to do the same?" Zephyr asked.

The flickers of light painted his face in shades of shadow and light. Although he looked small and weak, his eyes were piercing through the night, gazing deep into Jack’s soul.

Jack, unknowingly, took a step back. The cold, unapproachable aura that Zephyr exuded was much more chilling. As a newly awakened warrior, Jack could instinctively feel the danger Zephyr posed.

Still, shaking his head, he composed himself before speaking.

"But not everyone wishes to harm you. You can’t blame us for the mistakes of a few, Zephyr. Most of us are innocent. They didn’t do anything to harm you. They were taken by the vile necromancer to do who knows what without their consent. And all of them will die if we can’t save them. So, help us. It is your duty to help us." He babbled.

’Sir Zephyr to just Zephyr. This Jack is not as simple-minded as I thought. And why do I feel like he was speaking as if I owed them something?’ Zephyr ignored what he said, focusing only on the way he spoke.

He was amused.

From what he could hear, Jack still wanted Zephyr’s help. He was trying to find a way to gain Zephyr’s help, using morality and duty as tools that could influence him.

However, Zephyr didn’t buy into it.

He had no thoughts of saving the villagers.

The first reason for that decision, of course, was the way the villagers treated him. Secondly, he had lost trust in Jack. Now, he didn’t even know if the necromancer was manipulating Jack.

How else could the burly man escape from the necromancer’s brainwashing magic?

Zephyr paused for a second and looked closely at Jack’s body. Similar to himself, he was covered in sand and mud.

There were stains of dark blood all over his clothes. And a rotten stench of something was coming off his body.

He looked even more unpleasant than himself. But he didn’t look like an undead or a brainwashed person.

’Anyways, let’s make it clear.’

Zephyr thought and began to speak.

"Jack, you don’t need to speak anymore. There is no way I am leaving with you to help your people."

"...and don’t spout nonsense at me. If all of you didn’t want me dead, where were you when I needed your help? Why were you not opposing the crazed mob?"

Zephyr looked Jack in the eyes.

"You were waiting to see what happened, right? ...watching from the sidelines to see if I would survive or not. Now, you come here and talk about morality and duty. You can f*ck off the same way you came here."

Zephyr didn’t give him an inch, firmly stopping him from taking a mile.

This caused the anger buried within Jack’s heart to resurface. The scent of charred meat, the unwillingness to help, the general indifference Zephyr showed, all piled on one after another, burst his fuse.

Zephyr could see the vein on Jack’s forehead thicken. The last time he had seen something similar was during the battle between the ghoul.

’Is he preparing to attack me?’

He scoffed inwardly while standing up.

"What! Do you want to attack an unarmed man?"

He asked, breaking out into laughter, thinking about his left arm.

His laugh was loud and crisp, shattering the night’s solitude.

"Come at me if you wish to die." Zephyr chuckled, saying.

After going through many life and death situations, he was getting used to it. In fact, the roguelite player in him was awakening, causing him to seek the thrill of battle.

"If you wish." Jack obliged.

As a newly awakened warrior, Jack thought he could easily defeat a weak mage like Zephyr. His confidence reached a new peak as mana flowed in his body, enhancing his naturally strong body.

"Zephyr, helping me kill the assassin is the only way you are going to survive. Or else, I am going to kill you myself."

"You think I am unwilling to take risks. Is that what you understood from what I said?" Zephyr asked mockingly.

"What else? Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. Your life is in my hands now. You will do exactly what I want to do."

Jack clenched his fist and raised them in a fighting stance. His voice turned into a threatening growl.

"To save my family, I am willing to make you into my enemy." He said.

Jack didn’t know anything about the necromancer or his abilities. The knowledge Zephyr has as a mage was his only hope for finding and defeating the necromancer.

So, he needed Zephyr to help—one way or another.

If words don’t work, he doesn’t mind using physical force.

Zephyr watched the man speak clearly, without exhibiting his foolish nature in silence.

He had said everything that needed to be said.

They stood and looked at each other, ready to fight it out.

At that exact moment, the bonfire flickered. It acted like a starting bell.

Jack leapt forward.

Zephyr smiled mockingly and released all the spells he had prepared.

’Mana bolt + lightning.’

’Earth spike.’

Both spells were carved on different core clusters. Therefore, they could be activated independently or at the same time. Zephyr effortlessly activated it at the same time, going a little easy on Jack.