Ken opened the door and stepped out. The entire house was surrounded by men and women of all ages, the young boys that could not go to war and the old men that couldn’t as well. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

One stepped forward the moment he saw Ken. "You brought back an elf."

"Hey, shut it," Ken shut the man down very fast. "I cannot allow wild creatures to speak before me."

Those words reached them and dropped like bombs. Did this kid just really call them wild animals?

"Brat, who the hell do you think you are talking to?" one of the older men yelled.

Ken looked at him calmly and then spoke, "I’m Ken, the man that saved this town when these demon cultists came here, while all of you were running away.

The elf you saw also helped to save this town, so you will all respect her," Ken said.

The people were stunned by what they heard. They had known that someone did save their town, but the baron refused to give information to the public, saying if the person that saved them wanted to, he would have told them who he was, and so he kept completely quiet.

"Huhhhhh? You really want us to believe that you saved all of us?" one old man yelled.

"Want you? You must be mistaken. There is no want, I am telling you to leave here now, or I’ll make sure that you do not live long enough to even see the threat that is headed your way," he threatened, his voice heavy with menace.

This town was pathetic with a majority of the men gone, but the young adults still stayed, like people at the age of his brothers. They would be taken if there was another draft, but for now they were safe and here.

A few of them rushed forward eagerly. They pointed old swords and rusty tools at Ken.

"Hand over the elf, do not let us burn down your..."

The one that had been speaking didn’t know where or how, but a clean slap landed across his face hard, breaking his jaw in one swift motion.

Everyone was stunned. They looked at Ken and he had not even moved a step in their eyes, yet he had slapped that man from where he stood. In reality, Ken used Flash Step, but to their eyes he never moved.

"If you threaten what belongs to me, you will die. The first was a warning," Ken said, his aura slipping out. Everyone backed off immediately as they felt that aura. It was as though some demon was staring right at them.

Suddenly, the story of him stopping the entire group did not feel so impossible again. The issue was how was that even possible? How was he able to get that strong and terrifying? Was he not the sick son of the family that they knew?

The young man that was slapped was on the ground holding his face. He seethed with rage. He glared at Ken from the ground, his eyes burning with anger, and he wanted so much to slam Ken into the ground, but he dared not make a move.

Right in front of the ladies and his friends, he had been slapped and could do nothing about it.

While the tension was high, the baron suddenly came through the crowd. Everyone made way for him and he stopped when he made it to the front. He looked at Ken who stood there, and under the wondering gaze of everyone that was here, he bowed his head in respect.

The scene shocked everyone, their eyes widened and they were all lost for words.

"Thank you, our savior," the baron said and then looked up. With those words alone he had confirmed to everyone the status of things.

Ken didn’t bow to him, he gave him a nod in response.

"Glad to see that at least someone here knows how to act properly," Ken said, not caring if he hurt any feelings.

"I’m sorry for the behavior of the people. They have never seen an elf before and they all believe elves are evil, and so they acted that way," the baron was explaining, when suddenly Ken heard something.

He turned and looked at the forest, and there he noticed Sierra standing at the edge and signaling at him very fast. Ken knew something had gone wrong instantly, and from the way that she was calling to him, the demons were closer than they thought.

"Everyone head into your houses and hide," Ken said, his words stunning everyone.

"The groups before were messengers sent to take over the town, and behind them is an army of demonic humans that are coming to take over.

I will not explain more than once. Your lives are in danger. I have a means to protect everyone, but everyone must leave," Ken said in a heavy tone.

Everybody was confused. They looked at themselves and asked what was happening.

"I said get the hell out of here!" Ken thundered so loudly everyone shook. They all immediately scrambled away in a rush, they knew now that he was not joking. The last to leave was the young man he slapped. He got up from the ground and looked at Ken with his bloody face. He gritted his teeth hard and then walked away in anger.

"He will definitely be an issue later, but that’s for later," Ken muttered.

After everyone was gone, the door opened and Luna walked out, along with his family.

"The army is here faster than expected," Ken said to Luna. He looked at his mother who had a scared face, she was worried.

"Are demons really coming?" she asked, the fear in her eyes showing.

"Yes mum, but I’ll handle it. I have some friends that will help us. Everyone just has to stay in. I do not have the time to explain, and I promise to return alive. All of you just stay inside," Ken said, giving very little time for her to say anything.