Hellbound: Rebirth Of The Strongest Slayer.-Chapter 66: Trouble (2)

Chapter 66

Selene moved.

Slowly, she turned her head until her gaze locked onto Poto’s.

Her eyes did not blink. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You do know," she said, her voice trembling with loss and rage, "that he was just a baby. Not even a year old."

Poto shook his head.

"I do not know," he said. "And I do not care."

Selene laughed.

There was no warmth in it. No joy. It was dry and broken, echoing through the clearing like something already dead.

She bent down and picked up a dagger, one of the few lost during the earlier battles. Then she looked straight at Poto.

"I failed to save you, Rayden," Selene muttered.

Her gaze trembled. Her heart clenched tighter than ever. Her reddened eyes locked onto Poto.

"But I promise you this," she continued, her voice shaking with fury. "The one who takes your life will not live either. Because I will be the one taking his."

She charged.

Her Awakening Sphere trembled violently as every last strand of qi was squeezed out of her body. It surged through her veins, boosting her speed as she rushed straight at Poto.

Poto watched calmly.

He watched the dagger aimed at his heart.

At the last second, he twisted.

His hand snapped out, catching Selene’s wrist and bending it at an unnatural angle.

Selene screamed in pain.

But she did not stop.

She flung the dagger upward, caught it with her other hand, and struck again. She no longer cared about herself. All that mattered was killing this man.

She would kill him.

She had promised.

The dagger flashed toward Poto’s throat.

Before it could land, a sudden force slammed into Selene’s neck.

Her vision blurred.

The dagger missed.

Poto caught her collapsing body with ease.

"We should just kill these two," Poto said, glancing at Selene and Callack.

Ricu shook his head.

"No," he said. "I believe the lord will be interested in our encounter with them."

His gaze lingered on Selene’s unconscious form.

"And she will definitely interest the lord," he added with a smirk.

Then he chuckled.

"He might also want to hear about that powerful baby you were talking about."

Poto ignored him.

He turned and walked away.

"Be quick," he said. "The lord will not want us to be late."

The captured villagers and anything of value were gathered together. They were taken away alongside the remaining scavengers, leaving the ruined village behind.

Ricu paused.

He glanced at the baby lying motionless on the ground.

His gaze was casual, yet unease gnawed at him.

What Poto had said earlier echoed in his mind. That the baby wanted to kill him. That there was a real chance it could have succeeded.

He laughed it off before, but now it felt different.

Strange.

He looked at Selene. At the bloodied Callack. Then at their child.

"This family is insane," Ricu muttered.

He turned away.

"Good thing the baby is dead."

They left.

The village stood alone in the desolation.

Not long after, rain began to fall. Heavy. Relentless. It washed away the blood splattered across the ruins.

Amid the downpour, something stirred.

Rayden’s eyes snapped open.

For a brief moment, hellish red light burned within them before fading back to normal.

He rose into a sitting position and touched his aching head, grimacing.

"Damn," he tried to say.

What came out instead was an annoyed baby babble.

Rayden looked toward where Ricu and Poto had once stood. Their images burned deep into his mind.

They should enjoy their lives while they can.

His lips curled slightly.

Because he could already feel it.

Their lives were about to become a living nightmare.

And he would be the one to make it happen.

---------

A few days later.

Rayden woke up with a stiff face.

A thin line of sweat slid down his temple, but there was no fear on his expression. No panic. Just calm. Composed. The same look he always had when he woke from a nightmare.

Another one.

This time, he saw himself leading armies into war. Some of them were people he cared about. People who trusted him.

His heart had already known how it would end.

The odds were stacked against them.

He pushed forward anyway.

And just like always, they all died.

Every last one of them.

All except him.

Rayden let out a quiet sigh.

Why were his nightmares always like this.

He would never let himself be chained down. Never surround himself with people just to watch them die. He was not stupid enough to forge his own shackles, not when they would only slow the growth he needed.

His goal had never changed.

Most of his memories were sealed, but the core ones remained. Clear. Unshakable.

He would reach his peak strength again. No matter how long it took.

He would crush the usurpers.

He would kill Drakkon.

After that, he would step into the Beyonder Realm and hunt down that hell warden whose name had been erased from his mind.

And then, he would end Hell itself.

Maybe Heaven too, if it stood in the way.

The thought almost made him laugh.

He was pathetically weak right now.

Still, reminding himself of his goals helped push the nightmares away.

Rayden stood up, pulled on a small set of clothes, one of the many Selene had made for him, and stepped out of his narrow cave.

Sunlight poured down, illuminating his face. It shone warmly, almost as if the world itself was smiling at him.

Rayden smiled back.

"Another peaceful day," he said softly.

Then he turned his head to the left.

"But will it stay that way?"

The forest answered him.

Wolves stood everywhere among the trees. Sixty of them at least. Their eyes locked onto him as his thoughts brushed against their minds.

A moment later, they howled together, the sound rolling through the forest like thunder.

A greeting.

To their lord.

Rayden was, after all, the lord of their leader. Which made him their leader as well.

"Where is Raoth?" Rayden asked through the mental link.

One of the wolves lowered its head in respect.

"The lord went to gather information about the other packs," it replied.

Rayden nodded.

That sounded like Raoth.

As if summoned by the thought, the forest exploded with movement.

A massive wolf burst through the trees, easily twice the size of the others. Two red horns curved from its head like a crown. Its dark fur gleamed with a refined, almost regal sheen.

It moved with the stride of a warrior and the presence of a ruler.

Raoth stopped in front of Rayden and bowed his head.

Rayden extended his hell influence, forming a private mind link between the two of them.

"So," Rayden said calmly. "What did you find?"

Raoth’s voice echoed in his mind.

"The Blue Horned Pack numbers eighty wolves. Their leader is close to breaking into Arc Four, first stage."

Rayden’s smile slowly faded.

His eyes sharpened.

"Eighty," he repeated.

A beat passed.

Then his lips curled upward.

"Looks like peace was never an option."

To be continued....

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