"What the hell happened? What's going on?!?" Kanato said as he ran through the woods in a panic, his heart racing as he reached the edge of the village just in time to see several small houses on fire.

{Was it monsters?!? Bandits?!?} (Kanato)

*WOOSH* *CRACK* *CRASH*

As he ran into the village, one of the houses partially collapsed, causing its wall to fall toward him, which he cut in half revealing a gruesome sight within. "Oh my god. Oh my god!" He turned away from the partially charred body of a woman on the floor. "What the fuck?!?"

*GRRR*

Before Kanato could collect his thoughts or wretch at what he'd just seen his attention was turned toward the growling beast that appeared from his right. The creature was huge and had the body and face of a lion but its mane and tail puff was made of flame instead of fur. It was a creature he'd seen before during his travels, a Fulgor. They were dangerous fire monsters that hailed the Burning Wilds, and never should've been somewhere so far North without external influence.

"You bastard!" Kanato flashed toward the roaring beast, severing its head from its body in a single stroke.

*THUMP*

In a flash the monster's head hit the ground with a thud, the flames disappearing as its lifeless body followed suit. Such a creature would give the average adventurer a bit of a problem, but for Kanato a lone Fulgor was nothing to worry about.

"Why the hell is there a Fulgor here?!? They live in the Southern mountains!" Kanato yelled in frustration as he continued into the village after hearing the sound of a woman's scream, only to find that he'd been a second too late as another Fulgor turned her to ash with its breath just as he arrived. "Nooo!" He screamed as his blade lit up with blue energy as his eyes burned with anger. "You fucking bastard!"

*ROAR*

The Fulgor roared mightily but was ultimately felled as quickly as its companion was, this time eviscerated by wind magic that tore it to shreds in seconds from a single slash of the Hero's blade

*WOOSH* *SWISH* *ZWIP*

"Huahhhhhhhhhhh!" Kanato screamed as the beast was vanquished. "Where did they come from?!? Did someone bring them here?!?"

{I know people can tame and summon monsters, but why would they bring Fulgors to this tiny no-name village?!? Capturing one of those would take a huge amount of effort! So why attack a place like this when they'd normally be used by militaries?!?} (Kanato)

"Dammit! Argh! No use thinking about any of that right now! I need to put out these fires and wipe out any other monsters before more people die!" Kanato said as he thrust his blade into the air, and used his magic to cause a quick rainstorm to put out the fire across the village. Read full story at NovєlFіre.net

*TISS* *TISS* *TISS* *TISS*

The fire's quickly went out due to the rain, something that made Kanato breath a sigh of relief.

"That's gotta get their attention if there really is a summoner around here. I took out two of there pets and caused a rainstorm, so I doubt they'll stay hidden." Kanato said just as he took off toward John and Debra's inn. Sure he was worried about the other villagers, but he found himself prioritizing the two people who took him in and showed him genuine kindness when he first arrived. "I just hope I'm quick enough! Please be okay!"

*KI* *KI* *KI*

"Now we've got goblins?!?" Kanato yelled in exasperation as a group of regular goblins and their hob counterparts leaped out from behind a group of houses in an attempt to ambush him. "I ain't got time for small fry! MOVE!"

*SLICE* *SWISH* *SWOOSH* *FLASH*

"Urk..." In a flash dozen or so monsters were sliced to pieces by Kanato's sword. Naturally, none of these monsters stood a chance against a Hero, but they were more than enough to terrorize the small undefended village and his heart raced as he imagined what they'd done to the rest of the villagers. He hadn't seen anyone else alive, and feared that no one was left alive at this point.

"Almost there... John! Debra!" Kanato called out to the two innkeepers as he stopped in front of their home, noting that the front door had been kicked in. "Fuck!" As he bolted inside Kanato was greeted by the surprising sight of several dead goblins, but the joy at seeing so many dead monsters was quickly dashed away as he laid eyes upon, a man in a black robe who had John by the throat while Debra lay on the floor, her head slowly bleeding and forming a puddle next to her.

{Its got to be him! This asshole oozes with evil!} (Kanato)

"Oh? Who've we got here?" The hooded man said as he threw John to the floor, which caused his head to crack against a nearby table, knocking him out. "I wasn't aware a backwater place like this had anything more than stupid villagers. Our intel gathering seems to be slipping. I'll have to address that later." He said before turning to face Kanato, his cloak and hood making it hard for Kanato to see his facial features.

"You monster! Are you the one controlling these monsters?!?" Kanto yelled as he pointed his blade at the hooded man.

"No, I'm afraid it was the other guy. Didn't you see him? He ran right past you." The hooded man laughed as he mocked Kanato.

"You think this is funny?!?" Kanto growled as he channeled magic into his blade, ready to kill the man right then and there.

"I'm sorry. I just can't help but laugh at all you Hero types." The hooded man said as he snapped his fingers and summoned two large gargoyles from a pair of dark swirling vortexes. "But I guess I should count myself lucky. You'll make a fine sparing partner for these two and I'll get some useful data, so this is actually a most fortuitous turn of events."

"Do you think this is some kind of game?!?" Kanato said as he flashed forward, instantly cutting the two gargoyles to ribbons, shocking the hooded man who leaped away to avoid being attacked next. "People like you make me sick! You kill innocent people for nothing but your own disgusting bullshit!"

{Interesting. Those monsters are more than capable of picking apart mid to low-high-ranking adventurers, but this boy cut them down like they were nothing. Hmm... Perhaps he would make good fuel rather than just a sparring partner.} (Hooded Man)

"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all." The hooded man said as he kicked the wall behind him, knocking it down to provide a bit more space to move. "I'll admit I underestimated you, and as an apology, I'll make sure to give you a real challenge." He said as dozens of goblins poured into the inn, quickly flowed by two Fulgor's smashing through the wall behind Kanato and catching him off guard.

{They're trying to princer me?} (Kanato)

"I don't think so!" Kanato yelled as he swung his blade around in a flourish, twisting his weapon and creating a blast of magic power that sliced through the goblins and covered the inside of the inn with blood before turning to the Fulgor, kicking one in the jaw and sending it flying back out of the inn before flashing to the other and running his blade down its length, splitting it open like a fish being deboned.

*SHINK*

"Now die!" Kanato roared as he grabbed the bleeding Fulgor by the tail and tossed it toward its wounded companion just outside. "Burst!"

*WOOSH*

A moment later, a flash of light shot from Kanato's hand, streaking toward the pair of Fulgor who were engulfed by the attack, leaving nothing but ash.

{What?!? What the hell is this kid?!?He killed two Fulgor in an instant?!? How is this possible?!? No normal adventurer can defeat two that quickly!} (Hooded Man)

"You... Who the hell are you, kid? A normal adventurer would have trouble with one Fulgor, but to defeat two so quickly." The hooded man clicked his tongue. “I suppose I've underestimated you for a second time. Fool me twice and all that.”

"Hiyuki. Kanato Hiyuki." Kanato said as he spun back around around, giving the man a death glare that seemed at odds with his usual boyish expression. "I've killed countless men like you since I've arrived in this world. Disgusting, evil men who want nothing more than to bring this world despair!" He yelled.

{The Empire's Hero?!? Here?!? In this backwater no name village?!? At this very moment?!? Just to foil my plans?!?} (Hooded Man)

"Oh? You got quiet." Kanato smirked. He might've been unable to see the hooded man's face but he could tell that the revelation that he was a Hero had caught him off guard. "So I take it you know who I am."

"The Imperial 'Hero', yes I've heard of you." The Hooded man said as he slowly removed his hood, revealing himself to be Valuru, one of Labrys' right hands. "You're actually the second Hero I've had the displeasure of meeting." He laughed. "Though he wasn't much more than a blowhard drunk on his own power."

"Muichiro." Kanato said through clenched teeth. “So he did get back to Enoris.”

"Ah yes, that was his name." Valuru nodded. "And if I recall correctly he was calling out for you to save him, right up into the moment he was snuffed out

."

"You bastard!" Kanato yelled as he attempted to move forward to strike him but found that his body wouldn't move.

{What?!? Did he cast some kind of spell on me?!?} (Kanato)

"He made a fine acquisition though, and besides he was such a disgusting man that you should be grateful that he died. Hells, one couldn't call that a Hero by any metric." Valuru chuckled as Kanato continued to try and move toward him, but was unable to move a muscle. "He raped countless women, stole whatever he wanted, and was generally a disgusting Human being. It makes my stomach churn thinking that his body ended up being put to use as my Master's vessel, but hmmm." He paused, eyeing up Kanato. "Perhaps we could make an exchange. You're more powerful than that man, so maybe..." He began to channel some kind of dark power, causing Kanato's hair to stand on edge.

{MOVE! WHY WON'T MY BODY MOVE?!?} (Kanato)

"I really don't like dirtying my hands with grunt work, but sometimes... Well, I guess there is always a certain kind of satisfaction from doing it myself." Valuru smirked as he held his hand out and charged up a purple ball of crackling energy, ready to unleash an attack that Kanato feared would do significant damage to the village.

{MOVE! PLEASE! I CAN'T LET HIM KILL THESE PEOPLE! I'LL PRAY TO WHOEVER I NEED TO! GODS. DEMON LORDS. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP THEM!} (Kanato)

"Now, I think it's time we-" Valuru paused as a three blasts of light magic showed toward him, leaping backward to avoid taking direct hits. "What?" His attention snapped to the origin of the blasts, the three Fairies that had accompanied Kanato on his journey.

"Guys!" Kanato's eyes lit up with hope as he saw them unleash a barrage of magic at Valuru.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

"Pests!" Valuru hissed as he created a magic shield to protect himself. "Why are Greater Fae from the Whistlewoods here?!? Bah!" He yelled as his barrier began to crack. “What reason could you have to interfere?!?

"Keep going!" Kanato yelled. “Drive him back!”

"For the Soup!" (Faries)

"Aahhhhhhh!" Valuru yelled as the Faries blasts overwhelmed his shield, causing an explosion and flash of light that, once it disappeared, seemed to indicate that he'd been vaporized.

"You did it!" Kanato cheered, finding that his body could once again be moved. “You're amazing!”

"Nobody hurts the Soup!" The three Fairies said with a satisfied smile.

"You three and your soup." Kanato rolled his eyes before turning to the injured Innkeepers. "Can you two start healing everyone? I'm going to look for that bastard."

"He vanish." One of the male Fairies noted that he was gone and that they couldn't sense his magic anywhere nearby.

"Is he dead?" Kanato asked, his question returned with shrugs from the Fairies.

{He's definitely not. I know how this trope works. If you don't see a body it's almost 100% guaranteed they're not dead, and even then it's still a coin toss. Fuck... Why couldn't I...} (Kanato)

"Fan out and start healing everyone, I'll do what I can to help too." Kanato shook his head before instructing the Faries to split up and begin healing the villagers. With the three of them gone Kanato was left alone as he walked through the hole in the wall to where Valuru stood moments prior.

"Why... Why couldn't I move? It didn't seem like he was the cause..." Kanato asked himself quietly as he flexed his hand, baffled by his body's sudden refusal to act. He'd never experienced something like that before and deep in his mind he began to worry who or what had caused it.