THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: HIS AWAKENING I

”Hey sagiri, missed me?” He smiled widely and Sagiri felt oddly relieved and worried at the same time. He might have been good but the gut named rat’s smile had grown even wider watching the current scene. ”Don’t you dare die. That is a command from your senior.” he said, still drawing his bow to the fullest. He however did not release them in the direction of the leader again just like sagiri thought because that was the direction he was facing. He pulled the arrows back to the limit. in the split second before he released however, he turned around. and aimed at the two still engaged in battle with kaka and maita.

The arrows hit the ground where the two men had been standing. They barely saw it coming and they dodged just in time but that was a mistake because just at the same time he reached in his quiver and retrieved two and let them fly in the same direction. They did not have to miss this time and they hit. The one kaka was fighting was hit in the thigh and without his thigh he was no match for Kaka. Kaka took the opening created by lotaga yet again and he went for the man’s throat. The man blocked, however with all his might kaka fell to his hands and kicked the arrow deeper into his leg. He was did not look tired yet but sagiri could tell the two wore him out with cuts. The man groaned and fell back. Kaka jumped on him and slashed his arms. Without one limp he was no match for the beast of a boy. Even so he struggled a bit until kaka slit his throat ear to ear before stabbing him through the heart.

So much for killing with honour. Sagiri thought. His head was slightly held up by a fallen branch but he still could not move. just watch. the intruder fighting with maita had been struck in the chest with his chest. It was not close to his heart and he was struggling to breath or die. Maita stood on top of him with his dagger. Kaka finished and when he turned around his strides didn’t falter till he fell on one knee and drove his dagger into Maita’s assailant but he did not slit his throat this time.

”Coward.” Kaka said, rising to his feet. Maita was still frozen. seems unlike kaka who did not bat an eye before killing maita had actually never killed one. Kaka was truly deserving of his title as a king of Bami. He was efficient in all areas. Sagiri was starting to realize Kaka’s scorn towards him wasn’t personal. The boy just hated any show of weakness and incompetence and he was both. Even in the moment he was the one who needed saving yet again. Even with three dead and one injured. sagiri could not shake off the feeling that they were outnumbered.

”I see the salka brat has grown.” The leader said, looking at lotaga. salka brat? sagiri wondered. lotaga is Captain Salka’s child.

”Indeed have grown but you have remained ugly Tonga.” Lotaga’s smile widened and he bowed dramatically.

”I see salka did not teach you manners and how to respect your elders.” Tonga the leader snickered. It seemed as if he had a personal grudge against Salka.

”He did teach how to kill rogue captains though.” Lotaga said and sagiri froze. If Tonga was on the same level as Salka in battle then the only thing the three could do was run. He tried to open his mouth and tell them to leave. The intruders wanted him alive so there was no need for them to die for him. Tonga laughed a small condescending laugh as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard till he keeled over and clutched his stomach.

”I’m going to teach you something salka failed,” he started in a deadly tone that was void of any humor. ”how to shut up for good.” he said in a low tone and sagiri had never felt so helpless. All he could do was watch and he did not need to predict the future to know that if lotaga came alone he was going to lose to Tonga. He was good with the bow and arrow but if Tonga was half as good as Captain Salka then lotaga did not have many chances.

”Leave,” he tried to whisper something but nothing came out of his mouth.

lotaga turned to kaka and maita and whispered something. a second later maita disappeared into the tree line faster than wind but kaka did not move. lotaga must have told him to go and call for help. kaka on the other hand must have disobeyed. That was expectable since the guy would rather die than run from a fight or show weakness. Soon after a red flare went off in the direction maita had disappeared to but Tonga did not seem phased.

”So predictable like your captain. But before they react to your childish signal you will already be taking your last breath.” he threatened and his words barely left his mouth before he charged. sagiri almost missed his move. The next thing he saw was lotaga barely able to block with his bow and it shuttered in half. The man was moving way too fast and his twin axes aims were lethal and precise. He did not hesitate in his intent to finish lotaga. lotaga was barely able to retrieve his daggers to block the next attack which could have claimed his left arm. Tonga, being a rogue captain, was a dangerous opponent. Even sagiri could not imagine going against salka. He could be dead before the fight even began.

Kaka tried to jump in to help but he a kick to his middle body that even sagiri had not seen coming sent him into a smaller tree shattering it in half and it still could not stop the impact. kaka did not move for a long moment and if sagiri had not pushed himself to listen to his heart beat then he could have been convinced the boy was dead. lotaga was barely holding his own and he was spending more time on the defense. Tonga had broken two daggers already and lotaga could not dodge his attacks fast enough or attack back. The fight was too fast even for sagiri to keep up and he was surprised Lotaga had not died yet. Two attacks landed at the same time. One deep cut on Lotaga’s hip and another to his upper back both in close concessions. He staggered back in pain but tonga did not hesitate before attacking again, seconds later two more attacks landed and lotaga fell to his knees.

Lotaga bled from the four deep cuts. He was trying to hold his own but Tonga was just too much for him.

”Seems that you are going to die faster than I thought, Afterall.” He said, sharpening his twin axes against each other. He stood on top of lotaga who was bleeding profusely. He lifted one to attack but before he could he turned around. Kaka had managed to get up at some point and he tried to attack from behind but with another kick he was sent flying again into the back of a tree where he remained still for a second before he retched a mouthful of blood. Tonga was good even in perceiving his presence. He had not needed to turn to know kaka was sneaking up on him.

”Childish!” He cursed, turning around to give his attention to Lotaga. Lotaga on the other hand used Kaka’s opening to attack Tonga with a dagger aimed for his heart from his position on the ground but Tonga seemed to have predicted this too. The guy didn’t seem to have an opening at all. He was truly at captain level. He swatted the attack away with the back of his axe and drove the butt of his other axe to Lotaga’s head with so much force it sent him to the ground.

”Now in your next life, kid, try to be less mouthy.” Tonga said in a bored tone. He sharpened his axes together dramatically preparing for the final blow. to finish lotaga. The boy sitting on a branch had not moved an inch and he seemed even more entertained than ever. His hands periodically went to the hilt of the blade on his back and caressed softly as if seeing someone die brought fond memories to him. as if he wished it could have been him the whole time. Sagiri had never tasted such evil and it made the power within him stir in response.

as lotaga stood seconds from death and kaka barely holding on to life something stirred inside sagiri. he himself was standing at the jaws of death yet in his weakness he was about to cause the death of two people. he had never hated his weakness in that moment and a rot of self loath started deep within him. It disgusted him and nauseated him to a point he wanted to throw up. He watched in slow motion as Tonga approached Lotaga to render the final blow. He watched as he pulled back one axe and released it towards Lotaga’s skull. As the axe landed, Sagiri felt his own heart stop. lotaga barely moved away to avoid the attack and the axe sank so deep to the ground. He was trying his best to hang on to life but part of the exe’s head sank into the base of the neck making blood spatter.

Sagiri shut his eyes. Not in prayer but in disgust. disgust at himself. At the weakness. At the familiar truth that he was always watching, always being protected and he hated it. He wanted it to stop. I want it to stop. he screamed within himself so loud something within him broke. Something answered.

It did not rise like rage. It did not flare like heat. It unlatched. It felt like something inside of him had been waiting for him to open the door and let it free and he had. Deep inside him, past muscle and bone, past pain and fear, something old and patient broke its seal. Sagiri felt it before he understood it. his wounds knitting together without warmth, flesh closing as if it had never been torn. The ache vanished. The exhaustion peeled away and in its place something else replaced it. darkness.

The darkness moved. It did not pour out of him. It replaced him. Sagiri’s body went still as the world dimmed, sound collapsing inward. The ground no longer felt solid beneath him. His shadow stretched, then detached, spreading across stone like spilled ink. Where his presence had been, there was now absence weightless, lightless, wrong.

He opened his eyes. and his pupils had disappeared. his eyes matched his inside. Just then he realized he had always spent his life trying to keep a darkness he did not understand at bay and now that he was not fighting anymore it was actually the most alive he had felt. He was beginning to understand why he felt so alive even at the jaws of death. It’s because he did not have the strength to fight his darkness all along, the darkness was peaceful,

his eyes fell on the axe going for Lotaga’s skull and this time it was slow. Everyone around him barely had time to react when he finally moved. Sagiri crossed the distance without motion. No step. No wind. One moment he was far then he was there. The axe barely scratched lotaga and Tonga was sent flying into a few yards. Tonga was able to stop himself midway however before he could hit a tree trunk and he slid a few yards and came to a stop on one need and both his hands. sagiri had barely touched him even so. He looked down at himself and the markings on his body that had been silent for a while were now glowing illuminating the morning light.

Everyone gasped and even the boy that reeked of evil smiled. Sagiri’s urge to punish was even bigger now and as his eyes stared down at lotaga’s battered face the urge burned violently. The darkness he had always tried to hold back burned with so much hatred. lotaga looked at him with swollen eyes, totally at a loss for words.

”What the hell?!” Tonga cursed getting to his feet.

”How is he able to move, his guts are out.” The star tattoo said. He had managed to break the arrow but he was still clutching it. Sagiri looked down and truly his wounds had not been completely sealed yet he did not feel any pain. On the contrary he felt like something far much better than blood was pumping his heart and life into him.

”Guess this is what being alive feels like.” sagiri said to himself before popping his neck vertebrae. He turned around slowly and everyone froze.

”What the hell is he?” one intruder asked.

”Kill him!” Tonga said and the four with no injuries hesitated before they charged.