An advanced tier beast like the Hypolord was no match for Kazz. After all, before vampires could come of age and either evolve into a vampire noble or go through the ceremony, they were told to kill ten death bats which were also at the advanced level.
There was never a worry in Kazz's mind that she would die. Freddy had taken them to a quiet area, there was no one else around, it was his secret spot, and he himself didn't seem too strong. If she needed to use something like super strength, they could try to explain it away. Or worse, they could remove his memory.
She thought of all these things when she decided to give the big Hypolord a punch straight through its mouth. However, she didn't expect her body to suddenly be transported, so it was back fully on land.
And in her place, Freddy was there, she could see the look in Freddy's eyes as the Hypolord's mouth shut. He wasn't frightened, he wasn't scared, instead, he was smiling.
'Why are you smiling? Your weak body will be crushed' And in less than a second, it was just that. The one thing the Hypo creatures had was a deathly strong and fast jaw. After a single snap, it repeatedly opened and closed it's mouth again.
'Why would someone weaker than me, why would that idiot do that for me?' Although she didn't understand his actions, it seemed like her body was reacting, a thick heavy lump was felt in her throat. She had only known him for less than a day, what was this strange feeling?
Before she knew it, she could see Quinn running out. He had placed his shadow in front of him, allowing him to run out onto the water. His feet would sink into the shadow slowly, but his foot was already lifting before he took the next step.
The shadow path eventually reached the Hypolord and surrounded it. It's mouth that was moving fast, was now moving slowly.
This was one of Quinn's new skills called shadow path. From himself, he would throw a path of shadow onto the ground. Whatever set foot on it would be slowed for a short amount of time, and soon the shadow would start to disappear.
The only problem was, the shadow path was slow to come out, and it could only move in a straight line once thrown. Making it easy for one to avoid, but perfect for slow-moving beasts like this one, who were fast in certain areas.
Wasting no time, Quinn hopped on to the Hypolord's back. Using his fist in a claw-like manner, he pounded right through its skull until he reached the brain. He squeezed down, trying to crush it. Anything to stop its movements.
"Damn it, the others, they're going after him as well!" Paul shouted as he noticed the twenty or so Hypocen that were left, now weren't by the shore. In its struggle, the Hypolord moved further into the waters, and it looked like his friends were coming to its aid.
"Shadow void." Soon a large dome-like shadow encased all of them.
"Can we go in there, should we help him?" Paul asked, not having a clue what was going on. Paul hadn't seen Quinn fight properly. He had been busy fighting Leo at the time and didn't know Quinn's strength. However, he did expect Quinn to have some type of power. Otherwise, no one would have listened to his suggestions when saving his life.
Paul looked to Kazz for answers, but she seemed to just be standing there, unsure what to do.
'Was it an ability?' She thought. 'He said the words swap. Moving his position and mine.'
"Quinn don't die, I need you alive!" Paul shouted.
Then, a few moments later, and the shadow dome came down. The Hypocen were seen floating about in the water. Parts of their bodies detached. The lord's mouth had been ripped open and now in Quinn's hands standing on top of his shadow, was a body. A lifeless body and a tag in his hand.
There didn't need to be any questions asked. They were sure of it. Freddy was dead.
[Congratulations, you are now level 30]
A message popped up with a few others, but Quinn simply ignored the system. He had gained a lot of exp for killing a new type of beast he had never defeated before. Also, form those by the river and by the waterfall.
Still, there was nothing to be congratulated about.
Quinn went ahead and started to place body parts building what he could of Freddy back together. Meanwhile, Kazz began to collect crystals from the beasts Quinn had killed. Nobody asked her to, nobody said anything.
Paul went ahead to get Fex from the others, he didn't say much but just that Quinn needed him. When he came back with Quinn, Fex's mouth was left wide open. He wanted to ask what happened, how it happened but now was not the right time.
With Fex's string, he tied up the body parts, trying to sow what he could together again.
"Can I save him?" Quinn asked.
"No, Quinn. There is nothing in this world that can bring back the dead." Fex replied.
"But he had a family." Quinn started to sob. "His kids were expecting him to come home tonight…He said he planned to give them a nice surprise tonight!" Quinn started to raise his voice. "What the hell are they meant to do now!! He came with us because he thought it would be safer."
So many different emotions were going through Quinn, from anger to sadness, and now he was just tired, as he collapsed on the floor falling to his knees.
"Let's go back, Quinn," Fex said.
Fex thought it was best to try and avoid the other groups. Kazz carried all of Freddy's belongings, and Fex was the one who had Freddy tied to his back with a lot of string. The least they could do was bring back his body in one piece.
While walking, they could see the shelter in sight. Finally, they were out of the hilly area.
"Wait!" Kazz said, "This isn't the area Freddy took us through on the way here."
Quinn wasn't listening and instead was just walking upfront ahead. Suddenly, out from the ground, a lizard-like creature had popped up.
A single swing of Quinn's arm and a single line of blood swipe had come out. The beast was ripped in half.
[Intermediate tier beast killed]
[300 exp granted]
[1700/51,200]
This was bad Fex though, did Quinn not even care anymore. On the way here Freddy had taken them the route where no beast would appear, that way they could use all of the strength for hunting the beast.
Quinn couldn't believe he had doubted him when all he really was trying to do was help them. If he had just used his shadow from the beginning, would any of this have happened? If he had used all of his strength?
This was what was going through Quinn's mind.
"This is what happens in war," Paul said. "People die, Quinn. People who have families. The military had to be tough on those who were weak. We had to be strict, so no infighting would have ever happened."
"I know..I know!" Quinn shouted.
When they returned to the shelter gate, the guard that greeted them took their tags to scan them again.
"There should be five of you, where is the fifth one." He asked.
Quinn opened up his hand to reveal a bloody tag, and then the guard could see something on one of their backs.
The guard quickly took the tag and placed it into his machines, and when seeing the traveller ID he could also see the name. "Freddy! Freddy's dead. Head over to the base immediately and report this all to Blip."
They did as they were told, and they met in the assembly room. Standing there was Nate, Sam, Blip, and Linda while Freddy's body laid on the ground.
Blip looked heartbroken. Paul was the one who had given the report of the events, as it seemed like Quinn was unable to.
"Freddy was a good man, he's been at this base for a long time." Blip said. "Before the civil war, he was a simple market seller. He sold maps and beast glossaries to Travellers. When the Crows were in trouble, he volunteered to become a Traveler, helping out the new recruits not wanting to see anybody get hurt.
"I knew something like this would happen to you one day. Your heart was too kind for this world, and you were given a curse of an ability with it.
"Although I am angry that a dear friend of mine has passed away, I can not blame you guys for this. Things happen, and it doesn't seem like there was anything you could have done to prevent it. However, you aren't completely free. I want you to report to his family of his passing. Tell his wife and kids to come meet me."
They were dismissed and given the location of Freddy's home. Nate looked at all of them, wondering what happened.
'I'm just going to check on them." Nate said as he rushed out of the room.
"We haven't had a death in a month, Blip, a month!" Linda said. "The others are going to learn of this. Everyone knew Freddy, and it could bring the group's morale down. If you ask me, they're more trouble than they're worth." Linda said.
Blip walked over to Freddy, who was hardly recognisable, but there was one thing that had remained on his face. "You see this, Linda." Blip said. "He's smiling. Do you think Freddy would have just saved anyone's life? May you rest in peace, my good friend."
Nate had eventually caught up with Quinn, it wasn't hard, since they seemed to be walking incredibly slow out of the place. "Hey Quinn, are you okay?" Nate asked, touching his shoulder and turning him around.
Quinn's eyes were fierce, and it startled Nate slight, he could see his fist was tense too.
"It was my fault," Quinn said. "I'm sick of this, sick of it all, and I'm sick of hiding. I won't let that happen again, not in front of my own eyes."
Nate could see and feel this shift in Quinn, it was a turning point, but perhaps not just for him, but soon for all of the Crows as well.
*****
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