Mysterious Voice

Neil, riding his horse, spotted corpses at a distance; he turned his head for a while and saw riders chasing him. Looking forward, he muttered, "There is no time for that.”

He switched the gem with a transparent-looking one and pointed his sword forward. A strong gush of wind moved out of his blade; it made an invisible wall between them and the smell.

After a few minutes, Neil entered a region filled with corpses; Kentio was not affected by it and moved forward. While the riders' horses hesitated when the smell reached their noses, the riders tried to move them, but nothing seemed to work.

Neil, instead of running, turned his horse back; he swung his sword from the flat side. The riders were confused for a while, but then their horses started to move back. A strong, rotten flesh smell reached their noses; it was so unbearable some of them fainted in a few minutes.

The horses ignored their riders' orders and pulled them back; the riders' leader saw Neil disappear in front of his eyes. In frustration, he pulled his horse's reins; the horse started to run in panic, dropping him on the ground.

His eyes were filled with anger; while standing, he tapped his clothes to remove the dust. He pushed a rider closer to him; unable to maintain his balance, that person fell while he climbed onto that horse. That person tried to resist, but he ignored him and moved forward. The riders looked towards that man on the ground and then towards their leader; they followed after their leader.

After traveling for 20 minutes, they spotted Neil. “Not again,” Neil muttered while looking towards them. He jumped off his horse's back and let him rest for a while.

While he stabbed his blade into the ground, several tiny stones were launched into the air; Neil swung his blade. Some stones cracked under the force, while for the rest, they flew towards the riders.

Neil repeated this for a while, then moved forward; those stones directly hit the soldiers in the front row, killing the majority of them, but their leader survived somehow.

Neil switched the gem with a red one; he concentrated his magic and swung his sword. A bright red slash moved towards a rider; that person raised his sword to block, but the sword melted like butter, cutting through his torso.

The person next to him could smell cooked flesh; in curiosity, he pushed a little. That person's upper body fell onto the ground while his horse, unaware of the same, was still carrying the other half forward.

“Not again,” Neil muttered, looking at his flickering flames; he was taking deep breaths to calm himself, but it wasn't working.

“Something is wrong with him,” the riders' leader muttered and started closing the gap between them. Pointing his spear, he charged while screaming, “Just die already!”

The flames disappeared from Neil's sword; his left hand was on his chest, and as for his right hand, around his head.

When the riders' leader was in range, Neil just hit the tip of his spear with precise power; his speed was too much for him to handle. Neil, aware of the same, simply put his sword in front; that person stabbed himself.

After the death of their leader, the riders scattered and stopped following Neil. But as an extra precaution, Neil didn't return back to the camp directly; rather, he decided to move around.

Roughly for 40 minutes, he was moving around, and then, ensuring everything was okay, he headed towards his camp.

After 30 to 40 minutes, Neil reached the Dentor region; as he was moving through the camp, the soldiers were greeting him, which he responded to with a smile.

Neil, while looking at them, was thinking, “Looks like they have recovered.” Neil took a big sniff. “And this smell,” he muttered and followed the smell.

He stopped in front of a tent which was made by joining multiple tents in a series. “So what do we have today?” Neil asked, entering those tents.

“Greetings, Commander, have a seat,” someone running from the kitchen said. “It's alright, Deniyour,” Neil said, sitting at a table while taking the water offered by him.

“Masala Paneer with matar aachar,” Deniyour said with a smile. “Nice. Serve the soldiers first; I will rest for a while,” Neil said, returning the glass back.

When Neil moved out, one of his guards greeted him and helped him to navigate to his tent. While Neil moved in and lay on his bed, that guard simply stood at the left side of Neil's tent.

After some time, Neil woke up; he stood upright in his bed. He moved his hand around his belly for a while, then moved out of his tent.

Within a few minutes, he reached the mess area; as he entered, he saw the soldiers were eating and enjoying their time. Not to disturb them, he moved out and entered from the kitchen area.

”Commander Neil, how are you now?“ Deniyour came near and asked. ”I am fine. Anyway, how many soldiers haven't eaten yet?“ Neil asked.

Deniyour thought for a while and then continued, ”The majority of them are eating in the open air, as for the soldiers sitting in the mess area, probably they are the second to last batch.“

”Okay, what about you and the others? Did you eat something?“ Neil asked, looking towards the kitchen staff.

"Yes, we have already eaten," Deniyour replied and continued while moving towards the fire, "Wait for a little longer; I will prepare food for you." Neil replied, ”No need. If there is extra, I will eat what the soldiers are eating.“ Neil looked towards his face and then continued, ”I am actually feeling...“ before he could complete, his stomach made some noise.

”I will be quick,“ Deniyour said, heating the masala paneer, while Neil carried water and washed his hands out of the tent. He put the jug on the table and started waiting for his food; Deniyour arrived with the food in his hands.

Neil started with a big sniff; as that aroma reached his nose, his mouth started watering. Not wasting any time, he went straight for it; with the first bite, his face was filled with genuine emotions. ”So, did you like this? Usually, you are served quite different food,“ Deniyour asked while he was playing with his fingers in anticipation.

”I was not feeling that great, but when I get such food to eat, there is nothing to complain about. Your food is always just amazing; I am simply in love with your cooking."

”Thank you. It is my honor that you like my food this much, but...“ Deniyour tried to say but remained quiet as he saw how much Neil was enjoying his food.

Neil, while taking another bite, asked, ”Do you want to say something?“ Deniyour moved his head in no. Neil continued, ”Ok, so can you bring me seconds?“

Deniyour went to bring seconds. While Neil used the backrest, he didn't realize what happened until he heard some noise and gentle shaking.

”What... what happened?“ Neil said while yawning and stretching his arms. As his eyes opened, he saw Deniyour's face in front of his eyes.

”What happened? Why are you crying?“ Neil asked, but he said nothing; he turned his face and wiped those tears. ”I thought... I mean,“ Deniyour wasn't sure how to say that. Neil, with a smile on his face, said, ”Don't worry, I am okay.“

Deniyour said, lowering his head, ”Sorry, but because of me, you have to eat normal food.“

Neil, in confusion, stopped his bite midway. ”What was that? I asked you to bring this food and you did. There is nothing to be sorry about this. Besides, any food you make is just delicious.“

Neil continued enjoying his food while Deniyour said in a low voice, ”Only if I had those ingredients, then maybe you would have recovered.“ Neil's hands stopped. Deniyour realized his mistake and said, ”I didn't mean to... I was just...“

Neil, focusing on his food, said, ”Don't worry, I have recovered a lot because of your food.“ He clenched his hands under the table, and then he quietly muttered, ”I only need more time, just a bit more.“

«Find that sword, FIND THAT SWORD», without any warning, a voice appeared in his head. It started repeating itself; Neil covered his ears, but it didn't help.

With each passing second, the sound only increased; his head was spinning and beating, and his eyes were covered in tears. He struggled to keep his balance and then he crashed onto the ground. Deniyour heard the thud sound and rushed towards Neil. ”Commander, Commander, are you alright?“ Deniyour tried to speak, but Neil was still struggling.

”Call a chemist!“ Deniyour shouted. The kitchen staff moved to help while one went to call him.

They put Neil back to his seat. Within a few minutes, a soldier rushed in, followed by the chemist.

Without any words, he started inspecting Neil's condition, and then he put something into Neil's mouth; within seconds, Neil started to feel better than before.

When Neil was stable enough, Deniyour moved forward and greeted the chemist; after greetings, he said, “Sir, it looks like it is starting again.” The chemist, who was inspecting Neil's condition, nodded his head in yes.

He took a deep breath. “As I have told you earlier, I have no cure for him, but maybe that special food of yours can slow the process. But now...” he left his words incomplete.

He handed Deniyour a circular box. “This medicine will at least ease his suffering for the time being. Apply this gently to his forehead; his brain will relax and he will probably be fine after a good rest."

He headed out, but then he stopped just before the exit; without turning his head, he said, "Before I go, remember one thing: neither my medicine nor your food can cure him; they can just slow the process.”

Neil struggled to open his eyes; with his closed eyes, he said, “Chemist Amierto, thank you for always helping me.”

“I am doing just my job, and you do yours, Neil,” he said without turning towards Neil and walked out of the tent.

He started to move out of the camp; as he was moving out, his emotions were flowing in the form of tears. Unable to control them, he ran towards a single tree at a distance.

Hiding behind the tree, he started to cry, while at the same time trying to control his voice, “I am sorry, Neil. I can't cure you. Only if... only if I had more knowledge. Then maybe I could find a solution for your problem... if only...”.

After crying for a while, something changed in him; it felt like his eyes were burning with a strange determination.

He wiped his tears and said, “There is no time for crying or giving up. There must be another way; I just have to find it."

He moved forward, his balance a little off; using his left hand, he got support from the tree. Looking towards Neil's tent, he said, "Just hold on, Neil. Just hold on for some more time. I will find a cure for you, no matter the cost."

What was that voice? Friend or foe, or a mere hallucination of Neil?

This is a story for another time.

Next time on Seventh Slayer of Acroniya

"Why is no one listening to me... Who are you... WHAT?! WHY?!"

"I am Rentio. I ordered them not to listen to you..."

Chapter 7: Rentio