Agent Atlantis

Chapter 3-Hellfire

A/N--enjoy the second BC chapter! I'm just trying to get back on schedule :) love your support fam!

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One month later

Warzone of Central Artema

Hellfire. Quite the name, isn't it?

It wasn't given to Luke for his non-existent pyromaniac powers nor his "devilish" fighting tactics; in truth, the townspeople gave him the name and spread it through the subcontinent as he helped people.

According to the rumors, he was fire from hell that had appeared on earth to raze criminals to the ground.

That kept him going; he was after criminals—labeled as that not for political purposes, but just because they were terrible people. He was doing the right thing. He was helping.

Or he thought he was.

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The summer afternoon was pleasant. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sun smiled gently toward the ground. Soft wind buffets carried dandelion seeds through the air while cooling the evening.

Luke walked through the village with a slight smile on his face. He hadn't been able to experience this type of pleasant weather in god-knows-how-long—and it just had to be in Porthgal.

It was a quaint town surrounded by flat plains on every side, which made it ideal for farming. Unfortunately for the townspeople, the village lay right on the border of West Artena, meaning they had no choice but to obey every demand of West Artema. 

Otherwise, their chief would be replaced by a governor from the country.

For this reason, Luke had chosen to debut his Hellfire career here a month ago, freeing the people from heavy taxation, unfair tariffs, and oppression (A/N-Remind you of something?). It really didn't require much effort, as there'd been a grand total of five West Artenian soldiers guarding the place, with a panic button nearby; it really didn't require much firepower to control a few hundred people. 

The townspeoples' gratefulness had been too . . . obnoxious for Luke, causing the teenager to flee and decide never to revisit the town.

Until now. He had caught some intel suggesting West Artema was starting to invade Central Artenian cities again. And that was not acceptable to Hellfire.

Of course, Liam wasn't wearing the traditional garb of the famous figure—most often denoted with a baseball cap and a rifle—but a cloak with a hood. Passersby glanced at him suspiciously, but none suspected a thing about his identity.

Luke reached an inn in the central plaza. It was housed in a small, two-story wooden building with only enough space for a few dozen occupants. Despite this, the aroma of cooked food wafted through the windows, and Luke found his mouth watering. Usually, the teenager would save rest for the end of the day after beating up all the bad guys. However, he had just completed the four-hour non-stop journey to the border and was fatigued. 

Luke veered off the path, grabbing the handle of the inn's door—

A scream sounded into the air. It was distant, but Luke could still make out its pleading tone.

I guess I will have to take a rain check on that soup, Luke thought, glancing regretfully at the inn. And then he bounded towards the victim.

Well . . . he speed-walked. His muscles screamed for rest after riding a horse for hours, as automobiles were nearly extinct in Central Artena—since the Western and Eastern Artenian military confiscated luxury items to benefit their side.