The Last Case

The land, faraway in the west

The other day, in the early morning, I was walking through the same farms, toward the shrine which was seen at the end of the farmland, where the farmlands met the woods.

I remember the young lady's words while we had dinner the other day. She sat opposite to me, with the muscular man, while the old man sat beside me. "You should stay tonight. It is already really late and we do have some extra space, an extra room," she then looked at the old man. "That is, if you allow." And the old man nodded without hesitation.

She caressed her baby's cheeks and the baby chuckled in laughter. "There is an old shrine just some distance away from the farmlands," she said. "You may consider visiting there tomorrow. Early morning is a sacred time frame on this day of the moon cycle. The moon is the closest to us and heavily influences, the structure of energies and places like sacred shrines would be much more effective in energies regulation."

"Should I be surprised, you know much about the flow of energies?"

The young lady smiled, "I read enough about energies and it's nature across these years."

"I have some work to do nearby," I replied. "After doing that I shall return and stay for the night. And I really thank you all for the hospitality."

The shrine was soaked in silence when I entered the big, stone gate of the vicinity. That was, before cutting through the air and as silent as the calm wind, a blade reached out to my skin from the back. My body vibrated harder than those communication devices. A strong chill and shivers came on my body and everything looked red for a split second. My body barely escaped the range and the hit when the long knife cut through my skin from the back. The figure was pushed ahead from the momentum, I balanced myself soon, calmed my body vibrations, and noticed the person. It was indeed him and I was far from being surprised.

I was still calm and maintaining it, trying to understand what he wanted. Every action we do has a purpose, a need and something we want. I wondered why all of a sudden, would he make his suspicions clear, instead of hiding his past and purpose.

He rushed again and he was fast. My hands revealed a thin, sharp blade and my hands swivelled, striking his blade. As it struck, my left hand vibrated with the shock of the strike and my body was thrown on the walls of the shrine, before falling on ground.

He had some commendable strength, all right. I pulled back the temptation of using the energies against him. I only wished to understand him and his side of the incident, and not fight him. As the young lady mentioned, the surroundings sure were showing the effect and I could feel this immense change, the growing flow of these energies. The way my body was moving without getting tired.

"I will never understand how these energies work in people of these nations," he said. And I could notice the gradually spreading blood inside the dressing on his belly.

"You are pushing yourself too much."

He dashed again, ignoring my words and reached toward me in no time. I shall say it was my muscle memory that kicked in and noticing the patterns after some time had passed since his first strike, my body moved, hands moved in proper patterns, evading and parrying his strikes.

Attack-parry counter-dash

Attack-parry counter-dash

Those were George's moves. As he used to say, these three are the basis of an effective pattern, simple yet effective, and least stamina-consuming. The dressing on his wound was losing with his every Move revealing his deep injury and the blood constant heat dripping out.

There was no way that wound could heal again, or recover any time.

He said, "Yes it was indeed me who killed that man, and burnt his farm- burnt a very small part of his massive, spread-out property, realising it is not the fault of his crops, for what he did to us."

And his attacks continued, oscillating between him, constantly pushing me back and then me, countering those with some use of energies and techniques, pushing him away again.

"That man has raped and forcefully used the other young female slave for his pleasures in a painful way, before killing her after her body could take it no more and she refused to obey him. That man had killed hundreds in the war- not for the service to the king, but purely for the pleasure of massacre, without realising the families and smiles he had destroyed," he breathed, "he was a monster."

"That reminds me of stories I heard recently."

I only had to keep myself alive for a little more time, until the pain of the wound on his body and the body fatigue kicks in, and his after-all-human body with no possession of energy control slows and shows its limits.

"So I," he said, again pushing me on the walls with his strikes. "I threatened the young lady with the child to not interfere or stop me when I show him hell. For I had seen the same things would repeat for her if the master was kept alive for even a single day. Yes, it was me-" he coughed, "me and-" he coughed blood out again for some time to the point his body got to his knees and the coughing continued. Then he calmed and breathed. "It was me, and only me, who was involved in taking him to hell. The leader and the general of the seventh strongest of the twenty groups of Jomkings under our leader. I was the one, the once-mighty warrior, who took other warriors to the sacred lands of the Valhalla and won over countries with my leader. I served the justice, and completed my redemption." He had a glorious smile.

I walked toward him after he was calm and, sitting on his knees, was looking down. One hand was on his bleeding wound, and the other still holding his knife, the blade of which was pressed in ground to stop his body from falling to the ground. The veins on his hands were shouting the strength of his grip. He was breathing heavily trying to calm himself, trying to focus.

I will not say it was completely unexpected, that as I let my guard down, and walked toward him to finally have a word, his strength returned more than ever just for a moment when he attempted his final strike on my neck.