Shinobi From Hell

Klautz took a deep breath.

"Remember Klautz you can get lots of chances to kill her later. And she is not Armand, she is no puppeteer. With her skills she could be only be a thief," Klautz reminded himself. In reality she could be much more than a 'thief' but Klautz used that to remind himself how less of an importance she had in the grand scheme of things.

Evelyn's powers were similar to Hanley, the great thief. Cursed by the merchants and worshiped by the weak he was an infamous celebrity in hell. Of course if there were people who rose up to ninja hood there can also be people that rose up to Robin hood.

Yup, that's what Hanley did. He stole from the rich and served the poor and he had never been caught in his life. He was one of those unsung heroes of Hell. There was a time that merchants used to exhort high prices from the weak using strength to oppress them. But the merchants changed with his debut for fear that they would have their goods stolen if they dared to extort the weak. For nothing they did was of any use against a thief like him.

Klautz turned around back to Stefan who tried his best to pull himself.

"Should I kill him?" Klautz asked himself but shook his head the next moment. "There is no point in that." This was another reason why he didn't want to take this detour. Stefan was already at death's door. Who knows how far he would be able to take him to that girl before he collapses?

Klautz turned around in the opposite direction to Stefan and disappeared into the burning forest to continue his quest to kill the marble golem.

*Cough* *Cough*

Smoke and ashes were churning around him. Oxygen levels had seeped to the bare minimal. With no oxygen and the suffocating atmosphere, Stefan was having trouble to breathe properly.

He felt all the energy in his body being drained along with the draining blood. His unattended wound weakened him to no degree. Klautz was twice as strong as himself. Taking his blow head on? Was probably not a great idea.

He could barely move and was pulling himself with the last bit of strength he had. At least, he could get out of the forest fire there was some hope left for him.

*Thud*

He collapsed on his face not being able to move another step. The air around him was burning hot which made him perspire to no degree but alas, unlike what one would expect his heart was already out cold.

*Crash*

A burning tree branch fell from the sky. The branch was just like him abandoned by its parent tree and now burning in despair. The fire from the beach caught onto everything around it. Little by little the fire traveled closer to Stefan as if to manifest his misery.

His instincts told him to move away... to save himself, but his body won't listen. He was beyond helping. Before even his body could catch onto the fire he felt his consciousness fading away as his soul left his body.

His eyes drooped as his life flashed across his eyes. His life was a mess, he couldn't even count how many times he wanted to die. Shouldn't he be happy that he was dying now?

Yet after the series of misery he met Evelyn, he found her to be greatly similar to himself. She was a good natured girl whose smile seemed to make him forget all of his past miserable life. For others being summoned to hell might be their worst nightmare but for him? It was a release... a release from his past. He didn't wanted to die anymore.

Yet did he regret his actions that led to his death? No, he doesn't.

Throughout his life he had wanted someone to take a stand for him but his wish was never fulfilled. But at least in his last moments he could take a stand for someone else. He was satisfied.

His life was coming to an end. He remembered Evelyn's smile and found all of his pain disappearing into a smoky mist.

"Hope you are safe…"

"Eli..."

Those very words turned out to be Stefan's last breath.

***

"Do you think he is fine?" Verona asked. Her pupils shook as she seemed genuinely worried. Her gaze switched from the burning forest to Selena and then back to the forest not able to stay in one place.

"This is the fourth time I am repeating this but he is fine. I can feel it!" Selena claimed.

Even though they had found Klautz disappearing amongst the forest fire, Selena was fairly certain that Klautz was alive. She could just feel it as if she is connected to him somehow. But she couldn't help but clench her hands in front of her heart in worry.

How much should she trust her instinct? She was not sure. Traveling with Klautz for a day she had witnessed the madness that was going on in these islands. If something were to happen to Klautz, she wasn't sure if there were any chances of her survival.

*Swish*

The wind blew and as if escalated the fire all the more. It rose to the sky as it adorned a reflection in Verona's blue eyes.

"Shouldn't we go and look for him?" She turned back to Selena as her lips pursed in impatience.

Verona had once went on that direction to help Klautz but was pulled back by Selena once the area was caught onto fire. And before the fire could escalate any further they had escaped to the other side of a water body to ensure their own safety. Before they had realized they were back to the place Klautz had instructed them to stay behind at.

***

Author:

Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones!

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