Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) by V.A. Lewis (autobiographies to read .TXT) 📕

that?" I stared up at the young man. "I don’t think she likes the name. If she did, she would’ve told me about it. But she didn’t." My voice came out soft, barely a whisper.

Victor blinked, then sighed. "Very well. You have my apologies and my condolences. But the Fi— your mother, was someone I looked up to. Truth be told, I would have loved to have met her, but she disappeared when I was only a child. Believe me, her loss is truly a tragic one for us all."

"Thank you." I bowed my head slightly.

"Of course." Victor rubbed a finger on his nose and sniffed. "Now, I’m sure you have more questions to ask of me, and I do have some for you as well. But I don’t believe it would be wise for us to stand around here any longer," he spoke casually.

"Why not?" I blinked.

But he was not listening. Victor had thrown his hood over his head, and was now digging into his bag; he grabbed a shirt and tossed it at me. "Cover your head with this," he said simply.

I did as I was told, but the question still remained on my mind. "Wait, but why rush?" I glanced down at the dead man at his feet and pointed. "You killed him, didn’t you? We’re fine for now... right?"

"Well, in any other scenario, I’m sure we’d be able to stay in the city for at least a day or two before they discover who did this. But"— he gestured around at the alleyway around us— "people do live in these houses. And this man was shouting quite loudly about your… ‘heresy’."

The realization sunk in before he even finished. But it took me a second to work my mouth.

"You mean that—"

"City guards will be arriving right about… now."

"Halt!" a voice bellowed into the alley from the outside. About half a dozen guards armed with swords and spears were gathering at the exit, and more were on their way.

"Right on cue." Victor gave me a smirk, then turned to face the exit.

I felt my heart begin to race as I stared at the carefully encroaching guards; they had their weapons raised and were shouting something at us. I backed up, hurriedly speaking. "Wait— what do we do?"

"Didn’t I tell you? I’m a Dark Crusader." The young man did not even turn around to face me. He took a step forward. "Do you at least know what that means?"

I blinked. Everything I ever learned about them flew through my head. And I realized, I did know that meant, actually.

"That means you’re a terrorist." I frowned.

"Well, I prefer the term zealot. But you are correct." Victor raised his staff and pointed it at the guards. "I am indeed a terrorist."

Then a red magic circle flashed in the air in front of him, and a ball of fire flew at the exit.

The Fireball landed right outside the alley, detonating behind the fleeing guards. A loud, ringing noise filled my eardrums as the explosion blasted a crater on the brick road, crumbling parts of the stonework on the walls closest to it. The shockwave knocked me off balance, and I began coughing as wispy gray smoke filled my vision.

I felt a hand grab me, pulling me upright; Victor steadied me on my feet, and turned my face to him. His mouth was moving. It was like he was saying something, but I could barely make it out.

"I can’t hear you!" I yelled back at him and pointed to my ear.

Victor grasped me by the shoulders, and leaned over my ear. "Follow me. Just trust me." He whispered.

I blinked as sound and sight returned. And then felt myself being pulled along by the man.

"I—" I tried to speak, but a cough came out instead.

We burst out of the alleyway. My gaze swung across the street, glazing over the charred bodies of the guards. Screams and shouts came from all around me as civilians ran in terror. But I didn’t have time to take all this in.

More guards poured out from a street in the distance. Victor tugged at my arm, and we ran the other way. We ran around the dying flames, and I hopped over a black and burnt corpse.

Victor ran down the street and I followed him. A group of guards appeared ahead of us, and we ducked into a side street. He shoved aside a man as we forced our way through the narrow space.

We turned a corner, then another. Left, then right, then left again. A clamoring of footsteps followed after us as we turned the next corner—

A dead end.

Victor did not hesitate. He picked me up and threw me over the ten foot stone wall. He backed up a bit, giving himself a running start. He jumped, kicked off the wall, and gripped at the edge, pulling himself over. I helped him on his feet, and we were off.

We lowered ourselves down the other side, and Victor ran up to the closest door. He tried to swing it open, but it did not budge. He raised his staff, and shot a bolt of energy at its handle, knocking it open.

The two of us barged in as a screaming family backed away from us. We ran through the living room, knocking over all the furniture behind us. Then we sprinted down the hallway and out the front door.

We came out to another side street with two guards passing by. Victor immediately shot two wind blades one after another. One of them barely managed to draw his blade before the magical attack slit his throat, while the second ducked out of the way. By the time he got back up, we were gone.

Corner after corner, we turned. My legs were burning. But I ran. Around another