My (Monster?) Hero Life

Kace applied more pressure to Charlie's throat, forcing him to gasp for breath. Moments later, Kace flashed a sadistic grin before a thick purple smog came out of his mouth. Charlie's eyes went wide with shock and fear as he realised there was no way that he could possibly escape breathing that in! His eyes bulged as the foul-tasting smog invaded his mouth and nostrils before flowing down his throat.

Wherever the smog touched on his tissues, Charlie would feel a burning acidic sensation. Lines of blood began to flow from his nose and mouth as even more made their way into his throat. Charlie was an expert in poisons, but he had no idea what he was dealing with. He began to feel weaker as he felt the invading presence enter his lungs and swirl around in there.

At that point, Kace released the hero. Allowing Charlie to collapse in the dirt as blood splashed the earth whenever he coughed. "What the hell did you do to me!"

Kace sneered at Charlie as he screamed in frustration between fitful coughs. It was evident that the hero was in extreme pain, but Kace felt like he had delivered his message. There was a price to pay for the heroes if they targeted those close to him! Kace had Sylvan take the form of his old halberd before slamming its end into the ground by Charlie's head.

"You have two choices, little hero. One, you can run for your life, and I'll let you go." Kace gave him a mocking look when Charlie glanced at him with a hopeful expression. "Or two, you can complain one more time, and I'll execute you here and now. What will it be?"

Charlie opened and closed his mouth several times. He wanted to ask the monster before him if he was serious about letting him go. However, he was unsure if that would trigger Kace to behead him. After struggling with his thought for a few moments, Charlie eventually struggled to feet. He was relieved to see that Kace did not react to this except to stare at him coldly.

Trusting Kace's words was the only option he had if he wanted to make it out of there alive. He was confident that he should be able to create an antidote if he had enough time. 'He probably thinks it will kill me. So letting me go will actually make me suffer more. Stupid monster! I'll show you!' Charlie slowly began to walk away towards the direction of the main force. Charlie left a trail of blood behind every time his body felt the need to cough.

Lorget stared incredulously at the back of the retreating hero. He had expected Kace to put an end to his miserable life swiftly. So why did he let him go? Lorget had stayed behind while the others had retrieved Lilly and were already making their way back to the safety of the army. There was only silence as both of them watched Charlie's retreat until he was out of sight.

At this point, Lorget was now sure that Kace truly intended to let the hero go. This left doubts in his mind that Lorget felt the need to have answered!

"Sir. Forgive me. But why did you let that hero go?" Lorget's voice sounded weak as he asked his question. Usually, he would never dare to question their Lord's motives openly, but he felt like this time he had to know.

"Who said I let him go?" There was no trace of emotion in Kace's voice as he replied with a straight face.

Lorget had a confused expression on his face as he turned towards the direction the hero had escaped in. 'Didn't let him go? How is that not letting him go?' Lorget shifted his gaze back to Kace only to discover that he was gently smiling at him.

"A lot of heroes are going to die once he returns to their fold. I'm sending a message to them as a whole. How will they learn if I only kill one of their assets?" Kace chuckled, causing Lorget to shiver at his response. "Come, we have to prepare the army. If we move fast enough, then we can hit the city while it's at its weakest." 

"What about the injured? They won't be able to keep up!" Lorget was surprised by this decision. The city was heavily fortified and would need all of their strength to crack it open. Even if what Kace had done would kill some of their opponents, Lorget was sure that would not be enough to make their job any easier!

"It's fine. They can stay behind and secure the natives' city for us. I doubt we'll be needing them." A dark grin spread across Kace's face with those words. 'And with any luck, the plague I infected him with will help to complete a large part of Sylvan's quest.'

The most significant problem Kace previously had with the quest was killing young humans. Despite the horrible things he had already done, it still did not quite sit right with him for targeting them. However, if a plague he caused happened to kill them. Well, at least then, he was only indirectly responsible for their deaths. 

Kace frowned as he thought about that. It had only just hit him that he actually no longer seemed bothered by the thought of killing younger humans. He could not place his finger on it, but he felt like he had lost a part of himself somehow. 'Is it because of my transformation?' Although he was no longer bothered by the thought, it did trouble him to realise that a part of himself had changed without him realising it.

It only left him with questions about what he was becoming and what he would be capable of doing without any regrets later. 'In some sense, it could be considered a good thing. Without anything shackling me, I can pursue whatever I want without a care. But how will this attitude affect those around me?'