Justice by R.T. Adams (reading list .TXT) 📖

arm and swung it down. We ran away and it slammed between the two of us, tearing the road up. I pulled out my blade and Randolph did the same. I ran over to the demon’s arm and stabbed into it, climbing up using my blade. It didn’t even flinch or look concerned about what I did. I continued to climb it, up to its upper arm. It lifted its arm and began swinging it. I kept my blade in its arm and held tightly. Soon, it stopped swinging its arm. I continued to climb up until I reached its shoulder, then began swinging my blade at its neck. My blade continued to hack through its skin. It reached its other arm over and grabbed its shoulder, almost crushing me. However, it moved its hand and then grabbed me. I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel myself moving. Once I could see again, I noticed myself practically flying through the air. When I landed, my stomach hit the front of my car. I slid downwards onto my knees and held my stomach.

“Dammit,” I muttered.

“Kimbo!” Randolph shouted, looking back to me. I turned and noticed the demon heading for him.

“Behind you!” I yelled with what I could. He turned and, just barely, managed to clash his blade with the demon’s large arm. However, due to the force and momentum of the attack, it caused him to get knocked back a few meters. He fell backwards, but quickly got up again. I stood up on my own, bearing the pain of my stomach. I slowly and painfully got over to them, my blade in my right hand. I readied myself again, preparing for the next attack. It then swung its arm horizontally, so I ducked before it got to us. Randolph swung his blade vertically, his sword slicing into its arm. It let out a loud screech and quickly pulled its arm away, releasing a plentiful amount of blood while doing so. It then brought forward its other arm directly above me. I started running, but noticed at this speed and its size, I wouldn’t make it in time. I held up my blade and its hand collided with my sword. Just before I got out from beneath the large hand, my sword broke in two and its hand slammed into the ground nearby me. Due to the wind pressure, I was lifted a bit and tossed back. Randolph ran over to the demon’s arm and cut part of it. It jolted back and slammed down with its other arm in an attempt to crush him. However, he dodged and cut through the part he had previously cut. Its large hand fell off of its arm and fell limp in front of us, quickly vanishing. It stood tall and lifted its right leg, stomping downwards, but Randolph managed to dodge it again and stabbed through its leg, pulling his blade out. It screeched and then turned, quickly fleeing. Randolph was panting a bit, but was fine in the end. He cleaned his blade and put it back in his sheath, outstretching his hand to help me up. I grabbed a hold of his hand and he pulled me up. We walked back to the car and I began driving again. He picked up my blade from the back seat and pulled out the remains of it.

“So, this is the blade you’ve been using since you began hunting?” he said.

“Yes,” I said, “It was about time for it to break anyhow, just as the smith said.”

“A smith who can tell when it will break?” he said, “Must be one talented smith.”

“Indeed,” I said.

“So, who is he?” he asked.

“Who was he,” I said, “He isn’t alive anymore.”

“I see, so,” he said, persisting to know.

“He was my father,” I said, “Killed by Justice some few years before I actually became a hunter. He was a part of the Union, and by that time, Justice had raided the city. He was killed after defeating one of the few Justice High Commanders in a prolonged battle. He sustained one too many wounds to live.”

“I see,” he said, “I’m sorry.” He turned without a word more and stared at the darkness ahead of us.

By the time we woke up, we were in a motel room. I looked out of a window and saw a convenience store in front of the building. When I walked out of the building and in front of it, I noticed that the motel and convenience store were the only two things out here. Seems it’s a rest spot, similar to Gandolia, just smaller and less buildings. I walked over to the convenience store and opened the door, welcomed by a man standing at the register. I nodded to him and looked around, looking for something small to eat and a drink. I grabbed a small bag of chips and a bottle of water, walked over to the cashier, and waited for him to check them in. When he told me the price, I pulled out some money and laid it on the counter. He took the money, counted it, and gave me my change. I pocketed the change and took the two items, walking out to my car and placing the water bottle in one of the seats, then opening the bag of chips and began eating. I noticed Randolph talking to a woman who had been selling things from the back of her truck. He was likely looking for things to buy, as well. He nodded and turned away, noticing me, and walking over.

“So you’re awake now?” he said.

“Yeah,” I said, “What were you looking for?”

“Directions to the nearest city. If you’re going to fight, you’ll need a weapon,” he said.

“Well, it’s about time for me to quit being a hunter, anyhow,” I said.

“What?” he said.

“I’ve been thinking about quitting hunting,” I said.

“Hold on, you can’t. What about your friends, your father? Justice killed them,” he said.

“Exactly, Justice killed them, not the demons,” I said.

“But you can get in the bases without a problem. Don’t you want to crush them for what they did?” he said.

“I do, but if it means killing people,” I said.

“If it means killing people, so be it. You want to crush them because they killed those who were close to you. Remember what happened to me and my friends?” he said. They were all likely murdered and he managed to escape. His plans now are to take down Justice due to their actions. They’ve murdered many innocent people, so why would they deserve to live, to remain in power?

“Alright,” I said, “I’ll stay a hunter.” He looked at me with a smile and placed his hand on my shoulder, nodding. We got into my car and I began to drive to the nearest city with Randolph guiding me. The fastest route to the city involved a lot of turns, but was worth it in the end, as we ended up entering an area with an abundance of trees. The scenery was beautiful around here. Soon, the city came into view. It was on top of a hill. We ended up going under a bridge, turning a wide turn, and then taking the bridge to get into city limits. I turned into a parking lot and shut down the car. I got out, and so did Randolph. I picked up my sword sheath and walked around the city, looking for a smith. Once I saw a man admiring a blade, I thought that was the smith. I walked over to him and stood in front of him. He looked up to me.

“May I help you?” he asked.

“Are you the smith?” I asked.

“Indeed,” he said, “Do you need a blade?” I nodded and pulled out the blade from my sheath.

“It broke last night while I’d been fighting a demon. It ran away, but at least we’re alive,” I said.

“Yes, life is essential. I’ll make you a new blade right away. A classic falchion. You seem like the kind of man for that,” he said.

“No,” I said, “I want something that can make a clean cut in a demon.”

“A clean cut?” he said, “Sure, but the price will be hefty.” I nodded and asked how much it was. It was, indeed, a large amount. I gave him the money, almost all of what I had left in my pocket, and he went inside of a building, telling me that it would probably take the entire day to make the sword. Randolph and I decided to head back to my car and talk for a bit. He began reading his book and I grabbed the water bottle I bought and began drinking it.

“These past few days have been long,” I said.

“Yes, they have,” he said, “But in due time, we will take down Justice. Whether it be years from now, or whether it be tomorrow.” He seemed extremely confident and ecstatic about it. I was excited for the day we would defeat them, as well.

“You wouldn’t mind to sleep in the car tonight, would you?” I asked him.

“Sure, but why?” he said.

“That purchase of the sword took a large amount from what I’ve got on me right now. Plus, I don’t think I saw a bank around here at all, so I can’t pay for a place,” I explained to him.

“I suppose so,” he said, “It’s getting dark, we should probably get to sleep, then.” I looked up and saw the moon peeking between the clouds, as well as a few faded stars. I got into the front of the car and Randolph got in the back. I put the hood up and we both laid down in our part. I laid in the two front seats while he laid in the two back seats. Quickly, I fell asleep.

Once I woke up, I lifted my body from the seats and looked in the back seats. Randolph seems to have wandered off again. My back was a bit pained, but that is natural. I opened the car door and made sure it was locked before looking around to find Randolph. When I made it around town, I found him at the smith’s. The smith was standing there talking with him. He looked joyous, and so did the smith. I decided to let them talk a bit more and went off to find a food stand. When I did, I bought a fruit with what little money I had left and, being that it was a fruit I could just eat without peeling or cracking open, I began munching on it. It had both a sweet and sour taste, the sweet being similar to that of a pomegranate and the sour being similar to that of a lemon. I looked around and noticed several stalls selling fruits. In fact, when I paid more attention, just about all of the stalls sold fruits. Some sold vegetables, but for the most part, they sold fruits. Simply put, they must have plenty of farms around that harvest fruits. Perhaps they are of high-value and are sold separately per stall. I finished my fruit and turned back to the smith and Randolph, who were still talking. I walked over and began listening in. Of course, they were both talking about swords.

“I’m awake,” I said. Randolph turned to me.

“You sleep through most of the morning, it seems,” he said.

“I finished your blade,” he said, “Let me go get it.” He turned and walking into his building. Moments later, he came out with a shining curved blade with a black hilt and golden guard.

“Such a beauty,” Randolph said, examining it closely.

“Quite,” I said.

“Took me a bit longer to forge than I expected, but it turned out just fine,” he said. I took the blade in my hands and grabbed my sheath. I slid it in and, satisfyingly, it fit, with a soft clink when it fully went in. After we finished exchanging a few words, we left from