Rune and his Instant Kill by Nick Venom (the reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

into the showers. She had a towel wrapped around her body. She stared at the girl. “What’s your name?”

The girl looked at Lyla. “Evie. You?”

“Lyla.”

Evie nodded, paying little attention to her now. She pushed forward, cleaning herself as quickly and efficiently as she could. Lyla followed suit, both girls finishing in ten minutes. They then wore flashy clothes and were sent to Avom’s room. The pig waited for them, laying in his bed. “What are your names?” He asked. 

“Lyla.” 

“Evie.”

Avom grinned. “I like those names.” He sat up. “Come here.” He beckoned them. Lyla glanced at Evie, who had a fake smile. It was evident, through her eyes, that she was screaming internally. Even so, she pressed forward. She approached Avom’s side, flashing the fake smile. He was engrossed in it. 

He beckoned Lyla closer. She reluctantly followed his order. Rune should be on his way here. He hasn’t given up on me, right? He didn’t abandon me? Did he? No, he told me he’ll be back soon. There’s nothing to worry about.

Avom wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She let out a small yelp that made Avom smile. “I love your voice.”

She was disgusted by him, but she didn’t know what to do. With her body not able to use her skills and her knife confiscated, she couldn’t do anything but hope and pray for Rune to arrive and save her. Save her like a princess. That’s what she wanted to be treated like, but she knew it was a dream, nothing more than that.

Avom turned to Evie, staring at her body. He was licking her lips. He then turned his attention to Lyla and licked his lips. “Good batch today.”

Lyla balled her fists, her fingers threatening to go against her. In a few seconds, she would let them go without resistance.

“Well,” Avom started, “let’s begin the feast.” He leaned closer towards Lyla but stopped short of touching her bare skin. A knight barged into the room. 

“Sir, there’s a riot outside!” The knight declared.

“A riot?” Avom raised his eyebrows. “Get the knights and take care of it. Now, go! I want my time with these beautiful women.” 

The knight shook his head. “The rioters are killing the knights. They’re chanting in the name of the women that were taken by… you, sir.” 

“Ha!” Avom exclaimed. He pushed Lyla and Evie away. He stood up, glaring at the knight. “Kill them all.”

“Yes, sir.” The knight said, kneeling. “However, there’s a problem. Vice-Captain Rize said that he heard the name of Rune coming from that girl.” He pointed at Lyla. “Rune seems to be the mastermind behind the riot.”

“Rune?” Avom repeated, his eyes widening. “He’s alive? How? He died!”

Lyla stood up from the bed, shooting Evie a wink. “My master is alive!” She declared. “Rune is alive!”

 

TBC…

Episode Five "Avom"

“Why did you say that? How could Rune be alive?” Avom asked Lyla, his face now red with anger. 

Lyla’s eyes widened as she realized she made a mistake. She exposed Rune’s identity without his permission. She took a step back as Avom approached her, now a few inches from her face. “Rune is your master?” He asked, balling his fingers into a sturdy fist. “Where is he”

Lyla shook her head, refusing to speak. Avom gritted his teeth before he struck her in the gut. She lurched forward, her hands grabbing at her stomach. Avom’s strength far surpassed any normal human’s strength, even a beastkin was nothing but dust under his strength.

“Since he’s your master, you’ll be going with me. Take the demon girl as well. I want to eat her later.” He told the knight. “Yes, sir. I will organize your escort.” The knight exited the room, calling out to nearby knights. He grabbed several of them and ordered them to escort Avom.

Avom smiled as the knights grabbed Lyla and Evie and dragged them with him. He took short strides down a corridor, glancing at Lyla’s pain-stricken face with glee. However, the glee disappeared quickly. 

If Rune is alive, then why is he here? He’s here to kill me? Is he actually alive or is he dead? Can a ghost kill me? No, that’s dumb. He couldn’t have turned into a ghost… or reincarnate. Whatever, I need to escape before the rioters break in. Wait, why am I running. Am I scared of Rune? He’s just a healer, right? But what if he’s a ghost and wants to haunt me. If he reincarnates, does he get new powers?

Avom was engrossed in his mind, not noticing Lyla’s stare. She was fixated on the rope in his pocket. She glanced at the knights following them, none of them holding them by their arms anymore - all of them focusing on their surroundings. They were expecting to be ambushed by the rioters, some of them familiar with Rune and his death. They were expecting worse.

“Sir?” One of the knights asked, disrupting Lyla’s plan of swiping the rope and using it to choke Avom to death. “What should we do about the other women?”

Avom snapped out of his thoughts, turning to face the knight that talked. “Kill them. Don’t leave a single piece of evidence behind.” He turned around and increased his pace. “Send two knights to deal with the women. Everybody else, follow me. We’re leaving.” He ordered. He stormed towards the exit with Lyla, Evie, and five guards trailing after him.

He’s about to escape. I need to strike before he leaves. But I don’t know where Rune is…. Should I act without his permission? I’m not sure, but he’ll escape and I’ll be punished for it. Will he punish me for it? He won’t, right? He isn’t like my past masters. Yes! I have to kill Avom before he escapes. And before the other girls die.

Lyla jumped forward, snatching the rope from Avom’s belt. She quickly wrapped it over his neck, pulling him backward. He choked on it, gasping for air. His knight escorts reacted by drawing their weapons, pointing them at Lyla and Evie. 

“Release him now, you demons!” One of the knights shouted. The other knights began closing in, their weapons threatening her. “Release Avom or you will die.”

Lyla ignored them. Avom was struggling against her, her sudden attack catching him off-guard. However, he was regaining his strength, beginning to rip the rope off his neck. Lyla tried to hold onto the rope, but his strength far surpassed his. 

“I WILL KILL YOU!” He screeched, ripping the rope in half. He threw the pieces to the side, turning to face Lyla. 

She cringed as he took a step towards her. She was unarmed and the rope was nothing more than strings. There was nothing she could do to kill Avom, fearing him as he raised his fist. “YOU DARE HURT ME? I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL-” His screeching was interrupted. His mouth remained open and his eyes stared at Lyla, but she could tell that the fury hiding behind them was gone. It was as if he died right in front of her, now standing motionless.

The nearby knights glanced at each other, bewildered. One of the knights stepped forward. “Sir, is there a problem?”

“Sir, we must leave before the rioters arrive.” Another knight chimed in.

“He’s dead,” Rune remarked, standing behind him. He had his hood down, exposing himself to the knights. He wore a devilish grin. “He’s nothing more than a corpse.”

“What do you mean?” The first knight asked, pointing his sword at Rune. “How could he die like that? He’s one of the heroes from the Hero Party, the tank. How is he dead?”

“He’s R-Rune…” One of the knights remarked, dropping their weapon. He ran off, pissing his pants. 

“You were said to be dead!”

“He’s a devil!”

“He’s a ghost!”

Many of the knights shouted out their theories, most of them calling Rune a devil reborn in Rune’s body. Rune shrugged his shoulders in response. He didn’t mind the theories. I was reborn while on my deathbed. I was granted this power. The power to kill instantly. I am now the Grim Reaper incarnated.

***

Rune reached Avom’s house, watching as a beastkin slave was ripped out of its master’s grip. The rumors he heard in the tavern turned out to be correct. 

Damn Avom! He thought as he looked around the crowd. He couldn’t see Lyla anywhere, correctly guessing she was inside.

“That’s the fifth girl taken today. Two cats, one dog, and two reptiles. I feel sorry for them all. They’ll be dead soon.” Somebody in the crowd loudly whispered.

“I give them two days and somebody will find their bodies.” Another person said.

The owner of one of the girls turned around and smashed his fit into the second person, knocking them to the ground. “Don’t you dare say that!” He shouted with tears in his eyes. “She’ll be alive.” The attendees near him shook their heads. It was a well-known rule that once a girl entered Avom’s house, her body would be found disgraced and discarded in the nearby river. 

One of the knights approached the owner, shaking his head. “What a disgrace. All of this crying over a slave?” He questioned with a mocking tone. “Go and get yourself another one. Oh, and make sure you actually protect her. Or you could bring her to me and I’ll disfigure her for you. Maybe, then, Avom won’t want her.” He laughed loudly, getting several glares from the crowd. Everybody hated him, but nobody could fight against him. They would be killed on the spot.

The owner nodded, turning away from the knight and trudging through the crowd to escape the attention. His fists were balled up, but he couldn’t release his anger against the knight.

Rune shook his head disapprovingly. Curse the Gods, let my foe crumble under me. The words re-entered his mind as if to convince him to speak them out loud. Rune balled up his fists as he watched the knight roar in more laughter, irritating him more. 

“Curse the Gods… Curse the Gods, let my foe crumble under me!” He shouted, staring at the arrogant knight. To his surprise, the knight froze on the spot, motionless. His face flushed and his laughter stopped midway. 

One of the Arrogant Knight’s comrades approached him, tapping on his shoulder. “Hey man, are you okay?” Arrogant Knight stumbled forward, landing on the ground head first. He was pronounced dead by a civilian medic nearby. 

Rune licked his lips. I know who to kill Avom with ease. He charged forward, going through the crowd. “Curse the Gods, let my foes crumble under me!” He stared at all of the knights, one after another. They all froze, crumbling upon touch. 

“The knights are dead! Save the women! Kill Avom!” He shouted. The crowd hesitated to follow Rune, who stood in front of them. He took off his hood, taking a chance. “I am not dead. I am Rune, the ex-healer of the Hero Party. Avom and the entire Hero Party schemed to kill me! Let’s get rid of the corruption today! Kill Avom! Kill Avom! Kill Avom!” He needed to expose his identity to rile them up, which worked. The owners who lost their slaves today or weeks before joined with him, all of them charging into the building before Rune. 

Rune stared at the inside of the building, smirking. You will die