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

TBC... 

“Curse the Gods, let my foes crumble under me!” Rune remarked, grinning. He faced the knights, watching as they shivered and cried to then stop suddenly. All of the knights threatening him were killed instantly. They appeared to be frozen in time, now lifeless.

Rune passed by them, approaching Lyla. She cringed, looking away. He’s going to punish me for acting without his permission! She thought, fearing the punishment Rune would give her. However, he didn’t punish her. He laid his hand on her head, massaging it. “You did a good job, Lyla.” He told her. She opened her eyes as a small smile broke out onto her face. “We need to leave before more knights are dispatched from the capital. I’ve killed every knight in this building. The women locked in the rooms should be free now and returned to their owners soon.” He informed her.

Lyla nodded, smiling. She dropped the smile, glancing at Evie. Evie looked away awkwardly. “What about Evie? Can she come with us?”

Rune stared at her. “Do you want to come with us? You don’t have to follow us, and if you do, then your life will be filled with blood and death. I’m not slowing down with Avom and a squad of knights.” He told her.

Evie nodded, hesitating. Lyla left Rune’s side, grabbing Evie’s arm and attracting her attention. “Go with us! This is my master Rune, he’s a good guy. You’ll be safe with us!” She declared.

Evie glanced at Rune. “You would take me? I have no master and I’m a war slave.” She told them. 

Rune shook his head. “I don’t care about that. I will take you in if you want me to.”

Evie nodded. “Please.”

Rune nodded, smiling. Then let’s leave.” The girls nodded before being led out of the building. They escaped the building before the fires started. Avom and the knights' bodies were later recovered, charred to hell. The royal family tried to step in, but rumors of Avom’s deeds inside his home forced their hand. Everybody who was identified during the rioting was fined, but not jailed.

Avom’s death was quickly swept under the rug; Rune’s identity was the same. The Royal Family didn’t want people to know that the deceased hero was still alive. They needed that trump card for themselves. For when they lost their grip on the heroes.

***

“Damn!” Mido shouted, shattering a window with his fist. The maid assisting him shrieked out of fear. Mido glared at her, waving her off. “Damn… how did he survive?” He thought out loud.

“Should I take care of him, sir?” A man dressed in a blue cloak asked. He kneeled in front of Mido, his head lowered. “I could track him and assassinate him easily.”

Mido shook his head. “No… I’ll take care of him. He’ll be after me soon.”

“What if he goes after the other heroes first? He could get stronger after their deaths.” The man remarked.

Mido nodded. “He has already gotten strong. How could he, a healer, defeat Avom, a tank? Either he made a contract with a spirit, recruited some help, or is reincarnated as a demon. The third option makes the most sense.” He turned towards the broken window. “Remind me why you’re here, anyway?”

“To help you, sir.”

Mido chuckled softly before turning around. “You’re telling me that the Blue Cobra Assassin Organization pledges their loyalty to me?” He asked, raising one eyebrow.

The man shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare state a lie, sir.” 

Mido shook his head while chuckling. “Okay, then… bring Rune to me. Bring him here alive. I want to kill him with my own hands, of course after I figure out how he killed Avom. Or if it was even him that killed Avom or if it was purely coincidental.” He waved the man off.

“As you wish, sir.” The man disappeared in front of Mido, which didn’t startle him. He was used to the disappearing trick that all Blue Cobra assassins used.

With the man out of the room, another figure emerged. This one was a female, dressed in a pink floral dress that covered her from neck to feet. Her head was exposed. Mido could see the female’s tan-skinned head and violet eyes. The female faced him, smiling. 

“Who are you?” Mido brandished his sword, attached to his belt. He pointed the tip of the sword at her. “I don’t remember calling anybody into my room.”

The woman didn’t respond, staring at him. She continued smiling, now tilting her head.

Mido inched closer to her, keeping his weapon prepared. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave before my weapon gets bloodthirsty.” He said with a grin. 

The woman, whose arms were at her side, took a stride forward. She raised her arms into the air, producing a weapon from the air over her. The weapon was completely white, lacking details and a solid shape. It was a blob of white energy hovering over her. 

Mido brought his weapon close to his chest. “Wait! What is that!” He took a few steps back, his back pressing against the broken window. 

The woman opened her mouth. “My name is Hope, a goddess ruling over this world. The only other Godly Being residing in this world is Rant, the complete opposite of me. He controls everything dark while I control everything light. I believe he has made contact with the man known as Rune, and even has stood in the way of Daku Agawa.”

Mido titled his head, furrowing his brows. “Who is D-Daku?”

Hope didn’t respond, ignoring his question. “To correct the power balance disrupted by Rant, I will provide you with a stronger weapon than the one you already have.” The white energy that hovered over her shot down towards Mido. Mido brought the sword to his chest, blocking the energy. However, his sword absorbed the energy.

“What in the world?” He muttered. He felt the handle of the sword being unimaginably hot. He dropped it, taking a step back. The sword hit the ground with a loud ‘thud’ sound. It bounced up before landing on the ground and settling, now being absorbed by the energy and changing. It went from a normal golden sword to a detailed titanium-white broadsword. The sword was enhanced by the ruins on the sword, making up the details on the broadsword. It was now stronger than ever.

“What did you do?” Mido shouted, staring at Hope. 

“I,” she started, still smiling at him, “brought the world hope.”

***

Rune escaped the capital with Lyla and Evie behind him. They fled to the outskirt stretches of forests, embedded deep into the vegetation. 

Now safe from immediate threat, Rune slowed down. He had been sprinting as quickly as he could with the girls behind him. However, they were safe for the moment.

Rune turned around, facing the girls. They were out of breath as well. “We’ll rest here.” They nodded, still panting. He nodded, doing his best to catch his breath. “Get as much rest as you can, we’re staying here for the night. Tomorrow we’ll move to my second target.”

“S-Second target?” Lyla asked. 

Rune nodded. “One of my four targets is dead. I need to kill the other three before I can die in peace.” He told them. He turned around and looked at their surroundings - a sea of trees. “From what she told me during our adventure towards the Demon King’s Castle, her dream was to live in demon territory with a large sum to her name. She’ll most likely be at the Demon King’s Castle.”

Lyla nodded, sitting down. “W-Why not the hero?” She asked.

“Y-Yeah, wouldn’t i-it be better to kill the main hero?” Evie chimed in.

Rune shook his head. “Mido? He’s too far from me. His dream was to go to the beastkin nation and fight their strongest warriors. He has a thirst to become the strongest person in the world.”

Lyla and Evie nodded. They glanced at each other before they looked at Rune. “We want to be of use to you, Rune,” Lyla said, kneeling in front of him. “Whatever you want, we’ll do.”

Rune looked surprised, but that expression quickly faded from his face. “Killing Avom was a surprise and complete accident, but, in the end, it was thanks to you.” He told Lyla, motioning for her to pick herself up. “As for your strength, we’ll begin training as we head to Rea. We’ll attack her six months from now. When we do, you both will be stronger than her.” He claimed.

The girls nodded, staring at Rune. Lyla looked happy while Evie was nervous. She wanted to help him but wasn’t sure of her abilities.

Rune nodded his head, not to anybody in particular. “ I was the healer in the party but was trained by the Royal Captain of this kingdom. I’ll be able to train you. Rest today, we’ll start tomorrow.” The girls nodded as the sun began its descent from evening to night. 

In six months, another hero will be dead.

“I found you.” Angelica, the black and gold-dressed woman, remarked. She eyed Rune as he rested calmly on the grass. “I will serve you no matter what; the true hero of the ‘Hero Party’.” She inched closer to him. “No matter what.”

Publication Date: 06-08-2019

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