Immortal Era's Crafting Master

Kirou and Jackson took a few minutes to work out the finer details of the <Blood Oath> that they wanted Cain to make. During this time, Cain genuinely contemplated committing suicide multiple times.

The reason behind this was that neither Kirou nor Jackson bothered to lower their voices during their discussion, allowing Cain to hear all of their depraved ideas to include in the oath.

The thought of escaping entered Cain's mind multiple times, only to be dismissed almost immediately. Not counting the fact that he was injured at the moment, even if he wasn't, he still had to contend with the creatures surrounding him. And even if he could somehow get through those creatures, there was still a large group he had to fight through, not to mention both Kirou and Jackson.

With those thoughts in mind, Cain resigned himself to the whims of the two bastards holding him captive. Both Kirou and Jackson could see that Cain had resigned himself, prompting a wolfish smile to form on their faces, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.

The duo took another five or so minutes to finalize the specifics of the <Blood Oath>. They then made their way over to the still downed Cain.

Cain stared at the duo currently standing over him with a resigned expression on his face. The duo stared down at him with a wolfish smile on theirs.

Kirou then removed a vial from his inventory and poured its contents on the downed Cain. It only took a few moments for Cain's health to be restored and for him to be able to get up on his own.

Seeing that he was in good health, Jackson handed a piece of paper to him before speaking, "Recite everything on this piece of paper, exactly as it is written."

Cain was angered by Jackson's words but he held it in as he read the words on the paper. After a few seconds, Cain turned his head towards his captors and screamed, "Are you two screwing with me? What the hell is this garbage?"

Kirou just gave Cain a relaxed look as he spoke, "What? Is there a problem with that oath, Bandit Leader Cain?"

Those words made Cain's next words pause in his throat. Regardless of the contents of the oath, Cain had long since lost the right to reject it, as his only other option would be to face an excruciating death. That being said, the contents of the oath in his hands differed greatly from what Kirou and Jackson were discussing out loud earlier, and the only ones to know this was the three men.

While the rest of the group was curious about the contents of the oath, Jackson used this time to speak up, "What's the matter, Cain? Is such an oath too great for a former knight of the Shura Kingdom?"

Jackson's words immediately caught Kirou's attention as a thought entered his mind, 'Shura Kingdom? Shura Kingdom. Why does that sound familiar to me?'

As if triggered by Jackson's words, Cain screamed at Jackson in a loud voice, "Piss off, you dog of the Republic. Don't think for a single second that just because you've managed to defeat me in combat, that gives you the right to humiliate me."

"Oh? But I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I have earned for kicking your ȧss in public earlier." There was a cheeky grin on Jackson's face as he looked down on Cain and spoke. "Besides, what can you do about it? You've got neither your former subordinates as a knight, nor any bandits remaining that are able to follow you. How do you plan on stopping me?"

"I don't any help to wipe that grin off your face, dog of Viahnland."

While the two continued to trade verbal jabs at each other, Kirou had a moment of clarity as he figured out where he originally heard that name.

'Now I remember. I need to make a trip to the <Beast Continent>. I've wasted too much time dealing with issues here and there.'

As Kirou was giving this some thought, he eventually grew tired of the duo's spat and spoke up, "While this isn't entertaining in its own way, I've just realized that I've got a lot of stuff I need to take care of. With that said, I'd like to know your choice now, Cain."

At those words, both Jackson and Cain went quite as they saw wires circling Kirou's hands. Jackson backed away while Cain grew tense at the sight of the moving wires.

It wasn't until said wires firmly latched onto Cain's throat that Kirou continued, "What will your answer be, former bandit and stronghold leader?" .

While Cain wanted nothing more than to curse both Kirou and Jackson, and fight to his last breath, he understood very clearly that doing so would have him meet a very gruesome end.

That being said, if the oath that he was presented earlier wasn't a joke then....

"On my honor as a former knight of the <Shura Kingdom> and my <Blood>, I swear to be a sword that shall never point towards my master, Kirou, but instead at his enemies. I also swear to work together with those acknowledged by my master for the betterment of his land." Having finished reading the oath, a blood red halo momentarily surrounded Cain before slowly fading out of existence.

Silence echoed in the area after Cain's oath. This silence lasted for a few moments before it was suddenly erased by the sound of laughter. It started off small but it soon grew into a hearty laugh, prompting Cain to go red in the face.

"What's your problem, you damned dog?" asked/shouted at the source of the laughter, who was now clutching his stomach while on the floor.

The rest, too, looked towards the one laughing, being somewhat at a loss themselves. They felt as if someone had played a prank on them but they weren't sure how.

As for the one on the floor, he did his best to speak in-between his laughter, "I never thought I'd see the day you'd end up swearing allegiance to someone else. Especially in that pathetic state that you're currently in."

After getting out his message, Jackson continued his hearty laugh, completely ignoring the fuming Cain. Kirou, for his part, released the wires that wrapped around Cain's neck, giving him complete freedom to act.

Cain gave Kirou a look, as if asking a question. Kirou just smiled and gave him a nod, giving him permission to act. Having received permission, Cain lunged at Jackson with his sword. Jackson, on the other hand, immediately ceased his laughter and was now smiling as he blocked Cain's sword.

"That's a nice look you've got there, Cain," said an amused Jackson as he retreated a few feat after blocking.

"Oh, yea? And what look is that, you bastard?" asked Cain as he lunged after Jackson with his sword.

Jackson had a crafty smile on his face as he spoke, "You currently have the look of a bastard who's sworn allegiance to a master after after being beaten into submission."

Those words made Cain stop in his tracks as he unintentionally lowered his weapon. He looked at Jackson seriously for a few moments before asking, "How much do you know?"

Jackson too lowered his weapon and replied, "About when you had to desert you post, not much. As for why you had to do it and the havoc you wreaked in the process, I'm completely aware of everything that transpired."

"I see," was all Cain said in response to this before going quiet.

Seeing that the two had finally concluded their business, or at least this section of it, Kirou chose this moment to speak up, "I believe it's time that we head back. We've got a lot of work to finish and I'll need to have a serious talk with the both of you back at the base."

Everyone acknowledged those words and started to finish up. The bandit leaders that betrayed Cain during the siege were finished off by Kirou as he wanted everyone to rush back. One could see a look of relief on their faces as they died by Kirou's wires.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, the group of players and former bandits were now leaving the fortress via the entrance. Cain took one last look at the fortress before turning away to follow Kirou. As for the rest, they didn't care too much as they finally got closure for being abandoned.

The group traveled in relative silence for a while before coming to a stop once more. This time, they stopped at the entrance to the cave system. The reason behind this was that there were a group of people at the entrance that appeared to be waiting on Kirou's group.

Upon seeing the group, Kirou raised an eyebrow before speaking, "I believe I made myself clear about the consequences of appearing before me again. Would you guys mind telling me whether or not I will have to make good on those words now?"

The group collectively felt a shiver down their spine as they could see that there was a cold glint in Kirou's eyes. Even worse, the eyes of both Jackson and Cain currently shared the same look as the two placed their hands on their weapons.

Naturally, the group standing before Kirou and gang are the bandits he had released earlier. They wanted to step back and clear a path for him on instinct but they stood their ground as one person walked out.

She was a relatively tall woman with a muscular build and had two scimitars strapped to her waist. Even with the few scars on her body, she still exuded a unique feminine charm.

She stopped a few feet away from Kirou before speaking up, "My apologies on blocking your path, but we would like to ask something of you, Sir Lycan."

Hearing the form of address prompted a raised eyebrow from Kirou as he spoke, "And what's that?"

"We've discussed it amongst ourselves and decided that we would like to follow you, if possible, Sir Lycan," said the woman with the most sincere expression that she could make.

Those words prompted everyone in Kirou's group to do a double take. As for the man in question, he just stared at the muscular woman with a firm gaze and asked, "Why?"

That word sounded simple but both the muscular woman and the bandits behind her could tell that the halfling Lycan wanted an answer that would satisfy him, and that they only had one chance.

The woman took a moment to collect her thoughts before finally speaking, "We have no where else to go."

"Explain."

"We could always try to join another bandit group, but that wouldn't do us any good in the long run, since we are likely to go against you or others similar to you, which would be the end of us. It's also not possible for us to try and live a quiet life since we've all got bounties on our heads and going near any city would result in our capture. As for the third option..." trailed off the woman as she stared at Kirou and his mixed group.

"That would be to join me and my merry band of misfits," finished Kirou, earning an embarrassed nod from both the muscular woman and the bandits behind her.

Kirou gave the muscular woman and the others a firm gaze, prompting them to hold their breath as he made his evaluation. This went on for so long that beads of sweat started to pour down their faces.

Just as they were starting to think that they would be rejected, Kirou spoke up, "Ok. Let's go."

While those already following Kirou were used to his usual antics, his actions dumbfounded the ones before them. Without even waiting for a response, the group already started to walk past the confused former bandits.

It took the scarred woman and her group a few moments before they ran after Kirou's group. After they caught up, the woman kept pace with Kirou and asked, "That's it? You're not interested in asking for anything else?"

In a bored tone, Kirou responded, "No, not really. Should I be?"

These words made whatever the scarred woman wanted to say stop dead in her throat. All she could do was just look at Kirou with a bewildered expression.

Seeing that the woman was confused, very badly at that, he decided to give out a bit more details to her and the rest, "While it is true that we were enemies up until an hour ago, what transpired was as a result of a business transaction with Jackson and his squad. It wasn't a personal vendetta on our parts, or rather, the grudge wasn't aimed at your group."

A look of clarity formed on the faces of formerly confused bandits as they heard Kirou's words. Even then, their faces soon adopted bitter expressions as they thought back to what transpired earlier that day at the stronghold.

While the group was busy thinking like this, they heard Kirou's voice, "Besides, I'm currently in need of a lot of human resources. I don't mind giving you guys a chance since it's beneficial for both parties. As for the ones who're entertaining thoughts of revenge, I advise you to think long and hard about whether you are capable of handing the consequences."

That last sentence was said in a casual tone without the slightest hint of threat, yet all those former bandits felt the surrounding air freeze for a split second. While a few thought that they were hallucinating, Jackson, Cain and the scarred woman instinctively felt the chill originating from Kirou.

As for the man in question, he currently had a bored expression on his face as he skimmed through the messages being displayed before him.

[System: You have completed the quest <A Bandit's Revenge>]

[You have received the following....]