MLII C1, P6- "Hunter Versus Hunter"

"Hunter Versus Hunter" is the sixth Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's first Chapter. It was released on 04.10.2020.
== Plot ==
The legendary blade Demonslayer has been fully repaired and is now in the possession of our heroes. All that is left is for them to find Lysstak the Beast and finish the job.
Unfortunately, the bandit leader's warriors and pets have other plans. In a desperate attempt to stop the hero and his allies, one of his elite beast tamers gathers a small army of vicious wolflike creatures, as well as ruthless bandits and attacks them on the spot where they were last located.
This... is a battle between a hunter who fights another hunter, except that the first one hunts Lysstak the Beast, in an attempt to kill the mighty bandit... while the second one tries to prevent this from happening.
It is the beginning of the battle between the Light of Order and the Darkness of Pure Chaos. A truly spectacular battle.
== Story ==
The creatures that approach our heroes and Boutell are... very weird, to say at the very least.
They look like wolves, but they are sort of mishappen and wicked-looking.
They are bigger than your usual wolf. Or warwolf. Most likely the result of a genetic mutation that purposely altered their bodies.
As Jared looks into their eyes, he sees something truly disturbing.
Their eyes show almost no sign of emotion. No fear. No determination. And, especially, no signs of the gentle nature that is seen within most normal wolves.
Instead, their eyes are very cold, betraying signs only of anger, loathing... and insatiable hunger.
Jared, Aleks and John look at each other concerned, concerned.
At first, it looks like the wolf-things are alone. There is no one commanding them. No one is protecting them.
However, a few seconds later, a man comes from behind them.
He stand face to face with Jared draws a wicked-looking long, sharp dagger and smiles.
"Well, I'll be!"- He says- "It's Jared Kaos! The young hero whol will kill Lysstak the Beast and save us all from his tyrannical reign. What a great day to be alive!"
Normally, this attitude would fool a regular person. However, Jared is no fool. The moment when this man moves in front of him, he instantly recognizes the signs of treachery and darkness.
"Nice one, you fool."- He says stoically- "But you cannot fool me. Don't think that we don't know that Lysstak's hunters exist... and that they are on the hunt for the ones who are trying to kill him."
He draws his bow and aims it at him.
"Now, how about you tell us more about yourself."- He continues- "Who are you? And are you one of Lysstak's lackeys?"
The man smirks and watches him coldly.
"You're quite a smart one. Lysstak told us that you're no ordinary adventurer."- He says- "Yes, he is the one who sent us. And we are gonna hunt you down. Make sure that you're not a threat to 'im."
Jared shakes his head and continues to aim his bow at the lone bandit.
" "We?" You and that army?"- He asks him- "And, most importantly, where are they?"
The man grins and scand his surroundings.
"Me and this army!"
A few moments later, Jared realizes that he and his allies are surrounded by a small band of bandits as well. They watch him warily, weapons drawn and smiling.
He turns back to the lead bandit and realizes that he is grinning.
"This is quite a suicidial attitude, thinking that you are going to trap us with a bunch of human weakings and your mishappen pets."- He says.
The bandit grins.
"I already know that you've beaten bandits before. The Darkness of Duskwood gang was weak, though. Not worthy allies for us, the mighty Darkside Loyalists."
John gasps. He is clearly surprised that these bandits know about the existence of the ones who tormented the town of Duskwood for so long. The ones who caused so much trouble for its residents.
"So, you think that you're better than them?"- He asks the leader- "Care to prove it to us?"
The leader smiles.
"Gladly. However, you should be warned that you cannot defeat us easily."- He says and points at his own skin.
On closer inspection, Jared sees that it is somewhat translucent. Dark blood flows in his veins and he is infused with the power of Darkness.
Unfortunately, all this is also the same for the rest of the bandits.
The leader smiles again.
"We are infused with demon blood. We have been blessed by Dorikas himself and given the powers to destroy our enemies without any fear."- He says- "You don't stand a chance, hero!"
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"Demon blood, you say?"- He mutters- "To be honest, that does not make you more special than the enemies that we have already fought."
The bandits draw their blades.
"We'll see about that."- The leader says and everyone attacks.
However, as Jared draws the newly reforged legendary weapon, one of the bandits stops and gasps.
"N-no! It can't be!"- He says.
The rest of the bandits stop and look at him.
"What's wrong, brother?"- The leader says- "Is something wrong with our enemies?"
Suddenly, the bandit becomes very scared. He points at the blade in Jared's hands.
"Do you see that?!"- He asks the leader- "That's th-the Demonslayer! It has been reforged!"
"W-we're do-doomed!"- He stutters.
The rest of the bandits gasp. The leader shakes his head.
"Demonslayer? No, it cannot be completed that easily."
He turns to Jared.
"Nice try, young one."- He says- "But you ain't gonna fool us with your fancy weapon."
Jared smiles and points Demonslayer at him.
"Are you really sure that this is not Demonslayer?"- He says- "Then how about you come closer so I can test it on you?"
The bandit leader smirks.
"You're beneath my notice, Kaos."- He says mockingly- "Instead, I'll send one of my allies to deal with you."
He points at a female bandit nearby.
"You! Show this weakling what you've got!"
The woman nods, screams and charges at Jared.
Jared jumps back and evades her blow. Then he swings his sword at her and cuts her in the neck.
As she stumbles back, her skin starts to burn. She starts to scream and her body begins to burn like a candle.
Soon, all that is left of this once-living bandit is a pile of ashes and clothes, along with a weapon for good measure.
The bandit leader is shocked by the fact that Demonslayer has been reforged. Jared smiles.
"So, are any of you brave enough to fight the one who wields the Demonslayer."- He says and swings it a few times to intimidate them- "I promise to spare those of you who are smart enough to step back and flee. You have my word."
John nods.
"Jared is a man of his word. Run away from this futile battle and you shall be spared."- He says, confirming his best friend's words.
The bandits look at each other worryingly. Then, they look at their leader. They estimate that he won't be strong enough to win against this dangerous enemy, nor keep any of them alive.
After thinking about what to do for a few seconds, they finally come to a conclusion. 
Remembering that they have more important things to do elsewhere, they all flee the ruins of the fort as quickly as their feet are able to carry them, leaving their leader and his mishappen pets to fight Jared and his allies alone.
Jared smiles as he watches them leave.
"Clever people."- He mutters.
Then he turns back to the leader. Although he is shocked that his allies have left him to fight this dangerous enemy alone, he still does not back down.
Instead, he points his blade at our hero menacingly.
"Fool! You think that a single blade like this can scare me?!"- He yells- "Me and my beasts have slain many brave people like yourself. You're no different than any of them!"
Jared smiles and points his blade at him.
"Then how about you show me that power of yours, prove that you are as powerful as you are claiming to be?"- He says- "Don't just stand there. Come and get me!"
Aleks gets a bit worried. He isn't sure if it is a good idea to intimidate this man so much.
"Umm, son."- He whispers to him- "I don't think we should anger him more than he already is. He many become way too strong for us to defeat."
Jared smiles and shakes his head.
"Do not worry, dad."- He responds- "As long as we are together, no enemy can break down our powerful defense. No matter how dangerous or mad they are."
Aleks nods and watches as their enemy slowly evaluates his son's words.
Moments later, the bandit leader finally loses his composure. He screams, a very unpleasant sound of pure rage and hatred.
"You're gonna regret saying those words, you foolish kid!"- He yells and draws his dagger- "Now prepare to feel the wrath of the Darkside Loyalists."
He performs a chopping motion with his weapon and his pets attack. He quickly joins them, attacking Jared in particular.
"Time to die!"- He yells and tries to stab him with his dagger.
Fortunately, Jared is very nimble and manages to evade all of the blows of his enemy, quickly landing some himself.
As the bandit stumbles back, he screams again.
"No!"- He yells- "I'm not going to run away! Lysstak the Beast counts on me and I'm not going to let him down!"
He kicks Jared in the left leg and attempts to stab him again. 
However, this time, he is stopped by John who pushes him back with as much force as possible.
"Now, Jared!"- He says- "Stab him while he's down!"
Jared nods and stabs him in the chest with Demonslayer.
As the flames engulf the man, he smiles.
"Oh, I'm not going to die yet."- He says- "Not until I've hurt you first... !"
With his last bit of strength, he lashes out at Jared, in a futile attempt to kill him.
The two of them wrestle for the Demonslayer, each one of them attempting to pull the blade by their side.
"This blade with burn along with me!"- The bandit leader yells as he pulls the blade towards himself.
Aleks hears that his son is in trouble and quickly kills the wolf-thing that he was fighting. Afterwards, he picks up a loose board from the ground and aims it at the burning man...
*THUNK!*
With a well-aimed blow, he forces the bandit to let go of the blade and slams him point blank in the head.
As he the bandit falls to the ground and slowly burns to death, he spits at the one who struck him with the board.
"Curse you, Aleks Kaos! Curse you and your heroic family!"- He yells- "However, none of you will survive the battle with my employer. Mark my words, Kaos-- "
Suddenly, Jared stabs him in the head with Demonslayer.
The bandit leader dies immediately and his corpse starts to burn at an alarming rate. Soon, his whole body turns into ash, just like the one of the woman that Jared killed not long ago.
Jared sighs and kicks the ashes.
"Stupid bandits. Thinking that they are better than everyone else. That they can defeat anyone they want... "- He mutters.
He turns to his father.
"Do not worry, dad. Dorikas and his bandits will never defeat us. Not when we are fighting together, in the name of Justice."
Aleks smiles.
"The Kaos family was never defeated before."- He responds- "And we will never be defeated, especially by a bunch of disorganized, cowardly thugs who don't know how to properly fight a small band of dedicated heroes."
John nods.
"We have gone so far."- He adds- "To think that they can actually stop us from achieving our goal while we have the Demonslayer in our possession... they must be having a death wish right now."
Jared turns back to Boutell.
"Mr. Boutell, we are very sorry for dragging an old man like yourself into this mess."- He says- "I hope that you can forgive us."
Boutell nods and smiles.
"Why, you folks remind me of the time when I was young. When I used to fight such enemies myself and kill them with the weapons that I made with my own two hands. If anything, I would admire your superior fighting skills and be amazed by how bravely you fight those miscreants rather than hate you for making me stay with you while you do so, endangering my life in the process."
Jared nods.
"I am glad that you think so, sir. Speaking of enemies, we need to take care of the rest of them... "
He turns back to the wolf-things and stares at them as menacingly as he possibly can.
His strategy works! And, even though the creatures do not have a sense of fear as their automated selves, the part of them which is still animal kicks in and fills them with fear. Their insatiable hunger is quickly replaced with a sense of self-preservation.
They consider the enemy who stands in front of them to be too powerful for them to defeat. Instead of risking their lives trying to fight him, they decide to run away.
Jared watches as the creatures run away and notes that they are remarkably fast. He realizes that, part of the reason why Lysstak commanded his warriors to improve them was to give them inhuman strength and speed that could help them defeat their enemies with ease.
Counting himself and his allies as very lucky to have survived this dangerous encounter, he escorts everyone away from the ruins of Fort Draco, leaving this sad place behind.
The four of them arrive in Formello and leave Boutell there.
"The soldiers here will take good care of you."- Jared says to him before he leaves with his father and John- "Do not do anything reckless, okay?"
Boutell nods.
"Rest assured that I'll keep myself safe. I may be old, but I ain't frail. Not at all!"
"I ain't gonna stay here and watch those bandits kill the good people. I will help them!"
Jared smiles.
"Of course, of course."- He responds- "Take care, Mr. Boutell."
Boutell smiles and waves.
"Good luck, kiddo. May the ones above protect you and help you succeed in this sacred quest of yours!"
Aleks and John wait for Jared by the south gate of Formello. Once they see that he has come back, they approach him.
"I spoke with Barin and Aimee for a while."- Aleks says to his son- "It sounds like Lysstak has somehow learned that the Demonslayer has been reforged. And when he did, he ran further into the Northern Frontier, fearing that he will be killed by us."
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"What an absolute coward... "- He mutters.
He turns to his father.
"So, where is this cowardly fool now?"
Aleks smiles.
"Fortunately, I know the place where he hides now."- He responds- "It is the ruined city of Ahonaria, further east of Exodus. That place once was the home of a sect that called itself the Anama. Foolish souls whose beliefs taught them that magic is harmful in every way."
"Of course, when Dorikas first attacked the Northern Frontier, they were quite surprised when his mages used spells against them... and killed most of them in the process, sending the rest to run away."
"Now, the city is in ruins, undisturbed by anyone, but the looters with the biggest visions of grandeur. So, it is a nice place for a cowardly bandit leader to cower in fear and hide from the ones who are hunting him."
He draws his blade and smiles.
"So, are we ready to go?"- He says.
John shakes his head.
"I understand that you know where Lysstak is, Mr. Kaos."- He says- "But... the Northern Frontier is so far away! How can we ever go there?!"
Aleks smiles.
"Don't worry, my dear boy. Mr. Kaos has got everything well-planned and ready to be executed."- He responds- "Now come with me. I want to show you something very special, something that will help us reach this fiend very quickly."
The three of them leave the city of Formello and head towards the abandoned Fort Duvno, seemingly having a plan in mind.
What the plan really is remains to be seen very soon.