Chapter16

"Ughk-"

The hit sent him flying backward so hard he lost his grip on the axe and crashed into the dirt several meters away.

Hajin landed in a low stance with the sword already in his hand, breathing rough and keeping distance between himself and the three of them.

Cassie froze, staring at him while her heart kicked hard in her chest.

'What just happened?' she thought, tightening her grip on the knife at her waist, 'he looked dead a second ago.'

'I already checked him with my magic,' she thought, eyes fixed on Hajin, 'his condition was terrible, his mana was low and that flow inside him felt strange even then,' she narrowed her eyes, still using her magic to scan him, 'but now it's even worse.'

Mana moved through him in a way she had never seen before, not clean like a normal adventurer but not broken either. It kept circling through his body in odd patterns that made her eyes sting a little.

Then she noticed the ring of light orbiting his wrist slowly and her breath caught, 'what is that?' she thought, her pulse climbing even faster, 'shouldn't there be a shard there?'

'No, something is wrong here,' she thought, a cold warning crawling up the back of her neck, 'we should leave, right now.'

Hajin's eyes moved across all of them, sharp and cold despite how rough he looked, then the tip of his sword came up, pointing straight at them.

"Who the fuck are you people?"

"We should go," she whispered, not taking her eyes off him. "Something is wrong with him, let's just leave."

The man Hajin kicked coughed behind her and pushed himself back to his feet with a curse.

"Leave?" he said, rubbing his chest once before his face twisted. "After that bastard kicked me?"

"Don't," she said quickly, turning toward him. "I am serious, we need to go."