Ben"s mother made a huge supper for everyone. The mood around the table was a joyous one with Grayson and Ben returning. Joe even splurged a bit and bought some wine from the market.The food and drinks flowed smoothly as they celebrated. Ben got to know Allana a little better after talking with her.
She was from a reserve near the city of North Battleford. She was on her way home from University when the system started but luckily she was able to get her cla.s.s quickly to defend herself.
Cathy quickly healed Grayson"s wounds and he changed into a different robe. Seeing the blood on Ben"s hand Cathy started to fret, wanting to heal him.
"Don"t worry mom, it"s not my blood." Ben"s smile was cold.
Cathy looked at him confused.
"Mom how do you think I am here? Do you honestly think I was able to beat Ca.s.sie being poisoned?" Grayson chuckled, knowing how innocent his mom was.
"Well… I don"t know." she frowned, not knowing what to think.
"Ben and Cloey killed Ca.s.sie and all his men." Grayson said with a straight face.
Joe was surprised by the revelation. He knew that the city"s lord, Jack, protected his son with many guards and Ca.s.sie"s strength wasn"t weak either.
"B-but now they will kill you!" Cathy shrieked in panic. She just got her sons back and didn"t want to lose them again.
Dismissing her worries with a wave of his hand, "Don"t worry. If they come they will die. Even if they don"t come they are going to die." Coldness radiated from Ben.
Joe looked at his son, "Are you sure?" It was a simple question but had a deeper meaning.
A huge grin appeared on Ben"s face, "Absolutely." he said br.i.m.m.i.n.g with certainty.
"Good then." Joe said nodding his head, he started eating again.
Cathy looked back and forth between her husband and son, still worried but let it go.
Just when Ben was about to start eating again he was interrupted.
"What"s on your arms?" Joe scowled at Ben. "I don"t remember raising a thug."
Ben"s parents were fairly conservative and stuck to their own stubborn ways. Neither of them had any tattoos and mom only had her ears pierced.
"You didn"t dad. It"s part of my cla.s.s." Ben quickly said, a little nervous. Killing 4 mutant zombies? No problem. Facing his dad"s scorn? He would choose the zombies twice.
"Your cla.s.s? What does it have to do with your cla.s.s?" he asked, not fully believing his son.
Ben was about to explain but something stopped him. A cold smile appeared on his face, "I"ll show you. We have company."
Ben got up from the kitchen table and walked towards the door. Cloey was right behind him, knowing something was up.
The rest of the family looked at each other before getting up and following Ben outside.
The sun was starting to set, making the sky red. Outside of his family"s house there was around a hundred people or so. They had surrounded the house making sure they couldn"t get away.
Ben smiled as he greeted the crowd, "h.e.l.lo everyone, how can I help you?"
A skinny man stepped forward, "Are you the one who killed my son?" his voice filled with anger.
"If your son was trying to kill my brother at the duel this morning then yes. I killed him. Is there a problem?" Ben"s smile never faltered, he talked to the man like he would a friend.
The man didn"t answer, he glared at him and tightened his grip on his weapon.
Another person stepped forward, "What gives you the rights to kill anyone?"
"The rights? Hahaha! This does!" Ben stuck his fist out. "If your fist is bigger than mine, how can I stop you from killing me? This is the way it is now. If you don"t like it, get stronger."
Complaints and disagreements sprang up from the crowd. Ben just shook his head in annoyance.
"Enough talking! You want revenge? Come get it! Anyone who steps back will be spared, anyone who stays will be killed. You have 3 seconds!" Ben yelled at the crowd.
"3! 2! 1!" Ben counted down.
No one backed down, whether it was because Ben didn"t give them enough time or they thought they could kill him, he didn"t know.
"He"s just a brat! Let"s kill him!" The same skinny man yelled, charging Ben.
Ben looked at his dad, "You wanted to know what my tattoos had to do with my cla.s.s right dad? Watch." Ben coldy smiled, holding his right arm out.
The tattoo started to move, turning into a transparent mist. The mist started to form into a giant wolf, Duke.
Duke"s shoulders stood 2m tall, with his black fur he seemed to block out the already dying sun from the sky. Everyone stopped and stared in horror at Duke.
*Growl*
Duke started growling at the crowd, showing his huge fangs.
"We will step back." The man said in fear looking at Duke.
"Too late." Ben"s voice sounded like ice. "Kill them."
Duke took off towards the crowd and started to ma.s.sacre. Every swipe with his claws killed a group of people, his jaws bit people in half and his tail sent some flying. Screams filled the air as Duke became a grim reaper. Some people were able to fight back with their weapons but still were no match for Duke. The killing only lasted 1 minute before it was over.
Duke, who was covered in blood, padded over Bennett and sat down. Ben petted Duke"s head, "Good job buddy."
"They were weak Master. No fun." he complained.
"Don"t worry, next time it should be somewhat of a challenge." Ben a.s.sured him.
Looking back towards his family he saw them staring at Duke, horrified.
An evil smirk appeared on Ben"s face as he whispered to Duke.
…
"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Grayson was thinking. His brother had summoned a demonic beast that slaughtered over 100 people in less than a minute.
The beast was a giant black wolf that reminded him of the biblical h.e.l.l hound. After ma.s.sacring the crowd, the wolf walked over to Ben and sat down like a normal dog! What"s more is that Ben started to pet him like one! What kind of freak was his brother!
The wolf then got up and started walking over towards them. Grayson instantly stiffened as he didn"t know what to do.
Allana hid behind him, shaking in fear. Dad stepped in front of mom, Grayson could still see the fear on his face.
The wolf came closer and started to sniff his dad, Joe didn"t react and continued to stare at the wolf. The wolf stopped bothering dad and started to sniff Grayson.
Grayson closed his eyes, trying not to p.i.s.s himself. He felt something warm, opening his eyes he saw the wolf was licking him.
"What the…" Grayson stopped, he saw Ben laughing as immediately figured it out.
Cloey who was standing beside Ben looked at him with resentment, "You did the same thing to me."
"You were so scared too." Ben continued to laugh, causing Cloey to step on his foot in anger.
…
Jack stood on top of a nearby building watching the wolf ma.s.sacre. He had sent these people to gauge Ben"s strength and plan accordingly but somehow he summoned a wolf.
"Is he a tamer? No his physical stats are too high. Maybe it was a special one time item?"
Jack didn"t know what to make out of Duke and Ben.
A man appeared behind him.
"Interesting right?" the man said looking at Ben.
"Can you handle the wolf?" Jack got straight to the point.
"Yes. It shouldn"t be a problem." the man replied.
"Good. We will attack tonight." Jack said, his voice filled with killing intent.
…
"... you"re telling me this is Duke, our farm dog."
Ben"s family was stunned at the revelation. They couldn"t believe that the old dog they had not only survived but was a giant wolf who could slaughter a 100 people no problem.
Joe was staring at the tattoo of Duke on Ben"s arm, "So that"s why you have those tattoos. What about the other one?"
Ben held up his right arm showing Ava to his family, "This is Ava. I don"t know much about her myself as we just contracted together the other day and she has been asleep, recovering from her injuries ever since."
Allana was mesmerized by the black and gold colouring, "She"s beautiful." she muttered.
"Shall we finish our meal?" Ben asked still hungry.
Cloey nodded furiously, making Ben laugh.
"Glutton." he teased causing Cloey to turn red.
Cathy saw this and a knowing smirk creeped on her face.
"Cloey dear why don"t you sit next to me." she said offering the chair beside her.
Nodding shyly, Cloey sat down next to Cathy. She answered the questions Cathy asked in between mouthfuls.
"Are you an elf my dear?"
"Snow Elf."
"How long have you been traveling with Ben?"
"Four months."
"How did you meet?"
"I was being chased by some men and he killed them."
"Oh ho! Saving the damsel in distress, what a cliche Benny." Cathy teased her son.
"Damsel my a.s.s, more like a demoness." Ben muttered loud enough for her to hear.
"Ben that"s not how to talk to a lady." Cathy scolded, "Now apologize."
Ben looked to his dad for help but the man suddenly was very interested in his food. Cloey had a triumphant look as she waited for Ben"s apology.
"Sorry Cloey." he muttered, not sincere at all.
"Good now you can do the dishes with Grayson. With all the blood on your hands maybe doing to dishes will help cleansome of it off." although Cathy was against killing, she knew what kind of world they lived in now. She still wanted her boys not to kill for pleasure.
"Fine." Ben said, complaining in his heart how it was like he was 15 again.
After the table was cleared and the dishes were done, everyone decided to turn in for the night. There wasn"t any spare bedrooms so Cloey and Allana shared a bed and Ben and Grayson would share a bed.
Before going to bed, Ben pulled Cloey over to the side, "Something might happen tonight so keep your guard up. You might have to protect my family while I will deal with them." Ben voice was serious, he could feel something was going to happen and knew his family would be safe if Cloey protected them.
"Okay," Cloey nodded, before shyly adding, "be safe."
Looking at her charming red face Ben felt like he lost his soul.
"You better stop being so charming or my beastly desires might take over." he teased grabbing her hand.
Her face turned even redder as she tried to pull her hand back without success. She sent a wave of frost into Ben"s hand causing him to let go and yelp.
She ran into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.
"Jeesh alway overreacting." he said as he went to Grayson"s room.
Grayson was changing out of his robes and into a pair of sweats and a t shirt.
"Why do you wear a robe?" Ben was curious about his brothers fashion choices.
"All mages where them dumba.s.s, it boost casting speed and spell power." Grayson rolled his eyes at Ben"s lack of common sense.
"Really?" Ben"s eyes shone, "Is there armour I can get to do the same thing?"
"Yes. You can get any kind of armour from the systems store. Also blacksmith shops sell it." Grayson explained.
"Looks like I am going shopping tomorrow." Ben was excited.
Ben then looked towards the ceiling before giving a light smile, "I have some things to take care of. I"ll be back later." Ben activated his shadow element and disappeared into the shadows.
Grayson stood there in disbelief, how many secrets did his brother have?
…
Ben appeared on the room, seeing a short man already waiting for him.
"We haven"t been introduced. I"m Jack, you are?" the man spoke with confidence in his voice.
"Ben."
"Well Ben you killed my son. So I must kill you and your family. But don"t worry, the women will live and will be sold off into brothels." the short man"s voice took a cold edge as he talked.
"Oh is that so?" killing intent rolled off Ben in waves. "Why don"t you tell that coward hiding to come out."
Another man appeared from the shadow of a building. "I"m surprised you could sense me."
Ben smiled to himself, the shadows are his domain, of course he could sense you.
"Summon your beast and let"s fight." the short man said, taking a large axe from his storage s.p.a.ce.
Ben summoned his swords and coldly smiled, "I"m more than enough."