"What the hell!!!! YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Poduria's enraged voice pierced the night, startling Lyco. She planted her feet on the porch fence, ready to leap forward.
At the sudden scream of Poduria, Alan got startled as he quickly sat up, gazing at the porch to see her and Lyco. But before them, Alan saw a woman shrouded partly in darkness rise from behind the fence of the side of the porch, aiming an arrow at Poduria. Alan didn't waste a single second to scramble to his feet as he, in his blinding speed, jumped towards Poduria and threw her out of the way. However, he was a bit slow in moving away from the arrow's direction and bore the full impact of it.
As the arrow tore through Alan's shoulder, it hurled him away, breaking through the porch railing. The impact and pain made Alan dizzy, and his vision blurred. Through the haze, he saw Lyco screaming and running towards him before losing consciousness.
"ALAN!!!!!!!!" Lyco screamed, rushing to Alan's side. Alan lay unconscious, blood gushing from his shoulder where the arrow was lodged. Pudoria followed Lyco frantically, letting out a frustrated grunt. She quickly commanded the water from a nearby pond, using it to form a makeshift bandage around the arrow and Alan's wound to stem the bleeding.
Armis jolted awake from his half-slumber at the sound of Lyco's scream. He looked around in confusion, trying to discern what was happening, but before he could fully gather his bearings, Aurelia's scream pierced the air, jolting him fully awake. He watched in horror as she came flying out of the kitchen, landing on the floor with a loud thud. Rushing to her side, Armis pulled her upright, his concern turning to rage as he saw her bleeding and injured, her arm bearing slashes from a dagger.
The kitchen filled with echoing footsteps as Armis raised his furious gaze towards a large man clad in heavy armor and baggy pants, a shoulder cover tied to his chest. He grinned at Armis with a sinister expression, gripping Relecta's neck tightly as she struggled in his grasp.
Armis lunged forward in rage, but before he could even take a step, a powerful stomping blow struck him from behind, slamming his head against the floor. He groaned in pain, his temple throbbing from the impact. As he struggled to regain his bearings, the attacker emerged from the darkness, revealing his face to Armis's furious eyes. It was Tritus, his broken jaw badly patched up and teeth missing, sneering at Armis with a muffled voice.
"You missed me, kiddo," he taunted.
Poduria desperately tried to stem Alan's bleeding, urgency evident in her voice as she ordered Lyco, "Go get the potion from my knapsack in my room!"
Lyco sprang into action at her command, but as he took a step forward, an arrow narrowly missed his face, embedding itself in the wall. Startled and breathing heavily, Lyco turned to see Alina, her bruised face twisted into a malicious grin.
Shocked, Lyco yelled at her, "YOU! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Alina smirked, moving towards them as she retorted in frustration, "Me? Well, what can we say? We just missed you..."
Quick on his feet, Lyco wasted no time and grunted as he began manipulating the ground beneath him to attack Alina. But before he could do anything, a battle axe came flying at him with speed. Instinctively, Lyco raised the ground above to protect himself, successfully blocking the attack. However, the battle axe was thrown with such force that it broke through Lyco's rock barrier and slammed into him, pinning him against the wall of the house.
Pudoria, enraged and startled by Alina's presence, abandoned Alan's aid and growled, "What the fuck?!! Alina?!" With no hesitation, she formed numerous bullet drops of water in the air, preparing to attack Alina.
However, just as she was about to unleash her attack, Pudoria caught a glimpse of an arrow coming at her from the corner of her eye. With no time to maneuver, she took the direct hit of the explosive arrow, sending her flying to the other side of the porch.
As the water bandage from Alan's wound dissipated and blood started gushing out again, and with Pudoria writhing in pain on the ground, Lyco's rage boiled over. Frantically trying to break free from the shackles of the battle axe, he screamed at Alina, "You bitch! We made a mistake leaving you with a warning! WE SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!!!"
Alina, unfazed by Lyco's threats, approached him with a mocking grin on her busted and patched lips. She taunted Lyco on their perceived stupidity, saying, "Well, I can't say you're wrong right now. You should have, because you know what happened after you HUMILIATED US and DISRESPECTED US! At first, we did consider retreating back to Pompeii, but fortunately, we found some friends." As she spoke, five imposing figures emerged from the darkness, illuminated by the raging fire growing behind them.
Lyco watched in furious horror as two women and three men walked beside Alina, all dressed in identical outfits consisting of red overalls covered with heavy armor and brown leather shoulder guards, fastened with belts to their chests. Below, they wore baggy red pants, while the women wore skirts, complete with shin guards. The men bore numerous scars on their terrifying faces, and the women sported short hair and sinister smiles. As Lyco stared in terror, Alina continued, "Let me introduce you to the Veni Bandits of the 18th floor."
As she finished her sentence, Lyco's attention diverted towards the door, where a man's grunt echoed out followed by Relecta hurling onto the porch. Behind her loomed a big man, carrying an unconscious Aurelia on his shoulder, while Tritrus followed, smiling at Lyco with his broken jaw and passing him a creepy grin as he dragged a beaten-up Armis by his hair, shackles binding his hands and feet.
Tritus kicked Armis in the gut, leaving him writhing in agony, before joining Alina's side. The two shared a grotesque kiss, their mangled jaws and tongues intertwining. After their overly passionate display, they turned their gaze towards Lyco. Alina approached him, her eyes brimming with malicious intent. With a frustrating glare, she spat at Lyco before raising her hand, fingers missing, wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
She thrust her blood-soaked hand before Lyco's eyes, pointing accusingly at Tritrus with her other hand. Her voice thundered with rage as she yelled at him, "NOW!!!! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS AND THAT!!!"
Lyco, writhing in silent agony, gazed around at the scene before him. His eyes filled with bloodshot tears as he looked at Alan, whose complexion was growing paler from blood loss. His gaze shifted to Pudoria, her face and chest marred with burns, her torn clothes revealing her injuries. Helplessly, he watched Armis, his face swollen and bloodied, lying unconscious on the ground beside Aurelia and Relecta, both badly beaten.
Lyco winced in agony as Alina rejoined the group of bandits with Tritrus. He watched helplessly as she ordered the bandits, her voice dripping with venom, "Burn the whole house and farm and everything around it. Leave them to die, burning alive so they can feel what we felt when they arrogantly," she gritted her teeth, a tear welling up in her eyes. Tritrus rushed to embrace her as she continued, "Looted us, leaving us naked to our shame."
As her tear fell, Tritrus comforted her and led her away from the group. The bandits grinned menacingly at Lyco. The women fueled the fire with explosive arrows and fire arrows, while the men picked up his friends from the ground, preparing to throw them into the large raging fire of the farm.
In a fit of agony and rage, Lyco screamed and cursed at the bandits, pleading for them to stop. "NO! Leave them alone, you bastards! PUT THEM DOWN! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! Aahh!!" He struggled to break free from the axe, but it held him firmly in place. Despite his cries, the bandits continued following their orders without hesitation.
Helplessly trapped, Lyco watched in anguish as one of the men approached Alan and lifted him up. Lyco yelled and cursed at the man, but the bandits paid no heed. Then, with a sinking feeling in his heart, he saw another man dragging Pudoria across the ground by her feet.
As Lyco watched in horror as Poduria and his friends were dragged toward their fiery demise, a towering figure from the bandits approached him, reaching for his battle axe. Suddenly, Lyco's mind snapped, and he let out a deafening battle cry that silenced the chaos around him.
The man approaching Lyco, along with everyone else, watched in anticipation as the fire grew more ferocious with each passing moment, fueled by Lyco's unrelenting scream.
Suddenly, from the ground near Lyco, pillars of stone and rocks emerged, shocking everyone and sending them into panic. Lyco's scream continued, his eyes devoid of any pupils, as he commanded the rocks of the wall he was pinned on to come out with force, bashing the head of the man standing in front of him. With a swift motion, Lyco freed himself and manipulated the wall on which the battle axe was stuck, hurling it toward the man dragging Poduria.
Enraged, Lyco silenced his scream and, using hand gestures, commanded the ground beneath Poduria's house and farm to erupt with pillars of rock. These pillars emerged and struck the heads of all the bandits, including Alina and Tritus, in a powerful display of vengeance.
As Lyco's attack struck, the bandits released his friends. Lyco swiftly made his way to Poduria, pulling her upright. Observing her exposed skin, he cast a commanding glare towards the entrance of the house. In an instant, a slab of rock surged out from the house towards him, bearing a blanket.
Lyco swiftly covered Poduria with the blanket, holding her protectively. As she began to stir, her eyes fluttering open, she saw Lyco's reassuring smile. She reached out to him, but before their hands could meet, an arrow tore through Lyco's shoulder, sending him flying away from Poduria's embrace. Shocked and scared, Poduria regained her senses, staggering to her feet. She turned to see a woman from the bandits, standing at a distance, having launched the attack on Lyco.
Filled with rage, Poduria grunted loudly and swiftly commanded the water from the pond. With no hesitation, she hurled it towards her attacker, transforming it into shackles around the woman's neck. As the woman struggled for breath, Poduria levitated her in the air, tightening the shackles.
Despite her suffocation, the woman aimed her bow staggeringly at Poduria, but before she could release the arrow, a rock came flying from behind Poduria, striking the woman's head and incapacitated her as she fell limp, the bow and arrow dissipating into nothingness. Poduria released her grip, letting the woman fall to the ground.
Turning around, Poduria saw Lyco standing up, his shoulder wounded, staggering slightly. She rushed to his side, concern etched on her face as she reached out to support him.
With emotionless eyes blazing with rage, Lyco acted without hesitation, yanking the arrow from his shoulder with a steely grip. Ignoring the pain, he let out another battle cry. In an instant, Lyco commanded the ground beneath him to lift him off the ground. With swift movements, he scooped Poduria into his arms as they charged toward their attackers, their eyes ablaze with vengeance.
Regaining consciousness near the blazing bonfire, Relecta's eyes fluttered open, and she was met with a sight that sent panic coursing through her veins: Alan, pale and bloodied, lying dangerously close to the fire. With a surge of fear, she attempted to crawl toward him, her movements hindered by the lingering effects of her earlier concussion. Desperation laced her voice as she called out to Alan, trying to rouse him before the menacing flames could reach him. "Boss!!!! Boss!! B..Boss..BOSS!!!"
But her cries unheard, Alan still lay unconscious. Relecta continued to crawl desperately towards him, her calls for him becoming increasingly frantic. However, instead of Alan, her cries caught the attention of someone else. Relecta's heart pounded with fear as she heard footsteps drawing near.
With mounting terror, she turned to find a towering figure wielding an enormous mace advancing towards her. Panic surged through her as she intensified her cries, her desperation for Alan to wake up growing with each passing moment. Tears streamed down her face as the menacing man closed in on her with a sinister glare and a chilling smile.
With fear gripping her heart, Relecta refused to succumb to death just yet. As the menacing figure raised his mace with a murderous intent, she stretched out her trembling hand towards him, summoning all her remaining strength to command her tears to coalesce into a small cannonball. However, her desperate attempt went unnoticed by the relentless attacker, who continued his advance without hesitation. With a deafening scream, Relecta cried out at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the chaos, "BOSS!!!!!!"