A Story of Evil

Vines cover the area where the trees were. These hung down the branches and were thick enough for Nathan to believe that, Hendrickson would be able to swing down them without the vines snapping. They had no way to test this out however, nor was Nathan planning to swing their way towards their opponents. Nor was Hendrickson planning to entertain this same idea.

The area was slowly getting darker. It was nearly noon and the two have neither rested nor ate. This is all because of Hendrickson of course. Wanting to return the favor to the Detonator Monkeys which they encountered.

Nathan on the other hand was very weary of where they were. It didn't look like the safest of places and, for some reason he also felt like there was something wrong with the place. That's why, he voiced out his concern to Hendrickson yet again.

"Wait." Hendrickson wasn't able to hear this. He was too focused on his goal to hear anything aside from the sounds which the monsters will make.

Nathan thought that this would be the case. That's why he tried once more. Increasing his voice to make sure that his partner will hear him that time around.

"Rick I said wait!" There was still no response, nor any sign of slowing down. Forcing Nathan to use up all the air in his lungs as he shouted.

"HENDRICKSON!"

Even then, the steel user didn't give a response. He continued running – unaware that they were possibly being lured inside a trap. It left a bad taste on Nathan's mouth and, he didn't like the idea of getting killed because of stupidity.

"For the love of..." Nathan created a small burst of flame right in front of Hendrickson. Finally making the steel user stop who, was gasping for breath as much as Nathaniel was.

"T-This better be...w-worth it." Hendrickson said, forced to wheeze out whatever air he had left on his lungs. Forcing more air to come in as he let just as much go out through his mouth.

Due to his large frame, Hendrickson was easily exhausted. His body needed more energy in order to move, thius explaining why he was on a worse state compared to Nathaniel whose exhaustion wasn't as bad.

"Don't you think this place is getting too dark?"

"O-Of course it's getting dark. W-were entering into enemy te-ritorry."

"That's why we need to stop and think about this. If those things are smart enough, then they'd surely set up their territory to kill any tresspasers."

"So what w-e can ea-sily take care of them."

"Take care of them? Come on Rick, look at your state. What are you planning to do when we get there? Do you think they'd wait for you to get your stamina back before attacking?"

Hendrickson wanted to reply but his head was spinning. He couldn't think straight anymore and was relying heavily on Nathan's assistance. Plus his own paced breathing was getting the better of him, preventing him from doing anything else other than making sure that he was still breathing.

"I'm not as smart as our leader but I could at least think sensibly about this. We're definitely heading for a trap man. We need to expect that much at least." Nathan paused for a while. Wanting his words to sink in to Hendrickson who was still quiet at that moment.

"Plus, we need to replenish ourselves. Aside from taking away our exhaustion, we need to eat and hydrate ourselves. There's a limit to how much we can punish our bodies and if we go beyond that, then the fight would be one sided."

"And by one sided I mean we'd get killed." Nathan added. Making sure that this part was understood by Hendrickson.

"You sure talk a lot huh." The steel user finally replied.

"Well if I don't talk a lot then we'd die. D.I.E." Nathan said again, repeating it as much as he needed. And that time, he seemed to have finally got through to Hendrickson because, the man finally surrendered.

"We'll continue running after we take a break."

"Of course. But before that we need to properly rest."

"Okay I'll listen to you."

Nathan wasn't as smart as Sol, nor was he even close to the level of wit possessed by Alice and Jade. He was just a bit above average. But even this much has gotten him out of countless deadly situations because, he had his words that always made up for this lack.

Nathan is naturally gifted in persuading people. He would always talk based on the situation given and, on the benefits he could give to the one he is speaking to. Of course this is natural for someone who trades with another person. Even Sol would do this much but, what makes Nathan different is that his voice would somehow entice the other person to accept his offer.

It was a kind of charisma. One which would fit a salesman or any type of leader quite well. But Nathan was neither a salesman nor a leader. He was just another soldier – a fighter. In fact, he wouldn't have even been part of that mission if not for King Nova adding him and Cinder. And this wasn't because of any skill they had in fighting. The king made it clear that, their only use were as fuel to Jade's flames.

It was humiliating. He was a survivor of the Culling but has done nothing significant. He was placed on the Domain Expansion team yet was simply another person under the platoon of Alice Pendragon. He is an average person through and through. A person who pales in comparison to the main members of the team.

But he didn't let this get to him. He wasn't that feeble nor petty. Although he wanted to be part of the limelight, Nathaniel knew that his role would always be that of a support. One capable of persuading even the leaders if the situation required.

And at that moment he was perfectly fulfilling this role. Taming the wild Hendrickson and making sure that the big guy would sit down and rest like he was told. And Nathan even had the perfect topic to make sure that it stays like that.

"How about we discuss how we'll kill those monsters while we're at it?"

"What do you mean? All I have to do is to keep on hacking them down right?"

"Yeah but, a strategy like that won't benefit us for long. If you continue getting hit by the explosives they throw while you chop down the trees, then even your [Iron Clad] would definitely be chipped away."

The skill Nathan was referring to is the same skill which made Hendrickson a formidable vanguard. The skill makes Hendrickson's whole body turn as strong as steel and, even stronger than that. In fact, [Iron Clad] uses a specific amount of mana and, depending on how much is poured on the skill, Hendrickson can make his skin even sturdier and more resilient to damage.

But just like any sort of defense, this too has a limit. And this same limit was the one thing which Nathan talked about. Something which even Hendrickson recognized.

"You have a point. What do you have in mind then?" The steel user said in reply.

"We'll need to catch them off guard and find their power source. For monsters their strength, something like a power to turn pebbles into bombs doesn't seem that believable."

"So you're saying there's a stronger monster among them?"

"Yes. It's either that or they have a power source which..."

"Which?"

"Could potentially be a mana crystal."

"WHAAAAT!?!"

"Calm down big guy."

"How can I calm down when you've just told me what I wanted to hear?"

"It's only a possibility so we're not sure yet."

"But there's a chance right?"

Nathan was lying. He knew that there was no way a crystal would be there. But he needed the perfect bait. And for Hendrickson, this meant the possibility of finding the one thing which would place them above the other teams.

"Yes there is a possibility. That's why you need to listen to every word I say because if we approach things haphazardly, then we may just break the crystal itself. Or worse, the monkeys might run away with it."

"No that cannot happen!" Hendrickson sat back down, listening intently to what Nathan had to say. The steel user was completely lured by Nathan without him even noticing it.

The two began speaking of the strategy they would use. How they needed to be careful from that point onwards and, how everything would rely at their coordination. Nathan used up as much time as he needed. Extending his explanations in order to make sure that Hendrickson would get his stamina back.

He is just an average soldier. But even an average soldier can be useful at the right moments. And Nathan wanted to make sure that he was so.