The Outskirts of Eversley Barony is an abandoned and forgotten place. Those who lived here were either discarded slaves or bandits... this place is infested with corrupt elites, conducting their dirty business where no one could see them... It was a lawless land where even the worst of crimes would go unnoticed.
the outskirts become almost literally the catch basin of the waste from the Barony above. Its residents survived on scraps, clinging to life in the filth and shadows.
A young boy walked along a dirty, rotting road. screams echoed in the distance...
'Ahh... why am I doing this?...'
he dragged a heavy bag on the ground... long, bloody, and reeking of death.
'this thing stinks...'
The boy visibly struggled under its weight. Exhausted, his frail frame barely managed to hold on, his body threatening to collapse onto the dirty road.
'Making me do all the dirty work! I will never forgive them!'
He cursed inwardly and pressed on. Soon, a ruined building came into view.
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Upon reaching the building the boy immediately dropped the bag on the ruined floor.
"Gods... this thing stinks so much..."
With trembling hands, he opened the bag... only to be greeted by a bloodied head inside. But the head wasn't all. Hands, legs, and other severed body parts filled the bag. The boy gasped, throwing it away in disgust before leaving the ruined building.
On his way back, the streets were filled with beggars... frail, starving, and barely clinging to life... there was barely anyone who could survive in the outskirts... you either worked until death or were sold as a slave. It was an unforgiving world, but the boy was determined to survive... for his older brother.
Suddenly, a scream pierced the silence.... The boy's heart clenched. That voice… it sounded familiar....?
His pace quickened, though exhaustion weighed him down.
'hopefully it's not who I think it is...'
This part of the outskirts was ruled by a group of bandits who called themselves The Black Vein. They weren't just a local gang… they were everywhere, infesting the entire outskirts of Kingdom of Vaeloria, not just Eversley Barony.
Another scream rang out.
for some reason The boy's heart pounded. It wasn't unusual for people to die in the outskirts… but this time, it felt different.
Despite his exhaustion, he rushed back.
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Near a rundown tavern, in a small hut…
A young man was tied down, his body bruised and bleeding. A bandit loomed over him, whip in hand.
"Talk Edwin! we don't have all day! Where is your Brother?!"
The whip cracked against Edwin's back, leaving a deep red welt. Another scream tore from his throat.
"We don't want to do this too Edwin! You know what your brother did!"
Edwin tried to speak, but before he could, the whip lashed out again.
"S-stop, Edgar! I-i don't know what you're talking about..!"
Edgar grinned.
"Acting stupid, are we? Your younger brother, Claude, released a hostage! Not just any hostage—a noble girl! Do you even understand what that means?! And your stupid brother released her!"
He whipped Edwin several more times before kicking him hard in the ribs.
"Are you gonna talk now?! Where is Claude?!"
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Meanwhile, Claude rushed back to the hut… the place he shared with his older brother, Edwin.
From a far Claude could hear the screams getting louder and louder.
From a distance, he saw two bandits guarding the entrance to the hut.
... those two were obviously guarding the door... he hid behind a wall before they could spot him.
'What the hell is happening?! There was no way they caught me! I was sure no one saw me release that noble girl!'
Claude's mind raced… confusion, anger, guilt.... but before he could do anything... the screams stopped... it was quiet... as quiet as the outskirts can be at least. Claude peeked from behind the crumbling wall.
Edgar stepped out of the hut, his hands covered in blood.... Claude's heart sank.
Taking a detour, he rushed to the back of the hut. Through a broken window, he saw it…
What he saw was a bloodied corpse. A knife buried deep in its chest.…
Claude's breath caught in his throat.
'No… No, no, no!'
Claude was devastated... but he refused to believe what was in his mind.
He climbed through the window, stumbling toward the corpse. Flipping it over, he froze....
His worst fear had come true.
Claude's mind shattered.
Claude couldn't believe what his eyes saw, he tried to deny it, he refused to believe it…
But it was… It was Edwin.
Memories flooded in Claude's mind. He remembered everything he did with his brother, whether it was the laughter, the struggles, the pain, the fleeting moments of happiness. Suddenly a flood of emotions filled Claude's mind. Tears blurred his vision. Anger, grief, jealousy, despair… all consuming him at once.
'W-why… Why is this happening?! I didn't want to live like this! Why was I born like this—a filthy outskirts rat?! Why can't I be happy?! WHY?!'
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
{Claudius of the Outskirts, You have awakened.}
His breathing turned ragged.
'I-i will... I will never forgive who made this world... I will never forgive anyone who has wronged me... I... I... I WILL KILL THEM ALL!!'
Outside, Edgar ordered one of the bandits,
"Dispose of the corpse before it starts rotting. I'll inform the boss."
Claude heard Edgar... but before Claude could react he felt his mind slipping... His sight grew hazy and the voices grew further and further away... before blacking out Claude grabbed the knife from his brother's corpse and hid under the rundown bed.
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Edgar was washing his hands from Edwin's blood, one of the two bandits was still near the door as Edgar was ordering the other.
"You heard me! go ahead and dispose of that corpse before it starts rotting! I'm going to tell the boss about the situation."
The bandits didn't waste much time and entered the hut,grimacing at the bloody scene.... One of them crouched in order to search the corpse.
Suddenly one of them screamed. He immediately collapsed, his leg stabbed.
Before the second bandit could react… his throat was slit open.
The first bandit, still in pain, looked up and froze. Claude stood there. His presence was different.
Before the bandit could call for help, a knife pierced his heart.
Claude, with heightened senses, heard movement outside. Someone was coming.
He hid behind the door… waiting.
Edgar rushed back, hearing the screams from afar.
Entering the hut, his eyes widened at the gruesome sight… his men were slaughtered. one had his throat cut and the other was stabbed through his leg and neck…
"What the hell—"
Edgar searched the hut but Suddenly, pain erupted in his leg.
He quickly turned around just to feel another stab in his leg.
He looked down to see Claude trying to stab him again. With a snarl, Edgar kicked him away and activated his Aetheris technique, enhancing his body.
With inhuman speed, he lunged at Claude… who was still trying to recover from being kicked.
his fist slamming into Claude, sending him crashing into the wall.
Claude coughed up blood but forced himself to stand.
"You awakened your Aetheris huh... that could be useful... if you surrender now, I can turn a blind eye and act as if nothing happened here. we can also find a job for you."
He prepared to strike again… but before he could get into stance Claude hurled a knife at him.
Edgar dodged, but the distraction was enough...
"Is that your abil..."
Before finishing his sentence A second knife plunged into his stomach. by another knife he took from one of the two bandits' corpses... Claude twisted the knife.
"D-dirty rat…!" Edgar spat blood.
He kicked Claude away, but stumbled, his body failing him. Edgar was in extreme Pain...
Not only was he stabbed in the stomach, but he was also stabbed two times in his leg…
He was bleeding heavily. His wounds weren't light at all.
Due to years of living in the outskirts, Claude knew that Edgar wasn't dead but it was just a matter of time for Edgar to die due to severe blood loss…
Claude looked at himself. He was also tired but not as tired as Edgar…
Claude grinned, his bloodied hands trembling
Then, he laughed.
"heh... Hahahaha, Hahahaha!"
"Hahahahahaha."
He laughed crazily... A twisted, jarring laughter. He laughed so much that he went out of breath, A laughter more unsettling than tears.
After a few seconds, he collapsed on top of his brother's Corpse.
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Hours later…
The Boss noticed that Edgar was taking a lot more time than he was supposed to...
The boss grew impatient.
'Edgar should've been back by now.'
He sent a few bandits to check on him. When they arrived, they shivered in fear… they found nothing but Death.
They saw Edgar and the other two bandits dead on the ground.
And Claude… unconscious on the blood-soaked floor.
But Edwin's body?
Nowhere to be found.