"Harkon," Vacuse said.
The boy was a big boy with limbs far for his age, his eyes narrowed on Lyra. "Don't eat that!"
His right hand came down and he took one of the swords, he lifted it, his shoulder flexing and then with no apparent show of strength he threw it.
Whoosh! Clang!
The sword shot forward like an arrow blurring so fast it seemed to disappear. Lyra tried to jump away but it was useless, her shoulder and wounded leg got in her way.
The sword aimed for her head but suddenly another sword appeared and slapped it away casually.
"Harkon," Vacuse repeated. "This girl is now my instrument, do you want to kill her?"
Harkon stared at him. "How do you know my name?"
Harkon of the Flaming Swords. Vacuse knew of him in his past life, he was also a genius in the family's new standard. At such a young age, he had already created a personal technique with the force where he could able to concentrate all his energy in a single hand and use it to throw weapons at an incredible speed.
When he grew up, the beast he bound with granted him the power of elemental fire fire, and each of the sword swords he threw caused a massive explosion.
He also had a weird fascination with swords, which that was why he didn't use proper throwing weapons like the a spear.
Vacuse didn't have anything against him, they had barely interacted in his past life as Harkon was stationed at an outpost.
"It doesn't matter. Answer my question. Do you want to kill her?" Vacuse asked again.
Harkon stared at the tree, there were no more fruits and then he stared at Vacuse. "Share your fruit and I won't kill her."
Vacuse frowned and weighed it. He didn't really have any more use for the fruits and he had already marked Lyra as his tool for the future.
He looked down at her and she stared back at him, her face calm and clear, the fruit already consumed.
Vacuse yanked the sword from her shoulder so unexpectedly and then he turned to Harkon. "How do you do that again? Let's see, you move the force inside of you to your hand and then coil it inside your muscles."
With his increase in soul space and Force in the new his new life and the hard work he did in his past life to manage every little energy he had for fighting, Vacuse already had perfect control of his force.
He turned his hand backwards, the bloody sword pointing back and then he shoved it.
Bam!
An intense energy shot out of his hand with a blast of wind. The sword was faster than an arrow as it flew and slammed into the head of a girl that who was reaching for one of the two remaining fruits.
"I guess that's how you did it," Vacuse nodded to himself.
Harkon paused, he looked at where the girl was crumpled, her sword pooling on the fruits. He shook his head. "I am not trying to kill her."
"You seem like a thick head but you still have some brains. You caused the wound so you should dress it. Is the girl part of your team?"
He shook his head as he tore strips out of his robe. "She's not. But the remaining survivors have had turned into two teams. One with me and the other one with another team. I think they have moved around to the back."
Vacuse returned to his fruits, they were covered in blood and he cleaned them on the clothes of the dead girl. "Tell me, who is the one leading the second team?"
"Kagerou Vorrakyn."
Vacuse went very still.
Kagerou Vorrakyn. Known as the deadliest Vorrakyn during their time, he was Drenvar's shadow. His assassin. And he was good at his job.
Not only was he skillful in the art of assassination, the beast of the Dragonkin that he bound was a very rare one. Not powerful but rare and one that complemented Kagerou's skill.
Vacuse grinned. "Kagerou? Good."
He turned and faced the place where Kagerou was hiding. "I have the fruit, Kagerou. If you want them, come before me. Don't even think of hiding and striking from the back."
The clearing became silent immediately and then the bush rustled and a boy came out. He held a broken sword, the perfect length for a dagger and he walked with soundless steps.
"Kagerou," Vacuse said.
A pale face with big black eyes stared at him, slight frame, suspicion focused on him. "How do you know about me? You said stabbing in the back and this is the first time I'm seeing you."
Vacuse shrugged. "Does it matter? You want these fruits, don't you, Harkon and Kagerou?"
They didn't answer, it was apparent. It was all they needed.
Vacuse went straight to the point. The two of them were skilled and he wanted to use them. "I want you as my subordinates. That's my price for the fruits."
The three of them stood there.
Kagerou and Harkon stared at each other, it was the first time they would be meeting each other and yet they gave Vacuse the same expression as if he was out of his mind or stupid.
Vacuse could read what was on their minds. They thought he was bluffing or that the future was too uncertain and besides, aren't they all subordinates to Drenvar?
Kagerou shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Harkon also nodded.
Vacuse threw them the fruits. "Don't die because I will come and collect my promise in the future."
They didn't reply as they hurriedly ate the fruits. The other children looked at them with envy and bitterness.
Vacuse stared at the red tree.
The first rite and his first act of vengeance had come to an end, and he'd also gotten some useful tools for his efforts. He stretched. "Now, it's time to catch a Dragon."