Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't (Chapter 17) (Patreon)

I watched in horror as the silver threads slithered across the corpses, slathering the bandits’ clothes with slimy, pink body-fluids. Like some kind of alien creature, they writhed through the soil and dead foliage, crawling up Willem’s leg before disappearing into his sleeve.

What kind of insidious attack was this? Was it a spell, or some kind of enchanted weapon? Maybe both, or perhaps neither—I could only guess.

Whatever it might be, I could imagine its terrifying effectiveness. With how thin they were and the forest’s darkness, it would be impossible to distinguish their touch from a stray leaf or spider web.

By the time they were on your face, crawling into your facial cavities, it was already too late to react.

Willem patted my shoulder, returning my attention to the present.

“We better get moving. She might need some help with the-…”

Before he could finish, there was a rustling among the vegetation, bushes and branches parting to reveal a familiar tall figure.

The silver-haired girl stepped forward, clutching a brown sack. Its bottom was gruesomely sticky and wet, and from how it bulged, I didn’t have to think too hard about what it held.

Stunned, Willem opened and closed his mouth.

“You got her?”

The slender beauty nodded, her white curls sticking out from her hood.

There was a moment of silence before Willem cleared his throat.

“Well, that’s… impressive. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since…”

Suddenly, he stopped talking, glancing briefly at me.

“…in any case, I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I took these?”

He looked pointedly at the corpses.

The girl shook her head, pulling her cowl a little lower.

Willem chuckled, patting me on the back.

“You might want to look away, kid. Or don’t—it’s your choice.”

After speaking, he walked toward the bodies, decapitating them one-by-one with a gleaming blade produced from his sleeve. The practiced, business-like efficiency was mesmerizing—pierce the neck, twist the blade, sever the spine. Wiggle the handle, enlarge the wound, chop through the remaining flesh and skin.

Within a handful of minutes, a sack full of heads laid at Willem’s feet. Then, he removed his backpack – looking much to small – before feeding the sack into it, one bloody bulge at a time.

I watched, flabbergasted, as his tiny pack consumed the heads like a black-hole, utterly disregarding the laws of physics.

‘Is this it—the legendary 40-slot bag?’

My mind twisted into knots as I tried making sense of it. Unfortunately, my magical knowledge was nonexistent, and I was never that scientifically literate, so deducing the bag’s secrets was a complete pipe-dream.

Now finished, Willem stood and slung it across his shoulder, seemingly unencumbered.

“Oh, still hanging on to last night’s dinner, I see? Impressive, very impressive.”

He walked toward me like he wanted to ruffle my hair, but noticing the state of his hands, he grinned, stuffing them behind his back.

“So, how about it? Are you up for this kind of thing?”

He looked at me carefully.

I met his eyes, seeing my confusion reflected in his own. Did he plan on taking me as his apprentice or something? I got the feeling that wasn’t the case. No, he was testing me for a different reason.

Steeling myself, I nodded slowly.

“…yes.”

For a brief moment, I saw Willem’s face distort, like he hadn’t wanted to hear that.

His reaction confused me even more, but after thinking about it briefly, I came up with a guess—most likely, he was hoping this horrific experience would scare me off.

I appreciated what he tried to do, not wanting me to get involved in such messy business. Unfortunately, circumstances forced my hand.

Willem stared searchingly into my eyes, trying to see if I was being honest or just acting tough. Eventually, he sighed.

“You’re still young. You think this kind of life is exciting and glorious—it’s not. It’s ugly and bitter, and one wrong move will leave you dead. Go seek your fortune elsewhere, kid. It’s not worth it.”

Shouldering his pack, he walked into the forest, the light-orb hovering above his head. The corpses were left as-is—within a few days, there’d be nothing left but scraps, torn apart by wild animals.

I hurried after him.

“You’re just making assumptions on your own.”

Willem scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to-…?”

However, his features suddenly shifted. Then, he smacked his forehead.

“I almost forgot about our tail.”

He turned his head, staring into the depths of the forest.

“I know you’re there, you might as well come out. Weren’t you worried about your brother? He’s still in one piece, come check for yourself.”

Following Willem’s gaze, my expression immediately turned shocked. I remembered the mage’s surprise before the attack. Could it be…?

A few moments passed before the undergrowth rustled, parting to reveal a familiar figure. It was none other than Erik, pale-faced and covered in scratches! He looked rather terrible, white as a sheet and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, his long, untrimmed bangs sticking to his forehead.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out he followed us, likely being awake when Willem came to ‘collect’ me.

I just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Erik slowly shuffled closer, his posture guarded and slightly hunched.

“Who are you? Why did you kill those people?”

His gaze shifted from Willem to the pile of headless bodies, now cast in darkness.

The cowled mage chuckled darkly, stepping toward Erik.

“I’m… your worst nightmare!”

Suddenly, he lunged forward, his arms outstretched.

Off to the side, both I and the nameless girl – who’d silently followed us – stared at Willem. I didn’t know about her, but my own expression was one of disgust.

‘Cringe.’

I watched as he jumped toward Erik, my brother not taking the joke very well. He raised his hands defensively, a faint, golden light shining from his palms.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Willem did indeed stop, and I got the impression he was surprised. I felt the same having never seen Erik use the Holy Light.

The mage stroked his beard contemplatively.

“Answering your question, I’m a sorcerer. I killed them because they’re highwaymen, and it’s my job.”

Erik’s wariness seemingly didn’t decrease, but I did catch him glancing at the mystery girl, paying less attention to Willem.

“A ‘sorcerer’? Is that true? How did you know they were here? What does it have to do with Arne?”

He nervously fired off a barrage of questions, looking like he wanted to rush over and grab me but hesitating.

Willem grunted.

“So many questions—you two really are brothers. Forget it, I’m too lazy to answer.”

Suddenly, he turned and walked off again, his playful mood disappearing into thin air.

I exchanged glances with Erik before rushing after him. Even if I wanted to – I didn’t – I couldn’t stick with my brother, since neither of us knew the way back.

Besides, I was damn curious about what went down tonight.

“What was that silver stuff?”

Willem glanced over his shoulder, and I saw him rolling his eyes in the dim, orange light.

“Did you miss the part about me not being in the mood for questions?”

I ignored him, pursing my lips thoughtfully.

“…it must be some kind of soft metal, probably enchanted. You had to… kill those bandits from the inside. Maybe it struggles to pierce skin? And you used a knife to cut their heads off, not that silver thread. It must not be that hard…”

Walking behind him, I started muttering to myself.

Willem grunted.

“Very clever, but it’s pointless. You can’t become a mage, kid. Might as well give it a rest.”

Hearing what he said, a depressed cloud settled over my thoughts, and I stopped speaking.

Behind me, I heard Erik fumbling through the forest, but the silver-haired girl’s movements were completely silent. If I hadn’t checked a moment ago, I’d assume she disappeared again.

Though I wasn’t looking now, and his gaze wasn’t directed at me, I could practically feel Erik’s unwavering stare, directed at her.

“…”

However, I was in no mood to care about his behavior.

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It was an unknown amount of time before we reached the caravan.

We arrived as silently as we left, effortlessly bypassing the night-watch. I didn’t know whether to scold the caravanners for being lax, or praise our two mages.

Probably the former, since Erik slipped away without any trouble.

In any case, it was still just as dark when we arrived. Given the changing seasons – headed toward middle-autumn – I wasn’t surprised. Dawn was probably a few hours away.

“…are you leaving?”

Standing over our campsite I looked at Willem. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they joined the caravan out of convenience—their true goal was the witch. Now that she was dead, there was no reason to stay.

The mage patted my shoulder reassuringly.

“What kind of person do you think I am? I wouldn’t just vanish overnight. At least, I’ll hang around until we reach the next town.”

Folding my arms in front of my chest, I shrugged.

“It’s not my business, anyways. Don’t let me keep you.”

In the darkness, we stared silently at each other. Eventually, Willem snorted.

“That’s why I hate kids—you’re all so damn ungrateful.”

Without another word, he left, waving one hand behind his back. It seemed very… I don’t know, final. I was sure I wouldn’t see him tomorrow.

Strangely, the nameless girl didn’t follow immediately. Instead, she walked towards me, kneeling and taking something from her robe.

“Wear this under your clothes. Don’t take it off, not even when bathing, and don’t lose it.”

I heard her speak for the second time. Her voice sounded even better than before—if I was an ASMR fan, I’d probably have creamed my pants. Not that I could, though.

Having stuffed something metallic into my hand, she stood and left, not saying goodbye. I didn’t mind, given we were basically strangers. Besides, her gift was bound to be extraordinary.

When they both disappeared, I sighed, immediately laying down and swaddling myself in my rough blankets. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, already dreading today’s march.

Despite closing my eyes, I could feel Erik staring intensely at me, like trying to burn holes in my skull.

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