Book 2

bla bla bla = Izark's language
bla bla bla = Noriko's language
("bla bla bla") = Noriko's thought
["bla bla bla"] = Izark's thought

Izark tried to stand up then he looked at Noriko who was stunned.

"..Sorry" said Izark and sat on the bed.

Noriko seemed very worried then she made some gestures. "I'll call the doctor, wait here" ,said Noriko and walked out the inn. On the way, she met the doctor and town's mayor who also  were looking for them. "Oh, doctor, please follow me. Izark's condition is bad" , said Noriko and grabbed doctor's hand. Noriko took them to Izark's room.

"What happened to you?, you look so pale," said the doctor and began to check Izark.

"Doctor, I'm all right. sometimes, I look like this. The condition is like one year exhaustion suddenly appeared." said Izark.

The doctor was astonished,"....I've never heard about this disease before.".

"That's right, so you don't need to check me. Medicines have no effects. All I can do is waiting until the disease disappeared. And that's what I always do." said Izark.

"So you often gets sick",said the mayor with his loud voice. "After listening the story about you from the doctor, I came here to ask you to beat the thieves. But I don't think you can't do it. I thought you are a big and strong man because you can hurt the thieves' leader, but the reality .....".

The doctor tried to calm the mayor and asked him to decrease his voice. Then Izark asked, "How much?".

"Sorry?" the doctor turned his head to Izark.

"How much is the reward?" asked Izark again.

"5000 zol" ,said the doctor. Meanwhile, there was a man outside the room hearing the conversation.

Still with his loud voice, the mayor spoke to Izark, "Maybe you think it's cheap. But this is the important donation which is collected from other towns around us. The thieves are about twenty men. They robbed the money and killed anyone who against them".

"I'll do it, this is a job for wandering warrior".

The mayor didn't believe him, "Are you joking ? What can you do......".

Suddenly, Noriko ran to the middle of them and raised her arms up like trying to protect Izark, then she said, " Izark is sick, don't shout at him" . The mayor and doctor were surprised.

"Because you spoke and shouted to a sick man, this girl became angry" ,said the doctor to the mayor. The mayor stunned and didn't know what to do.

Then Izark said, "Mayor, give me some times. This is just a temporary condition. In one or two days, it'll be back to normal".

"All right, we'll wait for you" ,said the doctor.

The mayor didn't agree,"But doctor, do you really want to give the money which we have collected to this unknown man...".

"Mayor...you can pay me after I finished the job." said Izark.

The mayor was speechless.

"By the way, the man who was standing behind the door" said Izark.

The man who was listening to their conversation became surprised. Then he opened the door, "Sorry, I don't want to cut your conversation. I'm Han, the innkeeper. I want to ask you about dinner".

Then Noriko, the doctor and the mayor went down to have the dinner and let Izark rest.

At another place outside the town, the soldiers, who brought the coffins, met a man. They stunned. That man was the Rienka's soldier who killed their friends outside the forest (Keimos). Keimos walked toward them. The soldiers were afraid and let him pass. "So these are the men I killed. What happened, do you forget about that? I'm your enemy....... Are you afraid of me?",said Keimos while passing the coffins and then he laughed.

One of the soldiers became angry and drew his sword. The soldier swung it to Keimos. But Keimos can avoid it and he grabbed the soldier's head. "Stupid" ,said Keimos and used his power, the soldier's head was destroyed. Then Keimos continued his journey.

This event was being watched by two men from a cave above the soldiers. "The soldiers were trembling" said one of the men.

"What kind of man is he? It looks like he wants to go to Kaluko" ,said the other man.

At Kaluko, Noriko tried to compress Izark, but Izark refused it. Noriko didn't know what to do and she didn't want to disturb Izark so she just sat on her bed. Meanwhile in thieves' hideout, the leader was talking to the men who watched Keimos and soldiers. They are a merchant named Niba and Han, the innkeeper. Han told the leader about Izark's condition. Then the merchant spoke to the leader, "Han will guide you in the inn tonight. But as usual, we ask for the reward".

"That's easy. Because you give us information, we will help you. Beside that, you are the one who gave this cute one to me" said the leader and fed the animal on his shoulder.

Izark was dreaming. He dreamed about his past and looked for his mother, "Mother, where are you?" ,said little Izark.

"AAHhhh, don't come closer, Izark" said his mother.

"I have done a stupid thing. As the payment for glory and wealth, I have to give a birth to a child like you. It's terrible", said his mother.

Izark looked sad, then he realized that people around him began to go away from him and left him alone in the darkness. Suddenly, a big black shadow with two big white eyes appeared behind him.

Izark awakened and looked around. The day has turned dark. He was surprised and sat on the bed when he knew Noriko was sleeping at the edge of his bed. ["Does Mezame worry about me? What a pity"]. Suddenly, Izark heard something and took his sword. Noriko was awakened and wondered. It appeared the thieves have got in the inn. Han guided them and showed Izark's room. The thieves opened the door and dashed in. They swung their sword to the bed. But Izark was not there.

Izark appeared behind them and killed two of them. The thieves became afraid. Although Izark could kill eight of them, but his condition became worse. He was panting and couldn't stand up. Noriko, who was sitting at the corner, really worried about him. Then she saw a thief was taking the blanket on the bed. ("They want to close Izark's eyes"). Noriko held the blanket. The thief was surprised.

"Use the girl. Catch her and make her as a hostage" said their leader.

The thief was trying to catch Noriko, but Izark kicked him. ["Damn, Why I have to be like this? Why I have to help Noriko?"]. Then he grabbed Noriko  [ "I am supposed to be grateful if Mezame was killed"]
and jumped through the window. [ "When I went to the forest, my purpose was to kill the Mezame"].
They landed, but Izark couldn't stand anymore. He looked at Noriko [ "But...this girl knows nothing. She has to carry all of this, and yet she knows nothing." ] then Izark asked Noriko to run away,"Go to another place and hide there, I don't have any power anymore".

Noriko realized the thieves would arrive in a minute. So she tried to carry Izark. ("Oh God, please give me power")   Noriko used the sword to stand up. ("The power to protect Izark").

Noriko took Izark to a place like a warehouse and hid behind the boxes. But the thieves began to search for them. Some of the thieves walked to the warehouse and checked the boxes . Noriko wanted to take the sword, but Izark has already grabbed the sword. "I'm feeling better, it's all right , I'll finish them" .

Izark fought with the thieves. As many of them had been killed, the thieves began to be afraid. So they called for their leader. One of the thieves managed to hold Izark's sword with his chain. Izark was stopped and thieves' leader use the chance to stab Izark. Noriko saw Izark fell down and the leader was about to stab Izark for the second time.

"Stop it "Noriko ran and pushed the thieves' leader. The leader fell down and the animal on his shoulder was stabbed accidentally. The animal disappeared to sky, the leader was very surprised.

"My pet! My lovely pet!".

Noriko approached Izark who was lying on the ground. A thief swung his sword to Noriko, but suddenly Izark kicked the thief. "It didn't stab the heart" Izark took his sword. "I still can fight " said Izark and stood up.

The thieves were very afraid. "Mo...Monster" said a thief. Izark became angry and stared at the thief. The thieves called their leader. But the leader just mumbled about his pet and left them . When they saw their leader ran away, the thieves lost their courage and retreated.

Izark cleared the blood on his mouth and walked away. The word "Monster" spun in his mind. "Izark! ", Noriko followed him. " Are you okay? It's better if you don't move. I don't know the streets but I'll try to call the doctor. Is it hurt? " .

"NOISY!!" said Izark with a horrible face. But then Izark realized and said," Sorry, I'm supposed to thank to you" .

In the inn, the doctor checked Izark. Noriko was surprised. The wound because stabbed by the sword has gone and only left a scar. "This is the old scar. The blood on my cloths was another man's blood" said Izark to doctor. But of course, Noriko didn't believe it. Noriko got close to Izark and looked at the scar.

("The wound has recovered") Noriko looked at Izark. ("That means, it won't be hurt anymore"), she smiled and said, "Thanks God ". Noriko felt relieved and sat on the floor. Then she began to cry.

The mayor came in and looked Noriko was crying. "What's happened?" asked the mayor.

"It's all right Mayor." said the doctor. "Maybe she was relieved. Since this morning, she was worried and stress. The climax was when she was involved in battle with the thieves", explained the doctor. Suddenly, Noriko stopped crying. "What happened?" asked the doctor.

"She fell asleep" said Izark and held Noriko's body. Then Izark carried Noriko and put her on the bed.

Izark asked the inn owner to lend him another room.

"Well, it should be like this. I have been thinking of it since this morning. You should sleep in separated room. Man and woman are not allowed to be in one room." said the mayor.

"Mayor......you are too worried. I also have taste" said Izark.

"Yo..you are impolite. She is quite beautiful. Which part that doesn't suit with your taste." .

" Mayor...Mayor. He has already struggled with his sick body. And you still want to be angry with him", the doctor tried to calm the mayor.

"B..but He has become better than this morning." said the mayor.

"That's right. I began to recover. But now, my power still wasn't enough to chase the rest of the thieves. I'll finish this job tomorrow morning." said Izark.

Then the doctor and the mayor left Izark. They talked in the kitchen. The mayor intended to take Noriko as her daughter. He thought Izark couldn't stand with Noriko forever.

Meanwhile in another house, Keimos was lying on the bed. "What a comfortable bed. That old man is very kind. He gave me drinks and prepared a room for me".

Apparently, Niba invited Keimos to his room. Niba was afraid Keimos would ruin his plan with the thieves. He was going to sleep when the thieves' leader knocked his room. The leader asked for another animal. "Give me the animal, if I have the animal, I can fly (teleport) again".

"You mean Chimo? I don't have any chimo. That's the only one" said Niba. The leader became angry and attacked Niba. "Okay, okay, I'll give you a Chimo. Wait here." said Niba, then he asked Keimos who heard their conversation to kill the leader.

"Actually I just interested with the man who can beat you all. I don't think it's great to kill such a small fish", said Keimos.  The leader became angry and attacked Keimos. But Keimos raised his hand and a great power hit the leader. The leader died in tragic condition.

Then Niba said to Keimos, "Please stay with me and protect me. He will definitely come. The great man whom you searched."

In the next morning, because of Han's information, the town's people went to Niba's house and found the thief's body. But Niba has already escaped.

"Give me the characteristic of that merchant, I will look for him while chasing the thieves." said Izark.

"Your condition has fully recovered, hasn't it?" ,asked the doctor.

"Yes" ,Izark answered and walked away.

"Hey wait, the horse hasn't been prepared yet" ,said the mayor and ordered his men to prepare the horse.

["I don't need the horse...."] but Izark waited for the horse and walked around.
Then he stopped and looked at the door where Noriko was sleeping inside.

When Noriko awakened, Izark has already left. He tied the horse at a tree outside the town then he ran and jumped over big rocks. Back to Noriko, the inn owner put Izark's bag on the floor in front of Noriko. Noriko took the bag  ("If his bag is still here, that's mean he will come back later ") She smiled,"Thanks God, I wasn't left ".

"Looks like she has understood" ,said the mayor.

"Well, she didn't understand our language." said the inn owner. Then the mayor said to Noriko,"Now, let's eat".

("At this moment, I can feel their attention to me. I'm so glad..................I'll stay calm and wait for him in this room. This is as my gratitude for the attention they have given to me "). Noriko pulled a chair near the window. She sat down and hugged Izark's bag, waiting for Izark.

"Damn, he is coming".

"Don't worry, if we use the trap, we can win".

Suddenly, a large net fell down. Izark was trapped in it. "It works. The net was made from steel, it can't be easily cut by the sword" shouted the thieves and jumped out from their hideout. "Pull him with the net". " We will lock his movement". But Izark hold the net and torn it. The thieves stopped at once.

"It looks like you guys came out by yourself. I don't need to look for you anymore" said Izark.

The thieves couldn't believe it, "Cra...crazy. The net which was made from the steel.....".

Izark walked toward them, but the thieves tried to run away. Izark jumped and spun, all the thieves fell down. "It's useless to move. You better stay there. Now, I want to ask you something. Do you know a man named Niba?".

"I know him. He hired me" said a voice.

Izark looked at the rocks beside him. There was a man sat on the rocks. "So you are the one who killed the thieves leader in Niba's house" asked Izark.

"Exactly" said the man who is Keimos.

"Damn you, Just before, you said that you was sent by the leader" said one of the thief.

"Actually, I just want to know what kind of man I will confront" said Keimos and jumped down. "By the way, they said you're wounded".

"You can see that they are mistaken" said Izark. Now they were standing opposite each other.

"Of course, They are just cheap-seats class. A guy like you can beat four of them in a flash" said Keimos.

"But... how about me?", Keimos raised his hand. A ball of energy struck Izark. Izark was pushed and hit a rock. He fell down to bruises.

"He jumped in order to reduce the damage. Well, his bones has broken at least one or two..." Keimos approached the bruises.

Izark stood up, "So strong, no wonder ordinary people can't stand it".

"Yo..you still can move?" ,Keimos was surprised. He raised his hand and attacked again. But Izark jumped and avoided the ball.

"Now, it's my turn" Izark drew his sword and attacked Keimos.

Keimos evaded and tried to attack with the ball of energy again but he failed. "Damn" ,said Keimos and drew his sword.

"Finally, I see him. In Zargo, near Kaluko's town. Keimos that you're looking for was fighting with someone" said a man sitting in a strange room.

"Who is that man?" asked Rachef who was standing behind him.

"Unfortunately, if there is no items that could be used as a hint, I can't see him, it's the same as Mezame. Predicting is not easy, Sir Rachef",said the man.

"But I want to know. What will happen if we change the fighting result" said Rachef.

Izark and Keimos took out their sword and fought. After some turns, the ground under one of Izark's leg was slided off. Keimos saw a chance and released his deep force to Izark's face. Izark was hit but he just turned a somersault and stood up. "How can it be ?" ,Keimos was very surprised. "My deep force has no effect on him".

Then Keimos thought ("Person who can release the deep force also can use it as shield. If he can resist my power, that means.....")

"Looks like, I have to use my real power to fight you" ,said Izark and raised his hand. A big ball of energy struck Keimos. Keimos fell down.

"I can't let this happened. That man is going to be my men. If he was injured, that will be useless", said Rachef.

"Do you want to help him?"asked the man who predict the fighting.

"Yes, but I can't see it, lend me your power, Goriya" ,Rachef closed his eyes. His spirit came out and got in Goriya's body.

Keimos tried hard to stand up.

"You're really strong. You just got little wounds. Actually I don't want to hurt you again but you are too strong", said Izark.

Keimos was really angry ("Damn! How dare he is. I'll not forgive. I'll not let anyone be stronger than me"). Suddenly Keimos realized, " So you are the man. You are the one who took Mezame from the forest".

All of sudden, an earthquake came and the ground under them collapsed. Then a giant hand appeared from the sky. It took Keimos and disappeared. Izark fell down with the ground and hit by the rocks.
"It's done. I'll send my men to take care of him",then Rachef's spirit returned to his body.

"How about the other man?" ,asked Goriya.

"I don't know, He has already fallen down and hit by big rocks. Even the strongest man, if he was human, he surely has died",said Rachef. At the fallen rocks, Izark's hand came out. It's a horrible hand, looked like monster. Then Izark came out from the rock's pile.

At Kaluko, The mayor and the doctor were having conversation. "I thought the wandering warrior is just a jobless man tried to get money. When the funeral, I heard he said something with sad voice,'If they want to wait until I have recovered. They would not be like this'. At that time, I thought to put Noriko on his side" said the mayor.

"So you don't talk about the adoption",asked the doctor.

"He said that he want to take Noriko to her island. I think it's better".

"Okay horse. Because the rain has stopped, I want to ride you again ",Noriko tried to ride the horse, but she fell to the other side and hung at the saddle. "Izark, Help ! ".

["I don't know where is the island Noriko lived. I also don't know how to take Noriko to her world."] Izark was packing his bag then he helped Noriko. ["If I entrust Noriko to the others, it would be danger. If she has been able to speak in our language, maybe she will tell about the forest and the golden trees. It's the same as telling she is the Mezame"].

"Let's go",Izark jumped on the horse. ["That's way, we have to be together. After Noriko can speak in our language and until she knows who she is. If these things have finished..."].

Noriko was pushed to the back and leaned against Izark. "So...sorry. I didn't use to ride the horse. Usually we go to the office or school by bus or train. So I seldom see people ride the horse ".

["Until these have finished...."].

"But I can ride bicycle, when Junior High School, bla...bla.....bla.... ".

"Okay, okay. Just look to the front".