The Legendary Healer

Chapter 3

A rush of cold chills poured throughout Kevin's body. He didn't have time to waste. The sounds of screams echoed through the prison, and he could hear the assassins getting closer, killing everyone one by one.

Kevin quickly moved to the corner of the cell where he had seen something earlier. A small herb was growing from the crack in the wall, right where water had been leaking for months. He pulled it out carefully, then grabbed some of the dust that had been sitting on the floor near the general's feet.

Kevin crushed the herb in his hands, mixing it with the dust until it turned into a small, dark ball. His heart beat hard against his chest as he worked fast.

When he was done, he turned and held it out to the general.

However, the general looked at it like Kevin had just handed him garbage.

A thick frown cut through his face and his eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to kill me faster?" the general asked, his voice thick with anger. "What's really your plan here? There is no way on earth that thing can help me."

He stared at Kevin with a look that made it clear he thought Kevin was nothing.

"I am a great general," he continued, his chest puffing up with pride. "I led armies and I crushed Civilizations that have ruled for years. And you expect me to eat some dirty weed that you pulled from a prison wall?"

The general scoffed loudly.

"You are just a pathetic nobody from the slums. You don't know anything. Elias had his best men put this suppression on me. It took them three days to make these cuffs and a month for the swrum. And you think some prison dirt is going to break what they did?"

His words were like slaps to Kevin's face, however, he remained expressonless.

"I don't know whether to laugh at you or feel sorry for how stupid you are," the general added, shaking his head.

Kevin's teeth gnashed against each other, but his face stayed cold.

"Either from me or those assassins, you will die tonight," Kevin said, his voice flat. "But you have better chances with me."

The general's eyes flashed with rage immediately he said those words.

"I might be in prison," he said slowly, his voice getting louder, "but someone as great as me still deserves a dignified death. Not to be poisoned by some slum rat who doesn't even know his own name."

He looked at Kevin like Kevin was dirt under his boot.

"Even a dog from the streets should know better than to bark at someone like me."

Kevin stared at him for a moment with raised brows.

"Dignified death?" Kevin repeated, his voice light like he found it funny. "Just say the great general is a coward and get it over with."

Those words hit the general like a punch.

His eyes went wide, then his face turned red with fury. His body vibrated under its own weight and his hands clenched into fists so hard the chains rattled.

"What did you just call me?" he growled, his voice shaking with rage.

"You heard me," Kevin replied, not backing down. "You want to sit here and wait for them to come stab you in your sleep instead of trying something that might save your life."

Kevin tilted his head, his smirk getting darker.

"Call it dignified if it makes you feel better. But you just look like a coward to me."

The general's face turned monstrous. His chest heaved and his eyes flashed like a beast.

"I am not a coward!" he roared, his voice so loud it bounced off the walls.

He snatched the ball from Kevin's hand so fast his chains scraped against the stone.

"If I die because of this," he snarled, glaring at Kevin with murder in his eyes, "I will make sure to rip your throat out before I stop breathing."

He threw the ball into his mouth and swallowed it in one go.

Kevin stepped back and leaned against the wall, his face calm.

Outside, another scream echoed, then silence. The assassins were almost at their door.

The general waited and nothing happened. 

His glare turned deadly and his hands clenched into fists.

"Nothing is happening!" he growled at Kevin. "You lying piece of trash! I knew it! A worthless nobody with no brains, and I actually listened to you!"

His voice got louder and angrier.

"When I get my hands free, I will break every bone in your pathetic body!"

Kevin didn't seem bothered. He just sat there, watching and waiting.

The lock on their cell door clicked.

Three men stepped in, dressed in dark clothes with their faces covered. Their spears were wet with blood from the other cells.

Their eyes moved over Kevin and the general like they were looking at work that was almost finished.

The one in front sneered at them.

"Look what we have here," he said, his voice thick with amusement. "The great General Kaelen, chained up like a dog."

The man beside him laughed.

"And the famous traitor Kevin. Doesn't look like much, does he?"

"Lord Elias sends his regards," the leader said, pointing his spear at Kevin. "He said to make it quick and clean."

They all laughed, their laughter filling the cell.

"Kill the slum rat first," the leader commanded. "Let the old dog watch."

The general's face burned with anger and shame, but his body was still held down by the suppression.

Just then, the general's entire body jerked hard.

His eyes snapped wide open and something hot rushed through his body causing his skin to burn. The heavy feeling that had been sitting on him for months disappeared all at once.

Heat moved from his chest to his arms, then his legs. His muscles felt alive again, stronger than before.

The general stared at his hands, shock flashing through his eyes. He could feel real strength flowing through him again, not just his old power but something more.

The cuffs around his hands started to shake.

With a loud crack, the first cuff broke apart.

Pieces of metal scattered across the floor.

The assassins froze, the smirks on their faces disappearing instantly.

The general clenched his other hand.

The second cuff shattered just the same.

He stood up slowly, his massive body casting a shadow over the three men. The air around him felt different now, heavy and dangerous.

He looked at his hands for a moment, flexing his fingers, feeling the power moving through him.

Then he turned to Kevin.

All the anger and contempt that had been on his face before was gone. In its place was pure shock and reverence. 

"Who exactly are you?" he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Kevin pushed himself to his feet, his lips lifting into a cold smirk.

"Just a nobody from the slums," he replied. "Isn't that what you called me?"

The assassins finally came to their senses and raised their spears, their hands shaking.

The general cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders, a smile spreading across his face for the first time since Kevin had met him.

It wasn't a nice smile.

It was the kind of smile that had once made entire armies step back.

"I think that you picked the wrong night to come here.” The general said, looking at the three assassins,