Chapter 2: Echoes of Brotherhood
It took Kael close to two hours to gather everything that he needed for Avalon.
At this moment, Kael is moving towards the center of the junk shop as if he were already very familiar with this place. If it were anyone else, they would no doubt easily get lost in this place with how everything almost looks the same. It was like a desert, minus the sand and replaced with countless junk and debris.
The truth was that, before becoming successful in Avalon, he would often visit different junk shops to earn enough money to meet his daily needs and continue living his life. To be more exact, he used to be a scrapper for a living.
But he had already left all that behind ever since becoming successful in Avalon. After all, he can earn more in a place that still has countless resources available for the taking.
"I didn't expect I would have to use this skill again," Kael can't help but smile.
Along the way, Kael set up some traps in preparation for his plan this evening and also hid his bag with all the unnecessary items stored inside so that it won't hinder him during the operation.
Not long after, Kael finally found what he was looking for.
Quickly, he found a spot to hide, quietly settling to observe the situation unfold.
In front of him, a group of men had gathered around a lone figure seated in a chair, his hands chained behind his back.
Looking at the man on the chair closely, it was quite evident that he had just gone through a beating by those five men.
"It's just like he said," Kael murmured to himself as he recollected some pieces of his memories. "Now then, if I remember correctly, someone I also know should be showing up to help him soon."
To tell the truth, his presence here wasn't really necessary. Because even without him, that man tied to the chair would still be able to escape alive with the help of someone close to him. Albeit he would be losing something that he'd regret for the rest of his life in the process. And he is here to prevent that from happening. At the same time, he has another goal in mind.
"Lawrence," Kael can't help saying his name.
That was the name of the man tied to the chair.
Lawrence was one of his loyal companions in his adventure throughout Avalon.
Together with Lawrence and a few other brothers he met on his journey, they formed an organization known as the Cabal of Cards.
This was his original intention when he came to this place—to gather the brothers of the Cabal of Cards early on.
Originally, the organization was formed a year after everyone first entered the Avalon. All the members were friends whom he had met on his adventure.
It was through extreme persuasion and negotiation that he was able to make them all agree to form a group. As a result, they had a hard time competing with other groups that were formed early on, as they lost a considerable amount of time in the process.
He deeply regretted not establishing the group sooner. If only he had started early and gradually built up its members over time, the Cabal of Cards might have stood a chance against the larger factions of Avalon and secured a stronger position.
"That will change today!" Kael grabbed a slightly rusted military knife from his waist. This knife was one of the knives he found during scrapping.
This knife would serve as his first tool to change his fate and create a brand new one.
Not long after, just as Kael had anticipated, a shadowy figure emerged on the opposite side, silently making its way toward Lawrence.
"Sneaky as always, Jayem," Kael smirked.
Jayem, another loyal companion in the Cabal of Cards. His role was an assassin in the group. This was naturally given, seeing how he easily traversed through all the difficult obstacles without getting detected by the five men. Moreover, this skill was developed over the years as he constantly protected Lawrence in the dark from the countless dangers they faced in their lives.
Why exactly?
Well, Lawrence and Jayem were a duo of swindlers. One lives in the light, while the other exists in the dark.
To be more exact, Lawrence was a businessman who handled all business transactions. Seeing as how he is now bound to a chair, it's needless to say what kind of transaction exactly. And every time their operation fails and Lawrence gets caught, Jayem will always come to save him.
They carried out similar operations for years, constantly shifting identities and relocating from one part of Rustfall to another to stay under the radar.
Unfortunately for the duo, this would be their final operation—something was about to happen here that would change their lives.
Unbeknownst to Lawrence and Jayem, the area they were in was being monitored by a drone connected directly to the local gang's headquarters. While the five men had failed to notice his approach in the dark, the headquarters had already been alerted, thus reinforcements were now on their way.
And this is exactly where he would step in.
"Time to begin," Kael smiled mischievously before covering his face with a mask. It doesn't hurt to be extra careful, right?
In the next moment, Kael kicked a single piece of debris that had been propping up the pile he was hiding behind, then swiftly leapt backward to avoid being caught in the collapse of the mountain of debris as it all came cascading down toward the group in front of him.
*Rumble!
As expected, this caught the five men's attention as they swiftly distanced themselves in response to avoid getting hurt.
Luckily for Lawrence, his position was far enough that a single debris might just touch one of his feet.
"So your brother's here," one of the five men muttered, pulling a gun from his waist. "Everyone, stay sharp and keep your eyes on the surroundings!"
Jayem wasn't Lawrence's brother by blood, but after years of working side by side, most people simply assumed they were. In truth, they were indeed brothers—not by family, but by bond.
Contrary to what the five men were expecting, Lawrence knew like the back of his hand how Jayem operates. The latter would never do something that could attract a lot of attention, even if it's meant to deceive the attention of their target.
"Someone else is here," Lawrence muttered under his breath as he quickly surveyed his surroundings to find the person who was helping them.
On the other hand, Jayem didn't waste this opportunity as he lunged forward towards the closest of the five men.
Getting caught in a surprise attack, the man was quickly subdued by Jayem.
Nevertheless, this still caught the attention of the remaining four men.
"Shoot him!" The supposedly leader shouted as he pointed his gun and pulled the trigger.
*Bang! *Bang! *Bang!
Bullets rained towards Jayem's direction.
With ease, Jayem simply used their companion's body as a shield from the incoming bullets, while at the same time, he counted all their shots to determine when exactly to make his next move.
He was already used to something like this, so he didn't feel the slightest bit of hesitation about causing someone else's death.
"Now!" Jayem yelled, hurling the bloodied, lifeless corpse of their companion at the gunmen before darting in from the flank.
That shout acted as a signal to Lawrence to make his move.
*Clang!
Lawrence easily freed his hand from the chain. Quickly after, he grabbed the chair he was once sitting on and hurled it towards the direction of the four men.
*Bang!
One of the men kneeled in pain as one of his hands reached for his back as if he wanted to grab the pain and throw it away. Albeit that was clearly impossible, it was simply a natural reaction.
This caught the attention of the three men as one of them turned towards Lawrence before grabbing a military knife from his waist and pointing it in his direction.
Seeing the military knife from a hidden location, Kael's eyes turned as sharp as a blade. He could still remember vividly how Lawrence described what happened to him that day.
"After Jayem emptied all their bullets, one of them became desperate and grabbed his military knife from his waist. And without any hesitation, he swung it straight to my neck…" Lawrence sighed with regret. "I would have lost my life back then if I hadn't sacrificed my right arm."
"Not this time!" Kael roared.
With precise throw, Kael hurled a piece of debris towards the man wielding a knife.
*Clang!
Kael was no longer as strong as he was in the past, but his throw still hit the hand that held the military knife. Albeit it didn't disarm the man.
However, it was enough for Lawrence.
Without a second thought, Lawrence ducked down and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and threw it straight towards the man's face.
The soil in every junk shop was different from any other place since it's mixed with different kinds of minerals, and one of those minerals that is abundant, especially in Rustfall, is copper.
Originally, copper dust was no different from sand. They are tiny pieces that could irritate the eyes. But the copper dust in Rustfall was different—they are sharp and much more dense, even as tiny particles, and if thrown precisely and with enough strength, it could easily blind someone.
"Ahhh!" The man screamed in pain as he dropped his military knife and covered his eyes.