Berserk : The Deviant

Almost a year has passed since the last events and Giorgio had finished his tour, they were already back to Vritanis and after all this time spent in the company of Barkha, the successor Vandimion and the lord of the Brotherhood became very good friends. Barkha had saved Giorgio from many assassination attempts with his men but he also taught him to have fun from time to time with others and enjoy the little pleasures of life. 

Of course, it wasn't easy at first with Giorgio but time brought them closer and they learned a lot from each other. Ros was with them at every moment and Barkha took the opportunity to continue her training, she would become a member of the brotherhood and Giorgio's official bodyguard in the future to the great pleasure of the latter who was completely in love with the beautiful redhead.

Tonight, they were at their last stop before the port city of Vritanis, and the Vandimion convoy had joined forces with wealthy merchants on the roads for nearly two weeks now.

To celebrate this final stage, a feast was held. Wine, food, and women were present in abundance, much to the delight of the convoy members, and Giorgio took advantage of it.

Of course, Barkha himself checked and tasted the food brought to Giorgio's table to avoid poisoning, as he himself was immune to the vast majority of known poisons and venoms thanks to his infernal Bakiraka training. 

As he sat near a festive and relaxed Giorgio, Barkha sensed movement around the camp.

They were surrounded by people who knew very well how to move in the darkness, skilled assassins, and Barkha could sense it ; it was his clan attacking.

He quickly asked Ros to take Giorgio inside his wagon to distract him, as he didn't want Giorgio to know what was going on. 

Ros took Giorgio by the hand and told him she wanted to give him a massage in Barkha's iron wagon. Delighted by this invitation, Giorgio looked at Barkha with a victorious expression, taunting him, as he had always thought he was competing with him for the attention and favors of the beautiful redhead.

Barkha watched them leave with amusement as the wagon's windows and openings were sealed. He informed his men of what was happening, and they were delighted to finally have some action.

He ordered them to discreetly kill as many assassins as possible while he took care of the rest but on condition that the enemy engaged in combat . They disappeared into the shadows to intercept assassins, unbeknownst to the people still celebrating.

In the woods around the festive encampment, three old men with tanned skin were posted on stones, Vishna the demon of blades, Nuh the demon of poisons and the one sitting in the lotus position in the middle of the other two, Keresh the demon of the fist who was the great tapasa master.

These three old men represented the pinnacle of the Bakiraka arts and had all three been Barkha's teachers until he was 12 years old before his banishment from the clan. 

The assassination mission on someone like Giorgio Vandimion was no small matter and the clan couldn't send just anyone knowing that the brotherhood of shadows was protecting the target.

They watched as their men spread out around the encampment waiting for the moment to attack and kill Giorgio.

"I don't remember the last time the clan leader summoned me for a contract like this... the target isn't just anyone..." Nuh said, stroking the very small but incredibly venomous black snake in his hands.

"This brotherhood of shadows is not simple, that the three of us were summoned is no accident. Killing Giorgio Vandimion will be anything but easy..." Vishna said, crossing his arms.

"You're right, my masters, it will be anything but easy... please, call my brothers back before they die needlessly." A voice startled them, and they looked in the direction the voice came from to see Barkha sitting on a rock to their right with his face uncovered.

They immediately recognized him and were surprised for a split second.

 " Rakasha's son..."

"Barkha..."

"Cursed prodigy of Shiva, so you were still alive? We thought the spirits following you would be finished with you." Keresh the fist demon said with a slight smile.

He was satisfied to know that even banished and pursued by demons, his best disciple was still alive, and it was a feeling shared by Vishna and Nuh.

"I am still alive and well, my masters, but I am quite disappointed in your lack of vigilance; none of you felt me ​​coming. Now recall your men, it wouldn't be good if something happened to Silat in Tudor..." Barkha said with a slight shake of his head and Vishna smiled at that as Nuh whistled a strange flute to cancel the assault of their assassins, who in the darkness moved away from the camp.

 Vishna: You do realize that the clan's reputation will be tarnished if we abandon this contract, don't you ? This is a rare favor we're doing you...

"How do you know the young master is in Tudor right now ?" Nuh asked him, and Barkha told them that his men there had already spotted him because he had recklessly shown himself at a tournament.

Keresh: You seem confident in your men's abilities to think they can kill our prince so easily. The Shadow Brotherhood is your work, then ?

"I trained them myself, and I can assure you that your assassins are no match for them. I speak to you as a Bakiraka myself, without arrogance." He told them as the three demons looked at him with mixed feelings. These three men knew him extremely well, and Barkha would never dare lie to them.

They knew it and felt it; he was much stronger now and would go much further than they had. They wondered if the boy they had banished would attack the clan that had rejected him. 

That Barkha had managed to approach them without them noticing proved to them that he had improved his skills beyond their teachings.

It wasn't even necessary for them to test him in combat anymore, if any of them had planned to do so. They were old and far from their optimal level to truly test him now. 

"We are withdrawing, but you must make us a promise." Nuh asked him as the other two demons approached him.

"I'm listening, my masters..." Barkha placed one of his knees on the ground, bowing his head. It was a sign of submission and respect that touched them because it showed them that he still considered himself one of their disciples.

Nuh : I know your banishment may have created resentment in you. You were only a child when we abandoned you to the demons who tormented you. What we ask of you in exchange for our retreat is that in the future you not seek revenge against the clan.

"My masters, that idea never entered my mind. I was already mature enough at the time to understand the reasons for my banishment, and it's a fate I accepted. It allowed me to move forward, and I am stronger.

I swear not to attack the clan without good reason in the future, I may have been banished but my roots remain Bakiraka. I also promise to come to the aid of the clan if necessary, you have nothing to fear from the brotherhood of shadows... I swear it on my blood and on approaching death " he swore an oath by making a cut on his hand and they saw his blood flow with satisfied faces, Barkha had not forgotten the respect and oaths of the clan.

"Because you have not forgotten where you came from, we'll do one last thing for you as masters. The scrolls of the techniques you were unable to learn will be delivered to you in Vritanis in 2 weeks, it would be a waste if the best child of our clan didn't inherit our secrets because we made the mistake of banishing him." Keresh told him while the other two demons nodded in agreement.

 Barkha: But I'm no longer in the clan ; these techniques are a precious heritage.

"They'll only be copies; we're not crazy enough to give them to you without thinking about the next demons who will succeed us in the clan. Besides, you said it yourself, my child... your roots remain Bakiraka..." Nuh said before they disappeared with their men, and Barkha sincerely thanked them, his head still bowed. Knowing his usual behavior, seeing him so submissive and respectful towards those who passed on knowledge to him was a rather powerful moment, demonstrating that Barkha was not just an arrogant and self-righteous young rooster. 

There hadn't been a fight, and his men were quite disappointed, but it was for the best. They returned to the party while a nostalgic thought haunted Barkha after seeing his old masters again.

They arrived in Vritanis the next afternoon and immediately headed to the large Vandimion mansion where Frederico had already been notified of their return and was waiting for them.

Kail, Marco, Vincent and Leo went directly to the brotherhood's black temple which was their office in Vritanis while only Barkha and Ros went to the Vandimions' house.

The black temple was a huge building bought by Barkha and repainted black, it had easily become one of the largest buildings in the port city. It was here that people came to offer missions or contracts to the brotherhood but also the place where orphans were welcomed to undergo preliminary training for a full year before being sent to Golm where their real training would begin as novices in the brotherhood.

The 15,000 gold pieces for Emperor Theodore's head were taken to the treasury after Barkha's four men had been paid and Duro and his men had received their shares as executors of the mission.

Normally, an official member of the Brotherhood on a mission would have their full bounty without contributing anything to the Brotherhood's coffers, and if they did, it was for their own comfort in the Brotherhood's lodges as well as various bonuses.

Only a little over 200 Brotherhood members were active now, as the training wasn't easy, and several lost their lives in the Lost Woods while challenging the monsters of the Interstice Forest. 

The entire staff of the Vandimion Manor came to greet Giorgio, with Lady Vandimion, his mother, at the front. Barkha and Ros, just behind Giorgio, were quite relieved that it was all over today.

They had been escorting him for almost a whole year, and they were finally going to move on. They were guided to Frederico's office, who asked to speak with Barkha privately first.

Frederico's decision was far from pleasing his son, but Giorgio took it upon himself and showed patience.

"I wanted to thank you in person for protecting my son. I don't need specific details, but I would like to know exactly how many times you saved his life without his knowledge..." Frederico asked Barkha, sitting across from him in the office.

"78 times. He didn't notice most of the time, but he was a very coveted target. Your family has an incredibly high number of enemies..." Barkha told him before pouring himself a glass of wine without even Frederico's permission.

Frederico: My family didn't reach this level of prosperity by making friends alone; our enemies are as numerous as our gold coins. (sighs) Tell me, you've been around my son for a whole year, so can you tell me what you think of him as my successor ?

"Giorgio may not have realized the assassination attempts on him, but he knew very well when he had an enemy in front of him and was able to manage your affairs without any problems.

He spoke to me a lot about you, a father and a mentor whom he wants to be like in everything, and it's visible to the naked eye; he wants to be like you too much, and that's the problem.

His ambition is limited to your role model, and such a vision will only stagnate the state of your family." Barkha said while drinking, and Frederico looked at him intensely.

"Strength and intelligence at the peak of humanity, I increasingly believe the rumor about you. You were able to pinpoint this problem so easily... (sighs) That's exactly what I blame my son and right-hand man for: he wants to do everything like me, and his ambition is reduced to preserving what we already have, while the head of the Vandimion family must make it prosper, and I succeeded in my time because I had my own method and my own way of seeing things. I don't want my son to be a copy of myself, but a better version of me..." Frederico finally sat down to pour himself some wine.

"What are you getting at ? Let's stop beating around the bush and say what you want about me. Why bother talking to me about it ?" Barkha asked him boredly, and Frederico sighed at his impatience.

Frederico:… 

(…) 

A few minutes later, Barkha came out of Frederico's office and told Ros they were leaving before saying his goodbyes to Giorgio. He and Frederico had talked about some really serious things that gave him food for thought.