It took almost the whole day but Alex finally reached his destination.
One of the many villages in the countryside that made a living from selling barley for the production of beer and other alcoholic drinks.
For the village, their most popular brew was a drink called Farm Malt.
It was even more popular than water with most people drinking Farm Malt instead of water.
It was a favorite for nobles that enjoyed a bitter-sweet taste while savoring their drinks.
The weird part about the drink though was that unlike most alcoholic drinks that were preferred cold, Farm Malt was best taken when hot.
Arguably not the only information the coachman shared with Alex on their way to Townsend, it was one of the few that Alex took seriously.
Of course, no knowledge was a waste but then again... that didn’t mean he had to learn all things.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Alex disembarked from the carriage with the malformed man from earlier stepping out of the carriage as well.
It was an evening with the Lightbringer slowly closing its doors, causing the amount of light available to diminish.
Giving the coachman his thanks, Alex watched the man go until he was a far distance away before glancing at the malformed man.
"Well then, let’s go."
Offering a hand, Alex helped the man move as they strolled through a golden field of wheat and barley.
With a smile, Alex inquired. "A wonderful sight, ain’t it?"
The diminishing light of the Lightbringer helped to give the golden fields a spectacular glow that was closer to red than yellow but it was so charming, if not for certain matters, Alex would have loved to enjoy the view with a bottle of Farm Malt while seated in a rocking chair.
It was a rather calming thought.
Glancing at the scenery, the malformed man nodded. "It is wonderful. Almost as wonderful as it was when I was taken from here."
"Indeed. I had no choice but to leave so in a way... I guess I was."
"It must have been a terrible experience."
Alex glanced at the man before speaking up. "So what are you waiting for?"
"Hmm?" The man looked confused as he met Alex’s gaze.
"Oh, well I thought you were waiting for the coachman to leave before acting, that’s what I thought... or did you have something else in mind?"
The man raised a brow if it could be called one as he questioned. "What are you talking about?"
"... I see." Alex nodded before turning away. "Don’t overthink it, just checking."
The man studied the side view of Alex’s face briefly before slowly turning away.
Their walk continued for a bit longer with no more words exchanged until they were close to the village.
As they stared at their village in the distance, the malformed man pursed his lips before addressing Alex.
Alex raised a brow. "Know what?"
"Either you think me completely stupid or you consider yourself a great professional to think I’d be fooled." Alex casually said.
"Hmm... It’s quite surprising. I had no idea I’d meet you."
"I was overly tired and needed a lift... I saw the coach and then I decided to hitch a ride."
"Everything I said was true... at least most parts of it."
Alex nodded. "So what now?"
How both men spoke was so calm, to the ignorant man, it would seem there was no tension.
However, the true situation was quite the opposite as within the calmness, the tension in the air had reached an all-time high, creating a crescendo that threatened to devour everything.
Alex had long since activated his spirituality, his eyes flashing a bright gold for a moment and the malformed man no longer looked so malformed as his devastating injuries slowly healed.
It didn’t take long before he had a rather attractive appearance.
With a smooth jawline, long hair, a well-trimmed beard, and a well-toned body, the man looked like some sort of sculpture.
Of course, his bleached skin and sickly green veins remained.
Alex slowly let go of him and both men stood apart from each other, leaving just enough space equivalent to an arm’s length.
"... What now, you say?"
"No... there’s no need for you to know."
"... So you won’t talk?" Alex slowly turned to come face to face with the man.
He furrowed his brows upon noticing that the man before him was strikingly familiar.
But for some reason, the memory eluded him like a pesky insect.
"Glad to see you are safe, Alex." The man said before reaching out and grabbing Alex’s shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, he revealed a wry smile before adding. "Now please... die again."
The earth about them exploded and a crater was formed as both men unleashed their strength simultaneously.
The effect was due to the collision.
"Again?" Alex raised a brow as he attempted to back away.
The man didn’t bother with a response as he bolted from his position and covered the distance between himself and Alex within seconds, appearing behind the latter to catch him off guard.
Before he could land a hit though, Alex snapped and teleported away to a different location.
He watched with intrigue as the man caused another mini crater with his fist.
"Evil god!" The man spat as he glared at Alex. "You dare take my brother’s talent as your own!"
It was at that moment that everything clicked for Alex as he realized.
"...You are Douglas."
Pondering for a moment, Alex understood why it was hard to figure out his identity.
It was hard to correlate Douglas in his memories and the one before him.
The former had a receding hairline, was clumsy, and spoke bad English due to being uneducated.
This guy... a single glance and no one would believe it was Douglas, save for say Emily that was closest to him.
As for Alex, his memories of Douglas weren’t accurate since he hadn’t spent much time on it, making it difficult to draw a comparison between the two figures.