The group of five from last night’s party has gathered around a long dining table, enjoying some breakfast, despite it already being close to noon.
Heavenly scents of eggs, juice, and butter spread through the mansion, causing Ryuu to fill his third plate in no time.
Meanwhile, Chief Garfield sits at the head of the table with coffee and a newspaper.
He slowly flips through it while everyone else chows down, then folds it and clears his throat.
“First things first, welcome back, Jane.”
“Thank you for having me, Grandfather.”
“Now then, I believe you three will be moving out today.”
He turns toward Ryuu and the others, who sit up straight and nod.
“Yes. We plan on heading straight for Mahora from here,” the Blade replies.
“I took the route by accident last time, but I’m trusting that means it’s relatively safe.”
“It’s true that there’s not much in the way between here and the capital. The Fallen in this area are weak as it is, and most of the journey is alongside a river that stretches across the entire region. Nonetheless, I recommend you stay on guard out there. I’ve heard rumors of shady groups lingering in the wildlands near Mahora when it’s dark. There were only two a week ago, but the latest report has risen to ten, apparently.”
“Okay, we’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for all of your help.”
“As long as you remember us, then I don’t mind.”
Lucy points her spoon at Ryuu from across the table.
“That’s right! You’d better come back every once in a while and pay us a visit!”
“I’ll see what I can do about that. I’ll definitely come back before too long has passed.”
She smiles and pulls her spoon back.
“That’s a promise!”
******
After finishing their late breakfast, the travelers pack their bags and move to the edge of Bexter, where the sisters wait to see them off.
Lucy walks up first, smiling at Isaac before moving close to Sherry.
She cups a hand around her ear and whispers, “You’d better take your chance while you can,” then scoots closer to Ryuu.
Sherry blushes profusely, while Ryuu turns toward the younger sister.
“What’s up? Come to see us off?”
“Of course. I still feel like I haven’t properly repaid you for what you did…”
“Forget about it. You fed us and gave us a place to rest. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to power through the rest of this journey.”
Lucy stares at the ground for a moment, then quickly glances up at him.
“Will you come back soon? I don’t have very many friends my age in this village, so, what I’m saying is… I’d really like to hang out with you again.”
Ryuu raises a brow and lightly grins, then holds out a hand.
“I already told you I’d be back. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
A smile spreads from cheek to cheek on Lucy’s face as she shakes his hand.
“Hahaha! You’re right!”
Jane fights back her amusement and joins her sister beside Ryuu.
“Watch yourself out there. The Northern Reaches are getting more dangerous by the day. I don’t want to be a downer, but things could get very serious, very soon.”
Sherry pushes between them and cuts in, “We’ll be fine. The three of us won’t ever lose again!”
“Again?” The Seventh asks.
Isaac sighs as Sherry covers her mouth, then Ryuu explains to the elder sister.
“What she means is that we let the enemy get away with Heaven Piercer. If we should find ourselves in a situation like that again, we’ll be ready to win next time.”
“Ah, I understand. Anyway, Lady Shirley, if you ever wish to return to the Sacred Land, you know how to contact us. You should come by too sometime, Dragon Blade.”
“I plan on it.”
The princess squad soon faces the wilderness once more, and moves on a path out of the village surrounded by mountains.
Lucy and Jane wave until they disappear, then return to catching up with each other before The Seventh has to leave again.
******
Their current terrain–wide rolling plains–provides little cover from the sun blasting down on the trio, but they trek ahead without complaint.
Isaac seems well-rested, and Sherry’s face looks a little more confident than usual, making Ryuu think that the stop was well worth it.
As they wind through the northern part of the region, they make small talk and exchange meaningless stories.
It turns out that none of them want to talk about their childhood, so at some point, it becomes the two men listening to stories about the Sacred Land.
After a few hours, the rolling plains transition into a vast wooded area, with only a thin dirt trail to lead them through it.
Isaac immediately pulls a map out of his bag and finds their location.
“Alright, it says it right here… The Forest of Whispering Winds. I don’t know what that means, but going around this place would add a couple of days to our journey…”
“That’s weird,” Ryuu mutters.
“I don’t remember this being here a month ago.”
Sherry taps him on the shoulder and shows him a page out of a book.
“It says here that this forest only appears on random days, but it’s always in this location. It seems that even if you were to camp here and wait for the forest to appear, you would simply find yourself right outside of it once it arrives. How neat!”
“You had a book with that information ready to go?”
“I-is there something wrong with that? I knew we were going to come through this area, so I made some preparations before we left this morning. Miss Lucy was kind enough to lend me a few of her less…forbidden books.”
“Well it helped us out this time. Is there anything in there about what we should expect?”
“Um…no. All it says is that we should stick to the path, and never give in to the voices.”
“Voices? Sounds like an interesting forest.”
“I think it’s kind of scary.”
Isaac turns to the two of them and jabs his thumb toward the trees.
“Can we go now..? The longer you guys talk, the more of this we’re going to have to deal with in the dark.”
Sherry makes a stunned expression, then moves behind Ryuu and pushes him toward the forest.
“O-okay, boys first. After you, Sir Ryuu.”
Isaac walks right past them, then Ryuu shakes his head at their frightened friend and moves ahead.
The three of them hike through the winding forest in a single file line, with their youngest member in the front, and their scared one in the back.
A few animals rustle nearby bushes along the way and cause Sherry to yelp every few minutes, which only adds to the group’s tension.
I was just starting to think that Sherry was making some progress too.
I wonder what’s got her this scared?
The trail they follow becomes dangerously thin at random intervals, keeping them on edge and draining their stamina as they walk, hour after hour, step after step.
The sun eventually lowers past the tall trees, and long shadows begin crossing over the forest floor.
Instead of creating a light source, they use [Mana Sense] to read the flow of energy around them and “see” their surroundings.
Different organisms hold different colors and shades of mana, with unnatural or man-made objects appearing as a dull gray, making it easier to stay on track.
They continue deeper into the forest using this strategy, and it isn’t until nightfall that they set up a short camp right on top of the trail.
Ryuu lights a small fire, while Isaac and Sherry pull out some rations from their bags, then they share a quick meal and keep their heads on a swivel.
The Blade quickly finishes his food and looks around one more time.
“I still haven’t heard any voices. I’m kinda disappointed.”
“Don’t say that sort of thing!” Sherry exclaims.
“You’ll jinx it!”
“What are you so afraid of? If anything scary shows up, I’ll knock it away with one punch!”
“Not everything can be punched, Sir Ryuu…”
***Isaac***
A sharp breeze cuts through the trees, making the fire violently sway, before disappearing as suddenly as it began.
Isaac glances up at the night sky through thick branches and frowns, then looks back to his friends.
The two that had been having a conversation just a minute ago are now staring at the fire in a trance-like state, their eyes glazed over like zombies’.
“Hey, what’s wrong? What happened to you guys?”
The wind surges up once more and swirls around Isaac with enough force to tear leaves from branches.
“Remember…the blood… The smell of death…”
“What?”
“That night in the village… The bandits that attacked… Your friends and family, burning as they screamed for help…”
He frowns and sweeps his arm through the whispering wind, then moves to Ryuu and grabs the collar of his jacket.
The Blade’s head rocks back and forth as Isaac shakes him, but he doesn’t react.
“Dammit. I didn’t think Ryuu would be affected by something like this…”
The young man mulls over his options for a few moments, estimating how far the exit is, and how long his stamina will last.
“Use me, darling…”
“Not now! I’m never letting you out again!”
“Why, Isaac? All I want is to help you…”
He shakes his head and clears the usual haunting voice from his mind.
I’m definitely not calling on her.
This spell is one I particularly dislike, but it’ll help this time.
Isaac crouches down and bites the tip of his thumb, drawing blood as he writes a symbol in his palm.
“Creatures of the other world, rise from my shadow and use your power for me, the one who lives in the dark. [Shadow Slaves]”
Two figures cloaked in shadows emerge from beneath Isaac and kneel in front of him.
They appear to be made entirely of darkness, with no defining features aside from two thin, glowing slits where eyes should be.
Isaac gestures toward his subdued friends and mutters, “Carry them” before continuing farther down the trail.
The shadows comply, immediately picking up Ryuu and Sherry–along with their bags–and following their master.
The seductive winds of the forest follow Isaac along his entire journey, whispering in his ear and showing him visions of the past, yet he pushes forward unfettered.
His travel partners occasionally mumble behind him, but he blocks them out as he focuses on following the path.
Above, the moon continues its slow arc through the sky, helping to light the boy’s way, and it’s not until the sun begins to peek through the trees again that the end of the forest appears.
A glimmer of relief shines in Isaac’s eyes as the end of his taxing job comes into view, then turns as he hears two thuds behind him.
His shadows had disappeared and dropped his friends due to the light of the sun hitting them.
“I forgot… Ugh. Come on, it’s not that far… Hup!”
The young M’yin drags his friends along the path by their arms, straining his muscles the whole way.
It takes about ten minutes, with some short breaks in between, but the three of them finally emerge from the forest.
Isaac drops their arms and plops to the ground, breathing heavily as he attempts to calm his heartbeat.
***Ryuu***
Ryuu sits up with a groan and rubs his forehead.
Sherry wakes up almost immediately after and does the same, then they turn to Isaac.
“What happened…?” the Blade mutters.
“When did we get out of the forest?”
“Yes, and why do you look so tired, Isaac?”
He sighs and rolls onto his side on the grass.
“You two were caught by the voices… I carried you out, so now I’m taking a nap.”
The two others exchange glances, then look back at Isaac with impressed grins.
“You mean the voices didn’t faze you? Sheesh, that’s some impressive mental strength.”
“That’s right! I’m super impressed!”
The dark-haired boy closes his eyes and thinks to himself, “Something like that” before nodding off.
Ryuu and Sherry let him rest, making a fire and reading books to pass the time.
After Sherry moves to the side to do her own thing, Ryuu props his back against his large pack and watches the sky slowly shift through shades of red and orange.
Back in that forest, I was actually conscious, but I couldn’t move.
The second that I gave the voices a fraction of my attention, I was caught.
I’m sure Sherry had it just as bad, and yet, Isaac somehow managed to march straight through it for hours while carrying both of us.
He’s so obviously tragic that I can’t help but feel bad for him.
I mean, I think I have a pretty rough past, now that I have an idea of what a “normal life” looks like, but his must be even worse.
Asking about it seems like too big of a hurdle at this point… Oh well.
He’ll share when he feels like it.
******
Isaac wakes up shortly after the morning sun fully greets the group.
His friends sit nearby: Sherry lightly snoring with her head against her bag, and Ryuu standing to the side while staring inside of the forest.
The white-haired man notices the rustling around the camp and walks back over, then nudges Sherry’s bag with his foot.
“It’s time to get up. We’ve got another two days to Mahora, even with all of the time Isaac saved us.”
Sherry groans and rubs her eyes, but hauls her bag over shoulders without much complaint.
They follow the same road through a short meadow, then come out to a rocky area that stretches parallel to a rapidly flowing river.
Isaac confirms on the map that following this river for the rest of their journey should bring them within view of Mahora, so they strap in for the last leg.
Packs of low-level Fallen and regular wild animals occasionally pass by, but none risk getting too close to the group.
When Ryuu questions it, Isaac and Sherry both credit it to his “intimidating glare” that he’s usually wearing.
“What? I’m not trying to look scary.”
“You can’t help it, Sir Ryuu. Your eyes are very angular, and since you have strong brows, it makes all of your expressions strong.”
“Yeah… It’s kind of like, no matter what emotion you’re showing, it looks intense…”
Ryuu frowns and scratches his cheek.
“Well, it’s not bad to you guys, right?”
“No… It suits you,” Isaac concludes.
“You may not realize it, but you’re pretty intense anyway.”
“Yes, I agree,” Sherry replies with a light smile.
“I was a bit nervous at our first meeting, but I’ve quickly begun to find your face comforting.”
“Thanks… Enough about my face though, is it really just gonna be this view the rest of the way, Isaac?”
“Pretty much. The map doesn’t show any more settlements, and the only change in environment comes right near the capital…”
“Ugh, where’s the adventure? I thought the wildlands would be more exciting than this.”
“We’re taking the safe route… We could have cut the time down, but we would’ve risked bandits and stronger Fallen.”
The travelers quickly become accustomed to the constant sound of the river next to them as the hours stretch on.
A day passes without incident, then another, and soon, they reach another region of grassy plains that seems to stretch on forever.
A large, cylindrical wall is visible along the horizon, drawing them in the same way it did Ryuu several weeks ago.
The sun is still climbing into the sky as the trio takes off across the rolling hills toward the capital, pumping their legs in anticipation of their journey’s destination.
They pass a few plots of farmland off to the side of the trail, and wave at the older couples while they work, then joke with each other about what they’re going to do as soon as they get inside the walls.
Before they can get far down the path, a fearful shout cries out from a nearby house.
A simple, one-story log house stands alone among the dotted farmlands outside of the capital.
Frozen inside of the doorway is a middle-aged man in tattered clothes, who’s clearly distraught over something.
Sherry instantly skids to a stop and moves through the tall grass toward the man without waiting for the others.
As she gets closer, she can hear the man lightly sobbing as he looks into a dark, empty living room.
“Excuse me, sir? Is something wrong?”
The man turns with tears running down his dirt-smeared face, then rubs his face into his arm.
“No… No. It’s nothin’ a girl like you could help me with. Not even the city’s law enforcement will step in, sayin’ it’s out o’ their jurisdiction.”
“I may not look like much, but I’m willing to help however I can. Even if it’s just listening to what you have to say.”
He considers it for a moment, then Ryuu and Isaac catch up with them.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“…Is something wrong?”
Sherry steps forward and introduces them.
“These are my friends. If you’re willing to share your story with us, we may be able to help you somehow.”
The middle-aged man deeply sighs, then closes the door of the house as he steps out.
“Follow me.”
He leads them to a larger, white stone house about a mile away.
It looks like it’s been worn down by time, with vines hanging from the roof and pitted walls on all sides.
The group is ushered inside and sits down on a couple of couches across from the homeowner, who pours himself a drink and downs it at once.
“The name’s Matt. I don’t know why I’m puttin’ my trust in a group o’ kids, but there’s no other choice. I’ll cut to the chase: my daughter and grandson are missin’. The house that we were at before is theirs, but a neighbor told me the door’s been wide open since yesterday evenin’. I went to check it out, then you all showed up, but not before I found this…”
Matt pulls a crumpled piece of paper from his shirt pocket and hands it to Sherry, who handles it with care as she unfolds the edges.
Her eyes quickly run down the note, then stop, and she grips the paper roughly.
“Mister Matt, you’re sure that they were home until sometime yesterday?”
“Yes. I visited them two days ago for dinner. There didn’t seem to be anythin’ wrong at the time…”
Ryuu leans over on the couch and glances at the paper.
“What’s up, Sherry?”
“This note, it says that if Mister Matt wants to see Lany and Yannis again, he’ll need to prepare one hundred gold by tonight.”
“”What?!””
Ryuu and Isaac stand from the couch in shock as Matt buries his face in his hands.
“I don’t know what to do… There’s no way I can pull together that much gold in such little time!”
The younger boy steps forward and puts a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I know this is a lot…but do you know why they’d target your family?”
“No… We’re just a small family o’ farmers, always have been. My ancestors were among some o’ the first to settle this land three hundred years ago, and now we can’t even get help from the capital to look into these shady bastards!”
Does he mean the people Jane and the chief mentioned?
Matt leans back in his chair and lets his hands drop to his lap with a defeated, far-off dullness in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, kids. I know there’s nothin’ you can do, but I’m desperate. I’ll do anythin’, so-”
“Don’t worry, Mister Matt. We’ll get your family back for you.”
Sherry stands from the couch at last and hands the note to Isaac.
“They left a location for the money to be dropped off. Look it up on the map and make note of what’s in the area. The kidnappers will likely be watching from somewhere nearby to verify the handoff.”
Ryuu watches Isaac pull the map out, then glances around the room they’re in.
He picks up a small frame over the stone fireplace and studies a picture of a dark-haired woman around Ilene’s age, holding a little boy no older than three.
They sit on a small bench inside of the capital–smiling for the picture–while presumably taking a day trip with Matt.
“What’s your plan, Sherry? If we’re spotted anywhere in the area, they’ll probably kill them.”
Sherry narrows her eyes at him, while Matt groans and buries his head again.
“Please consider your words, Sir Ryuu.”
“I’m being realistic, because this could go wrong very fast. It’d help if any of us were familiar with the area, but we’re walking into the enemy’s lair. That means we have to be able to quickly react when something happens.”
She stares at him for a moment, then turns to Isaac.
“What do you see there? Anything of note?”
“Nothing much… This is all in the middle of nowhere, depending on how well I followed the note’s directions.”
“This is the right area. It looks like we’ll be going in blind.”
Sherry turns to Ryuu once more with a forced smile.
“We’d better get going now. If we hurry, we’ll make it to the drop zone right at nightfall.”
“Thank you… Please, save my family…”
Matt repeatedly mutters his appreciation as they leave their bags, step out of his home, and look north-west.
“We’re moving away from the capital now…”
“We don’t have a choice. There’s no way I can sit by while knowing I could help these people.”
Isaac nods at Sherry and raises a fist to his chest.
“Don’t worry. I would’ve helped him, even if you two hadn’t.”
“That’s surprising.”
“…I guess so.”
Ryuu watches them for a moment, then takes off, leading the way ahead while they shout and catch up.
The sun sets behind the capital as the party ventures north again, casting their [Mana Sense] in preparation for the darkness to come.
Matt’s note had instructions to leave one hundred gold in a prepared box under a grove of apple trees near a clearing at the edge of the north-west woods.
They run until they get within twenty minutes of the location, then duck into a group of bushes to plan their approach.
“The map doesn’t show it very well…” Isaac begins, “But from here, we can see there’s a cliff hanging over the drop site…and I bet they could watch us across the nearby river pretty easily…”
“Which means Mister Matt’s family is likely being kept somewhere nearby until after his part of the transaction is made.”
Ryuu nods at them and points a finger at the full moon almost directly overhead.
“That means we’ve gotta find these bastards before then and get some answers. Looking for their hideout in these plains could take weeks on our own.”
They spend several minutes going back and forth about certain routes and timings, then eventually leave the bushes and set their plan into motion: Isaac and Sherry will wrap around through the forest and watch the river on the other side for movement, while Ryuu slowly makes his way to the bottom of the nearby cliff.
It’s up to those two to keep things on track.
Once I get close to the cliff, I’ll basically be a sitting duck for anyone looking around.
They split into position two hours before the deadline and wait patiently in bushes and trees.
With their magic arts still active, nothing will slip by them unaccounted for in a certain range, which they’ve overlapped as little as they can.
Ten minutes pass, then twenty, then again, until an hour passes after they arrive.
Ryuu picks up a presence walking just out of sight, about to make their way up the cliff.
He sits in a tree at the base and waits, then a half-naked man wrapped in animal fur slowly crouches by with a stone spear in hand.
What’s with that getup?
It seems a little lackluster, even for me.
They don’t look like part of an impressive group, but…
The Blade’s yellow eyes don’t miss the ring of keys strapped tightly to the man’s waist.
He checks his surroundings once more, then gracefully leaps from a tree branch and pounces on the man.
Ryuu’s arm wraps around his unsuspecting target’s neck and tucks under their chin before they hit the ground, then his other hand pushes the stranger’s head forward after knocking them down.
As a result, the fur-wearing kidnapper is unable to make a sound as they’re choked nearly to death.
Ryuu stops at the last second and pins the man to the ground with a boot on his neck.
“Speak only when I say you can. If you raise your voice, I’ll crush your throat. Nod once if you understand.”
They look up at Ryuu with shaken eyes and quickly nod once while glancing around.
“Are you here to pick up the payment for Matt’s family?”
A quick nod.
“Are there more of you out here right now?”
Another nod.
“Is Matt’s family nearby?”
They shake their head.
“Where are they? And if they’re in your hideout, where is it? Speak quietly.”
“I-it’s in a cave about twenty minutes down the river. The family is being kept in a holding room until the deadline passes, but you’ll never make it. The second intruders are found, you’ll be up against dozens, hahaha!”
Ryuu frowns and buries his heel into the man’s neck, then twists.
He takes the keys from the man’s waist, then quickly makes his way toward the tree line while keeping [Mana Sense] active.
In a few minutes, Sherry and Isaac enter his range, as well as a few faint life signatures on the ground.
The two of them sit on a circle of stones just past a thick wall of vines, where three of the fur-wearing people lay unconscious.
“You’re back,” Sherry observes.
“How did it go at the cliff?”
Ryuu holds up the keys with a smirk.
“Good enough. Their base is about twenty minutes west, but apparently there’s a lot of them.”
Sherry stands and leads the way while pulling on her friends’ arms.
“Let’s go then. There’s no time to waste.”
******
The three of them find the base in fifteen minutes, keeping their heads low as a cave opens up just ahead.
From their position at the edge of the forest, they take the time to analyze their surroundings.
A branching river cuts off the right side of the space, leaving no way in but through rough rapids, or straight toward the patrolling guards.
Ryuu counts five of them in total from his spot in a tree, but he can’t sense much inside of the cave.
He waves his hands at his friends, then makes an odd series of gestures.
When it’s clear they don’t understand, he sighs and whispers, “Leave these guys to me.” The white-haired Blade then nimbly swings from branch to branch before flipping into the air and landing in front of the cave, between all five guards.
I’ve only had the chance to use this against people stronger than me, but I have a feeling its effects will be much different this time.
Ryuu casts [Draconic Presence] the moment the guards start to turn toward him, then they spasm and collapse to the ground.
Isaac and Sherry quickly catch up to him as he examines one of the bodies and confirms that they’ve passed out from fear.
The three of them then slowly walk into the cave while sticking to one side of the wall.
Although they don’t have an issue with darkness, the cave’s winding system still throws them off a couple times, causing them to double back and try again.
The longer they take, the more the nearing deadline weighs on their minds.
After some time, a bright glow becomes visible at the end of the tunnel.
They carefully creep closer and peer around a corner, finding dozens of fur-wearing, weapon-wielding partiers.
Men and women of all ages eat and drink while talking loudly, giving the trio the cover they need to sneak by.
Thankfully, the weird tribe is also a group of hoarders, as there is no end to the stacks of trash and broken weapons they can hide behind.
On the other side of the large cavern, a thick, rusted gate rests in the shadows, barely visible beside a stack of crates.
Ryuu motions forward, then the three of them hastily dash to the shadows of the crates before he starts flipping through keys.
The lock clicks on the fourth try, and they slip in without a sound.
The three of them slowly back away from the gate until they’re out of sight, then turn and freeze in place.
What hits them first is the smell.
It’s akin to walking past the back of a butcher shop that hasn’t been cleaned in weeks.
Then, while tears well up in their eyes against their will, they realize the number of the horrors in front of them.
Eighteen bodies, mostly adults, all bloodied and motionless inside of cages.
Finally, the gruesome details.
It doesn’t take long to figure out the purpose of this room, given the bloody cages and shackles around the wrists and ankles of the bodies, with some having their pants rolled down to their ankles.
Sherry covers her mouth in horror as she turns away and sobs uncontrollably.
Next to her, Isaac’s pupils shrink to pinpoints, while his face contorts in disgust.
He starts to turn around, then stops as he feels a sudden chill down his neck.
The boy glances back and finds Ryuu staring straight at the bodies with an uncomfortable glare in his eyes.
It’s the same look he got when he talked about Garth back in Titania, and when they were fighting the spear-wielder.
It’s the same everywhere.
There’s nowhere in this world to run from evil, is there?
I was naive.
I thought that I was cursed, and that misfortune followed me after the burning of my home, but that’s not it.
These psychotic freaks, and the Eternal Order… Why do they have to spread this kind of despair?!
Why can’t they let people be free to lead their own lives?!
It’s not this world that’s evil, it’s the people who live in it that have been evil from the beginning!
Ryuu clenches his fists and bites his lip, doing everything he can to stop himself from losing control.
Just before he turns to deal with the tribe, he spots movement in the back corner of the room.
“Wait, I see something.”
The other two stay behind as he moves forward, unable to stomach the carnage.
Ryuu steps past the rows of cages and looks toward the right corner, where two figures crouch in a smaller space.
A disheveled woman with dark hair and a young child hold each other and shake as they stare out with wide eyes.
The Blade holds his hands up by his chest and splays his fingers, showing that he’s not here to hurt them.
“Don’t worry, I’m not one of them. You guys are Lany and Yannis, right? We’re here to bust you out.”
The woman shuts her eyes and tries to find her voice, but fails, and shakes her head.
Ryuu slowly moves closer to the cage and brings the keys out again.
He tries all five on the lock, but none of them work.
“I’m gonna have to be a little rough. Please move back as far as you can.”
Lany pulls her son back as she watches Ryuu with fearful eyes.
He reaches out and grips the padlock, then channels his aura as he tightens his grip.
In one swift movement, he rips it out of the metal bars, and the cage swings open.
He then holds a hand out as he drops the chunk of metal, beckoning the hostages toward their freedom.
“Here. We’ll take you home.”
The two of them hesitate for a moment, then Lany urges Yannis forward first.
The boy slowly reaches his hand out to Ryuu, who takes it and guides him out.
He covers the boy’s eyes before he can see anything, then waits for Lany to come out before moving back to the others.
His friends manage to smile a bit as they see the two survivors, and gently take their hands as Ryuu passes them off.
“You two get them out of this cave. I’m gonna make sure nobody follows you.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Isaac worries.
“A couple of them had some nasty-looking weapons…”
“I’ll be fine. Compared to Andromeda, these guys are nothing. They won’t even touch me.”
His friends nod and move to the first gate, then quickly pass through the party chamber.
A few of the tribe members shout in surprise once they see their victims getting away, but they’re cut off as a snow-haired man steps into their path.
“None of you are going anywhere. My heart tells me that I can’t let you off lightly for what you’ve done.”
An older man with a staff of bones and a bear skull over his head stands.
“You think you can stop us? Who do you think you are, some kind of hero?!”
“No, I’m like you. A hero wouldn’t do what I’m about to.”
******
Not long after escaping the cave, Sherry and Isaac watch Ryuu walk out with a blank stare on his face.
His hands, feet, and hair are smeared with blood, and it’s clearly not his.
He walks over and runs his eyes over the mother and son they rescued, then nods toward the path.
“May as well get moving. I think everyone would like it if they got home as fast as possible.”
They nod and guide the rescued pair in an arrow formation.
While Sherry walks in front, Isaac scoots closer to Ryuu in the back of the group and whispers, “I would’ve joined you.”
The Blade glances at him and shakes his head, muttering, “They weren’t worth the effort,” as they get closer to Matt’s house.
Within a couple of hours, the group returns to the white house and knocks on the door.
It immediately swings open to reveal Matt, his eyes more sunken than before, who locks on to Lany and Yannis.
“You-you’re alive!”
Lany holds Yannis while her father pulls her into a hug, and the group of travelers watches with tight smiles.
They hold each other for a short while, then thank the group again for saving them.
As the three of them step inside to grab their things, Matt asks once more if there’s anything he can do for them, but they refuse.
The party leaves the family to properly reunite, and heads out into the late night toward Mahora.
“Ryuu…” Isaac begins, “Isn’t it kind of weird that the capital didn’t look into these sightings? These kidnappings were happening not even thirty minutes from the walls, yet they did nothing, despite rumors reaching as far as Bexter…”
“Yeah, I was thinking about that, but I don’t know what to make of it. The duke is probably busy right now with preparing to transfer his power, so I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this was pretty messed up.”
Sherry walks up between them and speaks softly.
“The things we saw in that cave… I’ve never been through anything like that before. There were bodies in Titania, but Lady Evelyn’s magic fixed that before I could see very many. That…that was too much.”
Ryuu and Isaac remain silent as they recount similar tragedies that they’ve gone through themselves.
They don’t resent Sherry for her relatively peaceful (until recently) life.
It’s due to her kind nature and selfless personality that they wish to protect her as a friend, regardless of who she’s supposed to be.
“I agree… I’m glad you took the first step so we could save those people,” her gloomy-eyed friend eventually responds.
“That’s right,” Ryuu adds with a pat on her back.
“I’ll have to look into what’s going on at the castle, but we at least made something of our long journey.”
The three of them talk lightly as they move side by side down a wide, cobbled path.
The imposing might of Mahora’s enchanted walls soon greets them, feeling like the shell of an impenetrable fortress.
Guards stationed at the north gate continue to funnel people in and out, although the crowd is thin at this late hour.
These walls would be a lot more reassuring if we weren’t invaded a month ago.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever passed through this way.
When I first arrived, Ilene took me along by carriage.
Then, when I left for Titania, we walked through some kind of underground tunnel to get to the walls.
I still have no idea what the other two districts look like.
The princess squad waits in line for a bit until it’s finally their turn.
A guard in full, flat-headed armor walks toward them with a hand out for identification.
Ryuu and Isaac pat their pockets before realizing they’re empty-handed.
Oh yeah.
I never did get anything like that.
“Shit… I think I lost mine at some point,” the younger man grumbles.
Ryuu grabs the guard’s attention and points at himself.
“We don’t have any on us, but I live inside of Mahora Castle. I’m Dragon Blade, Ilene Mahora’s partner.”
The guard looks closely at him, then shrugs with indifference.
“Sorry, but if you don’t have identification, then you aren’t getting in.”
“What?!”
“Cool it, pal. Just look at yourself. Three travelers with no identification, and one of you is covered in blood. You think I’m an idiot?”
Ryuu frowns and takes a step toward the guard, then Sherry moves past him and holds out a thin, metal rectangle.
“I have my Titania ID with me. This should cover the three of us, right?”
The guard swipes the card from Sherry’s hand and closely inspects it.
After a few moments, he scoffs and hands it back to her.
“Fine, you can enter. Just make sure he washes himself off before you even think about getting near the Gold District.”
The Blade acts like he can’t hear him as they walk past, then flips him off from behind.
Isaac fights back a chuckle while Sherry pushes them forward, then they pass through the outer walls into the city of Mahora.