Free Web NovelChapter 122: Back To The Group
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the clearing moments after Kaeloris spoke. They were steady, slow and unhurried...
Everyone instinctively turned toward the crimson trees swaying at the edge of the forest and several seconds later, three figures emerged...
Regaleon appeared first.
His pace remained as composed as ever, yet everyone immediately noticed something terribly wrong with him.
His once-pristine golden armor was now marred by numerous deep cuts and gouges.
One particularly long slash stretched diagonally across the breastplate, exposing the bruised flesh beneath.
Fresh scratches scarred nearly every section of the Soul Essence, while dried blood stained the joints where the armor no longer fit together perfectly.
Across his back rested an unconscious Veyrath.
The failed Alchemist’s arms hung limply over Regaleon’s shoulders, his head resting weakly against the silver-haired knight’s neck.
Although the wound upon his back had already healed, his face remained frighteningly pale. Clearly, the excessive loss of blood had left him looking almost lifeless...
Walking beside Regaleon was Vaelorin.
Compared to the silver-haired knight, the failed pyromancer looked slightly better... Only slightly.
His injured shoulder remained tightly wrapped in bloodstained cloth. Another strip of fabric circled his waist, fresh crimson slowly soaking through it.
But despite his condition, he still carried both heavy skin sacks across his shoulders. Yet every breath he drew escaped his lips as a labored pant.
Also, his steps were noticeably heavier than Regaleon’s...
Several paces behind them, another figure quietly emerged from the forest. It was Aelric.
Compared to the battered trio, the green-eyed youth looked almost absurdly pristine.
Not a single tear marked his clothes as his forest-green cloak remained spotless and his relaxed posture hadn’t even changed in the slightest.
It was as though he hadn’t participated in whatever ordeal the others had endured.
But only he knew that he had been the one who ended it...
Aelric continued walking with the same easygoing gait, one hand resting casually upon the hilt of his sheathed sword.
At first glance, he appeared harmless... Almost lazy in fact. Yet anyone possessing truly discerning eyes would immediately notice the terrifying contradiction hidden beneath that relaxed demeanor.
There was a pressure; silent and invisible. Yet it so immense that it felt almost insurmountable...
Silence descended across the clearing until Valmyr broke it first.
The failed Vanguard lowered the enormous log resting across his shoulders...
BOOM!
It struck the ground with a dull thud..
Then he folded his arms before letting out a low whistle. "Well, would you look at that. You guys really look like shit."
He glanced over Regaleon and Vaelorin once more before smirking. "Looks like that Rank One Antelope gave you a proper beating."
"Scarlet Streak Antelope." Kaeloris corrected almost automatically from the side.
Valmyr rolled his eyes. "Whatever, genius."
His gaze swept over the battered pair once again before settling upon the unconscious Veyrath. Then his smile disappeared.
"What’s wrong with him?" He asked. "Was it the Antelope?"
"It was not the antelope." Vaelorin replied. With a weary sigh, he lowered both skin sacks onto the ground...
THUD!
He also slowly rolled his shoulders. The movement immediately sent a sharp pain through his wounded side, causing him to wince slightly.
"What do you mean?" Valmyr frowned. "Wasn’t that what you three went hunting? So if it wasn’t the Antelope, then what in the Aetherium did this to you?"
"An assassin." Regaleon’s calm voice answered.
He carefully lowered Veyrath onto a patch of soft grass beside the lake before straightening himself.
Almost immediately, Caelestra hurried over to examine the unconscious alchemist. But before she could kneel, Regaleon spoke in an assuring manner.
"Don’t worry. There’s nothing seriously wrong with him. He simply needs to rest for a bit and when he wakes up, he’ll be fine.
Caelestra gave a slight nod before stepping back. But it was then that Aureleah stepped forward and asked.
"An assassin?"
Her expression remained as calm as ever. Yet those who knew her well noticed the almost imperceptible tightening around her silver eyes.
She stopped directly before Regaleon, her gaze slowly sweeping across the countless tears covering his armor.
Then it drifted toward the dried blood staining the gaps around his ribs. And finally, her silver eyes met his golden ones as she continued.
"That doesn’t make sense."
Regaleon wanted to shrug but the pain coursing through his fractured ribs immediately convinced him otherwise.
"It doesn’t make sense to me either." He started explaining. "We’d already finished the hunt and were on our way back here when we were suddenly ambushed..."
"Not just ambushed." Vaelorin interrupted quietly. "We were almost killed."
The clearing fell silent as the group listened to him.
He shifted his fiery-red eyes toward the silver-haired Assassin before continuing. "No offense, Aureleah but that assassin was unlike anything we’ve encountered before. And even you aren’t as dangerous as it was."
There was a brief pause before he spoke further. "So yeah. You can imagine what we went through."
No one spoke immediately. Several heavy moments passed before Regaleon quietly broke the silence once more.
"There was something else." He added.
Everyone looked toward him...
He inhaled slowly then broke the news to them. "The assassin... Was a Sauryean."
Silence descended upon the clearing once more. But this time, it was an entirely different kind of silence. It was heavy and oppressive.
They all heard what he said but no one liked the implication behind those words...
Several long moments passed before Kaeloris finally spoke. "Do you think this has something to do with the Breeding Nest we destroyed?"
"Not think." Caelestra answered immediately.
"Know."
She folded her arms, her voice firm as she spoke. "If anything, I’d say our actions finally caught up with us."
She glanced around the group.
"I mean, we’ve spent nearly a week wandering through this forest and until now, nothing like this has happened. However all of a sudden, a Sauryean assassin appears..."
She sighed. "We already crossed paths with them once before. So this feels less like coincidence and far more like retaliation."
"...Fuck." Valmyr cursed beneath his breath.
He rubbed his face with one hand before commenting. "I honestly thought we’d left that whole mess behind us..."
"No." Regaleon shook his head slowly. "If anything, I’d say this is only the beginning."
Those words instantly caused the atmosphere to become even heavier.
"So..." Aureleah spoke again. "What happened to the assassin?"
"It got away." Vaelorin answered simply.
Yet beneath his calm tone, everyone could hear the lingering frustration.
Aureleah slowly looked toward Regaleon. "You let it escape?" She asked, raising one elegant eyebrow. "That’s unlike you."
Regaleon released a tired sigh before walking toward a nearby fallen log.
He carefully sat down before giving a response.
"As Vaelorin already said, that assassin wasn’t normal. In fact, it was far stronger than any of us."
He rested both hands upon his knees. "And if I had to compare it to something, I’d say it was roughly equivalent to a Rank Two Anima."
Several eyes widened simultaneously...
"Hold on!" Valmyr exclaimed while stepping forward. "Did you just say Rank Two?!"
He stared blankly. "Like you three fought something comparable to a Rank Two Anima... And you’re all still alive?"
Regaleon looked at him strangely.
"What? Were you expecting us to die?"
"No!" Valmyr immediately waved both hands.
"That’s not what I meant."
He scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean...If the assassin really was that strong, then how in the world did you survive?"
Regaleon fell silent for a brief moment. Eventually, he answered quietly.
"Actually, it was because the assassin never intended to kill us directly..."
Confused expressions immediately spread across the group and upon seeing their reactions, Regaleon elaborated.
"There isn’t the slightest doubt in my mind that if it truly wanted us dead we would’ve died several times over."
He looked down at his damaged armor as he spoke. "I mean, it had countless opportunities... But it simply never took them."
His jaw slowly tightened. "If anything, it felt less like fighting against it and more like being played with by it."
He paused slightly, the bitterness in his voice becoming unmistakable. "Honestly, it was humiliating."
No one replied. It was only after another long silence that Regaleon exhaled quietly before speaking again.
"Regardless we’re fortunate to be alive. Also, we manage to bring back the prize of the hunt."
He said, nodding toward the two heavy skin sacks resting nearby...
Aureleah remained silent for several moments. Then eventually, her silver eyes drifted toward the green-eyed youth standing quietly several meters away.
Truthfully, she had noticed him the moment Regaleon emerged from the forest. And ever since then, she had been subtly observing him from the corner of her eye while listening to everyone else speak.
The stranger hadn’t interrupted their conversation nor had he even attempted to introduce himself. Instead, he simply stood there...
One hand rested casually upon the hilt of his sheathed sword while his expression remained as relaxed as ever. If anything, he was almost invisible; as though he weren’t truly part of the gathering.
Yet Aureleah had noticed something the instant she laid eyes upon him.
It wasn’t his appearance nor was it his sword.
Instead, it was the pressure; a quiet, deeply restrained presence that unconsciously radiated from him despite the complete absence of hostility or ill intent.
It was subtle, almost impossible to detect. Yet once noticed it became impossible to ignore...
Her curiosity quietly grew as she wondered why the silver-haired Knight brought back a stranger to their camp...
Finally, she turned back toward Regaleon before giving a subtle nod toward the stranger. "So are you going to tell us who he is?"
Only after Aureleah spoke those words did everyone else finally shift their attention toward the mysterious green-eyed youth.
And just like that, for the very first time, the entire group truly noticed Aelric...
