Chapter 9: Release

  Roaring softly, the flame from a torch swayed left and right, sweeping through, it spread its light, but never quite vanquished the darkness of night.

  A beautiful young lady in immaculate white armor, could be seen callously blemishing the masterpiece with the dirty filth of the wilds. Ruby rummaged through every bush, and scanned behind every tree with a furious zeal.

  Disobeying her direct superior, she snuck out during the night to search further ahead for the boy everyone was looking for.

  Their search team was especially behind the others, so she thought that with her damned luck, he could be right in front of them all this time without them even knowing.

  With brash youth, and a mix of illogical optimism and pessimism, Ruby was going to catch that traitor, and end this seven-day wilderness search once and for all!

  Make no mistake though, she wasn’t doing so out of loyalty, integrity, or her in-born hard-working and honest nature, she was doing it so she could get out of this damn forest!

  Mosquitos biting her soft and pristine skin—the constant tasteless commoner’s food— and the very fact that she hadn’t bathed for a week now…

  “AHHHHHH!”

  It made her scream in rage, and channeling that anger, she searched more furiously through the hills and thickets.

  What she didn't know however…was that her brash and illogical thinking turned out to be correct.

  Above her, hugging a skinny tree branch, was the very person in question. Vendus looked down on his pursuer with a raised eyebrow.

  Why was this person screaming?

  Is she suffering from mental illness?

  ‘I thought they didn’t let such people in the army, and definitely not in the royal brigade…’

  Whatever the case, she was here, and she came mighty close to actually finding him.

  Usually his pursuers came intermittently from the left and right, and so his eyes had been focused on those two sides. Ruby dashing in from behind him was an utmost unwelcome surprise.

  In addition, there was a fervor to her seeking. With her relentless athleticism combined with the willingness to furiously check every bush at least twice, Vendus was forced to climb up the trees and hopefully let her pass.

  Eyes glued to the young lady…slowly but surely, she had checked the same area beneath him three times now, and was finally heading someplace else.

  He sighed, ‘Thank the gods, finally.’

  “I'm working up a sweat, and for what!?” She shouted, as Vendus watched the light of her torch slowly distance itself away from him.

  Suddenly, and to the surprise of both of them however, an odd grumbling sound echoed amongst the gales of wind.

  RUMBLE

  ‘Oh my goodness!’ He clutched at his stomach.

  “What the? What was that?” Ruby asked, swinging her torch from in front of, to now directly behind her.

  The young lady walked a few paces forwards, coming closer and closer, to now directly under the branch Vendus hugged onto. What separated them now, was just a few tense meters in verticality.

  The boy held his breath, trying to stay as silent as possible.

  “Was that my stomach? Didn't I eat two hours ago?”

  “...Maybe it was some animal’s stomach?”

  “It kind of sounded like it came from…”

  Abruptly she swung her torch, “...Above me!”

  The flame burned hot, almost setting fire to the lowest cluster of leaves above her. Waving it around towards the skies, her eyes parsed through the dense knot of branches, trying to locate anything odd among them. Particularly, if a human figure was up there...

  …In the end however, she found nothing.

  “Huh.”

  “Ah well…”

  “...Time for a late night snack I guess, hehe!” She said whimsically, losing all seriousness.

  From a not so distant place away, just a few meters where he could have been caught, Vendus was struggling to keep his labored breathing slow, and even.

  In a burst of silent speed he had made the decision to vacate his hiding spot. Undoubtedly, it was the right choice.

  He sighed silently, ‘That was close…’

  Now all he had to do was either let her walk off, or scurry away silently…but in a slower and more relaxed manner now, thankfully.

  ‘...Both. I'll do both.’

  Yet…what was this!?

  Vendus's eyes opened wide.

  The young woman, after rummaging in her knapsack, had thrown it off to the side.

  And in her hands was…

  ‘Lemon cakes!?’

  ‘Tha— That…’

  ‘...They don't give those to soldiers do they!?’

  “Hehe, even if this young lady has to sneak them in, she will have her delicacies!” She shouted, as if announcing to the world.

  Vendus scoffed in disbelief, almost too loudly too, before he put his hand over his mouth.

  …After taking it off, unknowingly, his breathing had turned heavy again, while his mouth had started to salivate. Luckily, the young lady had already walked off a fair distance.

  ‘Sho— Should I steal her food?’

  He hadn't eaten anything but berries that gave him rashes, and that was days ago. Vendus now had the chance to eat real food again, and not just that, but possibly a delicious baked treat too.

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  ‘She’s gonna notice it's missing…but I can make it look like an animal rummaged around inside of it instead…’

  ‘Wa—Wait!’

  ‘No! NO! That's dishonorable, Vendus!’ He reprimanded himself.

  ‘I— I will never fall into the ranks of the common hoodlum!’ He stated.

  Strugglingly, he wrenched his gaze away from the woman's knapsack, and into the dark forest ahead of him.

  Ruby sat atop a small hill, where the trees opened up just enough to portray a vista of the full moon and its surrounding stars.

  As she placed the baked delicacy to her mouth, her carefree and whimsical smile…slowly started to disappear from her face.

  What replaced it was a numb look, that slowly transformed into one of wistfulness and melancholy.

  Her once easygoing and simple character, betrayed folds of complexity and hidden, stirring emotions.

  She stared at the moon and its stars, as if both yearning for and lamenting their existence.

  Oh how free they were, and oh so powerful.

  Finding that she stared at them for much too long, the beautiful young lady bit her lip, closed her eyes, and turned away.

  It was a simple gesture, but it felt the same as if turning away from a lover, a home, or even a belief that one once kept close to their heart.

  Red started to fall from her lip, and it wasn't make up but blood.

  Finally, she opened her eyes.

  Visually, she was going to enforce on herself that this was the reality she chose, and the one that she would walk to the end.

  Yet, something appeared in her eyes that made her forget all her grief, sorrow, and burdens.

  “Wh— What the fuck!?” The young lady shouted.

  “Wha—!?” A young boy squealed

  There, in front of her, was Vendus with half his hand in her storage bag.

  In fact, his hand was not going in, but going out!

  The hoodlum already had bread, cheese, and dried meat hugged tight to his body, while…he was grabbing her only other piece of lemon cake!

  ‘Shit shit shit!’ He lost all trace of nobility and their flowery words.

  Without hesitation, Vendus pathetically scurried off, and disappeared out of sight behind a tree.

  Ruby was in so much confusion, disbelief, and rage, that she stuttered, “Sto— Stop right there you goddamn thief!”

  BOOM!

  The young woman smashed the ground with a mana-infused step, and instantly shot through twenty-five meters in a single second.

  Autumn leaves fell, the surrounding trees in her area shook for a moment, enduring the impact of her departure, and her arrival.

  Grass, dirt, and stone alike shot up into the air.

  “Where the hell are you asshole!?” She said through gritted teeth.

  Her torch waved around madly, scouring the forests for his delinquent figure, before ultimately bounding for the branches above.

  Somehow she landed softly like a feather onto a skinny branch, before her figure blurred away from the same spot.

  Even with a full set of metal armor, she leaped from tree to tree with astounding agility and strength. To say she did so with the prowess of a monkey, was to belittle her speed, and her grace.

  Yet surprisingly…young Vendus was nowhere to be found.

  His most powerful ability yet was his stealth, and with the night and shadows as his ally, he successfully evaded even a high-level warrior. Vendus moved but the smallest necessary distance to evade her hindered vision.

  “Goddamn kid!”

  “Thief!”

  “Scoundrel!”

  “Hoodlum!”

  “Give me back, my foooood!” Birds flew away, as her shout echoed through the vast and shadowed expanses of the forest.

  …

  Four stone walls enclosed a dark room, only lit up by the dim light of a single torch, peeking through the openings of a thin slit. The floor was stone, the ceiling was stone, but the thick metal around his wrists and ankles were not.

  If they were anything other than Nullite, it would spell trouble for his wardens.

  The special metal not only inhibited mana upon contact, it imbued him with constant, aching weakness, and even a high burning fever. His days were spent in a haze of sweat and isolation. Watching as the vague gray walls and the orange hue of torch light mixed into a blurry and nauseating ocean.

  Death itself may have been a kindness, and luckily, that time was coming for him soon.

  …Or so he thought.

  Entering his cell accompanied by two guards, a man clad in black leather stood above him. The look of disdain and obvious disgust on his face was transparent and undisguised.

  “This is him?”

  A warden to the left of him then spoke, “Levian Gotthard, found guilty for fratricide, attempted patricide, the murder and mutilation of more than two-dozen civilians, and wildfire arson.”

  “This is the former border ranger, that struck an arrow through the eye of an eight-legged basilisk?” He scoffed.

  The special operations officer looked at the ragged, filthy, and destitute man with a gleam of obvious doubt.

  “Yes sir.” Answered the warden to the right.

  “...Take off his bindings.”

  “What?” The wardens looked at him in surprise.

  “Under Prince Maelor’s direct orders, he is to be employed for a task by decree of the crown.”

  “He cannot properly receive his instructions under the influence of the Nullite.”

  Hearing it was under the direct orders of royalty, the wardens moved with efficient obedience.

  Even if the man in chains were to kill all of them in the next second, they still had to obey those same orders.

  Sensing their buried fear however, the officer spoke up, “Nullite is not often implemented, so I’ll disregard your ignorance.”

  “Mana will take time to return to him, he’ll be harmless.”

  Heavy thuds resounded through the dark cell, as hundreds of pounds of metal fell with a hefty clangor.

  After about thirty minutes or so, the light of lucidity and clarity seemed to return within the eyes of the former border ranger.

  “You are allowed to speak, are you coherent?” The man in black leather said.

  Levian sniffed audibly before speaking, “Black hydra skin? Hahaha! Am I speaking to a serpent agent?”

  What Gotthard got in response were not words, but a resounding slap across his face. If his body weren’t so tough, it may have even knocked a few teeth out of his mouth.

  “No extra words. You will respond in yes, no, or strictly the question you are asked.”

  “Do you understand?”

  Levian wanted to quip, but instead held his tongue and nodded.

  …To which he suffered another slap across his face.

  “Speak when spoken to.”

  “...Are you coherent?”

  “Yes.” He answered in a raspy, low voice.

  “Is your name Levian Gotthard?”

  “Yes.”

  “You were a former border ranger, adept in tracking, investigation, archery, and wilderness navigation. Is this correct?”

  “Hah! All that and more.”

  The man clad in black leather gave him a glare, but nonetheless proceeded.

  “You have extensive knowledge, expertise, and mental map of the southern outskirts of the Forests of Emiendel. Is this correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Confirmed.”

  “Levian Gotthard, you are being forcefully conscripted to perform tasks and duties under Prince Maelor’s directive.”

  “Perform the following tasks adequately, and you can hope to see your execution sentence both delayed, and even reassessed.”

  “Retrieve the individual named Vendus Arituel of the traitorous House Tor. He is located somewhere approximate of the southern border region before the Forests of Emiendel.”

  “You are to retrieve him, whether missing an arm, a leg, or all of his appendages, he is to be brought before the court for sentencing and subsequent execution. Do you understand?”

  “...Hahahaha!”

  The sharp and crisp sound of a smack resounded through the cell once again.

  “Answer.”

  Hair covering his face, Levian replied while smirking, “Priceless.”

  A cutting whistle carried through the air as a swift hand shot through it, yet this time, all the agent hit was exactly that.

  He narrowed his eyes, seeing the vague figure in front of him had deftly moved his head away from the moment of impact.

  “I'll do it.” And in the next moment, the man who was previously on his knees had stood up, meeting eye to eye with the serpent agent.

  “I hope the prince keeps his promises.”

  “You will address him as his highness.” The agent spoke slowly and grim through gritted teeth.

  Veins sprawled all over his arm, green blood flowing through them, “Lest I submit you to—”

  “I keep them.” A calm voice interrupted the agent’s outburst.

  “Royal prince!”

  “Leave us. All of you.”

  “I would have words with the reinstated border ranger.”

  “But—”

  “I will be fine.”

  Even if for only appearance's sake, he wore his full armor, and looked nothing like his injured self just days ago.

  Three pairs of footsteps vacated the cell, and even went as far as exiting the hall to which they came from to maintain the prince’s secrecy and confidentiality.

  “...Your highness…to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The prince didn't mince any words, and directly produced a glass vial from out of his left breast pocket.

  “You are an archer first and foremost, are you not?”

  “This color…”

  The prince opened the vial through a black cap made of unknown material. Its contents, released a waft of sweet fragrance akin to a hundred flowers, and a rich variety of dozens of fruits.

  “Concentrated pollen…from the Black Lily of Death’s Embrace.”

  “You know it well. You must know its properties then.”

  “Upon entering the bloodstream, will rapidly numb the individual’s senses into oblivion.”

  “It'd be as if entering a slumber, only eternal.”

  “Coat your arrows in it.” Ordered the prince.

  “...Do not bring the boy back alive. He will only suffer needlessly before an inevitable beheading.”

  “Give him a painless death, akin to a peaceful sleep. A single puncture, before the pain fades in an instant.”

  “These are my orders to you, and if you seem them done upheld to my vision…I will make sure, you will be free.”

  “...It's a deal, your highness.”

  ‘Too good of a deal, even…’

  ‘...But I’d be crazy not to.’

  “Acknowledged.”

  “You are to head immediately to the southern border region, now.”

  ‘Hah, as soon as humanly possible, huh?’

  “One more thing…”

  The prince’s eyes momentarily glowed golden. In the dim lighting, they shone as bright as two yellow moons.

  Before him he saw the vague outline of a man, and stirring within him were three points that looked like dim stars. Mana swirled like a gaseous nebula in and around his body, concentrating into those three points. Between them, faint lines almost invisible even to his dragon’s eye, connected the three into a vague shape.

  “Three lit mana nodes, forming the rough constellation of a bow.”

  “The prince has keen ey—”

  In an instant, the sound of three violent cracks thundered throughout the dark cell. Levian fell to his knees, spewing out blood, froth, and vomit.

  His vision blurred as he endured pain that reached to his very soul.

  The prince no longer spoke eloquently, “Get it done.” He said, as he walked off into the darkness of the hall.