• Somewhere in Herimol
Magnus, the general of Hex sat on a boulder with a cup in his hand. He took the cup to his mouth and gulped its contents before tossing it away and rising to his feet.
"My mind is made up," he started to himself. "I'm gonna desert Hex, just like Nike did."
Just as he turned to leave, multiple Hex serving War Kanrei became visible all around him. They each pulled out their swords and aimed them at him.
"Magnus Stormbringer, by order of Hex, you will be coming with us."
Magnus moved his hand behind his back and engulfed it in flame ready to attack the men but the one leading them shook his head, already picking up on what Magnus was planning.
"Seriously, Magnus? Do you want to turn from a General of Hex, one who holds the privilege of wearing Hex's armour, to a fugitive, an enemy of Hex?"
Magnums weighed his options for a few seconds. The man was right, whatever awaited him if he was to return to Hex would surely be far worse than the fate that would fall upon him if he were to turn against Hex.
He sighed and dropped his hand to his side. "Fine, I'll come with."
.
.
.
Arya darted forward and struck down the last of the lizard men. She sheathed the dagger into its scabbard and veered around to see Danila and Syrie also finishing off their target.
"Phew… what's better than defeating a weak opponent?" She questioned.
Danila turned to Arya with a frown. "You call that weak?"
"You died two times"
Arya shrugged. "What matters is that we walked out of the encounter alive," she said. "Unless a new wave appears, we are the victors."
Just as she stopped talking, more battle cries and the rapid sound of hooves filled the air. They all turned to see many more lizard-riding men approaching them at full speed.
"You just have to talk don't you?"
Arya ran her hand through her hair and groaned before pulling out her dagger again. "Here's to many more deaths."
Danila hissed. "Easy for you to say… unlike you, we can't revive after death."
"Well, good luck to you."
"Need a hand?" A familiar voice said from behind.
The three veered around to see Eryth staring at them with a small smile on his face.
"Eryth!" Syrie called out, her eyes lighting up.
He walked forward and stopped in front of Danila, but she gave no reaction to his appearance.
"Hello to you too."
The fairy had a stern expression on her face as she looked back at the Dark Mage, clearly pissed that he had gone away without informing her of his departure, and at worst, blocked out their connection to read each other's thoughts.
"I was expecting you'll throw yourself all over me when we meet again, but this… You're hurting my feelings."
"Can you two wrap it up already? We've got a horde of Lizard men approaching us."
Eryth took a step back and turned to Arya. "Nice to see you too. Arya, how many times have you died since the last time we saw each other?"
"Plenty," she replied.
"How many women have you stared at while they take their bath since the last time we saw each other, Scoptophilus?"
Eryth paused and counted with his left palm. "Zero." He furrowed and looked up at Arya.
"When do you take your next bath?"
Arya shook her head and laughed.
"Why's she so mad?" He gestured at Danila.
Arya shrugged. "Maybe it's because we are about to get trampled by them and we are still exchanging pleasantries."
Eryth finally turned his attention to the fast-approaching enemy. "Wow, that's a lot," he said. "I don't think I have the energy to fight them all right now."
He turned back to the three and waved his hand, signalling for them to move closer. "Stay close and try not to move too much… unless you want to get lost in space."
"What?" Before Syrie could complete her words, the four appeared in a forest.
The moment they landed, Danila and Syrie staggered and almost crashed to the ground while Arya moved to one corner and vomited.
"Yeah, it happens on the first few times."
"What was that?" Arya asked after regaining her balance.
He smiled. "A new trick I picked up along the way."
"Where are we?" Danila questioned.
Eryth looked around, taking in the long trees and the thick grass smell that almost reignited a lost memory.
"Somewhere a day away from Monk Zumma's, or more… I'm still trying to perfect the ability so I can't take it far, plus it uses quite a lot of energy."
"We should build a tent here for the night, I'm sure just like me, you all are tired."
"Let's do that," Syrie said. She quickly and eagerly took off her backpack to set up the tent.
Eryth stood still and watched as Danila set her tent, still ignoring him. He chuckled softly and pushed back his hair which was starting to grow. "I'm going to get us something to eat."
"I'll go with you!" Syrie immediately chipped and rushed toward Eryth.
He shot her a warm smile and placed his hands on her shoulder. "You don't have to, I got this." He turned to leave.
"Come on Arya, we've got four bellies to fill."
Arya furrowed. She looked at Syrie and then at Eryth who had already started walking away.
----
"Why'd you call me?" Arya queried. "Why not Danila, or let Syrie come with you," she asked after the two had walked some distance away from the others.
"Why did you come with me? It's not like I forced you to."
She furrowed. "Fair enough."
"What happened? Did you get the book you were out searching for?"
Eryth nodded yes. "Not only that, I got a lot more things… and made new friends. Even though both of them disappeared after a while."
Arya shook her head. "I can understand them, you can be insufferable sometimes."
He threw a smile her way and continued forward.
"You are not even going to ask? About the village and the others?"
Eryth paused for a second before asking. "What happened?"
She groaned. "Where do I even start?… Hex attacked while you were away, most of the fighters and Uobleza didn't make it."
Eryth's eyes widened. "Hex attacked himself?"
She narrowed her eyes at Eryth, pondering a couple of thoughts in her head. "He only came in later. Had his underling do the hard work first."
Eryth hissed. "What a wuss, doesn't dare to do stuff himself. Must have been difficult for you guys, is that why Danila is that way?"
"No, you fucking idiot, the poor girl has been worried about you ever since you disappeared. But you chose me to come with you, you fool."
Eryth furrowed. "What was I supposed to do?"
She shrugged. "I don't know how this kind of things works honestly, but seeing that she was still mad, I assumed you must have done it wrong."
"Are you sure it's not something else?"
She stopped and thought for a moment before replying. "There's something else, I'm not supposed to tell you, but."
"What is it?"
"She's been getting visions that you joined forces with Hex, and seeing what happened to that desert village didn't help things."
Eryth smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, those guys? They deserved it, don't think too much about that."
"I couldn't give two fucks less about what you do who you kill, but she clearly does."
Eryth curbed to his knees. "Hex and I as allies? That seems highly unlikely," he scoffed.
"Just don't tell her I told you."
"Then why did you tell me? How am I supposed to confront her?"
"I don't know, think of a way."
"Fine."
.
.
.
Grevla continued to push forward, forcing Trippier to defend her onslaught. She launched swift and multiple strikes that Trippier couldn't contain even with the enhancement of his abilities by the potion he drank.
With each strike she dealt, a ray of light struck her opponent from the direction she swung her sword.
Whenever Trippier tried to parry an attack, the force of the strike pushed his sword off and dealt damage. He groaned and staggered backwards, losing his balance and giving Grevla the chance to close the distance with a heavy punch that sent Trippier flying into a tree. His sword rolled out of his hand as he crashed to the ground, coughing out blood.
Grevla walked up to her opponent and aimed her weapon at him.
"May Ruhe have mercy on your soul."
Grevla didn't bother asking what had happened or why he was attacking Heyt. She raised her sword to finish him off but Trippier burst into laughter.
"Yes, do it."
"Take my life too and complete what your family started."
Grevla furrowed and dropped her hand by her side. "What?"
"Everyone knew how powerful Hex was, your father included, they all knew there was no hope fighting against him, but your father rallied the troops against him anyway, forcing them to leave their family and stand to fight a futile battle."
"Every person that died, and everyone that is still being killed to this day, is all because of your family… You took an oath to protect us all, and you broke that oath, so forgive me if I choose to pursue other ambitious desires."
He leaned his head on the tree behind him and laughed. "Unlike you who still have much, I have nothing… no family, no friends, no energy… do you have any idea how it feels to be born with no energy? Forsaken?"
He continued. "Every person. Even if they do not have any Act, they are born with a special ability or can feel the energy around them, but I have none of that, I am forsaken by the gods and you mortals as well. They say when a person is forsaken, he turns to chaos." He grinned. "I guess it's true."
Grevla took a deep breath before raising her sword at his neck again. "May Ruhe have mercy on your soul."
Just as she swung the blade, Trippier disappeared. Grevla stopped and looked around the place. She only calmed down and slipped her blade into its scabbard as she confirmed her sister, Heyt was safe.
….
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