by TurtleMe
“What happened after you won the tournament, Grey?” he then asked, his voice emotionless.
I grimaced, trying to remember with some difficulty. “I think I headed back to my dorm room, right after.”
Lady Vera had said that she’d contact me once things settled down, but I wasn’t going to give these men more information than they asked for.
I was jolted out of my thoughts when a massive hand wrapped around my neck and lifted me—and the chair—off the ground.
“Again, lies!” he said, his face now close enough to mine to make me gag on his fetid breath. He had scars all across his face, making his already-intimidating features even more frightening. “It’d be wise to just tell us which organization sent you to protect the legacy.”
Organization? Legacy?
I couldn’t make sense of their accusations, but with my throat crushed in the man’s grasp, all I could do was flail and choke until his thinner companion smacked away the hand that was holding me.
Weighed down by the chair I had been tied to, I fell helplessly to the ground, my head snapping back into the hard floor with such force that I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I had been put back upright, face-to-face with the thinner man, who somehow scared me more than the large, scarred abomination.
He had short-cropped hair and the hollow eyes of a dead fish, which remained locked on mine as he forced his stiff lips into an awkward, mannequin-like smile.
“Strip him while I get the white phosphorus,” he said, turning abruptly and walking away.
The larger man sneered as he tore off the old shirt I had worn to bed and the goose-print pajama pants that Headmaster Wilbeck had gotten me as a joke for my birthday.
“I believe you have some information that we need. Fortunately for you, this means that we need you alive—for now.” The thinner man came back, wearing gloves. In his hands was a small metal tube. “If you’re truly who we suspect you are, then you might have prepared for this. If, by some wild chance, we’ve made an error and everything that we considered as evidence was simply coincidence, then… well... this will be an incredibly uncomfortable experience for you.”
“What? What are you talking about?” I said, still bleary from the recent head trauma.
“This will be easy.” The thin man smiled as he dipped a gloved finger into the metal tube. “I won’t even ask you any questions yet.”
He smeared a line of shiny silver paste just below my ribs, then brought out a lighter.
“W-wait. What are you doing? Please,” I begged, still unable to fully process what was happening to me.
The man didn’t talk. He just lowered the small flame onto the silver paste. As soon as the fire touched the substance, a pain that I didn’t even know existed erupted in my flesh.
A scream tore free from my throat as my body convulsed from the searing torment. I had been burned before, but those injuries seemed like a warm breeze compared to the sensation eating away at my skin right now
It went on for what seemed like hours, and the pain somehow continued to grow worse. My screams turned hoarse and the tears that flooded down my face had run dry.
Finally, the pain began to subside, only for the thin man—the demon—to apply another line of the silver paste on a different part of my body.
“P-please,” I wept. “Don’t do this.”
The man silently lit another hellish fire on my body.
I screamed, and when my voice gave out, my mind screamed on.
Every part of my body spasmed and twitched, my muscles and nerves unable to process the input they were receiving.
My thoughts turned from the question of whether I was about to die to the hope that I would die soon, if only to relieve the pain.
I couldn’t tell how many times the demon stood before me holding that wretched silver paste of his, but this time he didn’t immediately smear my body with the paste again. My wide, wild eyes met his dispassionate gaze.
I jumped at this chance. If it meant that I would be free of the pain, I would do anything.
“I-I’ll tell you whatever you want. Anything. Everything!” I pleaded, my voice barely a whisper.
“That’s better,” he said, his face again twisting into an awful imitation of a smile.
“Now, I’m going to tell you a little story and you’re going to help fill in the gaps for me. Any attempts at lying or withholding any truths will unfortunately lead me to put this in places more… sensitive. Am I clear?” The thin demon held up the container of white phosphorus and waved it in front of me.
Without even the necessary saliva to swallow, I simply nodded.
“Your name is Grey, with background checks confirming you to be an orphan. One Headmaster Olivia Wilbeck had overseen your care since infancy, and the orphanage was what you considered home. Am I on track so far, Grey?”
I nodded again.
“Bring the boy a glass of water,” the thin man replied, seemingly pleased by my obedience.
The larger companion held a dirty cup against my mouth. The water tasted as if they’d wrung it from a wet dog, but it still felt blissfully cool against my parched mouth and throat.
The bulky man pulled the cup away after only a moment, allowing me no more than a couple of mouthfuls. I craned my neck toward the cup, but my efforts only made his scarred face crease into a sadistic grin.
“Moving on—and this was where I was hoping you’d start filling in the gaps…” he said as if I had a choice. “What military institution trained you to be the legacy’s protector, because there wasn’t anything in the official records.”
I furrowed my brows, confused. “I’ve only barely finished my second year at Wittholm Military Academy. I’ve had no previous training.”
“So you’re telling me that you managed to defeat two skilled ki combatants without prior training?” the thin man asked, his voice getting dangerously low.
“I had help from my friends, but yes,” I said, mustering up as much confidence as I could.
“And so you’re telling me Olivia Wilbeck, that calculating shrew, allowed the legacy to simply walk out in public with two ordinary children?”
“What is this legacy you keep mentioning? I’ve never heard of this thing in my life!” I pleaded.
The thin man regarded me silently for a moment. “There are just two things I really want to know, Grey: What organization sent you to protect the legacy, and to what extent is the country of Trayden providing assistance to you and the legacy by publicly announcing Lady Vera as your mentor?”
My mind spun, empty of answers. I had no idea what organization he was talking about or what the country of Trayden had to do with whatever “the legacy” was.
Before I could croak out some kind of answer, the man let out a heavy sigh. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked toward me. “I really hoped you’d stay true to your word and cooperate. When you hesitate like this, I can only assume you’re trying to make up an answer.”
He dipped his gloved fingers in the tube and smeared a line of the silver paste on the inside of my left thigh.
“P-please. I don’t know,” I pleaded, fresh tears rolling down my cheeks once more. “I don’t know!”
Hellfire ignited on the soft flesh of my thighs, the heat reaching up to my crotch, making my stomach roil and my head swim.
I couldn’t tell if I was screaming after a while. My ears seemed to have stopped working. I thought the pain was unbearable, but no matter how badly I wanted to lose consciousness, I stayed awake, feeling every torturous moment tick past.
But that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst moments were those when the thin demon would wordlessly ignite another part of my body.
Every time he walked toward me, I was both afraid and hopeful—afraid that he’d induce more pain, but hopeful that this would be the time that he’d finally talk again, allowing me a reprieve from this hell.
Time seemed so foreign. I couldn’t tell whether it was going
by fast or slow inside that dark, windowless room. The bright light aimed constantly at my face prevented me from making out details of the room. No distraction to help me ease the pain.
What snapped me out of my stupor was the sound of footsteps approaching me. I readied myself to plead, to beg, but I slowly realized a third person had come into the room.
“What the—”
The large man slumped after taking a quick strike from the newcomer.
The thin demon lashed out with an unseen weapon but was suddenly sent flying.
The third figure walked toward me, turning off the light.
White splotches obscured my vision, and I blinked until my eyes were able to adjust.
“You’re safe now, kid,” the figure said, kneeling down.
It was Lady Vera.
ARTHUR LEYWIN
The wind tore past me in gales as I flew above the clouds. Reaching white core had come with an abundance of perks and manipulating ambient mana effectively enough to take flight was one of them. Had I tried to do something like that while still in silver, I would’ve drained my own core minutes into a journey.
Now, I was filled with the surreal feeling of the mana around me lifting me up into the sky. Still, while the sensation was exhilarating, my head swam with thoughts from last night’s dream.
I assumed that interrogating the Alacryan was what brought out that unwanted memory, but with how frequently I’d been having these detailed memories of my former life, I couldn’t help but grow worried and frustrated. Regardless, I had made a vow when I was born into this world that I wouldn’t live a life like my previous one. Until I could get a better explanation of why these memories were coming back, I decided to just consider them reminders of my past failures.
Besides, it wasn’t like I could see a therapist here.
I mustered a smile at the thought of myself lying on a couch, talking about my problems to a professional with a clipboard. Then I looked back toward Elshire Forest, and my smile faded. A twinge of guilt bubbled up from my stomach for leaving them so hastily.
Lenna and her soldiers are better off with General Aya, since she can actually navigate within the forest, I reassured myself. After meeting up with the elven Lance, we exchanged our findings in-depth. We had decided that I was to report back to the castle while she remained as support until further orders from the Council.
We hadn’t decided that I couldn’t make a slight detour before reporting back to the castle, which is exactly what I was doing. I did send a brief report via a transmission scroll that Lenna had on hand to inform Virion of my plans, however.
The transmission scroll will give them enough to work off of and the information I learned from the Alacryan will be more useful here, I thought as I stared at the snow-capped peaks of the Grand Mountains jutting out of the clouds.
Even that high up, I could hear the distant echoes of battle raging beneath. Muffled explosions, the hum of magic, and the faint cries of various indistinguishable beasts resounded off the mountains, muddled by the screams and yells of the people fighting and dying.
I was nervous, although I couldn’t pinpoint why. The Lances rarely came to the Wall because there had yet to be any sightings of the retainers or Scythes. The day-to-day battles at the Wall were fought by mages and soldiers against corrupted beasts that mindlessly tried to charge through and break the defensive line.
I’d read many reports coming from the Wall and even made some changes to their fighting structure. Yet, this would be the first time I’d been there in person, even though the battles here happened almost daily. Below me, the war had made seasoned soldiers out of many new recruits who were still wet behind the ears—if they survived.
More importantly, this was where Tess and her unit were stationed. They were part of the assault division responsible for infiltrating dungeons, exterminating the corrupted beasts, and disabling any teleportation gates they could find. For each gate they located, thousands of Alacryan troops could be prevented from teleporting to Dicathen.
Reaching the Grand Mountains, I slowly descended through the sea of clouds until I got a full aerial view of the battle below. Streams and bolts of magic in various colors rained down from the Wall while soldiers below fought off hordes of beasts that had managed to live through the bombardment.
Some stronger beasts unleashed magical attacks of their own, but few such creatures had been brought to the front, and their might paled when compared to the collective efforts of all the mages at the Wall.
I continued my descent toward the Wall, studying the numerous types of beasts on the battlefield, when I sensed a spell approaching me from behind.
Looking back over my shoulder, I saw a blast of fire as large as my entire body shooting toward me.
I felt a twinge of annoyance as I swatted at the spell, dispersing it effortlessly, then completed my descent to the upper levels of the Wall.
Softening my landing with a cushion of wind, I found myself looking upon a crowd of kneeling soldiers.
Closest to me was a barrel-chested man clad in full armor that was dented and dirty from battle. He knelt a few feet ahead of me, his hand holding down the head of a man who looked only a few years older than me.
“General! My sincerest apologies for my subordinate’s grave blunder. As we had not received word that a Lance would be visiting the Wall, he assumed you to be an enemy. I will reprimand the fool and see to his punishment immediately,” he said. His voice wasn’t loud but carried a presence that showed he was a veteran just as clearly as his battered armor.
I pried my gaze off the man, who I assumed was the leader, and looked at the boy, whose head was still forcibly pushed down into a bow. He was trembling and had a white-knuckled grip on his staff.
It’s been a while since I’ve been treated like this, I mused, momentarily enjoying the sight of all those heads bowed in respect—and probably fear. This thought soured the moment, and I was suddenly weary of all the bowing and scraping.
I cleared my throat and walked toward the man who had spoken. “No need. I come unannounced and from the Beast Glades, so I can see how your subordinate thought I was an enemy.”
I paused, then bent down so my gaze was level with the conjurer that had fired the spell at me. “But, the next time you see an unidentified potential threat, you should immediately notify your superiors so that they can make the judgment call. Understood?”
“Un-understood, General!” He bolted upright into a salute, nearly clipping my chin in the process.
I turned back to the man I assumed to be the leader here and winked. “Name and position,” I stated, walking past him toward the stairs.
“Captain Albanth Kelris of the Bulwark Division.” He trotted close behind.
“Well then, Captain Albanth Kelris, let’s talk strategy.”
198
A City Within
VIRION ERALITH
I took my customary seat at the table, a cushioned chair of gnarled wood, and cast a weary look at the two royal pairs, already poised like duelists, ready to lash out at each other; the only thing keeping the four of them silent was their respect for me.
In front of me was a transmission scroll with a message sent to me by Arthur, whose words were the subject of today’s meeting. A creeping suspicion that the boy had decided not to come straight back in order to avoid this very meeting bubbled inside my head, but I let it go with a sigh.
I forgive you, Arthur. I don’t want to be here either, I thought, gazing around the luxuriously decorated room just to avoid looking at the kings and queens before me.
A cozy fire was burning in the hearth and several light artifacts were set in gold sconces along the walls, giving the room a warm, friendly atmosphere—which was, admittedly, undercut by the subtle hostility emanating from those present inside.
The last rays of natural light from the window to my left dimmed as the sun dipped below the clouds. Resigned, I took that as my cue to start the meeting. “Take a seat. L
et’s begin.”
There was a moment of silence while the rest of the Council looked at one another before the head of the Glayder family cleared his throat.
“Well, we’ve all been briefed on General Arthur’s and General Aya’s report, so I say we get right to it. I believe we should keep our forces as they are and send reinforcements to the Elshire Forest on an as-needed basis,” Blaine said. Despite the human king’s sunken cheeks, dark-ringed eyes, and unshaved jaw, all of which spoke to his own fatigue, he spoke resolutely.
I remained silent and neutral, as was my job until all sides had voiced their arguments.
“Councilman Blaine, your suggestion to send reinforcements on an as-needed basis to the border between the Beast Glades and the Elshire Forest suggests you don’t see the elven territory worthy of defending,” Merial intoned coldly.
Years of being part of the Council had shaped my once lively daughter-in-law into a sharp and cold diplomat.
“Oh, don’t twist my words, Councilwoman Merial,” Blaine rebutted. “The report stated two separate but coordinated attacks. This has been the enemy’s only foray into the elven territory. Compare that to the near-daily battles at the Wall. Shouldn’t it be obvious that protecting Sapin’s borders takes precedence?”
“No one is saying that the defense of the Elshire Forest should take precedence over Sapin,” Alduin said, composed. “However, much like how there are elven soldiers stationed at the Wall to help protect Sapin, there should be at least some form of consistent defense on the forest borders, don’t you think?”
“The Elshire Forest is a form of defense,” Priscilla Glayder added, pointing at the map laid out in front of them. “The mana-laden fog itself has been a form of deterrence to everyone but elves for as long as it has existed. Even the attacks attempted yesterday would have failed eventually if you chose to ignore the intruders. The Alacryans and beasts would’ve gotten lost and starved to death long before they reached any of Elenoir’s cities, even those closest to the border.”
