Chapter 55: Chapter 55
Three men in black cloaks stand together, surrounding a tied up young man. The short man, who appears to be the trio’s leader, sat on a wooden bench; a bento was in his lap, “I’m going to freaking eat, watch this guy for a while”, he ordered his subordinates. The other men saluted, using their right hand to form a fist and placing it on their chest, “Yes, sir!” they said firmly. The duo then picked up Monty from the ground before disappearing from the place.
The short man sigh; he took off his black cloak, leaning back on the wooden bench as he stared at the sunset. Then, he looked down on his bento and smiled to himself. He remembered the kindness of the person that made this bento for him. The smile on her lips that shone brightly to him was really mesmerizing. The short man remembered how she saved his life that day and how she gave his life purpose. Tears were coming from his eyes when he recalled the memories of his saviour.
The short man chuckled in exasperation at his own circumstances. ‘If it weren’t for you, I’d never do these kinds of despicable jobs’, he said in his heart. ‘Just wait for a while; when I’m strong enough, we’ll leave the cult together!’ the short man clenched his fist, resolve burning in his heart before digging in to eat his bento.
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Andre and Eru were about to fight the Draconian together before he, the Draconian himself, roared towards the sky and his skin begun to change back. The reptilian head of the Draconian returned back into a middle-aged human face with orange hair. The changes were happening to the rest of the Draconian’s body as well, as his claw turned back into human hands and his hind legs become straight again. The wings on his back recede, and his height shortened.
Mr Ken slumped down to the floor with his clothes in tatters while panting hard. He raised his head, smiling bitterly at Andre and Eru, “Sorry about that, Andre”, he said. “What the freak was that, Ken!?” Andre yelled out. “Just,” Mr Ken panted, “Let me catch my breath first”, he said. After a hot minute, the orange-haired man stood up; his face was beaming with a smile, “Thanks, Andre, and you too, young man”, he said.
“No problem”, Eru said, sheathing Buddy to its scabbard. Andre also put away his sword, strapping it to his back, “So, will you tell me what’s all this about?” he squinted his eyes. Mr Ken rubbed the back of his head, “Just a bloodline curse that runs in the family. Nothing to be worried about”, he explained with a laugh. “How can you be so easygoing? You almost killed us, damnit!” Andre complained, “And what’s with this cave? How the hell did you build all of this?”
“Slow down, slow down”, Mr Ken wave his hand, and three chairs made out of dirt emerged from the ground, “Sat down, please”, he said. Andre and Eru’s expressions were weird, “Since when can you do that?” Andre asked, confused. Mr Ken chuckled, “Since always”, he shrugged. “Will you be serious here!?” Andre yelled in annoyance. “I’m serious here” Mr Ken eyes changes. Seeing the sharpness in Mr Ken’s eyes, Andre sighed, “Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine”, he said. Mr Ken smile, “As long as you understand”, he nodded. “What to do with you” Andre sighed, “By the way, Ken.”
“Yeah?” Mr Ken raised his eyebrow.
“Do you remember Monty?”
“Oh yeah, Monty and Amelia, how are they? Please tell them I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. I’ll give them their pay soon”, Mr Ken said with a joyful tone. Andre sighed; he shook his head, “Well, Monty has been kidnapped in your absence”, he said.
“What!?”
“Yeah. Here look!” Andre handed Mr Ken the note that the kidnapers left. Mr Ken frowned, “So, they need me, huh?” he said, “Fine, take me there”, he abruptly stood up. Andre smile, “Before that, please wear proper clothes”, he teased. Mr Ken looked down at his body, “Yeah, after I changed my outfit”, he said.
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Night, Aeolus Pier. Boats were swaying as the ocean waves hit the quay. Moonlight shone on the ocean as stars decorating the clear sky above. Three people wearing black cloaks can be seen near the lighthouse with a tied up guy behind them. “Do you think he will come?” one of the black-cloaked men said. “I don’t know”, said the men on the right, “It looks like they were not that tight. This guy and that Ken guy, I mean”, the men on the left said back.
“Heads up!” the short man commanded, “Someone’s coming!” he said. The trio took out each of their weapons; one wield a dagger, one had a sword, while the short man wields two inverted curved swords in his hand. “I heard you were looking for me”, Mr Ken emerged from the darkness alongside Eru and Andre. “So, you’re Kenedy Masters, the Draconian?” the short man said. Mr Ken frowned, “Who are you?” he asked.
“Come with us, and we’ll let him go”, the short man said while warily staring at Eru and Andre. The black-cloaked men on the left picked up the unconscious, tied up Monty and chugged him to the floor. Andre expression turned sour, seeing his guild members treated like objects. Andre gripped his sword tightly, but Mr Ken’s hand stopped him from charging ahead, “Wait for my signals”, he whispered. Hearing that, Andre nodded in understanding while Eru gripped his sword even tighter.
“Be ready at any time, Buddy”, Eru whispered. The black sword hummed in Eru’s hand. Eru nodded before looking back at the three black-cloaked men. Mr Ken walked forward, “I’ll come with you. But first, gave us the hostage first”, he said. The short man nodded, “I’ll give you the hostage at the same time you walked through this line”, he said; using his sword, the short man slashed at the ground, creating a line. When Mr Ken walked through the line, one of the black-cloaked men kicked the unconscious Monty right towards Andre’s hand. As he did that, the short man swiftly ran near Mr Ken and tried to sedate him with a needle.
Mr Ken roared, his hand turned scally before swiping it to waved off the short man. The short man blocked Mr Ken’s attack using his two swords. The short man got flung back towards the lighthouse, crashing at it. The others black-cloaked men tried attacking Mr Ken, but they were stopped by Andre and Eru. “Perfect, there’s three of us, and there’s three of you”, Andre said, smiling. He swung his sword, flinging the black-cloaked man who wields a dagger away. “Come back here, ya little shit!” Andre chased the black-cloaked man away, leaving Eru alone with the one that wielded a sword.
“It’s just you and me, pal”, Eru said, his lips curled up into a smile. The man in black-cloaked held his sword firmly. He observed Eru closely with his eyes before deciding to attack. Eru easily parried the black-cloaked man’s sword, “An Aura Master?” Eru raised his eyebrow. Eru looked again closely, “Not quite yet”, he said after. The black-cloaked man frowned; he felt that the young man in front of him was dangerous.
The black-cloaked man’s body twitched; he took out something from behind his cloak. A ball-shaped tool was thrown by the black-cloaked man towards Eru. Eru squinted his eyes; he saw that the tip of the ball has a fuse on it. “A bomb, huh?” Eru said softly, then he slashed upwards. The slash from Eru defused the bomb as it fell to the ground. “Just this?” Eru smirked before he rushed in towards the black-cloaked man.
The black-cloaked man managed to block Eru’s attack, but it left his hand trembling. Not giving a chance to rest, Eru kept attacking the black-cloaked man relentlessly. The black-cloaked man grunted as he faced Eru’s relentless assault. He steps back, wanting to escaped Eru pressure was easier than it said. Seeing the desperation inside of the black-cloaked man’s eyes, Eru smirked. He relaxed his hand, letting his guard off on purpose.
The black-cloaked man saw that as an opportunity. He decided to take the deliberate opening that Eru made. The black-cloaked man stabbed using his sword at Eru’s left shoulders. The stab landed, but nothing happened after. “Got you!” Eru smile, his mouth open wide, showing his white teeth. The black-cloaked man eyes were filled with fear as he saw the raven-haired young man’s black sword was coming straight at him. “Sayonara”, Eru said as the black-cloaked man’s body was cleaved in two.
After slashing the black-cloaked man, the black sword hummed. “What’s that? I took too long?” Eru asked the humming black sword. The black sword vibrated back at Eru. “Yeah, well, I need to conserve my aura, you know? Just in case?” Eru said. The black sword hummed, expressing its understanding. Eru cleaned the blood of the black-cloaked man by swinging his sword hard on the air. “I wonder how Mr Ken and Andre are faring”, Eru said before disappearing into the darkness with the tied up Monty on his shoulder.
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