Chương 241: Birthed From Blood, Shaped By Torture

That is quite the disgraceful way to make an escape… I slammed and bounced down the side of the mountain, causing rocks and boulders, once in a state of great equilibrium, to come crashing down alongside me–My course ended with me being thrown up in the air and launched straight through the branches of a few trees, ending up suspended above the ground with a torn cloak. No damage!

I swiftly got down and began running away from the mountain, but since I was trying not to give away my position, I had since long deactivated 'Forward Shine' and was thus running blind through the forest. Will I be able to make it out of the valley before the sun rises? Technically, it was very much possible. I could let Nara guide me even in the dark, but the real problem lay in climbing my way out of here. The way up was a long one, and I would be exposed to attacks while I was doing so. Furthermore…

Is there someone tailing me right now? Huh… There were some fuckers waiting at the foot of the mountain for someone else to get the goods, were there? I noticed light behind me. My pursuers seemed to be struggling to follow me since they didn't have Nara telling them when to avoid trees and other obstacles in their way. Nonetheless, they weren't as slow as I would have liked them to be. Nara, show me the way to a tree that can provide good cover, please… I think they want to make friends.

I quickly moved behind a large tree, proceeding to stand perfectly still while looking downward, my hood covering the glow of my currently white eyes. If how those fellows were running and holding lights without even attempting to be stealthy, I was able to tell they were coming a while before they were within range… Also, it became quite clear that they weren't much of a threat. I could hear their panting and breathing heavily from just this little run.

I don't mean to brag, but back when I was a human, I wouldn't have gotten winded for so little, and those guys think they can deal with someone who took down a Star Gazer, threw themselves off the side of a mountain, and immediately took off running without showing any signs of injury? Children are less delusional than this, and those little creatures look and act like they are constantly drunk on the strongest alcohol there is.

"Quick! We won't be able to pay our debts if we don't get this damned eye!"

"Be quiet! There is no 'our' here! You're the one to blame for those debts!"

"Shut up, you two! Something is wrong…" Just as the third, and seemingly most sensible of the band, spoke up, they ran right past my hiding spot, from which I surged without a shred of hesitation, biting one of their heads off in one fell swoop. Blood spurted all over the place as the other two scrambled, one ending his course with his back slamming against the trunk of a tree, while the other managed to stop his momentum properly.

"You motherfucker!" This last one swung a two-handed mace my way. I caught the weapon without problem, wrenching it out of his grasp before using it to shave off his lower jaw from his body. He fell to the ground like a brick before I stabbed him in the back using the end of the mace's handle. It wasn't sharp or pointy, but with enough force, anything could be used like this.

The last one cursed, and despite the clear panic he was in, managed to weave a spell that wasn't half bad–Well, it was just a whole bunch of mana bullets, the classical stuff that all mages and their mothers could cast, but the quantity of them was not small. I ducked down and quickly swerved to the right, moving between the trees. The simplistic spells could only penetrate partly through the trees, allowing me to approach without receiving a single attack.

The mage, seeing that I was going to be homing onto him in the next few seconds, hurried himself and cast a barrier between the two of us, maintaining direct contact with this spell using both hands, which I believe was a way to reinforce it by constantly driving more mana into it. This seemingly rendered him unable to cast any other spells, though, so clearly, this was a last-ditch effort that would never amount to much, especially since I could just walk around the barrier if I wanted to.

However, I stopped in front of him. Now, with the group's lantern shattered and the luminous spell going out due to the focus placed into this barrier, all lights went out, the only shines were from the barrier and my two eyes staring straight into his soul. His arms trembled quite severely. With his attention on his spell and me, he didn't notice anything coming from behind him. With him being a sitting duck, he was a perfect target.

A punch reached the right side of his ribcage–Which resulted in a clear liver shot. I remember that when I did some sparring for my knight training, I was banned from doing it because I was apparently doing it way too much, and that one was apparently more than enough. The punch landed without problem on the unsuspecting target, and he immediately felt the intense pain as his body probably felt completely numb. His spell came undone, and his balance was thrown in disarray, but I didn't lunge.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. An arm wrapped itself around the mage's neck, and a hand placed itself over his face–In one swift motion, a loud crack sounded out from his neck, and he dropped like a marionette whose strings had been cut. I gave a thumbs up to Elowen for the clean takedown before quickly getting rid of the evidence and continuing to speed through the forest.

Eventually, I reached the side of the valley–Making my way up there would basically guarantee the success of my mission as I would be able to activate the small item Leou had given me and then be picked up… However, with so many enemies around, being picked up by a giant, winged beast that could probably be recognised as being one of Leou's transporters of goods wasn't ideal.

Knowing her, she would probably send a new one that she would never use again for any official stuff, but the association would still be here. The business of utilising such creatures in place of carriages was sort of monopolised by her, as far as I was aware. No one really found it worth it to take care of such voracious beasts compared to the money they could make and save. Mmh… Should I climb, or should I hide in the forest for a while?

With Xlown being here, I couldn't really count on the 'Plush Form' to hide my position. My daughter's stealth was nearly as good as mine when in this form, and the other people here for the Star Gazer's eye would definitely be looking all over the place to find where I had gone. They wouldn't just give up immediately without at least trying to locate the eye. The dilemma is tricky.

On one hand, climbing out of this sunken mountain range will probably prevent many from being able to find me, as ascending is far from a simple affair, especially for an entire group of people, but up there is nothing but mostly flat rockland, I would be spotted from a kilometer away. On the other hand, hiding inside the forest is riskier, but if I am found there, making pursuers lose my trail will be much easier, and I can fight better there, thanks to all the obstacles. Mmh… What do you think, Nara?

I suppose that they are more likely to assume that I left this place as quickly as possible… I would say that moving alongside the edge would be the best play. Others will certainly follow the initial direction you ran into, and only once they reach this place will they either spread out or attempt to climb out. My idea would be to move to the opposite side of the valley and then climb out Not a bad idea. I guess I'll go with this.

Thus, I began moving along the edge of this place, and I didn't encounter anyone else for the rest of the night. The only signs of other people I encountered came in the morning, when I heard countless shouts and screams echo from far away. Did they turn on each other? I would have thought that they would have agreed to work together temporarily, use each other to locate me, and then kill each other, but I guess not…

Something felt off about this, and this sensation did not leave me, even as I spent several days moving along the natural border. My instincts are telling me that I am in a bit of trouble. I looked up at the cliff face. This was where I was supposed to be climbing up and leaving from, but my imaginary guts were telling me that a problem awaited me up there. I doubt it was something that I could just avoid, so I made Xlown exit my torso, told her to safekeep the eye, and even had Coco transfer over to her shadow.

Coco could definitely be useful to me, especially since it was currently day, the shadows I could cast could stretch quite a distance, but I preferred him to be by Xlown's side in case something, or someone, targeted her as well. Besides, with Xlown away and my little sisters safe inside the Mindscape, I could use my forms as I pleased without worrying about catching them in the destruction.

"Be a goo–good girl, Xlown, and stay hidden–den until mommy is do–ne" I patted her head and began climbing up, eventually reaching the rockland. My instincts are always correct, aren't they? There was someone standing right here, having seemingly been waiting here with full certainty that this was the exact spot I would emerge from. It was a man wearing what looked like a crimson military uniform with no decorations or medals. He re-adjusted the black glove on his right hand before stretching his arm forward.

"The eye. Hand it over""I do–don't think so" His voice was muffled as he wore a golden mask on his face, depicting an exaggerated, sad-faced man. He stood at around a meter and ninety centimeters in height, taller than me, but seemingly not very buff.

"There is no point in refusing other than seeking your own demise… Maeve" I tilted my head to the side.

"Wh–Where did you hear th–this name?" I had given this name out a few times, but the most recent one was…

"I wasn't certain it was you at first because of the eyes, but the description of the rest was a perfect match. I am certain King Beliol Azt Mastras would be pleased to have your powers by his side once more""Ah. So you–ou are one of this gu–guy's new lapdogs, heh?"

"You can call me whatever you want, but I assure you that even now, he has more to offer you than whatever third-rate group you are currently offering your services to. Maeve, hand over the eye to me, and get the opportunity to get whatever it is that you desire""I don't thi–think I want anything to do with a disgrace–disgraced king, unless–less he is willing to give me his–his crown as a snack?"

"How regretful… If you don't desire to switch allegiance–That is fine, but surely you do want to keep your life? The eye is all that is needed to save yourself""I don't think you understand–stand" My eyes switched back to their natural purple.

"The only life–life that is at risk, is y–o–u–r–s""What a tragedy. I am not usually one to kill women, but I suppose you do not leave me a choice… Show me what the progenitor of the Nightmare Plague can do!" He clenched his right fist, and the sound of leather being pressed sounded out quietly as a dozen of those crimson-robed monstrosities appeared from pools of blood that suddenly formed from the ground. As the colour scheme implied, he was indeed linked to those things.

He probably unleashed them on the other people present and slaughtered them all as well. I thought it was an odd decision when I first heard the screams, but it seems like this guy has his own personal army–I don't usually flex it, but I myself own something of an army as well…