Chương 27: Chapter 26 - Distress

All four members of the party spun towards the voice and a chill ran down Ren's spine. A group of people stepped out of the brush at the opposite edge of the serene park. Most of them wore a variation of dark, mismatched armour and clothing, but all had been marked with the insignia of a bird. A couple of the new arrivals stood out to Ren immediately. One was a large, muscular beastfolk man with an equally large sword already drawn in his hands.

He had short black hair and an eye patch, and even at a glance, Ren could tell he was the kind of person who enjoyed violence. The other was a short girl who looked more like a doll than a person. She had deep black hair tied into two neat pigtails that fell all the way down to her waist, framing a face of fair, porcelain skin that seemed almost too flawless to be real. She wore a dress that didn't look as though it offered any protection whatsoever.

If anything, it only served to make her appear completely out of place among all the other armoured figures. Her purple eyes were glazed over with disinterest, like this whole situation was a waste of her time. The beastfolk man threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Wow!" he boomed, ogling Varrin and Elowen with his only eye.

"Lady Darla sure knows how to pick the good ones out!" The silver-haired boy's expression hardened instantly.

"Get ready for a fight, Ren," he said, steadying his blade.

"That Firekeeper betrayed us." Ren tightened both hands around the cleaver's hilt and pulled it free from his belt, keeping his eyes on the five enemies in front of him—the doll-like girl, the beastfolk man, and three of those black-armoured guards.'

Okay, I'll win this fight if I can make it out alive—' His eyes flicked suddenly to Elowen, who had since calmed herself and now held her jade blade ready before her, then to Lorelle, who had summoned her lantern and was glancing about warily, her lips pressed into a thin line.' No.' Ren forced the thought into a better shape as he dragged his attention back to his opponents.' I'll win if all of us make it out of here alive.'

"Okay, boys!" the large Beastfolk man said, before adding with a smug gesture toward the doll-like girl, "and lady. The orders are to capture them alive! That means no killing, Alice." The doll-like girl scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Alice knows that." For the first time since arriving, she actually looked at the people she was supposed to capture, her purple eyes scanning over them, slow and unimpressed. Curiously, Ren noticed her purple eyes widen slightly when her gaze landed on Lorelle, only to widen even further still the moment they finally settled on him.

"Alice will take this one," she said, pointing at him as the shadows at her feet were pulled up and condensed into her hand, forming a long, black sword of darkness.' Fight with the intent to kill,' Ren told himself, remembering Elowen and Varrin's words from only moments ago.' But do I have to kill them? We just need to delay long enough that the Flameguard notices something and comes rushing over.'

Killing a living person was far easier said than done, an entirely different matter from cutting down some horrible monster, and already Ren found himself plagued with reservations over whether it would truly be the only way, his grip tightening around the cleaver he held in both hands.

Unfortunately, or maybe it was fortunately, Ren didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it when the girl named Alice lunged at him,' Fast!' It was only thanks to [Survival Instincts] sharpening his reflexes that he even managed to dodge the first strike, the doll-like girl's dark blade whistling past his ear and rustling his auburn hair. But Alice didn't give him a moment to breathe.

She pressed him relentlessly, her attacks fluid and purposeful as she moved with a kind of grace that made it feel like he was being forced into a dance he didn't know the steps to. Various kicks and strikes were even woven in between her sword strikes, turning the whole assault into something that looked almost as elegant as it was suffocating. Ren gritted his teeth and jerked his head back, narrowly avoiding a foot slamming into the side of it.

His arm still felt heavy and throbbed with pain after suffering the very same treatment only moments before, and he had absolutely no desire for a second taste.

"You're quite good at dodging," Alice said in a brief gap between her strikes, her voice now betraying a little excitement.

"But only dodging won't defeat Alice." Stolen story; please report. Ren knew she was right and clenched his jaw hard.' Even if I am only dodging her… all I need to do is buy time until someone alerts the Flameguard, or at least until Varrin and Elowen can deal with some of them!' If he couldn't beat her, he could at least distract her.

He glanced toward the others to see how they were holding up, just in time to see the large beastfolk man knock Varrin unconscious, the silver-haired boy's illusory clone dissipating in a kaleidoscope of butterflies.' No!' Ren's stomach only sank further when he saw Elowen and Lorelle.

The regal elf was fighting all three of the guards at the same time, her blade flashing in a whirl of motion as she did her best to keep them back. The morning dew on the ground at her feet had frozen over into frost, and several of those sharp, crystalline missiles Ren had seen her use against the goblins back in the Great Forest now formed in the air behind her head, prepared to launch at her command.

Behind her, Lorelle stood unsure of what she should do in a situation like this, especially with no real weapon of her own to speak of. Ren wanted nothing more than to shout at the young Firekeeper to run, but that option was already being cut off by one of the guards as he circled wide around them, deflecting one of the sharp ice shards away after it was shot at him as he went.' Not good,'Ren thought desperately.' At this rate… I'll have to beat this girl on my own.'

He forced his thoughts to move, to search for an answer.' Just think, Ren! How can I wi—' A sudden force slammed into his chin, snapping his head back and causing his vision to explode into stars as he was thrown to the damp ground in a daze, his cleaver slipping free of his grasp and landing a couple of metres away. Before he could even process what had happened, Alice was upon him.

She dropped her weight onto his body, pinning him down with her small frame in just a way that it didn't matter how hard he tried to twist, Ren wasn't able to move in the slightest.

Ren's breath came out in a strangled rasp when Alice pressed the blade made of shadows to his throat.

"Alice wants to know your name," she said calmly as she analysed his face. He couldn't even answer if he wanted to. His head throbbed and his thoughts were still scattered, making him unable to form even the most basic of coherent sentences.

"No matter," Alice said, raising her sword and reversing her grip.

"Alice will find out later." She struck him once more with the pommel of her sword. And the world went black. Just like when he'd first been transmigrated, Ren felt as if no time had passed when his eyes finally shot open again. His head didn't hurt anymore, however long he had been out had been enough for [Accelerated Regeneration] to do its work.' H-how long was I out for?'

The bars of a cage were the first thing Ren saw as his eyes slowly adjusted to his dark surroundings, though the room beyond his prison was so black that he couldn't make out its edges at all. He could hear things in that darkness, however, soft sobs and quiet whimpers drifting toward him from every direction. Ren looked down at himself and saw he still had all his clothes, cloak included, though the pack full of supplies was long gone.

What he did have, however, were a set of silver shackles binding both his wrists and his ankles. They weren't heavy in the slightest, but somehow they left him feeling incredibly weak, and he felt steady trickle of essence being drawn out of his body. A voice spoke behind him.

"You're finally awake." Ren quickly spun, readying himself for a fight when he saw a blond-haired elf that was sat inside the cage with him. He only had pants on, leaving his well-built body exposed to the cold air. Both his demeanour and his blue eyes looked relaxed in a way Ren couldn't understand, almost like this cage and the circumstances was just a mere inconvenience.' Why do people always keep sneaking up on me?'

Ren thought, glancing around the cage to make sure no one else was there, finding it empty save for his new companion. No Elowen, no Varrin, and no Lorelle. Panic flared in his chest.

"Uhh… sorry, but who are you?" Ren said quickly, "And do you know where we are?" The blonde elf spoke calmly.

"My name is Ryo."

"And we are in a cage after we were captured by cultists who worship the Abyss." Ren's stomach dropped anyway, even though he'd expected it. He had lost to that girl— No. That wasn't even right. He was beaten so badly that he couldn't get a single hit in.

"Have you seen another elf? With blue hair and blue eyes?" Ren asked quickly in the darkness.

"Or a human with silver hair and looks really pretty? Or a young Firekeeper?" Ryo listened patiently and when Ren finished, the elf's expression softened.

"I'm sorry, my friend," he said with a sorry smile.

"I haven't seen any of your companions."

"You came here alone not so long ago. That girl with the black hair carried you here by herself. She said she'd be back for you as well." Ren's shoulders sagged and despair pressed down on him like weight. Not only was he too weak to help his friends, but he was far too weak to even help his own sister.

"What was I even thinking?" he whispered softly, sliding down to sit against the cold metal floor of the cage, his head resting against the bars.

"I'm no hero."' How could I be? Heroes only existed in Yumè's storybooks.'

"Don't look so distraught, friend," Ryo said kindly after a moment had passed. Ren didn't look up, but the blond elf continued anyway.

"I am unsure what your meaning was, talking about being a hero and all, but you aren't dead yet."

"And that means you still have another chance." Ren lifted his head and the elf held his gaze.

"You only truly lose when you give up for good," Ryo finished.

"We never really know what fate has in store for us. Or where our destinies lie."

"So to stop before even getting to see the end seems quite wasteful, doesn't it?"' Wasteful...?' Ren thought, but before he could answer the elf, movement stirred through the darkness as a pair of guards in that same black armour approached with a torch in hand, its flame painting the cage bars in flickering orange and forcing Ren to raise a hand against the sudden light.

"You," one of them said, pointing at Ryo as the second one unlocked the cage.

"You're coming with us." The blond elf didn't struggle as the guards roughhoused him away. Turning his head back just enough to meet Ren's eyes through the bars, Ryo called out, "Think about it, friend."

"Shut it!" the first guard growled, hitting the back of the elf's head before pulling him away, the torchlight receding along with them. It grew dimmer and dimmer until the darkness came flooding back in to swallow Ren whole once more, leaving him alone with nothing but the soft, scattered sobs echoing through the black. He stared into the empty black for a long moment.

"How could anyone not give up in a situation like this," he mumbled eventually, clenching his shackled hands.

"If I just had another chance, a chance to get stronger… so I could achieve the things I wanted…" A soft sound, like a small puff of wind, suddenly drifted past Ren's ears, so faint it was barely audible at all. It was followed a moment later by cheerful whistling.