Chương 42: Rooftop-Hopping Because My Friend Got Kidnapped

Lio found himself rather baffled, his mind arrested by a single question. How? No seriously, how? He had left William in this lodge only about three hours ago. Three hours! The boy still had his —though mostly healed—cracked ribs, no money, no particular destination, and had even been explicitly told to stay put. Trestfall was not a large settlement. And the spore-light was still out! It was extremely difficult to get into serious trouble here in under three hours. And yet… Lio rubbed his temples, sighing loudly.

The boy had still somehow managed it. He stood there for a moment longer, just lost for words. Then he turned to Ophila.

"Come on," he said. She was already moving before he even finished saying it. They stepped outside. Lio looked down at the street, then back at her, holding his arms out in front of him.

"Hold on to me," he said. She knit her brows.

"What?"

"Just hurry and hold on to me," he repeated. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then sighing, she stepped close and wrapped both arms firmly around his neck. Lio reached down, tapped on his forearm, and activated [Mach Heart]. The familiar power flooded his legs in a single explosive rush, and he kicked off the ground, a wave of dust bursting outwards. The world dropped away beneath them, as they flew up into the sky.

Ophila shrieked in surprise, her arms that were wrapped around Lio's neck turning vise-like, as they cleared the rooftops of the fungi buildings in under a second. Up here, the spore-light was most extreme, choking the air around them, blazing in all of its fungal glory. Then, at the apex of the jump, Lio activated [Atropos's Lens]. Immediately, the world sharpened violently. Every single detail below him—previously blurry and hard to make out—crystallized into being, as if they were right in front of him.

In this state, he could see the individual fibers of the Union banner outside the outpost. He could count the leaves on the nearest Amberpulp vine. He could even surmise the amount of wood grains on the batons the two guards outside the guard post held. His hastily accelerated thoughts sped through the image before him, processing everything simultaneously. And using that genius precision, he could already make out the signs of where William had gone.

He followed the slight indents of William's shoes, from the market, to the path leading out toward the outskirts, and to the cultivated plots running north. And at its edge, he noticed a long patch of dirt that had been scorched, a rough crescent of blackened soil cutting across the path. Lio's supernatural eyes studied the disturbed soil beyond the burn line, then at the sight of William's footprints disappearing, replaced by two sets of footprints that led further out. He scowled.

Had that bastard gone and gotten himself kidnapped? Then the time limit on [Atropos's Lens] ran out and the world snapped back to normal. And as gravity remembered to do its thing, they both dropped. Lio easily absorbed the landing through his knees, and soon after, Ophila let go of her grip, collapsing onto her knees, breathing hard.

"Warning," she gasped out after a moment.

"Next time, give a warning."

"Of course," Lio replied. He pointed to the outskirts.

"That way." Nodding, Ophila shakily stood up, and began moving. But Lio didn't follow. When she noticed, she glanced back over her shoulder with a small frown.

"What?"

"Go ahead," Lio said.

"I'll catch up." She stopped fully, turning around to face him.

"Why?"

"I saw something on the other side of town too," he explained.

"It might be nothing. But I want to check." Ophila studied him, her gold ringed eyes sliding across his face. Then she nodded.

"Just don't take too long," she said simply, and turned back toward the path, her braid swinging behind her as she picked up her pace again. Lio watched her until she rounded a bend and disappeared from sight. Then he turned around, shoving his hands into his pockets. Looking up at the sky, at the spore-lights, he wondered how much [Mach Heart] bursts it would require to truly get to the very top. He stayed in that position for a while, until he sighed, shaking his head. Then he said, "Just come out already."

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. There was a slight pause, then the shadow beside the nearest building shifted, and Lupin stepped out, his body and expression pleasant and relaxed. Lio looked back impassively. Lupin chuckled.

"How did you know?"

"I have my ways." Lio said apathetically.

"Now my turn. Why are you following us?" Lupin rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head with a small apologetic smile.

"Sorry, but that," he said sheepishly, "is confidential."

"Of course it is," Lio deadpanned.

"Nothing personal," Lupin added.

"Just professional limitations." Lio just looked at him flatly. Lupin, seemingly unbothered by lack of reactions, leaned against the building beside him, considering Lio for a moment.

"But what I can tell you," he said, "is why I personally am interested in you." Lio continued to say nothing, which Lupin took as permission to continue.

"I've been doing this kind of work for years now," he said.

"I've run operations across four countries. And so, I've developed a reasonably reliable instinct for assessing how powerful people are. You know, being able to see just how deep the water goes." He chuckled.

"I looked at you and felt something I haven't felt in a very long time," he said simply.

"I couldn't see the bottom of how truly strong you are."

"And that," Lupin explained, "is why you're personally very interesting to me." Lio stared at him. Then he asked, "Where is William?" Lupin smiled, spreading his hands outwards.

"Relax," he said warmly.

"He's perfectly fine. Acacia used a very mild compound that was completely harmless, so he'll wake up feeling—""Where is he?"

"—feeling a little groggy, maybe a slight headache, but nothing serious at all, I promise you." Lupin's tone was easy and reassuring. Lio could tell that he had experience in defusing situations.

"We just needed a little bit of time to—""Where?"

"—to have a conversation without interruption, which I think is completely reasonable given the circumstances, don't you?" Lupin chuckled pleasantly.

"If you'll just give me a moment to explain our position, I think you'll find that we actually want very similar—" He didn't finish the sentence. Because Lio was done with all this shit. He activated [Mach Heart], and the burst carried him across the distance between them in a fraction of a second. Without hesitation, Lio's hand closed around Lupin's forearm, and the power of [Augmentation] flooded his limb.

Lupin's face went white, and as he looked down at his arm, the sounds of bones already starting to creak and groan under the extraordinary pressure filled the air. Lupin's free hand flew up instinctively, probably reaching for his rune, but he stopped himself, instead going completely still. Lio leaned in close, so close that their foreheads were almost touching, looking deep into the other man's eyes.

"I am," he whispered, "in quite a terrible mood. I must admit, this whole week hasn't been very good. And your little operation has irritated me, to say the least." His grip tightened, and from Lupin's lips, a cry of pain involuntarily escaped.

"So I would strongly prefer that you simply stop talking and tell me exactly where William is." Lupin swallowed hard. His pleasant expression was all but gone now, replaced with something close to resolve.

"He's in a storage shed," he managed to say through gritted teeth.

"Past the last Amberpulp plot. Acacia is with him." Lio held his grip on Lupin's arm for a little bit more, studying the man's features to make sure he wasn't lying. Then once he was satisfied, he released it. Lupin hissed, immediately pressing his now freed arm against his chest, wincing at the sight of the deep purple bruises on the places Lio's fingers had resided. He took a deep breath, collecting himself quickly. Then he looked up at Lio.

"There's a reason I came to you alone," he said.

"Without Acacia."

"I noticed," Lio said.

"Don't you think that means something?" Lupin asked. Lio cocked his head.

"So you're not here because your organization sent you?"

"No," Lupin confirmed.

"You approached me of your own violation?"

"Yes."

"Which means that whatever you're about to say next," Lio continued, a small, humorless smile starting to take place on his lips, "isn't something Acacia knows about?" Lupin smiled as well.

"Of course," he replied. He straightened up and reached into his coat, producing a small folded piece of paper. He held it out.

"I have a proposition," he said simply.

"One that has nothing to do with your party members." Lio glanced at the folded paper but didn't take it just yet.

"A proposition?"

"Yes," Lupin said. Lio reached out and carefully took the paper. He unfolded it, read it, then raised a single eyebrow at Lupin. He then sighed, refolding it carefully and tucking it into his coat pocket without any sort of comment. Then he looked back at Lupin.

"So, what's the proposition?" Lupin held his gaze steadily. Then he spoke two simple words.

"Kill me." Lio blinked. Then he shrugged.

"Sure." Lupin's eye twitched. He took a slow breath.

"I meant," he said, a scowl replacing his smile, "that I need you to help me fake my death." Lio looked unimpressed.

"Well that's a bit different than what I thought," he said.

"Considerably," Lupin agreed.

"You could have led with that, you know."

"I thought it would be more impactful this way," Lupin said.

"Well it wasn't," Lio said. Lupin coughed, reeling the conversation back in.

"Anyway," he continued, "the point is that I need to disappear. I would have liked to employ someone more qualified on this subject, but I don't have time. And based on what I've seen of your capabilities on Floor 2, you're probably the most qualified person in this settlement to make this happen."

"But there's a problem with that," Lio said.

"Which is?"

"The Binding Oath," Lio said.

"So they'll know if you're dead or not." Lupin looked at him, confusion flashing across his features.

"I don't have a Binding Oath," he said. Lio pursed his lips.

"What?" he asked.

"I don't have one," Lupin repeated simply.

"Never did." A short silence followed. Lio studied Lupin's face, studying for any signs that the other man was lying. But he couldn't find any.

"Every operative I've encountered from that organization has had one," Lio said, brows furrowing. Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Which organization are you referring to?" Lio didn't answer. Lupin was quiet for a moment, his face slowly scrunching into one of deep thought. Then, a sudden realization dawning upon him, he blinked. Then he laughed, shaking his head.

"Ohhhh… you thought we were with them," he said.

"The ones chasing that girlfriend of yours."

"Well, you were following us," Lio said.

"For completely different reasons," Lupin said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Which I'll explain soon." Lio peered at him.

"So you know about the organization after Ophila?" Lupin's smile faded, his face turning serious.

"Yes," he said.

"I know about them."

"How much?"

"Not much," Lupin said.

"But more than most people, I guess." Lio studied him.

"Do you know their name?" Lupin looked at him for a long moment, seeming to weigh something in his mind. Then he reached a conclusion, giving a small nod.

"Consider it a down payment," he said.

"For the conversation we're about to have." He leaned in closer.

"They're called…"