Chương 60: Comedy

Lio stood up, walking over to the couch where Ophila laid.

"I'll put her to bed," he said. William glanced over from where he was still slumped in his chair.

"Sure, go ahead. Make sure to support her head with pillows."

"I know." Lio scooped Ophila up, her head lolling against his shoulder. William stood up, giving Lio a pointed look.

"But don't think you can just go to sleep after. You better explain what the hell happened outside when you get back. Scared the hell out of me, when I woke up to those screams."

"Sure." Lio turned toward the stairs. With every step, the tight newly scarred skin across his back protested, spending out spikes of pain along his spine. But his face didn't even twitch. The pain was bearable, after all. Lio found Ophila's room, and pushed open the door. Inside, the small room was identical to his own, with a narrow bed and a small window looking out at the street. Her pack was propped against the wall, while her sewing kit was on the table, a half-finished project lying besides it.

He set her down on the bed, propping her with pillows, then pulled the covers up over her chest. Ophila stirred, her eyes opening barely, revealing just a sliver of her blue eyes ringed with gold. She looked up at the ceiling, letting out a soft groan. Her dry lips cracked open.

"S'dark," she mumbled. Then she blinked sluggishly, as she just barely twisted her head, her eyes finding Lio.

"What happened?" she managed to ask. Her voice was thin, barely a whisper. There was a gas explosion," Lio explained. Ophila's brows furrowed. Her half-conscious mind was having a hard time thinking.

"I thought I saw a giant." She frowned. Lio didn't flinch.

"You hit your head."

"No, there was a giant," Ophila insisted, her words slurring.

"And then… it exploded." Lio shook his head.

"That doesn't make sense, Ophila. You were unconscious before the explosion. You must have hallucinated it." Ophila looked up at him, searching his face. Without her normal bravado, she looked small against the pillows, as she bit down on her trembling lower lip.

"You're not lying?" she whispered.

"I'm not lying." She held his gaze. Then she let out a weak scoff. A hint of fire came back to her eyes.

"Liar." And with that, her lashes fluttered still, the darkness of sleep reclaiming her. Lio frowned down at her for a moment. Then he turned and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. ◈◈◈◈ Back downstairs, William was slumped in his chair, shaking his head like a wet dog and delivering sharp slaps to his own cheeks. Lio paused at the base of the stairs, watching the display with some amusement. The guy was a wreck, his head bobbing as he slowly lost to gravity.

It was both stubborn and pathetic—the man was clearly committed to staying awake until he got his answers. William's head snapped up, bloodshot eyes blinking rapidly as Lio stepped into view.

"Well?" he asked.

"Are you ready for some explaining?" Lio sat in the chair across from him. He forced himself to lean back, even though his back was basically radiating heat like a furnace, resting his spine on the cool wood.

"Okay. To tell you the truth, I was going to look for the killer," he said.

"I'd been following some leads during the day." William leaned forward, listening without interruption. Lio shook his head, looking grim.

"But then the guy showed up over there in the Amberpulp fields, for some reason. Then he just started killing everything in front of him and moving toward the settlement." That was true enough. A partial truth. Now for the final blow.

"He was going for the Mayor," Lio continued, sharpening the story.

"That was his actual target."

"So, is he dead?" William asked.

"Or arrested?" Lio nodded.

"He's dead. The same gas explosion that hit Ophila took him out, too." William chewed the inside of his cheek, processing the information. Then he snapped his fingers.

"What about your friend? Senna?" Lio let a ripple of relief wash over his features.

"She's fine. I'll go see how she's doing in the morning." William nodded, finally satisfied. He stood up sluggishly, letting out a loud yawn.

"I'm going to get some sleep." He pointed a finger at Lio.

"You should too. You look like you crawled out of the sewers."

"Thank you," Lio said drily.

"How did you even take that as a compliment?" William muttered, turning and trudging up the stairs.

"Anyway, goodnight."

"Goodnight." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. His footsteps receded down the hallway. Lio sat in the empty lobby for a while, listening to the settlement outside. The distant shouts had died down, while through the grimy window, he could see that the orange amber from the fires had long disappeared. He stood up, and headed for his own room as well. Pushing the door open, he didn't bother turning on the lamp, making his way in the dark.

He sat down heavily on the edge of his bed. Lio looked down at his wrist. It was time to face the thing he'd been starving of attention. The [Mach Heart] rune looked exactly the same with the narrow vertical oval bisected by its three lines, the same shape he'd been looking down at and using for centuries. He pressed his thumb against it, studying it carefully. But there was nothing unusual about it. Nothing different. And yet… Ever since he'd saved Ophila, he had been running the numbers.

And he always came to the same conclusion. He should not have made it in time. This wasn't some sort of strange self-deprecation or pessimism. No, Lio had used [Mach Heart] countless of times. He knew what [Mach Heart] could and couldn't do. He knew this rune better than he knew anything else. The distance between him and Ophila when Torquatos began to detonate had been around, he'd estimated, thirty-two meters.

Even with [Mach Heart]'s maximum output, of course accounting for the accumulated damage to his legs from the night's earlier fights, his realistic top speed in that moment should have placed him somewhere between eighteen and twenty meters when the explosion hit. Twelve meters short. And yet, somehow, Lio had managed to reach Ophila. He lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes, replaying the moment in his head. What had changed? Was this Ophila's doing again?

It wasn't the first time she had disrupted something that shouldn't have been disruptable. The loops were clearly bending their laws for her, producing both small and big anomalies ever since she'd first appeared. He frowned at the ceiling. But that made even less sense. Sure, Ophila could disrupt the loop. But not the properties of runes, as far as Lio knew. Runes were inscribed by Checkpoints and they were permanent.

In fact, they were so permanent that they were the only things that carried forward to every reset. Lio pressed his thumb against the rune one final time, hard enough to leave a white indent in the skin. Then he sighed, staring up at the ceiling, completely befuddled. He really didn't like the feeling. ◈◈◈◈ Breakfast the next day was quiet. William had gone out early and come back with food from the tavern, an assortment of salted meats, bread, and cheese.

Ophila was awake and downstairs by then, sitting in a chair by the window, nursing a cup of hot tea. She had cleaned the wound and replaced the bandage herself, which now sat as a neat strip of white at her temple. She hadn't said much since coming down. Mostly she just been looking out the window, watching Trestfall's morning come to life with an unreadable expression. William kept glancing at her with a small worried frown, but didn't try to start a conversation. Lio just ate without looking at either of them.

He wasn't wearing the Prosperous Mantle today, having tucked the artifact safely into his pack. Wearing it today would just be stupid. They were halfway through their food when a sharp knock came at the lodge door. William set his utensils down with a clatter and stood up, walking over to pull the heavy door open. Ergyn stepped through. He looked much worse than the last time any of them had seen him. His uniform was still immaculate, but his features were one of deep exhaustion.

There were dark rings beneath his ocean blue eyes, and there was a tired wobble in his steps. He gave an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry to disturb your breakfast," he said.

"It's fine." Ophila didn't turn around. Erygn glanced at her, concern flashing across his face as he noticed the bandage on her head.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said.

"I just got a small cut on my head." Ergyn frowned, clearly wanting to ask more, but decided against it. He turned back to the three of them, especially focusing on William.

"I'm afraid I have to ask you to remain in Trestfall for a while longer," he said. William put down his fork.

"How much longer?" His voice was flat.

"Within the week, if nothing further develops," Erygn said.

"I'm sorry. I know that's not what you were hoping to hear." William groaned, pressing both of his hands to his face.

"Of course," he mumbled, muffled behind his palms.

"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary," Erygn said apologetically.

"But last night was significant. We have several open cases that require witnesses to remain available." He pulled out his familiar ledger.

"The first is the serial killer," he explained.

"He made an attempt on the Mayor's life last night. The attempt failed, but the situation isn't resolved." He grimaced.

"We haven't found him yet, though given the extent of his injuries, he is most likely dead." William glanced at Lio. Lio just kept eating. He wasn't going to tell the guard captain what had happened. William frowned, then looked back at Erygn.

"There was no body?" William asked.

"The place where he was most likely at," Erygn said.

"Had suffered an enormous explosion. It's quite possible that his body is simply gone." Ophila turned from the window for the first time, looking at Lio. Lio reached out, making a small sandwich with a piece of bread and a clump of cheese.

"The second issue," Erygn continued, "is that during the chaos last night, someone broke into the Mayor's residence."

"Broke in?" William said incredulously.

"Into the Mayor's house?" Ergyn grimaced.

"Yes. The person incapacitated two of the Mayor's personal guards, and stole a significant artifact." William frowned.

"What kind of artifact?" Ergyn shook his head.

"It's confidential. But the Mayor is understandably devastated."

"Did anyone see who did it?" William asked.

"The Mayor gave a description," Ergyn said.

"He said the thief introduced themselves as—" He paused, consulting the small ledger. Then he coughed.

"The Dark Supreme Crow Thief of the Eighteen Nebulous Stars." Ophila made a sound, her shoulders beginning to shake.

"Are you alright?" Erygn asked, looking at her with concern.

"Fine," Ophila managed, her voice slightly strangled.

"Sorry. It's the head wound."

"I… see." Ergyn turned a page in his ledger.

"Like I said, the thief introduced himself as the Dark Supreme Crow—" Ophila snorted, her entire body starting to shake as she turned away helplessly, staring out the window. Erygn watched her with a puzzled expression, then looked back at Lio and William.

"The Mayor has authorized a full investigation," he explained.

"Which is another reason I need all potential witnesses to remain available." He tucked his ledger away.

"I want to be clear that you're not suspects. But you were present during the events of last night, and I may need to speak with you again as the picture develops." William nodded numbly.

"You may leave within the week," Erygn repeated.

"You have my word that I'll get you out as soon as I can." He looked at each of them in turn.

"Until then, please be careful. Whatever happened last night, it's not entirely resolved. Stay together when you can, and if you see anything unusual, come to me directly." He nodded.

"I'll see myself out," he said.

"Enjoy your breakfast." The door closed behind him, and a long silence lingered over the lobby. Then, Ophila turned away from the window. She was trembling, her hand pressed firmly over her mouth, wiping the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

"The Dark Supreme Crow Thief," she wheezed, barely suppressing the giggle.

"Of the... the Eighteen Nebulous Stars." Her face flushed.

"What kind of awful name is that?" she choked out.

"It's—it's terrible! It's the worst thing I've ever heard!" She bent over, a loud, hysterical laugh escaping her. She looked ridiculous—her face red, hair a mess, and gasping for air—but it was the first time since the explosion that she looked alive and like her regular self.

"Eighteen!" she wailed.

"Why eighteen? Was seventeen not nebulous enough?" Lio glanced at her, then sipped his tea. For some reason, that just made her howl even louder.