12 Escaping

Aoi and Arunika froze in place and whipped their heads to look towards to the other side of the clearing where they heard the shout.

"We detected the high tier magic coming from here Captain Alonsis!"

"Good work Corporal."

Arunika saw Aoi's aura starting to glow and looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"I'm increasing the strength of gravity on this side of the clearing. As soon as I'm done, we need to leave. I don't think they have good intentions looking for us."

Arunika nodded in response. Once Aoi finished, they turned and melded into the trees and bushes behind them.

"There's two of them sir! They're moving away from us!"

"Keep your magic up. Don't lose them."

Aoi whispered to Arunika. "They're tracking us using magic. I don't know what it is, but I think it would be better if we hide using your plant and earth magic. Push a hole into the ground and when we go in, cover it with the roots around us."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Sir! There's interference sound. I'm losing track of th-mmff, argh!"

About half a dozen men all reached the location of where Aoi increased the gravity and slammed into the ground. Only two were still standing as they were following behind by a couple meters. The two standing a distance away was a man and a woman. The man was tall, standing from 190 to 195 cm in height, and the woman stood at about 175 cm in height.

The man had distinct features. A sharp, straight nose with almond shaped eyes that gleamed a rich chocolate brown color. His eyebrows were sharp and distinct that arced up to his temples. His hair, the same color as his eyes, reached his upper back and was tied into a low ponytail. His physique was good and he had a triangular body. Even though he was wearing armor, you could tell how toned he was. He was handsome indeed, but the air of arrogance surrounding this man reduced it.

The woman on the other hand, was an androgynous beauty. Her skin and hair color almost matched Arunika exactly except her hair reached just below her ears, and her eye color was an almost bright seafoam green. If you just took a glance, you could see a gentle demeanor radiating from her, but that just masked the intelligent nature glimmering in her eyes. Her figure wasn't pronounced and she had a slimmer body shape, but it was obvious with her arms showing that she was very toned and muscular from years of training.

"It looks like the two set a trap. One of the two is obviously a gravity mage at least and from the looks of the surroundings, it looks like they were testing their magic here in the clearing," the woman said with a deep scratchy voice.

"I can see that Specialist Eva. I didn't need your input. YOU MEN! Drag yourselves out of there and follow me around the clearing. It's obvious she didn't set any traps outside the clearing."

"*grunt* Yes... Sir!" The men echoed a reply.

"Specialist Eva, go towards the left. I'll go right and we'll pincer them if they're still in the forest. Corporal Sherwin! Once you're done dallying, activate your sonar magic again to locate them and make sure they're still in the vicinity! Let's move Specialist."

"Yes Sir!" Eva ran off towards the left. While the Captain starting walking towards the right like he was on a leisurely stroll. Eva quickly came to the area around where Aoi and Arunika ran through and waited for her Captain to show up. She glanced down at the ground and saw a hole covered with roots. A faint white aura starting glowing off her and you could hear her whispering lightly.

Once he finally made his way towards the center, Eva's aura dissapated and she spoke up. "Reporting, no signs of the suspects in the area Captain."

"Damn it! SHERWIN! HURRY UP AND GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

"Haah- haah- Yes... Sir." The man, Corporal Sherwin, was a squirrelly looking man with a stooped back, like he was always bowing to someone. He was completely shaven bald but had hair stubbles on his chin. He only stood at about 155 cm and had rat-like qualities to his face. His body language almost screamed, 'BULLY ME! I'M A COWARD!,' but for anyone who knew him, it was the exact opposite. The man was cunning and deserved the reputation that came with his rank.

Sherwin started casting his magic. His body didn't glow with an aura, but you could see a distortion around his body. He closed his eyes and tilted his head like he was trying to hear better. After half of a minute he said, "I'm not reading anything, sir. I'm getting too much interference from the rest of the squad. I'm going to move in the direction of where they were heading." He started walking further towards the edge of the copse of trees. "I've got nothing, sir. They've already escaped."

"Useless! All of you, go back to camp to receive your punishments. Eva, follow me. We're going to the nearby town to canvas."

"Yes sir!" They all said in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I think they've left, honey," Aoi said after waiting for about 10 minutes, "It should be safe to come out."

Arunika retracted the roots from the hole and they got up and climbed out. "Why do you think that soldier helped us?"

"I don't know, but what's even more wierd is how she knew I had control over shadow magic too. If she didn't tell me to cover us further with my shadow magic we probably would've been found out."

"Mhm... What do you think we should now, Aoi-chan?"

"Hrm... They all headed either East and West, so we should go North or South to avoid them. What do you think?"

Arunika scrunched her brows in thinking. "My last stop over was in the territories from the North. We should probably be safer going South anyways. I would've rather made my way East this time, but there's no helping it."

"En, I'll just follow you honey. You obviously know the areas better than me."

The couple made their way South out of the copse of trees into the plains of the Southern Territories. After a couple hours of walking, Arunika started giggling.

"What's up, honey?"

"Hehe, nothing much. It was kind of exciting hiding away like that. That and I got to be all close with you in the hole I made."

"Hoh? That excited you, did it? Well... once we settle down in a new area, I'll excite you every night. How's that sound?"

Arunika blushed and nodded her head. Aoi giggled and said, "That and I hope the running doesn't become a habit. We should stay away from that kind of situation. Haah- I need to be careful with my magic. I told you... too much power."

"It'll be alright, Aoi-chan! We're together and we're a team! I'll train up my magic and you can learn to control yours better. We'll be the unbeatable duo!"

Aoi patted Arunika's head. "Fufu, well alright then." The two walked further into the Southern Territories.

~~~~~~~~~~

After canvasing around the town, Captain Alonsis and Specialist Eva discovered the identity of two possible suspects. One was the well known orphan who could control magic, albeit basically, and the other was apparently her newlywed wife. The unknown newcomer was obviously educated immensely with how her negotiation and arithmetic skills were used on the local merchants and craftsmen.

"I know of the orphan Arunika, Captain. Her time in this territory should have just ended and her last stay was in the Northern Territories. Going off that, it's safe to assume she's heading either East or South."

"Good, Specialist Eva. Go back to base camp and have the men pick up camp. You and 2nd Lieutenant Greyald will take two of the privates and go South while I'll take Corporal Sherwin and the other 2 to the East. We'll find them and interrogate that orphan's wife. Who'd want to marry a lowly orphan anyways?," He said with disgust.

"Yes Sir!"'Heh, you probably just want to visit Rotlichtviertel[1] in the East anyways. Disgusting prick.'

After two hours of preparation, the squad of soldiers dismantled camp and regrouped in town in front of the main inn. The Captain left with disheveled hair and sweat on his brow while licking his lips. It was obvious to the men in the squad to what he just finished doing.

"Haah- Well, let's move out men!"

"Yes Sir!" They all said in unison. The squad then departed into two groups and left for their respective directions.

You could see a sense of compassion and worry on Eva's face while she was walking in the back of the group. One could only guess what she was thinking.