08. Emergency and Scapegoat

after struggling for quite while on stone stairway in the dark, cripple could finally heard raining sounds coming from the outside,

seeing the floating mana spheres stop abruptly at the front, he knew that he had reached the end of this pitch-black tunnel, he squinted his eye barely saw closed wooden door leading the stairway from underground.

he gritted the scroll inside his mouth tighter, while carrying pocket's body on his back and the other hand gripped the spear tightly, he walked up the stone stair carefully.

when he arrived under the locked wooden door, he unleashed his mana shield abruptly,

sparkle! creaaack...bam!!!

the mana shield spewing white sparkle brightly when connected against the wooden door. due to momentum, the lock got destroyed and the wooden door opens forcefully.

what meets him outside was dark alley with stormy night rain with occasional thunder and lightning.

cripple immediately steps out, he looks left and right trying to find direction, after he determined the direction, he went to the left,

winds unceasing howl with heavy rain drops mercilessly onslaught both of them, cripple reached to the end of the alley, keeping his head low as to prevent water to enter his left eye, it was really strenous for him yet he persevered.

after quite a long while walking down the road, cripple knew he can't keep staying under the storm for a long time as that would be detrimental for pocket's health, right now he could feel that pocket body's temperature starts burning, sign of infection creeping on her.

after a few minutes, sign of hope could be seen on his face, he knew exactly where he was currently at. the street was actually the one he had walked pass by 3 days ago along with pocket when returning from the execution ground on the west square.

with great familiarity, he increased his pace. shortly he reached the destination, it was two storeys house with 'clinic' signage on its front, without even knocking he pushed the door, he sighed in relief as the door was yet to be locked, without permission he went inside the clinic's waiting room in hurry.

the clinic doctor was someone on his fifties, currently he was sitting on his chair, writing some document inside the room behind the waiting room. the stormy night didn't faze him at all, but in a moment he could faintly heard someone entering his clinic.

the doctor swept the room's curtain and went to look who was coming, at first he yelped in horror as he witnesed a bare-chested scrawny little figure with his right hand holding a spear and the other was carrying something like a sack on his back.

the figure face could hardly be seen with little illuminating light from oil-lamp on the wall, but the doctor could barely discerned that the figure's right eye socket was hollow, giving it frightening vibe.

before the doctor could scramble away, the figures suddenly shouted,

"doctor! please help!!!" cripple yelled anxiously. he then proceed to come closer toward the doctor.

"where's your patient bed? quickly show me!"

the doctor was tongue-tied for a while, but after making sure the boy was actually a living being, he let out sigh of relief.

"what happened? who're you?" the doctor still has some wariness on him,

"I'll tell you later! please help my friend first!!!" urged cripple pointing toward his back.

the doctor was clearly hasitant at first, but then he saw there was another skinny figure on the crippled boy's back seemingly unconscious, there was even a terrible slash wound on her back, without delay, the doctor gestures at cripple to follow.

he walked inside the examination room with curtain as its cover behind the waiting room. seeing the bed inside, cripple went to sat there. he quickly loosen up pocket hand and waist, then he lied pocket body down with her back turned up side as gently as possible.

the doctor lights up another 2 oil-lamp, making the room brighter than before. when he saw cripple face and skinny body, he could discerned that he was a beggar, yet he didn't heed it on mind.

what surprised him the most was toward the other child on the bed. she has messy blonde hair, and her clothes was full of blood, there was even laceration wound trailed from her right shoulder to her waist! but it was already mended, the doctor scrutinized it closer, the more he looks the more the doctor gasped in praise.

before the doctor could even ask, cripple already brought back some water, he took several clean cloths he could find, then he proceed to cleaned up pocket's back, he also removed her wrecked clothes without even batting an eye, his action was fast and careful as if he was done this many time.

the doctor was stunned as he watched, but he couldn't help but pouring praise toward cripple inside his heart.

all of sudden cripple turns toward the old doctor, "doctor, give me that blood pills immediately! and also do you happen to have some sort of energy replenishment pill or multivitamin?"

the doctor was stunned,

"hurry doctor!" comanded cripple urgently, the old doctor couldn't help but reached his medicine cabinet, in an instant he gave 3 ceramic bottles toward cripple.

"here's the blood pill, and this is called energy pill, but looking at your friend condition he was clearly malnourished, both pills could make his condition to worsen," adviced the old doctor while giving the pills one by one, "...and also, its best if you give him those pills along with this."

the doctor opened up the corks of the last bottle, there was clear liquid inside it

cripple paused slightly, "what is it?"

"....this is nutritional fluid, it will soften the pills effect to her body, mellow it down so she could absorb it safely. its good for her current condition."

cripple nodded after hearing his explanation.

"umm, how would you let him ingest it? he is clearly unconscious..." soon the old doctor turned silence as he witnessed cripple put the pills inside his mouth! crushed it then he drank the fluid, he mixed all the pills inside his mouth without swalowing it.

"you!! what're you doing!" exclaimed the doctor but he soon watched as the crippled boy gently grabed his friend body making her sat straight on the bed.

he pulled his face closer and closer, then he proceed to administer all the medicine through mouth to mouth, making sure pocket swalows all the mixed liquid, he was doing it slowly and meticulously.

the doctor got to finally knew that the unconscious child was actualy a girl, he got it wrong all this while.

after a few seconds their lips parted, cripple then gently lays her back to the bed.

the doctor touch her head as he saw her flushed look, he said, "this is bad, she's got fever."

"yeah, at least she ingested the medicines just fine, beside, you wouldn't happen to have antibiotics would you?" asked cripple casualy as he knelt beside the bed.

"...antibotic?" asked the doctor, his tone was a little strange.

cripple noded slightly, but he was immediately stunned as what the doctor said next.

"...i don't really know about this antibiotic, but for infection we usually use penicilin." said the doctor.

"really? is that true? do you have it?" cripple stood abruptly scaring the old doctor.

"yes, yes calm down, wait here..." the doctor went away from the room, soon the sounds of him climbing the stairway follows.

after rummaging for a while, the doctor brought back a wooden box on his hand, then he oppened it, he pulled a glass tube with familiar looking syringe inside,

"it's expensive, but i happen to get one back there from the army."

just when the doctor wants to inject the syringe, cripple stoped him, looking quite unneasy, the doctor seems to understand.

he smiled gently, "don't worry boy, i know what you're afraid of, this syringe was never used before," then he proceed to inject the syringe toward pocket's arm, "...i don't know why you know all this thing boy, but i graduated from vannahar medical academy back then, i'm quite familiar with this kind of wound."

cripple saw in details all the old doctor's action, after he finished the injection he then proceed to disinfect and cleaned up pocket's back in professional manner. after he finished, he wrapped pocket wound with gauze, later he covered her with thin blanket.

then the doctor sat on his chair while scrutinized cripple who sat on pocket side.

"boy, so would you care to share your stories now?" he asked in gentle manner.

cripple glance at the old doctor for a while, afterwards with his one leg, he hopped toward the chair opposite the doctor, he let out sigh as he wondered how to tell the old doctor.

he could tell that this old doctor was quite amiable, he put the patient first even before asking for a fee, but he knew better that he couldn't take advantage from the old doctor.

"i...was..." all of sudden he stopped, he stares at his left hand, he could see that some sort of spell had activate the seal on his left hand making the mana surrounding it to fluctuate!

he grew restless for each passing seconds, as he felt that some horrible kind of mana getting closer and closer toward this place.

"....im sorry doctor, but please take care of my friend for a while, i'll be back soon." then he stood up, hopping out of the room.

"where're you going? its still stormy outside!" exclaimed the doctor.

after cripple reached out the spear on the floor, he limped to the clinic entrance. he also picked the scroll on the floor hiding it behind his clothes. then he look back toward the doctor.

with little smile he said, " doctor whatever happened or what you may hear from the outside, please don't come! please take care of my dear friend, she is very special to me." then he left the clinic under the stormy weather while closing the door immediately.

seeing how cripple acts, the old doctor could barely inferred of what currently happened, then he proceed to snuffed every oil-lamp in his clinic except for the one beside the bed.

***

outside.

CRAAACK!!! RRUMMMBBLLEEE.....

cripple could feels the oncoming bulk of mana from skies direction, it felt so sinister and dangerous, it was so different this time compared to when he met that dead-pan face 2 stars magician. immediately he walks away putting some distance from the clinic.

he looked upward as he watched a blob of mass floating down and landed slowly right in front of him.

with occasional lightning and the fire source came from other houses, he could see that the blobby mass was actualy a man, a very fat man with loose robe and bald head, his face was so ugly with resemblance to a pig.

when cripple tried to sense him, he feels unbearable, he felt he just drowned into nasty muddy swamp filled with filth, as he scrutinized him closer he figures that the man in front of him was a strong adversity, very strong in fact he felt that right now he was just an ant standing in front of a giant.

yet he could also see that the fatty had definitely got his mana reserves through some sort of evil mean, it was as if pure white flowers stuffed into a filthy sludge, it felt incompatible yet it was forced to fuse by an evil means.

RRUUUUMMBBLLLEEE....

under the stormy night accompanied by occasional flash of lightning, two figures which now faced each other weren't bothered with the onslaught of the rain and wind.

master mordoc put a nasty grin on his face had finally come, "huhuhu, i won't say anything about the trash you just killed, rat! come with me! this master mordoc will give you plentiful lives ahead!!! whatever you want you will get, power? wealth? women? tell me boy!"

with his arm wide open he stares straight to cripple, his laughter was similiar to pig squealing being slaughtered.

already activating his thought, he deduced that if he decides to fight back, he was sure that 100% he would get killed. if he submit, then 90% he would be enslaved with 10% being killed, but pocket's future would be 100% bleak.

while he still contemplating hard, choosing many option from his mind. he suddenly felt another mana sense swept about, it was so subtle that if he didn't had the scroll on his back close enough, he might've had missed it, the mana sense wasn't coming for him, as he felt the mana was quite familiar, it was definitely coming for the scroll on his back.

at this moment his eye lights-up as there was still opportunity for him, it was dismall hope yet still better than nothing, all he must do now was only to buy some precious time.

then cripple finally acted,

"you must be that Q b*stard boss right? i can see why..." he spoke with mocking smile.

master mordoc didn't expect this rat in front of him would be unafraid of him, he even talked back, but he only laugh shaking his greasy fat-cheek along.

"what a sharp rat! yeah i was that trash master..." yet even before he finished, cripple already spoke interrupting him.

"...no wonder, don't you see yourself in front of mirror? it was expected that the boss of such b*stard was also a pig, looking at your figure, did you feels so strong after enslaving so many children?"

mater mordoc frowned, he points his fat finger forward, "you!!! what'd you sa...."

"....hhahaha, fat pig like you guys has always matched each other! that one was pig dung and the other ones is pig lord!"

"nonsense!! you! wha...."

"....pig would never be a king of this world, that's why they're always enslaved the weak one. even so, the one standing in front of me was even lower than pig! as his courage was so tiny as his p*nis!" cripple didn't gave him any chance, he continued to spew nonsense like a machine gun barrage.

"you.....!!!"

"....you, you what you? how dare you called yourself 'master' while you only dare enslaving us the childrens? have you no shame? ah...i never expect someone lower than pig to have any!"

"ENOUGH!!!" master mordoc yelled loudly, his head was fuming and his face was so black that it won't be exaggerated to call it charcoal.

bam!!!

all of sudden cripple felt unbearable pressure came from his opponent voice, his scrawny body and the spear he was holding flung back smacking toward the house wall behind, along with coughing mouthful of blood.

he felt dizziness spreading. the fatty was only yelling, yet he knew that it was some sort of spell as he could see mana fluctuation in it, nevertheless he didn't see any magic circle or heard any spell chants. it was intriguing.

master mordoc was trully incensed after hearing barrage of insults came from this pesky rat, how dare he! doesn't he knows who he is? he's one of the underlords! the supreme master mordoc of maron city!

cripple was actually 40% sure before, but now he was more or less 60% sure that this fatty in front of him rather values him, and it wasn't low either after such brief interaction.

cripple was right, although master mordoc trully enraged, he was really a cunning man thorough and thorough, soon after he released his frustration, he recovered quickly, then with annoyed face he moved closer.

with his greasy-plump hand, he grabed cripple neck and lifted him up, their faces were now closer with each other.

"very good you rat b*stard, although i don't know what is your thinking, this merciful master shall still give you a choice! obey? or die!!!" master mordoc tightened his grip on the cripple's neck.

wheezing and gasping, cripple kicked his left leg back and fort, he also trying very hard to hold the plump hand in order for him to breath, yet he keep subtle smile faded as quick as it appeared. he knew he had suceeded buying some times.

from his peripheral vision he could see the familiar dead-pan face man from the square landed softly not too far from both of them,

master mordoc didn't even realized it as his mind was still quite disturbed from those insults before.

while acting struggled, cripple keeps his mind very clear as the 2 stars magician approaching.

he though,

'.....now, let see if i could make this 2 giants against each other throat, here shall we?....'

***

the 2 stars magician had some bussiness at maron city, it had been so hectic in the past 3 days.

he couldn't even bothered checking his own stuff inside his once missing black satin pouch he carried, there were so many items in there, the thought of some items missing from his pouch wasn't even crossed on his mind..!

just right after he finished all of his affairs, he remembered that his master would soon arrived. with that thought, he finally checked the pouch, how shocked was he when he realized that the scroll his master bestowed to him was already gone!

calming his mind, he promptly cast a unique detection technique for the scroll. fortunately the scroll was still in the city, he saw the storm still raging outside, he couldn't care less. the scroll was so much important anyway, he took off shortly after heading toward the scroll using his sense.

as he landed toward the destination spot according to his sense, he noticed that there were two figures on the road, the pig-like fat man holding a scrawny crippled boy's neck, lifting his body off the ground.

somehow the fat man looked familiar to him. he tried to sense the scroll whereabouts, his sense pointed toward the two figures yet he couldn't decide which one had the scroll.

under the storm, he approached calmly. he recognized who was the boy which the fatty currently strangled at the least. he was the crippled boy whom he met previously at execution ground 3 days ago, he couldn't help but cast some suspicions toward the boy.

yet there was also another man, while he approached he looks more and more familiar to him. he thought in a moment,

'....mordoc the butcher? is he actually here? could it be he's the one that got my scroll? so the cripple was his underling then? well, whatever, the scroll should've been with this pig b*stard. he is grade 5 criminal anyway...'

the dead-pan face man stops on his track, then he spoke coldly.

"found you, now hand me back the scroll!"

master mordoc immediately shifted his eyes toward the voice, he squinted his eyes looking at the dead-pan face man.

he spoke rather in mocking manner, "2 stars from enforcer division eh? what do i owe this pleasure sir?"

yet suddenly cripple yelled rather loudly, "the scroll! master mordoc! please return the scroll to that man please!"

cripple knew this was his chance, the only chance he could survive in this ordeal, while he keeps yelling he also didn't forget to check his mana reserves. after pocket's treatment before, he franticaly absorbing mana for a while, now he had around 1/8 mana reserves left.

master mordoc widen his eyes, he shifted his eyes back and forth between cripple and the 2 stars magician, even so before he could even make a head or tail of this situation, cripple keeps yelling.

"...that scroll called 'Nine Revolutions Mana Absorptions Technique' i gave you master! quick give it back!"

the dead-pan face man flinched slightly then he asked, "how did you know about that, boy? did you read it?"

master mordoc still perplexed, but cripple didn't gave him any chance to think about his plan.

in frantic manner he keep speaking, he struggled even more violently, tried to distract master mordoc from realizing the situation,

"...of course not! master mordoc yelled about the scroll loudly, i just happened to heard its name from him!"

"YOU...." just as master mordoc finally realized what happened.

in a second, the dead-pan face magician casted some spell, right in front of him there was suddenly a magic circle appeared. it was drawn in incredible speed, the shape of it was hexagram with brightly lit green color, the surrounding circles were filled with indescribable runes, in fraction of second the magic circle was done and from it the wind blade resembling crescent moon flew in incredible speed toward its target.

master mordoc sensed it! widen his eyes in surprise, without any hasitation he grabed cripple's body then swung it to his right! making cripple body as a shield for what was coming!

SPLAT!

"KHUAAAH!" cripple screamed loudly, the wind blade casted by the other party slashed toward his back!

thankfully he already prepared for it, he knew that this pig would made him as a shield if there was any.

before the blade landed, in very subtle way he spread his mana shield just right under his back skin, barely able to protect his viscera. he also let the blade to slashed his skin to drew some blood so no one would know that he was also a magician.

fortunately his attempts had succeed, cripple weakly let go of his grip on master mordoc's hand, his breathing becomes irregular and his head now drooping down, he acted as if he was barely alive.

he knew that he will soon deemed as a burden for the coming battle, so master mordoc would drop him down.

he was right yet he also miscalculate! master mordoc didn't only drop him down, he was throwing him away forcefully toward wall on the side!!!

seeing the wall was getting closer and closer, he reached out his left hand ahead and casted some mana he had left to reinforce his hand, he couldn't help but be thrifty, he didn't want to spent all his mana at one go before he saw through the end, he need to prepare for what happened next, the result?

CRACK! BAM!!!

cripple's left hand got broken badly from the impact! his wrist got crushed and his forearm bones now protruding out from his elbow! he held back really hard not to scream, as he casted more mana to stop the bleeding slightly, he let out sigh of relief as he noticed that even though his hand was mangled badly, his left hand important blood vessel like arteries were still fine.

'....1/10 left, i need to absorbs some more mana quietly now..." in order for cripple to not getting the two giants in front of him noticing, he began to absorb the mana very slowly and carefully.

***

on the rooftop, the old magician eyes was shining brightly seemingly noticed what did the crippled boy had done, as for edna besides him, she was covering her mouth symphatized for the misserable boy below.

"master should we help him now?" urged edna with concerns, her eyes were looked quite painful for the boy.

"no need edna, the boy's quite tenacious, he is fine, we do not need to intervere yet. furthermore, it was such an impressive acts..." the old man spoke while shaking his head gently, then he continued, "...more importantly, you should observe how your senior would do down there, it could be your fortune to witness 2 stars magician against 3 stars."

edna harrumped slightly, yet despite her unwillingness she still looked toward her senior brother battle, while occasionally checking the boy back.

~~~