Alley Fight 2

James had managed to wound his rival, although the inflicted damage was not enough to incapacitate him. On the contrary, the enemy was furious that a novice had forced him to get serious.

"Well, boy, if you want death..."

Enraged by James' attacks, the enemy counterattacked with renewed determination. He swiftly evaded the young warrior's strikes and responded with a series of rapid and precise movements. James was forced to dodge and block frantically, fighting to keep up and sustaining minor injuries in each exchange.

Meanwhile, Owen continued his fierce battle against the two remaining opponents. His imposing physical strength allowed him to confront them face-to-face, but the enemies' technical mastery remained a constant threat. Owen defended himself ferociously, seizing every opportunity to counter their attacks.

Princess Liz watched the scene with concern from a distance, unable to intervene. Her life was in the hands of James, Owen, and the rest of her loyal companions.

James could feel himself reaching his limit; he knew he needed an advantage. At one point, he gathered all his strength and launched a powerful attack against his enemy. The enemy found it difficult to dodge due to their positions, but they judged that after deflecting this attack, James would be left in a precarious position, and they could end it.

This was a turning point. It was never an option for the enemy to consider that James deliberately aimed for their weapon. No novice could come up with plans in a berserker state, so James was able to fulfill his mission. With a powerful blow, he destroyed the enemy's weapon and injured their arm.

James then attempted a follow-up attack to finish off his enemy, but his time had run out. Suddenly, the rune in his mind shattered due to a loss of concentration, and the formidable force left his body.

The rest of the soldiers protecting the princess saw the opportunity, and half of them joined the attack. An unarmed enemy was much easier to fight, especially when they were injured in their dominant arm.

This situation led to a spiral of defeat for the enemy side. The hooded figures knew they couldn't leave anything behind that would reveal their origin. Even from corpses, valuable information could be obtained with enough power. So, faced with their comrade's difficult situation, one of the two individuals fighting Owen became distracted, thinking about helping their companion.

This was enough for Owen to launch a powerful attack and wound the other enemy. Now, with two injured opponents, they had no choice but to retreat. Although with a little more effort they could have taken down the berserker, it would have been difficult to do so without casualties. The failure of one of their members turned out to be crucial in their defeat.

Seeing the situation, one of the hooded figures let out a melodic whistle, and the rest quickly withdrew.

In the aftermath of the battle, a giant figure sat against a wall, releasing steam from their body. A young man was on all fours, vomiting the contents of his stomach, while a patrol officer and their second-in-command bandaged their wounds.

Five eternal minutes after the fight's end, the princess's guards finally arrived at the scene. Their faces were pale, and their hands tightly gripped their weapons. They appeared truly tense.

"Princess!" their leader shouted as they ran to her side.

Princess Liz was exhausted, but upon seeing her trusted guards, a sense of relief washed over her. The captain of the guard, his face filled with concern, knelt before her and asked, "Princess, are you safe? Are you injured?"

Liz forced a smile and weakly replied, "I'm fine. These strangers kept me safe. They've shown mysterious abilities. I wonder if Sir Larat is more skilled."

"Princess, Sir Larat is a sword saint. It would be impossible for these two to match his abilities," the captain said, glancing at the pair with a slight distrust. There was no reason for two random people on the street to get involved in this.

The guard loudly asked James and Owen, "Thank you very much for your help, strangers. But I would like to know who you are and why you got involved."

James, who had nothing else to expel, crawled away from his mess before clumsily trying to stand up, only to end up falling on his rear. "My name is James. I'm an apprentice of the runic blacksmith Strom, and I live in his workshop," he paused to catch his breath. "I would also like to know why we got involved," he said, casting a pitiful look towards Owen.

The giant in question looked back at him and said, "Well, it was a good fight. Besides, you saved the damsel in distress. You look like one of those types." Then he turned to the guard and said, "My name is Owen, a mercenary."

The captain of the guard furrowed his brow at James and Owen's responses, still suspicious of their motives. Princess Liz quickly intervened, trying to calm the situation.

"Captain, these two men saved our lives. Although we don't know their exact intentions, we must be grateful for their brave act. We can't let our suspicions interfere with the gratitude we owe them."

The captain nodded, recognizing the wisdom in the princess's words. "You're right, Princess. We should thank them and be indebted to them for their help. However, we need to fully understand the situation before placing complete trust in them."

He turned to James and Owen with a friendlier tone. "I apologize for the earlier mistrust. Your bravery cannot be ignored. Please tell us more about what happened and how you came across these hooded figures."

James attempted to stand up again, but failed miserably. His body no longer responded. However, Owen lifted him up as if handling a puppy by the scruff of its neck. "Look, I need to take the little one to rest. These guys were present and saw everything. They can give you their report. As for us, we'll be around until the expedition begins, in case you want to contact us." He then carried James inside the house to administer some potions.

Both the officer and the bodyguard were uncertain about how to proceed. On one hand, the officer was immensely pleased with Owen's help. Thanks to him, he had achieved an incredible feat of protecting a princess from a foreign country. He couldn't wait to report in great detail about how he managed this crisis and the immense contributions he had made.

On the other hand, the bodyguard was in a precarious position and needed answers. Someone had bypassed their security network and allowed the princess to wander alone in the city. He needed answers about how they were deceived, but above all, he needed someone to blame and punish, or a scapegoat to take the blame.

Before they entered the house, however, James raised his hand slightly, and Owen stopped, helping him stay on his feet. James turned around and said to the bodyguard, "One of them flashed a Bol'Thet rune." Then he gestured to Owen, and the two entered.

This gesture did not go unnoticed, but none of them understood its true meaning.

"What is a Bol'Thet rune?" the princess asked intrigued.

"I have no idea. I've never heard of it," replied the bodyguard.

Suddenly, a deep voice sounded, "It is an ancient rune. It's difficult to explain all its differences and intricacies. What I know about it is that it is ridiculously complex, even for advanced Runists, and it is prohibited due to its parasitic capabilities."

People turned toward the source of the voice and instead saw a tall, slender elf with graceful features and fair skin. His clothing was simple yet elegant, but his expression displayed disgust and repugnance as he spoke about it.

"Sir Larat, you're also out for a stroll," said the princess as she ran towards him.

"Of course, but given the state of our friends, I think it's best to take them back to the town hall. They seem to need to catch their breath," said Sir Larat, relaxing his expression in the presence of the young princess as he gestured toward the city guard.

The princess, along with her guards, returned to her country's entourage, while the staff went mad investigating every option and person who could have been involved in this attempted kidnapping. Although to the public eye, it might have seemed like a princess's whim to escape, the higher-ups knew that it was not possible, especially in the presence of several high-ranking individuals like Sir Larat. Furthermore, although they didn't initially believe what James had said, after interrogating the present guards about all the details they witnessed during the fight, they concluded that there were powers at play that they didn't understand, and there was a real possibility of a prohibited rune being used.

"Consul, this is the preliminary result of the investigations," a guard handed documents to the elf delegation's chief.

The consul looked through the documents, searching for the information that interested him the most. After reading several pages, he placed the sheets on the desk and asked the intelligence officer, "So we still don't know about the power that interfered in our affairs and allowed the princess to walk on her own. What about the other two individuals who saved her?"

The officer addressed straightened his posture and replied, "The mercenary Owen, we couldn't dig up his past. The official information is that he was trained by a line of knights from the old regime. It's unknown who his true master is or how and what skills he acquired. It's known that he's part of a highly skilled mercenary group with a considerable record of victories against demonic invasions."

The consul looked at the pages that mentioned Owen, which were not few, and nodded slowly. "And what about the other person mentioned in the report, someone named James? How does he relate to this Owen?" he asked, confused due to the brief report about this individual.

"From what we know, James appeared less than a year ago. He started doing odd jobs until he came into contact with Riverdale, who is part of Owen's group. Riverdale introduced him to his companion, Strom, a renowned runic blacksmith who took him as an apprentice. As an important note in the records, Strom is a disciple of Skell. Together with their masters before them, they have dedicated their lives to the study of primordial runes, which supports the theory of the Bol'Thet rune," the officer concluded.

"What do you think, Sir Larat?" the consul asked.

"It's quite tricky because if it really is what they say, it points to the heart of our nation. There is only one clan within our nation capable of carrying out projects of that magnitude," said Sir Larat with a bitter expression. To them, this accusation was quite serious, and if confirmed, it could bring much suffering.

"But how is it possible that the young man really knew what he said? The investigations indicate that the effects match, but how could that young man recognize such a high-caliber rune during a high-performance fight?" the consul wondered aloud.

"That's quite tricky. As a note, we have searched for alternative sources, and there are some rune books that pedagogically detail how primordial runes should look and their effects. However, the descriptions are so vague that no one could conclude based on those books. Much more information is needed to learn about basic runes, let alone complex runes like the one mentioned," the officer added.

"This young man is quite an enigma. The princess is impressed by the skills of this apprentice blacksmith. It wouldn't hurt to establish a connection with him. After all, if he has truly helped us in times of need, it would be fitting to show him our gratitude," the Consul concluded. They then began to address other state-related aspects of their visit to the country, such as the upcoming expedition and matters concerning orcs and other issues.