65. Peculiar Affairs

I glared out of the window as the air was filled with explosions.

"Sir, I suggest you move away from there."

Ncil, the Black blade who was assigned to me, cautioned.

I sighed before turning around and facing Ncil who stood next to Ower, the Kommáti Yna had assigned to me.

Ncil, like all black blades, wore a dark uniform which had the crest of Coh on its chest. She had short, but neatly kept black hair and stern eyes.

Ower on the other hand just looked like a pile of daggers and so I ignored him before making my way to the living room where Nira and her entourage were.

The building we were in, the house of a Rendaro family, was fortified enough to withstand the impacts of the spears that were falling onto my sanctuary.

All buildings in Coh were built to this standard and so I hoped It'd keep my people safe.

"I am so very sorry for this." I said to Nira with a lowered head and clenched jaws.

"Please, raise your head. We are at war. We should've expected the humans would've used such tactics. Our carelessness lies on both our heads. So please." Nira said, but I didn't want to believe that people were dying because of a thing like carelessness.

I raised my head before looking around.

The residents of this house had requested a basement and that's where they were.

"Ower."

"I am at your command." Ower said with a whisper that sounded like it came from everywhere.

"Get a another Kommáti to protect Nira and her people."

"Yes, sir." Owen whispered before disappearing.

I sighed before turning back to the window.

The sounds of explosions could still be heard and every impact made my little heart jump.

I blinked and almost died of shock upon seeing Yna standing in front of me.

She wasted no time in grabbing me and checking if I was alright.

"Are you hurt?" She asked with a panicked face.

"Don't worry. I'm fine. What's the situation like outside?" I asked with a strange calmness.

"… eighty people have been reported dead." Yna said.

"Ah… I see." I said before tapping my chin.

"O--Our attackers. Who are they and how many?" I asked.

"It's the Sun Spears. A Legion of silver knights that specializes in aerial combat and attacks." Yna explained.

"I see." I said before sighing.

"Can you kill them all?"

Yna's eyes narrowed while remaining dim.

"I'm on it." Yna said before standing.

She then disappeared and I turned my attention to the window.

I…

I couldn't think straight.

How did I overlook such an obvious issue?

I should have prepared for this.

But thinking like this wasn't going to achieve anything, so I took several steps back.

Ballistas wouldn't work since flying knights could just dodge them.

I… I didn't know.

But Coh was my sanctuary and I wasn't going to let those silver fuckers do what they wanted.

"Ncil." I called.

"Sir?"

"When this is over, go to Han and asked him to prepare the tenths for their duties." I said weakly.

"Yes, Sir." Ncil said while standing attentively.

I nodded before pacing around to think about what I could do to help.

I was the host of darkness but combat wise I was as useful as an old shoelace.

"This will soon become all we know from now on, right?" Nira asked with a rather saddened expression.

"Perhaps." I said while continuing to pace around.

I couldn't think of a way to prevent attacks from the sky and so I shifted my attention to how we would handle the aftermath of this situation.

What would I say to those who were grieving.

I sucked at giving speeches.

I'd probably suck at eulogies as well.

My eyes widened slightly as a blood covered Yna appeared in front of me.

I wondered what teleportation felt or looked like.

How could space magicians see where they'd end up?

Could they see through the fabric of space like how I saw through darkness?

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Poorly. The Sun Spears escaped and I don't think this'll be the last hit and run attack from Lanceberg. I managed to capture one of them and all he said was that more were coming." Yna explained with dim eyes.

"You... captured one?" I asked.

"Yes." She said.

Its here that I noticed that the explosions and sounds of chaos were gone.

"Take me to him."

Yna nodded before picking me up.

"Excuse me, Nira, but-"

"Don't worry, I understand. Actually, would you mind if I came along?" Nira asked.

I looked up at Yna and she simply nodded. We then found ourselves in Site A, the dungeon beneath Coh.

This was a three level space where I kept special prisoners.

It was a brightly lit place made out the strongest darkness I could gather.

It was also guarded by several armoured Black Blades.

Each level had eleven cells and sitting in the cell at the end of the guarded hall was Timí.

Yna took us to the second level which had larger cells and other… special rooms.

We entered one of the special rooms to find a large man sitting strapped to a dark chair.

He glared at Yna and I as we entered under the supervision of the Blades.

I saw that he had been cut I'm several places, but it was nothing a knight couldn't handle.

"How long would it take you to get him to say everything he knows?" I asked. My voice clear.

"An hour or so."

"I see." I said before looking up at Yna's face.

"Do whatever it takes." I said.

Yna's eyes widened.

"Do… do you want to watch?" She asked.

"I… no. I'll… take me to Timí. I wonder how he's doing-"

Yna's eyes suddenly began glowing.

"Yna… what's with the face?" I droned.

"Nothing… much." She said with a lowered head.

"Take me to him."

Yna took me to Timí's cell.

Since he wasn't really responsible for any death or destruction in Coh or the Expanse, his cell was technically like a mini apartment only he couldn't leave.

I entered the cosy little place to find Timí reading a book on the history of the Expanse.

He had quickly come to terms with his fate after we put him down here and ever since then, he spent most of his time reading.

He also liked being up to date with what happened on the surface.

However, something I probably should've paid more attention to, was his stress.

Over the short time of a single year, he had aged by like five or so years.

His brown hair had begun to grey and his had deep frown lines.

"Oh- hello, lord Katsíki. Lady Yna." He greeted with nervous eyes.

I hopped out from Yna's grasp and shooed her away.

"Go on. He'll keep me company while you work." I said.

Yna stared at me and Timí before sighing and teleporting away.

"Would you like a seat, sir?" Timí asked while gesturing at his single seat couch. I noticed that the poor thing looked all beat up. It actually looked like it had been crushed downward by a massive force.

Just how heavy was this Timí?

"No, I'll sit here." I said before plopping onto the fluffy Foph made carpet.

Timí nervously sat on the couch and we stared at each other for a moment.

"Alright, talk. What did she do?"

"W-what do you mean, sir?" He asked while shifting his eyes all over the place.

"If you don't tell me I'll make you sleep with a bunch of Traeltors!" I said with a frown.

"Ah… she and I… sometimes." Timí struggled to say.

"Have sex." He said while looking away.

[Hoh?]

I frowned before looking out of the open door.

"Is… that all?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Sometimes she invites Aevana."

My eyes widened.

I then turned to one of the guards by the door.

"Bring her here."

A moment passed and a small Rendaro woman was brought into Timí's cell.

She too had a pretty nice cell and the only reason why we didn't let her out was because she really, really hated Yna and I for what we did to her father.

However, she had since become a bookkeeper of sorts and documented various things that we didn't want people on the surface to know.

Wait a minute-

I never questioned why she took the job so easily.

"Come here. Sit." I said as the dress clad Aevana did as instructed.

She sat in front of me while keeping her gaze low.

"When did all this start?" I asked.

"Shortly after we got here." Timí said.

"It'd start simple. She gave us specific roles to fulfil. Aevana became book keeper and I… I was the subject to many of her tests with various weapons. Things took a turn when you became more busy with the development of Coh and the leading of the Expanse. She came to me one day and… she-"

"Don't worry. I get it." I said while thinking about what Yna's relationship with Calëb was lime

Were they dating?

Did people on Edenton even go on dates?

"Mmm… are you ok with it?" I asked.

Neither Timí nor Aevana responded.

This was bizarre.

All that aside, I had successfully distracted myself from… all the other things.

Is that why Yna was coming down here?

For a distraction.

She was a golden knight, yes, but surely she too felt stress, and anxiety.

"You know what? How about I get you two something? Is there anything you'd like?" I asked with a feint smile.

"Mmm… if it's ok, I'd like it if Aevana and I could freely visit each other. I could help her with her work… and stuff." Timí said while nervously looking at Aevana who, for the first time since I'd met her, smiled.

"I… don't see how that's a problem. Consider it done. What about you?"

Aevana's smile instantly disappeared and she looked at me with unshaking eyes.

"I would like to see my father… if he still lives." She asked. Her voice clear.

My eyes narrowed.

"He's alive and I can take you to him, but you might not like what you see." I said.

"I know." She said with the same clarity from before.

I nodded.

"Fine. After my business in Coh is done, I'll take you to the Oasis. Is there anything else you'd like?"

Neither of them said anything.

"Alright. Feel free to inform the guards if you need anything. Also, I may not be too sure about what's going on between the three of you, but you'll still have to fulfil your role as test dummy." I said.

"Oh- don't worry about it. I understand." He said with a weak smile.

I then stood up before facing the door and I almost jumped out of my own body after seeing Yna standing by the doorframe.

Her hair was a mess, but there was a eerie lack of blood on her clothes.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"He told me everything he knew. Come. I'll tell you on our way out."

I nodded before walking towards her, but I turned back to face a flustered Timí and a blank faced Aevana.

I wanted to ask Yna about her relationship with them, but before I could psyche myself up, she grabbed me and carried me out of the dungeon.

Site A didn't have a conventional entrance and the only way to enter and exit was via Teleportation.

We eventually found ourselves in the Expanse and Yna didn't move as we stood in the darkness of night.

"I'll stop. If you want me to." Yna said.

"No! There's nothing wrong with it if Timí and Aevana are on board. I'm just wondering if you're only doing it because you're stressed or something."

Yna sighed before looking up into the night sky.

"I… don't know. I'm not sure."

"Why don't you try doing that orb of light technique thingy?"

"That no longer works." Yna said flatly.

I looked up and quivered upon seeing that her eyes were finally glowing.