59 Chapter 57: The 9th day (2)
「Maia chan, Ryuu chan...」Rowan finally spoke after having remained silent while walking by their sides back to the military encampment. 「I think I'll be tailing our master after all.」
「What are you saying, Rowan senpai?」Ryuu had already gotten used to adding suffixes even without the presence of the hybrid. 「Master specifically asked us to stay here and protect Yllaner sama.」
「But I just can't shake this feeling that something is going to happen to our Master… I know he's only going to confront Desmond but somehow, it just doesn't feel right.」Rowan stopped short of airing his suspicions about Ryan's behaviour since it's something that the healer did not want to admit to himself. 「... And I don't mean any disrespect to Yllaner sama but even if Kibadios sama did ask us to stay here to protect the Princess, for me there is still nothing that's more important than his safety. If I'm with him and anything were to happen, at least I know I can completely heal him back to health right away with <Flame of Restoration>… 」
Ryuu and Maia turned to one another and shared an understanding look before turning back to Rowan. 「If that's what you feel...」
「Then just go, Senpai. Given your skill, I do feel better knowing you're with him.」Ryuu grinned before flexing his muscle.「Besides, with I'm here guarding the Princess, no one would be able to harm her.」
「Chiii!」Nu was excitingly jumping up and down as if it, too, was agreeing with Rowan trailing behind Kibadios.
「Then I'll leave the Princess to you guys.」Rowan nodded. 「And you too, Nu. Make sure you listen to Maia chan and Ryuu chan, okay?」
「Chii!」
「Rowan kun.」a voice called out to the healer from behind the tree. 「If you're going after Kibadios, then take my elk. No other animal can gallop through this dense wood as fast as he can.」
「「「Princess Yllaner!」」」All three were surprised as she simply smiled at them.
「Princess Yllaner… How long have you been here?」Rowan freaked out. He did not say anything offensive to the elven princess but he would still rather she did not hear what he just said.
「Dont worry, Rowan kun.」Yllaner dismissed the healer's concerns.「You only spoke of how you feel and it's only natural that to you, Kibadios' safety is of the paramount concern. Truthfully, I also feel some uncertainty about Kibadios leaving with Ryan. That's why I came here to see him off. Too bad I missed him.」
「What do you mean uncertainty?」asked Ryuu.
「... It just seems too convenience.」Yllaner's troubling face somewhat unnerved the three and even Nu. 「Why suddenly this monk, who Kibadios and Ryan have been chasing after, would show up during our elven conflict? Because of me, Kibadios had to leave you guys here to ensure my safety instead of taking you all with him… I just feel as if someone is trying to lure him away. I hope this is just me being paranoid. But of course, Rowan-kun, if you want to go after Kibadios, you have my full support.」
「Thank you, Yllaner sama!」bowed the healer. 「I promise to come back with Master as soon as we have taken care of Desmond.」
「That's good! And don't worry about this elk. Once you have catched up with Kibadios, if you just release him, he will have a way to find his way back to me.」
Rowan soon said goodbye to the princess and the others before hopping onto the elk's back and galloping straight into the deep dark forest. Since he knew how to ride a horse before, riding the Princess' elk was not too different. The trick, he learned after a while, was simply letting the animal choose its path through the thick wood instead of actively controlling it through the harness. Still, despite being recommended by the Princess as the fastest riding option, Rowan knew that its pace was nowhere near the hybrid, who could easily leap from branch to branch with his shadow claws while carrying Yuusei. Although the hero could not replicate such moves, his incredible inherent amount of Nen ( So I have finally decided to switch calling Haki to Nen. I have always wanted to use "Nen," and my description of "Haki" back in beginning of vol 2 was even based on how "Nen" was kinda described "Since it was literally the life force of a person, everytime a person concentrated on their work, they used some of their Haki: from cooking, singing, sculpting… Haki was ubiquitous, whether the users were aware of it or not." So yes, "Haki" → "Nen" from now on.) , along with strenuous daily practice, granted the young hero an incredible agility that allowed him to keep up with his master without breaking a sweat. The only way for the healer to catch up with his master would be to opt out of taking any break in order to close the distance.
「I'm sorry. I know you'll be very tired once we catch up to those three but I can't afford to stop and rest.」Rowan petted the elk. 「At this rate, we probably will reach them by the end of the day. Try your best, okay, Elk-san?」
… It's not just me. Rowan thought to himself as he raced forward. Even the Princess has a bad feeling about this. 「If I ever betray Kibadios sama and stand against him, please deal with me. Kill me if you must. No matter what, I don't want to cause our master any trouble.」 The healer shook his head, trying to discard his bad thoughts from his mind. Why did I suddenly remember what Ryan asked of me back in the Ryuujin Cave?... Please… Rowan clenched his chest, dreaded the small chance that his suspicion would be proven correct.
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With the sun starting to descend beyond the horizon, Kibadios finally decided to call it a day and camp out for the night. According to the Princess' intelligence, his group should not have been too far away from where the Skyer's army, and by extension, Desmond, would be resting. Because there were only merely 70 miles separating him and Desmond, Kibadios knew tomorrow would be the day he got to fulfill his promise to the nagging elven archer living inside him, once and for all.
「... Just like the Princess told us, we had reached the river, then traveled upstream, going past the extremely strong current section of the river for about 5 miles. If her intuition is correct, which I assume it is since it's Yllaner we're talking about, then the army of which Desmond is attached to should be a little bit more than 60 miles upstream.」concluded Kibadios trying to look into the far off distance. In this part of the forest, there were much fewer trees than in other areas, yet, it was still impossible for the hybrid to detect any presence of an army in the direction he was looking at.
「It's good that we have this river to mark our destination. Without this natural marker on the map, I think we would have been lost.」smiled Ryan.
「You're right. 」Kibadios agreed. He had never been too great with direction, especially when he was in a vast forest like this. 「Anyways, let's split our chore for tonight. I'll get the fire going near the small hill over there and then gather some mushrooms. Yuusei, why don't you hunt something for us to eat for tonight? And Ryan, you can go fetch some water.」
「Sure, Master.」Replied Ryan, while Yuusei simply nodded.
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「Adela sama, the trap to lure Kibadios that you were talking about was Desmond?」Ryan's hand clenched into a fist, his eyes were filled with anger as he met up with Adela at a cliff next to the river.
「Yes.」Grinned the Astral. Just like she had commanded, Ryan had made sure to rendezvous with her one last time to ensure the operation to seal Kibadios' summoning skill would go smoothly tomorrow. Of course, before this, Adela had not told the hero of what "bait" she had prepared, but the moment Ryan heard of Desmond's presence, he knew without doubt the man was the "bait" that Adela had prepared. 「After I heard about your tragic story, I also wanted to hunt down the twisted man that betrayed your party. Though the moment I found him, I realized that instead of me ending his life right then, I can use him to attract Zaeryn's attention since the hybrid pretended to profess that he would take revenge for your friend, Reuk. Pitting Zaeryn against Desmond, then we will swoop in and deal with him the moment he least expects. It's just killing 2 birds with one stone.」
「... Thank you, Adela sama, for tracking down Desmond. I thought I could never find him again after failing to catch him back in Lorian.」Ryan bowed deeply at the Astral.
「Don't worry about it.」Adela waved her hand dismissively. 「By tomorrow, you'll get your revenge on both Desmond and Kibadios. But remember, you should stay some distance away from the hybrid and have to quickly erect the barrier to seal off his ability to summon HaoS and other spirits at my signal, understand? Have you been practicing it?」
「Yes, Adela sama.」Ryan nodded. 「Since I was corrupted by that demihuman, my affinity for Holy element was reduced, but I guarantee you, I can maintain the barrier you taught me for more than an hour now.」
「Good, good. Then let's talk about the details of the operation...」Adela grinned, though it quickly vanished as she noticed a rustling sound approaching.
「Ryan chan! What are you doing with her?」A familiar voice called out to the hero from the wood.
「Ro… Rowan?」Ryan's eyes widened, his whole body froze in shock as he saw the worn out healer emerged. 「You're… you're not supposed to be here.」
「Answer me, Ryan. Why that despicable Astral is with you?」Unlike Ryan, Rowan's glaring eyes held an unwavering conviction. Having spent intimate time with the hero for months, the healer could honestly admit that he loved Ryan just as much as he loved Maia. The hero was part of his "family", of whom he would gladly die for. Yet, at this moment, his usual calm and caring demeanor had completely vanished, to be replaced with a burning rage, for he realized the hero had betrayed his trust. Worst of all, the hero had betrayed their master.
「Ho? Despicable?」Adela was amused but before she could react, Rowan quickly boxed her within his invisible barriers. The healer knew he was dealing with an Astral so he could not afford to miss any opportunity to attack.
「Please listen to me, Rowan.」Ryan pleaded.「Stop attacking Adela sama! Kibadios is tricking you. Please, cooperate with us...」
「Shut up, Ryan!」Rowan screamed as his eyes welled up, knowing that he had lost the hero that he once loved.「I will deal with you after her!」He was no fighter so he knew that the only way for him to come out of his situation alive was to take the initiative and strike the Astral before she could attack. He had already boxed her in his barrier and the next step would be to press them together and crush her like the Priestess crushed the Goblin Lord from Goblin Slayer.
「Deal with him later? Hahaha」Adela laughed maniacally.「How can you deal with him later when you'll be dead?」The Astral slammed both her hands onto the side barriers, as if she was Whitebeard performing the ability of the Gura Gura no Mi. Though just like how the fictional pirate was able to crack the space around him, large cracks began to form on Rowan's barriers before it shattered into pieces, letting her free.
「Shit.」Rowan clicked his tongue.
「Let me play with you a bit, you lowlife!」Adela sprung forward, her Nen had concentrated around her hands and formed two sharp, invisible blades. Had Rowan still been a simple villager like he was half a year ago, his head would have been detached from his body right there. Yet, having been trained with Kibadios, the healer was able to swiftly dodged the Astral's attack, though in no time, he had already been pushed to his limit.
「Please, Adela sama! Please stop!」Ryan called out. 「I can convert him to help us. He's only a victim of that hybrid.」
「Don't be naive, Ryan chan. He's been corrupted completely. If you let him live, he'll alert the hybrid of our plan…. Got you!」Adela thrusted her hand forward, aiming for the healer's heart the moment he intentionally left her an opening for an attack.
「Please!」Ryan quickly jumped in front of Rowan, blocking the Astral's lethal strike, irritating the woman. 「We can restrain him.」
「Ryan, how can you not trust our master?」Seeing that the hero was still caring for his safety, Rowan was hopeful he could convince and stop the hero from betraying the hybrid. 「She's clearly using you, Ryan chan!」
「It's my order as an Astral, kill him now.」Adela was tired of this charade.
「... Yes, Adela sama」Resigned Ryan. The hero quickly turned around, his killing intent was clear to Rowan, who instinctively jumped back to create some distance. Though, he quickly realized there was no more ground behind him but a deep raging river current.
「I'm sorry, Rowan.」muttered Ryan. 「... you can curse me in your death, but there's nothing I can do.」Catching the healer off guard, who was still trying to maintain his balance after being cornered, the hero quickly slashed his loving companions at lightning speed.
「Ry...an...」After a brief second of disbelief, Rowan soon registered the attack. Pain numbed his body while his blood splattered onto the ground before he tumbled and fell down onto the river. 「...Master...」
「... Although I hope that day will never come, I will still make sure to stop you if your blade ever turns toward Kibadios sama… 」I'm sorry, Ryan chan. I'm simply too weak to fulfill my promise to you…
Ryan stood frozen at the edge of the cliff, looking after the disappearing body of Rowan as the raging current quickly buried and washed away both the teenager and his crimson blood trail in mere seconds. As his mind was still processing what had just happened, he soon felt an arm wrapped around his shoulder.
「Aww, I know you want to save that pathetic human being...」Adela spoke in a condescending tone, 「 but like I said, he has already been fully corrupted by the hybrid. Lose those sorrowful eyes of yours. It's not your fault. If you want to blame someone, it'd be Zaeryn. It's that hybrid's fault for corrupting that once innocent soul.」
「... You're… ri...right… Adela… sama.」
「Now, let's forget this little incidence and talk about the details of tomorrow's mission.」Adela coldly smiled. 「...Now think about it, it is indeed unfortunate that the healer's body was lost. I would have like to cut off his head and taunt Zaeryn tomorrow with it.」
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「Ryan chan!」Kibadios called out the moment he saw his slave.「What took you so long? Yuusei caught us two whole rabbits… and a large lizard… I think I'll call dib on the rabbit.」
「Lizard tasty.」recommended Yuusei, though Kibadios still gave the boy that Fry's "Not sure if…" look since the hybrid was still debating whether to believe in the boy's claim or not.
「I'm sorry, Master.」Ryan held out the water bucket he had gathered, though his hand was shaking. In fact, his whole body was trembling.
「What's wrong?」Kibadios stared at the hero.
「No… Nothing.」answered Ryan. 「I think it's just a bit chilly.」
「... Really?」Kibadios was doubtful since with Ryan's Nen, he could easily buffer his body from the cold. 「... or are you worried about tomorrow?」
「Tomorrow?」
「Don't worry about it. We will just swoop in, take care of business, then leave. By the end of it all, Desmond probably would wish he had never been born.」Kibadios turned to Yuusei. 「Right?」
Though not fully knowing what he was talking about, the mutant hybrid simply nodded to his master's question.
「Well, let's have dinner then sleep early tonight…」Since Ryan was still slightly trembling, Kibadios decided to tease the hero.「Spooning only, okay? Since it's a big day tomorrow, I don't want you to wake up feeling exhausted after being fucked by me all night long.」
「... Thank you, Kibadios sama.」The hero tried to discreetly avert the hybrid's gaze.
