Finally Back

After catching sight of Soul's mask, the man took a sizable step backward, his eyes widening with terror and his hands trembling uncontrollably. For a moment, he seemed frozen in place, unable to move or utter a single word. Then, suddenly, he turned on his heel, seized the silver-haired woman by her chains, and shoved her in front of him, positioning her as a shield while he remained safely behind.

"What are you waiting for?" he snarled, a twisted smile appearing on his face. "Attack, you bitch!"

The silver-haired woman's eyes momentarily flashed purple. "I-I'm sorry..." she stammered, her voice barely audible. Then, her eyes returned to their original color. "I'm sorry..." she repeated softly, before conjuring a dagger made of her own blood and launching herself at Soul.

Soul anticipated that she would close in for an attack, but instead, she hurled the dagger, causing a small cut on his shoulder. As the blood began to seep from his wound, the woman extended her palm, drawing Soul's blood toward her with dark red tendrils. In response, Soul also opened his palm, commanding his blood to return to him through his wounds.

"When I was locked away, I used my blood magic nonstop, day and night, out of boredom. I had nothing else to do," Soul said in a dull voice. "You can't defeat me. The blood obeys my commands."

"I don't want to hurt anymore, please…" the woman pleaded, a tear slipping from her eye. "Please…"

"Attack, ya whore! Attack!" The man yelled.

Soul looked upwards, his hands moving in opposing directions as if grappling with an unseen force. After a fierce struggle, a rift tore open in the sky, revealing a dark void beyond. From the depths of that void, a grotesque creature showed itself, its form gradually becoming visible against the inky blackness.

Covered in countless eyes, each one twitching in every direction, the creature that looked like an octopus roared. Its thick tentacles snaked out from the rift, causing the ground to tremble beneath their weight.

Soul then focused his energy once more, casting another spell. A barrier formed around the area, cloaking the rift and the creature from any outside view. To anyone beyond its perimeter, the night remained eerily calm, the monstrous creature hidden from prying eyes.

"V-void." one of the men exclaimed. "That's the Void! Gods, help me!"

"No!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" the man who was controlling the silver-haired woman gulped. "P-protect us while we run away! Do as I say!"

"As – you wish." she said, opening a cut in her palm, getting ready to make a move.

Soul drew enough blood from the woman's open wound to get her on the ground. She attempted to control her blood, but it refused to obey her commands.

As the men scrambled to escape, Soul created another rift, effectively blocking their path. Seeing their route cut off, they changed direction, only to find Soul conjuring yet another rift. With each attempt to flee met with the creation of more long and horizontal rifts, panic spread among them, realizing they were boxed in, nowhere to run.

Within these rifts, humanoid figures emerged. At first glance, they appeared perfectly ordinary, but upon closer inspection, unsettling abnormalities became apparent. Their features seemed to warp and shift when not directly observed; like, with one eye appearing larger than the other, mouths disappearing, and necks twisting unnaturally. Teeth replaced eyes, and eyes morphed into gaping maws. However, when viewed directly, they appeared as regular individuals, blending seamlessly into the crowd.

A tentacle descended from above, its weight crushing all the men who had been watching Soul and the silver-haired girl. The man who had been controlling the woman fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground in submission.

"P-please spare m…"

One of the humanoid figures placed its hand on the scum's head and pulled it back. The head detached along with the rest of its skeletal structure, as if it were a puzzle piece.

"Borg nith zan, Nalothar?" the figure uttered in a guttural, otherworldly tongue.

"Yorith. Ghoron kithar." Soul commanded in the same arcane language.

The figure bowed his head down and turned back.

The tentacles withdrew, and all the figures vanished along with the rifts in a blink, returning everything to normal.

"Now that they are gone – what should I do with you?" Soul crouched beside the silver-haired woman. "What's your name?"

"Just kill me," the woman cried. "They made me kill hundreds of people. Children, men, women, animals... it didn't matter to them."

"Hmm."

"Please..." She covered her face with her hands. She was ashamed of herself. "I'm a monster."

Soul's half-open eyes watched as the woman cried. This feeling was familiar to him – being branded a monster for things beyond his control.

Ayame put one knee down and let out a sigh. They were just outside of Quarry, a muddy part of the forest where lots of trees were cut down.

"That took so much out of me," Ayame said between breaths. "Gods –"

"Uh..." Esvor looked around. "Where's Soul?"

"What?" Ayame got to her feet and turned in a full circle. "Oh no. No – I couldn't teleport him. I must've not put enough mana into the spell. Oh, gods. No!"

"I should go back!" The Rebel-King said. "He won't make it out alive."

"I'll come with you, King."

"No!" he yelled. "Losing one student on my watch is enough. You head back."

"I can fight! I'm in A-Class!" Ayame refused. "Whether or not I will come. Don't forget, you are not a King yet. You can't give me orders."

"You –" He clenched his jaw. "You are... ugh, fine. Come on, let's go."

They both started running toward Quarry. The night was pitch-black, the only source of light being Ayame's weak fire spell in her palm. The flame flickered and threatened to go out as she ran at full speed. Esvor followed close behind, sword in one hand and the other hand securing the potions in his pouch, ensuring they wouldn't fall out.

They took a sharp turn in the woods and nearly stepped into a deep mud pit. At the last second, Ayame's flickering fire spell illuminated the treacherous ground, allowing them to leap over it just in time.

After five minutes of running, they finally reached Quarry. And for some reason, everything was quiet.

"Soul!" Ayame whispered. "Where are you?"

"Let's check the ship house we hid in," Esvor suggested. "Follow me."

"Okay."

They both entered the ship house where they had been teleported. Ayame used a fire spell, illuminating the room.

"Finally back," Soul said with a dull voice from the shadows. "I thought you'd left me behind."

"Oh – thank gods you are alive," Ayame said, her voice trembling with relief. "I'm so, so, so sorry. I thought I'd put enough mana to teleport us all out of here, but I was wrong. Please forgive me."

"Where did the blood mage go? Did you see her?" Esvor looked through the window. "Are they gone?"

"I didn't see, King. I was hiding," Soul lied.

"Wait –" Ayame's eyes narrowed as she scanned the sky. "Do you see that faint shimmer in the air? Someone cast a barrier spell to cloak this area."

"How can you tell?" asked Esvor.

"Look at the way the light bends slightly at that part, can you see it? The spell is gone now, but its remnants are still visible."

Ayame gave Soul a side-eye. Her regret over not putting enough mana into the teleportation spell was completely gone now.

"This wasn't here before." Ayame said. "Are you sure you didn't see anything, Soul?"

"I was hiding like a coward. Nearly crapped my pants," he said, his voice as boring as ever. "I'm sorry, but like I told you already, I didn't see anything."

"Hmm…" She locked eyes with him. "Is that so…"