BaneOf12: Thank you! I don't really know much about Attack on Titan, but I'll do my best.
Chapter ten: The chase
Evening
"Time to go," Ari said as she watched the sun go behind another group of mountains in the far distance. She looked at Andr, who quickly teleported away to inform the others. She reappeared with Cupa mere seconds later.
"The others are coming," Cupa said.
Ari gave a nod. "Good." She paused. "How's Jack holding up?"
Cupa sighed. "Athena still doesn't trust him. Not completely, anyway."
Andr frowned. "What? Why not?"
"Reasons."
"Yeah…" Ari hesitantly said. "Look, I know we may seem paranoid here, but we just…don't want to take too many risks."
"I understand that," Cupa said. "Andr and I have been running from humans for a long time too. Besides, if you really were that paranoid, you wouldn't have wanted to take him with us to the Realm." Her shoulders dropped. "I just don't like seeing him getting a prisoner's treatment, I guess. It's bad enough that I've been guilty of that myself…"
"We already talked about that," a male voice cut in. "Don't worry about it. Let's just go. We have somewhere to be."
Jack walked out of the cave and passed the three mobs with his hands on his back, followed by the others. Several of them were carrying bags with supplies.
The trip to the Realm finally began.
A few hours later
"Sir," one of the four present Glassway mob hunters said to Raulyn, who was in a crouched position near a tree at the edge of the Silent Forest, "me and my men are reporting for duty."
Raulyn did not immediately look up, instead examining the group of footprints he had found on the ground. They were headed towards a collection of mountains in the distance. He looked over the flat area between him and said mountains, absentmindedly scratching in the dirt with his dagger as he wondered how many mobs Jack was currently accompanied by.
He sighed, stood up, put the dagger in the small scabbard on his lower leg and faced the mob hunter who had spoken. A man in his early thirties nervously looked back.
Raulyn examined him. "You are late," he flatly said.
Despite being older than Raulyn, the unnamed mob hunter swallowed. The Hunters from Ironhand were known and respected across the Overworld, and Raulyn had made a name for himself as a potential leader. And even now that his comrades were dead, he still radiated that authority.
"I am sorry, sir," the mob hunter apologized. "Our recruits, the ones who fought the mobs here, still had information to share with us."
"What kind of information?"
"At least one of the mobs is a teleporter. Also, one of the two humans of the group may have some one-on-one combat skill. We may have a disadvantage, depending on how many mobs are present—and how powerful they are." The man hesitated. "Sir, are you certain this is a good plan?"
Raulyn looked him directly in the eye. "You are scared of a disadvantage? Is that not what humans always have when fighting mobs?"
The man said nothing.
"What are your names?" Raulyn eventually asked the group. "And your ranks?"
Night
The atmosphere among the group members was tense as they nervously followed Mystia's directions to the Fallen Realm. Other than the witch telling them where to go, few conversations were held. Jack could tell that the silence wasn't connected to any sort of distrust, though; they were simply afraid of being found by humans.
As he absently glanced to the small forest in the near distance to his left, he realized that he was afraid as well. Somehow, even though it made little sense, he felt like the Hunters could appear here at any moment. He allowed a single, humorless chuckle to escape with that thought. If Drake, Tristan and Raulyn would actually show up, it'd make for a pretty…awkward reunion.
There was little evidence that anyone actually found the mineshaft in the first place, though. Maybe leaving the cave system could be considered being paranoid. They were afraid of being tracked via their footprints, yet none of them made any effort to erase the ones they were leaving now. But if this Fallen Realm really existed, and if they were really going to find it, maybe the mobs could settle there permanently.
And, while it sounded far-fetched, it might even hold some answers about how to send Jack back home.
In any case, the mobs would be safe. It had been said that a very specific map was needed to go in and out of the Realm, so the humans probably wouldn't pose much of a threat to them.
After several hours of walking—and occasionally stopping for food—Mystia spoke up. "We're almost there. You see that mountain up ahead? That's where we need to go now."
The others looked up and saw the silhouette of the mountain the witch meant, the light of the moon and the surrounding stars making it visible. It was huge—a trait that could not be missed, even from this distance. The flat summit looked more like a plateau. Could the capital have existed on top of the mountain…?
An approaching sound from behind them suddenly reached their ears, making them turn around. In the distance, a group of people on horseback could be seen, approaching the group with high speed. The light of their glowstone lamps revealed five individuals.
"A-are those…?!" Andr said.
"Run!" Athena ordered.
She didn't need to repeat herself for the others to obey.
After having tracked more footprints from the cave near the Silent Forest, Raulyn and the four mob hunters from Glassway had begun to follow them without losing the trail. For a while, nothing had turned up, and the horses seemed to be growing tired. However, when Raulyn's sharp eyes had sighted the group in the night, he knew that they were not too late.
Now they were closing in on their targets. Raulyn had not expected the group to be so large, but requesting more soldiers was not an option; he could not afford to waste more time.
When the distance between the mob hunters and their targets had been reduced sufficiently, Raulyn drew his sword and spurred his horse to gain more speed. He looked over the group of mobs.
He heard a few yells erupt from one of the mobs. As a response, the group suddenly split into three smaller versions of itself, running in separate directions. Some ran towards large rocks for cover. Others ran for the small forest to their left.
Raulyn had expected this. Thinking quickly, he glanced over to his right, where Bernard—the highest ranking mob hunter he had spoken to this evening—and Grayson matched his speed.
"You two!" he barked. "Go after those over there!" He pointed to a group of four mobs, who were heading for a nearby rock to take cover behind.
Bernard, despite his obvious nervousness, nodded and signaled for Grayson to go where Raulyn had pointed him to.
Raulyn turned to the hunters to his left. "Sigurd! Arthur! You go follow that trio that is heading for the woods!" The trio consisted of one human—not Jack; it had to be the Glassway hunters' target—and two green mobs.
Raulyn turned his gaze to where the third part of the group had gone, and he was just about to pursue them, only for something to catch his eye. He looked over.
It was then that he realized that he had made a mistake.
The group had not split into three parts, but four.
The fourth group consisted of two males. One of them was slightly younger than Raulyn. He wore moblike clothing, but he was definitely human.
Even from this distance, even in this darkness, Raulyn recognized Jack.
Immediately forgetting about the mob trio he originally intended to go after, Raulyn spurred his horse again and headed for Jack, who was running towards the forest. The mob alongside him was significantly smaller, but somehow still managed to match Jack's running speed.
The duo reached the forest before Raulyn reached them, but the Hunter was not going to stop. He had to kill Snyder. That was his main objective. It was more important than killing any mob.
Just outside the forest, Raulyn practically jumped from his horse.
The sound of his targets' running footsteps had ceased, but Raulyn knew they were still close. They were in hiding. Raulyn needed to be cautious; if he were ambushed by Snyder or the mob from behind a tree, it would be over.
Horrified, Andr looked to the Hunters from behind a rock. Next to her sat Cupa and Cassandra.
Athena and Ari were running away. Athena occasionally shot an arrow at the two mob hunters they were being chased by, trying to keep Gelli and Sylvia as safe as possible. Her aim was good, but the mob hunters made sure to keep their distance, and they were competent enough to make their horses jump out of the way whenever an arrow was fired.
Mystia was doing even worse; she had to protect both Ellie and Kelly from two hunters. Those hunters had gotten off their horses and were now threateningly approaching the witch, who had ordered the young slime girls to take cover in the forest. After that, she had started to threaten the hunters with some kind of potion in her hands.
For some reason, the last mob hunter hadn't come for Andr, Cupa and Cassandra, instead having entered the small forest. Apparently, his horse had run away, as it was nowhere to be seen.
"Why didn't you do anything?" Cassandra hissed to Andr. Andr looked at her, half ashamed and half afraid.
"Even with Andr's powers," Cupa said, "humans with horses are notably more difficult to fight. Especially if they're trained mob hunters."
Cassandra glanced at her before turning to Andr again, her glare having sharpened. "And what about now? Most of 'em have gotten off their horses. We have to help the others! Now!"
"Teleporting to Mystia will definitely startle her, and she'll drop that potion," Cupa said. "What if that kills her?"
"Help Ari and Athena!" Cassandra commanded. "I'll take care of Mystia."
Cupa looked to Andr. "Andr? You can take those horsemen from behind, right?"
Andr nodded.
Then, she vanished in a purple flash of light.
Jack stood still as a statue.
The sounds of running horses soon stopped existing for him. Yells and barks were still heard, mostly from just outside the small forest. None of the voices belonged to Raulyn.
When Jack saw that the Hunter was heading for him and Yaebi, he had ordered the zombie boy to take cover. Jack had found his own hiding spot behind a nearby tree. All he could do after that was wait.
He looked to Yaebi, who was hidden behind a large rock a few meters away. Yaebi looked back, frightened, shaking ever so slightly. Jack put his finger to his lips, silently telling the boy to be quiet.
Taking a quick glance around, Jack saw nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, he barely saw anything at all; the moon was very bright, but the shadows of the surrounding trees largely negated that.
He felt more nervous than ever before. Raulyn was practically the leader of the Hunters; there was probably a reason why people regarded him that way. Jack wouldn't be surprised if the sonofabitch knew a thing or two about stealth—
Light.
Jack's eyes widened. That light…he'd seen that before. Numerous times, in fact. It was the kind of light a glowstone lamp emanated.
And its source was somewhere on the other side of the tree Jack was hiding behind.
Jack held his breath.
The light source came closer. He heard footsteps.
But something wasn't right. Those footsteps—which were largely muffled by the grass—didn't belong to a human.
They belonged to a horse.
Jack saw something move in the corner of his eye.
Something gleamed in the darkness.
Jack dived to the side, barely dodging the strike of a bladed weapon. As the weapon impacted the tree, Jack quickly got back on his feet to face whoever stood there.
Raulyn coldly glared back, yanking his sword out of the tree's trunk. Jack saw the horse—which was carrying the glowstone lamp—flinch, but it didn't run away. Raulyn must've used it as a distraction while he himself snuck up on Jack from behind.
Raulyn lowered his sword, stepping forward. "You have been causing a lot of havoc, Snyder," the Hunter said as Jack backed up. "Where is the mob?"
Yaebi. "I don't know what you're talking about," Jack said, maybe a second too late.
Raulyn's eyes narrowed. "Do you know what it means to become a Hunter? Do you know what you threw away when you betrayed us? What do you think you could have achieved if you had stayed on our side?"
"Nothing worth achieving," Jack spat. "I was never interested in joining a hate group in the first place!"
"How dare you call us a hate group!" Raulyn snarled. "You believe you are some kind of hero? Your actions have brought nothing but suffering to Ironhand."
"Ironhand? What about the mobs? They're the victims here!"
"Enough!" Raulyn raised his sword again, holding it with both hands. "I will not let you get away with this!"
Jack grimaced. He defensively held his hands in front of him, despite knowing that his lack of weaponry was his disadvantage.
Something shuffled to Jack's left. He and Raulyn both looked over.
In the light of the lamp Raulyn's horse carried, a silhouette of a small object flying through the air was visible. It was heading straight for Raulyn's head.
Raulyn saw it too, and he moved out of the way on the last second. The rock missed and fell on the ground next to him. He looked to where it had come from.
Yaebi stood there, mere meters to Jack's left. Another rock was visible in his hand.
"Stay back!" Mystia warned, holding a harming potion in front of her. "I'll drop this thing, I swear!"
The two mob hunters in front of her were holding their weapons threateningly. The distance between them and Mystia was a little smaller than she'd wanted. Not that she had the right to complain; at least Ellie and Kelly were out of here, and that's all she could hope for. She'd gladly risk her own life if it meant keeping the two girls safe.
"The grass won't save you!" Mystia said, not certain if that was true. "This little bottle is fragile."
The hunters looked at her doubtfully. They didn't seem too sure if Mystia was bluffing or not. Regardless, if she were to drop the potion now, the hunters might still be able to jump back and evade its effects. Then again, if they came close enough to stab her, they'd be able to keep the potion from falling at all.
Either way, Mystia was probably dead.
Or not.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a small silhouette sneak up on the two hunters from behind. The light of the lamps on the hunters' belts soon revealed Cassandra.
Even farther away, a few faint purple flashes were visible. They weren't bright and seemed to produce little to no sound from this distance, so the hunters didn't notice it. They kept their gazes on the witch.
Suddenly, Cassandra leaped towards one of the hunters and bit him in the neck with her sharp teeth. The hunter screamed and tried to hit the girl, but she jumped back on the ground before he could do so.
The hunter staggered, dropped to his knees and fell face-first to the ground. Meanwhile, his colleague had unthinkingly turned to Cassandra.
Using that, Mystia's empty hand went into her bag. She swiftly grabbed a glass bottle and threw it to the hunter's head, right when the man turned back to her. The bottle—which was notably larger and heavier than the one that contained the harming potion—hit him square in the face without shattering.
The dazed hunter was unable to stop Cassandra from biting an unarmored part of his arm. Soon after that, he fell over.
Mystia looked to Cassandra, frowning. "What are you," the witch asked, "a vampire?"
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Remember what I said I'd do to you if you tried anything?"
"Right. You'd pour poison into my bloodstream." Mystia doubtfully looked down at the hunters.
"They'll live," Cassandra said. "I don't know if they deserve it, but I'm not going to put any more poison in them. Not while they're asleep. You're welcome, by the way."
"Uh, right. Thanks. Anyway, we should regroup."
The next rock Yaebi threw didn't hit its target, either.
Using the distraction, Jack swiftly bent down and grabbed a long wooden stick from the ground—one of the few that lay around. He held the weapon in a defensive stance, hoping it'd be enough to help him defend himself.
Raulyn moved in for a strike. Jack redirected it with his makeshift staff weapon and tried to hit Raulyn's head with it, only for the Hunter to swiftly elbow Jack's stomach. Jack grunted and backed off.
Raulyn bent down slightly and tried to horizontally slice at Jack's legs with his sword. Jack quickly stabbed the lower end of his staff into the ground, blocking Raulyn's blade mid-slice. Raulyn grunted in surprise. Taking his chance, Jack grabbed the back of Raulyn's head and launched his knee against the Hunter's nose.
He tried to do it again, but Raulyn defensively put up his hand. It didn't stop Jack's attack completely, but it did soften the blow. The Hunter swiftly let go of his sword, grabbed the dagger from the scabbard on his lower leg and once again sliced at Jack's legs. Jack backed off—taking his makeshift staff weapon with him—but not before gaining a cut on his shin.
A relatively small but sharp rock grazed Raulyn's neck. Raulyn glared to Yaebi, who quickly took cover behind a thick tree. The Hunter grunted before picking up his sword again, facing Jack.
"We welcomed you," Raulyn whispered, sheathing the dagger. "We offered you a life. A place to stay until we were able to return you to your world. You threw it in our faces. Such arrogance you have…"
"Arrogance?" Jack echoed. "No. Just confidence."
"Confidence alone does not let you take advantage of someone's kindness."
"Confidence lets me stand up to assholes like you. You're just another bully I have to deal with."
"You are a fool."
"I'm not the one killing mobs for no reason."
"No—you are the one defending them."
Raulyn moved in again, attacking with a quick flurry of sword strikes. They weren't very powerful, but Jack had trouble keeping up with Raulyn's speed. Meanwhile, his wooden staff was slowly succumbing to the steel blade, and Jack had little doubt that it was going to break soon.
The strikes Jack couldn't block left small cuts on his skin. Jack himself continuously had to move backwards while Raulyn moved forward. The Hunter's flashing blade ceaselessly flew through the air, reflecting the light of the moon.
Jack felt that he was going to lose.
Then a rock hit Raulyn's head from behind.
The Hunter was dazed. The rock hadn't been too large, but it was enough to make him stop his attacks on Jack.
Jack took that chance to return the favor. He didn't have too much practice with any kind of weaponry, but his strength, speed and the little practice he did have turned out to be enough to give him sufficient control over the staff.
The staff hit the side of Raulyn's knee, causing the Hunter to stagger. The next attack grazed his head.
As Jack went on the offensive, swiftly dealing blows against his opponent, Raulyn did his best to block them all. Raulyn still had the advantage, as his armor and superior speed almost completely nullified Jack's attacks, but he was unable to keep the weapon from hitting his hip and his jaw a few times.
Eventually, however, he gained the upper hand once more. Jack swung the staff horizontally. He hit Raulyn's ribs, but the Hunter was able to grab the staff and yank it towards himself. Jack tried to hit Raulyn with the middle part of the staff, but was stopped when he felt something just above his leg.
He looked down to see Raulyn's sword through his abdomen.
The pain set in a moment later.
Jack cried out in agony and dropped to his knees, letting go of the staff. Raulyn threw the thing away.
Jack growled painfully. He looked at Raulyn's feet in front of him. The tip of the Hunter's blade was stained with blood. There was no doubt that Jack was about to die, either by his wound or by a sword to the neck.
"Stop!" a voice suddenly yelled. Both men looked to where it came from.
Yaebi fearfully looked back, completely frozen.
"RUN!" Jack screamed to the mob.
Raulyn glanced to Jack.
Then, he proceeded to walk towards Yaebi. His pace was calm and slow.
Jack growled again. "No…"
With the little strength he had left, he stood up. His hand was pressing down on the wound in his abdomen. He looked to Raulyn, who was still walking away.
Jack launched himself forward and grabbed Raulyn from behind. With one arm he tried to strangle Raulyn, while he used the other to hold the Hunter's sword arm at bay.
Raulyn grunted and tried to stab Jack, who, despite his weakened state, held Raulyn in a grip that was powerful enough to render the Hunter's attacks useless.
It was only when Raulyn managed to shove his elbow against Jack's stomach that Jack let go of him. Jack dropped to his knees once more. Raulyn kicked his temple.
Jack lost consciousness as he rolled on his back.
Raulyn turned back to Yaebi.
Behind the young mob, Raulyn's horse still stood, carrying the glowstone lamp. The light allowed him to see the second silhouette just behind the boy.
A silhouette with a bow.
Raulyn reflexively raised his sword with both hands, shattering the arrow that was heading for his shoulder in mid-air. His movements were a bit sloppy, his legs felt slightly weaker than usual. Jack had lost, but not without dealing some damage. Raulyn could still feel the pain from the blows he had taken to his knee, hip and jaw.
He could not defeat an archer now. In fact, he might not even survive at all.
With that in mind, he turned to Jack again and raised his sword, intending to have at least one kill today.
Something grabbed his arm from behind and dealt a swift punch against his spine. He grunted and whirled around, swinging his sword. He missed Ari, who jumped back, taking a taunting stance as she did.
A small bottle with a grayish fluid in it shattered against his skull. Briefly dazed, he looked to see Yaebi standing next to Mystia. The witch gave the boy an approving slap on the shoulder.
Raulyn turned to Ari and leaped towards her, but the weakness potion had done its work. The spider girl simply took a step backwards, leaving Raulyn to regain the balance he'd suddenly lost. His sword felt heavy in his hand.
A purple flash behind him. He didn't have enough time to turn around before something shoved him to the ground.
Raulyn was too weak to get up.
For the first time in years, the legendary Hunter—the face of Ironhand itself—had been defeated.
Immediately after Raulyn had been taken down, Ari and Cassandra approached him and took his weapons. With effort, Raulyn rolled on his back.
Andr kneeled down next to Jack and pressed her hand on the wound in his abdomen. She put her other hand on the human's neck, checking for a pulse.
He was alive.
Andr turned to Mystia. "Mystia…!" she cried, her voice shaking a bit.
"Coming," Mystia said.
Raulyn suddenly chuckled, drawing Ari's attention. She calmly walked over to the Hunter and crouched down next to him, holding a challenging look in her red eyes.
Raulyn looked at her, an insane grin on his face that really didn't suit him. "Heh…" he chuckled. "Fools."
"You mean your mob hunters?" Ari smirked. "I agree."
That only caused Raulyn's chuckling to intensify. "You cannot save Jack," he said. "You lack the strength…and so does he."
"Really?" Ari said, unimpressed, as some of the other mobs turned to look at the conversation. "You people always think it comes down to strength, do you? We just need a healing potion and we're done."
"I have no doubt that he will survive, should you still have need of him," Raulyn said, "but can you save him from himself? From the ever-growing shadow that inhabits him…until his spirit gets crushed under its weight?"
Ari frowned and tilted her head. "The ever—…what? What does that even mean? What's with the cryptic language all of a sudden?"
"Heh…" Raulyn chuckled again. "This is not his world. We are not his people…and neither are you. Heh…what did he leave behind? A family? Friends?"
Ari's challenging look turned into a confused one. A shocked one. "What? What do you mean, 'not his world'? What are you talking about?"
"Heh…ask Jack…if you want to know the truth."
Ari looked up at Athena, who stood on Raulyn's other side. Athena looked back. She didn't seem as surprised as Ari felt, but she certainly hadn't expected to hear anything like that.
Cupa and Andr shared a glance. Cassandra was shaking her head, frowning, trying—and, for the first time in a while, failing—to find words to say. Yaebi, Ellie and Sylvia were looking at everyone's faces in an attempt to find answers.
"What does that mean?" Kelly finally asked.
Ari glanced at her before looking to Jack. "It means Jack is going to have to explain some things when he wakes up."
