After learning the location of the house from the elders, William carried his rifle and went to the entrance. Lucie followed him from behind quietly. As William opened the door, she tugged his shirt from behind. William gave his sister one last look before parting ways. He flashed a smile to her as he ran out.
"Sis, I'm off."
"D-Do your best! I expect you t-to successfully succeed!"
Closing the door behind, he inhaled a bit before clapping his cheeks. 'Okay, time to become one with the wall.'
Running to shades after shades, he stealthily proceeded throughout the alley, slipping past the main Imperial units unnoticed. His steps were hasty and clumsy, but he managed to suppress any noise he could. Sometimes he encountered lone soldiers here and there, unaware of his presence. Whenever possible, he opted for a detour under the cover of darkness, not wanting his presence to be noticed. He just stood still and hide if no immediate escape was present.
Eventually reaching the main plaza, he ducked behind a flipped wagon, apparently realizing he wasn't too far from the spot where they left their horse. He peeked through the side of the wagon, noticing a brown tail wiggling wildly beside an alley, seemingly trying to break free from something. He approached the tail without much noises to meet an Imperial soldier pulling his horse away from the gunfight.
William grabbed a small debris of supposedly the destroyed windmill and threw it behind the soldier. Hearing the noise, he looked at the debris before realizing the presence of William behind him.
"I'm sorry." He knocked the soldier's head from behind. A perfect hit, as the soldier quickly went out cold but still breathing, thus releasing his grip from the horse.
The horse calmed down after seeing the sight of his previous rider. Glancing at the horse, William didn't find any injury around the body. Questioning this horse's luck, William jumped to the saddle. The horse neighed loudly when he felt weight upon his back.
"Take a deep breath, horsey. You will need it." said William as he lashed the horse, moving away from the scene.
They dashed through the back alley straight to another road. The wind was picking up its pace as he sped up. Before long, he could see a bunch of Imperial soldiers in the distance, cornering seemingly a small squad of town watch inside a house.
"Ready to rumble, speedy boy!?" William shouted to the horse. His four-legged company neighed back, hearing his master's order.
William pulled a knife from his pocket and tied it to his rifle, crafting a makeshift bayonet. He closed in against a sniper, stabbing straight into his heart. A score for William, and many more kills followed suit. He jumped from one soldier into another, blocking any retaliation from the unwary. The soldiers were now split into two, one fighting the town watch while another was in disarray from the ambush. Realizing their chance, the town watch went for the offensive, pushing back their opposition with ease thanks to the confusion. Eventually the remaining soldiers dispersed into the alleys, retreating from this side. Some of the town watch members followed them, while some cheered at William when he reached the house.
When they were close enough to the soldiers, he dashed in front one of them, leaving them in panic state as he tried to distract their attention. He jumped from one soldier into another, having no retaliation from the attacker. The soldiers were now split into two, one fighting the town watch while another was in disarray from the ambush.
Realizing their chance, the town watch went for the offensive, pushing back their opposition with ease thanks to the confusion. Realizing their defeat on this small skirmish, the remaining soldiers dispersed into alleys, retreating from the house. Some of the town watch members followed them, while some cheered at William when he parked the horse beside the house.
A town watch member approached William as he jumped down. His attire was a bit different than the rest of the squad, seemingly their leader. He raised his hand, saluting William. "We are in your debt. Your timing was perfect. What's your name, mister?" he said.
"Call me William, sir. If I may know, how well is our status right now?"
The captain shook his head. "Grim. We're losing foothold so fast, we can't even land a proper counterattack. We're trying our best to protect the civilian while they're running right now. What will you do- Hey! What are you doing!?" he shouted to William as he ran back to his horse.
William jumped to his horse, giving a salute to the captain. "No time to rest for this young soul, sir! I'm looking for a stranded civilian! I wish you luck!" he said as he dashed into an alley, leaving the captain dumbstruck.
He dashed faster and faster under the shade, leaving a trail of dust behind. Trying to remember the direction the elders gave him, he stopped when he found himself on a crossroad.
"Hmm, where was it again? Left... or right? Man, I should've brought a note or something with me," he muttered under his breath.
William was deep in thought when a grenade landed close to him. His eyes widened.
"Fuc-"
BOOM!
The explosion struck him hard, throwing him off from the saddle. Eyes went blurry, ears ringing hard, but he managed to stand up, albeit struggling. The rifle stayed still behind his back, still strapped perfectly from the explosion. He glanced over his horse, not moving on the ground. Seems he took the brunt of the explosion directly, as he could see parts of its intestines sprawled away. William's stomach convulsed when he saw this, but he noticed a flash over a window, finding a rifle pointed at him.
'Run.' His mind ordered his feet to move away before getting peppered by bullets. William barely escaped from the crossroad, but his attacker went after him. He tried to distance himself from his chaser, taking every corners he found along the way without knowing where he was going.
'One, two... no, three people.' His minds raced as he tried to count the amount of people chasing him by their footsteps. He could gamble his chances if there was only one, not three at once, not to mention he lost the element of surprise, like what her sister always said. A rifle against three, no saying either rifles or something worse. He could hear the steps getting closer as he starting to run out of breath.
His eyes noticed an open door around the next corner. Throwing himself inside, he glanced back at his chasers when the door was suddenly closed by someone he didn't see before. Seemed like he was waiting for William all along. The person immediately pushed a table to block the door, barring his attackers from entering the house.
William gathered his breath on the ground, unable to stand as his feet pulsed. He looked at his savior, an old man in his fifties. The sun reflected its ray to his hair, showing a dark blue hair.
"A Darcsen," William let out a single word. He instinctively moved away a little bit from the old man, astonished by the sight of the race humans hate the most. It was said that a calamity happened years ago because of Darcsen's race, at least that was what William learned. Time may have passed, but humans still remember. Resentment lingered still among the hearts of men and women alike. Darcsen were often subjects of discrimination around the society.
The old man grunted, offering his hand to William for him to stand up. "That how you express your gratitude, son?"
"Err, no, sir. I was merely surprised, that's all. No hard feelings, please," said William as he grabbed the old man's hand and stood up.
"Lucky you. I happen to notice that slight commotion you caused. Thought why not, a Darcsen helping the normal feels good sometimes, eh." He stroked his beard with a content look.
'Still, something feels off about this person,' William thought to himself. "W-Why are you still here, sir? I thought everyone was already on the move?"
"Son, I did! I did, but fate foretold my death sooner than expected. Was preparing to go, ye see, when the storm hits," he replied.
"Preparing, sir?" William recalled what the elders said. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but... I believe you have friends waiting for you?"
"What!? You know them!?" The old man jumped at William, looking both worried and happy at the same time.
"I... I met them before coming here. My sister's now leading them out from the combat zone."
"Oooh, praised be Valkyrur! I was worried if harm would befall to any of them because of my absence, ye know!? Finally, I can die in peace." He rubbed his hair while forcing a smile.
"I'm sorry, but did I mishear, kind sir? 'Die in peace'?" William couldn't believe what he said.
"Yes, son. I'm afraid a body as weak as mine could not handle series of running anymore. They will eventually come check and murder me, I assure you. Now come here, I'll show you somewhere to hide, and fast. Those Imps must be rather dimwitted if they couldn't figure a way to blow this door down." He immediately went to the back room, away from the door.
Clearly confused, William just followed along. "Sir, I... I was tasked by your friend to lead you out as well," William said, trying to match his speed with the old man.
"It was kind of them, I tell you, but my body would just drop dead before we reach the outskirt. I would just burden any normal people like you, son." The smile on his on his face lingered still, but more stiff this time.
"But, sir-"
The old man suddenly stopped on his track. They were standing in front of circular metal sheet lying on the floor in his kitchen.
The old man raised his hand toward William. "Quiet. Now please pull out this thing on the floor. It's too heavy for me to do it alone at this age."
Still questioning his motive, William raised the metal sheet, revealing a big hole inside. Nothing was inside, only bare ground at the height around William's. A manhole.
"Should be deep enough for you to hide inside. Back then I used this when those normals began their witch-hunting us Darcsen. Now, be free! Find your freedom!" The old man ushered as he waved his hand toward William who stood still, not moving an inch from his spot.
"I'm sorry if this sounds offensive, sir," William glared at him, "but are you crazy!? What you're saying was nothing but a complete nonsense!"
"...What now, a normal trying to assert his dominance over a weak Darcsen, even on moments like this. How classic." The old man's words sounded like a threat, but he slowly backed off against William.
"Sir, I'm here to help you! Saving you out of of this hellhole! Why don't you wanna be alive when I want to help!?"
"Because it's no use, you damned normal!"
The old man tried to raise his voice. "Us Darcsens are slaves in that eye of yours, right!? I could escape Bruhl if I want years ago, but humans will, and I tell you they definitely will, catch me once again with their judgement! I'm sick of it!"
"What are you talking about!? That's the furthest thing from my mind right now!" William now stood in front of him, his shoulder trembled a bit as he spoke.
"Lies! Your race are always a liar, no matter how long time went by! I noticed a slight hesitation in your face when I extended my hand before! I'm old enough not to be fooled!"
William finally reached his limit, unable to control his temper anymore. "Sir, what the hell!? I told you already that I was just surprised! Judge me all you want, but I bear no ill will against your kind! It's you who are judging me right now! Do you not realize that!? Not all humans hate you! I don't!"
"Lies-"
BOOM!
They heard an explosion from the front room. Seemed like the soldiers had finally realized a mere wooden door can be defeated by a single grenade. William and the old man obviously heard this too, as their faces went pale.
William tightened his grip on his rifle. "Get in, sir! I'll follow suit!"
"W-What do you mean!?" The old man stared at William, both scared and confused.
"Forgive me, but in you go!" William shoved the weary Darcsen to the hole, surprising him.
"Oof! What the-"
"Sir, give space! I can't fit in if you hide like that!" he said, looking at the old man body blocking every inch inside the hole.
"But-"
"Ah, fuck this."
Disregarding the old man, William jumped down to the hole, stomping the Darscen in the process, and moved the metal sheet back to its position. They could hear footsteps above them. William shoved his hand over the old man's mouth, muffling his voice in case he spoke once again.
After a while, the footsteps faded. William slowly pushed back the metal sheet out of his way, and indeed the coast was clear. Wary of any ambush, he immediately jumped out from the hole and raised his rifle. The Darcsen was gasping for air, trying to gather his breath after being suffocated for a period of time. William offered his hand to help him up from the hole, to which he reluctantly accepted. Back to the ground level, the old man spoke up.
"...Why?"
"Huh?"
"Pray tell, son... But why? Why did you save me too?"
William rolled his eyes as he wiped his sweat. "Sir, how many times should I tell you to earn your trust? I don't hate you. Sure, you are a Darcsen, but you are a human being as well. I believe we all stand equal, normal or Darcsen. The world may hate your kind, but there are those who appreciate you as who you are. Your friends, for starters."
"Humans, huh..."
"Sir, now let's be on our way, I don't want to stay here and die with regret," William closed the manhole cover back to its place before looking back at the old Darcsen before continuing,"and my name is Will. I forgot with the introduction thanks to all that ruckus," he said as he walked to the door, not wanting to waste more time.
The old man silently wiped off his tears and followed William from behind. "I'm coming, son. Call me Hardt."