Part Six

"In the name of Nagar…" Roen breathed. He rubbed a hand over his head nervously as he looked at the others. "Sloan Faakhir? We've trapped ourselves with the Sheikh's family?!"

"Who is Sloan Faakhir?" Surya asked. He still had his tri-nunchaku out and moved to stand beside the closed door.

"He's a monster," Felicity said. She flushed though and quickly looked at Ciana. "Uh…I-I mean…"

But Ciana didn't give any visible reaction to the insult against her father. Daunte looked away from her to look at Surya. He didn't know if he should be upfront about Sloan's true nature in front of Ciana, or if should keep quiet. After quietly debating it for a moment, he decided to speak up. "The man has ungodly physical strength, and from what I've seen his presence terrifies everybody around him. He…" his breath hitched for a moment before he continued. "He tried to kill me with his bare hands."

"Yeah," Roen admitted quietly. "He beat Daunte unconscious, and then just kept beating him and beating him. It was so frightening…he only stopped when another soldier interrupted him."

"Mr. Adalgiso?" Ciana asked.

"Who?" Felicity asked her.

"My father's second-in-command." Ciana's tone was still calm and she did nothing to try and deny the allegations against her father. Her expression was still blank.

"Y-Yes, that was him," Daunte confirmed. "Dr. Yulin told me such."

"I thought so," Ciana said. "Mr. Adalgiso always stands up to my father. And my father never punishes him for it." Her neutral tone dipped very slightly. Almost sounding…bitter.

"—understand what your situation is," Tidur said from downstairs. "But I no longer have association with that man. I must ask you to leave."

"My Lady, whatever your current situation is, you are still legally his wife," the soldier answered her. "And the Sheikh most urgently needs your help with this."

"Then why isn't he here?"

"The Sheikh is very busy, and—"

"Too busy to deliver an order to me in person?"

"We need to get out of here," Roen said, standing up from the bed. "If they catch us, then they'll kill us! Or they'll send us back to the Dark Chasm!"

"I'd rather die than go back there," Felicity said sharply. She rushed over to the dresser and grabbed her knife belt.

"What should we do about her?" Surya said, gesturing to Ciana. "She heard everything we said, so she knows the truth about us. She may tell them about us."

Ciana stared back at him. She said nothing to reassure him or confirm his suspicions. Daunte himself didn't know what the best option was.

"—you're assistance," the conversation continued downstairs. "Teenaged heretics are on the loose, my Lady. One of which has stolen something extremely valuable from the Grand Citadel itself! The High Clerics have offered a handsome reward for their capture, and we have heard that you took in some teenagers as guests yesterday. Please show us to their rooms."

"Get ready," Surya said. He left the door and checked out one of the beautiful windows in the room. "We'll have to make a jump for it."

"This is outrageous!" Felicity fumed. "Saying that we stole something from the Grand Citadel?!"

"Is that so?" Tidur answered from downstairs. "A teenager was able to breach the impregnable Grand Citadel to commit theft? That's truly a first, isn't it?"

"My Lady—"

"You are mistaken, sir. I harbor no heretics in my establishment. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"But my Lady—"

"I insist, sir."

"F-Forgive me for saying so, my Lady, but you don't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. This is a matter of national security. I'm afraid we're going to have to compel you to open your establishment to us and allow us to search."

"Daunte, we need to go!" Roen hissed at him. "And if we have to take Ciana along to protect us, then we might have to!"

"Daunte, we can't kidnap her!" Arin protested from the bed. "We'd be no better than the people who imprisoned us!"

"She heard where we came from and where we're going," Surya reminded them. "Even if she promises to keep quiet, I don't trust your government from trying to force a confession out of her. After all, the four of you were imprisoned for somebody else's crimes. I wouldn't put it past these soldiers to torture her into telling the truth."

"Daunte, what should we do?" Felicity asked. "We need to escape now, but do we take Ciana with us or not?"

Daunte looked at everyone wordlessly, ending with Ciana. The child's unmoving expression unsettled him. She wasn't crying or begging them. She wasn't screaming for help. She was simply watching them all as though she were completely detached from what was going on.

If we take her with us, then Tidur and Esther would never forgive us and I don't know what the Sheikh would do if he found out we kidnapped his daughter. But if we leave her here, then she might tell them everything. And even if she doesn't, they might force a confession out of her. What is the best option?

"Daunte we need a decision!" Roen hissed. "We're running out of time!"

"I need to think about this," Daunte said, glancing over his shoulder at him.

"Daunte—" Felicity began.

"—forget this, my Lady." They all stilled at this sudden outburst. "I must warn you that your refusal for cooperation will be reported to both the Grand Citadel and your husband."

"And I must warn you, good sir," Tidur replied coldly. "That if you come back here making demands of me, you had better go through the proper channels and have a search warrant. You have demonstrated to me that you do not have a search warrant, so you have no legal standing to come here and search my establishment. If you come back with a search warrant, then I will gladly open my doors to you. But until you do, your presence is a violation of Decree Four. Shall I recite it for you, sir?"

"That isn't necessary, my Lady. But—"

"Just leave!" Esther shouted with anger. "You broke our front door for no reason! Don't ever come back here again!"

"Why you cheeky—"

"Are you threatening my daughter, sir?" Daunte felt his pulse jump at the unexpected rage in Tidur's voice. "Are you threatening the daughter of a Sheikh?"

"Of course not, my Lady," another voice jumped in. "Please excuse our intrusion. But please be advised that we will report this, and we will come back with a search warrant."

Many footsteps retreated. Everyone throughout the room let out a collective sigh of relief, though there was still no time to relax.

They're going to come back, and soon.

"So I guess you guys don't need to kidnap me, then?" Ciana asked them.

Roen turned red and looked away. "Uh…"

There was a sudden knock at the door, startling all of them. "Excuse me, but may I come in?"

"S-Sure," Daunte called out. The door opened and Tidur and Esther came inside. Esther looked incredibly stressed, but Tidur was still wearing a smile. "I apologize for the commotion downstairs."

"They were going to kidnap me," Ciana told her.

The smile abruptly left Tidur's face. "Excuse me?"

Daunte knew he had a split decision to make. He could either fess up to what Ciana said, or deny everything. He saw that the other teenagers were clearly at a loss for words. Swallowing thickly, he made his decision. "I'm sorry, Ms. Tidur. She's telling the truth."

"I knew it!" Esther snapped. She rushed forward and grabbed her little sister. "You guys are fugitives!"

"We escaped from the Dark Chasm," Daunte confessed, keeping his eyes on Tidur. "We mean you no trouble, ma'am. We just want to get our lives back together."

"…I see," Tidur said after a long moment. She looked at each of them in turn. "I've never seen the Dark Chasm, but I've heard plenty of unpleasant stories. I'm sorry for everything you all have suffered."

"Thank you," Daunte said sincerely.

"But how could you conceive of holding my daughter hostage? I told you yesterday that whatever is going on in your lives is none of our business. So why couldn't you trust my word on the matter?"

Daunte hesitated, but he knew that since he was already being honest that he needed to continue being honest. "Y-Your husband, ma'am."

"Sloan?" Tidur looked surprised. "What does Sloan have to do with any of this?"

"Daddy tried to kill him," Ciana said, pointing to Daunte.

"W-What?!" Esther cried out. She looked aghast, but Daunte also noticed that she didn't exactly look surprised.

Tidur's features relaxed slightly. "Now I understand. Because of what he did to you, and because we're his family, you came to the natural conclusion that we would turn on you. I don't blame you for your feelings. I know it means nothing, but I hope you'll accept my apology on his behalf."

"Tidur, a-are you…are you really married to the Sheikh?" Felicity asked her softly. Daunte himself could hardly believe that someone as sweet as Tidur would marry a monster like Sloan.

"Yes," Tidur said. "We've been married for twenty-two years. However we are currently estranged, and none of us have had contact with him in almost three years."

"But you're still legally married to him, right?"

"Yes." Tidur looked away. "It's not in my nature to speak about personal matters, but I don't want you to assume the worst of us. I filed for divorce through the Grand Citadel, but my request was denied. I was however allowed to legally remove the three of us from his residence, and Sloan didn't object. So though we are still married on paper, we longer have contact with him. So you can be rest assured that he will not hear from us regarding this matter."

Daunte looked her right in the eye. It was hard for him to trust anybody after everything he had suffered, but he knew that Tidur wasn't lying to him.

But why did she go to such lengths to get away from him?

"Do you not trust me?" Tidur asked. She'd taken his silence as disapproval. "Please, excuse me for a moment." She quickly left the room.

"Hey." Esther had approached Daunte and was looking up at him. Both Ciana and Esther looked very much like their mother, but Daunte recognized Sloan's dark eyes in Esther. He looked away. "My dad…he really tried to kill you?"

Daunte didn't answer her. But Ciana did. "Daddy beat him unconscious. He almost beat him to death, but Mr. Adalgiso stopped him."

"Oh." Esther's distress was rising in her voice. It made Daunte more uncomfortable. "I-I'm sorry."

Daunte knew he could accept her apology, but he was puzzled as to why this child felt she needed to apologize on behalf of her insane father. He turned back to her. "You've done nothing wrong to me, Esther, so please don't apologize to me."

"B-But it was my dad who did that to you, wasn't it?" Esther ducked her head. "He…he can be pretty scary, can't he?"

Daunte's discomfort grew with the direction the conversation was going. Before he could reply, Tidur quickly returned to the room. "Here. This is all the money you have given me for your board. I'm returning all of it to you. That way, there is no record of you having ever been here. Please, take you money and hurry away from here before they come back."

She was giving them back all their money? As admirable as that was, it didn't sit right with Daunte to just take it all back. "Ms. Tidur, I can't do that." He reached out with his right hand and gently pushed her hand away.

Very abruptly, the True Rune on Daunte's hand glowed brightly, filling the room. No, not again! Daunte covered his face.

But just as suddenly, the glow was gone. Daunte lowered his hand and blinked. The room had changed. He was standing inside a small kitchen and he saw Tidur, though her back was to him. She wasn't dressed in the dark purple outfit she'd been wearing just seconds ago. The solid veil on her head was pale blue, and she wore a matching shapeless dress. Her head was bent over the counter, and it looked like she was slicing something. A pot of water was boiling on the stove.

A loud slam startled both Tidur and Daunte, and Tidur turned around. The features in her face looked more youthful now, and Daunte noticed that her mouth looked different.

That scar is gone.

"Sloan?" Tidur called out. She quickly left the kitchen, and Daunte felt something tug on his belly. He felt like he was being dragged after her out of the kitchen and towards the entryway. "Sloan, it is you!"

Daunte's heart skipped a beat as he recognized Sloan Faakhir's large frame sitting in the entryway, removing his boots. He had pulled back his double-pointed hood, revealing messy dark brown hair on his head, but his back was to Daunte so he couldn't see his face. "Sloan, welcome home!" Tidur hurried over to her husband and hugged him from behind.

Sloan finished pulling off his boots and brusquely stood up, pulling out of her embrace. Daunte didn't miss the hurt look on her face, and she clasped her hands in front of him. "I'm still preparing dinner. Are you hungry?"

"No." Sloan's tone was emotionless and hard. He turned around to face Daunte, but his head was bent over the gloves he was pulling off.

"I-I…" Tidur looked down at the floor, as though trying to gather the nerve to say something. Then she looked back up. "Sloan, I've been worried. You've been gone for over two weeks. I understand if you have an assignment to complete, but you didn't discuss it with me. You just upped and left without a word. I've been worried for you, and so have the girls."

"I'm fine. It's nothing for you to worry about." Sloan was wearing a deep frown and stuffed his gloves under his arms. "Just leave it be, Tidur."

"But Sloan," Tidur insisted. She carefully set a hand on his thick forearm. "I'm worried these chang—"

"I said it was nothing!" Sloan exploded. He lashed out his right arm and struck Tidur right in the face. Tidur shrieked in alarm and pain, and Daunte jumped back as she slammed into the wall behind her. His heart slammed against the wall of his chest and he felt rage fill his being as Sloan stood over her. Daunte could see his face for the first time. His features were very masculine, and he may have been considered handsome if his expression wasn't so hard and hate-filled. Tidur had slid to the floor, holding her hands over her face. Tears had filled her eyes and blood was dripping from her mouth and into her palms.

"I told you not to worry about it," Sloan snapped at her. His fists were clenched at his sides. "I told you not to meddle in my affairs. I have a full schedule and I'm working upwards of twenty hours a day, every day of the week! All I want when I come home is for you to keep quiet and stay out of my way! Instead, you pester me and don't listen to me! Didn't I tell you not to worry about it?!" he reached out and grabbed Tidur by her collar. "Didn't I?!"

"Y-Yes!" she sputtered, holding her bloodied hands up defensively.

"Didn't I tell you I was fine?!"

"Yes!"

"Then why won't you just do as you're told and leave me alone, Tidur?! Or are you so stupid that you can't obey a simple request?!" Daunte thought he was going crazy, but he could've sworn there was a weird glow coming from Sloan's hand. It was almost like the glow he saw when Sloan—

"I-I'm sorry." Tidur ducked her head, but that caused her blood to drip onto his hand and over the glow. "I'm so sorry…"

Sloan jerked her body up so that he was looking her in the eye. Daunte saw real hatred in his glare. And directed at his wife! "I didn't hear you."

"I-I'm sorry!" Tidur spoke louder. She was shaking from crying and undoubtedly from fear. "P-Please Sloan—"

A sharp gasp behind Daunte caused him to turn. He saw Esther standing behind him. Or at least he thought it was Esther, because she looked younger. And she wasn't wearing a veil. "Mom?" she sounded so scared that she was whispering. "W-What…what happened?"

Sloan glared at her. "Go to your room, girl."

Esther looked at him. She was on the verge of tears and shaking from fear. "D-Daddy. I—"

"Esther." Tidur's voice became calm. She held a hand over her mouth to hide the blood. "Sweetheart, go upstairs and play with Ciana. Please."

Esther opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She looked between her parents and shifted on her feet where she stood.

"You have five seconds, girl," Sloan warned her. Tidur quickly grabbed his wrist in both hands as he began quickly counting down. "Five, four, three, tw—"

Esther took off running up the stairs. Sloan waited until he heard her door slam shut upstairs, and then turned back to Tidur. "As for you—"

A hand pressed against his forehead. Daunte blinked again, and he saw a bright light above him. The vision had ended.

And he was very aware of the fact that he was lying on the floor.

"Daunte, are you okay?!" Arin leaned over him. "Y-You suddenly fainted!"

"He looked like he went into a trance," Surya said somewhere in the room. "Even after he collapsed his eyes were open!"

The hand dropped away from his forehead and Daunte felt himself be pulled up into a sitting position. "You poor child. You've truly had a rough time of it, haven't you?"

Daunte looked at Tidur. His eyes found the scar on her chin again and his stomach turned. He looked back up at her again. "I'm sorry," he told her.

Tidur blinked in confusion. "For what?"

Daunte looked away. He knew that he'd somehow seen a memory of hers when he'd touched her hand. He remembered his own terror at being at Sloan's mercy, but that had only been for one day. Tidur and her daughters had lived with Sloan, and from that memory it was clear that Sloan never shut off the insane anger inside of him.

That's where she got the scar from. And I just stood there and watched it happen.

It was a memory, so Daunte knew he couldn't have interfered and saved Tidur. But he still felt sick to his stomach that he just stood there and watched Sloan beat up Tidur over something so pathetically insignificant. He couldn't conceive of how a man could look at the woman he had married, and who had borne his children, and would so easily strike her and berate her just because she wanted to talk to him.

But this is Sloan Faakhir we're talking about. Why am I surprised by his behavior?

Daunte forced a smile at her. "Keep the money. We'll be all right."

"Are you okay to stand, Daunte?" Felicity asked him.

"I think so." Despite this, Surya and Roen helped Daunte to his feet. His knees felt a little unsteady, but he took several deep breaths and focused his mind.

"Y-You guys should hurry," Esther said. "There's no telling when they'll be back."

"Understood. Thank you all for everything." Daunte bowed to them slightly, and the other followed suit. He checked on Arin. "Are you okay to stand?"

"I don't think he is," Ciana said. "He kept falling down when you fainted."

"Ciana!" Esther scolded her.

Arin did look a little embarrassed at this revelation, but he forced a smile at Daunte. "Would you mind piggybacking me again, Brother?"

"Sure." Daunte knelt down so Arin could climb on his back. It was very reassuring that he didn't need to shrug his brother onto his back anymore.

"Please be careful, and guard your lives," Tidur said softly. "And…i-if you see my husband again, I…" she looked away.

Daunte looked at her again, and he envisioned himself smashing his tekko in Sloan's face, if for nothing else than for retribution for what he did to Tidur. "We'll be careful," he promised her.

It was busy enough in the town square, so it was relatively easy to sneak out of K'alak'i Patieba. Daunte was alarmed to see silver-robed soldiers about and they only crossed the paths of one or two, but the soldiers didn't pay them any attention.

They probably think we're still in our prison uniforms.

They left K'alak'i Patieba behind, and began steering themselves back into the Rocky Plains. Surya pulled out his compass and checked it. "So Baltas is northeast from here, so we just have to keep steady that way." He pointed to the right at a diagonal. "And we will hopefully reach the town quickly."

"We're better prepared now," Felicity said, managing a smile. "Our weapons are sharpened, and we have new clothes and armor and more supplies. It'll still be a tough trip, but I think we can handle it."

"I think so too," Daunte said, hoisting Arin up higher on his back. "Let's go."

The Rocky Plains expanded for kilometers around them, with no vegetation and no noticeable landmarks besides the different color in the ground beneath their feet marking a path in the road. Surya's compass did keep them on a steady track along the road, but very so often it deviated them off the path. But it didn't last long, and they soon found the path afterwards.

There were of course plenty of monsters to engage on the Rocky Plains. They found giant rats and ant armies per usual, but they also fought bonbons, spiders the size of dogs, and wild boars. Whenever they killed a wild boar, Surya would check the animal to see whether or not it was rabid. Almost all of them were rabid, but the few that weren't Surya would skin them and collect their meat. "Boar's meat is very filling," he told them.

The sharpened weapons and light armor did prove to be very beneficial, and it made fighting a little easier. They walked all day and into the night, only stopping when the moon was high in the sky.

"We'll take turns keeping watch for monsters, okay?" Surya asked. He mostly looked to Daunte though for confirmation, as though his opinion mattered most. Daunte nodded.

"Can I keep watch too?" Arin said excitedly, though he started coughing heavily again.

"You're still recovering," Daunte told him.

The boar's meat unfortunately caused stomach cramps for Daunte, but it was delicious and it was filling. It gave his body much-needed energy, and he was surprised to feel content. They were fleeing for their lives and assisting a foreigner in finding his family, but their journey had a very adventurous atmosphere to it. Sleeping out in the open with his brother and friends with a bonfire and a sky full of stars…if circumstances were different, then he would've been having fun.

Someday. Someday I'll be able to relax and be able to go out with my friends without being in fear for my life.

They set out early the next morning, having not experienced any problems the night before. They walked into the late morning when Daunte noticed the landscape around them changing. The ground was growing lighter, and he saw sprouts of grass all over the place. He looked further ahead and saw a green valley on the horizon.

We're almost out of the Rocky Plains.

Surya noticed it too. "Looks like we're almost there."

"Good," Roen said. He sheathed his bolo knife and stretched his arms over his head. "As fun as this trip has been, I look forward to sleeping in an actual bed again."

"We've only been traveling since yesterday," Felicity teased him.

"Yeah, but—"

"Freeze!"

The four of them stopped in their tracks. From every direction, silver-robed soldiers with their heads and faces covered advanced upon them. Arin squeezed his arms around Daunte in alarm.

Damn. They found us.

"What is the meaning of this?" Surya demanded as they were surrounded. "We're not trespassing!"

"You're heathens who escaped your lawful punishment and stole from the capital!" a soldier shouted. They all drew their swords. "You will pay for what you have done!"

Daunte's eyes darted around as he slid Arin off his back. This wasn't just a random group of soldiers. This was most likely a battalion of solders. He counted at least thirty people surrounding them! He looked at the others, but they looked equally distressed.

"You have five seconds to surrender, or you'll die!" the soldier finished, pointing his blade at them.

The decision was instant. "Best Friends!" he shouted, mobilizing Roen and Felicity for their unite attack.

"Fog of Deception!" Surya shouted, raising his left hand. The familiar fog surrounded them, and they launched into action with their weapons ready.

It was easy to dispatch of the first ten or so soldiers. But fighting them was very different from fighting the guards at the Dark Chasm. They mobilized their unite attack and Surya casted his spells from his Water Rune, but they were seriously outnumbered. No matter how many soldiers were taken down, there were still others jumping into the fray to fight. There was no time in between to regroup or to heal. Daunte quickly discovered that the True Rune's "Howl" spell only had two uses, and he used both very quickly. They were quickly becoming overwhelmed.

After fighting twenty-two soldiers, the four could no longer stand.

"Brother!" Arin had thankfully been unhurt during the excursion, and he hugged Daunte from behind. "Just leave us alone!" he shouted at the soldiers. "Le—" he had another coughing fit, but it sounded worse this time. The fighting had created quite a dust storm, and the environment was obviously having a negative effect on his health.

"So pathetic." The commander stood over them, still holding his sword. "You heathens honestly thought you stood a chance against us?" he pointed the sword at Daunte. "You. Hold out your right hand and give me the True Rune."

Arin's coughing fit was becoming more violent. Daunte ignored the other man and focused on his brother. He grabbed the canteen of water at his hip and held it to the boy's mouth. "Here, drink this."

Before Arin could, the commander stabbed his sword through the canteen. Right before Daunte's eyes water quickly gushed out of the new hole and all over the ground. "I won't tell you again, boy. Hold out your right hand, or my next strike will go through this brat's head."

"You bastard!" Roen hollered. He was knocked face-first into the dirt with a kick to his back.

Arin was still struggling to breathe. Daunte held onto his brother and glared up at the man above him. He could refuse or comply. But either way they were damned.

"Daunte, don't do it!" Surya shouted.

Daunte's arm was trembling, but he pulled it out from beneath Arin to raise it.

Suddenly a sharp whistle filled the air, startling everyone including the soldiers. "Who's there?!" the commander shouted, drawing his sword away from Daunte.

"Well, what have we here?" an unfamiliar voice replied back.

Daunte turned his head. Roughly three meters away a small group was standing there. Most of the people in the group were dressed in dark blue robes, and their faces weren't covered. A man in his mid-twenties standing front and center was dressed differently, in a long-sleeved indigo sherwani buttoned from his collar to his waist and loose black pants. Daunte saw that the man was holding a talwar sword in his right hand, though he had a casual grip on it. He looked up at the man's face and saw that he was smiling. Except…his dark green eyes did not look friendly.

"What a fine showing by the Holy Army," the man said, shaking his dark blonde head. A long ponytail swished with his head shake. "Exercising your might by beating up little kids. Why not try taking on an adult with that same enthusiasm, hmm?" he took a fighting stance, holding his sword akin to a ko gusami stance. The people behind him also drew their swords. "That is, if you're man enough to take me on."

"T-That's Gunther!" one of the soldiers shouted. "It's the Liberation Army!"

Liberation Army? Daunte wondered. He looked up at the commander and was surprised to see terror in the man's eyes.

"I-I don't know what you're doing here, but it is our duty to destroy all of you!" the man shouted finally. He gestured with his hand. "Soldiers, now!"

"Now?!" one soldier exclaimed. "You don't mean—!"

"It's exactly what I mean," the commander said. "Do it now, all of you!"

"B-B-But if we do it, we'll die!" another soldier shouted.

"If you don't do it, then I'll kill you!"

"This bores me," Gunther announced. He stepped out of his sword stance and casually advanced upon them. "Kids, feel free to heal up while we dispose of this garbage."

Daunte bristled as being called a "kid", but he saw Felicity frantically ruffle through the satchel with all their healing potions and passed them around. "Hurry!" she hissed.

They drank up the potions as Gunther and his group began very quickly dispatching of the remaining soldiers. Within seconds the nine soldiers had been reduced to five. This included the commander, who was fumbling with something in his pocket. The remaining four quickly followed suit.

"Are you all okay?" Gunther asked Daunte and the others. He didn't look at them, keeping his eyes on the enemy soldiers.

"Y-Yes, thank you," Daunte said. He checked on Arin and to his alarm his little brother had fallen back unconscious, having lost the strength from his coughing fits. Arin had made such progress with getting better, but now…now it looked like he had a relapse.

Damn it! Damn it all!

"If we're going down, we're taking you with us!" the commander shouted. He pulled a tiny vial out and uncorked it.

Surya started, and stood up. "Hey, WAIT A MINUTE!"

The commander gulped the contents of the vial down, as did his soldiers. Within seconds all of them were gurgling and shaking. Suddenly they all shrieked. It was an inhuman sound.

"W-What the hell?!" one of Gunther's soldiers shouted.

An opposing soldier growled like a rabid animal—frothing at the mouth even—and suddenly lunged at the startled man in blue. He squeezed two hands around the other man's neck and instantly crushed his neck in his hands. Seconds later he jerked his hands up and Daunte dry-heaved as the poor man's head was ripped clean off!

"Shit!" Gunther shouted. He stabbed the rabid man right in the stomach with his sword, but the man didn't seem to notice. He just jumped backwards away from Gunther, and didn't even pause as his own entrails spilled out from his wound.

The other enemy soldiers were no different. Whatever they had drunk from those vials gave them inhuman strength and stamina, but they were raving lunatics in the process. Daunte jumped into the fray to help Gunther, and everyone else followed suit. The enemy was outnumbered, but it didn't matter. They put up a frightening fight and even managed to kill three of Gunther's men.

Daunte was scared, truly scared. He'd dealt with devilish people before, but not on this scale. The enemy soldiers were fatally stabbed, shocked with a Lightning Rune, and burned with a Fire Rune, and they shrugged off all of this like it was nothing. It wasn't normal at all, and Daunte had no idea how they were supposed to stop them.

It felt like forever, but really only five minutes passed before the tide of the fight changed. The commander raised bloodied hands to strike again, but suddenly grabbed at his own throat. He fell face-down into the dirt and began convulsing violently. The sounds he emitted were much worse than the growling and screaming he'd done before. He was gurgling and wheezing, rolling around in the dirt as he scratched at his own neck. All around them the other four soldiers similarly fell to the dirt and convulsed. Daunte and the others could do nothing but stare in shock.

Then, just as suddenly, their bodies stilled on the ground and they did not move again.

"…Whoa," Gunther breathed. "That…was something new." He bent down to clean his sword on the dead commander's robes before sheathing it and turning to his own men. "Are you guys all right?"

Daunte checked on Arin, and he was thankful that the insane soldiers had left him alone. But Arin hadn't stirred despite the violent fighting and screaming. A hard lump formed in his throat and he hugged his little brother. Damn it all. How can I ever help him if we keep ending up in these situations?!

"We can't take them back with us," Gunther said, checking on his own fallen soldiers. "We're too far away from home. It's unfortunate, but we'll have to bury them here."

Daunte wanted to thank him for saving them, but he felt just saying the words would be an empty gesture. He cradled Arin to him and stood up. "W-Would you like us to help you?"

Gunther looked surprised. "Really? I would appreciate it."

"I saved my bag of tools from the Dark Chasm," Felicity said, hoisting up her bag. "So hopefully we can help."

"Dark Chasm?!" Gunther went pale and quickly approached Daunte. "You guys escaped from the Dark Chasm?!"

"Yes, we did," Roen said. Behind him, Surya was examining one of the vials the soldiers had drunk from. "What about it?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with you escaping! In fact, it'd be great if more of you kids were able to get out!" Gunther shook his head and laughed a little. "Oh man, you guys would be perfect for us!"

"For you?" Daunte said. "For what?"

Gunther pressed a hand over his own heart. "My name is Gunther. I'm a lieutenant in Nagarea's Liberation Army. We'd been hearing some rumors about happenings near the Dark Chasm, so I volunteered to check them out. But now that I see that the rumors revolved around escapees, I think you guys would be perfect recruits!"

"Recruits?" Roen said. Surya wasn't adding to the conversation, still looking into the vial.

"Sure! Our mission is to overthrow our corrupt government. You guys are a symbol of what the corruption has done to this country. Wouldn't you guys like to get revenge on the government for what they did to you? For what they did to your families?"

Roen hesitated. "But we—"

"Yes," Felicity interrupted, approaching them. "I want to avenge my father. I've wanted to ever since I was convicted."

"Guys?" Roen interjected. "Can we have a talk please?!"

"Go ahead," Gunther told them. "We still have to bury our comrades so we have time to spare. But since we also just wiped out an entire battalion, there's bound to be more soldiers coming."

Daunte regrouped with his friends. "Guys, what are we going to do?!" Roen hissed. "We can't join the Liberation Army! They're terrorists!"

"They're fighting against the Theocracy," Felicity said. "So that already makes them better in my book!"

"B-But they attack government buildings! There's been plenty of collateral damage because of their policies! They might be against the government, but what really makes them any better than the people who imprisoned us?! Their actions haven't stopped innocent lives from being lost, have they?!"

"That…is a good point," Felicity admitted reluctantly. "But Gunther just saved us and hasn't asked us for anything in return. He didn't even demand our joining the army. If the rest of the Army has the same integrity as him, then they're already better than the Theocracy!"

"I have a feeling."

The trio looked at Surya. He looked up from the vial. "I have a feeling about what those men drank, but I can't be for sure. However, if we offer our services to this Liberation Army, then I'll definitely have a hell of an easier time finding my family. I can understand your apprehension with trusting them, if they've really done the terrible things you've said they've done. But sometimes it's better to choose the lesser of two evils, wouldn't you say?"

Daunte hesitated. Gunther's offer did seem too good to be true, but truthfully he hadn't exactly heard good stories about the Liberation Army. Despite wanting to free the country from the Theocracy, their revolution didn't exactly shy from staging violent confrontations in packed streets. Plenty of people who weren't even involved on either side have died because of these excursions.

But…do we really have any choice? The Theocracy will still kill us, and I don't know how to make Arin better. If the Liberation Army has a doctor as good as Dr. Yulin, then maybe…

Daunte left his friends and approached Gunther. "My brother is very sick. He was getting better but he just had a relapse. Do you have any doctors that can care for him?"

"Of course we do," Gunther said. "Clara is one of the best. She's also very pretty." He laughed to himself.

"If she can help Arin, then…then I'll join you guys."

"Good! Welcome aboard!" Gunther slapped him on the shoulder.

"I'll join you too!" Felicity chimed in, hurrying over.

"So will I," Roen said, though his tone was reluctant.

"My name is Surya Falenas from Falena," Surya said, tucking the vial into his pocket as he approached. "What has the Liberation Army heard about regarding the abductions of my family?"

"Wow, a real Falenean!" Gunther exclaimed. He reached out and shook Surya's hand. "I've heard rumors about missing Faleneans, but our leader would know more than me."

"I see," Surya said. "And what's your leader's name?"

"Bearyl Lutis. After we're finished here we'll set off for our headquarters and I'll introduce you guys to him."

"Thank you," Daunte said. He let out a short breath and looked down at Arin. So, Arin. We're part of the Liberation Army…again.

In the Grand Citadel in Mlkwt Alsmwat, the Blessed Chamber was a mortar-shaped room filled with a mortar-shaped table with ten seats. All ten seats were filled with individuals dressed in pristine white robes, with large emblems on their chests and pronounced double-horns on their hoods.

The Cabinet of High Clerics had come to order.

"We have received confirmation that the True Rune was found," Kayanu began, looking at the documents before him. "But the boy who the True Rune selected has disappeared, along with Prince Surya."

"Which matters little," Hayato interjected. "Falenean Princes have no real value as hostages anyway. But since he is the son of the Commander of the Queen's Knights, he will surely make a nuisance of himself."

"If the prince has aligned himself with the brat who stole the True Rune, then they may seek out Bearyl Lutis for assistance," Yuuto warned. "And if that happens, Lutis will no doubt take advantage of the situation and try and secure an alliance with Falena."

"You've giving Lutis too much credit," Kayanu said. "Remember that he used to work for us and all of us have met him at least once. He has the charisma to be a leader, but remember that he founded the Liberation Army three years ago. The fact that he is no closer now to reaching his goal than he was when he was defrocked should say more about his leadership and strategizing skills than anything else."

"So we don't have to worry about a potential alliance," Yuuto said. He nodded curtly. "That's reassuring. This plot with the royal family is well over a decade in the making so we have to be sure that nothing gets in our way. But even if Lutis potentially fumbles with the Falenean Prince, he may end up recruiting the child with the True Rune. He would be an idiot not to."

"I find it hard to believe that the child slipped through her grasp," Ziya quipped up. "Or maybe she isn't as great as she claimed?"

"Would you like to level this accusation at her?" Kayanu asked him.

Ziya shrank into himself slightly. "N-No."

"I have received word that Unit Twelve of the Southeastern Corps has been completely wiped out in the Rocky Plains," Izanagi reported. "That's thirty men lost. The Liberation Army may have had a hand in it."

"Most likely," Kayanu agreed. "I can't imagine the child wielding the True Rune could kill thirty men. Although since this did happen in the Rocky Plains, it's very likely the children came across the soldiers."

"Did the soldiers take…that?"

Everyone stilled, and looked to the end of the circle. The Cleric sitting there had the exact same rank as all of them, but he was very clearly an intimidating man and thus had a little more political sway than the rest of them.

"Yes, Takefute," Izanagi said, looking at his own documents. "We've confirmed that five of them, including the Unit Commander, took their Raging Nostrum. However we didn't find any other bodies in the area, so they did not completely destroy whatever enemy they engaged."

"Idiots," Takefute said. "Wasting something as valuable as Raging Nostrum on their worthless bodies, and not even being successful at killing their enemies? The worms who serve within the Holy Army are barely useful as cannon fodder, much less as active soldiers."

"The area was searched, and there was no traces of the boy or the True Rune," Izanagi finished.

"I'm not surprised. The boy was smart enough to steal the True Rune when he had the chance, so he will undoubtedly keep moving to avoid capture."

"But we've confirmed that the tablet was correct," Kayanu said. "So that's a start. We just need to get the True Rune before the boy can learn how to properly control it."

"It is doubtful he will ever know the power he has," Takefute said. "This is the first True Rune ever discovered in Nagarea. Even if the power it holds is not the kind that will serve us best militarily…the Rune of Restoration will still surely give us status paralleled to that of Harmonia."