Chapter 19a: Rescue Mission
"We need to find some place to drop this idiot before we get going." Adrian nodded to the bag containing Alain. A barely audible whimper could be heard from inside the bag. "No way in hell we can just walk around the streets carrying this guy around. We need to find some place to dump him." Adrian looked around. The alleyway was devoid of anywhere they could hide Alain. Adrian quickly began thinking of a backup plan. Eventually, he decided on something.
"Saralyn," Adrian ordered, "Open the bag."
Saralyn tilted her head in confusion, Ava having a similar reaction. "What?! You're going to let him go?"
"No. Just go with what I say. Don't say anything that might freak him out." Adrian began untying the bag holding Alain.
Immediately, the man jumped out and attempted to run away. Adrian grabbed him by his hair and shoved him against the wall, slapping a hand onto his mouth to muffle any screams for help he might try to make. He flailed his arms around, trying to push Adrian off him fruitlessly. Saralyn grabbed both his arms and pinned them against the wall, rendering him completely immobile. Adrian grabbed one of the knives he had received from Meryl back at the church and held it up to the man's throat. Alain's eyes widened in fear, and he began shaking his head.
"Listen. Do as we say, and you won't get hurt. Got it?" Alain nodded his head.
"First things first. Do not scream for help. You will not like what happens next if you do that. Next, I know you're worried about Zeraphine. Don't worry about her, she's fine." Adrian reassured the scared man. "What I want you to do is walk with me. Keep your head down and be quiet."
Adrian turned to Saralyn and Ava. "You two, go to the mindflaying center and see if you can locate the others. I'm going to help Alain."
"But y-you kidnapped me! You stalked me, broke into my house, and stuffed me in a bag! How can I trust you?" Alain stuttered out, his eyes darting back and forth.
"You can trust me because there will be consequences if you don't." Adrian felt a pang of guilt at threatening the man, but he needed to get the situation under control by any means necessary. Alain's eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut.
"Understand?" Alain gave him a quick nod. "Good."
"Adrian…" Saralyn muttered with a hint of shock and fear in her voice. Adrian shook her head at her.
"The others are running out of time, and I think Meryl is…" Adrian quickly cut himself off. There was no use in distressing Ava any further than she already was. "Just go. They need our help." Saralyn and Ava nodded their heads, walking out of the alleyway and disappearing around the corner. Adrian turned to Alain.
"Follow me." Adrian sternly ordered Alain.
"You won't get away with this. The entirety of Aerokon is searching for me. They do not take kindly to their people being kidnapped-"
"Shut up and listen to me if you want to stay alive." Alain began shaking.
"The announcement said you were Lescatian extremists! Aren't you supposed to minimize casualties?!"
"What did I just say?!" Adrian barked loudly, against the best of his judgement. "Another word and there will be consequences." Alain nodded slowly.
"Finally, some cooperation from you. Let's go."
Adrian and Alain slowly walked out of the alleyway and onto the streets of Aerokon. Adrian quickened his pace, pulling Alain along with him, forcing his head down whenever they passed by anyone that looked like they were a part of Aerokon's military. Adrian took a turn onto a small road, leading to a more sparsely populated part of the city.
"If you want to know where we're going, we're heading to the mines." Adrian proactively answered a question that he knew Alain would have. Adrian had seen the abandoned mines during the briefing back at Lescatie and had memorized a path from the church to them in case they had to hide from Aerokon's military. Alain gave him a quick nod, having no permission to speak from him.
As they were walking, Adrian began noticing a heavily armored group of lizardmen and salamanders following them wherever they went, led by a wight. Despite his best efforts, they had been found out. "Pick up the pace." He whispered to Alain. The two of them began speed-walking to the mines. Their pursuers followed suit, matching their paces to follow him.
Adrian finally reached the mines. It was a big open hole sloping downwards into the ground, almost like a manmade cave. A sign with barely readable text hung above the mine's entrance, saying "Arcanium". The same feeling of nostalgia washed over him again, but he quickly shook it off. He couldn't afford to be distracted. He gave a quick peek over his shoulder; his pursuers were right on his heels.
As soon as he went into the mines, and out of sight of anyone except his chasers, he broke out into a full sprint, dragging Alain along with him. He began taking several quick turns to confuse his pursuers. Shouts of confusion, along with some direct threats towards Adrian echoed throughout the tunnels.
He skidded to a stop in front of a derelict supply closet, mold and dust almost camouflaging it with the rock walls. Adrian nearly tore the door of its hinges and threw Alain inside, a yelp of shock coming from the poor man. He took a nearby minecart and pushed it off its rails to block the door. Banging came from inside the closet as Alain tried and failed to escape his makeshift prison.
Adrian sighed in relief. He unsheathed the Ballista and prepared for battle. Unfortunately, his mad dash through the mines had left him unaware of his surroundings. He would have to make plans and execute them on the fly. Footsteps echoed to his left, causing Adrian to push himself up against another rusty minecart. He closed his eyes and waited for his pursuers to get closer. The dim tail-flame of a salamander shined on the walls in front of him, and in that light was the faint silhouette of a lizardman.
"What the hell is Lescatie's problem? They just sent a team of mamono to break into Zeraphine's house and kidnap her for no reason?" A female voice echoed throughout the tunnels.
"They've got their sights set on us. Probably some random demon or lilim that wants to be the one that takes down Aperia. Maybe Ophelia finally pissed Druella off enough for her to do something about us." A halberd wielding salamander and a lizardman equipped with a short sword rounded the corner. "We've already caught four of them. This shouldn't be an issue for us." The salamander said with a hint of confidence in her voice.
Adrian dove out of his hiding spot. He grabbed one of the throwing knives on his belt and whipped it towards the lizardman. The reptilian monster caught the realm-silver blade directly in her upper chest, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she collapsed backwards onto the ground.
"Shit!" The salamander hissed, backing up several feet. Adrian hurled another throwing knife at the salamander, but the monster blocked it with the handle of her halberd.
"Say your prayers, Lescatian." The salamander charged forward at shocking speed with the sharp end of her halberd pointing at Adrian's heart. Adrian threw himself to the side, letting the spear pass by. He slashed at the salamander's leg with the Ballista, only for it to bounce off it harmlessly.
The salamander whirled around and delivered a kick towards Adrian's stomach, the hero narrowly blocking the boot. The sheer force in the kick pushed him back several feet. The two of them began a fast-paced duel, neither one gaining the upper hand. Adrian grunted in frustration. He had planned to drop Alain off and then quickly link back up with Saralyn and Ava, but now was wasting his time fighting.
The narrow tunnel meant that running around the salamander was nearly impossible. He needed to end the battle now. Ava had said they had thirty minutes until Naira, Jordan, Sinclair, and Cassiel had their minds scoured of information and then turned into helpless amnesiacs, like he once was. Adrian feigned an attack on the salamander's left thigh, following up with another feigned attack to the salamander's arm. The salamander didn't even try blocking them, instead jumping backwards.
The monster showed a brief sign of vulnerability. Adrian pressed the switch on his sword. The blade ejected from the hilt of his sword… and sailed past the salamander's head, embedding itself into the stone wall behind her. The salamander looked over her shoulder and chuckled.
"Interesting move, Lescatian. But now you're defenseless. Surrender, and maybe Aerokon will treat you and your wife nicely." The salamander gloated.
"I don't think so."
"Fine. Have it your way." The salamander dashed forward with her weapon pointed directly at Adrian's head. He ducked and grabbed the handle of the halberd. The salamander looked down at him, surprised at first, then narrowing her eyes in determination. The two of them started a contest of strength, wrestling for control of the only weapon they had.
Adrian pushed harder, kicking the salamander in the shin to stun her. The monster's knees buckled, sending her to a kneeling position. Another hard kick to the stomach cost the salamander control of her halberd. Adrian wrenched the weapon from the salamander's hands.
"Waitwaitwait-" The salamander begged. Not listening, Adrian jabbed the realm-silver spear tip into the salamander's chest, sending the monster into a state of unconsciousness. Adrian did not stay to clean up his mess, instead quickly retrieving his weapon from the mine's wall and began to try and retrace his steps. Between trying to hide Alain and fighting the salamander, he had lost track of time.
Adrian turned a corner, only to see the imposing and tall figure of an automaton standing in the middle of the tunnel. The automaton raised her hand, a long barrel mounted on her wrist. A blast of energy shot out of the barrel, nearly hitting Adrian in the neck. He vaulted over a large boulder stuck in the ground and crouched down to avoid getting shot. The automaton continued her assault, slowly blasting away his cover.
Adrian made the mistake of attempting to roll from his rapidly diminishing cover to a nearby minecart, a bolt of energy catching him directly in the chest. He let out a cry of shock, his roll stopping abruptly. The automaton began walking forward slowly, keeping her gun trained on Adrian.
"Fuck!" Adrian cursed.
The automaton stopped right at Adrian's position, aiming her cannon at the man, preparing to deliver the "killing" shot. With the last of his energy, Adrian pointed his sword at the automaton's head and pressed the switch. The blade impaled itself in the automaton's head, causing her to fall over onto Adrian.
Adrian let out a massive sigh. He desperately pushed at the inactive automaton, trying to wiggle his way out. He managed to crawl out, stumbling to his feet and taking back his blade. The automaton's cannon had done a number on his chest. He couldn't feel anything besides numbness and a throbbing warmth from his waist to his chest, making walking feel awkward and clunky.
Adrian forced himself to run, looking for an exit. He cursed himself for taking several random turns without thinking. Mercifully, he saw the ground sloping upwards, with yellow light illuminating the tunnels. It didn't look like the way he came in, but he didn't care at that point. With somewhat renewed strength, he stumbled his way into the sunlight.
He observed his surroundings. It looked like he had somehow bypassed the walls of Aerokon, but on further inspection he was still in the city. A small pond, with a willow tree on a small hill overlooking it caught his attention. The feeling of nostalgia came back in full force. Adrian walked towards the tree and sat down, his body acting almost as if it was on autopilot.
The nostalgia only got stronger. Adrian swore he could hear voices, despite there being nobody around.
The view here is so nice, don't you agree, Adrian?
I know. I could sit here forever.
I could too. As long as you're here with me.
I'd like to, but… Ophelia wants me back soon. You know how she gets when I spend too much time away from her.
Clingy, isn't she?
Don't let her hear you say that…
The feeling of peacefulness enveloped Adrian. Even though he was in enemy territory and his friends needed help, he wanted to stay here forever. He leaned against the willow tree and closed his eyes…
ADRIAN! Adrian, can you hear me?! A familiar voice that this time he recognized called out in his head.
Meryl?! You're alive?!
Yes! I had to drop Zeraphine, but I managed to get some good information out of her in return. I also snatched a couple documents on Aperia's defenses, plus the location of a teleportation station that can get us out of the city!
Damn, Meryl… You're dedicated.
Thank me later. How are you guys holding up? Any progress on rescuing the others?
Ava managed to escape captivity. She's heading to the mindflayer center with Saralyn. The others are going to have their minds searched and erased if we don't rescue them in time. I took a detour to drop Alain off somewhere. He was too much of a liability to keep with us.
Shit, that's bad! How much time left do we have?
Not long. Do you think you can link up with Ava and Saralyn? I'll try and reconnect with you guys as soon as I can.
I'll try my best.
Thanks. Don't you die on us now. You still owe Saralyn a drink for winning the battle a few weeks ago.
Uh-huh. I'll buy her one if I remember. Good luck, Adrian. With that, Meryl went silent once more. Adrian sighed, relieved that he would no longer have to lie to Ava about Meryl. Reluctantly, he got up from the willow tree, his energy having recovered partially. He began to speed-walk in the direction that he saw Ava and Saralyn go.
He tried to estimate the amount of time it took for him to drop Alain off and escape the mines. Without much to go off, he took a wild guess and assumed that it had been about twenty minutes since he had split off from Saralyn and Ava. That meant he had a little less than ten minutes to get to his destination. Adrian quickened his pace, pushing past several annoyed humans, mamono. He knew he was acting suspicious, but he needed to be fast.
Several valkyries and angels flew overhead. Adrian pulled his hood over his head and looked down at the ground. He recalled his duel with Raniel at Monoghon; he was outmatched, even with Saralyn's help. If Naira and Jordan hadn't been there to help him, Raniel might've killed both him and Saralyn.
Adrian broke out into a full sprint. Saralyn and Ava might've already freed the others, but regardless, they could use another pair of hands to help them transport their allies. The teleportation station was their only hope of escaping Aerokon at that point. The lockdown meant the walls had to be swarming with foot soldiers and angels, and he didn't know of any other escape routes.
Adrian reached the mindflaying station. He didn't even know if it was the right one. Aerokon had multiple, and this was the closest one to the church where Sinclair and the others had been kidnapped. He had to assume that this was the one they were at. Adrian tried the front door of the building, the door refusing to open. He quickly left and began circling the building looking for another entrance. A broken window let him know he was on the right track.
Adrian waited for the streets to clear slightly so he could enter without being seen, and climbed in. The window was higher up than he anticipated, and he ended up hitting the floor hard. Scrambling to his feet, he pressed himself up against a wall and stayed perfectly still to make sure nobody heard him. Once he had confirmed that he was alone, he began navigating the building.
Every damn hallway looks the same! How do the Aperians work in this place?!
Adrian began hearing voices coming from the other end of the hallway he was in. Ducking behind a decorative plant, he listened in on what they were saying.
"Took your ass long enough. We need to figure out what these Lescatians want with us, and what they're planning." An angry female voice said, sounding like they were on the verge of having an angry outburst.
"My darling takes priority over my job. We were enjoying ourselves." Adrian peeked through the leaves of the plant and saw the speakers; a pissed off looking angel along with an irritated mindflayer.
"Well, your little date is making things much harder than they need to be. Get this done, and you can go back to him. Sounds good?" The angel asked, sounding fed up with the mindflayer.
"Whatever."
"Show some respect, will you?" Their voices got closer and closer. As they passed by the plant, miraculously not noticing the infiltrator, Adrian crept out of his hiding spot and began following them from a distance, making sure not to make any noise.
Adrian picked up on different set of footsteps, these being barely audible compared to the angel's and the mindflayer's, coming from behind him. He turned around with his blade outstretched, his finger on the switch preparing to eject the blade. His anxiety vanished as he saw Saralyn and Ava round the corner. He waved at them and let out a small, quiet sigh of relief. Saralyn blew him a kiss, while Ava simply nodded at him.
"Here we are. Get to work." The angel shouted at the mindflayer, her frustration boiling over finally.
"Now, while they're distracted!" Adrian whispered to his allies. Saralyn charged down the hallway, shotgun drawn. A volley of bullets made quick work of the mindflayer. The angel turned around, her hands glowing with magic to defend herself, but Saralyn was quicker. Another shotgun blast and an additional shot with one of her revolvers sent the angel crumpling to the ground. Saralyn waved for Adrian and Ava to come over to the room that the angel was about to enter. The two entered, their eyes widening.
Naira laid with her wings stretched out on some massive table, bound by a web of rope, unconscious. Adrian could hear her breathing, sounding disturbed. Jordan laid on a similar looking table at the opposite side of the room, with more ropes tying him down.
Sinclair and Cassiel had gotten the worst of it. Both seemed to be suffering from rope burn, the dark elf and dark angel both having sores on their skin. Sinclair's eyes opened a tiny bit, focusing on Adrian and Saralyn. A small gasp came from her mouth.
"We need to get them out of their binds."
"I'm on it." Saralyn took out one of her knives and began sawing away at Naira's binds. The rope was annoyingly resilient to the blade, having been enchanted with a durability spell. Nevertheless, Saralyn kept at it, eventually freeing Naira. The wyvern stretched her wings and legs out, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.
"It's okay, you're fine now. I'm going to go free your husband now." Saralyn gave the wyvern a few comforting words, then walked over to where Jordan was being held. Adrian freed Sinclair, the dark elf being too exhausted to move from her table.
"Adrian…T-"
"Thank me later, alright?" Adrian moved to Cassiel's table, freeing her of her restraints as well.
"Adrian, is that you? I can't believe you came for me… I was beginning to lose hope. I couldn't even call the Fallen God for guidance…" The dark angel sighed.
"Meryl made a point of telling us the importance of teamwork. I'd be letting her down if I just left without trying to rescue you." Adrian said. "Okay. That's all of them. Everyone take a few minutes to rest while we figure out what to do next. Meryl should be on her way here as well." He collapsed against a wall, just as exhausted as the prisoners. Saralyn joined him, and the two of them shared a moment of respite, hugging each other.
Chapter 19b: Disobedience
Kovalt scanned the crowds of people in the streets for Adrian. How he managed to get rid of the marker he had placed on him was beyond Kovalt. The mana marker he had placed on him was changed to be nearly unnoticeable. The hero tried to theorize where his worst enemies would go. They are a part of Lescatie's military. Their presence in Aerokon means that Lescatie must be starting a new campaign against Aperia. If I had to guess, they are probably tasked with finding information on the higher-ups of Aerokon, Kovalt theorized.
The subsequent years after Druella's subjugation of Lescatie were filled with confusion, fear, and shock at how such a strong nation could fall to monsters in such a short time. But over time, the Order had formed a theory based on the word of the few people who had managed to escape Lescatie. Kovalt recalled a speech given at Venshir from one of the greatest minds of the Order and survivor of Lescatie's subjugation, William Noscrim.
"My daughter stood before me as a twisted perversion of her former self. She told me that the white devil had 'saved' her and many others. Mersé Dascaros. Primera Concerto. Sasha Fullmoon, Mimil Miltie. All had been monsterized within a single night, by the same person. Make no mistake, our enemies are organized and deceitful."
A mere two weeks later, he had been "killed" by a lilim. While much of the Order believe he died that day, Kovalt knew that monsters didn't kill their victims and suspected something was up. Several months later, it had been revealed that the manipulative priest had faked his death to rally the people of the Order against the monsters. It was an ingenious, if not manipulative move by him. Unfortunately, the priest had met his real death at the hands of Aperia's military, the very people he walked beside at this moment.
"If I had to guess… You and your friends are scouting out the heroes, aren't you?" Kovalt mumbled to himself as he began to jog towards where he believed heroes were trained in Aerokon.
He stopped in front of a large building. Through the windows, Kovalt could see rows and rows of high-quality armor and weapons lining the walls, along with several well-built, tall, and strong-looking people sitting down and talking to each other. The Order had similar buildings to these for training heroes.
You constantly look down at us, insult us, slander us, mock us, yet you forget where you once came from, who you were allied with once.
Kovalt knocked on the doors of the building. One of the heroes, a woman with short black hair got up from their chair and let him in.
"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to Aerokon, perhaps? What's your name?" The hero inquired, looking Kovalt up and down.
"My name is Kovalt Marshall. I am visiting a family member in Aerokon and I decided to visit the hero's training grounds to see how it compares to the ones in Aperia." Kovalt lied, making sure not to sound too suspicious.
"Well, as you can see, there isn't much to look at here but a bunch of drunk idiots." One of the other heroes, a dark skinned man with blonde hair remarked, nodding his head to a group of people sitting at a long table with several empty bottles on it. Something caught Kovalt's eye; a satyros, sitting next to one of the heroes leaning against his neck while whispering into his ear.
"Shut up, we're working hard." One of heroes from the table said, causing the others to laugh.
"Right. Do you mind if I look around?"
"Fine. Go ahead, just don't touch anything." Kovalt nodded, and went down the hallway, away from the heroes.
"If that's how Aerokon's heroes act, then Adrian and his friends must be having a very easy time spying on them." Kovalt mumbled under his breath. "And to think, you look down at the Order and call yourselves better than us."
Kovalt took note of the people he walked past. A maid, dusting off a display case full of ornate weapons and armor. Two men working to carry a heavy crate. A woman in painter's clothing standing in front of a blank canvas. Nobody seemed to be acting like a monster spy undercover.
Kovalt went up the stairs and entered a room with several cabinets full of paper and closed the door. It didn't seem like Adrian or any of his allies were here, but at least he could maybe find information on what Aperia was doing. Several papers were left scattered around carelessly by whoever was here last. Kovalt shifted through some of them to see if he could find anything that could be of use to the Order. Despite his quest for revenge, he still wanted to help his allies any way he could.
The only thing that caught his eye was a paper talking about something called the "Arcanium Conflict". Skimming over the document, Kovalt realized it was talking about the Battle of Juno, one of the first major conflicts between Aperia and the Order over a coveted resource aptly named "Arcanium". It resulted in a complete loss for the Order, with the Order losing the country of Juno to Aperia.
Kovalt scoffed at the way the document was worded. The Aperians showcased their bias and supposed superiority against the Order with pride, and it was reflected in the way they wrote. Kovalt put the document back in the pile. Hearing footsteps coming towards the room, Kovalt hid behind the door, letting the person come in. He then slipped out, unnoticed.
He searched the building a little more. None of the people here seemed like they didn't belong. "Guess I'll have to expand my search a bit. I wonder how many of these places there are." Kovalt sighed and headed for the exit, walking past the same heroes drinking and talking to each other. A few of them had left, the only ones left being the man and the woman he had talked to before going off on his own.
"Hey. You." A voice said just as he was about to leave the building. Kovalt turned around to see the same hero that had greeted him looking at him with suspicion.
"I've been going over the records of Aperian heroes, and I haven't been able to find a 'Kovalt Marshall' anywhere. Are you hiding something from us?"
"Your records are outdated. I was blessed in Aperia." Kovalt lied, keeping a straight face and making sure to not stutter.
"What do you mean, blessed? Do you mean trained? We don't worship the Chief God, and even if we could, we wouldn't want a blessing from that bumbling fool." Kovalt nearly lost his composure at the hero's insult towards the Chief God.
"Fine. I was trained in Aperia."
"By an angel, or a valkyrie?" The hero asked.
"An angel."
The hero got up and drew his weapon. Several others followed suit, their eyes narrowed and full of suspicion.
"Angels don't train heroes in Aperia. Valkyries do." The hero growled. "Something tells me you're lying."
'I was trained by…" Kovalt quickly tried to think of a name a valkyrie would have. Unfortunately, his enemies had already made up their minds. The two heroes sitting at the table quickly sat up, grabbed whatever weapon they wanted off the racks in the walls, and charged.
Kovalt drew his own sword just in time to push away a spear from one of the Aperian heroes. Not even a second later, he backed into position to block two jabs from the same hero he was just talking to, the woman now sporting two knives in her hand. The woman stepped back, and seemingly vanished into thin air.
"You're from the Order, aren't you? They were stupid to send you here. Nothing they do will prevent their downfall at this point." Her partner gloated, glaring towards Kovalt.
The infiltrator looked around. This was bad. He was going to attract the attention of the entire city at this point. If Adrian and his team were still here, they would most likely attempt to bypass the lockdown and escape the city. But Kovalt knew he had no choice. There was no backing down now.
The hero thrust his sword at the dark-skinned hero. The man ducked under the swing and charged forward, grabbed Kovalt by his waist and attempted to push him to the ground. The woman reappeared behind him, now sporting some high-tech looking crossbow that Kovalt had never seen before. Kovalt twisted his head to the left just in time to avoid an explosive projectile, the arrow singing some of his hair. The projectile smashed through a bookcase and detonated violently, tearing a hole in the wall. Kovalt could hear the shocked screams of civilians outside.
"Look at what you made us do!"
Kovalt was taken aback at the hero's comment. It was the woman's fault that they had missed, and yet they were blaming it on him.
"Is this how all you Aperians are like? Projecting your failures onto your adversary? No wonder the Order shunned you. You're too weak for us!" Kovalt spat back.
"We put our faith in the Chief God. We prayed to her every fucking day, begging her to change the Order for the better, and yet, our wishes were left unanswered! That's why we left! We refuse to fight for a god that doesn't care about us!" The dark-haired woman shouted, firing another explosive projectile towards Kovalt. The man leapt out of the way once more.
The three of them fought on, with the intent to kill. The two heroes constantly circled around Kovalt, attacking from any angle they could. The building began to burn from the rampant explosions, filling the air with clouds of smoke.
Kovalt squinted his eyes, just barely spotting a shadow moving towards his position. Kovalt spun around and landed a kick on the spear wielding hero. The man flew backwards, landing in one of the many fires that were consuming the building. He tried to roll out, only to be crushed by a heap of flaming debris coming from the ceiling.
"No…!" His partner threw both of her knives at Kovalt with inhuman speeds. Kovalt quickly lifted his sword up to his head to block one of them, only for the other to impale his arm. The woman immediately followed up with another explosive projectile from her crossbow, aimed directly at Kovalt's feet. He just barely managed to leap backwards as the explosion tore apart the wall he was standing near, the man landing outside.
The dark-haired woman ran past him, more concerned with the safety of her partner than checking to see if she had killed her target. She frantically looked around the pile of flaming wood and stone for any signs of her partner. Eventually, she sank down to her knees and began crying.
Kovalt recovered from the explosion, looking over at his arm. He grasped the knife and began tugging, biting his tongue to stop the pain. Eventually, he managed to tear it out. Holding the knife by the blade, he looked towards the mourning woman and took aim.
Kovalt felt a stab of guilt. The sight reminded him of when he had escaped from Monoghon, grieving over the corruption of his wife and daughter. He shook his head, reminding himself of who these people were.
You betray the Order, you betray me. Maybe we could've fought alongside each other had things been different, but it's too late for that now. Kovalt threw the knife with all his strength. He watched it curve through the air, embedding itself directly into the back of the woman's head. She fell over dead, right next to her partner.
Kovalt got to his feet and walked over to the woman. He spied a ring on an arm sticking out from the debris, a similar looking one on the woman's arm.
I'm sorry I had to do this, but you forced my hand.
Kovalt turned around to leave, only to see a hovering figure standing in front of the burning wreck. The figure could almost pass as human, if not for the pale, gray skin, and glowing purple eyes. The only thing she wore was a cloak with the emblem of Aperia. Kovalt recognized the monster as a lich.
The hero was in no mood to fight a lich with only one working arm, so he ran out of the building and out onto the streets. The lich didn't seem to care about chasing him, seemingly more fixated on the dead bodies. With a wave of her hand, the fires around the corpses were extinguished and the debris covering the man were tossed to the side. The lich waved her hands once more, lifting both corpses up into the air and out of the building. She floated away after them.
A valkyrie stood outside the burning wreckage. She turned her attention to the lich and her cargo. "What a shame. Those two were with us since the beginning."
"Don't worry. These two will rejoin us soon, I will make sure of it." The lich responded nonchalantly.
"You do that." The valkyrie turned in the direction that Kovalt had fled in. "I think I recognize our little arsonist."
Meanwhile, Kovalt pushed past a crowd of bystanders, attempting to get as far away from the scene as possible. He knew he wasn't being subtle, but he didn't care at that point. Someone was bound to have reported him during his battle. He ducked into a side street and leaned against a wall to catch his breath.
"Kovalt Marshall."
Kovalt immediately got to his feet, drew his sword, and looked around but didn't see anyone. Looking up, he saw the source of the voice, a valkyrie. The angelic warrior lowered herself to the ground, drawing her own angelic sword.
"It's strange how things work out sometimes. A couple months ago, I was ordered to try and coerce you to join us. Your performance amongst your fellow Order heroes was outstanding, even if your attitude was less than desirable."
"I would've never joined you!" Kovalt snapped at the valkyrie.
"Let me introduce myself." The valkyrie spoke, seemingly ignoring Kovalt's last response. "My name is Raniel."
"If you're here to try and convince me to join you again, forget it. I will stay loyal to the Order to my dying breath!"
Raniel frowned. "Did the Order tell you to burn down a random armory and murder two people who were just trying to do their jobs? Tell me, what is your mission?"
Kovalt had no idea how to respond. He wasn't here for the Order. No, the reason he was in Aerokon was because of his personal vendetta. He thought back to the people he killed. The guilt he had felt while watching the female hero grieve over her partner amplified.
"Don't worry. The mess you made is being cleaned up as we speak. Those two will be back together before you know it… As monsters. Isn't that funny, Kovalt?" Raniel let out a chuckle. "So, tell me, why are you here?"
"Revenge."
"Revenge? On whom? Last we checked it was Lescatie that turned Monoghon into a mamono realm. You've got the wrong people." Raniel laughed.
"It would be unwise of me to take on the entirety of Lescatie's military on my own, but those integral to Monoghon's fall are here, in this very city. I have tracked them here, and I will have my revenge." Kovalt growled.
"Oh. I see…" Raniel scratched her chin. "Too bad we beat you to them. We're hunting them down as we speak. We've already captured half of them. We're going to get whatever information they have, wipe their minds, and drop them off far, far away from here." Raniel moved into a fighting stance. "As for you. You have murdered two heroes of Aerokon and destroyed government property. I will personally carry out your punishment, right now."
Kovalt drew his sword. Taking on a valkyrie with only one working arm would be nearly impossible, but he had no choice.
"So be it, disgraced angel."