Before the guard could yell I quickly lunged towards him and punched his throat. With tears flowing from his eyes, he clutched his throat with his left hand as his right reaches for the spear he placed against the door earlier.

Oh no you don't!

I stepped forward and grabbed his hand with my left and put my right foot behind his left foot. With my right hand I grabbed his mouth to muffle his voice and turned my body. Using both of our weight, momentum from my sudden turn, and a little help from gravity, I let both of our body fall to the ground as I smashed his head on the floor. Unfortunately, the guard seem to be skilled as he grabbed me with both of his hands and turned his body also, making us fall on our sides instead of getting his skull broken. We grappled with each other as he try to escape and scream for help but between me muffling his mouth with my hand and multiple throat punches, the only thing his mouth can produce is blood.

"Guh!" I muffled a pained groan of my own as he was able to elbow my sides to free himself. Oh no you don't! I scream in my mind as the guard runs towards his spear. I ran after him and was able to catch up to him as he was about to get hold of his spear. I tackled him down, blocking a kick and then an elbow as he try to fend me off. I didn't relent and after blocking one of his elbow, I grabbed it and put him in a joint lock.

"Quiet down. Someone's going to hear." I whispered to his ears. Which prompted him to struggle more in order to escape my joint lock. He tries to use his size advantage over me in order to escape my grasp but using Ki to compensate, I was able to pin him. The sound of our scuffle makes me nervous that it might attract the attention of his comrades.

I must end this quick.

I tried to break his joints so that it would be easier for me to end the fight, but the man is tough. Whenever I try to put pressure on his joint, he trashes around and threatening to dislodge me from his back. So I came up with a plan. I feigned to try and break his arm once more and when he tried to trash around, I quickly let go of his arm and went for his neck instead.

Success!

He tried to struggle out of my headlock but the chokehold was perfect. He trashed around but I never let go. I choked him with all of my strength as he quickly loses his fervor and after a few more seconds, he goes limp. I didn't let go of the chokehold for a few more seconds just to be sure he wasn't faking it. I don't want to be the man who almost won but got his back stabbed due to carelessness.

Once I was sure that the guard was unconscious, I felt my knees give out as the adrenaline in my blood recedes. That was intense! I have fought against stronger opponents but I almost forgot how much grappling against an opponent on the ground was this exhausting, especially when he is larger than you. Adding that the bastard was deceptively muscular underneath the robes, no wonder it felt like I was grappling with a bull than with a man. But more than the feeling of exhaustion, I feel something more. Pride. For the first time since I woke up in the middle of the forest I won in a fight, by myself. I've sparred against Kurt and Philip, I've fought against the members of the Organization, and every time I got my ass handed to me. The sportsman, no, the fighter inside of me laments that I've never won a fight at least once. Either I got help from others or I get my body injured so much before they chose to escape. But now, I've won. All by myself without needing help from others or breaking my bones in order to win. Finally, I can prove to myself that I can still fight. I can still win.

As I stare at my shaking hands, elated of my recent victory. My gaze fell on the figure of my fallen enemy, and a thought pops into my head. Now what? As I continue to look at the motionless figure of the guard, I am torn on what to do. Do I kill him and hide the body to make sure no one knows I am here? Or do I keep him alive and risk the chance he regaining consciousness before we accomplish what we set to do here and warn the whole camp of our presence?

No. I can't afford to hesitate. I've already killed before when I struck Kaizer down with a stone to his forehead, granted it was in self-defense but I never lost sleep even with his blood in my hand. Also, when I was forced to fight against Vash, a man I considered my friend, I already made up my mind. I will do anything if it means I can go back to my love ones. Even KILL.

My heartbeat beats faster as every step gets me closer to the spear that is leaning against the door. This is the first time I will kill someone who is not out to kill me. Well, he would've killed me earlier when he is conscious, but now, he is defenseless. My hands tremble once more as I raise the spear.

I will stay alive and come back home! No matter what it takes!

The thought echoes inside my mind as I plunge the spear at the breast of my enemy. The sickening sound of pointed metal entering a person's body. The blood spurting after I pull the spear, only to plunge it back again and again and again, till I was sure the man is breathing no more.

Blood was flowing from the body of the dead man. I did it. I really did it. I killed a defenseless man. I was ready. I thought I was ready. Anything to stay alive. To come back home. But what is this feeling in my heart? I feel sick that I want to vomit. But I got hold of myself.

Would I have felt better if I killed him in battle? Maybe. But I didn't. I chose to kill him. I chose to end a life of a defenseless man and I will forever carry that burden.

I shook my head in an effort to push out the thought from my mind. This is no time for regret. I rice has been cooked. What is left is to complete the mission and turn myself over to the Guild for questioning. Who knows, they might have information on how I could go back home.

I gaze at the dead body, soaked in a pool of his own blood, then something dawned on me.

Oh no! If anyone comes inside the tower they will see the blood! Even if I move the body, the bloodstain will still be visible and they will no doubt discover that someone has infiltrated their camp. Damn it. I should've hid the body before stabbing it. Or better yet, just break his neck and hide the body! I could've also wear his robes so that I could sneak around in plain sight. But now it is useless, not with the multiple holes from stabbing him with a spear earlier.

Damn you hindsight! I cursed not thinking of it earlier as I carried a table and put the body over it so that there will be no blood trail before carrying the table to a corner cabinet and stuffed the body inside. I covered the blood stain with a carpet and covered the blood stained table with table cloth. I then started to walk silently up the stairs.

There are other people inside the tower. Hopefully they are asleep so that I won't need to get into fights that might get me discovered. This time, I will try not to get messy and stab them to death. I will just break their necks so that I will not poke holes to their robes so that I have something to wear for disguise.

I hope the others are doing better than I do because man, I am not having a good day.

**

"Alora, are you sure you are fine? I saw you flinch in pain earlier. Did you have an injury? Maybe you should stay here and rest. We will take care of the mission." Philip fussed. It is kind of nice knowing someone cares and worries about you.

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Philip. He was always by my side ever since he offered me to join their party. He is never overbearing, he values the ideas of every party member and never hesitates to do something crazy even to the detriment of our mission if it means that the party will be safe. He might believe that his plans, born through his perfectionist mind, is aimed to complete the mission perfectly, but I see it's nothing like that. He wants his plans to be perfect so that every party member will be able to come back safely. If he truly focused only on the mission, then we would have the highest success rate among this branch of the Guild.

Truly a kind and caring soul. A human I am happy to be with.

"I am fine Philip. I just felt dizzy for a moment." I told him in an effort to soothe his worrying mind.

"Yea. You should eat some meat, Elf. You are getting dizzy because there is not much meat in your diet." The insufferable but dependable dwarf stated.

If not for his ingenious device, then we wouldn't be able to find this place. Even I and the other Rangers wouldn't have been able to find this camp, with it being covered by a Master level illusion while also being situated at the edge of the Elven Forest. Even if an Elf accidentally stumble in this place, they would've quickly be detected and swarmed by the members of the Organization. Truly we owe the discovery of the enemy right here in the Elven Forest to the wily dwarf. If only his attitude is not so unbearable.

"Before you worry about her, we should worry more about the man who is not here with us right now. That Cloud. Of all the time he had to pee, he chose to relieve himself when we have to rush towards the Illusion Wall." Philip whispered as he bites his lip in anger. "He must have planned this. He didn't enter so we will be trapped here and he could escape without resistance."

"Do not worry. He is here." I told him.

"What do you mean? He is here? On this side of the wall? I am sure he didn't have enough time to enter, did he really got inside?" Philip asked.

"Yes. He is here. I can feel it. Did you forget? We are connected." I pointed at the tattoo of the blood seal on my left wrist. "I can't pin point his location, but I know he is near." That bastard. I don't know how he did it. But he must have used some of his Void energy. I don't know how, since the blood seal should've made it impossible for him to use it. But what I felt earlier. The feeling of my Life Energy drawn to empower his seal.

That's it. There is no explanation on what happened other than he was able to tap on his Void energy despite the blood seal. The Void-touched. He is dangerous and must not be let to master his powers.

"If what you said is true, then he must be in that direction." The monk pointed towards the direction of a tower. "There are a lot of people walking around the vicinity. If we try to go there, we will surely get spotted."

"What do we do Philip? Do we go and get the lad first and risk getting found out by these bastards? Or do we leave him for the mean time and go straight to save Mark? Whichever ye choose, I will follow ye." The dwarf whispered.

Philip paused for a moment as he decides which course we will take. After a minute, he spoke. "We will go straight to Mark." He continued. "We already come this far. If we try to regroup with Cloud, we might get discovered and the plan will surely fail. There are too many enemies here, it will be impossible to save Mark much less fight our way out of here." He then added. "Cloud will be fine. You saw how sneaky he fights. I am sure he is finding a place to hide right now as we go and complete our mission. Also, even if he gets discovered, he will most likely attract all the attention from the enemies here, which means the path towards Mark will be safer then we could use his distraction for our escape." He stated.

To be honest, I would've preferred if we go and get the Void-tainted. If he gets captured, who knows what might happen? Especially when he was able to draw his Void energy, even if it is just a small amount. No matter, once the Rangers swoop in, there will be nothing to worry about. This camp will not be able to withstand the might of the Elven Rangers.

"You're right. Although I was hoping that you would say that we need to get Cloud first since he is near, it would jeopardize the mission. You're our leader and we will follow you. But promise me that before we escape, we will go back for the man." The monk told Philip.

"As long as we have not been detected, we will. But if we are to fight our way out of here, he is on his own. I will not endanger the health of our Party's member for someone who we met only a few days ago." Philip then added. "Don't even argue with me on this. We need to save Mark first and that is final."

The monk doesn't look happy but he nodded.

As we are about to proceed with our mission, I heard footsteps coming towards us. I signaled the others to take cover while I hid in a corner. The sound of the footsteps get nearer, I ready myself to knock the person out. Waiting… until the footsteps passed us.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Philip whispered. "Okay. We already wasted enough time. Let's go and save our friend."

We all nodded in agreement and proceeded with our mission.

Before I go, I gave one more glance at the direction where the Void-touched is located. Savor each breath that you take. For once this is over, you will no longer be able to threaten this world, and I, I will have my honor back once more.

**

Rebeccah, that bitch! How dare she sneak inside my chambers and steal that gauntlet! I was being careful in studying it, trying to learn of its mysteries and claim it as my own. Only opening it for a brief moment and quickly covering it with that sealing cloth. It was only a matter of time, I would've discovered how to harness its energy. Now everything is ruined! Now here I am, standing in front of my master as he sits in his office with the cloth covered gauntlet sitting on top of his table.

"You must be aware on why you're here, my dear apprentice." He started.

"I am." I admitted. It is better to own your mistakes rather than tell an obvious lie to master. He taught me that guile and deception is a tool to be used to get what you want. He only hates this is if you get caught.

"Good. Then I don't need to mince words." He paused. "What you did is extremely dangerous. Void energy is not a play thing. You are genius, a talent that is one in one hundred thousand. You've got the power, the technique, and the ruthlessness to reach the top. If you have one flaw, it is that you overestimate yourself. You must've think yourself so clever. But here is a secret, dear apprentice. You are not as clever as you might have thought."

What are you saying old man?! Just because you are older than me you think that you could look down on me?! If Rebeccah didn't stole the gauntlet, you wouldn't even know what I am doing right under your nose!

Even after wearing my blank expression to hide my trepidation, he was still able to sense the anger simmering just beneath my façade. My master smiled as if my anger amuse him, he continued. "You might think that you could've kept this wondrous equipment secret from me. That if only Miss Frost didn't take this to me. But you must thank her, if she didn't took this away from you, you will be dead even before you could harness this energy for yourself." He then uncovered the gauntlet, releasing the energy trapped within. I can feel my energy getting siphoned from my body. After a few seconds of experiencing this unsettling feeling, master covered the gauntlet once more. "Such wonderful energy. Powerful and dangerous. To think that this very energy enabled a Knight such as Prince Reginald to become Kaizer, a Mage of unparalleled might in just three short years. Once we harness this energy for our own, the humanity will finally take its' rightful place at the top of Astera!"

In his excitement, his Aura exploded, filling the whole room with his energy. I let his energy wash over me for if I try to put up my Aura to defend against his, he might take it as a threat, so I just stood there silently.

After a minute, he finally calmed himself down and walk towards the window to look outside. He then spoke once more. "This amount of energy might be enough for one person, but it only means that we should not waste even a drop of it due to the carelessness of a person who thinks she knows better." He then turned around to look at me. "Be patient, dear apprentice. Once we get The One, we will have enough energy for all the Chosen to ascend. Then we will have enough strength to force the other races to kneel. For this, you will be needed. So forget your little schemes and---"

Before he could finish, I felt something. It was only for a split second but I felt a spike in energy. Try as I might, I can't pinpoint where it originated, but I couldn't sense it no longer. I keep my expression neutral so as to not alarm the master, but from the look on his face, he must've also felt it.

After a minute or so of scouring the whole camp, Elder Maximillian coughed and continued. "That is all. Go back to your chamber and send me the man you've caught. I have plenty to discuss with him."

"As you wish, master." I answered before exiting the building.

Damn it! I was so close! Ultimate power, almost in my grasp. No matter. Once we get The One, I will have the power I need. Then, I will rain punishment on everyone who wronged me. Starting with that bitch Rebeccah.