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In the show’s finale, Vincent performed last. Like the first time, his moment was simultaneous in Vienna and Prague. Physically, he was in Prague because it was his city, after all.
“What will you do tonight, Vincent?” the oldest member of the Czech jury asked. An old man, an actor, affable and kind, the Santa type.
“I will repeat the same act from my first apparition, sir, only with a slight variation.”
“Interesting. Should I write something on a piece of paper?” the blonde in Vienna asked. She had a paper and envelope prepared.
“If you want, sure. You’re not obliged.”
“She’s drawing a heart, and she wrote her phone number on the back,” a voice spoke in Vincent’s earbud. Thug, his mercenary comrade. He had mounted cameras in the venue the prior night.
Not interested, Vincent thought. “Now, I would like all jury members to volunteer for the act. Are you all OK with it?” he asked. It was a rhetorical question; he knew they were obliged to accept to play ball with the competitors by their contract. Once everyone nodded, he smiled and Strode to Vienna, taking the Czech jurors with him. A second later, he returned to Prague with the Austrian jury. The rock star fainted, and two others slackjawed, but the blonde rushed to push the envelope in his hand.
“And this, ladies and gentlemen, is real magic,” he said their catchphrase. “Please vote for me.” After he bowed, Vincent transported himself to the Altenschloss domain.
“You’re forgetting something,” Elina said. She was looking at the show on her smartphone. On both sets, all hell had broken loose.
“I don’t think so,” Vincent frowned.
“The juries! They’re in the wrong place.”
“They’ll call a cab,” Vincent shrugged. In truth, he didn’t forget about the jurors but intentionally left them in the other town. If, in time, magic became more normal on Earth and portals a thing, it was better to prepare the population beforehand.
In the park, a huge gathering of people and materiel waited. Ten heavy trucks carrying containers and military vehicles covered by tarps and people. He had a hundred and seventy Karmic Charges, which were still mounting. Soon, they stabilized at one hundred and ninety-five.
“How many people do we have?” Vincent asked.
“Sixty. Half mercs and the rest relatives and significant ones,” Karl said, inspecting a list.
“So few?” Vincent widened his eyes.
“Yes… Many of our proteges had bad relationships with their families… you know… it’s that age. We considered it’s best to keep their relatives in the dark… they’re unreliable. We’ll keep sending them AI-generated recordings. Ninety percent of the girlfriends of boyfriends had dumped them too as soon as they were informed about the pretended Amazon mission. You know—”
“It’s that age,” Vincent sighed. Was Irene still feeling the same way about him? He surprised himself, wondering the same about Lila… and Raya, though he would have bet Raya moved on and returned to her husband… “Are you ready?”
“We’re not coming,” Elina said very fast.
“What?” That was unexpected.
“Son,” Karl fondled his shoulder. “We really think you’re good for Irene. If we came, we’d be in the way. Romance can’t bloom with parents looking over your shoulder every second. Let us know as soon as possible if Irene’s safe.”
“Let’s hope the ring links work…”
“Fuck no! I’ll kill you all! I’ll eat your livers raw!” a voice screamed not far away.
“What’s up, Ludwing?” Vincent asked, rolling his eyes.
“We won Prague but lost in Vienna… The singer won! How is this possible?”
“Soppy personal story,” Elina said. “And mikes make anyone look like they have a voice. Don’t worry, there’s a sizeable consolation prize this year.”
“I’ll go say goodbye to my folks,” Vincent said, walking to his family.
“Good luck, Vincent,” his father hugged him. His mother was crying but tried to hold herself together and kissed his cheeks.
“Take care, Vincent,” Bella said, tucking herself to his chest. “I… don’t know what to say… Thank you for your gift…”
“You’re welcome,” he kissed her hair. “Guys, make sure Bella buys a good apartment.’
“There’s one below us,” her mother said. “It will be so practical when she’ll have children!” Behind the woman, Bella was shaking her head in a desperate no.
“I think she could wait a few more years for that,” Vincent said. “But I’d be glad if she’d go stable with the shrink guy. OK, guys, this is hard for me… sorry… I should go.’
Exchanging one more hug with each, he returned to the Altenschloss and hugged them too. “Please let us know if she’s safe as soon as possible,” Irene’s father said.
“I will,” he patted Karl’s back. “Let’s do it.”
“Travelers, take your position,” a megaphone bellowed. “Civilians, remember, this is a military operation. Don’t move an inch unless instructed. Stay silent unless asked to speak. Move!”
Waving to his family as he ran toward the group to be transported, Vincent felt his eyes fill with tears. A little over a month had passed since he had returned to Earth… And if somebody had told him two months and a half before, he would be Isekaied to an alien planet and decide to return there given the choice, he would not have believed… Shaking his head, Vincent joined the rest and started concentrating.
Return is channeling. Please select a destination.
He failed to set the arrival point in Krivoburg’s main square. Maybe he got too many things and people with him? The clearing was available, though.
“In three… two… one!” he yelled.
This time, the transportation had both light and thunder. It felt less violent than the first but definitely more… evident. The clearing was empty. No sign of the tiger or anything. Within a minute, the mercenaries deployed drones and adopted defensive positions.
The System and its Archetypes welcome you back, Vincent Velasco.
Shit, I have the Raven name equipped. Problem for later. Hmm… phone is not working…
“I’ll go into town to let them know I’m back!” Vincent yelled.
“Axe Raven is going out, Dragon, taking command,” a mercenary in his late forties shouted.
The moment Vincent tried to go to the inn, he knew something was wrong. The location had disappeared from his list of targets. Heart in his throat, he summoned his tactical suit and jumped into the sky, gliding.
“The fuck?” he gasped.
The landscape had changed. The forest was the same, but the fields around Krivoburg and the town itself had… grown. Two miles of cultivated lands now separated the treeline from the city. The river was wider, more bridges were crossing it, and the city was twice in size. In its middle stood a giant tree, over three hundred feet tall.
I’m thinking in feet again, Vincent realized. The town center was still about the same; only the main square was much larger, and he jumped there. A few young scientists Vincent recognized were strolling around, ice cream in their hands. He grabbed one by the arm. Amina Mwanga, a bioengineer from Lagos, twenty-five, the name came to his memory. Vincent learned all his guilders' names on Earth, reading them twice a day at Karl’s suggestion. A good leader should know his team by heart, the man had said.
“Hi, Amina. Where’s Irene? Is she OK?” he blurted.
The woman looked at him with widened eyes, dropping her ice cream on the pavement. “V-Vincent?”
“Vincent’s back! Vincent’s back!” the girl next to Amina screamed. Her name was Lani.
“Irene’s in the t-tree…” Amina pointed with shaking hands. “That’s… the new Guild Headquarters.”
He ran toward the tree. In its middle was a door made of heavy beams reinforced with metal that opened as he approached. Behind, a lobby and a long set of stairs. Vincent climbed them a few steps at a time. Then, a familiar space appeared: the inn’s façade, inserted in the wood. The stables were gone, but when he entered, the dining room was still there—albeit twice in size now—plus a few conference rooms, some big, some small, and a small venue, the size of a small theatre. The rooms he could see were empty, though.
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“Irene!” Vincent screamed. “Lila, Bee, anyone?”
“V-Vincent?” a couple of voices yelled. Irene jumped in his arms like a cannonball, almost throwing him down. Lila arrived a second later but kept a few feet apart.
“Mussed ou sou mouch…” Irene sobbed, tears sprinkling out of her eyes like a fountain. Lila was quiet, looking more reserved. Vincent kissed her hair, not knowing what to say and what she expected from him.
“I need a moment,” he said, gently retreating from the embrace and focusing on his ring. “It’s important.”
Trying to set an Inter-reality connection. Connection failed. Retrying… text message transmission is possible. Focus your thoughts, and they will be transcribed in Chat 1 format.
[Ludwing]: Is it you?
[Vincent]: It’s me. Irene’s safe. “Is everyone OK?” he asked in a loud voice.
“Yes,” Lila nodded.
“Man, I missed you!” Bee’s voice shouted over Lila’s answer. Other people had started to appear in the lobby, their numbers growing by the minute.
“Moment, Bee!” Vincent said.
[Vincent]: Tell the Altenschloss everyone in the group is OK. I’ll let you know how’s your daughter as soon… Never mind. She’s fine… I have a visual on her.
Ludwing’s progeny, the Half-Sidhe, was among the ones present and looked at him with a hint of curiosity but otherwise much indifference. She wore all leather black clothes and had tons of new tattoos and piercings.
[Ludwing]: Elaborate.
[Vincent] No time now, I’ll call you tomorrow. End transmission.
“Guys,” Vincent yelled. “I’m back with gifts and guests. I’ll be direct. Your families know you’re alive, but for security reasons, most were told you’re saving the Amazon. The rainforest, not the company. Half of you have visitors from home, and the others have messages on a USB stick. Titan, the logistics expert, has it. Here’s a list with the ones having guests,” Vincent raised a piece of paper. “Bee, read it in the dining room. I will need everyone to be calm and behave orderly. There is much we have to discuss, but in due time. Go!”
“Follow me!” Bee snatched the paper and ran into the dining room, followed by the crowd.
“We have tons of things to organize,” Vincent said to Irene, taking her hands into his, “but before that, I need to know if you feel the same—”
She kissed him with a desperation only true love has. Different, but at the same time, like his first and last kiss with her ex had felt… “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too…” Vincent’s tears were flowing down his cheeks. “I’m sorry I realized it so late…”
“Go talk with Lila,” Irene said in his ear rapidly because the dancer had retreated further into a corner. “We’re OK to share you,” she caressed his cheek, “We’re good friends now… I don’t know how you feel about her, but she cares for you a lot.”
“Back in a moment,” he pecked her lips and rushed to Lila, only to hesitate in front of her. What to say? He did like her a lot… but love?
“I’ll be OK!” she said, crossing her arms in a defensive gesture.
“Sorry?”
“I know you want to break up with me… You love Irene.”
“I missed you,” Vincent fondled her neck, massaging her lower cheek with his thumb. “I closed my heart to you because I was a mess… I thought a lot about you this month… If I’m honest, I don’t want to lose you…”
“I don’t want either,” she said with a strangled voice.
“What if we take it step by step and see where it goes? ”
“It’s all I’m asking for,” Lila smiled, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I’m so happy you came back,” she pushed herself on her toes, kissing him. “Go, take care of whatever you have to.”
Vincent hugged her, returning to Irene. “The group is in the clearing. I didn’t feel the tiger around—”
“He bonded with Hari and lives in the fields now… In a shack with running water.”
“Perfect… It’s better not to show himself yet; the guys are trigger-happy.”
“The guys?” she frowned.
“Just a manner of speaking… There are gals too… About thirty mercenaries. Your parent’s idea.”
“My parents?”
“Lovely folks… a bit hyperactive… too much money and free time… but smart and kind… I worked with a security firm on a few jobs, and then they bought it. I have a few old friends among the mercs, comrades from my times overseas… Let me contact them… If we jump there without notice, they might shoot first and ask questions later.”
Vincent tried to see if his radio comm worked. “Dragon, this is Axe Raven. Dragon, this is Axe Raven. Do you copy? Over.”
“Axe Raven, this is Dragon. Loud and clear. Over.”
“Dragon, I’ll teleport there with two friends in… one minute. Repeat, arriving with two friends in a minute. Over.”
“Roger, Axe Raven, you’re clear to come. Dragon out.”
“Bee, come here!” Vincent yelled. “Give them the list if you’re not finished.”
“Coming!” Bee shouted back. He reappeared in a few seconds, leaving behind, in the dining room, a growing noise of voices.
“We jump in two… no, make it ten seconds… the boys like precision.”
“What boys?” Bee inquired.
“Well… the new name is Axe Raven’s Legion. Motto: If you see us, run. We’re not into being nice business. I came with it.” Vincent took Irene and Bee to the clearing as soon as he finished speaking.
“Oh my GOD!” Irene yelped, seeing the amount of people and the containers. The civilians had spread around, which meant the mercenaries had taken positions between the trees, covering the clearing and the surroundings.
“We’ll need storage for the supplies,” Vincent pointed to the trucks. “But before that, I’ll need to take a few of the boys to decide where to put things. Dragon and Thug will inspect the Guild and choose rooms for the mercenaries. They take priority over the civilians. If there are not enough rooms, the guests will stay with the one they’re visiting.”
Bee raised his hand. “But—”
“But nothing, Bee. It’s for tactical reasons. How fast they can move, and where can they defend the building from attacks. The guys are good, way better than I, and have done this job for many years. Dragon was a colonel in the US Army before he retired.”
“Howdy,” a man with gray hair and mustache saluted.
“Titan and Ghost will inspect logistics. Hopefully, that tree has a free room to transform into an armory. We brought thousands of handguns and rifles, plus heavy machine guns, mortars, self-propelled howitzers—"
“You’re joking!” Irene gasped.
“Body armor, combat Drones… one’s basically a fighter jet. Have you sorted out the fuel problem?” Vincent asked.
“N-not at this s-scale,” Bee stuttered. “We have a bio bio-fuel station for diesel locomotives.”
“What’s a bio bio-fuel station? Sorry, have you said locomotives?”
“Yeah, we have a rail going to Prague now, twice daily.”
“Bio Bio-fuel is made by a living plant as big as a house. It eats garbage and produces fuel,” Irene said.
“That’s neat,” Vincent nodded appreciatively. “Sorting out high-octane stuff is now a priority; I count on you, Bee.”
“On me? Amina and her team are the ones to talk to.”
“Then you talk to her. I have plenty of stuff on my hands, so I can’t micromanage everything. By the way, you won’t believe the precision lathes we brought. And my dad helped me get kilos of Moldavite and jade. Green gems are supposed to work better here, right?”
“Yey!” Bee cheered.
“Let’s get those people in town… Is the road OK?”
“All roads in a twenty-mile radius have been repaired and made better by the Dungeon core you installed,” Irene said.
“Perfect. Dragon, we’re ready to roll! Bee, go with the first truck.”
The mercenary nodded and started to shout orders. Two humvees were taken down from their platforms. Armed with heavy machine guns, they were to protect the front and rear of the convoy. Orders were given, and the civilians went onto a military transport bus.
“I and my team will walk,” Thug said. “Better coverage of the terrain.”
“I don’t sense any beast,” Vincent said.
“There are no more ‘cause Irene slayed them all,” Bee said emphatically. “She’s nicknamed Pest Control.”
“The code name for Axe Raven’s gal is Pest Control!” Dragon yelled.
“Nooooo!” Irene wailed. “Bee, you moron!”
“Move, move, move!” the mercenary ignored her, gesturing at the group.
The first Humvee started its engine in a plume of heavy smoke and drove southeast toward the road cleared by Vincent two months before. The bus followed, then the trucks. They kept the speed low to read the track first, but there was no danger there, as Bee said.
Vincent started to jog along the convoy, and to his surprise, Irene was keeping up with him easily. She was now level fifty, with thirty in Body, forty-five in Mind, and sixty in Spirit.
“I see you worked out,” he complimented her. She blushed but smiled with both her lips and eyes.
Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the bridge. It was twice larger than Vincent remembered, and a portcullis gate had been built on it at about a third of the distance. The bars rose, and a plump man with pale green skin advanced.
“Stop! Prepare to be inspected!” the man yelled at the first Humvee.
“Dragon to Axe Raven. What are we supposed to do? Over,” the merc radioed Vincent, even if the latter was next to the truck.
“Stand by, Dragon. Over. Irene?”
“Get off the vehicle and prepare to be inspected by the bridge troll!” Irene yelled. “Don’t talk back to him, whatever he says. God have mercy on your soul if you use sarcasm!”
“Axe Raven?” Dragon asked on the radio.
“Are they stupid?” Irene asked.
“Following protocol. Don’t exit the vehicle in a danger zone unless ordered to. Dragon, this is Axe Raven. Follow Pest Control’s orders. Over and out… Do you still love me,” he asked because Irene looked at him like a lunatic.
“Despite my best judgment, yes,” she tucked herself in his shoulder, grabbing his hand.
Dragon opened the door, jumped off the vehicle, and advanced toward the troll, raising his arms laterally, waiting to be inspected for guns. “Hi, shorty. I carry three pieces.”
“Oh, no!” Irene gasped.
“Yes, you are. Because that thing between your legs sure isn’t a fourth one. Don’t worry; the town’s brothel has the best magnifying glasses; the whores will find your wiener in no time.”
The mercenary slackjawed. Maybe still in shock, he pushed the radio button. “Axe Raven, this is Dragon,” he said in a choked voice. “May I shoot the Leprechaun? I repeat: May I—"
“No, you may not!” Irene screamed. “He’s a civil servant, and while he’s on his bridge, he’s immune to physical damage! Annoy him, and he’ll tag you with a call sign you won’t be able to take off for a year!”
“Dragon, this is Axe Raven. Execute Pest Control orders. Over and out,” Vincent said on the radio.
“He’s clear,” the troll smirked. “Deep insecurity if his third son is really his kid… Show me a recent photo of you and your wife with the kid, and I’ll tell you.”
“H-here…” Dragon fumbled to get his phone out, showing the screen to the troll.
“Hm…” the plump man frowned. “Yeah, it’s yours.”
“Thanks!” Dragon blurted.
“Same dumb expression… I bet the max grade he gets in school is C.”
“Get back in the car, Dragon,” Vincent grabbed his friend’s arm before the merc could jump at the troll. Growling, the soldier returned to the vehicle while the gunner got out.
“Hey, walking broccoli,” the merc smiled at the troll, making Irene gasp again. “I’m Scoundrell, the Intel officer. Two l’s and an accent on the last syllable because I’m French. You immune to bullets on the bridge, right?”
“Right,” the troll smiled back, rubbing his hands. The veins on his forehead were bulging, and the creature had an overall expression of joyous anticipation. “So… Your mo—"
“Speak shit to me, and I throw you in the river. We’ll see how well you do against the fifty cal then,” Scoundrell pointed to the Humvee, where Dragon was behind the machine gun.
“I’d take Scoundrell seriously if I were you,” Vincent said. “He killed like a hundred people with his bare hands.”
“Seventy-eight,” the troll corrected him. Nevertheless, the number was impressive enough to make him think twice before making jokes. “I see he’s loyal to your group… But there are two… guilds in his past he still works with… See eye hey and may eye sex?”
“CIA and MI6,” Scoundrell said. “Yeah, they call me for the dangerous gigs. My call name is Zero ze—”
Fortunately, the bus behind honked to speed up the movement, and the mercenary went back in the Humvee, taking the wheel. It took over an hour—an interminable time for Vincent—until everyone was checked. Among the civilians were two who had promised to tell their story to tabloids and an old man, almost senile, who had the same name as a scientist’s father and had been taken by mistake from a retirement home.
The first two were scolded but allowed in town, and a merc was assigned to care for the third. Bee guided the military vehicles to the eastern boroughs, where factories and storehouses were built. At the same time, Vincent and Irene finally returned to the Guild.