-Chapter Twenty-Four-

Betrayal - Part Two

The Hamadia region was notorious for its danger.

Over the course of decades, it has maintained its reputation as a land of death.

Anybody with half a brain wouldn’t dare to set foot in.

At times, there were those who assembled even a miniature army and marched into Hamadia, aiming to be one of the first in history to solve the mystery of Hamadia.

After all, anyone who entered would never exit again. No one had any idea what transpired within the mountains.

Oddly enough, the army came out perfectly unscathed.

They only had encounters with some orcs, trolls and various other demi-human tribes, but otherwise, nothing that a group of experienced A-rank adventurer’s couldn’t overcome.

The word spread that maybe Hamadia wasn’t so dangerous after all? And for a few years, indeed people successfully traversed through it between Colefield and the other side of it, Leina.

But that peace only lasted a short decade before people started going missing in Hamadia again.

It was odd though. Small groups would disappear, but large groups would make it out fine.

The theory was that maybe, there was some sort of entity deliberately targeting victims, whose identity was yet to be exposed.

Then, one day, only one survivor made it back to Colefield, covered in dirt, soot and blood. He gave his testimony and it shocked all those who heard it; that Hamadia was in actuality home to some form of nightmarish species.

The great scholars interviewed him but in all the records of creatures, they could not find one that matched the description.

Humanoid, with somewhat long, lanky arms attached to a disproportionate silhouette body. If words could describe it, the pictures drawn from such a descriptive resembled ghouls or wraiths.

But what no one knew, for it was long since forgotten, was the long-lost legend of Hamadia.

Though the region in the current day was a tropical, flourishing region, it used to be a barren desert devoid of all life.

The Hamadia desert had taken many lives who found themselves stranded and trapped within it.

The sand all died away however, when one day a Deity of some form found itself stranded in the desert as well, weakened after its conflict with another of its own kind.

Some stories called it a Deity, some other versions called it God-kin, but they all agree that some form of higher existence also fell victim to Hamadia.

And perished.

It was then the God-kin’s mother descended to find her beloved child’s ruined body and she wept.

Unlike her budding son, she was a true Immortal, able to slice the sky and breathe life into dust. Her uncontrollable and unyielding tears flooded the desert to create endless rivers, and once her mourning concluded, she hunted down the killer of her son in anguish and vengeance.

The perpetrator was no match for her, dying to her claws, and then she returned to the half-desert half-ocean.

She resented both the corpse in her hand and the hot, barren sand that took her son’s life.

So she threw the body into the earthen bedrock and chanted a grand, shamanic spell.

Once she finished and just as she ascended again out of the plane of Mortals, a single, green leaf sprouted from the sand near the un-drying rivers.

After a millennia passed, though the heat remained, now a flourishing forest with home to life stood tall.

What all of its inhabitants did not know however, was that the resentful corpse of a God-kin laid buried deep beneath the ground they all lived upon.

—-----------------------

As Aelius trailed behind Aria and Lia, gazing at their backs intently, Asura dropped down to join him, curiously looking around her.

“They’ve come very close to the camp, haven’t they?” she remarked.

Huh? Who? Aelius asked with a raised brow and she looked back at him with a deadpan.

“The people who have been trailing us for the last three days?” she asked in confusion.

What? People? Trailing us? For three days!? Aelius exclaimed at her.

“You didn’t know?” she tilted her head.

How could I know! I’m only at the Second Ring, I don’t have Greater Mana Detection yet! You should’ve brought it up earlier! He answered and she looked at him doubtfully.

“But with Blood Vision you should be able to see lifeforms through the trees.”

We haven’t completed your Summoning yet. We haven’t had Possession active this whole time, and we’re unable to use Assimilation until your body is made.

Asura blinked blankly back at him.

“You should’ve made my body our first priority, hmph,” she turned away with a huff.

And where would I find the sacrifices for that? he asked with a sigh.

“Everywhere all around you,” she gestured at the two girls and Aelius gave her an angry glare.

No, Asura. What the hell?

“Fine,” she shook her head disapprovingly.

Argh, for now I’m just gonna have to borrow your eyes, okay? Can you tell me where they are right now? he asked.

“They’re gone, out of range of my vision now,” she shrugged.

How concerning, Aelius thought and sighed. I’m going to have to speak to the other Party Leaders and Owen after this. Did they seem hostile?

“Yes. There was quite significant blood lust coming off of them. Well, for a mere human,” she smugly responded.

Yes, yes. We get it. For a measly human, Aelius rolled his eyes as they arrived at their tent before he even noticed, and Lia and Aria turned around to face him.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow, Lius?” Lia asked inquisitively and he frowned.

“I’m going to have to think about it. It looks like something annoying has cropped up,” he groaned, scratching the back of his head. “Lia, can you head inside first? I want to speak to Ria alone for a little bit.”

“O-oh, sure. Well, you guys sort out your stuff then. I’ll wait inside.”

Both Aria and Aelius silently watched Lia duck into to the tent, before Ria turned to face Aelius.

“So. What do you have to say to me? That it needs to be just us?” she asked, her tone calm and neutral.

Aelius returned a determined gaze.

“Really, I would’ve liked for us to take our masks off so we could speak face-to-face but…” he sighed, looking around the camp. “Privacy is hard to find nowadays.”

“Just get to the point,” she coldly told him and he pursed his lips.

“I’ve been unfair to you, and I’ve mistreated you,” he raised his hands to gesture his surrender.

“Our talk helped me realise that. So, I’m sorry for doing that to you. Honestly.”

Through her mask with Abstergo, Aelius saw Aria’s expression weaken.

But no doubt, through her God-eyes, she could tell he was looking at her through her mask.

“About your confession… I couldn’t accept it because of my own problems. I realised it wasn’t as simple as whether something was believable or not. The issue wasn’t with you, but it’s with me.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aria took a step forward. “You mean to say, there’s nothing I can do to change myself?” she asked, even more hurt in her voice.

“Of course there is, but the fact that you even need to is a problem with me, and I want to fix it,” he answered sincerely with his head pointed to the ground.

“What problem, exactly?” she asked. “Just talk to me. Communicate, and we can work it out.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Well… to put it simply, you scare the shit out of me,” he shrugged and she looked at him with a gawk.

“I-I what?” she repeated.

“You’re too smart, Aria. I’m not even meaning mature. You’re simply too smart. Too down to earth. Too cunning. I get scared around you because you’re unpredictable.”

“W-when though?” she tilted her head. “When have I done something unpredictable that scared you?” she asked.

“Well, you used your blessing on me. You sold out your family for me, and… you always know what I’m thinking. Like a few days ago when I came back from the ogre subjugation, you were straight away ready to wash me down.”

Aria looked at him with betrayal.

“I did all those things for you though?” she answered and he nodded.

“I know, I know,” he waved his hands, trying to calm her down. “And the fact that you know what’s going on through my mind so well, and that it scares me, is a problem with me. Not you.”

He took a deep breath as Aria fell silent, unsure of what to say.

“So… so what now, then? Do you want me to act distant from you? What would the point of doing that be? From the beginning, I-I… I’ve only wanted to be closer with you,” she vulnerably clutched her arm. “I know how evil my mother is, that’s why I agreed to stand on your side. I know I used my blessing on you, but it was the only way I could think of how to stay by your side, and-”

“Hey, hey, I know, I get it,” Aelius pulled her into a hug, silencing her. “You don’t have to change. I don’t want you to change. You should just do as you please. Do as you want. Okay? Actually, please do that. Do whatever you want. But just give me a bit of time. Until I’m ready to face you, please just be patient with me.”

In his arms, he suddenly heard a soft sob and pulled away, looking at Aria’s crying face with worry.

“W-what’s wrong? Did I upset you again?” he frantically asked and she shook her head, giving him a small smile.

“N-no. It’s just… you’re really unfair, saying that to me.”

Unfair, Aelius heard and pursed his lips.

All the women in his life are telling him he is unfair.

Gently lifting up her mask, but not all the way, she wiped her tears away with her other hand.

“Fine. If anyone can be patient with you, I’ll prove it’s me. And I’ll take you up on your suggestion. I’ll do as I please. You better not forget your promise to me,” she smiled and then turned away, disappearing into the tent, leaving Aelius alone outside.

“Hah…” he sighed deeply, turning away as well, recalling her heartfelt smile.

There it was again. That pure emotion.

Welp… with that, the chessboard has been set. I don’t know if I came off the way I wanted to but, maybe now she’ll think she can get away with some of her stunts. I’ll be able to gauge her a little bit from this.

Owen sat at a humble picnic round table with the other party leaders as the night dragged on, when he looked up and noticed the three party leaders’ expressions turn sour all of a sudden, looking up past him.

“H-huh?” Owen looked behind him as well to find Lius walking up beside him.

The four watched in dead silence as Lius took a chair and joined them, looking down at the table and taking a deep breath. The four felt tense, glancing at each other until Lius spoke.

“For the last few days, a group of humans have been trailing us in the forests.”

“Pffff-” one of the leaders blew his coffee out his mouth. “What!?” he exclaimed, spinning back around.

“Today, they got close. About a hundred and fifty metres away from us, but then backed off again. If they’re able to survive in this environment with their small group, they could all be individually strong. Or, worse yet, they have a main base or a larger group somewhere in the region. Either way, I don’t know their identity nor their intentions.”

Owen and the other three party leaders gulped.

“If they make a move at us, my plan is to kill them all, since I don’t like risks. But just in case things go south and I get caught up, leaving the rest of you vulnerable, we need to come up with a contingency plan.”

He looked back at the tent.

“I don’t care if I face danger, but if Ria ends up shouldering too heavy of a burden just to protect you guys and she gets hurt, I’m gonna be pretty angry.”

At his sentence, Laura frantically nodded.

“Of course you would be! We’re supposed to hold our own! We can’t let a teenage girl get hurt trying to protect us, right guys!?” her eyes darted from one of her comrades to the other, and they slowly nodded.

“Well…” Aelius sighed. “Just be smart, I guess. Come up with a rotational plan, make sure the clients are safe, and, in the event that I don’t come back for a long time, feel free to move on without me. But listen to Ria’s orders in that case.”

“O-okay,” they nodded as Lius rose to his feet.

“Also, double the patrols tonight. Since we don’t know when they’re going to attack, I’m going to try and get as much sleep as I can, while I can. Wake me up as soon as anything happens.”

“Okay!” Owen determinedly nodded to him and Lius disappeared back to his tent, leaving the four in each other’s presence again.

“He’s not A-rank for nothing,” the twin-swords captain remarked. “He makes good decisions.”

“I underestimated him,” Laura guiltily admitted.

“I don’t think he took it to heart,” Owen assured her. “I get the feeling that though he acts cold, he’s actually quite a nice guy.”

“Sure… you only say that cause you don’t have the Mana circuits to feel him,” Laura answered and Owen tilted his head.

“What do you mean?” he asked and the Fanden captain let out a loud groan.

“Every time he wants to speak, it’s like a heavy weight gets pressed on my chest. That kid’s constantly releasing waves of pressure.”

“Huh… wow, I never noticed,” Owen remarked in interest.

“Well yeah, neither did the Daniesvich’s,” Laura rolled her eyes. “He probably only has an interest in bullying us mercs, hah.”

—-----------------------

The following day, the convoy proceeded through the northern side of the Hamadia Valley, now a full two weeks into the trip.

They still had half of the Hamadia region remaining, before they would reach Leina.

Thankfully, it was yet another day of smooth sailing, with only a few jungle predators they had to ward off.

Nightfall soon arrived and the new encampment had been erected, whilst the chefs busily prepared that night’s meal.

Aelius was, as usual, overseeing the convoy’s affairs from atop one of the central carriages when Asura leisurely descended from the overhead sky down to him.

“My long awaited sacrifices have arrived,” she told him and pointed to the south-west of the encampment.

Can you tell what their Mana Rings are? Aelius asked back, casting a glance to Aria who was seated right beside him, and then back to Asura.

“I’m unfamiliar with such a concept, so no. But if you use my power, you’ll easily be able to kill them.”

Okay… Aelius rose to his feet.

“Lius?” Aria asked, looking up to him.

“Remember the plan. I’ll be leaving you in charge of our defence,” he nodded to her.

“Okay. Leave it to me. Do you want to take Lia with you?” she asked back with a head-tilt.

“...No, I’d rather her not have to see what’s gonna go down. You can have her help you with your defence if you want, though.”

With that, he flung himself off the edge of the carriage, suspiciously looking around.

By now, the line to fetch the meal was gradually growing.

Aelius patrolled a few circles about, but nothing happened.

Maybe they were waiting for everyone to go to sleep, he finally considered as hours dragged on.

Just as he was about to sigh and turn away, he heard a clunking at his feet.

There was a damp thud and he looked down just in time to see a crystal ball hit the ground before him.

Immediately, there was a loud ringing from it and a flash of light, blinding Aelius as he quickly conjured a Mana barrier and by the time his vision returned, the small glass ball had erupted in smoke.

The thick, white murky cloud smothered the entire encampment like a veil, and Aelius couldn’t see even two metres ahead of him.

“Asura! Possession!” he called out and immediately, his vision turned blood red as her power enhanced him.

Through the smoke, he could now see the silhouettes and beating hearts of all the people around him.

Shouting and chaos could be heard all over, but Aelius cut through all the anarchy straight to the outer ring of the trees where he saw a suspicious group of people quickly withdrawing from the trees.

They’re retreating? Aelius wondered with a frown when the smoke was quickly dispelled, and he looked up to see Aria standing at the top of her carriage with her staff raised.

High-tier Anemo magic sent the smothering veil back out into the trees, now returning visibility to everyone in the camp.

He gave her a firm nod and she returned it, before he turned back to the rest of the Mercenaries, who were quickly getting into formation to defend the entry to the Daniesvich tent.

The threat was already over however, as Aelius saw the group disappear with his own two eyes, and he dispelled Possession, sighing deeply.

What was that all about? he wondered, when he turned and noticed Aria drop down from the carriage.

Something about her struck him as odd, as he noticed she was menacingly approaching the Daniesvich tent.

If he didn’t know any better, she seemed pissed off.

“Ria?” Aelius called out to her but she ignored him, instead stepping up to the large central tent and flinging aside the entry curtains before chanting a spell.

What the hell is she doing!? Aelius exclaimed internally as he sprung over to her, just in time to see her pull Young Lord Damien out of the tent and fling him onto the grass.

“You deplorable degenerate,” she growled as she raised her staff above his head.

“W-wait!” he exclaimed as his two parents came storming out of the tent behind him.

“What’s going on!?” the Daniesvich Lord angrily demanded, and Aria looked down at Damien with a murderous glare.

“Your son was the one who threw the smoke artefact at Lius,” she coolly spoke. “I saw it from atop the carriage. He hid behind one of the fences and rolled it out.”

“What!?” the Daniesvich Lord spluttered, looking around with bulging eyes. “What in the world is going on here? You must be mistaken!” he exclaimed.

“Aria!” Damien called out, still shaking. “Why are you doing this to me!”

Aelius didn’t notice Aria’s eyes flare up at the mention of her name. Instead, he was too busy immediately kicking Damien across the jaw.

“Lius!” Aria exclaimed in surprise as Damien flung over.

“What in the worldddd are you doing!?” the Daniesvich Lord angrily shouted before Lius snapped back, turning around to face Aria.

“Why does he know your name?” he asked and Aria nervously looked away.

“...He stalked me, and I got careless…” For a moment, Aelius was completely stunned, until he suddenly snapped.

“Who the fuck- what??” he turned back to Damien when suddenly, they were all interrupted.

“My Lord!” A woman’s voice cried and they all turned to find a maid hysterically stumbling out of the main tent. “Lady Jessica has been abducted!”

“WHAT!?” The Daniesvich Lord roared as chaos descended onto the camp.