Chapter 11
A fight in the forest
location: Awara forest, Egit
Day: 22nd of Jan 5027
_ Where are we going?_ Saiko questions
~ nowhere in particular ~ Ken responds
the duo had been walking for a few hours now.
Saiko raises an eyebrow looking confused
_ You mean we are walking aimlessly _
~ pretty much ~
_ I thought you never acted without a plan _
~ I have a plan ~
Saiko looks at Ken even more confused now
_What's the plan? _
~ waiting ~
_ What?_
Saiko's confusion continues to grow.
~haaaa~
Ken sighs before answering.
~ we need to deal with Evil Eyes first, it will be troublesome if both Evil Eyes and the strike force come after us at the same time ~ he continues ~ I am waiting for her to attack us ~
Saiko's eyes grow wide in surprise.
_ Isn't that dangerous? She can use different kinds of magic and combine them together _
Ken's lips curl up slightly but he quickly brings them down keeping his expression in check, since he knows Evil eyes must be watching them now.
' but that's fine she can see us but she can't hear us '
~it's fine so long as you can predict her next attacks, Evil eye is a smart one, she will consider that we can block electromagnetic waves and lightning with the demon sword horns, and since gravity gets stronger the more mass you have she will exclude earth, and finally since you use water she will conclude that she needs to use wind and fire~
Saiko's whiskers twitch alerting her.
she raises a large ice wall to their left and as though to confirm Ken’s prediction 3 massive fire balls collide with the ice wall.
the intense heat of the fire instantly evaporates the ice covering the forest in mist.
Saiko's ears twitch to the left picking up the sound of quick footsteps, then she sees Daxia come out of the mist running towards them.
she seems to have decided to close the distance to limit the use of Saiko's water and Ken's sword.
~ try to buy me some time I have a spell just for her ~
Ken says with a slightly louder than usual tone then takes out his digital grimoire and begins the scroll through it.
not wanting to give him time to pick a spell, Daxia immediately launches multiple balls of fire at him but they are met with a wall of ice conjured by Saiko blocking their pass causing another explosion on impact.
using the mist and dust caused by the new explosion as cover Daxia jumps upwards rising with the cloud of mist.
Saiko tries to pick up her location with sound but to no avail.
the experienced bounty hunter had jumped as soon as the explosion occurred using the sound of the explosion to hide the sound of her movement.
inside the mist, Daxia conjures a small but dense flame.
she covers the flame with her hands to hide its light while continuing to pour the majority of her mana into it making the flame denser and hotter.
Although still hidden in the mist Daxia's eyes let her see Ken clearly as he continues to scroll through the grimoire.
she aims at him then fires.
Saiko’s whiskers twitch alerting her to the incoming attack she looks just in time to see a fire beam so dense it looks like a laser beam zooming towards Ken.
Saiko raises her hand toward the beam to block it and Argus moves to her hand forming a massive black hand with sharp claws above her hand.
Sizzle
the beam collides with Argus and a sizzling sound can be heard.
the intense heat evaporates the liquid Argus forcing Saiko to send more and more of it to her hand to block the fire beam.
Saiko then shouts at Ken
_ CAN YOU HURRY UP _
~ hmm sure all right I found it ~
- I WON'T LET YOU -
the bounty hunter shouts quickly summons a gust of wind at her feet using her remaining mana to propel her forward toward Ken.
she draws her sword from her back to cut him before he can activate the spell while Saiko is occupied with the fire pillar.
she reaches Ken and just as she is about to cut him, she stops when she sees Ken smiling at her smugly.
she knows that smile it's the smile he has when he is tricking someone, she tries to stop but is already caught in the momentum
~ got cha ~
the eyes of the demon skull hanging from Ken's waist glow as a swarm of nanobots leaves the mouth of the demon skull forming tentacle like wires.
the wires resemble the tentacles of an elderlich beast as they surround Daxia and warp around her body.
HISSSSSSSS
-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-
the demon skull hisses loudly sending electricity through the wires and zapping the helpless bounty hunter caught in its trap.
Daxia screams in pain before her head slumps down and her body goes limp passing out.
Saiko checks on Argus after the fire pillar stops.
it seems she lost half of it to block that attack but it will recover with time.
she then looks at Ken
_ You were never trying to pick a spell, were you? _
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Ken’s lips rise up in a smug smile
~ of course, her eyes can copy spells anyway, any spell I use against her she would be able to use against us later I just needed her to think I was going to pick one the fear of the unknown is what I wanted her to have so I can trick her -
Saiko smiles at Ken
_oh! Let me guess, calling her evil eye earlier was also to make her angry and easier to trick _
~ obviously, and to put it frankly if we didn't outsmart her, I am not sure we could have won she is admittedly one of the strongest bounty hunters out there but mind always beats muscle and I am the smartest ~
Saiko rolls her eyes
_ fine whatever _
~ now shall we finish this ~
Ken takes out the skull and forms the demon sword.
Its blade splits open turning into the fangs of the demon skull, then the mouth of the skull opens revealing the core which hisses louder as it spins and forms a plasma blade.
heat waves reverberate from the blade as if it's tearing up reality.
ken moves to cut Daxia but massive ice walls emerge all around Ken trapping him.
~ haaaaa~
Ken sighs and then cuts a door for himself through the ice which turns to clear sizzling vapor even before touching the blade.
he then looks at Saiko
~ what is it this time? she is a bounty hunter, not a cop~
Saiko shields Daxia behind her after having ripped her away from the wires with Argus and looks at Ken with a firm gaze while Naoi watches her with an affectionate proud gaze
_ You are also a bounty hunter and a thief if she should be killed shouldn't you also be killed _
Ken sighs as the demon sword closes and the nanobots return back to the skull
~ then what do you suggest we do with her as I said if we didn't outsmart her, it would have been much harder to win, and escape would have been pretty much impossible, I am not confident I can trick her twice and if you suggest tying her up and leaving her here she would just be food for animals me finishing her is mercy ~
Saiko rolls her eyes
_sure, if these are the only options you can pick from but those are all wrong options _
~then what do you suggest we do? talk it out ?~
it was now Saiko's turn to have a smug smile
_yes _
Ken blinks repeatedly looking at Saiko in disbelief
~you can't be serious .......my god you are serious ARE YOU INSANE !~
Saiko chuckles then smiles
_maybe_
Ken rubs his face in frustration
~uhhhhh if we die it's on you, you hear me~
_ yeah yeah stop fussing already besides I didn't say we can't take percussions watch_
Saiko makes a small strip of Argus and wraps it around Daxia's neck like a collar
_This way if the conversation goes south, we have our insurance but murder shouldn't be your first option_
Ken crosses his arms unconvinced
~killing is more efficient you know, it leaves no loose threads, no chance of backstabbing or someone looking for revenge ~
_Of course, there wouldn't be any of that because you would be alone in the world Now what's our next move _
Ken rests his chin on one arm and closes his eyes to think for a moment before he looks up
- all right I got it first we will need to go to a city to restock and sleep on a bed for once, and then head to Kim Sangtae, our main problem is that we can't use any transaction without being caught since the system identifies both of us as criminals an alarm would be set off the moment we try to make any transaction~
he smiles and looks towards the passed out Daxia then continues.
~ but lucky for us we now have access to the account of someone who is not a criminal ~
Saiko's lips curl up in a smile
_see we wouldn't have had this possibility if you had killed her_
ken sneers
~ that's just a coincidence you can't claim credit for this you didn't spare her life for that reason~
Naoi floats in front of Ken and shakes his head
- you are mistaken child every action has its consequences, fate rewards good actions and punishes bad actions that's the source of virtue and sin a concept sapiens believed in for ages -
~ what? that's just a coincidence besides I am the one who thought of it you are just walking backward from your conclusion ~
Ken protests
Naoi sighs
-that is not correct child, a good action is a good action regardless of whether you know the outcome of it or not, your lack of knowledge or foresight may prevent you from knowing why it's the correct action but your ignorance of the relation between the cause and effect doesn't mean that relation doesn't exist -
~ wait are you trying to talk about morality right now you know that this so called morality is just the result of natural selection right? it's no different from any other inherited trait just because primitive people did it doesn't mean we should -
Naoi raises an eyebrow at Ken looking amused and smiles
- it seems that you know but you lack comprehension of what you know -
Naoi continues
-indeed, you can say that morality is the result of what you call natural selection although it's not just that, regardless of their origin many ideas about morality and behavior appeared among sapiens.
they competed and a select few survived but the next part is what you miss, child, that means that sapiens who didn't follow this surviving morality perished while those who followed it survived to this day -
Naoi raises his arms gesturing to the sky
- like birds who migrate in the winter, or ants that plant and protect trees, they might not know why they do the things they do. to them it may only be actions they inherited from previous generations but if they didn't do it, they would perish and such is the morality of sapiens -
- .... -
ken pauses for a while having nothing to say.
Saiko although amused with Ken’s blunder, decides to save him so they can continue moving
_soooo how about you finish telling us your plan so we can go_
Ken rubs the back of his head
~ right well the two of us will use our illusion masks to look like servant robots. you will be using Argus to move Evil Eye's body while I will use a voice alteration and voice conjuration spell to mimic her voice we will rent a hotel room and buy what we need using her account -
Saiko smiles making Argus form a thin layer above Daxia's skin and below her clothes letting her control Daxia's body like a puppet while Ken sets the spells then they each wear their masks
*************
Daxia wakes up.
her body feels tired as if she was walking around for hours and she has the worst migraine of her life.
she tries to recall what happened.
she had tracked Ken and the new girl that was with him to some old ruins of a pyramid she remembers her name was Saiko and then...
Daxia springs up opening her eyes, getting on guard, and drawing a dagger from a belt wrapped around her thighs having remembered the fight.
_ oh, you woke up_
Daxia turns her head quickly towards the source of the voice she recalls it's the voice of the girl but then the tension in her muscles eases up slightly as she is met with an unexpected sight.
ken and Saiko sitting at a table eating pasta with chicken.
looking around she realizes she is not in the forest but in a fancy room with decorations mimicking ancient sites like the ones in hotels made for tourists and she is on a bed completely unharmed.
- well, that's unexpected -
Ken uses a piece of chicken to point at Saiko
~ don't look at me. I would have killed you. you should thank her ~
Naoi who is floating in the air in a sitting position as though he is sitting on an invisible chair comments
- at least you are honest -
~hey I am not a liar ~
Ken turns to face Naoi before answering him to the bewilderment of Daxia who blinks repeatedly questioning if the electricity fried her brain so much, that she is now hallucinating
-who are you talking to? -
she asks with a confused look
Ken looks at Daxia while pointing at Naoi but to Daxia it looks like he is pointing at empty air
- oh, this is Naoi -
-okay either I am crazy or you are -
Saiko giggles slightly
_ well, he is crazy but I don't think that's the issue here _
Ken pauses for a moment
~ wait you can't see him? ~
- I can only be seen by those I allow to see me -
ken expression turns to that of surprise before he turns to face Saiko
~ and you knew? how did you know he is invisible while I didn't ~
_Well earlier when he mentioned being with my old man at the orphanage and watching me grow up and I had no memories of him I figured he could be invisible -
Daxia interrupts them shaking her hand
-wait you want to tell me there is an invisible being here right now that even I can't see?-
' that can't be real '
Even though it didn't look like they were messing with her she can't help but deny the statement this is the first time she comes across something her eyes can't see.
~ it's a surprise to me too but this guy is not bound by logic ~
Ken responds with a sympathetic tone
- impossible also where are we? why am I alive? And why are you so nonchalant about this I tried to kill you. -
Saiko looks at Daxia with a smile
- it's okay I know you are confused and I will answer all your questions but first, why don't you join us for food while we discuss -
**********************
Daxia takes a deep breath and leans back in her seat absorbing everything she just heard
- so let me get this straight there is a book that contains all knowledge that has an invisible guardian and the government is kidnapping young children with rare magic affinities and torturing them so they become able to use said book and turn them into powerful weapons but you don't know why they are turning them to weapons and now you managed to take the book and are now on the run did I get all that? -
Ken nods while using a toothpick to clean his teeth
~ yeah, pretty much ~
Saiko then adds
_ and we will be trying to find the kidnapped kids and free them _
Daxia thinks for a moment
- and you stumbled on all of that accidentally because you thought there were errors in history and it was being manipulated -
ken nods again
~yeah ~
- but what you said still doesn't explain why history is being changed although this might explain why they hid this specific artifact or maybe even this entire culture that doesn't explain why they would change the rest of history -
Ken’s eyes go wide when he realizes it and sits up straight
~ you are right that still doesn't explain everything does it? why would they change the rest of history? the more changes they make the more likely it is to be caught there is still something else behind this I have to find out what it is?~
Saiko looks at Ken surprised he didn't learn anything from having his curiosity lead him to his current mess
_ Ever heard the saying Curiosity killed the cat _
~ yes, but I don't want to be told that by an actual cat besides don't you want to know too, dig inside your feline blood I am sure you are curious too - he retorts
_ well I would be lying if I said I didn't want to know as well but the priority should be saving the kids _
Daxia closes her eyes for a while to think.
she weighs the risks of it, before she steels her resolve and opens her eyes
- All alright count me in -
Ken and Saiko pause surprised and turn to look at Daxia before shouting in unison
- WHAT ?! -