Currently, two men are walking through the forest. One of them has a full suit of armour on. It is grey, metal armor without any markings, a form of generic armor. It isn’t associated with any particular group or organization. He bought it privately at an underground armor shop by himself.
He was masked at the time.
When he brought it home, in an unassuming case, he hid it away so that no one would see it, so that no one would associate him with it. This armour is supposed to be used for today. It wasn’t cheap either.
His helmet is hiding his face. Concerning what he’s involved himself in tonight, he doesn’t want his identity to be found out.
“Hey…”
“What is it?”
“You think you can spot me later for this suit of armour?”
“...How much did it cost?”
“About… half a gold coin.”
“Wha-- What the fuck!? Is that the normal price of armour!?”
The other man didn’t think that armor would cost that much. He’s not wearing traditional armour however. He’s wearing armour made of pieces of ice as hard as iron itself, if not harder. He didn’t buy this armour, he made it himself using his power.
He is Ajax Leonid and he is walking with the frivolous divine hero named Arthur Jameson. His former classmate has asked him for money and Ajax considers his request. It’s not as if he uses his money for anything. It feels like he can always find more after all.
“I got it on the black market, the price was higher because of that…”
“Wow… you really went all out for this, huh…”
“Look who’s talking! You’re wearing that ice armor right now, how much did that shit cost?”
“Ha! This cost nothing, I made this myself!”
“...Sigh, Jesus Christ. Well, I guess that’s not exactly shocking. So, can you give me half a gold coin for this?”
Under his helmet, Arthur smiles. Ajax can tell he’s just having some fun, perhaps sizing up his temporary comrade.
Ajax considers the exact cost of half a gold coin. Shaula and him had done the math on this after buying things often enough in the city of Linis. A copper coin is equivalent to about $10 back on earth in the country of Great Britannia where he and Shaula lived.
A silver coin is equal to twenty five copper coins and a gold coin is equal to twenty five silver coins.
One suit cost about $3125. Even on the black market, isn’t that just highway robbery!?
“When did it become my responsibility to take care of your expenses?”
“Well, I just figured that you were set up well if you can afford to offer fifty gold coins to get me here…”
“Hm, you didn’t take that money though, remember? You came here because of what a curious and decent person you are, after all. But… alright, I can spot you after this.”
“Whoa, really?”
“I’m set for it, don’t worry.”
“Just like that?”
“I suppose I can keep it then? You would rather not have it?”
“Then, how about paying for today as well? I had to take some time off to scout the area and practice training in this armor. I don’t have any vacation days so it was unpaid time. Also, for my mental anguish at the crazy situation, I think that’s worth at least a few silver.”
“Alright, fair enough. How about zero coins then? ”
“...Half a gold coin will be fine then.”
“And… when you say ‘half a gold coin’, do you mean twelve silver coins, or thirteen?”
“Ah, actually, that was just a figure of speech. It was more like sixteen silver coins.”
“...”
Was Arthur always so lighthearted? Ajax considers what he knows about Arthur. He definitely remembered Arthur being a popular kid back in his highschool. He had many friends and he was a nice person (still is, from the looks of it). Quite an athletic person as well.
But, he even jokes in situations like this? A man without fear or reservedness towards him, the stranger wrapped in bullet-proof ice armour? Does Ajax simply elicit no fear response? Has he already ruined his image with that first conversation?
When Ajax had talked with Arthur after grabbing him from Budalan and Harry, he had done so with the intention of… honestly, he wasn’t sure. He wanted to see how Arthur was as a person. For the most part, he is a normal person. He isn’t particularly good as an individual or bad.
He was certainly more preferable to Harry, who Ajax knew very little about and wasn’t impressed with from his battle performance or how he treated the beastkin man Ghada.
When Ajax finally decided to invite him to this blood festival, he offered him fifty gold coins as payment. Arthur would be like a mercenary to Ajax. Arthur refused the money. He wasn’t that stupid. Doing something like this was always a bad idea, common sense told him that.
Never make mercenary deals with strangers, it’s as obvious as the blue sky above. No one even has to tell him this for him to realize it.
Ajax then threatened Arthur to see how he would react. He said that if Arthur didn’t comply with the request, he’d return to kill Harry, his friend, and Budalan. Arthur understood that Ajax had the power to do so. Arthur swelled up in anger and just before he was about to speak Ajax took it back.
He didn’t take him to the side to ask him to take part in unwinnable situations after all.
In the end, Arthur joined him not for any of those reasons but because of curiosity. He was someone who was capable of judging characters for himself. He knew already how ugly the church was just from seeing the important figures of the church for himself.
Ajax gave off a different feeling. Even when he made those ‘offers’, Arthur felt a kind of… inexperience. Ajax’s persona before Arthur was superficial. Of course, on the off chance that Ajax is a bad person, he’d rather come on the day of the festival.
If death is going to happen, then he'd rather it be in front of him instead of a distance away outside his control. At least showing up tonight could result in people living rather than them dying.
If he’s strong enough to stop Ajax, then he has to try. If he fails to stop him, he still did as much as he could and could die without shame. Unknown to either of them, this kind of selfless attitude is exactly why Arthur and Ajax get along.
“By the way, I want to thank you for protecting the beastkin man… Ghada I think his name was. You did what I asked you to, Arthur.”
“...You checked up on him?”
Ajax recalls the beastkin man. Arthur had promised that he would protect Ghada from Budalan. Budalan was out for him on that night that Arthur and Ajax met. Neither Ajax nor Arthur wanted Ghada to face any consequences for merely talking back to a guard.
“Yeah. I saw him at a children’s playground a week ago. He was there with his kids and his wife. They were… they were having a great time together.”
Arthur smiles.
“Huh. I’m glad to hear that--”
“A wonderful time. His children, two beautiful daughters, were having the time of their lives with him. Still young. That man… Superintendent Budalan, was his name? If he had his way, what do you think would have happened to this man and his family.”
“...”
Arthur couldn’t say. At least, back then he couldn’t say. He knew at the time of the incident that the practices of the guards involved torture. However now, he knows what would have happened. Ghada would have been taught a lesson.
It’s probable that he would be imprisoned for some time.
Even if this was just for a day or a week, the company he worked for might have simply fired him for not showing up to work because he got involved with the guards. Then what? How would his family be living? He’d be burdening his wife, his children.
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He and they were living with his wife’s parents. Who knows if they were even capable of picking up the slack.
What if it wasn’t just imprisonment? Perhaps, the guards would have taken him somewhere private and… Well, Arthur doesn’t want to think about it. He understands Ajax to some degree; he understands the many unknowns that could result in the suffering of a family.
“You know, I checked out where Ghada works, Arthur.”
“...Why?”
“Well, I did help save him. Sure, I might have been a bit creepy but my senses are good enough to observe him from a distance away.”
“...”
“You’re not curious? You remember, right? He was working a really long shift on that day. Aren’t you thinking how a guy like that can work so long and still live his life with his wife and daughters?”
“I mean, even my dad did that too, sometimes. Sometimes, I didn’t see him until… no, never mind.”
Arthur mentioned his family back on earth. Ajax feels somewhat bad about this. After all, only Ajax and Shaula seem to understand that they will return to earth one day. The rest of the heroes probably don’t know any of that and they might not even be allowed to return either.
Arthur believes that he’ll never see his father again.
But, Ajax continues.
“Where Ghada works… it’s a hellhole. A sweatshop. I checked out the place. Ghada had mentioned a guy dying on the job a few days prior.”
“...”
“You should have heard Ghada. He was emotional about it. The guy was his friend. The man was about to cry on the floor of the factory. The factory workers were also mostly demihuman, you know? The management was mostly human, I guess that’s how it goes here. I heard one of the other workers, a really brave draconid guy, complain to his manager about it, the guy’s death. He actually threatened to strike.”
“...Strike?”
“Yeah, the guy was like the head of the impromptu union at Redfire Alchemical Concern. He threatened to strike if working conditions weren’t improved. They also demanded an end to the unpaid overtime hours.”
“What happened?”
“The manager threatened him. He locked the door, brought out some goon types and told the draconid, commanded him, not to have any work stoppages. The goons were big guys, strong magic users I’m guessing.”
“Were you in the fucking room or something, how could you tell all of this? Were you looking through the window to his office or something?”
“I told you, I have good senses. In the end, the union head came back to the guys at work and told them that they need to plan their next move and that now they have to deal with the henchmen too. Fucking brave guys, all of them. Sigh. I’m going to have to intervene there soon. If they have a strike, I can join their side, be their henchman. Maybe I can deal with management myself… Save the trouble. But I really need a plan, you know?”
“...Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Hm. Why, I wonder… Boredom?”
“But… you trust me enough to share all this with me?”
“Arthur, just think about it. I didn’t have to threaten you or give you any money and you still showed up here today. Was it out of the good of your heart? Curiosity?”
“Hmm. Little column A, little column B? But… you’re quite the meddler, aren’t you?”
“Meddler…”
Ajax keeps getting involved in situations that don’t involve him. Both he and Shaula are like that. Why? Keeping his head down would keep him alive much longer, wouldn’t it? Arthur understands that Ajax has a lot of strength, however his behaviour is just asking for him to meet someone stronger than him.
Someone who will put him in his place.
“Well, I want to say that it’s the bad influence of my friend, but… Well, can I ask you how your heroic powers feel?”
“...”
“Come on, tell me, I’m curious.”
“You never told me how you knew I was a hero by the way. Could you share that with me, please? Who leaked it?”
“Not yet. Maybe after today but not before.”
“...Fine. I’ll say that they’re amazing. They’re beyond belief, beyond sanity at times.”
“Exactly.”
“...Exactly, what?”
“My powers are the same way. I haven’t exactly trained to achieve this level of power. It’s a gift, a blessing. I haven’t earned it. Now, you, you’re in some kind of training program, right? So that humanity can use you as a proper weapon, right?”
“...Yeah. Wait, you’re speaking as if you’re not a member of the human race, are you a beastkin?”
Arthur considers the possibility. Draconid tails are quite noticeable but beastkin tails and ears are possible to hide under Ajax’s ice armor. It would make sense why he’s so interested in meddling here, he wants to save his kin after all.
“I’m not a beastkin, just a good person. That’s not important though. Aside from whether you’re actually a willing participant in all of this ‘saving humanity’ stuff, I can tell that you have a boundary that is holding you back from contemplating the depths of your power.”
“...What?”
“Think about it. You’re going to eventually become more powerful than anything, than any individual man, than any soldier. Only few other people in any race will be able to match your level of power. You will have powers even more insane than right now, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose… It hasn’t even been a year yet, they told us that we’ll become like… like gods by the end of our training.”
“Your training is what’s keeping you from going wild right now, it’s a boundary. For me, helping people is what I’m trying to do to… to stop myself from being corrupted. I know I have limitations. I’m not the smartest man, the strongest of will, the bravest… I just have power. And I have to learn what I want to do with it. I want to see who I have to help, who I have to save, what I actually want to do with my life. I need to know. I have to learn about my surroundings.”
“...”
“I just need boundaries. I need to become a good person before I can fully contemplate what to do with my power. Already, people have died because of my actions…”
Ajax remembers the bandits, the merchant, as well as the people who died in that inn, the ones that Ilna had killed when he came after Ajax and Shaula. Ajax would not make those mistakes again. Although, killing Ilna is something he doesn’t regret even now.
“I see. You don’t seem all that bad, stranger. You never told me your name--”
“Wait, hold on.”
Ajax pauses. He hears something. Wheels on a dirt road. He senses something running at quite a fast speed. Ajax walks a bit closer. In this area of the forest, the guard presence is thin. He can sense a lot of guards behind him where the festival is supposed to be.
There is also a large congregation of them in front of him a long way away.
It is plausible that this second place is where the demihuman people are being kept, since he didn’t sense any demihumans at the festival area. But now, he senses a clearing of trees ahead of him where a carriage is moving. It must be a road. There shouldn’t be any roads in this area.
Ajax and Shaula had surveyed this area before coming here on the night of the festival. There were no roads although there was a large clearing for the festival space. It must have been magic that chopped down the trees to create that road. Perhaps they did it all earlier today even.
Ajax hears multiple heart beats. There are a number of people in the carriage as well, along with the two animals pulling it. Nearly a dozen people are in it.
“Arthur, I’m going to do something right now, watch the surroundings for a minute, will you? My senses won’t be tracking this area temporarily.”
Arthur nods yes; with that, Ajax uses his all-seeing sensory ability. He hones in on the sound of wheels. He can perceive it more clearly now. It is a carriage being pulled by two Miella. A carriage driver is directing the Miella down the road. It isn’t a large carriage however but he can see that there are a lot of people in it. Cramped even.
He can see the individuals in the carriage clearly now. There were two people in the carriage who were beastkin. One beastkin man and one beastkin woman. The carriage is headed along the road towards the festival… Those beastkin must be for the festival too.
It’s… as if the carriage is prepared for an ambush. If Ajax didn’t have this ability or at least his ability to hear heartbeats from a great distance away, he would have attacked the carriage and presumably been defeated in a confrontation. At the very least, one of them could escape to give their superiors a description of the enemy.
A hostage situation isn’t out of the question either. Ajax has some idea of how to deal with those but his hostage situation strategies all involve the surprise use of his powers at breakneck, superhuman speeds. If he’s the one surprised, all of those plans fail.
“Arthur.”
“...What is it? What were you doing?”
“There’s a road some distance away. There are two Miella pulling a carriage, it kinda looks like shit and it’s small. However, it’s carrying two demihumans who look… drugged, and eight armed, fully armored fighters as well as a carriage driver.”
“Wait, h-how do you know--”
“We’re going to save those two demihumans. Come on, I’ll do this with or without you. Quickly.”
Things are moving too fast right now. Arthur cannot verify anything that Ajax is telling him. He doesn’t understand what exactly is going to happen tonight but he did want to come to make sure that something bad didn’t happen when he could have stopped it.
However, he does have enough strength to save two demihumans. He can at least do that much.
“...Alright, alright, fuck… Well, come on then! Aspallan Dirma!”
Arthur activates a body strengthening magic. Ajax recognizes the spell phrase; he doesn’t remember the exact details of how it was used but either Arthur or Harry used that in their first encounter.
Arthur’s speed, strength and agility multiplies by a factor of nine upon the activation of the spell. With that, Ajax and Arthur start running. Tonight will proceed with an ambush.