Trey looked at Ten and was obviously intrigued. This could be the lead he was searching for.
"Who is it?" Trey's voice had a sense of urgency behind it.
"It's woman located on the southern parts of Suveny, she's the best information broker I know." Ten's voice had a sense of certainty to it, like he fully believed this women was the one they needed.
"I guess, it wouldn't hurt checking this person out. I need any information I can get."
Trey marched to the exit and Akira followed behind. She was moving slowly, clearly her injuries were affecting her.
The three exited the establishment. It was approaching dusk, so Suveny was a little less chaotic. Some stores had closed, but a few remained operational.
Overall the town was on the quiet side of things, this was good for Trey since it meant less eyes would be on him. He wore the hoodie part of his cloak just in case.
"Are you alright?" Trey looked at Akira as they walked, he had noticed her get slower the more distance they covered.
"I'm fine." Akira looked to shrug everything off as nothing serious. She didn't like the way Trey looked at her, like she was some fragile thing that needed assistance for minor injuries like the ones she had.
They weren't minor though, her cuts were actually showing signs of a mana infection and her skin was starting to look purplish, especially around her thighs. She also showed signs of food deprivation like Ten as her body was way too thin for it to be normal.
Trey could tell she was acting tough but didn't want to press too hard. Showing that much concern for a stranger was already an unfamiliar feeling to him. He instead changed the question to something he was genuinely curious about.
"What happened? How did you end up in that cage?" He posed the question in the most concerned tone he could master.
Akira was silent for a brief moment, thinking about how to best answer the question posed to her. Memories of the incident were still vivid on her mind. She took a deep breath before she decided she would open up about what actually happened.
"It all happened a few months ago, I needed money and was looking for something to eat. I ended up stealing from one of the store owners here in Suveny." As luck would have it, they happened to be passing the store at that very moment, so Akira was able to point at it. The store was closed though.
"I ended up stealing a piece of bread, so the owner was furious and he sent magicians to hunt me down. Given how weak I was at the time. The bastards caught up to me and had me imprisoned. The store owner wanted me dead, but they offered to pay back the bread and stated they would teach me a lesson themselves."
Ten who couldn't speak at this point due to his low energy. So he was effectively just pointing and indicating when the trio needed to make a turn.
"Turns out, those guys were George's goons and George had me imprisoned in his cage ever since. Well that's before you showed up, that's why I'm so grateful to you" Akira flashed a strained smile at Trey.
Whether instinctively or not, Akira found herself holding the left part of he neck. The neck harbored a deep scar or mark that etched itself on her kneck. It also wasn't the only one there were two of them, both were different.
"I'm guessing they're the ones behind those marks on your neck?" Trey looked to confirm.
Akira was surprised he even saw the marks since her hair usually covered them, but she guessed it was her own doing by self-consciously hiding them with her hand.
What she didn't know was Trey had seen the marks back in the guild, so hiding them was futile.
"Yes, they're the reason behind one of them at least."
Akira's mind went back to the night George administered her with the mark. The pain of hot iron that was pressed against her skin. The cries she made as George laughed in her despair. It was all clear as day.
Her expression had changed and her eyes looked more animalistic once again, her body shivered but it wasn't due to the cold or fear. Her fist was clenched and her teeth greeted.
"What happened in the past, stays in the past" Akira said, almost convincing herself.
Trey didn't want to press any further since he kind of pieced together what had happened. He was also reminded of his own life all those years ago.
"Once we see the person, this guy wants us to meet, I'll take you to someone who will heal your injuries. " Trey offered, his eyes one of compassion.
"Again, that's not necessary." Akira insisted.
"If you don't go then you'll be failing to keep the promise you made to me back then, you said you'd help me on my journey. You can't do that if you're dead."
Trey hated admitting he acknowledged her declaration back in the guild, but he had no choice. He found Akira to be quite stubborn.
Akira finally submitted, "fine we'll do things your way..." she searched for Trey's name and that's when she realized, she didn't know it.
"Trey, the name is Trey." He came to her rescue like some kind of telepath.
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"We'll do things your way, master Trey" Akira said, with a smile.
"It's just Trey" he corrected her, showcasing he didn't like the term 'master'.
Akira simply smiled, "I will call you Trey then"
"I don't mean to ruin this cute moment here, but we really have to pick up the pace. I don't think I'm gonna last much longer" Ten's voice sounded strained, it became clear he was pushing himself to his limits just by remaining awake.
"My name's Ten by the way, if we're going to be a team, I guess I almost have to introduce myself"
Trey didn't know how he felt about the word 'team' but he did agree with Ten on one thing, they needed to pick up the pace.
Luckily it didn't take long for them to reach their destination, they stood infront of a small building with a golden board written in bold black letters.
[Magician's Paradise Guild]
The building was standard in terms of looks, compared to 'Green Petals' it was modest in comparison. It was almost four times smaller, calling it a guild didn't even sound right.
Having seen the building, Trey couldn't believe his eyes.
"This is the place you were talking about?" Trey asked.
Ten nodded.
The three entered the establishment after Ten's confirmation.
The building was incredibly busy, magicians wearing cloaks with different symbols sat around big tables. Others drank alcohol, while others were having a dancing competition. Some magicians played drums adding to the noisy atmosphere, a few magicians could be seen looking at a 'quest board' on the southern part of the establishment.
A lot of things were happening all at once, so it wasn't a surprise when no one even bothered to glance at the three when they entered the building.
Ten pointed at a woman in charge of a small bar located further down the room.
"That's her" he managed to force the words out of his mouth.
Trey couldn't help but smile.
The three approached the bar and found the woman cleaning glasses that rested on a shelf behind her.
"It's been a while Sophia" Ten uttered.
Sophia wore black dress that was covered by a pink apron. Her hair was green and her figure was slim.
Her skin had three prominent scars, two scars were actually in the form of initials written on her forehead 'M.Y' were the initials written on her. The scars looked rather old but they were still a prominent feature of her face.
The other scar, was a scar across her left eye. It was a straight line that rendered her left eye unusable.
Sophia turned around to face Ten and almost immediately he recognized Trey.
"My goodness, Trey is that you" her voice was low as she spoke.
Trey nodded as he took the sit next to the counter, Akira did the same. Trey placed Ten on the counter like some sort of sick patient.
"Wait you to know each other?' Ten was somewhat lively as he asked. That was mostly because he didn't like being ignored, especially after the effort it took just to call out to Sophia.
"Yes" Sophia responded, "we go a long way back"
"I wouldn't take it that far." Trey said.
"Well that's a little mean isn't it?" Sophia smiled.
"Well we've only met one time, so I think it's fair"
Trey had met Sophia after a year of living with Lucy, Sophia was Lucy's close friend and she knew about Trey's secret. She knew about Yama.
"I didn't think I'd find you here, especially after what happened with Lucy..." she trailed off.
Trey stayed quiet.
Noticing the change in mood Sophia decided to ask a question.
"What brings you guys here?"
Ten opened his mouth but before he could speak, Trey beat him to it.
"We're looking for Shelly and Duram"
Sophia paused after she heard Trey. Her mind tried its best to recall something.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you I haven't seen them in years. I don't think they even came back to Suveny after that incident six years ago."
Trey had little hope that she knew something, but he also knew there was a chance she didn't.
"Can you help me some other way then, do me a favor and assist them" Trey pointed at both Ten and Akira.
Ten was barely awake at that point, his body seemed to be even more shriveled up. Akira had fallen asleep while seating, she was clearly also not in a good state.
"That, I can help you with."
Sophia reached for a bottle beneath her counter and escaped with a bottle with green liquid, he gave the drink to Ten and she handed it over to Trey to give to Akira as well.
Luckily Trey was able to wake Akira enough to give her the drink.
"It's a really expensive potion, so it should work quickly." Sophia stated.
She was right as almost immediately both of them began to stir awake. Their wounds also disappeared like they never appeared.
They both clutched their heads, a minor migraine was the side effect to using the potion.
"Man, I thought I was dead." Ten said, with a smile on his face. He still felt weak though so it wasn't a quick fix.
Sophia reached for the bottom of the counter again and came up with 2 plates, she handed one to Ten and the other to Lucy.
Without a second thought, the two of them devoured the plate instantly.
Tears flooded both their eyes "Thank You" they said simultaneously.
Sophia simply smiled, as she looked at Akira she couldn't help but be reminded of something, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
"Do you think going after Shelly and Duram is a good idea" Sophia asked, her voice concerned. "I know ab-"
"No! You don't know anything!" Trey jumped in cutting the words out of her mouth.
Sophia noticed she may have gone too far, so she chose to remain quiet.
After a minute, Trey spoke up.
"I'm sorry" he apologized.
"It's fine" Sophia responded.
"I just... I can't turn back now. If I allow you to try and persuade me, I fear I may lose my fire for revenge." Trey explained himself.
"Do you think, Lucy would want you to chase after revenge. Lucy was my friend too you know, i just don't think revenge is the best way to go about things."
"What I know is that Lucy never wanted to die. She died because of them. For that I will hunt them down and I will kill them, if the other Fauna members get in my way then I'll just cut them down as well" After those words Trey paused for a minute, before he continued.
"The only reason, you're not going after them. Is because you're a coward Sophia. Lucy told me about the story behind those scars of yours."
Sophia looked at Trey with eyes of concern before she finally spoke, "man! Lucy can't keep a secret can she?" she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
She then turned serious again, "if you know about it, then take it from me being a magician Is a lot harder than you think, and it will be specifically more harder for you given your circumstances"
Trey allowed her words to settle with him before he spoke "so you won't avenge your friend only because of a little scare you received years ago?" Trey asked.
"I don't know what Lucy told you but it wasn't just a little scare, on that day I lost a lot of people who were precious to me. All because I thought I could make it as a magician." Sophia's body shivered as she spoke.
Her mind went back to that fateful day, "you'd swear she was a demon, the way she slaughtered so many of them. I only managed to escape because she allowed to me escape. If you're going to hunt Shelly and Duram, promise me one thing. That you'll stay away from the Ten Blades Trey. Especially her." Sophia rubbed her scars as she spoke.
"I was out of line, I'm sorry. I know how painful reliving that memory must've been. I just lost my temper forgive me." Trey actually bowed his head. "I know how important Lucy was to you"
Sophia just smiled "Lucy raised a fine boy, I'm glad"
"So you have nothing for us?" Ten jumped in, frustrated they hit a dead end on their quest to find Shelly and Duram.
"I don't know about Shelly and Duram but I do know something you might find interesting, especially you Trey."
"Something interesting?" Trey asked.
Sophia nodded before she pointed to a lonely figure sitting in a table by himself at the corner of the room.
"That man over there knows where the Demon King's forbidden blade is located"