“Hey. Wake up.”

Hikaru’s face was slapped around roughly.

Opening his eyes, Hikaru looked at the person before him.

A masked man wearing leather armour stood before him.

“You’re going to be kept here until your trial. If you try to escape, the bandages around your body will slice your body into pieces.”

Saying this, the man opened a door, letting light into the dark space they inhibited.

Now able to see, Hikaru noted how there wasn’t much to see anyway. The entire room was bare. With pale white walls. A single small door was the only exit out of it.

“Your voice..sounds familiar.”

Hikaru noted.

“It’s a shame that it does. I could have pretended not to know you.”

Taking off his mask, the man revealed his face. Black hair with a few streaks of gray in it, and a face so square it might work as a brick.

“..Kenrik..?”

“Been a while has it not. Though the years seem to have been kind to you.”

The man called Kenrik observed Hikaru’s appearance.

“More so to you. You work as an official representative for a church? That’s an impressive accomplishment considering we were but lowly mercenaries yesterday it seems like.”

“To you it might seem like yesterday. But for me. Over 30 years have passed. Do not expect sympathy from me, you monster. Had i known back then, i would have sacrificed my life to end yours.”

Kenrik spat on the ground.

“As expected of a monster. Using an old fake friendship to try and arouse sympathy.”

With that, Kenrik exited the room and shut the steel door behind him.

“...That was not my intention. I was simply happy to be reunited with an old friend..”

Sighing, Hikaru laid back on the hard ground, his arms still bound around him.

He didn’t attempt to get out of his bonds, as he knew that they had hundreds of layers of magic protection on them by now. Magic blessed by the gods, which was especially effective against someone like him.

He simply lay. Waiting. He knew Yuri would soon come and break him out. As such he was not especially worried.

Not for himself. He was worried however. About Yuri.

Her reckless behaviour intensified when he wasn’t with her. That was what made him worry for her safety. She was her own biggest enemy.

“Luckily. Helgi is also with her. That should keep her under control hopefully...although..now that Mako is also there…” He sighed.

He wondered if her disguise was really meant to fool anyone. He could tell that one of their captors was in fact Mako almost immediately. Her somewhat nervous yet air headed demeanour was difficult to miss.

“...Helgi will take care of it...hopefully.”

--

“Yuri! We can’t just rush in there. We need to formulate a plan”

Helgi argued, Yuri folding her arms in response.

It had been a few hours since her talk with Mako. And although her heart was still somewhat conflicted over her feelings. She knew one thing could settle them. She needed to talk to Hikaru as soon as possible. Before these feelings swallowed her.

“I want to save Hikaru as soon as possible. Who knows what they’re doing to him right now! You saw how they were. They thought of him a monster!”

Yelling at Helgi. Yuri felt true hatred for the first time in her life.

Hatred not caused due to ill acts towards her. But acts of ill will towards someone she cared for.

“You forget that most of the accusations thrown at him were your own doing right..besides. We need to stop by a city and get some tools. We are at our weakest right now. With Hikaru gone and your dagger taken. We need careful planning if we want to succeed.”

“Well..be that as it may! I’m going to go save him. Time is more valuable than caution in this case. We need to save him now or it might be too late!”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Yuri looked at Helgi with eyes full of fiery anger.

However, Helgi noticed one other thing in her eyes. Through the layer of fury. He found deep heavy concern. It was the first time he had seen even a hint of similar emotion from Yuri.

“...You care about him that deeply huh. Despite you only knowing each other for what.. A few months..?”

Somehow. Helgi felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

“.....I do. What of it.”

She looked away with a sour face.

“...No. Nothing.”

He knew that Yuri was always willing to throw herself into danger for the sake of her little obsessions of fame and money. Yet he had never seen Yuri show such a display of willing self sacrifice without even a hint of a plan..not even for a rare item. But for a real person.

Helgi felt the sinking feeling in his chest go numb. Suddenly he felt only melancholy.

Despite him being at her side in this world and the previous one. Why was it that she displayed such fierce emotions towards someone else.

She had certainly never shown any particular care for him beyond that of a close friend. He had thought that was all she was capable of.

Yet it seems. That Hikaru had somehow acquired a position closer than his..in Yuri’s heart.

“If you’re willing to throw your life away for someone you barely know. Then be my guest.”

Turning around. Helgi slowly walked away.

He knew he shouldn’t be doing this. He knew he should just yell at her more. To convince her better. That’s what he had always done.

Yet for some reason...he didn’t feel the energy to do so.

“...Helgi..?”

Yuri looked at his disappearing back.

“..Fine! If you don’t want to help. Then i’ll just do it myself. I’m still a master thief despite everything..i can always acquire something that’s locked up..”

With this said. Yuri walked off to prepare her airship. Helgi’s and Yuri’s footsteps echoed in opposite directions. Slowly disappearing.

“....um…..”

Mako stood there. Unsure of what to do, having stood at the side and witnessed the entire argument while being ignored.

--

“Ahab! I’m taking this airship. Good luck with your gravel heap of a country”

Yuri climbed onto a small quick looking airship parked in front of the rebels base.

“Ah? Aye, yuh can have that one, aren’t yah takin that rude boy with yuh?”

Asking this, Ahab sipped on his victory drink, the celebrations still going on in the background.

“Helgi has other things he finds important.” She said bitterly.

“Mako let’s go already..you’re taking too long..”

“I’m comiiiiiing! Don’t leave without meee!” Mako hurried along, carrying a large bag of miscellaneous things.

“...What’s all that?”

“Oh stuff some kind men from the party started giving me! Everyone’s so nice here!”

She smiled an oblivious smile.

“...Right, well then we’re off.”

Yuri started the airship. She had no experience flying one, but had seen Hikaru and Ahab do it, and it didn’t seem all too difficult she thought.

“See you sometime, new king of gravel”

“Aye aye, well yer free to visit meh whenever yah wish, we’ll give yah a more proper thanking once we build everythin back up again!”

Waving them goodbye, Ahab sipped his drink once more, watching the airship ascend.

“...King eh. Aye reckon i could make that happen..i am the hero who freed this city after all..” Smiling ominously, Ahab finished his drink with a big gulp.

Yuri’s ship flew in a strange zigzag pattern. Yuri still getting used to the controls.

--

Light entered the dark room once more.

Hikaru looked up from where he lay, squinting.

His arms still bound to his sides, he couldn’t shield his eyes from the sudden light.

“My trial starts so soon?”

He asked with curiosity.

“Not quite.”

Several priests entered the room. All mumbling and holding a variety of different looking crosses and religious symbols.

“We have come to purify you. You need to be as pure as possible before the trial. You cannot disgrace the audience of the gods.”

“You’re fools if you think they’re really watching or even care about anything you do.”

Hikaru shrugged at their ridiculous claim.

“The words of the blasphemer shant reach our ears. We remain true to the service of our gods. The slithering of the one who brings destruction shan’t disturb our pure minds.”

They chanted, holding their arms up.

“Unfortunately it seems your minds are already fairly disturbed..”

He shook his head.

“That’s something Yuri might say, most likely.”

“Silence!”

They began praying.

With each word they spoke. Hikaru could feel his skin crawl uncomfortably. Until it eventually shifted from discomfort to pain.

Pain that only increased with each passing word. Increasing exponentially.

“This..might actually be bad.”

Gritting his teeth, Hikaru looked down at his body.

Black smoke seeping through his pores. Invited out by the whispering of the priests.

“...I see. Emptying me of mana..not as disturbed as i thought.”

Hikaru felt his consciousness fading. His body not able to sustain his mind with the sudden disappearance of a crucial source of his power.

The priests did not cease once he had lost consciousness. And continued. Draining him of all the shadow black mana he had.

Stopping only once he was close to death.

“We shall be back tomorrow for your next cleansing. We must make sure you are as clean as possible.”

As they left, Hikaru’s flickering consciousness could only manage a few words.

“...You’re..the ones..who should probably..take a bath..unclean..is what Yuri...would say..”

With that, his consciousness entered the black mist of nothingness.

--

“Are you sure we are going the right way?”

Yuri asked as they flew over a nameless forest.

“Yes! I’m certain of it!”

Mako exclaimed with a pout. She held a map larger than herself in front of her.

Flapping wildly in the wind, the map was moving around too much for it to be possible to read anything.

“They said they were going to have the trial at the church of Frigg. Goddess of love and fate..hmm..”

Mako’s eyes wandered all over the map listlessly.

“So it’s the perfect place for a trial and an execution. Of course..this is why i was always extra careful when stealing religious artifacts back home. Religious people be crazy..guess i should have done the same in this world huh.”

Yuri glanced back at Mako.

“Well where are we headed already!”

“Ummmmm” Mako’s pupils became amusing swirls in her confusion.

A strong gust of wind blew past them. Taking with it, the giant map Mako was holding.

“...Ummm..”

“...Makoooo!”