Yu gripped Elise's hand tightly and they both raced through the forest. He did not dare stop for rest. He could somehow feel the presence of other corrupted wolves stalking them. Even the bleeding wound on his side did not faze him.
"Yu… Where's Gino?" Elise said between panting breaths.
"He's right behind us," Yu replied hastily.
"He's… not!"
Yu stopped immediately and looked back. She almost knocked into Yu but caught herself in time. Elise pressed her hands on her knees and panted.
'Shit,' he thought and looked around. He tried to peer past the trees but saw nothing. There was no sign of Gino. Not even rustling foliage.
'Where could he be?' Yu grew worried.
Elise saw a sudden movement behind a tree and screamed. A jet black wolf spewing with miasma pounced towards Yu.
Yu reflexively dodged the wolf by a hair's breadth. It growled when it landed and immediately switched directions and pounced back towards Yu. He barely had time to recover from the previous assault and had not regained his balance.
"Yaaaah!" Elise shouted as she threw a broken branch that was as thick as an arm as hard as she could at the wolf. It was amazing that she could react in such a short moment. She acted without thinking and only wanted no harm to befall Yu.
The wolf twisted its body in midair but missed the chance to rip apart Yu's neck. It was another close shave.
Yu panted as he glared at the wolf. The wolf, in turn, snarled at Yu.
'This wolf moves really quickly. It can even change its trajectory in midair. It is able to dodge any attacks aimed at it,' Yu analyzed the short clash that happened.
'It seemed like the wolf might have a limited number of movements midair. It's not proven, but it's a bet that I have to make,' the gears in his mind spun rapidly.
Yu gripped the knife in his hand and readied himself. He breathed in deeply and slowly. He held his breath for what he thought was four seconds, but in actual fact, it was only a second. His mind was moving so quickly that his perception of time was skewed.
His surroundings seemingly slowed down. He felt the breeze behind his back. He was so focused that his pupils dilated and his dark gray irises grew a shade darker. After exhaling sharply, he dashed forward with the knife in his right hand in a reverse grip.
As expected, the wolf dodged his first attack. It landed nimbly on the ground and pounced onto him. Yu turned abruptly, his speed almost matching the wolf's and slashed at its vitals. It changed its direction in midair and avoided the slash.
'The midair dodge! This is it!' Yu exclaimed in his mind.
Yu forcefully contracted his muscles and switched the direction of the knife to match the wolf's trajectory. The wolf felt the cold rush of wind from the knife's swing. It widened its eyes and the light in its crimson eyes gleamed. It managed to dodge Yu's third attack again. It extended its clawed paw to strike Yu.
The wolf was so quick that the gleam created a streak of red light in the air.
'No way!'
Yu's muscles screamed as he forcefully changed the direction of his knife once again and leaned backward to avoid the claws.
If the third time was not the charm, the fourth one was. During its final move to switch to offense and disregard agility, the wolf failed to avoid Yu's last strike. It did not expect the human to be able to match its speed.
The blade of his knife finally found its intended mark and buried itself into the neck of the wolf. The opposing momentum of both Yu and the wolf dragged the knife along its neck, opening up a long and deep gash.
Black blood sprayed and splashed all over Yu. The wolf landed on the ground with a heavy thud. It struggled and twitched for a while before becoming still. Its black blood dyed the forest floor and soaked into the ground.
Yu crashed onto the ground on all fours. His whole body was trembling. He could barely feel his limbs. His rapid breaths were not enough to replenish the lack of oxygen in his body.
The adrenaline left his body and he felt the after effects. He could not even stand. His face was pale and cold sweat flowed down his back. The pain from his wounded side came back and was throbbing.
"Yu! Are you alright?" Elise rushed over to Yu with concern.
She felt a plethora of emotions during the exchange between the wolf and Yu. The near misses made her heart almost jump to her mouth. Fortunately, Yu managed to dodge every strike.
At the same time, she was dumbfounded because both the Yu and the wolf moved so quickly that she could just barely follow their general trajectory with her eyes, but not their motions. She herself would not be able to react to such speed.
Seeing the wolf finally stopped moving, relief washed over her, but when Yu fell to his knees, she was worried that he might be hurt.
"Yu!"
Yu could not answer her as he had trouble catching his breath. He coughed a few times and retched. His stomach emptied its contents onto the forest floor.
"Yu!" Elise exclaimed with concern. She rubbed his back, trying to ease his discomfort.
Yu shook his head and wiped the corner of his mouth with a shaky hand.
"We… we need to go. There are three more behind us," he said weakly, his voice hoarse.
"What?" Elise looked around reflexively. She could not see any wolves.
"Come, let's go," Yu said and stood up.
However, he only managed to stand up halfway before his legs gave way and he fell back down. Elise caught him immediately. She looked at him with concern.
'Shit. Damn it. Now I can't even stand. How am I going to run?' Yu cursed and clenched his teeth.
"Here, Yu," Elise put his arm over her shoulders and held his left waist with her hand. She grunted and pulled him up and let him lean against her.
"You said that we'll get out of here, right? Let's go," Elise smiled, but one can see the nervousness all over her face.
Yu looked at Elise. She transformed from a frightened girl who was too afraid to move into a girl who was willing to carry her injured friend out of danger within such a short time.
Yu nodded at her determination and leaned against her for support. They stumbled along the forest path. They tried to look for a path towards the prairie but had lost their way instead. During their escape from the initial corrupted wolves attack, they had run in the opposite direction of the wolves without much thought.
Yu and Elise stopped in their tracks when they heard rustling sounds in front of them. Before they could hide, a towering figure appeared in front of them.
It was a large muscular man with a greatsword across his shoulder. He was well equipped with a gambeson and leather gauntlets and other protective gear. His closely cropped brown hair was not covered by any helmet. His ferocious gaze sized up the two teenagers in front of him.
Elise gulped nervously when she saw the man. His piercing blue eyes were especially scary.
'He wouldn't be a bandit, would he?' she hoped.
"I was wondering about the commotion. Turns out it's a foreign spy messing around with some wolves," the large man said with an air of great pride.
'Foreign spy?' Yu was alarmed when he heard this phrase. Something was definitely wrong.
Yu's eyes locked with the towering man. He was still emitting bloodlust after his fight with the wolf beforehand. The man felt it and his senses tingled.
"Such scary eyes from one as young as you, how befitting for a spy," the man mocked.
"For the glory of the Holy Kingdom of Arbeanne, I shall be her sword and vanquish all who stand in her way!" he declared and gripped his greatsword with both hands and swung it down.
"Wait! You misunderstand! He's not a spy!" Elise pleaded frantically and instinctively stood in front of Yu, protecting him.
"All who collude with spies are considered traitors and can be cut down!" the man slashed forwards without a hint of mercy and hesitation.
Elise saw the blade of the greatsword falling down towards her and was stunned by the unreasonable declaration. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands in front of her defensively.
Yu, although shocked, managed to react. His quick reflexes kicked in. He pulled Elise backward and shielded her from the front. He tried to jump out of the range of the weapon.
The blade of the greatsword smote heavily against his back. Pain exploded from his back and the force of the slash sent him crashing forwards and onto the ground, pinning Elise underneath.
Despite the pain, he only grunted and held Elise tightly. The pain almost blotted out his consciousness as his muscles twitched uncontrollably. Blood dyed his tunic red. The slash was so heavy that white bone was exposed and several of his bones were fractured.
Elise felt herself get pulled and hugged. The next thing she heard was the sound of the blade cutting through the air and Yu's grunt. Then, she was on the ground and felt someone over her.
She opened her eyes and saw Yu's face next to hers. He was breathing erratically. She felt his pounding heart on her chest through his.
"Yu!" she shook him and held his face.
He did not respond. She tried to get up but was pinned down firmly by Yu. Her hands touched his back. She felt something warm and wet.
Elise raised her hands and saw the blood on them. Her eyes widened and her breath got caught in her throat.
"Ah… ah… no…" she mumbled as her chest heaved. Her face was in anguish.
"No!" she screamed.
"NO!!!" she screamed even louder.
Her mind was in a mess. All her bottled up stress and fear since the day the bandits attacked exploded in her mind at once.
'Blood… the villagers… All the screams! Why? Why is this happening? Why is it happening again? Why? Why? Why?'
'WHY!???'
Her hysterical screams and wails echoed throughout the forest.
The man with the greatsword looked at the wailing girl and the motionless boy. He raised his sword with both hands emotionlessly. Although he had no sympathy, he despised torturing his opponents. It was not honorable in his eyes. He would deal a swift blow to end the lives of his defeated opponents.
"Halt, Greysen! What are you doing?" A man shouted from behind.
He was equally well equipped as the man with the greatsword. However, instead of a greatsword, he had a regular arming sword in his sheath by his waist. Compared to the towering giant called Greysen, he was medium built.
"I was just about to end the lives of this Farling spy and the traitor," Greysen replied as a matter of factly.
"Farling spy?" the other man looked at the two teenagers. Elise was still hysterically wailing. He frowned.
"Are you sure? They're just children!" a woman's voice sounded. She had arrived with the medium-built man.
Lana wore lighter armor compared to the men. She wore a light colored surcoat over her a lighter version of the gambeson. A white cloak wrapped her shoulders. Her long dark curls bounced as she walked towards Greysen.
"Stay out of this, Lana. You're too soft-hearted. Hmph! Farling has stooped to such lowly methods! They are willing to use children as spies!" Greysen said.
"You should have captured them first for questioning before making such decisions!," Lana furiously said.
She went towards the two teenagers.
"Elise!" a boyish voice roared.
A stick flew and spun a few times in the air before landing in front of Lana. She was hardly fazed and looked at the youth charging towards her.
"Get away from them!" Gino yelled.
"Hmph," Greysen readied his sword.
"Greysen," the man warned Greysen.
Greysen twitched his mouth and relented. He held his greatsword on his shoulder.
Gino stood in front of Elise and Yu in a fighting pose and glared at Lana.
"Child, take it easy. This is a misunderstanding," Lana tried to remedy the situation.
"Who are you? Are you bandits?" Gino asked, furious.
"Bandits? Who are you to compare us to such lowlifes? We're the prideful knights of the kingdom!" Greysen said.
"K-Knights?" Gino was dumbfounded.
What are knights doing here? Wait, that was the wrong question. Why are knights hurting his friend and sister? Were they not supposed to uphold justice and protect the weak? Banish evil?
'Are these the knights that I have dreamt to join?'
Gino felt that the worldview he had so far about knights shattering.
Lana glanced at Greysen with disdain.
"Don't mind him. But yes, we're are from the Institution of White Knights of the Arbeanne Kingdom," Lana smiled.
"My name is Lana Hatheway. That's our leader for this mission, Cenric Hayden," she pointed to the medium built man.
She did not bother to introduce Greysen.
Gino thought for a while. He found that their identities were quite suspicious.
"Why should I believe you? The knights I know are proud and uphold justice. They wear their armors and ride to battle gallantly. Why would they appear in the middle of a forest? What proof do you have for being knights?" Gino questioned them.
"Hah, we knights do not need to prove ourselves. We are blessed by the deities wherever we go. We uphold justice and represent justice," Greysen retorted.
"Greysen, keep your mouth shut," Cenric ordered.
"Child, let me help your friend. He's hurt badly. I can heal him," Lana persuaded again.
Gino looked towards where Yu lay. Elise had stopped screaming but she was sobbing. Yu was motionless. His blood soaked the soil underneath.
"Are you really going to do that, Lana? You should conserve your magic energy," Greysen said.
"It seems that the Order of White Knights has fallen into depravity," Edward said as he walked into the clearing. He held his injured arm.
"Father!" Gino exclaimed.
Edward hurried towards Yu and checked on him. He bit the bottom of his lip. The boy had barely survived his previous injuries. Now, he was injured to such a condition instead.
He gently placed Yu on the ground and instructed Gino to try to put pressure on Yu's wound. It was impossible, however, since the wound extended from his shoulder to his hip.
Elise was sobbing when she saw her father. She buried her head in Edward's chest and sobbed further.
"Yu… Yu, he…" her body shook with her sobs.
"It's alright now, Elise. It's all good now," he cooed.
"I will have to take up on your offer and have you heal my boy here," Edward said to Lana.
The words that he used were polite, but his tone was harsh. He held his distance from the three strangers.
"Certainly," Lana said.
"Wait!" Greysen said and blocked Lana.
"What are you trying to pull here?" Lana asked furiously.
"He's a spy. We don't know if they are in cahoots with each other," Greysen whispered.
"Why are you so stubborn? Whether the boy is a spy or not, it wouldn't be too late for questioning after I healed him!"
'A spy? So that is what's going on,' Edward thought.
The world is getting darker. Even the White Knights were not as bright as before. Edward clenched his teeth. He did not want to remember the old things.
"What spy? He is my son! A citizen born and raised in this kingdom!" Edward bellowed.
Everyone was startled.
Greysen guffawed.
"Do you expect us to believe that? Your son? What nonsense!"
Elise and Gino looked at Edward. They were shocked but they did not say anything. They understood their father's intention.
"He is. My first wife was from Farling. She died during childbirth. This boy is from the union of two races," Edward explained.
"Bullshit!" Greysen spat.
"Where is justice!? The White Knights would not even let us peasants defend ourselves. How do we seek justice when the one that's supposed to uphold justice denies it from us? Where is your honor?" Edward said.
The Knights were speechless. They could not refute Edward, especially Greysen.
"Alright, it's not the time for this," Lana said.
She knelt beside Yu.
"May I?" she asked Edward.
He nodded.
Lana held her hands over Yu's back. She let her magic energy spread and extended it into Yu's body. She felt the various injuries in his body with her mind. She steadied her breath and began the prayer.
[O Ytrea, Goddess of Light,
Grant thy blessings upon this lowly one.]
[Cure]
Warm, Gentle,
Mending, Rejuvenating, Strengthening,
Dispelling all pain and injuries.
[Heal]
A warm glow appeared beneath her hands. The wound began regenerating itself. It started from the fractured bones, the muscles, and finally the skin. It looked as if the natural healing process of the wound was sped up. It was a mesmerizing sight. It was healing magic.
Elise gasped.
'Magic!' she exclaimed internally.
She had always heard about the miracles of magic from traveling merchants. This was the first time that she saw it in action with her own eyes. Her eyes caught every detail of the effects of the spell. She wanted to imprint the miracle of magic that she saw.
Better yet, it fanned her desire to learn magic.
After a few minutes, the wound was healed. The skin on the back of Yu was smooth with no scars.
"That's amazing!" Elise exclaimed. She seemed to have forgotten the shock from before.
Yu's breathing returned to normal. He was still unconscious.
"It's done. I've healed his previous wounds as well. As an apology for the trouble we caused. He still needs some rest because healing magic not only needs my magic energy, but some of the vitality of the patient as well," Lana explained.
"Thank you. It might actually be a blessing in disguise to meet your group here," Edward said.
Just then, Cenric tensed. During the whole time they were in the forest, he had spread his perception around himself. Currently, he detected numerous corrupted wolves closing in.
The wolves realized that their opponents were stronger. Therefore, they gathered their numbers and planned to use numbers to overwhelm their prey.
Cenric smiled, confidence oozing out from him.
"Enough fooling around, Lana, Greysen. We've got company."