Cold water splashed against my face, removing any signs of fatigue in the process. I swiped my hands out to get rid of the excess water before moving over to a clear spot in the forest. It was still night by the time I had gotten Arisu and May to all back to sleep. I settled down into a stance and exhaled a deep breath before punching out so hard and so fast that the air popped in response.
I knew I needed to get stronger, even before seeing the visions, but now I just had more drive to do so. As I was practicing tempering my body, I practiced tempering the energy inside of my body, Mor'Ulthan's to be specific. In order to grow as strong as possible, I needed to learn how to control this rampant Demon and his natural power; something that would not be easy.
My strikes were fast and powerful, but anyone inside of Samuel's squad would be able to easily overpower me as well as see my attacks clearly. My goal was to be able to at least beat one of his frontline squad members in combat, but I knew I wouldn't be satisfied with just one victory. I threw out a hook kick and the water next to me rippled and formed a small wave, but it had gone unnoticed as I continued attacking invisible enemies.
I reenacted multiple scenarios in my head, especially the one from the dream I had. I needed to be prepared for anything at all times. Suddenly, the enemies I was facing in my head became very real, as their strikes did too. Cuts began to appear on my body from the attacks I could barely manage to avoid. I flowed around the open area with fluid strikes, half conscious and half in a dream-like state, but my body remembered its movements.
Then, the enemies disappeared, and a headache racked my body. "I can send your consciousness to the Demonic Realm for short periods of time, and it is a great way to train, however, if you die in there, so too will your body. Stay on your toes at all times, for I will randomly send you there as I please." Mor'Ulthan's absolutely creepy laughter echoed in my head before disappearing along with the headache.
'So it was real...I have to keep my guard up around that damned bird.' I washed my face off once again and straightened my vest before moving over toward a large, wooden dummy I had...borrowed from one of Samuel's wagons. I drew my daggers and began to go over ever vital spot on the Human body, at least the ones I knew of.
When I knew I had memorized them in my mind, it was time to memorize them with my body. I would call out the vital spot in my head and then proceed to stab or slash that part of the body. This continued on for hours until the sun rose, and I was forced to stop my training and head back to the wagons. By the time I got back, everyone was already awake and helping pack everything up for the journey ahead.
Samuel noticed me and hurriedly walked over with an unreadable expression. "Take. I need to talk to you for a second..." We walked off out of hearing distance before Samuel continued in a low voice. "The reason why we haven't arrived at our planned location is because every other town in between Archven and Azmarin has been razed to the ground. We've been trying to find a place that has survived, but the days keep rolling by and I'm starting to get worried about my men, and the students you brought..."
As his sentence trailed off, I was able to hear yelling in the distance. I looked over Samuel's shoulder and saw a short, orange haired boy with angled features, thin eyebrows, and slanted silver eyes. He was arguing with a much bigger student, and all I could see was his wide shoulders and wild blond hair. I muttered a string of curses under my breath as I quickly made my way over to stop a potential fight.
It was a good thing that I had decided to intervene, for both of the boys had drawn their swords and were ready to cut each other's throats. "Calm the fuck down, lower the damn weapons, get your asses back to your stations, and quick your bitching! Or else I'll let you feel what it's like having a dagger in your gut! We'll be arriving soon enough and I can't have all of you dead before we get there!"
I had become rougher and more direct with my fellow classmates since they would only listen to me if I acted like this. Truth be told, I really didn't want to be like this to them when I knew they were going through a horrible time. They had watched their friends get brutalized, eaten, and burned alive. Of course they wouldn't be the same as before.
However, I knew that, if they killed each other, it would only make things worse; for me and for them. The two boys quickly sheathed their swords and bowed their heads in apology before parting ways and heading back to their stations. This was a common occurrence these days, and many people had stopped talking to each other in general just to avoid situations like this one, although that was NOT something that I wanted, but hey, nothing will always go as planned.
I joined the front with Orzo and Azrael as Sylia and Arisu took their day off in the fancy wagon. "So, I've heard some rumors about the forces of Noir advancing to the Elven continent. Do you think they're here to finally take back what was rightfully theirs...?" Azrael had a worried and thoughtful expression on his face as he tried to think about the endless possibilities.
I, however, wanted to believe that they were here to change the world for the better like Nalia and I had said, but I knew that they weren't going down that path anymore. They were killing more innocents than anything else; they were doing this for fun. Orzo looked up and sheathed his dagger before saying "I heard that every House in Noir had assembled for this attack, so it must be true..."
The only thing that Noir didn't account for, was that people all over this realm still knew of their names, their house names, and their powers. The Humans were more than just prepared, they predicted this would happen. "It truly must be our time to prove that we're no less inferior." Suddenly, an idea burst into my head as I grabbed Orzo's shoulder and asked "Orzo! Where is the nearest dungeon in relations to our coordinates?"
He saw the glint in my eyes and knew that there was no going back for me. Letting out a big sigh, Orzo said "It's Northwest from here. Wait! Don't go alone dumbass! You'll need more than just you if you're planning to grab that treasure. You'll die, Take, not just from the beasts inside, but from the Demons that are most likely in there right now."
Orzo held me back as I began to get ahead of myself. I sighed and rubbed the back of my head in frustration before saying. "Yeah, you're right. When we get everyone to safety, then I'll gather up a group to enter the dungeon with. I just hope we can get what's at the bottom before they do..." Orzo nodded his head in an understanding way.
"Hey, Boss!! I think I see something up ahead!!" A skinny man, no older than twenty-two, dashed past us and into the middle of the long line of people to find Samuel. With my enhanced hearing, I could hear everything. "Boss, the scouts say they've found an underground city filled with people hiding from the Demons!! Boss, we can make that place our new base and-" The man's voice stopped as Samuel began to whisper.
"Shut up fool! Do you want these people to know!? There are bound to be Demons mingled in with us, and here you are yapping away about where we will be moving! Think for once, damnit!" Samuel sounded perturbed about something, but I was more worried about how he knew there were "Demons" in our large group.
So far, I was only able to single out Sylia, so that leaves us two. 'Does Samuel already know about my half heritage?' I shook those thoughts from my head and glanced back at the wagon Sylia and Arisu were in, noticing that there were more guards around that one than the others. I used to think that it was because it had the most expensive things inside, or because it had the only healer of the group inside, but now I was thinking differently.
I have to grow some balls and confront Sylia sooner than I wanted.
I let out a big, irritated sigh as we continued out march until the sun began to fall into the horizon. "All right men, we'll make camp here!" Upon hearing Samuel's orders, the wagons stopped and people began to grab their tents and supplies out from them. As everyone was busy setting their tents up, I found my chance and walked over to Sylia.
"Hey, do you mind if I talk to you for a second? It's important." Sylia looked up at me and brushed her hair from her face before glancing back at Amelia, the brown haired girl I met back at the markets with Sylia, before nodding her head and saying "Sure." I led her off into the surrounding trees and made sure no one could hear our conversation, and I even made sure to check all of the surrounding trees and bushes for anyone who was too curious.
"What are we doing out here, Take...?" I turned to Sylia with a serious expression before saying "I know what you truly are, Sylia Seris. Now, you're going to tell me exactly what it is you're doing here." Sylia knit her brows in confusion as she took a step back. "W-What do you mean...?" I stepped forward to match her as I pressed on for the answers I sought.
"I know that you're a Vampire, and you know exactly what I am as well. There's no hiding it from me. Now, tell me why you're here, or else I'll have to force it out of you." I drew one of my daggers and Sylia's eyes flashed red for a brief second as she continued to back away. "Take...you're scaring me..." I felt my mouth twitch as I suppressed a yell and said "Don't fuck with me! Cut the act before I cut your throat!"
My eyes were now glowing as a strange anger filled my gut. Tears began to glow from her eyes as she sobbed "I'm sorry...I-I never meant any harm! If he knows I went against him, he will kill us all..." I stopped and cocked my head before repeating "He...?" In a confused voice.
Sylia's body froze in terror as she began to tremble violently with her eyes opened wide. The air began to vibrate as a blue portal began to open beside us. A maniacal laughter filled the air as a man with cold black eyes, long blond hair, and stubble all over his sharp features walked through with a deranged smile on his face.
My body began to shake, not from fear, but from pure rage as William Navus stepped out on to the ground and said "Ah, there you are my good boy. Here I was beginning to think that you ran away from your poor old father...!"