Marlin cuts the chains that bound the boy, who begins to get up and brush himself off. Upon closer inspection, the boy had snowy white hair and dressed themself in a manner similar to that of a ninja. He wore a single crimson earring and seemed to have a pouch on his hip.
"Ah! Free at last!"
He attempts to shake everyone's hands, except Marlin who declines.
Kibe finally speaks up.
"...So, who exactly are you? I'm sure M over there leveled the camp."
"Oh, did he? I never felt anything so I wouldn't know."
Though no one really saw it, this comment annoyed Marlin.
"Regardless, since you freed me, I'm obligated to tell you who I am. My name is Koya Otoko"
Silence fell between the three boys. Marlin was the first to speak.
"...Otoko, the neighboring country to this one?"
"I see someone has done their research!"
Kibe puts his finger on his forehead, trying to remember the country but ultimately disregards it and keeps the conversation going.
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why you were captured y'know?"
"Well, of course you wouldn't know, friend."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
M steps in front of Kibe and stares at Koya.
"Using deductive reasoning, it seems you are a member of the royal family. Perhaps the prince?"
"You are correct, masked one!"
"That still doesn't explain why the member of a royal family is here in a bandit camp, away from their kingdom."
Koya's right eye glows purple, with a hexagon symbol within it.
"I could ask you the same thing, Ma-"
Before Koya could finish, Marlin rushes at him holding his hand over Koya's mouth while pointing Excalibur at his throat. Koya simply holds his hand up to show he is unarmed. Kibe, who is completely oblivious to the situation, shouts
"M! What the hell are you doing? He hasn't done anything!"
"Shut up, Dragon boy."
Koya smiles
"What? I don't even have a weapon, yet you raise your weapon? How "noble" of you! Hahaha!"
Marlin grits his teeth under the mask, thinking to himself.
(How does he know who I am? Could it be the sword? No, wait, his eye is glowing. How strange.)
The silence was deafening and with a little reasoning from Kibe, Marlin took his sword and sheathed it. He was also the first one to speak.
"I apologize. Now then, we set you free so you can get going."
Koya, who seemingly was not phased by the situation, wipes his palms in his clothing and lets out a sigh.
I will leave soon enough. I may need to take some stuff from here to restock. You don't know what you can find in places like this after all!"
"Yeah, whatever."
Koya and Marlin begin to search the rubble for anything useful while Kibe falls back looking into the forest. He stands there deep in thought.
(He didn't even say anything when he was leaving!)
Unbeknown to them, Reuben took what he wanted and left before Koya and Marlin noticed.
Kibe stomps his foot on the ground twice, before walking to a different side of the camp to search as well.
Kibe finds a bunch of abandoned weapons and arrows while Marlin finds nothing notable except a map of Misaki. They all decide to reconvene at the center of the destroyed camp and once there, they discuss their findings. Before they could continue, Koya throws something to Marlin, who catches it.
"What's this?"
"Something I can't use. You seem to need it anyway since you did not come back with anything haha!"
"Whatever."
Marlin investigates what he has been given and sees a crest, divided in the middle by two birds clashing. The first bird which sits on the red side is a phoenix while the other bird which sits on the blue side depicts a thunderbird. The two seem to be in heated combat.
"Ok? It's a crest but what does it do?"
"That is the Crest of Fire and Thunder. At first glance, you can see that it can amplify the power of the Fire and Lightning affinities simultaneously. However there was a story that my father told me when I was young and it was about two birds who always fought, leaving no clear winner. Their fights would destroy towns, endanger livestock, burn farms and people would get caught in the middle of this fight. This continues until a mage, who called himself the Sorcerer King took it upon himself to seal the two beasts into four crests then send them to different countries so they may never break the seal. The seal you have would be about a quarter of the actual power that they hold."
"Interesting."
Kibe stands there with visible confusion and Koya inquires.
"What is the matter?"
"Well, you said mages. Does that mean there are people who can only use mana to their advantage and not Qi?"
"Yes. Cultivators are said to be blessed by the gods."
Koya tried not to make it noticeable but he grits his teeth after saying this. To his comfort, no one seemed to notice. He then takes a ring from his finger and throws it into an open area. The ring glows before growing, turning into a portal.
"Well guys, I had a great time. I have a feeling that we will be seeing each other soon."
"Alright! See you later, Koya!"
"Get going already."
Koya chuckles to himself and closes the portal. The two boys who remain now look at themselves.
"So, what now?"
Marlin pulls out a map. He reads it then places it in his pocket.
"We are closer to the town of D'elsin than we are to the town of Olga. It would take us about two days to get there. Are you even coming? Our alliance should be over by now."
"Nah, I'm just gonna stick with you for a bit until we get to Naganohara or we get relatively close. Besides, you have the map!"
"Then let us get going."
The two finally set off into the forest, heading to D'elsin.
Similarly, Wazuki, who has been training with a new greatsword and Shinji, who has been trying his best to suppress his Qi are both headed in the same direction.
"When are we getting out of this damned forest, Wazuki? It has been days!"
"We should be getting there soon."
"You said that a day ago! Are you that bad with directions?"
"...Keep moving forward."
"Are you serious?!"
The two keep walking until the air begins to get cold. Of course, Wazuki is the first one to notice, stopping Shinji before proceeding.
(This is not a naturally cold area. I should be on high alert and so should he.)
"Shinji, stay on your toes. Something is wrong here."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Suddenly, a fog begins to manifest throughout the forest and a beast-like roar can be heard throughout it. Hearing this, Wazuki pulls out his greatsword from his spatial ring and Shinji stops suppressing his dark coloured aura, which upon closer inspection is similar to Yoma, the high rank bandit.
The roars emanate from the clouds and a serpentine entity can be seen flying through them, with bluish white scales and Blue eyes with wings.
[END OF CHAPTER 11]