'I don't think this is good.'
'Oh really? Where do you get that from?'
'Hey, this isn't a situation where you can joke around.'
'Fine, fine, what do you want to do then?'
Lucas was asleep, but his mind was still active. He had no idea what was happening to his body, making him a bit nervous. All he knew was that Brutus exploded before he collapsed. Now he was inside his Mental Sphere.
Inspecting the walls revealed small cracks, explaining his headaches. The only issue was the top of the dome. Normally the Scarlet Moon would dominate its presence there, which it still did, but now something was off.
The rune both sides of Lucas created had changed, not by a lot, yet the difference was notable. Lucas could tell that it wasn't what he had created, his own intricacies weren't visible, he painstakingly carved every line into his own mind, not a single detail was capable of escaping his view.
'Well, if you're not going to do anything, and I'm not touching it…what are we going to do now?'
Since both sides of his mind were awake, but the body was asleep he was experiencing something like a lucid dream. The rest of the dome worked fine and the images and memories it displayed looked as real as ever.
'Well, we have plenty of work ahead of us. Considering the situation we need to consider a few things...'
Lucas kept himself entertained until his body was capable of moving again. The moment he opened his eyes he felt relieved to know he was safe. He could feel that a magic array was set up for protection and could sense Eleven somehow.
He didn't know how to feel, having someone he trusted to protect him, someone to rely on. It felt weird, unnatural and the pessimistic side of him saw it as a weakness, while the optimistic side saw it as a strength. Both would argue and bicker over it for some time before moving on.
The first thing he noticed was the fact that he was sleeping inside some building, but with what he remembered, there shouldn't be any of those left. The walls and roof were extremely flat, it was basically a hollow cube, but it was better than nothing.
Putting on some leftover clothes, he noticed how undamaged his skin looked, someone had taken care of him. He knew the state of his body before he collapsed, it was melting, and his blood was about to boil, he couldn't imagine how terrible of a state his body should've been.
Leaving the cube behind he could see Asta waiting for him.
"I thought you would wake up around now.", Asta stood proud and mighty while lightly lifting his head. His smile dripped of confidence.
"What are you talking about, you've been standing here for over an hour.", Eleven came out of nowhere. He carried his bow on his back while his quiver was filled to the brim once more. It looked like only Lucas was taking a break from the fight.
"It looks like Eleven has suffered some trauma from the fight, we shouldn't take his words to heart."
Even though Eleven's face was mostly covered, Lucas could tell his incredulous look from afar. Eleven didn't respond, his posture said enough.
"Thank you, both of you."
Both Eleven and Asta were surprised at that statement. They looked at each other before staring at Lucas, yet he stayed silent.
"Uh, of course. Yes, of course you should be thankful, without us this mission would've been a failure.", after coughing slightly, Asta came up with a fitting response.
"I'm not talking about that, I wanted to thank you for protecting me during the night."
Eleven frowned and wanted to be ahead of Asta, "That's what friends are for, no? You killed Brutus and saved this camp, the least we could do was help you recover."
Eleven sounded a lot more mature than what Lucas had pictured him as. Lucas hesitated a bit before heaving a sigh of relief and chuckling.
"No, you're right, you're absolutely right... Now, I'm sorry to break the mood, but we need to get back to the academy if we want to be on time for the national competition. Are our horses still alive?"
Lucas looked around, but he didn't sense a lot of living beings in the area, only the children were easily discovered. Asta stepped forward with a flaunting hand gesture
"Don't worry about them, I put them somewhere safe and made a protective array, they're fine. Although I think your buddy still has something to say."
Eleven gave him a side eye before raising his voice with a serious tone. "Conrad, I'm planning to stay here and take care of the freed slaves. I want to get them to live a normal life, you can take the horses, I paid for them so no need to bring mine back with you."
"I thought you might say something like that. If you've lived with this group for quite some time it's only normal to stay with them. I wish you the best of luck.", Lucas had plenty of time to think about what would come next, and this scenario didn't escape his grasp.
"Thank you, Conrad, for everything you've done for me. I can't possibly thank you enough. You've saved my life and destiny, you deserve this.", Eleven handed Lucas a scroll and a bag.
"It contains all my spells about stealth and assassination...well, most of them I got here from the camp when it was still normal. I've also added some of my own spells in it. The bag contains a bunch of crystals from this mine."
Lucas accepted the scroll, but he was having a furious debate inside his mind.
'Don't take it! Ask for a scroll with Dark magic spells!'
'I can't ask for such a thing right now! It would be so unrespectful!'
'Who gives a shit, we need as much power as we can get! Have you forgotten we will have to fight a legitimate Rank 2 next time?'
'We'll get something from Elam, no? That should be enough!'
'No it won't be, what the hell are you talking about!'
'Look, you gave up control to me, we do things my way now!'
'Goddammit! We should've swapped when we got back!'
'Too late now, just keep quiet alright, it's hard to focus when you're so annoying!'
'Annoying?!'
Lucas took a long look at the scroll and Eleven before thanking him deeply.
"This is more than what I deserve Eleven, I'll gladly accept this gift."
"No, this is deserved, now excuse me, the children haven't received any news about the current situation. I'll bring them the good news, Conrad, do you want to come with?"
"No, thank you, I'm in a hurry to get back to the academy, there are some things I need to prepare before the competition starts. I sadly don't have any more time to waste.", Lucas's response was fast and predetermined. Lucas was already walking away even though he didn't know where the horses were. Asta followed beside him.
"The horses are over there. Assassin! I'll just leave your horse behind, pick him up whenever."
And the two were gone, Eleven wasn't the most social, but even he could tell something was strange. Still, it wasn't up to him to judge, he was finished with his work.
He took his bandages off revealing his face for the first time. The fighting was over for him, he was about to enter a life of peace and tranquility. Removing his assassin garb and putting on normal clothes felt weird to him, but there wasn't a need to have the protection anymore.
Taking his time to visit the cave he entered it without his guard up. After reaching pretty deep he found a pool of water with the children surrounding it. Eleven didn't like it that they had gone so deep since monsters could spawn from the depth, but it seems like he was lucky.
Everyone was standing around the pool, yet the moment Eleven came in all attention was placed onto him.
"Children... family! The fighting is over, we are victorious!"
Everyone's eyes widened, and they got excited, yet the children kept their distance, only Big Brother dared to come closer. "Who are you?"
"Aah, I must look different from back then. I'm Eleven, one of you!"
"You were the one that escaped!?"
"Yes! It did take its toll on me and my appearance, but I came back, didn't I? And Brutus is gone, so we can finally move on."
The moment the children realized that it was all over they busted in to tears and embraced each other. They were free! Big Brother on the other hand kept his demeanor.
"What about Sammy? Did she use the artifacts?"
Eleven recalled the fight and knew that both Brutus and Lucas used that name, Brutus was mourning the loss while Lucas was trying to enrage him. He didn't know why Sammy was with Brutus at that time, but Lucas did give him a hint.
"Sammy has passed away, she was caught up in the fight."
Instead of telling the truth, Eleven wanted to keep it clean. Anyone outside the cave was doomed from the start, and complaining about it now wouldn't make a difference. Telling him that she was with Brutus as a plaything would leave a bad taste in their mouths.
"What about the artifacts then?"
"Artifacts? We didn't have any artifacts. Only Conrad has a low level artifact, a sword."
Eleven tried to think about what Big Brother could be talking about, the only thing he thought of was the explosion in the mansion. His explosive arrow was strong but that explosion was way bigger and stronger. Eleven felt a chill on his back as he realized that he might've been the reason why Sammy died in the first place.
He was the one that shot the arrow, it was because of Lucas's command, but still... Ideas and theories started to flow through his mind, but he put a stop to them. He didn't want to deal with the aftermath and the truth might've been something he never wanted to know in the first place.
If what he thought was true that would mean he would have to get revenge against him. After he gave away his spells, there would be no way for Eleven to ever get close to him again unless he created an even better spell. No, Eleven was willing to look past that since he didn't have much of a choice.
"Look, this conversation is over, we need to get everyone to a nearby town to get some food and water. I'll work as a mercenary for a bit to gather some money, you take care of everyone while I'm away."
By giving direct orders to move everyone started to prepare themselves, giving Big Brother work as well and a hefty responsibility he was distracted enough to put Sammy's case aside for now. Eleven knew that he would be questioned again, but would figure something out by then.
It was time for a new chapter, he wanted to leave everything behind and protect the remaining family he had left. If he had to lock his doubts in a cage to feel happy, Eleven was determined enough to do so. After all, an assassin knows how to control his feelings.
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Asta and Lucas had already left on horseback, speeding their way back to the academy.
"Would you mind telling me why you were in such a hurry, we both know that rushing towards the academy isn't necessary. We have plenty of time."
Lucas wasn't certain whether being honest would be a good idea or not, but after seeing Asta protecting him with a barrier he felt inclined to share. After all, if Asta was truly against him, killing him during the night would've been the best choice.
Lucas looked at Asta before focussing back on the path ahead.
"There was a 50% chance that I didn't want to take."
"Oh, and what might that chance be?"
"That the cycle of revenge would continue."
"Do tell."
"Brutus might be dead, but I used one of his friends as a sacrifice. Sammy was supposed to have broken the cores and let them explode, but she was too weak it seems. I had to ask Eleven to make them blow up for me."
"Aah, I see, now you're scared he might come after you."
"Scared is saying a lot, he gave me his spells, so I can figure out a defensive plan, but if he truly is dedicated he could take revenge."
"And do you still think that?"
"I'm not certain, like I said, a 50% chance. He's weak hearted which makes it easier to manipulate, but if his emotions of anger take over, I'll become a target. Luckily the rest of his family is still alive."
"You say that as if you had planned to kill them as well."
"Well, one of them almost saw through my plans, so I did think of collapsing the cave or luring the monsters out."
"And why didn't you?"
"It's a hassle. By saving his family and killing the monsters deep inside he would have to take care of them and grow a bond with them. His family is a chain that binds him down. If monsters killed his family while we were fighting, he would become extremely distressed and might force his anger out on us."
"So, if that happened, what would you do?"
"I still have some ideas on how to take care of Eleven, but I'm glad I didn't choose that path."
"Why, so he can experience a happy ever after?", Asta's words were laced with sarcasm. Both were legitimate mages and knew that such a thing was ridiculous.
"No, because of this.", Lucas patted the scroll he received. "I had hoped I would get spells for Dark Magic, but stealth could always be useful."
Lucas had answered a lot of questions, but he also had some for his companion.
"So, did I prove myself?"