The invisible rattling of invisible chains rattled in a far-off world, past this plane, and into another. It was reverberant, and seemingly everlasting.
It echoed among the two's soul like a sonorous bell.
An ocean of emotion, memories, and regret flooded Lieren's head like a tidal wave. Everything came crashing down all of a sudden that he almost fainted, and his concentration waned considerably, that brief spark of insight ultimately failing him.
Looking down, he saw his knees touch the cold asphalt. He didn't even notice his knees fall down due to the flooding memories.
'Why?'
His mind was in chaos as he tried to desperately piece together what was happening.
'What is he doing here? I thought… I thought he would be elsewhere. Far away, out of sight.'
Indeed, he had gone through the trouble of having somebody track his Aegis's location, keep him informed, and stick accordingly to it as he hunted all the other ten remaining players with his all as the days passed. It had been especially tricky, dangerous, and perilous, but he had been making steady progress… somewhat.
And yet, he was here, like it was the most natural thing possible.
'How?'
How, indeed.
Looking down, he saw his hands tremble like a weak child's — the child that he is and has forgotten all this time about.
Glancing at him with a smile, Harita closed his eyes and turned to face the shadowed figure, his green eyes shone with dangerous light.
"So, you're Scorpio, huh? What a disappointment."
The shadow scoffed, shifting a little.
"Am I now, Paladin of the Order? I've heard tales about you. Apparently, you're supposed to be a bigshot or something, but looking at you now…" Scorpio glanced at Harita's missing limb, then scoffed again. "I see that it's nothing more than a rumor. Or maybe it isn't, who knows. You never can be too careful these days."
Harita took a step to the side, shielding Lieren with his body. His eyes seemed to pierce through the veil of shadows like it's nothing.
"Yes, well, some thing happened, you see. I got myself into a little bit of trouble with a very unruly bunch, and now I'm here."
Lieren shifted a little, standing back up and sheathing his blade.
"Let's leave, Harita. The city guards are on their way as we speak. I don't want to waste anymore time here."
Harita glanced at him and then back at the shadowed figure.
"Are you sure? I don't think this guy will have the same opinions. He's from the Mócny, I don't think his pride will allow that to happen."
The shadow agreed and laughed mockingly.
"Hah! Yes, yes. Listen to your friend here. If I so wanted, you both would have died by now." He snapped his fingers. "Like that."
However, he refused to pay attention any more, and simply turned his back to him with a sigh and began walking away like nothing happened.
And so, Harita did, as well, taking his eyes off Scorpio with a worried look.
As the ground began to tremble slightly, the shadow bellowed angrily:
"How dare… You come back here, coward! I'm not done with you! Both of you!"
'How resistant. He's really pushing it now, huh?'
With a lazy gaze, Lieren turned back to the shadow and said plainly.
"Are you sure? Without that Accomplice spell of yours, I doubt that you even stand a chance."
"…!!" The shadow took a tentative step back. "What are you…"
Lieren merely cracked his neck and ignited Manavision. And when he did, he found… nothing. His vision and sight was increased significantly, but other than that, nothing else of note happened.
The shadow was still a shadow, and his theory had not changed at all.
Sight… as long as Scorpio remained hidden, his figure unrecognizable, then his versatile spell would be able to aid him in any way he wanted, and take the shape of any construct he desired. It was all within his grasp… until Lieren's Aegis arrived and ruined everything for the loud teenager.
"Are you really, really sure about this? I doubt the other spells in your disposal would be of any help now that my backup has arrived. Give it up and leave, otherwise, you may regret it."
Gripping his wrist, Scorpio seemingly ground his teeth and glared at the two of them. It was an odd sight, considering that his eyes remained hidden in the deep shadow cast on him.
He clicked his tongue.
"Tch! Fine. I'll leave you. It was getting boring, anyway. Two against one isn't fair —for you, that is. If I wanted to, both of you would have long been dead."
Turning away, the shadow jumped up with otherworldly power to a nearby rooftop, easily climbing atop it and dashing away unseen. As soon as Lieren blinked, the shadow was already gone.
And then, they were all alone, just like they had been at the beginning: before they had stepped into this city.
After a long silence, Harita said tensely:
"So, you're a contestant, huh? It's worse than I thought."
Lieren looked at him with indifference, having already accepted the situation and acclimated to it. Spinning on his heels, he faced the other way and began walking away.
His Aegis dutifully followed.
With a sigh, he said, a little tired:
"…Yeah, I am. That's why I was… well… taken in the first place. I represent the Exosuia, by the way, just in case you're curious."
Harita had a dark expression on his face, inexorable.
"I see." He said, as if still not accepting the situation.
But Lieren knew otherwise. If he could accept it, then so could his mighty protector. He was better than him, after all.
The still silence was only broken when Harita spoke again, his tone suddenly serious and overbearing:
"Why… why did you continue? You must have been given a choice not to participate. Or at least found a way to escape amidst all that scuffle. You…!" Harita took a deep breath when his voice suddenly rose, as though angry. "You could have left this all behind. You're even outside of their main base, all on your own. Without anybody to stop you from leaving."
Lieren continued walking. Rounding a particular corner, he stuck close to the walls, peeked surreptitiously like a hawk, and nodded to himself, walking composedly once again.
Inside, though, he was a complete mess.
Harita's voice resounded in his head:
"Why…"
A pale smile appeared on his lips.
"Why, indeed."
"Huh?"
Harita furrowed his brows, seemingly confused and frustrated.
Meanwhile, Lieren just continued. The pale smile never left his face.
"To be honest, and really, I am… I don't really know. At first, I thought it was just something normal to do: To help an innocent young lady from being imprisoned in a fate they did not choose to be born in, or something like that. But now that I'm actually doing it, after risking my life just to get stronger… I do not know."
With frustration practically bleeding from his voice, Harita stepped ahead of him and shot him a criticizing look.
"Are you kidding me? That's your reason?!"
Lieren nodded, the pale smile never leaving his face. He knew that it was a lie, but still chose to keep it, lest he delve deeper into insanity.
And then, the lean paladin laughed. A smile split his face.
"…Well, isn't that something. You're just as lost as me, huh?"
Lieren shot him a confused glance.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The lean paladin merely waved his hand dismissively and laughed weakly, as if amused. There was a gloomy light in his eyes.
Moving behind him with a skip to his steps, the lean paladin smiled and asked:
"So, what now? Are you really planning to kill all the other contestants? If so, then I'm all aboard."
This time, his smile was genuine.
"No, of course not. Are you crazy? I'm going to make all the other contestants do that themselves."