Naruwa sighted being carried by Aiden to his home with Rika. He put Naruwa on the same bed he was sleeping before. Rika applies a lukewarm towel to compress his fever.
"He should be fine soon." Aiden explains to Rika while checking on Naruwa's condition.
"Can I stay here to accompany him?"
"Rika, before that. I want to tell you something."
Rika approaches Aiden. He whispers something to Rika's ear.
"He is the user of time magic. His body is aging faster from before. I'm planning to send him to my friend. He may help him more than me."
Rika facial expression changes. From joyful to doubtful. She frowned upon hearing what Aiden said.
"Is he the one with black robe, grandpa? But last time the person we saved never returned from him."
Aiden immediately grab her neck and lift her up. His face changed from being calm to being angry, like an animal.
"What did I say about not minding my business?"
Rika, with her little body and hands, unable to break free from his choke. Her face turned pale white, suffocating really hard to even speak. Her legs moving forward and backward as she is bearing the suffocating choke.
"Uhk...I-I'm so...rry...uhkk."
Aiden chokes her neck a little longer, as she almost fainted then he drops her to the ground, and he forcefully drag her walking with him outside the house. Their footsteps were loud before slowly fading away.
---
A moment later, Naruwa regained his consciusness.
"Oh, I'm returned here. The pain still annoys me."
He gets up from bed and walks to another room. He checks the other room to find Aiden or Rika.
"Weird. I was hearing they're talking just now. Not sure what they are talking about."
He searches room by room, knocked every door of every room. He finds nothing except hanging objects, painting, replica of spear, and a skull of buffalo.
Finally, he reaches top floor. He opens the door and find himself inside an attic, with only a chair and a table. He gazes on the cabinet under the table and opens it.
He finds more books and letters. His instinct telling him to rummages through it. He reads those documents one by one. Then he's stuck himself on reading a small book.
He flips the pages as he is reading, and he notices some strange symbol drawn in a book. It's a hand drawn of a something in the middle of the clock – that is installed on a top part of the totem. He thinks he finds himself a journal. He notices the patterns of the writing is distinctively different to the other documents he found here.
"What a luck. This might be the lead of the time magic. Let me read all those documents. I'm sure Aiden won't mind."
He finds an old torn diary. He reads it page per page.
He notices the color of the cover is slightly different than the original cover.
There is some red, in all gray book cover.
He pays no mind about it.
He reads all the letters. Stuck himself again reading those. Until he finds interesting letters with some kind of cultist symbol on it.
Aiden,
To fulfill your mission to eradicate all time travelers, you must remain undetected.
We have some intel that a time traveler comes to Enkarsia.
There is a farm house, with cows surrounding it. We deemed the family pose no threat for you. Be the owner of that house and do not kill the child. She might be useful for your cover if the neighbor asked.
You must find the person, and redirect him to me. You know what to do.
...
He shocked about that particular letter. He drops it as mumbles himself.
"Is he undercover agent on a mission? If so then this is not really his house. What about Rika?"
He reads more of those letters, the different letter with cultist symbol appears. He opens and reads it.
You have done better, Aiden.
The man you send really the time traveler.
Now we accomplished the first step, and proceeding the next one as I write this letter.
We are proud of your achievement.
Do whatever you want to do with the child you taking care right now, but I suggest just throw her somewhere like forest with carnivore animals or deep water, to tie the loose ends.
...
Naruwa is furious, he grasping the letter really hard. He knows something worst going to happen on Rika. He rushes down the stairs to find only Aiden standing still in the guest room. He is shocked then he tries to confront him to avoid suspicion.
"Oh, hey old man. Back already?"
"How much do you know? I know you've been there snooping around my private documents."
Naruwa gulped. His plan doesn't work. The situation become clear for him that he is being marked by Aiden as hostile threat. Naruwa then gazes on Aiden that spins his machete, with blood on it.
"So, Rika wasn't really your granddaughter..."
"Yes, I'm sorry young man. You have to die here. This is for the greater good."
"Then what about you being undercover? Surely everyone would know your evil deeds, old man."
Aiden laughs, he thinks Naruwa just being naive on his word.
"I left Rika in the forest full of, let's say carnivores. I really don't like what she asked to me back then regarding on saving you in that damned forest. Rika thinks this is her last wish to have a brother figure like you. How pathetic. Now die by my machete!"
The fights ensue. Naruwa only mastered wind magic so far. Against brute force like him, is already the worst matchup. He dodges the slash attack that aimed toward his head. He casted wind gust but to no avail, Aiden is not even flinched.
"Well, I can just tell neighbor that I have ungrateful intruders harming my granddaughter. Even if you win this fight, you will be chased forever by the authorities of Enkarsia. I'm acknowledged already as the head of the town. Be still and let me cut your head!"
He charges and quickly slashes Naruwa upper body. He jumps backward, holds his chest with his hand, he noticed himself sustained light injury.
He notices something really strange. An afterimage of Aiden showing up the next attack, and seeing his head being severed.
He snaps himself back to reality by slapping himself on the cheek.
"What is this weird feeling?"
Aiden was about to ready his next attack. Naruwa slides down under his crotch and chanting the earth magic spell. He summoned rock pillar, hitting his manly part, enough to disorient him.
"You bastard!" Aiden yells as he is enraged. He slashes his machete blindly, destroying anything on his path.
In the midst of slashing his attacks, he's talking in anger.
"I too wishing the best for the world. The killing was necessary in order to execute the grand plan of my master himself! We both know time magic is forbidden for a reason, and I won't have you destroy my life, as I'm not going to lose another precious thing away from me."
Naruwa throws a vase directly through his face. Aiden slashes that like it is nothing. He tries to knock some senses into him.
"You are really just contradicting yourself, are you, old man? Killing for saving doesn't exist!"
"Yes, it is! To proceed with the plan, the sacrifices is necessary!"
"No! You are wrong! There is no saving once you kill someone. You just wanted to kill anyone standing in your way. You will definitely have a reason to keep killing in the next time. But you will feel nothing. Because nothing is achieved by killing!"
"Oh, shut up. Shut up. Shut up! You know nothing about me, bastard." Aiden furiously interrupts as he keeps slashing nothing but wind like a madman.
Naruwa keeps backing himself up from his mindless attacks until he is cornered. Aiden thinks himself is at victory. He's about to land his fatal slash toward his head. Naruwa, cover his head with his hands. Unable to see his doomed fate.
Blood spilled on the wall.
Naruwa slowly reopen his hands, gazing on Aiden with surprised face, and a blood falls down from his mouth. He gazes on Aiden's lower body. A spear impaled his chest.
It was Rika whom dealt the fatal blow, using the spear that hanged on a wall nearby.
"This is for my parents, you old asshole!"
Naruwa gasped, to think Rika did this in her younger days. He gazes on her empty eyes, panting mouth, wounded legs and bruised little arms. Aiden falls to the ground with the spear still sticking on him.
"My...parents...won't forgive me for killing. B-but, I really...miss them so much. I hold this grudge for so long because...he keeps showing me kindness..." She explains while containing her sadness.
And finally, she's just cannot hold it. She sniffled between words, trying to say something before eventually her tears streamed down her face, screaming in agony, breaking all silence in the house.
Naruwa gets up. He placing his hands onto both of her shoulders and consoles her.
"Anyone who harm the family cannot be a good person, Rika."
Naruwa takes a deep breath and continue what he's about to say.
"Hey, listen to me. You are alive, Rika. That's what matters. You are stronger than ever. If I were you, I would just cry to the end of the day. Anyway, do you want to take a journey with me? I have brother to find. We cannot stay here for longer."
She's nodded and wiped at her eyes.
"Okay. Can I call you big brother from now on?"
Naruwa reluctantly nodded and replies
"Yes, you can."
He removes the spear from deceased Aiden's body. Then they walk themselves outside. A bunch of crowds gathered outside as they are watching Naruwa and Rika walking away from the crime scene.
"What happened?"
"Was it him killed? The mayor?"
"Look, he is bringing himself a murder weapon."
"He's murdering our mayor!"
Rika looks at Naruwa's face. She gazes on the empty expression of his face.
"Big brother...You don't have to do this, you will be marked as criminal."
"It will be fine. Rika, stay close with me."
He gives little push on her shoulder, signaling her to walk fast. She nodded and proceed to the entrance.
Before long, the squad of elite Enkarsian soldier blocking their path, led by a commander on white horse.
Naruwa pointing his spear onto Rika's neck. Rika pretends to cry louder. The soldiers unable to take action just because their attacks will potentially be harming the child.
They walk slowly as the soldiers slowly creating pathways for them. He rotates multiple time while pointing the weapon with firm grip.
"Give me a horse or this child die under my spear!" Naruwa shouts to the soldiers.
The commander of the squad lifts his hand, signaling the troops to lower the weapon. The soldiers lowered their weapon as he drops his weapon and walk the horse toward Naruwa.
Naruwa flies themselves with wind magic onto the horse back. They gallop away from Enkarsia, toward the roads that seemingly leading to Kartika Village. The soldiers gasping, unable to comprehend what was going on.
---
Several moments later. They are still galloping with a horse. When suddenly they are ambushed by the bandits.
A sweat drop from Naruwa's forehead. But his eyes are set toward the goal.
The arrows keep coming. Naruwa swiftly dodges them with ease.
He chants wind magic spell to horse's legs. It gives so much speed, almost as if the bandits movement were a joke to him.
"Those bandits were pretty skilled without magic."
"Are you ok, Big brother?"
"I'm fine."
They finally made it out from the forest, Rika put her hand on top of her eyes, covering herself from the brightness of the sunshine. Her eyes gazes on a distant village with huts and big tree.
"Will he be there, Big brother?"
"I don't know. Only one way to find out. I have clues from Aiden's study room. If my instinct was correct, that should be the place where we going."
Naruwa points his finger toward what is Rika gazing right now.
A big journey has begun for them. To find his brother.
Chapter 5 – End