Chapter 10 - Trap

Arion was shocked to learn that the men knew Master Chen. The man remarked that his surname, Chen, should have gave him an idea who he was in the first place.

Arion mumbled and shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, the last time I checked, I wasn't given the duty to know about Chen family."

Master Chen instructed the Heka disciples to wait outside while inviting Arion back inside. Inside, he demonstrated his power by making the Enthralled Shadow he revived visible again after previously making him invisible.

Arion sniffed awkwardly and looked away for a while.

Timing seemed crucial, as the unconscious man regained consciousness and, upon seeing Arion and Master Chen, appeared extremely frightened.

"Who...who are you people?!" he fretted, quickly distancing himself from Master Chen.

"We are not dangerous, and we saved you," said Master Chen. He tried to jog the man's memory, "What do you remember last? Please tell us so we can help you more."

The man shook his head, indicating no recollection.

"At least tell us where you were recently, or who you last saw?" Master Chen pressed on.

The man struggled to remember. "I was in the palace, taken away by some people," he began, stuttering. "And those people... They were from the Gn-"

But just then, the man's body began to fade away slowly. Tiny white lights emanated from his body, and his parts getting blurry over time.

He cried out for help, panicked as his form dissipated, feeling as though he was being lifted from the floor.

"What's happening? Why is he losing his form?!" Arion exclaimed, his eyes opened widely.

"Help me! Please save me!" the man pleaded, and Arion felt a pang of sorrow, witnessing someone's death for the first time.

Feeling his heart ache, Arion empathized with the man's pain. He reflected on how he had changed since waking up in the mountain and realized he had found a newfound sense of empathy.

However, the man continued to fade, still crying for help.

"We understand your pain, but your disappearance can't be savoured.," Master Chen explained. "But I promise to seek revenge..."

The man interrupted, "Instead of doing that, please protect my child. Her name is Sarah, and she lives in the charity home in the High Palace. I fear those who harmed me will go after my daughter once I'm gone. Please, save her!"

"I promise to do so, mister," said Master Chen seriously. "Be reborn as a decent human in mortal realm and live a very good life."

His words echoed and the man's body faded into the air.

As the man's life essence faded completely, Arion thought, "What could have been my parents' last wish?"

Master Chen urged Arion to honor the man's dying wish, and Arion, for some reason, agreed. He set out for Golangane with the Heka disciples.

Meanwhile, at the palace bar, a scandal was unfolding. Valerian engaged in a drinking contest with Liora, Amara, Darian, Caelum, and Merrick. Liora, Caelum, and Darian succumbed to drunkenness after twelve shots. Merrick and the demon princess continued drinking with Valerian, who remained sober.

Amara eventually lost, and Merrick, slightly drunk, accidentally hit his head on the table, allowing Valerian to win the contest. As they all left, Arion appeared at the entrance, determined to fetch the man's daughter, Sarah.

However, his attention was momentarily diverted by Liora, who was stumbling down the stairs and inebriated.

"Why did she drink for goodness' sake?" Arion snapped. He rushed to her side to prevent her from falling, finding it his first experience dealing with a drunk person.

She slurred, "Hey...so you're still alive? That's a relief." She grinned.

Arion managed a faint smile, noting that Liora had clearly lost her senses due to alcohol.

"I have learnt a new thing today. Adults behave like kids once intoxicated by alcohol and also, get happy to see their loved ones safe," Arion noted inwardly. Alot of things was occurring to him and he had started to note them.

Arion held Liora securely as she rambled on, deciding to take her with him. Disappointed he couldn't retrieve Sarah, he took Liora back to the Heka sect.

Lysander noticed his daughter draped around Arion's neck. Recognizing that she was drunk, he was simultaneously relieved that Arion was alive.

"Take her to her room," he instructed Arion. Holding Liora as she dozed off, Arion carried her to her room and laid her in bed.

Returning outside, he encountered Lysander once more. Despite harboring feelings of revenge and hatred towards him, Arion found himself softening in response to Lysander's kindness.

"I'm glad you're alive," Lysander said with a smile. He patted Arion's shoulder affectionately, prompting Arion to consider that there might be more to Lysander's involvement in his family's demise than he had previously believed.

Arion nodded in acknowledgment, bowing in response to Lysander's warm wishes.

In a different setting, a young man dressed in skintight black robe knelt before Thorian in the secret room. Thorian, with an air of indifference, urged the man to speak.

"The enthralled palace guard was killed in Silver Land while on the mission for you," the young man reported.

Thorian was taken aback, wondering how someone he had empowered could be so easily defeated.

When he learned that Master Chen, Lord Lysander's brother, had been involved, he grew more infuriated. The man also mentioned that the guy who had been thwarting the Enthralled Shadows was spotted with Master Chen by their accomplices.

Thorian decided it was time to deal with the guy who had consistently disrupted his plans. But first, he had to eliminate the man before him who was privy to his secret activities.

"Is there anyone else who knows about the Enthralled Shadows?" Thorian inquired. The man assured him there were no other witnesses.

Relieved by this, Thorian ordered the guard to rise. However, without warning, he stabbed the guard, who struggled but couldn't remove the dagger from his stomach. Thorian eventually withdrew his dagger as the guard succumbed to his injuries.

In Thorian's study room.....

Soon after, Thorian's son arrived at the sect, looking somewhat sober after drinking wine. Thorian scolded him for spending time with the wrong crowd and failing to increase his power.

"Father," Merrick began to protest, but Thorian interrupted.

"That's a matter for later. Dispose of the body in my secret room after completely sobering up, ensuring there are no witnesses left alive."

"Yes, father," Merrick replied obediently.

Thorian then turned his attention to the guy who had been causing them trouble. "Everyone is impressed by the his skills in evading my attempts. But he has not yet been rewarded."

"He's just a show-off, father," Merrick commented dismissively.

Thorian corrected him, "I'm not praising him. I'm setting a trap to capture him. He won't escape."

Thorian ordered a guard to summon the guy to his palace under the pretense of rewarding him for his efforts.

Arion received the summons and headed towards the Gnostic sect. When he arrived at a long corridor, he encountered black-clothed men pushing a coffin-like carriage.

He halted, curiosity piqued by their cargo. Beside the men, a figure controlled their movements. They were all masked, making it impossible for Arion to see their faces. The leader, noticing Arion, ordered him to move aside.

"Move out of the way!" The leader yelled, a voice Arion recognized a bit. He glimpsed a leg protruding from the mat covering the carriage that concealed a person. Without hesitation, the men descended upon him. Arion fought back, his sword strikes lethal.

Beneath the leader's mask, it was the face of Jay Merrick. Jay grabbed the carriage's handle and drove it away as his father had ordered. Arion was about to pursue when the other men blocked his path. Their intent was clear – to kill him. But on the other hand, Arion aimed his sword to incapacitate, not to kill, targeting areas that would render them unable to fight.

As he got engaged, he tossed one of them off the ground. Strangely, an arrow traveled from an unknown direction and killed the man.

The other two men closed in on him, and he channeled his magic into his sword, incapacitating them without taking their lives. Arion marveled at his newfound self-control.

More strange, the others shared the same fate as the previous one.

Suddenly, soldiers converged on him; archers and swordsmen forming a circle.

Then, the man he recognized emerged. Anger surged within Arion; he suspected that the reward promise might have been a deceit. More clear, it might be a trap.

Archers aimed their arrows at him, and he crumpled, the arrows piercing his blue cloth.

"What effrontery do you have to murder my men?!" Thorian, the man in charge, shouted. Arion, speechless, glared at him. He gasped as pain spread through his entire body.

Arion fell to his knees. The wound he sustained from Bloodstream Cave had not healed when....

"You..." Arion groaned, blood trickling from his mouth. Two swordsmen pulled him up, their blades pressed against his throat.

"You have committed the unforgivable, and death is your punishment. Lock him up!" Thorian ordered.

"Yes, my lord!"

As they dragged him away, his legs scraped against the ground, his gaze locked on Thorian with burning fury.

He was thrown into a cell in the sect, and Thorian, looking in the direction Arion had been taken, smirked wickedly, muttering, "So this is all you have got. You are more easy than I anticipated, monster hunter."