After that anticlimactic interrogation was put to a close, Royce offered William some dinner for bringing him into the woods. He twist the metal pole holding his freshly butchered rabbit which he hunted shortly after untying Will. At present these two were enjoying an unexpected campfire near the array where Luke was being tortured
"Thank you for undoing the ropes, Lord Keeper. Were you and Luke on some training arc? Because I haven't seen him around?"
"Hmmm?" Alex replied by humming upon having gained interest in a word he spoke
"I mean he usually goes to the mall, most likely the arcade with Ryan– wait I forgot he's dead. Now that I think about it, most of the places he goes are usually because he's with that punk. No wonder I couldn't see him, oh please don't mind me, Lord Keeper… *Sip*"
Upon failing in his attempt to strike a conversation, William retreats by lowering his gaze and taking a sip of the coffee Royce had offered him
'This kid's so tense to be a spy. And the way he speaks, it kinda makes me recall all those people fawning over me. I scanned the surroundings near Luke's house before I left but I didn't find anyone who'd pose a threat. It seems I was worrying for nothing, god damn it Luke, how could you have forgotten about the keys to your house?'
Alexander hands a portion of his dinner to William and says. "After you finish your share you can leave. Thanks for fetching my disciple's belongings. If there's nothing else then goodbye–"
"Please wait!!!" William trips and falls as he tries to grab hold of Royce's cloak suddenly vanishes from his grasp
"What now kid? I think sparing your life was enough compensation. Anyone in my situation would've killed you for trespassing at my disciple's home. Although your reasons are justified, do you think your opinion matters to someone with a higher status like me?"
William catches sight of Alexander's small and fragile umbrella expanding, revealing the hidden arms he kept unnoticed. A blade was suddenly a few inches away for it to be lodged right up to his throat along with the bloodlust that flowed. He froze upon glimpsing at Royce's blood-red eyes indicating the intensity of his situation as it's pushed to the extreme
'I let my guard down for a moment there, who's to say that whole excuse was a cover-up? I've seen this situation a couple of times and it only left me with stabs and gunshots, I'm surprised I'm not yet paranoid. Let's sense the surrounding area for a little bit– there's another one? Just who is it? Was this a setup?'
"… that's the newly issued watch distributed to anyone affiliated with the Organization. Does it have a tracker on it?"
Alexander's sword was then pointed at his wrist but his bloodlust seemed to rise, alerting William of his quick reply. "Yes, it does. The watch has a tracking function. It's been installed so we can easily locate members when they're injured,"
"Tell me, can anyone else see your location? Or is that tracker only functional at times of crisis? Speak…"
"It can track anyone but due to Article 7, page 69 which prevents privacy leaks only higher-ups are given such privileges outside of emergencies,"
Royce quickly withdrew his blade and whispered at William's left ear. "Act natural if you don't want to die. Just pretend that you're camping. If they suspect you in any way I'll kill you,"
The shadow of the trees surrounded Royce with their shade and eventually, all that remains is a shadow
'What was that all about?'
William was confused but suddenly he understood his situation, a footstep of a person drew closer. He then notices the frequent vibration of his watch indicating the use of a 'Pursuit' was marked by a higher-up. As the person made their way to his spot, they peeked at a campsite, and a singular person enjoying his freshly cooked hare
"From what the watch says it's right over here. Is there anyone here? Oh, it's you… what are you doing here late at night?"
The person who marked him for a 'Pursuit' was none other than Erica Lane. One of the descendants of the Ten Families who are known for their strength. But the thing that surprised him the most was why this person sought after him at this time no less
"Ms. Lane, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be holed up practicing. What brings you here to the woods?"
William suddenly opens the conversation like he usually does and asks Erica the reason for her arrival at the forest
'He doesn't look surprised… did he know that I would've come for him? Was everything that the leader said was real?'
…
6 hours ago
"What? You can't tell me? But why?"
Erica was frustrated by the branch leaders' rejection of unveiling the Lord's identity
"I'm sorry… but the Lord I mentioned before is a special case. Even the organization notified us to keep his identity hidden,"
'Even the organization? Just what's the reason for such a privilege to befall this person, that his identity is confidential?'
"Well if you still want to know even after I told you this, why don't you find William? Maybe he can help you,"
"Who?" Erica replies and the branch leaders at her back
"Little Willie… you just fought him. Right over- nope he just got taken to the clinic. Just remember what I said, and seek him,"
The branch leader left in a hurry leaving Erica in the field alone as the daily training session came to a close
'William Blaze? That ticking time bomb? I did hear rumors of someone seeing the battle up close. Never knew it was true,'
…
At present
'This is so awkward. Now that he asked me out of the blue it feels so shameless to ask him. What should I do?'
"Nothing, I just wanna ask if you heard a distress signal. I saw how you suddenly disappeared from one place and appeared here. That's not the weirdest part considering you suddenly went from the city to the forest in a matter of seconds,"
"Shit!!!" Royce reacted to his blunder and suddenly he shook as he noticed that he had spoken out loud
"What was that?" Erica walked closer to where William was seated upon hearing Royce's voice
"I mean shit! God damn this is so good. I knew that following online recipes for BBQ rabbits would be great. Do you want some? I still have some more?"
'Did he freak out by my statement? Is he hiding something? So that wasn't a glitch? Was he taken away by the Lord?'
"Stop changing the subject. You suddenly flinched when I mentioned your movement? How did you get here?"
William's heartbeat rose as he suddenly felt pressure on his shoulders which belonged to none other than Royce. He was stuck in the middle of a relentless Lord and one of the descendants of the Ten Families. At that moment he suddenly remembers a phenomenon that his teacher had spoken about years ago
"Oh about the watch? Mine's glitching as well. You do realize it isn't powered by electricity but by Order?"
'What's this now? Is he trying to trick me? Did he forget that I studied at the Organization? Okay Mr. Willie, give me your best excuse,'
"Yeah, so what about it?"
"Any gadgets made by the Organization are powered by our Order output. Although it rarely has any errors the longer their distance from the organization the performance of such will degrade. But when they're placed where Chaos is rampant these gadgets tend to bug out just like now, as we're near a hotspot,"
William's words weren't wrong and Erica was doubtful but everything he said made her ultimately surrender her doubts. The recent crisis at hand, undead popping off here and there would've messed with the accuracy of their gadgetry. Because of this undeniable fact, her assumption was dissolved, and sighs at how wary she appeared to be
"You guessed it right! I'm sorry if I came a little hard on ya. I just wanted to test you since I heard you're the rising star,"
She turns around and takes a few steps forward and begins to act all jolly in contrast to her previous acts
'Phew… it seems this kid is quite crafty as well. Just what is with this town and their kids? I thought it was just Luke and now him? Well, I'll be damned, he's got such a venomous tongue. I tell ya the kids here are a bunch of snakes, including my disciple,'
"Ms. Lane, can I ask why you looked for me? I never thought I made a good impression. So I'm a little embarrassed,"
She tilts her head and glances at him
"What do you mean? Most of the people here fell from a few of my moves. You on the other hand lasted longer. If you aren't burdened I'd be delighted for another round. That is if you're interested,"
"Really?"
"I wouldn't turn down an interesting fight,"
He stands up and walks for a while before shouting in the distance
"You're leaving already? I think I heard some undead spawn a while back. Why don't you come and join me?"
"Sorry, but you can deal with it. Someone needs to catch up on her beauty *yawn" Sleep… well see ya tomorrow,"
Erica finally left and Will broke out with a sigh of relief
'Finally, that matter's solved,'
"Damn kid, if I weren't paying attention I wouldn't have thought you were trying to rizz her up–"
"Gaaaaah!!! L-Lord K-Keeper? Y-You're still here? I thought you'd already left?"
"Since when did I say that I'll leave? From the looks of it, you seem trustworthy. Anyway, you wanna Luke?"
"Is he here?" Will looked around to try and spot Like but immediately gave up as Royce began to walk
"Yeah, he's inside my array,"
"An array!!? I have never been to one before! Are we going inside it?"
'I can trust this kid. There's no doubt about it, and hey, it'll be great for Luke. He'll be a little annoyed but he'll get some company,'
"Of course we can, I made that array, so let's go, my disciple must be dying to meet someone for such a long time,"
He opened his array, and at first glance, everything was marvelous, and then William felt a ripple. A red liquid was dripping at his shoe and his eyes seemingly followed its trail till he saw Luke's unconscious body. At his back was a large cut made entirely possible by his fear of death making him focus with all his might to form a blade
"Luke!!! What happened to you? Hey Luke! Wake up. Lord Keeper, we need to treat him at once. He's bleeding all over," Royce was so simply absorbed by the cut made of his disciple that all his senses went numb, and didn't hear William's voice
'I gotta say, I'm impressed. I gotta hand it to your grand master. Although his method is barbaric it provides results. So in the end the greatest teacher isn't a person, it's the idea of Death, grasping that feeling allows one to soar. The tension, fear, and despair it provides, either you're consumed, or have grown stronger, and mightier than before,'
Luke opens his eyes where he catches a glimpse of both William and Royce, and gathers his remaining strength
"Fuck… you!"