"What should I do...?" Panic clawed at her.
"I... I have to find Rin." Her heart pounded in her ears, fear of losing him overwhelming.
I can't afford to lose another one. She fought to steady her breath, the sight of the widespread destruction and blood on the ground only fueling her anxiety.
Gravity magic allowed her to survey the area, but she knew she must use it sparingly.
If these people could subdue the group in under twenty minutes, it meant they were strong.
'If I exhaust my mental capacity tracking them, I could become their captive.'
She recalled how she strangely didn't sense anyone while tending the horse.
What could be their countermeasure? It made them even more dangerous.
She needed to be rational
Now tending the girl is the better choice
She seems to know them well so interrogating her is wiser than blindly looking for them
'I tried tracking them on a small radius and I felt nothing' She thought 'I can't waste more mental capacity'
She tended the little girl's wounds with trembling hands, still in dismay
After an hour or so, the girl's eyelids fluttered open.
A gasp escaped her lips as she met the woman's intense, crimson gaze.
"Speak," the woman demanded, her voice low and dangerous. "Who attacked us?" Her eyes, filled with a burning intensity, seemed to pierce the girl's soul.
"T..They are the L. mercenaries are from Balthor City, And are notorious for their brutality and cruelty among other clans."
"Balthor?" Secilia narrowed her eyes
She explained that the city uniquely houses outcasts from various clans. Many of them were kicked out or have criminal records that prevented them from living a normal life within their own clans so they left for this lawless city
"The city regards its mercenaries as a source of both pride and power and leaves them roam the outskirts, capturing people to sell into slavery. I..I got lost and was their plaything until they saw the pillar light up"
'So the pillar lets the natives know of any intruders...' Secilia thought
"They kept me with them but changed directions to attack you, They headed to the pillar first since they can use it to know what special abilities the intruders have..."
•••
"That damned pillar, I knew it seemed off" I cursed under my breath
"As your group seemed strong, they did not rush and took their time strategizing to take you all down and decided to use me...as bait but..."
"They saw a better timing when I separated from them..." I completed her sentence
She nodded "They always move with instincts and they instinctually felt the best time to charge"
So they know she could use gravity, They are smart AND have her friends in their hands
They could use them as hostages
I need to be cautious
I asked the question that I was most reluctant about, seeing the marks on her body
"What...What do they do to the ones they catch..."
"Special or pretty ones get sold without much damage, while they have fun with the ones they deem inexpensive..."
She then continued touching the bandages on her arms
"I was a special case, The two siblings had a grudge against our clan..." And showed me a bird tattoo on the back of her hand
'Hm...' I held my chin and was deep in thought
There is a system that seems to be established in these lands
With clans and all, Like my previous world
Moreover, I am fluent in their language, as it is identical to that of my former world
Is it really a previous world or...
"So where could they go now?" I inquired
"As I said, They often just wander, but since they might want to sell them...maybe a nearby city?"
"Great, I thereby regard you as my first prisoner" I announced
"Huh?" She flinched at my chilling words
"I will not let you go until I find my friends, Do you have an objection?" I looked at her coldly
"N..no.." She mildly responded
I felt a little bad but there was no time for stalling
●●●
"Let's change locations first, Your name?" I said and helped her up
"Huh? Relis..Relis Daraenia" She answered puzzled
The whole place was destroyed, We can't stay here
She is a liability and I can't move however I want
It made me a little annoyed that the situation is so unfavourable
"Uh...I can heal.." She said quietly
"What?"
"My Eudora is healing..."
The term had me involuntarily frowning
Hearing it, the same as my previous life...
It is how they call special abilities, 'Eudoras'
"How good?" I asked, glad that the situation was not so grim
"Broken bones are my limit" She replied
"And you can use it on yourself?"
"Y..yes"
"Why you didn't do it earlier?"
"If they found out I can heal, They will be a lot more gruesome..."
"Okay Great, now then. Heal" I ordered her
"Uhm...But, I need an artifact" She avoided my gaze awkwardly
'Haa....of course it's not going to be easy' I sighed
"And where is it?" I asked
"Where we met...I think? It's a golden pendent" She replied, unsure.
She must've lost it when I moved her unconscious
So we went back to look for her pendant
And as we were walking
We passed through Zeo.
I stood up there for a while...
'Haaa'
We are short on time but I decided to bury the horse quickly, I couldn't just leave it rotting there
I was about to move him
But then I noticed a white piece of paper on the tree the horse was tied on
I rushed to it
'It's probably from them'
And as I expected, it was a note from Rin
The writing rushed and chaotic with charcoal
[ Dear Sister Lia
If you find this, it means we've been captured. I hope you are safe.
Sister Athy just killed the only one we could communicate with so we might be a bit lost now, but they don't seem to want to kill us.
I know you'll want to rescue us right away, but please, don't rush in.
Even Michiel by my side is asking you to wait.
Please, Wait for the right moment, or they might use us as hostages and get you to-]
It abruptly ended...
I held onto that letter tightly and gritted my teeth
"Oh once I find these motherfuckers, They will wish for death..."
Although Relis didn't understand as I talked in Isthisian, she shuddered
After managing my wrath, I decided to follow the advice
I will not stop looking for them, But even if I find them
I'm gonna wait for them to be separated from those two bastards Relis told me about
'So I can kill them comfortably, and slowly...'
I organized what I'm going to do next in my head
Starting with getting the pendant and healing the girl
Then heading to the nearest city and looking for clues
At the same time I need to get some money
I have jewels I brought from the Theodiria household but selling them right away is unwise especially when I have no idea of the currency or how this place works
Either doing menial jobs using my gravity or mercenary work seems ideal
But if it's clans like my past life, It will be so hard for an outsider like me to get a job
I have to be a part of a clan
I buried the horse lost in thought
"Let's go find your pendant" and we headed right to where we first met
●●●
"We've arrived..." I muttered
She was on my back
I sat her down, the hole in her leg was still there after all
I lifted her with gravity the whole time, but I acted like I used my body
It was a good practice
"You are strong" She seemed impressed as I didn't even heave a breath
Anyway I looked for that pendant for a few minutes and found it, inside a bush
"Here" I threw it
She looked very glad, and so was I...
"I'll use the healing now."
She opened the pendant and there was someone's face carved inside it
It had a crown and long ears
'An elf? And...I know that elf.'
Again, something that proves that I lived here previously
I want to ask her about his identity...
The eyes of the guy inside the pendant started glowing green
Her injuries started slowly healing, starting from the gaping hole
As the wound closed, the light in the pendant dimmed
"Is that it?" I was perplexed
Her head injuries, and hand scars were still there
"That hole took a lot, it needs recharge"
"Well I guess we should be glad you could walk at least" I said
She laughed awkwardly and stood up
"Let's get to a city now" I urged her.
"Yeah, my city's nearby. They couldn't have taken me too far..." she replied, her voice laced with uncertainty.
"So... you're not sure where we are?"
She avoided my gaze, a flicker of fear in her eyes. "I got lost in the first place, so..."
I felt a pang of guilt. I was pushing her, after all the torture she went through. So I needed to change tactics.
"Alright, any clues? A general idea? Any hint would help."
She hesitated, her expression troubled. "Actually... you and your group can't see any city from here."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there's a barrier of protection against monsters and outsiders. Only those with a clan tattoo can find the inhabited places."
A wave of realization washed over me. Everything clicked into place.
The mystery of this vast, unknown land.
Why the empire doesn't have information on them
And why the only cities and villages found, are abandoned ones
It's because they are invisible to them...
I doubt it'll pose a problem to me though. I perceive the world not just visually, but through gravity as well.
I can sense the magical energy and the very fabric of reality.
In the end, any existence is within the air, and air is within my grasp
Although I need to change the reconnaissance type from my usual, as I need to be specefic on what I want to find or the consuming on my mind would be just obscene
Right, I have no other choice but to use gravity to find it
Relis here seems clueless but this changes things
It's much easier to just feel magical abnormalities and not the whole area's geography, something like a barrier is easier to distinguish
"I could actually be executed if they knew I told you that" Relis cut my thoughts
"Well; they don't need to know then." I shrugged
"Now listen closely, I'll use some of my powers to find a close city, I might become grumpy afterwards so don't take it personally"
"Powers...?"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity but she didn't dare to ask
I closed my eyes ignoring it
And the little invisible circle in my hand started expanding, I chose a circle so I could get to every corner just as fast
The farther the city is the more my head would ache
With my eyes closed, the superficial circle reached an incredibe size but I did not stop until...
'There it is' I found it
Some sort of disturbance in the atmosphere, It felt like a huge barrier, unclear where it ends
"Let's go" I said
"Wait, you actually found it? That's insane!"
I lent my hand to help her stand and we went on our journey
"Hm...How precious..."
Oblivious to the ominous being lurking close by