Chapter 142: - The Fire Starts to Burn
-One Week Later-
-Gawh!
-Shing!
The blade cut easily through the monster's flesh, its body slammed to the ground sending cracks and ripple across the still grass that reached up towards Lia's knees. The monster's neck was easily exposed and with it, the blood poured from its throat dyed the ground in dark black blood.
Lia lifted her blade , pulling a small cloth from her side to wipe the blood away. Lately she had begun to care more for the damage the weapon took and was careful to insure that it did not rust from the blood.
She looked to the distant forest some distance away where a figure raised one hand, a similar looking monster lying dead on the ground beside him. He signaled her and she signaled back.
The area was clear.
"You're getting sloppy."
Lia sighed, turning to face Cain who sat on the edge of a rock protruding from the great plains that surrounded them, one of the only bumps in its otherwise smooth and calming surface.
He was observing her, and had been since she and the others had started clearing out this area of the monsters and beasts that threatened the city.
"I killed it didn't I?"
Lia complained, sheathing her blade as she made her way calmly over towards the distant farm house. But suddenly, just as she took a step away from the monster's flesh, it shifted underneath her feet, its hand reaching out with sharp and dangerous claws ready to pounce upon her.
But instead of reacting, she simply stood there, and allowed the claws to come within a hair of her face, her eyes calm and staring straight ahead.
"Enough of your games Can, I've seen them before."
Cain smirked, letting the monster fall out of his telepathic grasp. He nimbly hopped down from the rock, careful as his feet made not a sound on the cold and hard ground.
"Just thought I would make sure you're prepared. Lately you've been slacking."
Lia scoffed, turnig her head slightly as she gestured to the surrounding area.
"You call this slacking?"
Monsters, dozens of which picked up on the ground littered the field of shimmering long grass, their blood spotting the otherwise pale green that covered the surface.
"I would prefer to call this…passing an assignment."
"Oh so this was an assignment, not a test?"
Cain smiled, following closely behind Lia as she strode off towards the distant barn house, her shadow snaking across the ground where Cain's was absent.
"A test would have been placing you up against the farmer. But I do suppose that it would have been a little much."
"A little? You fought an old man without any monsters by his side and won, and you call that a challenge."
Cain waved a finger, acting more like a teacher than he did like an imposing soldier.
"Ah-ah, wrong."
"Then quiz me."
"Fine, what is the strongest summons one can call forth?"
"A Warrior, class 10. They are the incarnate form of a living weapon for warfare. They are either extremely powerful, or extremely weak."
"That's only when you compare a Warrior to another Warrior. Now, what are the weakest summons you would say?"
Lia took a deep breath, sighed and searched her memories for the times when she would be engaged in one of Al Shir's lessons. Then it clicked like a gear in place of a clock.
"Flykers. They're adaptable fighters and basically just a stronger version of a human. They're just one extra soldier in war."
Cain said nothing, but instead he smirked as they passed over the rotting corpses of monsters that Lia had slain the week prior. However, despite his silence, Lia could tell that he disapproved of her answer.
"Don't look at me like I'm wrong."
"But you are."
"Then tell me, wise guy, what is the strongest summons known to mankind."
"Well, personally I think Flykers."
Lia frowned, remembering the many lessons where Al Shir had taught her the difference in appearance, and how one should always be wary of any summons they come across. No matter their class.
But he never mentioned anything about Flykers, they were always a small topic to cover.
"They're just stronger humans. What good does that do?"
"But they have magic. Any human who has magic can adapt to their surroundings. Flykers, in this case, have various spells that can help them. They adapted Lia, and in this case they adapted to use the monsters instead of killing them."
Lia glanced around at the broken remains of the farm house and land surrounding it. It had been three days since she had come here from Kokono with nearly a dozen or so armed men, only to find Cain waiting here for her, the farmer already dead. His crimes had been punished, but what Lia could never understand was why Cain waited this long to find her.
"Adaptable fighters are scary in many cases, but this was a rare occasion, right?"
Cain nodded his head gesturing to their surroundings where many different men were carrying multiple boxes of files, test tubes and other things Lia could not identify.
"In this case, the adaptable fighter adapted to his new master. One that was smart and deadly with a horrid principle. So yes, it was a rare case."
It had been a week since Lia had watched Arnold walk away with Lukali in his grasp. She had sworn vengeance upon his soul and her mood soon followed. Not once had she rested unless she had to, not once did she stop searching until the Master begged her to.
Arnold was most likely in hiding, as Cain had explained to her. He was waiting for when the search for him and his company died down, then he would slip out undetected. But Lia was still searching and would not give up the search until then.
The Master had knighted her honorary Commander and with the current Commander by her side, they both planned to cull all the monsters that hid in the plains and forest, released from their cells by the farmer for his own meticulous plans. Plans that now, to Lia, meant very little.
'The sooner we get this done with, the faster the day will go by. Then I'll be one step closer to finding him.'
Cain watched as Lia looked over the farm land, its surrounding forests and plains now cleared of any monsters within a mile radius. She was contempt, but he could see through that contemptment and found inside her the hate and disappointment she shared not only for Arnold but also for herself.
He had watched these emotions grow within her for the past week and at first, he was proud. He thought that these emotions were necessary for her to grow, for her to learn the consequences of anger and to finally grasp the meaning of his words.
'What happens when you can't save them?'
It was a question he often asked of her when she went into battle, but now it served as a teacher and as a reminder for her. He knew these emotions would eventually subside and leave her, replaced by the calm acceptance that came with them.
But after a week of waiting, he began to lose hope that these emotions would ever leave her. He was beginning to think he was wrong.
"Lia."
A voice called out from ahead of them and Cain turned to see Rian making his way down the dirt path towards them. His face was covered in stitches from where the monsters had scared him, his bruises once purple now turned a shade of green as they healed.
But what Cain saw was much different. Instead, all he could see was the empty space where his arm had once been.
Lia smiled and approached Rian, who gave her a firm hug with the only remaining arm he had left. All Cain could see however was the once proud man and fisher Rian had been, now was nothing more than an onlooker.
He had sworn to Lia that he could still fight, despite losing an arm to Arnold in their battle, but Lia was contempt with having him alive. It meant much more to her than a simple soldier did. She chose a friend over a soldier, a choice Cain could not help but admire.
"Did you finish up?"
"Yeah, the plains are now clear of any monsters to be seen. Even if we get reports of ones, they're either a lie or far off."
Rian nodded, patting her on the shoulder as a way of congratulations.
"You've done well these past few days. I guess being promoted to honorary commander was the push you needed huh?"
Lia brushed his hand off her, smiling as she found the message somewhat funny coming from him. But the moment that smile painted her face, Cain's gaze turned sharply towards an approaching figure , and Lia's smile dropped.
"Rian, you didn't take any medicine this morning!"
Becka came bounding after Rian, who turned to meet her with a smile, taking a small bottle from her hands as she sighed.
"Thanks Becka."
"Honestly, when the Master put me in charge of taking care of you, I didn't think it would be so difficult."
Cain watched Lia's face for any change in her emotion, the rest of them unable to see him as he hid himself well from their sight.
In the past week the former students of Arnold had protested their disliking of him and swore loyalty toward the Master as his personal Hunters. They also apologized to Lia for using her and lying to her all this time. It was the Master who had calmed Lia's anger down just enough that she would hear them out.
However, despite this, Lia did not forgive them, even when Rian had. Her heart was too darkened by anger and rage, too burned by the flames of war that Arnold had thrown upon her to forgive them so easily.
To Cain, he knew these markings well as the marks of betrayal. Once one experiences it, it is hard for them to come back from it unscathed.
'Calm yourself Lia, I know that you don't like her but you can't lash out at her for doing this. She was only helping.'
Lia glanced towards Cain, who found a deeply etched frown plastered on her face. She wasn't going to lash out at Becka, but that didn't stop her from loathing the lying and distrustful monster that called herself a woman.
'You're one to talk. You've been hidden from everyone for a week already and you've refused to show yourself.'
'That's because you've lost trust for anyone. Rian can see me, if he tries, but the others…"
He looked to Lia in hopes he would understand what he was putting out there. And thankfully she did.
'...aren't trusted enough to find their sight.'
'Correct. Now, come on, you'll be late for your report to your fellow commander.'
Lia nodded towards Rian, signifying that she was leaving before she strode past them with ease, Becka's eyes following her trail as she made way for the farmhouse.
Turning to Rian who was just about to pop a small pill in his mouth, she spoke with shame filling her voice.
"She still doesn't like me does she?"
Rian followed her gaze, before sighing deeply as he knew this conversation well.
"Lia? Well, she isn't one for trusting people."
"I guess so. After all, I did use her for my own gain."
"Stop that, you were ordered to do it and that's final."
Rian placed a hand on Becka's shoulder, holding the small bottle between his fingers.
"You're not at fault for any of this."
Becka smiled and gave him a firm hug, but found her mind still troubled as her hand passed over the small bump where Rian's arm used to be. She knew what had happened that night and she remembered it vividly.
Fire surrounded them, Lance yelling at Arnold as Gilbert held him back, and Becka could still remember her horrid face and the chilling cold that overcame her then as she watched as Arnold ripped Rian's own arm from his shoulder.
He was strong, he was brave, but above all he didn't take orders from anyone, nor did he care to show mercy when Rian's screams filled the air.
It haunted her deeply, and Rian could see this, catching the look she was giving his shoulder.
"Becka…"
He trailed off, wondering if he should have this conversation with her for the fifteenth time, considering that it had not yet clicked for her the past fourteen times. But, as if a switch had been flicked, Becka looked up with a side smile and happy eyes, eyes that hid behind the horrid sadness and grief she felt over what she had done.
Like a mask, Cain watched as she put it on over the face of pale sadness she hid from the world.
***
The mountains were cold and rough to travel in, the plains were too open for anyone to pass through, while the forests would be combed from head to toe. It would be easy to see anyone in any of those locations, so the company had opted for the marsh lands.
Difficult terrain to travel through, morning and evening fog to cover their trail and even the wetlands would cause their pursuers some difficulty.
But despite that, Arnold had opted once again to wait. So, taking shelter inside a cave within the marsh, the company had hunted, eaten, slept and called the cave home for a week, all the while their leader had kept his eyes trained on the marshes.
Emma leaned against one of the nearest small stone stalactites that fitted out the large open cave, fiddling with her hair as she groaned.
"How much longer do we need to stay here? We've lived in this smelly cave for nearly a week now, things must have calmed down."
Olivia, who was in the midst of sharpening her blade for the thousandth time, looked up from her work to scrutinize the woman.
"We have no way of knowing that. They could still be searching for us at this very moment, so we need to be cautious. I'm certain you could last a few more days in here, after all-"
She gave Emma a slight look over, taking note of the many blotches of mud and water that stained her clothes, the unevenness of her hair, as well as the roughness of her skin.
"-I'm certain you could last for a while without a shower."
Emma saw the look Olivia was giving her and with one angry glare, she tossed a small stone towards her.
"Like hell! I haven't taken a bath in nearly a week, and now I'm all muddy and gros and -"
"Be quiet."
The stern voice echoed out through the cave, silencing the all as Gilbert, Emma, Olivia and Trevor turned towards the entrance to the cave. There stood a man who, in the same way he had stood from dawn until the dusk of every day, watched the marshes and the creeping fog.
Arnold.
"We wait here until the day is over. Tonight we will set out for the nearest trail towards home."
Gilbert spoke up, eyeing the man he called commander with the same look he had given him so many nights before in the marshes.
"Don't you think they'll cover the trails?"
"They're too busy with the monsters. I waited specifically until they were done so that the men they had searching for us would be too tired to give chase."
It was a while before a voice spoke from within the cave, a voice similar to Arnold's but much lighter. Unlike the other ices talking within the cave, this one caused the man to turn and face the owner, a look of stern superiority hovering over his face.
"But she won't be. You know it too, she'll come running the moment you move. It's why you've been hiding here for so long. You're afraid she'll give chase when others won't."
The voice of Lukali.
Arnold looked towards his son, a silence hovering over the ave as his fellow members turned their heads away from Luakli, a show of disgrace to the boy in respect to his father.
"I'm counting on it."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone