Kapitel 51: New Destination
"Gerard... Are you alright...? How is your wound...?" Adin asked with a weak voice.
"It's fine, I guess..." Gerard replied faintly.
The room they were currently in was dark and cold.
From time to time they heard rats and different kinds of insects passing by them.
The room was not particularly spacious.
And thanks to the lit candle, they were able to see barely.
"Is Ron sleeping...?" Gerard wondered with his eyes almost closed.
"I don't know... Since we got here, I kind of lost my sense of time..."
"Are you talking about me...?" Ron replied roughly.
"So you're awake, huh..?"
"How could I not be awake here..." he joked.
The three sat on the uncomfortable hard and cold floor with their arms chained to the wall.
It was silent again.
Unable to move, see or do anything else, the three just continued to be slaves of the time.
"Hey, will we... Will we-"
"Don't say it, Adin." Gerard interrupted Adin in his sentence.
"In our current state, we can do nothing but believe." he added.
"Believe, huh...? Doesn't sound so bad... I will believe until I die..." Ron said with a weak smirk.
With a blurry vision, Gerard stared at the candle.
He may have said that they should continue to believe, but deep down he was doubting himself.
Even if people came for help, it would be in vain.
Nobody would escape from here alive.
In the meantime, Mika and the others were preparing to depart.
He and Ophelia were following Zack and Wendy, two of the queen's retainers.
"Do you mind explaining the current situation to us?" Ophelia asked seriously.
"Sure, let me do that!" Wendy replied enthusiastically with a wide smile.
"We're now about to meet up with a small elite troupe consisting of at least B-rank mages and then we will depart to the Desolated Fortress!"
"Desolated Fortress? What's there?" Ophelia wondered.
"When we arrived here, we happened to meet an eye witness, who told us everything that happened on that day and that our targets flew into the direction of the Desolated Fortress." Zack stated.
"Wait, there was a witness? What did the person say? What happened to my friends?" Mika chimed in visibly panicked.
"Calm down. You will get your chance. Said person will tag along with us."
Mika got silent.
"You mentioned targets a moment ago. Who are they?" Ophelia asked.
"According to the report, they're demons." Wendy replied nonchalantly.
"!"
"Demons?! So there's more than one?!"
Mika and Ophelia stopped in their tracks whereas the other two just continued to walk without a worry.
"Isn't it suicidal to charge in with just a few people?!"
The ranks of those demons were still unknown, however, Ophelia was sure that their current numbers would not suffice against them.
"It will be alright. We already asked for reinforcements. It will take a day for us to arrive at the fortress. In that time, the others will catch up to us." Zack answered.
"And how will we face all the monsters there? The fortress is called the Desolated Fortress because everybody left because monsters managed to overthrow it." Since then, more and more monsters took shelter there."
"That's why we're here. Wendy and I are now a lot stronger, you know?"
Zack turned his neck and with a finger in front of his lips and a playful smirk, he blinked at her.
"I also managed to get my hands on a relic now." he said proudly.
"Huh? Really?!"
"How about a little bout?"
"Heh, you sure got cocky. But I'm in-"
"Stop right there."
Looking smugly at each other, Ophelia and Zack were ready to fight, but Mika meddled before it could happen.
"You can do this after everything is over. But for now, the priority is the rescue quest."
"Sorry, the heat of the moment got me."
"You're right."
Wendy looked at them as she giggled quietly.
"You two will never change, huh?" she teased.
Realizing that Mika was near, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.
"Are you all perhaps trying to hide something from me?" Mika wondered.
"I have the feeling that you all knew each other already." he added with a suspecting gaze.
"..."
Ophelia awkwardly averted her gaze from him.
"Well, maybe we can talk about that after this mission. We have a priority, right?" Zack responded.
Heaving a sigh, Mika gave in.
"Fine."
Thus, the group continued to head to the meeting point.
And when they arrived, a group of approximately 15 people with three carriages behind them waited for Mika and the others.
"Ah, there you are, Mr. Yorn! The others have been waiting for you!" Gustav greeted them happily.
"Sorry, for the delay." Zack apologized with a smile as he scratched the back of his head.
Zack looked at everyone.
"Seems like everyone is ready. I assume that you all know the current situation. Then, let's not waste time anymore and depart now, shall we?" he announced firmly.
"Yes, sir!" the people shouted at the same time.
Thus, everyone was about to enter a carriage.
"You two can enter the carriage at the back. The witness must be waiting for you." Zack suggested.
"The witness is waiting for us?" Ophelia muttered doubtfully.
Mika was the first to head to the carriage.
However, a blonde man in his seemingly early twenties approached him.
Aside from his head, he was fully armored.
And compared to Gustav, he was anything but happy.
"Hey! What are you doing?" the man asked.
His red eyes brimmed with anger.
"Are you talking to me? I was about to enter the carriage. Why do you ask?" Mika wondered clueless as he turned his face to him.
"Entering the carriage...?" he muttered.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed Mika by his collar.
"Don't screw with me! Do you know what kind of mission this is?!"
Mika grabbed the man's wrist.
"I know very well what the mission is! What's your deal?!"
Mika frowned at him.
"Hey, what are you doing there?!" Zack raised his voice from afar when he noticed the noise.
"I also attended the academy Loogam a few years ago. Therefore, I know for sure what the black uniform means! Do you think we have the time to babysit a student from the black class?" the man tried to intimidate Mika.
However, Mika had enough.
He held his wrist tightly and with a swift movement he gave the man a headbutt.
"Ugh! You little-"
"Enough!"
Someone else got between the two in time.
It was a tall and also tanned man in his early twenties with wavy and long black hair. He had a slim stature and just like Wendy, he wore a black sleeve underneath his armor which was only covering his chest.
"Ray! He-"
"Carl Bast. Get into your carriage." he ordered.
"But-"
"Now."
The man's pale blue eyes sharpened.
"Y-yes..."
Shortly after that, Carl headed back with his head hanging low.
"I'm sorry for my teammate." the man apologized in Carl's stead.
"No need to apologize. It's fine."
Mika tried to stay humble as he waved his hands with a slight smile.
"If you say so." the man said as he returned the smile.
He reached out his hand.
"I'm Ray Taker. If he troubles you again, you can call me anytime." he introduced himself.
"I'm Mika Elbar. I'll consider your offer."
But as soon as their hands touched, both of them widened their eyes.
Mika sensed how his entire body was tensing up without a reason.
Was it nervousness?
Or fear?
No, it was not possible in that situation.
He looked into Ray's eyes.
"!"
Ray was looking at him threateningly.
His previous kindness and peacefulness were nowhere to be seen anymore on his face.
Instead, it emitted hostility.
"M-mr. Taker...?"
It was as if he snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Oh, sorry... I don't know what happened to me..." he stated with an awkward smile.
He turned his back on Mika.
"Let's talk later again, okay?"
He quickly parted ways with him and went to another carriage.
Breaking into a cold sweat, he pondered.
"What was that just now..." he muttered stunned.
Was it maybe a warning?
A premonition?
Whatever it was, he could not wrap his head around it.
"You okay? You seem rather pale." Ophelia asked confused.
"N-nothing... Let's meet the witness for now." he replied awkwardly.
"Sure..." she said unconvinced.
As soon as he opened the door slightly, the mutters of someone were heard.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
The voice sounded familiar, however, the tone was weak and anxious.
When the door was completely open, Ophelia and Mika saw a certain someone on the floor balling up with their hands on the head.
"J-Judi...?"
Mika was the first to recognize her.
Reacting to her name, she lifted her head.
She had dark eye bags and it seemed like she had not slept at all the past days.
In addition, she seemed paler and a bit thinner than usual.
"M-Mika..." she murmured quietly.
Tears started to well in her eyes.
"I'm sorry..."
Now, the tears could not be stopped.
"It's all my fault!"
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein