Bab 228: This Hero And The Rescue!

The dark, stone cell stood before me. The only light within it came from the flame that I had produced. Sitting against the far wall, draped in ragged cloth is a man that I can only barely recognize.

His muscles have all but left him. He now has very long hair and a beard. His skin is pale. Most importantly, however, his confident aura no longer emanates from his body.

"Jaq…?" I spoke aloud. My voice echoed within the room for a moment. The man that I recognized as Jaq didn't move to look at me, but I saw his eyes were locked on my face.

"J-Jaq, it's me! Kenji!" I pointed to myself and slowly approached him. It was only when I stepped within two meters of Jaq that he began to respond to my existence.

"A-Ah…" He wailed. His voice was not that of a proud adventurer, but a broken man. I felt a horrid emotion rise up from my stomach while I watched the man I had previously worked with cower before me.