Episode 104: An Unexpected Attack
It would have been simpler to just say it was an accidental death caused by a beast. But in the dream, Isaac had hesitated for a long while before finally speaking. That hesitation itself suggested the possibility that someone had killed Damian.
Aracila’s mind, previously preoccupied with slaying the beast before her, began to race. If Damian didn’t die because of a beast… It meant he could still be in danger. And that danger could come from a human hand.
The moment this realization hit her, Aracila pushed through the crowd, searching for Damian.
“Lady Vandemir! Where are you going?” Isaac called out, startled by her sudden movement, but Aracila paid him no mind and pressed forward.
Weaving through the towering knights, she caught sight of Damian’s head in the distance. There he is! He was walking at the front of the group, his broad frame and starlit hair making him easy to spot.
“Damian!” she shouted, her voice ringing out. But either the distance was too great or he didn’t hear her, for he didn’t turn around.
Aracila darted through the knights, closing the gap between her and Damian. It was then, as the burly figures parted, that she noticed something odd—Ken, revealed in the crowd. He was a step behind Damian, which struck her as strange. A guide should be leading the way, not trailing slightly behind. When she walked with Ken, he always stayed at her side or slightly ahead, so this felt off.
Am I imagining things, or does it seem like he’s trying to hide? Even as the thought crossed her mind, Aracila’s gaze locked onto Ken, her steps quickening instinctively.
The likelihood of someone from the Red Hawk Knights killing Damian is low. The same goes for our side. The knights loyal to Damian would never harm him, and the mages weren’t even present in her prophetic dream, which left only two suspects: Ken, the investigation team’s representative, and Albi Carter.
But Albi was currently walking far from Damian, mingling with the knights, which meant he couldn’t be the one to assassinate him. That left only one person.
It’s Ken!
The moment Aracila reached this conclusion, she saw Ken subtly slip something out from his sleeve. A glint of cold steel caught her eye, and she surged forward, shouting, “Damian!”
Just as Ken raised his blade to strike at Damian’s neck, Aracila hurled a magical orb. Hearing her call, Damian spun around, causing Ken’s strike to miss completely.
“Argh!” Ken stumbled, struck by Aracila’s orb, and collapsed to the ground.
Damian, startled, stared at Ken, who had dropped his blade. He hadn’t imagined that a quiet member of the investigation team, who had been calmly guiding them, would suddenly attack him. “What the…?”
“Damn it!” Ken spat, his face contorted with frustration as his planned attack failed. He quickly reached into his coat, his breathing ragged and his eyes wild—nothing like the subdued presence he’d maintained until now.
What he pulled out was a small, black orb that fit in the palm of his hand.
No, it can’t be…! Aracila’s eyes widened. She’d seen something like it before, during a raid on an illegal black magic artifact trade. It was a condensed orb of dark mana—a magical bomb that, when triggered, caused a massive explosion. Under imperial law, creating lethal magical artifacts was strictly forbidden, and even the mages of the Magic Tower dared not develop such weapons. Yet here it was, in Ken’s possession.
How could a mere investigation team member have gotten his hands on something so rare and dangerous?
“Damian, get back!” Aracila shouted. Ken hurled the bomb directly at Damian. Gritting her teeth, Aracila conjured a protective barrier around him and leaped forward to shield him.
She knew the black magic bomb’s power could likely pierce her barrier. Her mind was consumed with a single thought: I have to protect him, even if it means using my body as a shield.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion roared through the air, the shockwave rattling her ears. Thick, acrid smoke swirled around them. The knights coughed, covering their noses and mouths with their sleeves.
Thankfully, Aracila’s barrier had held strong enough to protect the group, and no one was caught in the blast’s direct impact.
“Commander! Lady Vandemir! Are you both alright?” the knights called out, waving away the smoke as they searched for the two.
As the haze slowly cleared, Damian and Aracila came into view. Damian was sitting on the ground, the force of the explosion having knocked him down. He held Aracila tightly in his arms.
“Aracila…” With a trembling hand, he brushed her hair aside. Her face was a mess, blood streaming from her temple. The black magic bomb’s power had breached her barrier, striking her directly.
Damian’s breath caught as he noticed her white uniform, now stained with patches of red. His heart pounded, and his vision swam. “Aracila, please, stay with me. Aracila…”
Damian let out a ragged breath, gently shaking Aracila’s shoulders. But her eyes remained stubbornly shut, her head lolling lifelessly to one side. The sight sent a jolt through Damian’s chest, a haunting echo of his mother’s death. Back then, he had shaken her blood-soaked body as she lay collapsed on the floor, her head drooping just as lifelessly, unmoving.
“No…” His hands trembled uncontrollably, a tremor so fierce it felt beyond his command. His heart pounded as if it might burst from his chest, each beat laced with dread.
“Aracila!” He pulled her close, clutching her tightly. Her small, delicate frame felt as fragile as dry leaves, ready to crumble at the slightest touch. Yet, unlike with his mother, he could still feel the faint warmth of life in her—a small, stubborn sign she was still here.
It’s not too late. If we get her treated quickly, she’ll be fine. Gritting his teeth, Damian lifted Aracila into his arms and rose to his feet. His mind was consumed with a singular purpose: saving her.
“Commander, what in the world happened?” Isaac, arriving late after hearing the explosion, stared at Damian with a look of shock. His gaze fell on Aracila, bleeding in Damian’s arms, and he froze. Sally and Rudy, trailing behind Isaac, gasped in horror as they spotted their senior.
“Senior!” Sally shrieked.
“Why… why is she…?” Rudy stammered.
Damian’s eyes, glinting with a cold, ferocious intensity, met theirs. The three flinched under his gaze, a rage so raw it seemed he might lose himself to it at any moment.
“I need to get her down the mountain immediately. Isaac, apprehend Ken and handle the aftermath.”
Ken had already vanished into the chaos. Damian’s icy stare lingered on the empty space where he’d been before turning to Sally and Rudy. “You two, come with me.”
Isaac gave a stiff nod, his face grim, while Sally and Rudy hurried after Damian, their steps urgent.
As Damian carried Aracila down the mountain, his hands kept trembling, forcing him to tighten his grip on her. The fear of dropping her, of losing her forever, gnawed at him. He descended the rugged path almost at a run, murmuring a single word under his breath.
Please.
That one word echoed endlessly in his mind as he quickened his pace.
***
The only doctor in Poshan Village was a white-haired old man, but his skill was surprisingly adept. After carefully examining Aracila, he treated her wounds and turned to Damian. “Fortunately, her life isn’t in danger, but the impact to her head was severe. It may take some time for her to regain consciousness. Her right arm and leg are also fractured.”
Damian felt a mix of relief and despair at the words. Relief that she would live, despair that she had been injured protecting him. He gazed at Aracila, her face pale beneath the bandages wrapped around her head, arm, and leg. Reaching out, he brushed her cold cheek, then turned to Sally and Rudy, who stood in a corner of the room.
“…I’m leaving her in your care for now,” he said, his voice low and heavy.
The two nodded readily. “Yes, sir. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her,” Sally assured him.
“We’ll look after Senior,” Rudy added.
Damian stroked Aracila’s hair a few more times before entrusting her to them and stepping outside. As he did, Isaac, who had taken charge of the subjugation team in his absence, approached as if he’d been waiting.
Damian stared out the window at the setting sun. “What’s the situation?”
“We found Ken in the mountains, but he’d already taken his own life,” Isaac reported. “I’m sorry. We searched his body, but there was nothing of note.”
Damian’s lips twisted, reflected in the window. He got off too easily. A low mutter escaped him. After what Ken had done to Aracila, Damian would have preferred to make him suffer. Swallowing the boiling anger, he spoke after a long pause. “A magic bomb isn’t something you can just acquire. There’s someone behind Ken. Investigate thoroughly and uncover who’s pulling the strings.”
“Yes, sir,” Isaac replied, disappearing down the corridor.
Damian let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face. The mastermind was likely the Vandemir Ducal House. They’d already tried to kill him and Aracila using dark mages during the hunting festival. No one else had such a clear motive to want him dead.
But one thing troubled him: how had they known about this mission to bribe Ken in advance? There might be a traitor among us, the Magic Tower, or the investigation team, colluding with the ducal house.
Damian ground his teeth. If it had been him who was hurt, he might have let it slide, but they had dared to harm Aracila. That, he could never forgive. Resolving to root out the traitor, he launched an intense interrogation of the investigation team, the Red Hawk Knights, and the Magic Tower’s mages. Everyone involved in the subjugation was confined to their temporary quarters, unable to move freely.
The first to be questioned was Albi Carter, Ken’s superior and the leader of the investigation team.
“How did Ken join the team?” Damian asked.
“About two weeks ago, we were recruiting additional members, and he volunteered,” Albi replied. “He’s from Poshan Village, so he claimed to know the Tritos Mountains well.”
“Did you personally select him?”
“Yes… but I swear, I had no idea he was capable of something like this! With reports of a beast descending toward Poshan Village, I chose him because he was a local.”
Albi hadn’t even met Ken in person, having selected him based solely on his application from the capital. Among the many candidates, Ken’s local knowledge had stood out.
“I have nothing to do with Ken,” Albi insisted, his face wrought with indignation. “Why would I want to kill you, sir?”
Damian’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Who’s to say you weren’t bribed to plant Ken?”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
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