Chapter 71: The city we left (Third part)

In another life, literally, I wanted to become a doctor.

This was the answer I found after years of merciless but pointless fights. I completely put this thought aside when I was reincarnated into this new world almost completely devoid of any of the vast medical knowledge of my previous life.

However, as I was helping Jazor fight against the corruption of his own magic for the fifth time in half a day of journey, this desire once more reignited in my heart.

Now wasn’t the time to think about it, but after completing the tiring and difficult treatment, this thought still crossed my mind.

After I took my hand off his large head, Jazor slowly stood up. His face was deathly pale but the brown scars invading his body had considerably receded.

“You’re getting better at this.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“It wasn’t one. You really sucked at the beginning!”

“...”

Not knowing how to react without giving him a vicious kick, I simply chose to change the subject.

“How much longer until we reach the town, Jazor?”

The sun was almost at its peak but the Advanced town was still nowhere in sight. The small ravine not far away from us was also completely foreign to me.

“A few more hours I think.”

Alianelle who was silently sitting on a rock not far away from us immediately smiled in relief after Jazor’s words.

I didn’t show the same unrestrained relief as her.

“Will you be able to make it?”

“I think so. I’m just feeling a little weak for now.”

Jazor’s comforting words seemed genuine and allowed my furrowed brows to relax.

My main concern was to delay our return to the Advanced town. My rebellious actions just before the murder of the Ryunno clan member were way too suspicious. There was already no way for me to escape from a meticulous investigation.

I didn’t murder him, but I couldn’t deny that I was on the crime scene ready to forcefully save my friend. I didn’t know if they had any potion or magic able to force the truth out of me, but even if nothing of the sort was at their disposal, a simple interrogation along with a few testimonies from the guards of the town would be enough to reveal my lack of alibi.

Therefore, it was better for me to never return to this town just like Alianelle.

However, we already accepted to save Paul. The only way for us to do that was to go back before the ones responsible for the investigation of this murder.

“If you’re alright, let’s go.”

Alianelle immediately walked toward us after my words, obviously ready to once more follow him under the earth.

However, Jazor didn’t take us immediately in his crude embrace this time.

“Wait a minute.”

“We can’t waste anymore time.”

Jazor shook his head after my reminder.

“A few minutes won’t make any difference. I had enough time to think about what I’m going to do when we reach the town.”

“What do you mean?”

Alianelle's sudden question seemed to make him hesitate. However, one glance at his conflicted face was enough for me to understand.

“You don’t plan to stay with us after reaching the town, do you Jazor?”

My question immediately triggered an uncomfortable silence between us. I already explained that I had no other choice but to leave the Advanced town. However, Jazor stayed silent about his own choice.

When he couldn’t return to the town on his own, he obviously didn’t have much of a choice.

However, now it was different.

Alianelle apparently didn’t consider this possibility so she was completely taken aback by my question. Even after several seconds of this silence, Jazor didn’t deny my words.

My expression immediately darkened after confirming my thoughts.

“You intend to stay in the town, don’t you?”

My voice was neutral. I wasn’t blaming Jazor in any way as he already did much more than what anyone would have expected from him.

He helped me rescue Alianelle and was even willing to put his life on the line to reunite this pair of father and daughter.

However, he apparently finally reached his limit.

“Yeah. I can’t have anyone think that I’m related to this murder or my relatives will definitely get implicated. I didn’t go with you near the carriage for this very same reason.”

He turned his eyes filled with complex emotions to directly look into Alianelle’s blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I can only get you near the town. After that, Sillath will have to get Paul on his own before escorting you toward the tribe I talked about. I will wait a few hours after your departure before returning inside the town. This should give you enough time to walk away with Paul.”

I didn’t know what kind of excuse he prepared to explain his absence, but as long as he wasn’t seen with either of us or with Paul then he would probably be safe.

“I will explain how to reach the hidden Beast man camp. You will probably need two weeks to go there by foot. I will keep an eye open for your parents and I will lead them toward this tribe once they arrive.”

I slowly nodded after his words.

Jazor had done so much for us and he was still thinking of helping me meet my parents. Gratitude should be the only feeling in my heart, however another emotion suppressed it.

Apprehension.

Apparently neither Jazor nor Alianelle failed to notice my mixed feelings about this situation.

This couldn’t be helped.

I wasn’t as naive as before when I announced that I would cross the wilderness on my own. I already nearly died several times in these savage lands. If not for my perseverance and my good luck, I would have died without leaving any corpse behind. There was no doubt about that.

Of course, the miraculous potions Hirillë gave me were the main reason for my survival.

However, I only had a single vial of potion left.

That’s why the idea to escort two completely defenseless persons filled my heart with worry.

I can’t do it on my own.

I’m not strong enough.

These sentences circling in my mind like venomous snakes didn’t reach my lips in the end. I was assailed with doubts, but one look at Jazor’s face was enough to make me swallow back these words.

His dense and unkept beard couldn’t hide the worry and guilt on his face. He was clearly waiting for me to say something, probably to ask for his help. Even if it was extremely dangerous for him, I didn’t have any doubt that he would have changed his mind to accompany us.

However, no matter what he said, no matter the reassuring words or jokes he repeated to convince me otherwise, it was clear that he already reached his limit. If he forced himself to lead the three of us with his magic to the Beast man camp after taking Paul with us, he will definitely have to endure severe consequences.

Consequences that I would be completely powerless to stop.

That’s why, I finally decided to harden my heart and resolve.

With a smile and grateful look plastered on my face, I instantly dissipated the guilt in his eyes.

“Understood. Thank you for everything Jazor.”

“Yes, thank you Jazor. I own you and Sillath my life. Truly… thank you.”

Alianelle’s words immediately followed mine. These words told with such emotions and gratitude finally forced a blush to make its way on this shameless dwarf’s face.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m sorry for not going with you till the end…”

She slowly shook her head along with her long blond hair before speaking. She was young, inexperienced and just went through probably the most traumatic experience in her entire life.

However, she wasn’t unreasonable.

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Jazor. I understand.”

Her voice started to get choked with her previously suppressed emotions.

Small tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes, but she forcefully wiped them away with a quick movement of her hand.

“Really, thank you…”

I witnessed this touching moment without intervening. Even Jazor didn’t dare to make any joke in this instant to fight his embarrassment.

This stayed that way until he finally opened his mouth.

“To be honest, it was this guy who refused to give up. He was such a pain in the ass when he chased after you on his own. I would feel bad if he just threw away his life after all the trouble I’ve gone through to save him. I also had to monitor him to avoid him doing crazy things that would get all of us killed...”

“...”

Alianelle’s face filled with gratitude and unshed tears immediately cleared up after his words while I could only helplessly roll my eyes at him.

Of course, he had to ruin everything…

We stayed silent a few seconds before I awkwardly coughed to get the topic back on track.

“So how will I prove that you sent me once I reach the hidden tribe?”

“Well… As long as you shout my name near it and explain your situation, they will probably help you.”

“Probably?” I couldn’t help but retort.

Under our gazes filled with doubts, Jazor finally also started to think that this method was a little too hazardous. Therefore, he slowly took out with reluctance written all over his face a small item from his inner pocket.

It was an hourglass, small enough that even Alianelle’s small hand would be able to completely close around it. It was an elegant silver color while the sand trapped inside was blue and gave it a noble and mysterious appearance.

This kind of craftsmanship was something that I never encountered even in my previous life and made me want to refuse such a precious gift.

“I can’t accept something like this Jazor.”

“Trust me, this is probably the only way for them to believe that I sent you. Each dwarf from the Red mountain is given one unique kind of hourglass for their birth. They already saw it and will be able to recognize it with one glance. It’s something that is bound to follow me my entire life and even beyond. In any case, that’s what it’s supposed to be like.”

After hearing his explanation, I even less wanted him to give me something like that, but this Beast man tribe was really our only way out of this situation. I couldn’t risk them to refuse us entrance because of their suspicion.

Therefore, I slowly extended my hand to accept his gift.

The small hourglass was much heavier than what I initially thought. One side was hot while the other was completely cold. This difference surprised me but I didn’t ask any question nor made any comment when I saw his pained face.

“Thanks. I will hold onto it for you until we meet again.”

“Yeah.”

I hesitated for a few seconds, but his dispirited face finally convinced me that I definitely couldn’t keep something like that.

“My name is Sillath Zadir and my family lives in Tegralle. It’s a small village at the eastern side of the Dorell Kingdom, near the capital.”

Jazor was surprised by my words.

I didn’t use a fake first name when I introduced myself to him, Paul and Alianelle. However, I didn’t tell them my full name nor did I tell them from where I was from.

I always kept those informations hidden for fear of implicating my family with my actions.

However, such caution was unnecessary with this man.

“Come find me and I will give it back to you!”

Jazor was obviously unprepared for my sudden words of trust. After a few seconds, he succeeded in mumbling with a voice much softer than usual.

“Yeah. I count on you.”

Alianelle had a small smile on her face as she saw our interaction.

“Let’s go!”

Unable to bear with his embarrassment, Jazor motioned for us to come toward him and quickly took us in his crude embrace once more.

While we were slowly sinking into the ground, as we did several times before, a strange sound in the distant sky similar to the rumble of thunder caught our attention.

The noise was distant but so completely out of place by such a clear day that the three of us raised our heads at the same time to look at the sky. A few distant grey clouds could be seen but except for them, the sky was as blue as it could be.

These grey clouds seemed too sparse and clear to be related to this sudden violent noise.

However, none of us spared more than a few moments on these thoughts.

Silence once more reigned when our bodies completely sank into the earth.

In a total darkness devoid of any kind of noise, we traveled under the impulse of Jazor’s magic.

The passage of time was almost impossible to measure in this strange environment. I could feel Jazor’s massive arm around me, but I couldn’t see it nor could I distinguish his face supposedly just next to mine.

In such a place, it was easy to get lost in one’s thought.

I wasn’t an exception.

My mind wandered to distant memories of a lost life, of a family I could never see again and to another that I was desperately trying to rejoin.

For long minutes, maybe hours, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander.

Useless thoughts.

Unending regrets.

Unwavering determination.

All mixed together in an endless dance.

Flashes of past regrets and future hopes continuously circled in my head until everything shattered.

*Boom*

Out of the blue, a deafening explosion broke the overwhelming silence of this dark world and violently brought me back to reality.

I only had the time to feel a violent pain in my head, with my ears ringing in protest, before my entire body was pulled upward. The dark world surrounding us disappeared while I was violently projected out of Jazor’s firm embrace.

My head was still spinning when I violently landed on the ground. The impact knocked the air out of my lungs and nearly robbed me of my consciousness.

Nevertheless, I was still the first to get back on my feet with my arm raised and my mana ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.

I immediately noticed Jazor’s figure on the ground a dozen feet away with Alianelle’s slim body still in his firm embrace .

I shook my head to clear my thoughts while the both of them stood up with difficulty. Alianelle seemed badly shaken, but except for her face paler than before, she seemed otherwise unarmed thanks to Jazor’s protection.

After confirming their safety, I released my senses as far as I could to find the opponent I had to confront.

However, the cold air gathering around me immediately dissipated when I simply looked at the sky.

My raised arm powerlessly fell to return by my side while Alianelle and Jazor’s gazes filled with incomprehension followed my line of sight.

They were also quickly captured by the view in the distance filling my heart with dread.

The sky was the same as before, but a dense cloud as dark as the densest smoke had appeared without any warning just like a stain in the middle of a beautiful painting. The dense black color seemingly coming from the deepest abyss wasn’t the only thing preventing us from reacting in front of this spectacle.

This lonely cloud that seemed to have come out of nowhere was continuously moving and expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye as if it was alive and eager to devour the rest of the blue sky.

My ears were still ringing and my body was in pain, but I didn’t pay it any mind. My gaze had already moved to look at the dense smoke rising from the ground just under this ominous solitary dark cloud. This violent explosion happened far away from us, but I was sure none of my companions beside me had any doubt about the destruction it created.

“What is that?”

I didn’t answer Jazor’s question after he hurriedly wiped the traces of blood at the corner of his lips nor did I try to comfort Alianelle still shaking right beside me.

The cold sweat drenching my back along with the furious beating of my heart were more than enough to understand what my body was screaming at me.

“Jazor! We have to leave, now!”

My scream finally got him out of his trance. He turned his gaze away from the dreadful spectacle that stole our breaths away and quickly embraced the both of us to drag us back into the earth.

The same world devoid of any kind of light welcomed us, but for me, the previous quietness was gone. I could now sense numerous lifeforms moving around us under the earth in frantic movements as if a peaceful world unknown to all was finally awakened by the same threat.

I couldn’t focus on this disturbing realisation when I felt my body suddenly starting to move.

The previous times, it was difficult to feel any kind of movement while Jazor was using his magic. However, a painful sensation started to assail my entire body as if it wanted to tear me apart when we started to move this time. Obviously, Jazor’s control on his magic wasn’t as strong as before.

I gritted my teeth to bear this strange sensation because I knew just like Jazor that we had to get away as fast as possible no matter the price.

However, even this bordering painful sensation wasn’t enough to distract me from the terrible foreboding feeling plaguing my mind and, judging from the shaking of the arm holding me, I knew that I wasn’t the only one.

For long minutes, my heart couldn’t settle in my chest, but despite my anxious wait, no other explosion forcefully ended Jazor’s magic. The surrounding frantic movements of the numerous lifeforms also grew more distant and finally allowed my mind to relax a little.

However, I couldn’t get rid of the anxiety hiding deep within my heart no matter what I did.

What caused such a violent explosion?

It was too sudden so I didn’t even have the time to notice if something really fell from the sky or not. However, no matter what caused such destruction, it didn’t look like a natural phenomenon.

That’s why, I couldn’t help but think that it should have a connection with the death of the Ryunno clan member.

This simple thought filled my mind with dread.

One part of me had this thought plaguing his mind while another part stubbornly refused to believe that such a terrible scene was created simply because of the death of a single man the day before.

No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t think of any rational way to explain how his death could be exposed so soon in the middle of the wilderness.

I gritted my teeth and chased these thoughts out of my mind for now to pray that Jazor would be strong enough to get us to the Advanced town as soon as possible.

That was all that mattered for now.

Even if the darkness of Jazor’s magic was now painful, it was just as difficult as before to measure the flow of time.

I had no idea how much time passed when the painful sensation finally disappeared and the blue sky welcomed my eyes at the same time. We weren’t violently projected, but it still took me a few seconds to stand up.

Jazor and Alianelle were both beside me, but this time only Alianelle stood up. Jazor stayed sprawl on the ground gasping for air with his entire body completely soaked with sweat.

“Get a hold of yourself!”

“Stay strong, Jazor!”

Neither my encouragement nor Alianelle’s pleadings were enough.

The terrible destruction that interrupted us before obviously forced him to use his magic at maximum output. Considering the distance separating us from the rising pillars of smoke, Jazor managed to take us far enough for now. It probably took us a couple of additional hours, but the Advanced town was finally within sight.

However, Jazor was unable to get us any further than that.

The previous disruption of his magic apparently wounded him more than I thought.

I quickly put my hand on his head to help him and stubbornly stayed like this for long minutes. However, my influence was barely enough to contain the violent consequences of his magic. Despite my efforts, the brown scars plaguing his face and arms were never as numerous as in this instant.

“Come on, Jazor. Don’t give up now.”

Anxious words continued to flow out of my mouth. Minute after minute, Jazor’s pained expression seemed to slightly soften. Despite this, the worry in my heart didn’t recede as I regularly watched above my shoulder at the sky painted with several long columns of dark smoke.

Jazor’s magic mostly isolated us from the outside world while we were travelling but a single glance at this sky was enough to understand that several other explosions, just as strong as the last we experienced, happened one after the other.

These dark columns of smoke were spread out making it difficult to predict where the next explosion would come from. Rising pillar of smoke and numerous moving dark clouds seemed to join together, making the divide between the earth and the sky blurrier and preventing us from seeing if anything was hiding beyond.

Only the sky above the Advanced town was still as blue as before as if it belonged to a completely different world.

The Advanced town was within sight, but it would take us a couple of hours to walk there by normal means. Moreover, I couldn’t go fetch Paul with Jazor like this.

*Boom*

A violent but now familiar noise interrupted my thoughts. The sound was so sudden that it nearly completely broke off my concentration. I stabilized my magic and watched once more behind me without letting my hand off from Jazor's head.

The dreadful rising pillar of black smoke that followed this new explosion came from the north and was obviously much closer than the previous attacks in this direction.

No matter what was causing these terrible scenes of destruction, it was coming closer.

“What is happening?”

Alianelle’s shaky voice by my side was enough to let me understand that I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. I didn’t know what was creating these violent explosions but the simple view of the sky with a dozen black stains on it was enough to understand that it wouldn’t stop.

Faced with this scene announcing the end of the world, no reassuring word was able to cross my lips to comfort my young friend.

What was responsible for these terrible explosions shaking the entire region within its core? Was it really something created because of the death of the Ryunno clan member?

I didn’t have the answer to any of these questions.

Moreover, another thing was worrying me.

The mysterious explosions happened quite far away from us but its impacts certainly didn’t go unnoticed for the other creature living around us. As far as I could sense, even beyond our feet, numerous lifeforms were moving restlessly.

We couldn’t waste any more time.

With reluctance I took out my last vial of potion. Its effects were miraculous to heal wounds but its effects weren’t as obvious to replenish mana. I didn’t know how much it could help Jazor in this situation but I didn’t have much of a choice anymore.

The clear liquid inside this ordinary looking vial attracted Jazor’s stunned gaze, but he didn’t have the time to ask any question before I carefully fed him with half of this potion.

Another distant explosion sounded behind us when my desperate treatment along with the potion finally allowed Jazor’s situation to stabilize.

His breathing calmed down while I was finally able to remove my hand from his head. His face was deathly pale and numerous strange brown scars criss-crossed on his face and arms but his breathing was finally even.

“Go get Paul, Sillath!”

“I can’t leave the both of you like that here.”

“Don’t worry about us, I’m good now. I just need to catch my breath.”

I watched him with worry, but after a few seconds of hesitation, I finally decided to trust him and prepared to leave them behind.

“Catch your breath but don’t stay here for too long.”

“Of course, I know sissy. See the giant tree there? We will meet here after you rescue Paul.”

I nodded after noticing the tallest tree of a small forest near the town that he was pointing with his finger. This place was quite close to the town but it wasn’t immediately next to it and should do well for a meeting point.

“Be careful, Sillath.”

I nodded at Alianelle’s words and quickly left.

The town was within sight, but the explosions were growing closer too quickly. It would take too much time to reach with normal means especially since I had to go all the way to the farmland district to find Paul. Therefore, I quickly concentrated my mana and used my wind magic to accelerate.

Each of my steps became lighter than the previous and allowed me to cross a larger distance. I wasn’t as inexperienced as before when I used this technique to run. I didn’t tumble on the ground. On the contrary, after several more minutes, I was able to accelerate once more.

My feet barely touched the ground to propel me forward at incredible speed while my mana didn’t seem to be depleting that quickly.

Half an hour continued in this fashion while the town continued to quickly grow closer.

*Boom*

This wondrous sensation was nearly disrupted by another explosion on my right. This explosion wasn’t closer than the previous but this time it was within my sight. Everything happened quickly, but I was sure that I saw a brilliant flash of white light in the sky just before the usual dreadful black smoke started to rise from the ground.

It almost looked like a lightning bolt but no amount of lightning was able to create such devastation.

Whatever was creating these scenes of destruction was coming from the sky and it was getting closer.

I shook my head to chase away these thoughts and accelerated once again.

I was running out of time.