Chapter 38

Hero to Zero P1

“Sir Knight, come forth,” Osferth commanded, his voice raspy, yet thick with an underlying edge.

Cursing the situation I had placed everyone in, I stepped forth with my metal soles, clanking the marble tiles of the great hall creating heavy echoes from each step. This wasn’t a trap, this wasn’t even a problem yet. I can possibly remove myself and the baby from this situation, If I proceed expertly. ‘They don’t know who I am, or what my mission is.’ Thinking this through, I relaxed my tense shoulders onto my seat.

“Sir Ghras? Is it?” The Duke Agenchord slit his eyes to scrutinize my mecha’s approach. I froze still as he gasped. “You’re armor, It looks so familiar. Wait don’t tell me...”

“Sir Ghras from the House of Grass?” Osferth spoke through the echoing chambers, courtiers tittered as he sounded out my name, again. “Also known as the Grass Knight?”

I shrugged inside Amelia’s helm, then nodded to his inquiry. The crowd of silk garbed courtiers whispered to one another, one of them exclaiming into a mockery as they noticed the grass plumage atop my helm.

“Yes, I am Sir Ghras, I’m just here to---”

“I remember now! Your armor is one of the Royal bodyguards! What is it? Uhh, Order of Avaline? Yes, yes. Your breastplate had confused me for a moment, I thought you were part of the Teal Knight’s retinue, but the golden crests on your visor are what triggered it. ”

‘Verdant hells!’ He knows the make of Amelia’s armor. I guess it was inevitable for an individual from high society to recognize the metal attire of the royal bodyguards.

Osferth stood silently as the Duke Agenchord continued his commentary. “Ah yes, you must be part of Amelia’s retinue, where is she? I received a missive from her a month past, that she would be coming here with her child. The beautiful battle mistress of the prince, Amelia Sercroft.”

Muttering a few choice curses, I replied. “Forgive me, your grace, Lady Amelia Sercroft has fallen.”

“Oh, that's a pity.” He said, his plump face contorting into bulging grief. I gritted my teeth when I saw his expression after. The expression was of an obese child, yearning for a toy he had wished to play, but now was despoiled that he couldn’t.

“And the child? Where is the child?”

I was about to feign ignorance as I summed up a lie, when the Duke’s lackey, Osferth suggested. “Perchance, the child might be inside that golden fur on your back?”

Tense, I held onto my analog twigs as I signaled Amelia to nod to his suggestion. ‘Think of a plan?’ This isn’t a trap yet. If I act any way that appears suspicious---that would reveal my intent, I might not be able to get away from this disaster.

“Well, show him to me.” The Duke ordered. He swayed his hand up to call out someone near the crimson drapes from the right corner of the great hall. “Martha! Martha, come out, check on the child if he is healthy.”

A tall matronly old lady, stiff as a board, with a fixed upturned nose, revealed herself. Whilst the maid was walking towards me, I had unlatched the golden furred backpack, moving the child and Sera who was hidden inside at the forefront of my mecha. clenching tightly, I had figured a plan that could get us out of this city and situation. All I have to do is play the role of a delivery man, stay in the castle then wait at night for a nightly escape. That’s my best bet to get Art away from the clutches of this despot and his crony. Something here is unusual, and I doubt this relative of Art has any good intentions for him. It was just a gut feeling, but I know, I was in the right to suggest this.

I instructed Sera inside the furs with Art, “Stay hidden, Sera. Find us, and direct us back to Art, when you can. We are leaving tonight.” Hopefully, she had caught those instructions. Sera did not reply, but I knew she had heard me at least.

The old matron with a stiff bearing stepped in front of me with opened arms. Hesitantly, I pulled the golden furs aways from me and into her posturing arms. The matron opened the golden furred flap to reveal the blonde shrub and pink face of Art’s sleeping face. She eyed Art speculatively, then directed him in front of the Duke and his wizard who was elevated by the platform of the throne, revealing the child’s face to their curiosity.

Eyeing the child, the Duke fussed for an inquiry, “How do we know this is the child?”

The wizardly staffed Osferth, near the throne, narrowed his eyes as he invoked an intonation too far to be heard by me. His eyes had widened after a few seconds after he focused his gaze at the child.

“Ah, yes, the boy’s aura glows gold, unless he killed a legendary creature in his cradle, then yes he has been granted the legendary gift of your bloodline, similarly as your grace.” Osferth nodded, pleased at the result of his analysis.

‘How could he tell? Aura…?’ It must have been an active skill, I thought, watching the gleeful reaction the Duke directed to the child. Osferth offhandedly glanced my way, then stepped back in surprise.

“What is it? Osferth?”

“The Knight! My grace, he also has a golden aura...”

“So he is part of the royal family?”

“No, my liege...The golden aura is different, brighter. Yet, It is small, with other auras. Green, and brown? So strange…”

“He is a Legendary Bearer?” The Duke’s face gleamed as he exclaimed.

The noble courtiers around the great hall exclaimed and gasped hearing the Duke’s responding claim.

“So pray tell us, Grass Knight, what legendary creature did you slay?” The Duke spoke his rapacious voice---echoing the great hall with his inquiry.

One of the courtiers tittered at the name Grass Knight, then another spoke out of turn. “Must have been a legendary cow, who had grazed on his grass!” Motivated by the inference, more courtiers began to speak out their turn. “Must have been a legendary rabbit! Rabbits eat grass right?”

“Nonsense, it’s a pig, or a boar, they eat anything! A Legendary pig!” One of them had presumed. Hollers and laughter ensued as the noblemen continued with their farce.

I was about to say, It was in fact a legendary boar when the Duke’s face twisted in a rage when they mentioned pig.

“Silence!” He growled at the spectators below. He then directed his glare at me, brimming red, embarrassed at his outburst. “You can tell us later, of your legendary kill.” The Duke remarked.

“Martha, take the boy to the tower.” The Duke directed his matron, who was carrying the child and the hidden Sera. Watching the boy’s face leave my sight, I gritted my teeth. Well, at least the Duke gave me a hint where the baby was going. The Duke Agenchord eyed me for a moment, then turned to Osferth with a silent question. Osferth, his wizard lackey returned him a nod. Turning his eyes back to me, the Duke spoke, “Welcome, to my city, Sir Ghras.” His voice was jubilant as he continued. “Please stay here for the night, and we will feast on your accomplishment and your success---in bringing my great-nephew to my care.”

“Not for long,” I muttered inside the helm.

“You will take the best rooms of my keep, right next to the courtyard, where you can enjoy the afternoon shade, while you wait on your feast.” The Duke suggested, lifting his hand to wave me a dismissal.

When I was clanging out of the great hall, I heard the snickers and mutters from the courtiers around me. As I exited, I swiveled to face them to show them my disgust, but I froze, my grass marrow bones chittering still---at their predatory glances and vulture stares. It was clear to me, the feast was a trap. I could not pinpoint it, but the gut feeling inside me prompted me to accelerate the timetable of my departure soon.

The announcer returned my weapons to me, letting another one of his black-garbed attendants to direct me to the room the Duke had suggested. After a few opulent halls, we had reached another double door entrance. They were polished blackwood to fit the designed materials of the castle. Waiting on us, were two plated soldiers holding their halberds by the door. Seeing our approach, they opened the door to a large parlor, decorated with porcelain vases, and furnished oak furniture. The parlor had multiple doors, leading to separate rooms for my stay.

“I’ll be back at 6 o’clock to fetch you for the feast, Ser.” The attendant briskly notified.

The two plated men closed the blackwood doors when I had dismissed the attendant. Because the living space was situated on the ground floor and that the Duke mentioned that it was right next to the courtyard, I hurried to the drapers to the side. Moving them aside, I viewed through the glass to see the verdant courtyard in front. Unlatching the wooden frames that were supporting the glass door, I shoved the door to open to inhale the evergreen fragrance of the garden. My face soured at the unexpected fragrance or stench. It smelt like dead or dying plants to my disgust.

“What’s going on?”

Cursing myself for a fool for pausing to smell the flowers, I continued on my task of equipping and preparing myself for my departure. I called Wink and Peb to come up, so I can discuss what is about to occur. Their faces had paled, as I continued on with my theory and why we must escape. They had inquired about Sera, and I told them, she’s coming back to lead us back to Art. Nodding at my instructions, I asked Wink something.

“Have you checked out the grass?”

“Oh yeah, they are all dead around here, all the plants are dead.”

“How do you know?”

“Any cultivator with a grass cell can feel the dead aura of nature here.”

My brows furrowed in worry at his explanation, I viewed the green tapestry of the garden in the courtyard. “Why don’t they look dead?”

“I don’t know.” Wink remarked, glancing at the same direction I was. “But there is no life essence around here. Which is peculiar...Because life essence should be everywhere?”

The inkling mystery felt somewhat related to the missing people of the city. I could not put my finger on it, but I know that this matter is pertinent to the reason why people were vanishing.

Suddenly, I heard a clanging reaction of a pebble hitting steel. Disturbing me from my rumination, I rebuked Peb. “Peb, stop eating stones near the metal!”

“That wasn’t me.”

Clanged! Another pebble smacked the exterior metal of the helm to then reverberate an echo within the interior. Staring at Peb, who was munching on a morsel of wet stones, I vaulted off my cockpit to peer outside below. Sera had a couple of stone pebbles in her arms, whilst throwing another one. The pebble struck my face with a thud. I collapsed onto my butt at the force of the collision, groaning, I got up.

“Sorry!” She shouted down below.

Rubbing my forehead, I grimace. "Sera came faster than expected."

'Why is she early?'

Prompting Amelia to kneel so we could lift Sera with the gauntlet, she jumped inside the opened visor to the bewildering expressions of my peers and me.

“We have to leave! Quick!” She huffed. She rested her hands atop her knees, catching her breath to rest.

“How did you get here?”

“I climbed down the vines that were outside the tower window and led me down to the courtyard---nevermind that, we got to go!”

Cursing, I closed the visor in a panic then jumped onto my cockpit. “Where to?”

Not exiting through the closed doorways, we opted to go through the courtyard. Rushing atop and across dead grass and foliage, we found a door that was unlocked to the interior. Commanding everyone to stay quiet, we peered through both directions of an empty hallway.

“Which direction?”

“Left.”

After reaching the end of another hallway without being detected, we found a stone staircase that would lead us up in one of the stone towers. Climbing up it, I noted the limestone could be something of use. Directing Peb and Wink to go to their stations, I prepared myself for what Sera had told me. Apparently Osferth was doing something to the child, to my disgust. I heard a baby’s silent cry up above, which had prompted me to quicken the movements and tempo of my mecha. Drawing both blades, I readied myself as I continued strenuously up the stony stairs.

“Why does the baby get what I was promised!?” The Duke’s porcine voice complained.

“Children who have not yet reached their majority are easier to transform,” Osferth replied, an annoyed tone against the belligerent.

“But, I was the one who did all the hard work. So many lives for this experiment, that your lord promised me.”

“Yes, yes. You will get it.”

Reaching the flat surface, I prompted Amelia to quietly stomp through the opened door to the left. Peering through, I spotted the Duke, his wizard Osferth and six plated soldiers around the cradle that held the child. Art was wailing, after being pricked by a needle that Osferth was holding.

“He will be remarkable.”

The rage inside me bellowed a cry at the baby’s cry. Undefined, and visceral rage consumed me to push me forward. My mecha's mechanical steps were heavy with steel and resolve, as I continued onwards. The clanging noise made everyone turn to my approach. Surprised expressions greeted the rage that I had submitted into my movements.

“What are you doing here!?” The Duke flustered.

I eyed the six soldiers beside the Duke and the wizard who was searching for his staff. Once more into the fray, I live or die to this day. Activating the Plasma sword with a word, and linking the Vibro-sword with a tempo, I functioned a script to rain terror to my foes.