Chapter 31: Warm welcome

There’s no doubt that the news of the attack and the total slaughter have reached the city. The gates are closed, not like usually where two guards would be looking over them, but closed for good.

“Hello!?” I shout into the air, hoping to reach the soldiers stationed over the wall.

“Who goes there?” I get angrily shouted back. It seems the tension has reached new highs…

“Mark, I am established here in Iri-”

“Mark!” He cuts me before I can even tell my whole story. “Open the gates!” Even if I’m the only Mark around, shouldn’t they at least verify my identity?

Before I can even close my astonished mouth, one soldier comes running towards me with his blade unsheathed. It doesn’t look like he’s about to kill me, but either way, I tense my body and get ready for battle. Have someone said I looked unnatural during the fight? Maybe the word is out that I’m not one of Jonas’ followers.

“Stay where you are! Are you alone?” The soldier nervously shouts while still running.

“Yes, of course.” I mean, can’t you see it? There’s absolutely nothing in my surroundings. I refrain from saying it out loud, afraid to be met with the sword if I upset him.

“Come with me; the Governor requests your presence.” He wasn’t asking, it wasn’t a request. It wasn’t even an order; he was just passing around a message.

“No, but I have to met wi-”

“It’s not a suggestion,” he stopped me once again, “follow me or don’t bother coming back to the city.”

“Fuck…” I mutter to myself. “Okay, okay. Coming.”

I had to meet Lillia, that’s the only reason I came earlier… Resigned and a bit depressed, I use the idle time to write a message to Lillia while following this soldier whose name I don’t even know.

Hey Lillia, I know we had to meet, but it seems the Governor wants to see me, and a soldier is dragging me there… I’m so sorry… can we meet once I’m out?

I was really looking forward to speaking with her… bummer. What does the Governor want? Is it because we tried to defend the town even after he said to abandon all of them? Perhaps he’s taking it as defiance to his authority. I just hope it’s all a misunderstanding.

Whoever it is that I’m following, he must be a high-ranking officer. We’ve gone through the mansion perimeter without anyone questioning us. Even now, just outside the Governor’s office, nobody has attempted to stop us.

“Governor? I brought Mark.” He speaks through the door, just raising his voice a bit.

“Very well, let him in.” The Governor’s voice answers back. Taking a step to the side, the soldier opens the door and signals for me to go in. Alone it is, then. I cross the doorframe and find a pleasant surprise inside.

“Isha? You are here too?” My question is met with nothing, not even a glance. I might have imagined a brief nod, but it probably wasn’t.

“So, Mark-” the Governor begins right after I close the door. “You went to save the damned town against my orders.” My blood boils. It is not a damned town, it was their citizens! I covertly exhale and rearrange my thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Governor, but I believe you command the city army, not us the adventurers.” My voice comes out harsher than I intended, making the statement more of a threat than I’d have liked.

For all answers, he bursts into genuine laughter. “You’re right, you’re right. I was joking with you!” He manages to say in-between bursts.

My raised eyebrows and squinted eyes made their presence announced after a few seconds of unconsciously acting on their own. “Governor?” Is he mocking me still?

“Ah,” he takes a deep breath to regain his composure. “I actually wanted to thank you. You managed to unite the adventurers. Our chances at defending the city are much brighter now.”

“Oh, that? It is only natural; we could say we live here.” I wave my hand in modesty, although not too deep inside me, I know that his words are true. I myself was surprised when all those people answered my post.

“Don’t fool yourself. Most could, and would, chose to move to another city. Ignore the battle and be safe. Even take profit of our situation. Having you all by our side is priceless.” My mind inevitably thinks back to those villagers who probably thought we were bandits.

“It truly was nothing,” I say, repressing the urge to cry after a few of those townspeople’s faces flashed through my eyes.

“Quite modest your apprentice, eh Isha?” She shrugs her shoulders while staring intensely at me. Is she trying to tell me something?

“Well then, if that was all, I wo-”

“Actually,” the Governor says, interrupting me. Today it would seem I won’t get to say many complete phrases. “I would like you to describe the battle: the enemy numbers, tactics, units, everything you deem necessary.

And like so, I spend the next half an hour explaining how we got our asses beat. Of course, I make sure to elaborate on the story of how I got made a prisoner. I retell all their atrocities, trying not to go into too much detail to avoid triggering my maddened self.

“It’s like this then…” he might have abandoned them, but it seems his guilt is real; it shows in his eyes and face. “Then this shall be all. Go rest; you will need it.”

“If I may,” Isha intervenes for the first time, “is there any place I could privately talk with him?”

The Governor raises an eyebrow at the question but still readily agrees. “Sure. Head over to the end of the corridor outside. You can use the room you’ll find there.”

“Thank you,” Isha says while already turning to leave the room.

“Ah, thank you, Governor. Goodbye.” Why am I even thanking him now? I’m stupid.

I follow isha and, together, enter the aforementioned room.

“Now, the truth.” Cutting to the chase, she asks without any preamble.

“They obviously killed me. Everything else, however, is true. I witnessed all of that…”

“And?”

“I fail to understand why you are being so…” can’t say bitchy, can I? “ehem, direct, today. I wanted to discuss this with you either way.”

She once again studies me from head to toe, maybe trying to determine whether to trust me or not.

“So, after all the torture, I lost myself for a moment. For once, my Invoke Spirit evolved into Dominate Soul. And with it, I unlocked my class evolution.”

I pause to see if she has anything to say, but it is apparently not the case.

“Thing is, I entered into some kind of spiral… I am not even entirely sure I was me…”

“You must not let it control you.” His eyes are dead seriously locked on mine. His lips have become a thin yet shaky line.

“It?”

“Yes. It. The madness. You got it, right?” She’s stiff; her whole body is showing how uncomfortable she is talking about this.

“Yes… leveled it up once already. And I’m suspicious it unlocked another class evolution, if that’s even possible.”

“It is good that you were able to control it, but you must avoid gaining any further points.”

“What is it?”

“Madness is… the power to surpass your limits. But it also is to abandon yourself. While your gains might be ridiculous at first, the price you pay is far beyond reasonable.” And now she’s lost on the horizon, probably reminiscing dark memories.

“Is that why I learned the new spell?”

“Most certainly. And also why you got a new evolution. Which, answering to your question, is possible. There is more than one path your class can follow.”

“What would happen if madness overtakes me?” This question has been nagging me for a while. Can I really lose control over my own body? How would that even work?

“Who knows? You might kill your friends. Alienate everything you hold dear. Burn this city down. Surely, nothing good.” Her shrug, far from downplaying it, accentuates the gravity of the conversation.

“It’s a question of balance… Then, if I can ge-”

“Don’t follow this path! Not if you still want to learn from me.” The statement is set in stone. Everything about her points to a bad experience, something that happened to her or someone close, judging by her abrupt and unusual reactions.

“Ookay… any tips on how to avoid raising it up?” Thinking I wouldn’t get any more helpful information, I attempt to slightly change the topic.

“Only you know what makes your madness go up. Learn to control it, live with it, ignore it, or do whatever works for you.”

“I guess…” It’s not of much help, I keep the thought for myself. “Well, thank you. Just one more thing before I leave. Class evolutions, do they always come with spells evolutions?”

“They do. It shows that you mastered its inner workings and that you can improve them beyond its original design.”

“Perfect!” Does that mean Mike has been losing his time leveling all of them up? Oops. “Then… if you don’t mind, there’s someone I would like to meet.”

Still looking at me with those eyes that seem to pierce through my soul, she fares me goodbye. I exit the building with divided sentiments. Proudness at managing to unite all the adventurers, worry towards my own mental control, and uncertainty towards Isha.

Uncertainty… it felt like she wasn’t telling me all the truth. There is more to this madness state. Maybe only a personal tragedy, as I suspect. But, undoubtedly more.

*Ring* *Ring* “Lillia? I just got free of them. Stall in 5 minutes?”

“Sure! I’m already there!”

“Nice! See you!”

I pick up my pace to reach the stall as soon as possible. It’s barely a quarter to nine, and the others will be coming shortly after. I mean, I will tell them the whole thing too, but maybe not as emotionally involved.

There she is!