[Book II Chapter 33] CEDRIC: Ambush

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Cedric Grinfield was not amused. A small village southeast of Remnant had been massacred. This in of itself would’ve been enough to illicit his anger.

“See, it’s just as I reported.” The young adventurer pointed. “They were all killed this way.”

Without a word, Cedric walked the streets. Bodies lay everywhere, cut perfectly in half down the middle. He stopped besides a couple next to a fountain and observed the smiles on their faces. They never had the chance to run or even realize what was happening. This swiftness was the work of an immortal.

A dark rage boiled within him. Flashbacks of his wife and children floated to mind. This method of drawing my attentions… They will pay with blood.

“What do you think the purpose was?” Asked the young adventurer whose eyes attempted to avoid the carnage.

“It was to draw me here, obviously.” Cedric snapped. He hated being manipulated this way.

When Julius Edgar had contacted him, he’d rushed to Nordric to hear the details. He’d then carried the young lad across the Twisted Lands to show him the way. It’d be a couple of hours before the Adventurer’s Guild sent someone to clean up the mess.

“Now let’s find out why.” He said coldly.

Jumping atop the tallest building, he surveyed the surroundings. Luring him here was either to weaken Remnant’s defenses or to confront him directly. He doubted it was the former.

There she is. On a strand of earth miles away stood a woman. Even at this distance, he could see the mad colors in her eyes. Eva Fox, the Living Chaos. She was smiling.

The village wasn’t her work. Too much precision in the brutality. However, she was no doubt in league with the culprit.

“Righteous fury.” Cedric whispered, feeling the power swell up within him. While knowing this was likely a trap, he didn’t care. He intended to make an example of her such that anyone would think twice before drawing his ire. She has no idea who she’s messing with.

The building crumbled under the force of his leap. He shot through the warped landscape at a speed that would scare most immortals. The grin faded from Eva’s lips, and the necromancer ripped the space near her, creating a portal.

“Tracker’s Instinct.” Cedric spoke softly. This was his second sublime vagary, the one he kept secret. It was the reason no killer escaped his grasp.

The instant Eva disappeared, he veered right and accelerated. These type of portals were short ranged and imprecise. Even the one opening them didn’t know exactly where they’d exit. However, Cedric’s intuition could now track the untrackable.

Up ahead, Eva reappeared, and her eyes went wide when she saw him barreling towards her. She desperately opened another portal and escaped just in time. Again, Cedric switched direction, smirking sinisterly. I’ll have her this time.

When Eva once again emerged, he was there. His amethyst sword came down before the shocked necromancer could move, and was barely deflected by a metal staff of a third party.

Cedric appraised the new arrival and gridded his teeth in furor, his amethyst armor flaring up in brightness. The sins of this interloper were deep.

“Hestia Gristle. You die today.” He yelled, readying an incomparably stronger killing blow.

However, Eva had opened another rift, and the two terrified women dashed in. No matter.

His opponents had undoubtedly sent Eva as bait due to her relative youth. There was less for Righteous fury to draw on. His swiftness in catching up had forced the dark oracle to intervene, and now he’d tapped into the mountain of grudges of her past victims. Volcanic power coursed through his limbs.

He reached their point of return before they did and summoned hundreds of lavender spears. The two necromancers found a barrage descending to skewer them. However, right before impact, the weapons froze in space.

For a moment, no one spoke, Then Hestia sighed in relief, “Thank you. For a moment I feared we’d met our end.”

“Good job.” Said a man in black. “Now retreat. Your presence will just make this harder.”

“Simon Black.” Cedric said slowly. For the first time, he felt apprehension. “I would’ve never expected you to be involved in a slaughter.”

Simon winced at these words. “I only requested that they bring you to me and had nothing to do with the method they chose. Although I should have guessed…” As his allies fled from view, the frozen spears suddenly moved, impaling the ground. That was time stop magic…

Composing himself, Cedric appraised his foe. “This is quite a risk you’re taking. If I kill you, the dark age will end.”

“You’re welcomed to try.” Simon smiled. “Although if your righteous fury doesn’t work on Kara, then it won’t work on me either.”

That’s true. His ability only responded to those he saw as villains, and the surging power was already fading. Both he and Kara have saved more innocents than they have killed. I shouldn’t have let Hestia go.

Simon unsheathed his dagger and the world went dark as the black blade cast shadows in all directions. “I dislike harming those who don’t deserve it, but you must be removed from the playing field.”

Cedric grimaced. Under normal circumstances, he’d be confident in his chances, even without his sublime vagary. However, the narrative was against him. The HEAVENLY DAO would never allow the dark age to end this quickly. My focus should be on staying alive.

Simon swung his weapon and the reality was divided in half. While Cedric dodged, the necromancer’s arm didn’t stop moving, flashing back and forth. Cedric was forced to backpedal desperately, relying on foresight to evade the lethal barrage.

Then the attacks stopped. Before Cedric could react, glyphs lit up all around him, and he felt his weight increase a hundred fold. Damn it, he guided me into this!

“I’ll have you stay here for a while” Simon said calmly.

The ground gave way under him, and Cedric landed deep in the earth. With gravity still pressing down, he looked up and yelled, “You think this can hold me?”

“Oh, it will.” Simon walked away. “After all, ‘time is on my side’”

Hundreds of glowing runes came to life on the cavern walls. As Cendric prepared to endure their magic, the sun shot out of view, and day turned into night. The moon crossed the sky even faster. Day returned, then night, then day, then night. The two alternated so quickly they became a blur of light and dark.

Cedric realized he’d already been trapped in the cave for months, if not years. Damn you Simon Black!