A Former Hero’s Journey : I just want to live peacefully!

Chapter 20

Kimiko Pov

It was surprising to suddenly hear a boom from behind then a scream of a man. Kimiko looked backwards as she saw the Duke heir suddenly leap out of the carriage and charge at the carriage that went just across them. She was having a fine black tea, courtesy of Annie and Mira as well. Annie just looked at them before losing interest in the carriage and the Duke’s heir because there were two more presences hidden deeply in the woods who was following after him while one from the Duke’s side followed after the boy. The knights of the Duke were in disarray due to the suddenness of the situation.

 Kimiko may not like Noble very much but she did not want Aaron to die either. After all, he still owed her a favor.

“Annie…”

Annie closed her eyes and replied.

“Yes, Mistress?”

“He still owes me a favor. Make sure he doesn’t die before fulfilling them.”

Annie just bowed.

“Yes Mistress.”

Annie opened the door of the carriage before jumping off from it.

Aaron Pov

The carriage seemed to speed up. The riders and the other people seemed to be distressed and confused. One of them spat out.

“Fuck! Wasn’t someone responsible for clearing the road for at least half an hour?!”

Just as he was saying he ducked his head as another of his co-workers were flung away. Behind him a red-haired boy was currently overtaking them. It was a surreal sight to see how a running young man just clad in black tight shirt and brown pants was currently overtaking them while they were on horses. Aaron overtook one of them before the one on the horse decided to attack him.

“Die!!”

As the rider used a spear to stab at him who was at the front. Aaron sidestepped without losing momentum and grabbed the out-stretched shaft of the spear. He used his strength and threw the spear forward, causing the rider who was using it to be thrown at the other horses. The one, who was thrown, hit two more riders before they all fell and rolled before breaking few tree trunks. Few remaining ones tried to do something, with the keyword ‘tried’. A golden aura enveloped Aaron as the weapons thrown at him didn’t even pierce through the aura. Instead Aaron unsheathed his sword on his hip before swinging at them, causing winds to lash out at them.

The sword was a beautiful double edged longsword with golden hilt and black pommel. The length of the blade was about 1-meter-long and two inches wide. Some letters were inscribed in it. The winds generated was enough to unbalance the few remaining riders and they fell. But Aaron did not care about that, all he was focused was how to get the princess to safety. He used his full strength to sprint. The ground cracked due to the sudden force of his feet stomping and barreling towards the carriage. Just as he was about to reach the carriage he sensed something coming from the forests on the side.

*Whoosh*

*Whoosh*

*Whoosh*

Aaron deflected the projectile with one swing.

*Clank*

He saw that the projectiles were small pointy blades, commonly known as hidden knives used by Assassins. He narrowed his eye as he saw a hooded figure readying another 3 blades on his left hand and flinging at him at his vital points with pin-point accuracy even though they both were running. A small tattoo on the hand showed a circle with an eye.

‘Assassins of the Cult!’

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

He did not stop chasing the carriage. The Assassin disappeared into the foliage of the forest but Aaron keen sense and his dealings with the [Cult] told him the Assassin was still there, waiting. Now Aaron was at the impasse. Whether to follow the carriage with reckless abandon, leaving his guard down for the unknown Assassin (or Assassins and he wasn’t wearing his armor at the moment) or to slowly deal with the Assassin while leaving the carriage out of his sight. He grimaced as the carriage grew more distant as time passed but Nina was his precious childhood friend. He steeled his body and gave a war-cry before resuming his chasing.

“Haaah!”

[Aura Manipulation Lvl 3]

Golden aura slowly formed around his body as he could sense many projectiles firing towards him from every direction. He suddenly turned backwards, his momentum still carrying him forward, as he could see tens of blades coated in purplish aura coming towards him. His instinct told him that despite the many blades coming towards him, it was still thrown by one person. Without hesitation he swung his sword and used his sword to cast a [Sword Skill].

[Wind Tempest!!]

Suddenly gales of wind formed to create mini tornadoes, showing just how serious the attack of his assailant was. He could still see the blade inching towards him before giving out at the last second. Suddenly his whole field turned dark, most likely a barrier known as [Darkness Boundary] to deflect the light which causes instant darkness inside the field. He could sense multiple of arrows being fired towards him from the front with much force.

‘I am using too much mana before a proper fight. I need to deflect the arrows just slightly.’

Now he used the momentum of his swinging blade, charged it with mana, and using the flat side as a fan to create much drag area before using another skill.

[Wind Barrier!]

Just as the name suggests, he created a wall of wind in front of him as to slightly deviate the direction of the arrows. The arrows missed him by slight distance but the wind force it generated was enough for Aaron to know that it was another assailant who was a friend of the Assassin. Just as he emerged out of the barrier, he suddenly saw an arrow just about to pierce his eye with just few centimeters left. Adrenaline kicked in, causing time to slow down as his thought process worked overtime. But he came to a conclusion.

‘I cannot dodge it this time…’

Arrow tip was inching closer and closer. He looked forward to see a new hooded Assassin with a bow who only had his eye shown, those eye that did not have a shred of emotion within them. He looked a little to the right side to see the former assassin he had entangled with had already thrown the blades. The wind generated by the arrow was enough to know that the force behind it was strong.

‘Even my Aura can’t negate this arrow. I will most likely lose an eye…’

Just as time resumed, suddenly from his blind side a short sword appeared and it destroyed the arrow. Aaron just closed the targeted eye as he used his sword to deflect the blades as well as caught the short sword. Aaron smiled as he knew just whose sword it was, then he could hear a voice catching upto him.

“Wait a minute you damn brat! Don’t just leave without saying anything! Do you know how scared the Little Chibi was?!”

Aaron face fell in shame.

“Uncle…”

Rowley just waved his hand.

“Anyway, just what was the reason when you suddenly gone ballistic?”

Aaron could see how his uncle was wary of those assassins. Aaron just gave the short sword back to his uncle and gave a run down version as they were getting ready to fight while the carriage was getting farther away.

“My necklace is a keepsake from Princess Nina, as it detects her when she gets close. Long story short, those Assassin from the [Cult] is kidnapping the princess who is in the carriage currently far away. We need to hurry before she disappears. It could also be one of the reasons why father was suddenly called to the capital.”

Rowley nodded solemnly before looking at the two figures in black. He squinted at them before his eyes went wide. He started readying his two short-blades, left in reverse grip and the other in the right grip. Rowley told Aaron in grave voice.

“….I don’t think we can run after the princess, Aaron. We are fighting ‘Named Assassins’, the best of the Cult.”

Aaron widened his eyes at the realization before looking frantically at the distant carriage which was about to disappear. He gritted his teeth.

“Can’t we do anything?”

Rowley spoke gravely.

“One of them is enough to give me trouble but with two? Listen kid, knowing your level, they were probably playing around with you. Also I am not the high leveled one among my brothers. They could’ve ended the fight with you long ago, just like when you were about to lose an eye if I had not intervened. Do not be reckless. Now that I think about it, they usually go for the kill without any fooling around….”

Aaron just gripped his sword harder. Just then the Assassin who was using the bow suddenly gasped and jumped backwards. A different arrow suddenly pierced the ground he stood on half a second later. The angle of the arrow was nearly perpendicular to the ground. A figure then stood beside Aaron. Aaron looked at the side and he saw a maid with black hair and glasses. She had a bow beside her while she used two fingers to perfect the balance of her glass. She spoke.

“My Mistress asked me to lend an assistance to you, given how urgent you were running. It seems to be important as well from what I have heard.”

Aaron just nodded while Rowley looked on in suspicion.

“Much appreciated.”

The maid replied.

“Then go! We will keep them busy.”

Aaron asked.

“Will you be alright?”

The maid scoffed.

“At least, better than your chances. What are you dawdling for? GO!”

Aaron nodded as he ran forward.

“Thank you and be safe.”

Surprisingly, the Assassins let him. After all, they had bigger threats in front of them and they knew it was not the man they should be worried about, it was the maid. Call it pure instinct of the animal or what, but they could feel that the maid was someone they had to keep an eye out for. Rowley looked at her in suspicion and asked.

“How can we trust you?”

The maid just shrugged.

“You don’t. Just like how I don’t trust a peeping tom with your invasive ‘observation’ yesterday and this morning.”

Rowley quirked an eye.

“You noticed.”

A statement, not a question. The maid simply smiled.

“We all did.”

Then she instantly shot the bow Assassin in the head with the arrow, who just turned his head to the side, barely in time to dodge the arrow. The force of the arrow, however, was enough to draw a thin slice in the cheek despite the hood covering the head, his hand which was about to shoot her. On the other side, Rowley was instantly attacked by the bladed assassin just as Annie had taken the shot, instantly drawing out two sai and locking unto his short-blades. However due to the momentum of the Assassin, Rowley was in the disadvantage. The bow assassin instantly shot arrows towards Rowley. However, each and every one of them were intercepted by Annie. The Assassin scowled towards her while she smirked.

With Aaron

The carriage had gone pretty far away. It took him several minutes to find the carriage. As the coachman saw him coming from behind.

“Tsk…Hiyah!”

*Slap* *Slap* *Slap*

Neigh-!

The horses promptly sped faster. He looked back again to see Aaron running towards him while slowly overcoming the distance between them. He looked in his bag and saw a potion. He grimaced and threw the potion behind him.

[ Name: Potion of Necromancy (Failed Product)

Grade: Rare

Effect: Summons a horde of C- class undead. Includes: Undead Soldiers, Undead Knights

Description: A potion made from the essence extracted from killed warriors holding the same job when they were alive. They were killed and their resentment turned into fuel to craft this item. They are weaker than when they were alive as their equipment and skills have degraded. However it is a failed product and can produce only a few warriors instead of hundreds. ]

The potion shattered and the purplish fog inside it dispersed before coalescing into figures. 10-15 figures materialized. Those figures had the shape of human but were nothing like them. Instead of healthy skin they had greyish wilting skins, some even torn off to reveal some greenish flesh beneath the skin. They also had some equipment on them, mostly degraded steel armors. They all had white eyes and were moaning as if in pain.

“…..it ……hurts……”

“…. The ……pain….”

“…..kill……”

Every one of them were chanting and they seemed to target Aaron as he was barreling towards them. Aaron could see them and he grimaced. His eyes wavered for a while before being resolute. As they were just summoned, not all of them seemed to have noticed him. Better finish them off fast. He took a short jump and swung his sword, instantly lopping off the head of the first undead. Then he rolled from the momentum and used one hand to bisect another undead from top to bottom with his sword. Those killed disappeared into motes of purplish light.

As the sword hit the ground, the grounds cracked and formed a small depression. However, the force it generated was enough to send the remaining congregated undeads few feet up in the air. Now pouring mana into the sword, the sword glowed golden. With a leap, he appeared few meters ahead in an instant and started his chase.

“I am sorry….”

Those words were said before all the undeads were bisected along the same level before they all disappeared like before. He continued forward having seamlessly destroyed the undead without wasting much time. The man at the coach seemed to notice him coming closer and closer as well. He gritted his teeth and looked around. They had already gone pretty deep as the flat land with forests shifted to higher elevations. With it came dangers of monsters, uneven ground and chances of somehow slipping off the road as well.

Eventually the coachman saw a small road besides the main road. It looked old and unused as well as full of vegetation, the only thing that gave away was small patches of land where grasses did not grow. Despite knowing the danger of the unknown he entered without hesitation when the chance came. As the width of the road was small he could cast whatever small magic attacks to delay the one who was chasing him.

“Hiyah! Run faster!!”

His hand glowed as an brown circle appeared on it.

[Earth Spike!]

Small spikes emerged from the ground to block Aaron way. Ten seconds later, it was all blown away as Aaron just bull-dozed through it as he crossed his arms over his face. His [Aura] taking most of the damage. The coachman looked more desperate.

[Earth Spike!] [Earth Spike!] [Earth Spike!]

More and more spike emerged between them. Aaron didn’t seem to faze as he just jumped into the tree and from tree to tree. Then Aaron just disappeared into the foliage. The coachman looked around for any sign of his assailant but couldn’t. He started to get angsty with just the sounds of horses running in the rough road. He desperately tried to look at the sides. Just then Aaron jumped from the tree. In slow motion, one could see Aaron gritting his teeth as he was jumping from the tree into the front seat, readying his hand for a punch while the coachman looked at him from the side of his eyes as his eyes started to widen.

As the world resumed in normal time, Aaron smacked the coachman from his seat but the coachman had clung onto the reins of the horses. From the force of Aarons punch, the coachman was pushed away with such a force that he had brought the remaining horses with him. And as the horses were also bound to the carriage, the carriage destabilized and began rolling right from the side of the road downhill. After few minutes of tumbling down Aaron was dizzy as he began shaking his head. His [VIT] and [CON] ensured that he will recover from slight wounds but could the same be said for the princess.

It had been few minutes since he had to shake himself to recover. He was flung from the carriage in the last second so he searched for the carriage. It was quite few distance away but….

“Where is the coachman?”

He looked at the overturned carriage and searched inside. He grew panicked as the princess was not inside.

“Dammit!!”

He punched the carriage as it got a hole from his punch. He took deep breath before he searched around the carriage. From the other side, near the window there was a mark of someone being dragged away. He followed to a clearing and saw hills and gorges with few puffs of clouds as well. But he did not had time to enjoy the sight as there was the coachman in front of him bleeding badly from his head as well as other parts of his body. He was looking venomously at him. The unconscious princess was in his hand with a knife on her throat but she looked none the worse. The coachman was furious and he spat out blood from his mouth.

“You just couldn’t be late for another few minute? You just had to be there!”

Aaron did not speak as there was a mad gleam in the eyes of the bloodied man.

“Now because of you, this mission is a failure! What happened to the other person who was supposed to delay you huh? Now we will all die because she won’t forgive us!”

The man continued to rant as Aaron was thinking of many ways to save the princess.

“At least, she is favored by the council. But about us? We will die a dog’s death and not even our bones will be found! It was happening all so easily as well. We got the princess from ‘them’ but where the hell are they anyway? Just a few more kilometers before we reached our base and then all would be simpler!”

Aaron started sweating. It was clear that the man was getting insane. Aaron could see the knife inching closer and closer to her neck.

“I would have been able to change my workplace. Just wherever the bitch is not but what do you know? Fate is bitch and it sucks dick. Ah-ah don’t come any closer, otherwise this dainty neck will come off. But…. since I am already a dead man walking I will just kill this bitch that was spawned by that whore of her dad as a big ‘Fuck-you’ for the festival along with other things.”

Aaron nodded in his head. It was official that the man had gone to the deep-end. But still he tried to persuade the man because it was the only things he could at the moment.

“Why don’t you leave the princess? I will vouch on my honor that we will protect you from the [Cult].”

The man looked at him silly before cackling.

“huhahahaHAHAHAHAHAH! The fuck you said? You, protect me? It didn’t take a decade before the cult found out the hideout of the man whose daughter we took. And his hideout was protected by ‘The Adventure Guild’, one of the strongest and influential as well. What can a Duke do? If one thing the [Cult] does best, it hunts it’s prey. They weren’t even serious and they still found him. And with the information I have? Welp, they will chase me down to whatever corners of Vesperia I may be in.”

Aaron desperately needed to keep talking. Maybe his uncle would arrive unnoticed by the deranged man and take him out. He just needed time and something he noticed while the man was speaking.

“What was about this festival?”

The man frowned before shrugging.

“The hell should I know? That bitch keeps a tight lip on her plans. I am just an information manager. That makes me a priority target by the [Cult] if I were to turn into a traitor. But I can tell, it’s something big. Big players are involved, countries even, all planning to take down your country. Even one very unexpected guest is about to make entry, then you guys are fucked.”

Aaron was alarmed. Needless to say that something truly nasty was about to happen. Tension between his kingdom of Posat and Sholiy was increasing. Skirmish were rising between borders. But every country knew better than to conspire with the [Cult] as they could very well bring the downfall of Kingdoms and Empires. It was even proven 175 years ago when one of the largest empire, the Empire of Amrita, fell stricken by plague concocted by the Witch mistress before she was slain. He needed to milk some information out of him fast.

But fate had another plan.

Just then the princess stirred awake from her slumber. She blinked and looked at him groggily, surprised before speaking.

“Aaron…?”

That seemed to get the man out of his stupor of telling information.

“The fuck? I tattled again? YOU BRAT! I WILL KILL HER! BECAUSE OF YOU I GAVE YOU INFORMATION, NOW THEY WILL KILL ME NO MATTER WHAT!”

The princess blinked as she tried to get out of her captive’s hand but couldn’t. The man just smiled.

“You can’t princess. We drugged you so that you can’t use your strength anyway. But guess what? It’d be nice present to the emperor if the duke heir were to deliver your dead body to the Emperor!”

Aaron was alarmed and sped towards him fast. The mad man just grinned madly. Just as he was about to slit her throat….

Thuk!

The man stopped. His eyes slowly looked up to see the tail of the arrowhead that just entered into his head and flew through few trees behind him, creating a hole. The blood leaked slowly from the newly formed hole in his head before fountains of blood erupted. He looked at his assailant from the corner of his eyes. A hooded figure with a bow. An assassin of the Cult that was supposed to protect them. Then he had an epiphany, a realization.

‘That what you were going for! No matter what, we were scapegoats to your plan.’

From the corners of his eyes he could see the kid running frantically towards the princess who was released from his grip. He didn’t know whether he was really imagining in his head when he was at his end or what but he could see. The blank look given by the princess at his demise. 

Edited: 27-Nov-2020