[Melas] Chapter 117: Escalation (Patreon)

My eyes grew wide as I caught sight of the Goblin standing before me. Normally, I would have been gaping at the Demon to the left. The one with the single horn and the obsidian-black skin. However, I just met a Demon a few nights prior to this. Seeing another one didn’t surprise me. Not in the way that seeing this Goblin would.

Because it was Karna.

The Goblin I had known a long time ago. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since we last met. Back when I first spoke to him, I was but a weak spellcaster, barely able to fend for myself, protected by the Dark Crusaders, and caught in a mentally abusive relationship with Victor. I was weak and afraid and broken, when I last saw him.

I only barely managed to gather the courage to act— to save those women. Even if they weren’t the most just people in the world, they didn’t deserve the fate which Victor was inflicting on them. I could understand killing to survive, but torture? Rape? No. I couldn’t justify it. I couldn’t rationalize it.

I was told not to act; I was told to turn the other cheek. But I had been in a free fall. I had ignored everything I once thought was wrong, reasoning that it was necessary. This was a different boundary. One, that if I crossed, would have spelled the end of the me from my past life.

So, I acted. I killed Victor. I betrayed the Dark Crusaders and fled. Because I knew what would have happened if I stayed. Even if I saw that as my heroes— as some kind of valiant rebellion against the evil empire— they were, in reality, a terrorist group.

It didn’t matter how much truth there was to the prior descriptions. I saw the kind of brutality they were able to carry out. I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it. And I was very much at risk of facing punishment for my past actions now.

Mahir took a step forward, bowing at the Demon.

“Apostle Estia, I apologize for my intrusion. I have brought with me guests. Friends of the Dark Crusaders.”

Estia? I raised a brow. So, that was what a Demon’s name was supposed to sound like. It wasn’t like Elara’s, which was a Human name. The pronunciation— the place where the tongue sat— was entirely different. More throaty.

“Disciple Mahir,” Estia greeted him with the same respectful words, but an apathy in her voice that betrayed the aforementioned respect, “why have you brought these outsiders to me?”

“They are spellcasters, Apostle,” Mahir explained as he straightened. “And they share common enemies with us. They have come to us seeking help.”

“But they are not of the Dark Crusaders, no?” She raised a brow.

The Goblin hesitated. The Demon’s animosity was quite clear.

Estia spun around, not even facing us. Waving a hand off, she said, “They are not our friends if they are not one of us, Disciple. We have no reason to aid them. Take them away from me.”

Her words sent relief down my spine. It allowed me to relax. I didn’t want to speak, in fear of having Karna single me out. And it gave us permission to take our leave before he could figure things out. Sure, I was wearing a mask and had a hood covering my head. And yes, I have grown quite a bit since we last met.

But I didn’t want to take this risk.

Not with him.

If he attacked me, I wasn’t sure how I’d react. It was different, fighting someone you knew and shared intimate experiences with. He was my friend. It wouldn’t be easy to fight him.

Even Victor, someone I grew to despise, was not easy to kill.

Taking a step back, I gestured for Gennady to follow after me. “Very well,” I grunted, trying to make my voice as deep as possible. “Let’s just go, Gen.” I tugged at his arm— and he didn’t budge. Oh no.

The Dwarf shrugged me off, instead choosing to approach Estia with a meek look. He twiddled his fingers together, speaking in a soft and scared voice. “P-please, lady Apostle, we have gold—”

“Will you join the Dark Crusaders, Dwarf?” The Demon crossed her arms, her red eyes glimmering with dangerous intent. “Or are you nothing more than a selfish, scared, little man, looking to only serve yourself by coming to us. Because, believe me, we have enough of those in the Dark Crusaders. So, you’ll fit right in.” Her face twisted into a grin.

Behind her, Karna narrowed his eyes. He looked over at us, and I gulped.

I hurried over to Gennady’s side, pulling him harder. “Apologies, Apostle of the Dark Crusaders,” I said hurriedly. “We shall depart immediately.”

The Dwarf tried to protest, but I wasn’t gentle with him. I yanked him to me, fixing him with a glare. He stared at me, slowly realizing that I did not want to be there. Nodding, he desisted, and we headed out of the room.

Estia turned back to the map of Jahar’taw, taking a seat. I eyed her warily, making sure she wasn’t some sort of vindictive psycho who’d just stab us in the back for fun. When that didn’t happen, I bowed to Mahir and exited from the large doorway.

We were down a few hallways when Gennady leaned over next to me and spoke in a hushed voice. “What was that about?”

“I… I’ll explain later. We just need to leave, now.”

Scowling, the Dwarf just listened, following behind me as I briskly walked past the empty assembly lines. The milling Dark Crusaders peered at us— not suspicious, just curious— as we navigated out of the factory.

“You better give me a good reason,” Gennady grumbled. “We learned nothing.”

“I’m not enthused about it either,” I said as I stepped out into the foyer beyond the factory. There was a fence girdling it, with a gateway just up ahead. “However—”

I paused as I heard footfalls approaching us from behind. I spun around, warily placing a hand on my dagger, not drawing it just yet. The footsteps didn’t come at us in a rush, however it approached with haste nonetheless.

I saw a small, shadowed figure approaching us. It was definitely not the Demon. It had to be a Goblin. I hoped it was Mahir— I almost begged for it. And, as expected, it was Karna.

My former friend walked nimbly, his feet carrying him twice the distance than it should have with each step. He came to a stop right before us, and Gennady greeted him in the same nervous voice as before.

“A-apologies, Disciple. Is something w-wrong?” he asked in a strained voice. It sounded like he was trying to speak without a Dwarf accent, but the accent still slipped out even through the over-articulated words.

I was grateful that I brought Gennady with me. Without him, I’d be forced to speak with Karna, and that might end with him recognizing me. Instead, I slowly shrunk behind the larger man, hoping that the Goblin paid no heed to my presence.

“You have brought no offense to me, Dwarf.” Shaking his head, Karna took a step forward and bowed. “Neither has your companion. I came here to apologize on behalf of the Apostle. I do not believe Apostle Estia’s hostilities were warranted.”

“Oh.” The shock in Gennady’s face was genuine. He didn’t know what to say, and neither did I. We both just exchanged a glance, before I nudged him to say something so we could leave immediately. “We, uh… thank you, Disciple…?”

“Disciple Karna.”

“R-right, Disciple Karna. But we are not worthy of your apologies.”

“Just accept it, Dwarf,” Karna grunted. “And there is no need to be afraid of me. You have shown me no disrespect. We have no quarrel until you do.” He let out a chuckle, raising his head, as if recalling a fond memory.

“Of course, and thank you again,” Gennady quickly said, realizing that I was growing more and more nervous. “If you’ll excuse us, we’ll take our leave.”

The Dwarf slowly started walking back, and I tried to hurry past him. But Karna paused. His laughter stopped. His eyes sharpened as they fixed on something around my waist.

“Wait,” he said, and both Gennady and I came to a halt. “That weapon— let me see it.” He pointed at my dagger, and I winced.

Gennady blinked. “I apologize, Disciple Karna, but I do not have a weapon on me.”

“Not you, Dwarf.” Karna scowled. “Your friend. That Goblin over there. The weapon around her waist is… familiar.”

I froze. What was I supposed to do? He gestured for me to hand it over, and I could either comply and arouse suspicion, or refuse and arouse suspicion. Both outcomes were the same. They very likely ended with me being caught.

The question was: which of these choices decreased the probability of me being caught the most?

There was never an easy solution. I slowly raised the dagger, keeping it sheathed as I handed it over to Karna. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize it. It wasn’t like it was his most prized possession in the world that he’d instantly recognize, right? He did give it to me, right?

And yet, the enchantment on it was… unique, to say the least. Not good, but an amateur’s craft. Also, he probably had an eye for his own work, even after this much time has passed. After all, he did notice something about it which made him ask to see it.

Karna gripped his hand around the dagger’s hilt, his eyes narrowing. “Where did you get this weapon?” He knew.

I lied. “I bought it from a friend of mine.”

“Who is this friend of yours? Where did they find it?” he asked, his words being injected with more and more venom as they came out.

“I do not know,” I said, keeping my voice low and deep. Gennady looked over at me, slightly worried, as I gave my answer. “I can show you them, Disciple Karna, perhaps if we arrange a meeting—”

“Remove your mask,” he cut me off. His voice came out a hiss. I hesitated.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, remove your mask.” This time, it was a threat. Karna glared at me, raising a hand. A spell circle formed as Gennady took a step back.

“W-what are you—”

“Take off your mask, girl, if you wish to walk away from this alive.”

I looked over at my Dwarf companion. He opened his mouth, but I shook my head. “It’s fine, Gen. Relax.” Bringing a hand up to my face, I clasped my fingers on the underside of the metallic mask. I began to lift it. “There’s nothing to worry about, see?”

I snapped my fingers. There was a flash of light. My own spell circle went off, faster than Karna could react. Dispel Magic. His own spell vaporized off the tip of his fingers. His eyes grew wide.

“You—”

And Gennady slammed his elbow at the back of Karna’s head. I made a break for it.

“Come on, Gen!”

The Dwarf was a step behind me. We both darted straight out of the opened gates. I heard a cry coming from Karna— the footfalls of other Goblins rallying to his aid. I glanced back once, only to see an arrow whizz right by my face.

Raising a hand in the air, I summoned a wall of stone behind us, protecting us from any additional projectile fire that might hit us in the back. It wasn’t enough, of course. A flurry of Explosive Bolts blew it apart in an instant.

From the rubble and the dust, Karna leapt out, bow nocked and trained right at my head. I was prepared for it. I spun around, waving a hand to the side. He released his arrow, and it shot out at me faster than I could throw myself to the side. But it curved. It didn’t travel in a straight line, as most enchanted, magical arrows should.

Instead, it curved away and struck a wall. Fracture Side did its job, much to Karna’s surprise. He was flipping through the air, about to land, when I came to a stop and pointed at him. There was a flash. A spell shot out. It was like a rope, except glowing a bright blue.

His eyes grew wide as the bindings wrapped around him. I saw the words leaving his mouth, even if I couldn’t hear what he was saying. “Melas—”

I ducked into an alleyway, right after Gennady. More arrows shot out from the Dark Crusaders, but they couldn’t possibly give chase. Not unless they wanted to bring attention to themselves from the rest of the city.

“Come on, just a little further!” I called out as my legs sped up, bringing me to the other end of the alley. And just before we reached our salvation, a black wall shot up, blocking the exit.

I came to a halt, blinking, confused at where that spell came from. Spinning around, I saw the entrance which we came from was also covered by the same magical barrier. Then there was a shadow. It loomed over us from above. A figure stood atop the roof of the building boxing us in.

She stared at us with her yellow eyes, her head cocked to the side. Estia smiled as a spell circle formed over her, just above the single horn at the tip of her skull.

“So, you’re the daughter of the Fiend, are you?”

Author's Note:

Next chapter in a few hours.