[Melas] Chapter 125 (Patreon)

“Oh, you poor thing.” Bakyt pulled me into a tight hug as I finished my story.

I didn’t really struggle; I wasn’t against the affection. I quite liked it, actually. It felt nice.

“You’ve been through so much. It must have been so hard on you.”

I gave her a small nod. “It was. I—” I didn’t have anything to say. All I did was sigh as I leaned back against the chair once Bakyt let go of me.

Initially, I started to tell my story to only the Dwarf woman. But at some point, Bertrand and Erzhan finished their own conversations and listened to what I was saying. Erzhan seemed just as sympathetic to my plight as his wife did, but he probably knew a lot of these details beforehand. Bertrand was surprised by some points of my story, yet he just seemed tired.

“The world is always cruel,” he said, puffing his pipe. “For a child like you to go through such misdeeds, I cannot fathom it.”

“But you’ve seen it, haven’t you? Back in the Holy Xan Empire.” Erzhan glanced over at the old Scientist.

“I have, yes. Which is why I labor. It is why I work to make the world a better place. My creations— they’re always for the greater good.” Bertrand’s gaze turned unfocused. He sounded tired, weary.

I smiled at him. “Thank you. You’ve helped me a lot—” I paused, earning looks from the three in the room. I suddenly felt embarrassed. Slightly ashamed even. Because I came here to ask for even more help.

“What’s wrong, Melas?” Bakyt placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“I, uh…” I glanced up uncertainly at Human Scientist. “I actually came to ask for your help, Bertrand.” I didn’t want to speak about this in front of Erzhan and Bakyt— people I just met— but they seemed like they could be trusted.

I was too often too paranoid. Too afraid of others. But Gennady trusted Erzhan. He knew a lot about me. So did Bakyt now. They were influential people. Maybe they could help.

“I mentioned being part of the Dark Crusaders earlier, right?” They nodded, and I continued. “I had… a friend in the Dark Crusaders. A Goblin friend. He helped train me— teach me how to use magic. But after I killed that jerk I told you about, he now thinks I’m some kind of traitor to the Dark Crusaders. He… wants to kill me.”

“Ah. And this is what sparked the incident only a week ago, yes?” Bertrand raised a brow.

I nodded. “I ran into him, and he recognized me. That’s how the Dark Crusaders ended up chasing me halfway across the city.” That was an over exaggeration, but it felt like I ran for a while from Estia and Karna.

Erzhan furrowed his brows. “Wait, so this friend of yours tried to kill you?”

“Yes.” I bowed my head, feeling an eclectic of emotions building up inside. Shame. Anger. Fear.

“Can he really be a friend if he’s trying to murder you?”

“Erzhan!” Bakyt elbowed her husband.

“It’s true…”

“No, he’s right.” I looked helplessly down at the palm of my hands. “As things are right now, he’s not really… my friend. Not in any essence of the word. But that’s why I want to change that.”

Bertrand made a sound. He leaned forward, giving me a knowing look. “You wish to make amends.”

“Yes.” I should’ve told Karna what I planned to do. Keeping him in the dark was one of my biggest regrets. For someone like Gerritt the Orc or Ihsan the other Goblin, they would’ve forgiven me. They’d have understood the reason why I did what I did.

But Karna was a principled individual. He believed in loyalty and doing what was right the proper way. Killing Victor wasn’t the proper way for him. And keeping him the dark about it only added fuel to that fire.

“If I can speak with him—”

“You wish to convince him. Change his mind.” Bertrand nodded.

I pursed my lips. The three adults standing around me were rightly skeptical, even if empathetic. I tried to explain myself. “Look, I know it’s dangerous. Not just for me, but for those around me as well. That’s why I’m here. However, I can’t just stay here and do nothing. I have to face my problems. Maybe not Lilith. But my friend… my former friend. I just have to speak with him.”

Bertrand stood up, his shoulders hunched on one side, leaning heavily against his cane. “We cannot stop you or control your actions, Ms Melas,” he said. “Here, in the MTC— in this country— you have our protection. You are not our prisoner. You are free to do as you wish, and we’ll offer you what little help we can.”

“That’s right.” Erzhan folded his arms. “I can’t do much for you. But I have heard many things. Especially about the Holy Knights and the Saintess. They’re being carefully monitored by the House of Or’taq. I know their routine— when they’re given free rein.”

I glanced between the two of them, before I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder. “Bakyt…”

The Dwarf woman smiled.  “You wish to speak with him, do you not?”

“I do.”

“If he’s truly your friend, tell him everything you’ve told me today, and he will forgive you. If not, do not fault him. But be the one to forgive him instead.” She bowed her head deeply, whispering. “May the Goddess grace you.”

I paused. That caught me off guard. Jahar’taw— the Taw Kingdom in its entirety— was not the most religious place. There weren’t temples or places of worship lining every street corner. It was more… modern. But here. Even here. Everyone believed in the Goddess of Light.

There was a reason I didn’t. My encounter with Elara led me to believe in another god. A false god. One who was responsible for my death and playing with my fate. I didn’t believe in the Goddess of Light. But— I could appreciate the sentiment.

“Thank you.”

The night streets of Jahar’taw was overcome with a thin mist. A fog that shrouded the smitheries, the factories, and the houses and the shops. Mana lamp lit up the night, copying the flickers of a flame. They cast ruddy smears on the blank canvas. A glow that came and went as the vehicle drove down the road.

I could see specks and motes of light. Flickers of flames seeping through the windows tinted white. It was just past evening. The sun had fully set. Yet, the light that diffused through the many, many miniscule globules of water created a holy orange aura. A solemn setting. One that fit the mood I was in as I left the MTC.

Bertrand had arranged this. He asked for a delivery truck to stow me in the back, so I could quietly exit the complex without it being known that I was gone. The Dark Crusaders weren’t influential here, but I was sure they had watchers somewhere. Same with the Holy Knights.

According to Erzhan, Lilith was currently preoccupied with a hearing. After she and her Holy Knights brought down a factory of Goblins that didn’t actually belong to the Dark Crusaders, the Workers Party— a smaller offshoot party that came from like-minded individuals from the Builders and Miners Parties— had demanded she cease her activities and leave the city.

Unfortunately, as public sentiment seemed to support the cracking down on the terrorists responsible for the attacks just a few weeks ago, it was highly likely that that wasn’t going to happen. Still, it gave me the window of time to act knowing that a chaotic night where I was hunted by multiple parties wouldn’t occur once again.

The driver reached the warehouse he was delivering a bunch of mana tech to. It wasn’t anything dangerous like weapons, but more simple tools used in everyday life. I thanked him as I offloaded myself, donning my mask and disappearing into the alleyways in the fog.

It was dangerous. But this was something I had to do myself.

I wasn’t stupid or deluded into thinking I could bear the world’s problems all on my own. I didn’t have a hero complex where I wanted to shoulder the burden of some grand purpose on my back, sacrificing myself for a nebulous idea of a greater good. If I needed help, I’d ask for help.

However, this was between me and Karna. My former friend. I already asked for help where I could— now, it was up to me to speak with him.

And it wasn’t like I was alone.

I glanced up from the alleyway I was in. There were pipes running down the brick walls of the buildings adjacent to me. These weren’t small buildings. Each was around four or five floors tall. And somewhere at these roofs, my ‘guardian angel’ was looking after me.

Elara. I was reassured that I would at least be saved by her if anything truly heinous occurred. Her power wasn’t limitless. But I believed I could fend for myself too.

I traveled alone. I returned to the very same underground bar Lisa had brought me numerous times to. I carried myself with the knowledge that the spellcasters and heretics there were very much aware of who I was.

I set down a dozen gold coins on the counter, sliding it to the bartender. “The Dark Cruasders are being pushed out of the city,” I said simply.

“They have, yes.” He accepted the coins, eyeing me from under his hood. “Very many of the gangs around here are rather happy about it. No longer will anyone have a monopoly on spellcasters in Jahar’taw.”

“Tell me where to find them.” I glanced back towards a group of Goblins staring at me from a distant table. “Or who I should have to follow.”

One of the Goblins stood up, heading for the exit. But the bartender shook his head. “Not them.” He nodded in the direction of a Beastkin slithering— literally— from the room. A snake Beastkin. With a long tail for legs that ran up to his waste. “That’s who you need to follow.”

I grunted and hopped off the bar, quietly following after the Beastkin. He wasn’t very inconspicuous, which ultimately made him rather inconspicuous. No one would expect a Beastkin to be the spy for the Dark Crusaders in an information gathering spot.

He was rather slick too, making sharp turns and traveling in circles as I crept behind him. He didn’t see me. He didn’t know I followed him. And he led me to a warehouse just at the very edge of the southern side of the inner city. I could see the entrance of a mine just beyond it— it looked like a place to store the minerals gathered from the mines.

I kept my head low and my hood up as I snuck around the back of the warehouse. There weren’t dozens of guards of Goblins out on watch, since that would make it clearly obvious to those hunting them that the Dark Crusaders were here. But I sensed the magic in its perimeter. They had detection spells and runes set up.

Quite advanced, but not anything I couldn’t deal with. A simple Dispel Magic disable it and I was able to enter the warehouse. I didn’t just waltz in for all to see. I climbed over a metal fence, hidden in the fog, before finally stepping foot inside.

I glanced around at the empty hallways, slowly stalking my way past the rooms. I saw sleeping figures. Goblins, snoring and unaware that I was even here. There were some Dwarfs too. And even Humans. The Dark Crusaders rarely ever bunched all of the same species together in one place as it would lead to conflict. But they had no choice. Not with Lilith and the Holy Knights breathing down their backs.

I stayed away from anyone who was awake or wandering the corridors. I searched the premises for as long as I could until I finally found him. Powerful magic was being exuded from a training hall away from the sleeping quarters, and only one person was in there this late at night. I knew who it would be, and entered quietly as the Goblin loosed arrow after arrow at targets.

“Karna,” I said, taking off my mask.

The Goblin spun around, narrowing his eyes.

“We need to talk.”

And he lashed out at me.