"Please take care of my city while I'm out, alright??"
"Yes…father. Please be safe out there."
Alan hugs his son.
At the gate, his son stood and said goodbye.
Alan turns toward John.
"Then let's get going, Mr. John??"
John and Alan with the soldier and some goblins begin to leave the City of the Golden Knot.
The rain was not showing any sign of stopping.
The whole atmosphere was dark because of the clouds.
Also lit up because of the lightning.
Yet they started moving forward for their objective.
They got up on their horses and Alan said his one last goodbye.
And they left for the road.
The same straight road.
With trees on either side.
[Ethan is feeling uneasy.]
"??"
"…"
"Ethan, are you alright??"
"Yeah…I'm fine, My lord."
He isn't.
What made Ethan feel the unease that not even the hell was able to was not a god or a demi-god.
It was a tall human figure sitting on branch of a tree. Resting its back in the trunk.
Ethan had a great sense of mana detection.
Otherwise, it was too dark for anyone to notice.
Ethan whispers in John's mind.
"My lord, I need you to be alert. I feel that someone or something has been following us this whole time. At first I thought it was your mana because it is unrefined but no, it is someone else!"
"I get it."
(I wonder why didn't the soldier react to this presence Ethan is talking about??)
Still the journey ahead was much more concerning for John.
The mysterious figure smiles.
Meanwhile Daniel and Syd are sitting on chairs on either side of a brown table. The room has a bed next to the window. A cupboard is arranged in front of the bed. At a distance next to the cupboard is a door.
Daniel hides his face with his hands. Sweat dripping from his forehead.
An awkward atmosphere of silence has covered the entire room.
Sydney cuts this atmosphere of silence with a slam on the desk.
"May I know, WHAT made you kill that guy?? And above all that, Why is he in our closet!?"
Syd walks towards the closet and opens it.
Just for a body to fall on the ground. A body with green hair and dark circles. The body with no movements and no bruises. It looked completely sucked up. Skin sticking to bones.
"Who even is he!?"
John get us up. He picks the body up and put it in the closet.
"And why does he look like that guy-?!?"
A cold breeze chilled Syd's souls out.
"Syd, just know that he was our enemy's copy."
The body with the green hairs was something familiar to both of them.
Syd's eyes widen.
"So you mean!?"
Daniel nods in affirmation.
"He was the guy that John killed, the sixth commander."
John falls on the ground.
"Oww"
"Mr. John, can you please tell me…How do YOU not know how to ride a horse with full speed?!?"
"I'm sorry."
"This is your fifth time falling!"
"Well, Mr. Alan…you see, its my first time riding a horse, if not second time."
"…"
*smile*
"You make me doubt my decision to join you."
Ethan summons himself.
"Don't you dare doubt my lord, alright?? Give him sometime and he will surpass you!"
"Yeah?? We will see."
John gets up.
Mud is all over his clothes.
Alan gets down from his horse. He removes his gold glove off his right hand.
He touches the mud on John's cloth.
"This should help."
The mud turns into gold. Due to its heavy weight, the muds falls down on the ground.
"Lets get going then!"
"Thank you, Mr. Alan."
"Come on! Drop the 'sir'. I'm under you now. Call me Alan!"
"But…"
"It is alright!"
"Alright, Alan."
Both smile and turn to their horses.
Alan reaches for his glove, his movements calm and unhurried despite the steady rain falling around them. The forest feels strangely quiet for a moment, as if everything has paused.
John's gaze lingers on him, a faint uneasiness settling in his chest.
Something feels off.
Alan slides his hand forward, just about to slip the glove on, when a sharp, almost inaudible sound cuts through the air.
It's so subtle that no one reacts immediately.
Alan blinks, confused. The glove slips from his fingers and falls to the ground. For a brief second, nothing happens. Then, with a dull thud, something else drops into the mud beside it.
His hand.
Blood begins to pour out instantly, dark against the wet earth, spreading with the rain.
Alan's expression freezes. His pupils shrink as his mind struggles to process what he is seeing. Slowly, almost mechanically, he looks down at his arm—at the empty space where his hand should be.
"…What…?"
His voice comes out weak, broken.
Then the pain hits.
All at once.
"AAAAAGHHHHHH—!!!"
His scream tears through the forest, raw and uncontrollable. The horses neigh in panic, stepping back, while birds scatter into the sky. The calm from moments ago shatters completely.
John reacts instantly, rushing forward as his magic flares to life. "Hold still!" he says sharply, placing his hand near the wound. The bleeding slows under his control, but Alan's body continues to tremble violently.
His breathing turns erratic, chest rising and falling too fast, his thoughts unable to catch up with reality.
No one says a single word.
Silence.
Only the rain remains, falling steadily over the ground.
[Alan trusts you more.]
John turns toward his horse where only his horse could see his face.
"My lord...."
Ethan whispers in John's head.
"Yeah….I know. Thank you for the help,"
John gives off a creepy smile.
The horse neighs uncomfortably as his eyes witnessed something evil.
(Everything went according to the plan!)
John looks at Alan. And starts pitying him.
(Well...My friend, That's the cost of loyalty.)
[Quest completed: Make Alan rely on you and trust you.]
*smirk*
(Jackpot!)