Chapter 440 - The Beginning Of War
The white scarf covered her face like a mask, acting as a filter against the poison. Rae walked forward, grabbing the noble by the neck. A choking sound left his throat as she raised him in the air.
"Lord of Perfumes named Jonathan Rainvelt," Rae read his name. "You have been found guilty for the murder of three-hundred-ninety-two innocents, from both humans and Demis. You are also guilty of sexual assault, torture, extortion, and corruption."
The noble raised his arms, which had veins lining them, as his face turned a brilliant shade of purple. Gases left his palms, and they began to erode the surroundings rapidly.
"You stink," Rae delivered her judgment as the scarf covered all of her body, protecting her from the gases. "The council has approved the death sentence."
There was a cracking sound before the noble made a final struggle and went limp. Rae released his body, and the man crumbled to the floor lifelessly. She took a handkerchief and wiped her hand clean, not willing to be defiled by this.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked when he saw Rae take out a vial covered in black cloth. She ignored him and poured out a droplet of the liquid inside the vial on the body.
The lifeless body sizzled and began to dissolve into nothingness. All that was left from the body was a black crystal with a tar-like liquid inside. When he saw the crystal, Arthur knew what this was.
"A Fallen Being."
"Fallen, corrupted, or simply ambitious. It does not matter. Anyone who betrays this world deserves to leave it," she said as she crouched to pick up the crystal.
"Be careful," Arthur didn't want her to be corrupted by the promises of powers, but Rae didn't heed his warning and simply picked up the crystal. However, nothing happened to her.
"Don't worry," Rae said with the clearest of eyes. "This is also one of the blessings I received as a Devils Hunter."
"A person who fights against the corrupted humans," Arthur remembered what Gala told him about them. "Are there other ones?"
"Many," she said as she stood up to leave. "We are what keeping them at bay," there was a hint of pride, of conviction in her voice.
"And who runs this group?" Arthur followed after her toward the unconscious Demis he rescued earlier. "For what purpose? World Peace?"
"In our current era, your cynicism is understandable. I don't trust them myself, but they gave me a place to stay and a reason to live."
"You have other reasons to live, Rae," Arthur stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Do you not want your memories to return?"
"I..." Rae paused. "I don't know," she shook her head. "Did you know me from before I lost my memories?"
"I did, many did," Arthur nodded. "You had a different purpose, life, and beliefs."
"Then, can you say with certainty that it was me?" Rae said as she looked at her hand. "I am me, my beliefs, and my purpose. If those changed if I gained my memories back, doesn't that mean I would stop being myself? That I would turn into someone else? Someone you knew?"
"Maybe you had a family or someone you loved. Here, you have no one," Arthur tried to convince her, but she shook her head with a sad smile.
"I guess you didn't know me well enough," she exposed him. "I see dreams sometimes, and none of them about a happy family or a lover waiting for me," she resumed walking after saying that.
"Then what were they about?"
"Loneliness."
***
The last of the victims was taken to the nearest town by Rae's scarf, and they were left beside a shelter of a good-natured noble who would take care of them.
Rae said they had no place to keep refugees and that saving these people was the best they could do for them. Then, after wrapping her scarf around her head, she walked away from Arthur, who stood rooted in the street. Arthur followed.
The noble was using the shelter because of the Mernars, who have decided to launch their attack on every human settlement until they find their heir. Arthur knew he needed to go back to his city, one of the closest to the hydra's palace, but he still had many questions.
"You should stop following me," she muttered as they walked through the estate, which had most of its soldiers running to defend the walls.
"I know that your scarf could hide you. So, you are allowing me to follow you," Arthur replied, and she didn't say anything in return. "Why don't you come with me to Hidden City?"
"Alright."
"... that was suspiciously easy."
"Well," Rae turned to him and grinned. "There is a reason that I was sent here, out of all Devil Hunters."
"You knew I was here?"
"We had a suspicion," she turned back and waved her hand, allowing her scarf to create a bridge toward the sky. She began walking on it, and Arthur followed. "Ever since your actions in Shades City, we kept an eye out on your actions. You didn't fail to amaze us."
"I feel flattered," Arthur crossed the bridge after her, and they reached the walls. Before the soldiers could see them, Arthur used his stealth rune to hide them. "And how did you know that I would end up here?"
"We were also monitoring the Knight of Nobility and his underlings, but we were too late to prevent the disaster."
"Then, what do you want from me?"
"How about we continue this talk in Hidden City?" Rae said with a smile. "Let's enjoy the trip until then."
Arthur couldn't say no, given that his city needed him now the most. Although he didn't trust the current Rae a lot, he didn't have any reason to distrust her.
They took their seat on her scarf, which had turned into a flying rug from the fairytales. Their trip was peaceful, high above the clouds, while the war against the Mernars began below.
***
"The walls of the Divine Tree are enough to protect us for now," Big Bear reported to the Knight of Courage. "However, the Mernars are damaging the roots. If we allow them to keep this going, the Seika might not be too happy."
Courage nodded in agreement. She saw how their Lord treated the spirit called Mana. Despite being so young, he acted like the child's guardian or father.
She couldn't deny that seeing him show such compassion to a spirit gave her a bit of hope for their kingdom. After all, her first impression of the Seika wasn't the best.
A bad impression is what happens when you kidnap a dwarf and behead a noble right after breaking the deal between the king of a nation. However, the Seika was valuable enough for everyone to forgive his actions.
At least, for now.
"Gather the knights, and seek Manager Ma to supply them with artifacts. I believe the Ghost Runemaster sent some offensive artifacts with the fire element. They should work best against the Mernars."
Courage gave her order, and Big Bear saluted before he left the meeting. The rest of the people were the Chosen Ones that the Seika chose, and they all looked at Courage like hatchlings looked at their mother.
"The Seika is not here, so your duties to protect him will be pushed aside for now," Courage said after a sigh. "I need you to act as captains for now and lead a group of knights to patrol the city. But, first, make sure everyone is within their residence."
"Our Lord..." Wave muttered with hesitation. "He left without taking us with him. Does that mean he thinks we are useless to him?" she asked.
"Can you deny that we are useless?" Sun said, even though she looked to be the most affected by his sudden absence.
"The Seika talked to me before he left," Courage said as she decided these youngsters needed reassurance. "Your abilities are indeed lacking, but the Seika asked me to train you. He believes in every single one of you. That's why he gave you names."
Her words seemed to do the trick as their expressions brightened somewhat. However, she didn't dare say the other part of Seika's words.
Other than Lusica, the reclusive fellow sitting away from the group, the others have yet to prove themselves useful to him. If they failed to reach his expectations, he would send them to serve other lords even though he believed they would not.
Of course, that was after erasing their memories about his city. The Seika was a ruthless and secretive man, but somehow, he was kind and naive. The mix weirded out Courage, but she decided to observe him for now.
"Commander!" a knight barged in, carrying the look of a crisis.. "A giant Mernar appeared in front of the city's walls!" he said with a single breath.