Change

The Gestas left for their target after gathering themselves. After traveling for a few hours the Gestas group came across a village. It looked similar to the previous village.

Eon divided the group into two and sent the second with Mantel as the head to attack from the rear.

“Delirious you stay back. If we dont send a smoke signal seven minutes after we begin assume something went wrong and shoot arrows set on fire into the village. This will cause a diversion for us to escape.”

“Boss, aren't you being too cautious? I mean aren’t they just a bunch of wealkings without a single fighter in their midst”

“No, Eon's cautiousness is warranted. The patrol squads have been moving weirdly of late. They would’ve caught us in that trap they set last week if we didn’t realize the trap.”

Eon didn’t say anything after Delirious responded to the man that questioned him. Eon just stared keenly at the village ahead of them. “Let us go, none of you let your guard down. Delirious keep an eye on Deveon.”

“Of course”

Eon’s group approached the village but waited till nightfall before they made their move. They encroached upon the village with nothing but the stars in the sky to aid them. Upon entering the village each person entered a house. When Eon entered he didn’t find what he was expecting but was rather met with an appalling surprise. He saw Mental corpses slumped over a chair. Eon quickly left the house to find the others did the same thing. He was immediately bombarded with cries of distress from the members of Gestas.

A Gestas member suddenly was suddenly sent flying from the house he entered. The dead member landed in front of the group. All the Gestas members unsheathed their weapons and slowly retreated. The cottage nearest the entrance suddenly exploded blocking their only exit. A bunch of patrolmen suddenly exited some of the cottages.

“Damn, soldiers from Oris. This was a trap.”

“Since when do normal patrol men take their job seriously.”

A battle between both sides quickly ensued. The Gestas were slightly outnumbered but were able to hold their ground. Eon easily took down multiple men without difficulty.

After a few minutes of fighting more soldiers poured in from the rear. These men were dressed differently from the patrolman Gestas was currently fighting. Their equipment was much better and they had an imposing aura. There were two men and one woman who looked to be in their early twenties positioned in the forefront of the group. They wore white clothing with a light blue cape on their backs. All three of them had what looked to be an eagle's crest imprinted on the right side of their clothing. The man in the middle seemed to be the one that held the most power; he had long pale blue hair tied in a high ponytail, pale blue eyes, white skin, and gave off an aura of calm still waters . The woman had blue hair fashioned the same way as the man in the middle, pale blue eyes, and a prideful mien. The man on the left had short blue hair with burgundy colored eyes and a playful childlike attitude. None of the three wore any type of armor; they were all fashioned with Norman swords.

After the military group joined the fray the Gestas started struggling and soon all of them were captured with the exception of Eon. Eon posed to be a difficult target. Anyone that approached him met their end. The wound he suffered in his right hand the day before was now completely healed. Two men approached Eon at the same time. Eon's sword clashed with the man on his right, breaking through his blade. He then quickly grabbed the armless soldier and used him as a shield. He then thrursted his blade through the soldiers body and preicied the second soldier in the process. He left his sword impaled into the bodies of the two soldiers then picked up a sword from one of the corpses and focused on his next target.

“The bastard can use mana, approach him with caution.”

“It seems like that one is proving a bit too difficult to handle. He must be the leader.” The woman in the white robe said coldly.

“He’s pretty nice for a bandit with no official training.” The short hair man snickered.

“He’s just trash” sneered the woman.

Without a word the man in the middle suddenly dashed towards Eon, closing the wide distance between them in a second. He delivered a lethal knee to Eon’s intestine. Eon fell over grimacing in pain as he grabbed his stomach.

“Execute them all.” The man walked, turned and walked away.

At this moment a few arrows came flying into the village. The short-haired man looked up at them and then flames, shaped like arrows that numbered the same amount as those in the air appeared next to him. The short hair man sent the flame shaped arrows to intercept the incoming arrows.

Shortly after three guards entered the village with an apprehended Delirious. Everyone has been finished off with the exception of Eon. The patrol unit took Eon’s defeat as an opportunity to tie him up. Eon looked at Delirious “Where is Deveon.”

Delirious hung his head down. “I don’t know.”

Eon directed his attention towards the noble who just attacked him. “That is the crest of the Nightenwing family. Why would nobles come all the way out here for?”

The noble halted his steps and turned to face Eon“To rid this land of scum. Why else?”

Eon bursted into laughter so hard that tears started coming from his eyes. After calming himself down his gaze became menacing. “If you’re so concerned with ridding this country of scum, why don’t you start with your fellow nobles.”

One of the men holding Eon down used the hilt of his sword to hit Eon across his face. “Watch your mouth you pig. If not for the mercy of our lords you wouldn’t be here.”

“Hmph, a lapdog who knows nothing but how to wag his tail and bark at the call of his master.” The man holding Eon down was going to attack him again but was signal to stop by the noble.

“You’re able to use rudimentary haki. Your skill with it exceeds that of a plain patrol unit let alone a street thug. You are far more tactical than some common leader of bandits. All of your skills excels what I would ever suspect from someone who comes from the slums. I assume that you gained these skills from a decent noble in some way.”

“I did grow up on a manor owned by a decent noble to bad a decent noble is still a heartless snake. My parents laid their lives down to save that noble and all that bastard was able to utter when my parents died was what took them so long. The nobles closest to this area would be considered decent too, but they turned a blind eye to the plight I was causing these people. ” Eon’s face was warping in disdain as he continued. “Nobles are just self proclaimed righteous hypocrites. Even the nobles who are considered to be good are no different, they may not bring harm to others but they are just as bad for not extending their hands to help those in need despite having the capabilities to do so. Self preservation is at the core of all your actions.”

“And you’re any different. You directly kill innocent people everyday for your own survival.” The noble had a tranquil expression, but had a hint of disappointment on his face.

“I used to respect my parents' way of life till they died a foolish death. Even after their death I believe in righteousness but it got me nowhere. The world your kind has created taught me the only way to survive is to play by the rules of those in power.” The disappointment on the noble's face grew as Eon continued.

“Look where being selfless and kindness got my parents. Everyone does what they have to do to survive, I must act accordingly if I want to too. There’s barely anything left for the low class. The only way to make sure I get my fill is to be merciless.”

The noble closed his eyes and tilted his head downward. “If you had more faith in your parents ideology perhaps you could’ve been part of the change.”

“The change,” Eon sneered. “So you left the comfort of your home to strike down evil and aid the innocent, are you planning to eliminate all traces of evil from this country?

“No, I don’t plan to just stop at this country. Unlike you I haven’t given up on the world.”

All traces of disdain disappeared from Eon's face. He slowly closed his eyes. “There’s a boy I picked up on one of my ventures. I raised him to be different from the criminals he grew around. Though the seed has been planted in him I am not the person capable of making it grow. You may be that person though. I wish to entrust him to you.”

“No. It is too late for you to receive redemption.” The noble took his sword and ran it through Eon’s heart. He was placid from beginning to end.

A few soldiers entered the village holding Deveon. “Young lord, we found this boy trying to drag off some of the bodies we left outside. What should we do with him?” Deveon was vehemently struggling to escape their grasps.

The women in the white rope walked up to the man who killed Eon. “He must be the boy their leader was talking about.”

The man with short hair spoke up too. “To think that he would come for his dead comrades' bodies instead of running away. How peculiar for a kid that grew up in these circumstances”

The pony tailed hair man didn’t say anything but continued to intently watch Deveon. Deveon eventually noticed Eon’s body. Rage bubbled to his face and power started surging through his body. He broke free from the soldiers grib and and stole one of their swords. Deveon tried to attack the soldier on top of Eon. The soldier was startled by Deveons quick and subtle movements but still acted accordingly. He slashed at Deveon with his sword, Deveon reacted with unimaginable speed. He ducked and thrusted his sword at the soldier's neck but in that split second Deveon caught a glimpse of a blade coming at him. The blade was covered in the blood of his fallen comrade Deveon felt something rise within him; he raised his right hand to block the incoming attack and to everyone's shock the blade broke when it collided with Deveons arm. At this moment a strong gust of wind suddenly knocked Deveon off balance and caused him to lose consciousness. Everyone turned to look at the noble who killed Eon. The guard Deveon almost killed kelt on one knee “I ask for forgiveness my lord. This once incompetence has caused you trouble.”

“You were just caught off guard. Make sure to not make that mistake in the future.”

“Yes milord”

The man in the short hair walked up to the noble who killed Eon. “The kid can use Haki. What a surprise”

“Not only that he has an unusually large mana reserve.”

“So what are you gonna do? Kill him?”

The woman suddenly spoke up. “Don’t be ridiculous Orion. Saul wouldn’t do something like that. What are you gonna do with him, Saul?”

Saul stared at Deveons unconscious body for a while. “Take him with us. We will set off for the capital immediately.”