Heir IV

Speechless, Cedric redirected his glance toward the other two silhouettes, two much smaller hooded figures leaning against the opposite wall, too deep into the shadows to even make out much of an appearance, though they were clearly slender enough to be female. The two stood menacingly still, not even bothering to uncross their arms.

“Umm, hello? Buddy? What’s a good natured little student like you doing out this late?”

Sensing that any further hesitation he showed would bring him danger, Cedric put on a loose, smug face.

“It’s only just gotten dark recently, if anything I’d say it’s far too early to be so obviously evil seeming in an alleyway...”

“Aaha-ha! How interesting, huh girls? You see, deer boy, it’s exactly that frame of mind that brings us to scout out the carefree Market Town night-goers who would never expect to be eaten up~”

“Geh…deer boy... really...”

“And look how beat up you are! Aren’t you aware, these days there are vultures eyeing this area for little wounded animals, waiting hastily for a nice meal?”

“That so? Well, it’s a good thing my little school teaches me how to hunt weak things like a bird that waits till its prey is injured.”

“Aaaha-ha-ha! You’re a seriously interesting little rabbit, aren’t you?”

“How did I suddenly change species so drastically?”

“Mm interesting indeed, I think we might be able to get along. What’ya think girls? Think we can add one more to the gang?”

“Uh, if it’s okay for me to have a say here, then you should know, I’m gonna pass for now.”

“Ahhh? Really? I thought for sure you’d fit right in with us..maybe another time?”

“Yeah, not likely.”

“Hmmm, I’ll take that as a solid maybe. Looking forward to it, partner~”

Frustrated, Cedric finally walked away without replying. He began walking briskly, gripping his new knife while staying wary of any sudden movement behind him.

After some time, nothing came, so he let his tensed arms relax.

Could that have been…

Coming to a fork in the road, Cedric wearily thought about which route to take before remembering the left-hand route was a quicker way home, though it required turning down a steep alley before coming back out to the shopping center buildings.

Not thinking anything of it, Cedric started down the curved path, when it happened.

Just as he turned the corner, he saw it.

Something was in front of him, just meters away.

It wasn’t a person, nor was it standing on solid ground.

The figure, appearing as a gray and black shadow, swiveled around like a flickering flame, blending meticulously with the darkness. What floated before him was certainly not human, even if it had the general appearance of one. Its large frame, its distorted arms and legs, its neck and shoulder line, its flowing hair-

When Cedric noticed its wavy hair, flowing gently out from a blurred, shadowy face, he understood he had seen this thing before.

That…. specter…from then….

He did not hesitate for more than a second.

In that split second, something told him he could not hesitate, nor could he be near this thing for another second if he wanted to live.

His legs sprang into action almost like gears, and he took off running in the opposite direction. Not daring to look back, he sprinted down the right-hand path, accelerating with every step.

He thought the villainous man in the alleyway would laugh if he saw him, thinking he was running away from him, but that didn’t matter. As prideful as he might be, whatever that specter was shook him to his core, and his body and mind instinctively knew to flee.

He sprinted on, until he had passed through Castle Town, finally entering the village before he slowed down to catch his breath.

He realized he had, in his shaking hands, held onto everything he’d just bought.

What in the world..is that thing?

What in the world..is happening on this island?

He returned home, where he was forced to put those thoughts aside while he helped his father prepare dinner in silence.

Then, after eating (also in silence), he attempted to take a nap. However, with what he’d just witnessed, there was no way he could fall asleep. Despite that, he eventually found himself quite relaxed due to exhaustion.

“You should fix that sleeping schedule of yours. It’s a bother for those living with you to tiptoe around your abnormal routine.”

His father said this as he walked by his open door.

Cedric’s eyes widened once he comprehended what he’d said, realizing he hadn’t thought about that. He would often take naps after evening sessions before going out for several hours of the night. However, he would always return in time to get a few hours of real sleep in, before routinely waking up before dawn.

Even though I’ve been diligent in waking up for years…sleeping a bit early creates a burden?

So…I guess I either stop going out…or I stay awake until I go out…then I get hardly any sleep, but that’s better than being a bu-

-Wait…tip toe around me? Why would he even do that for me? What does that even mean?

Thinking about this kept him occupied until it was time to head out for the ruins.

Naturally, he’d decided to keep this routine, and sacrifice sleep going forward.

He crept quietly out the door and through the village, and proceeded to sneak through Castle Town, strategically avoiding the patterned patrol of the sparsely stationed guards.

He could avoid this trouble by taking the streets of Market Town around the outside of Castle Town and into the outskirts leading to the ruins, but doing this had become part of the nightly game for him, continuously improving on his elusiveness. On top of that, he had a certain other reason for not wanting to go back into Market Town.

Well…I’m sure Quentle will be fine though...

Silently praying for his clumsy friend, he continued sneaking by the buildings of Castle Town.

_______

In the middle of a forest, a small lake reflected the distorted moonlight into a thin mist. On the tiny slab of land laying at the center of the lake, a lanky boy with blond hair struggled with all his might, attempting to pull a sword up from where it lodged deep into the earth. The boy’s hands were as red as the blade of the sword that shined a bright scarlet in the moonlight, as he threw every bit of his strength into his attempt to thrust the hilt of the sword skyward.

Finally, he gave up, and fell back into the small patch of grass the slab of land had to offer, breathing deep, frustrated breaths with a face wrought in anguish.

“DammIIITT…”

*pant*

*pant*

“Cedric….”

*pant*

“Quentle….”

*pant*

“…I must beat…both of you…soon…”

“…for all our sakes….

“….if not…I’ll have…no other choice...”

___________

In the silent, shadowed backstreets of Market Town, a dark-haired boy scurried past a certain alleyway, whistling as he went without a care. From within the alleyway, a hooded figure stood up, and stepped out into the road, turning toward the passerby.

A thin mist emerged from the figure like steam, surrounding him. As he looked up, showing his youthful face full of freckles, sharp green eyes, and dirty blonde locks, a cunning smile slowly formed.

“And, found the second~”

___________

Several miles out to sea, a fleet of warships rowed swiftly toward Takanova Island. Its flagship, a large warship adorned with red and gold flags and exquisite golden archways, traveled at its center. Within the inner compartments of the ship, two men engaged in hand to hand sparring in a dark room. Their hands opened flat, they struck each other’s forearms at varying angles, trying to open the other’s defenses and land a body strike.

At first, the two seemed to be even in their skill, their build even close to the same. However, not long into the match did one man gain the upper hand, luring his opponent into overextending, and proceeding to twist his body, grabbing the man’s wrist and slinging him over his torso and into the fine wood floor.

Having half-jumped to allow for the throw, the man untwisted his body and landed with perfect balance.

“Pursia, it seems your sense of balance remains your weak point, even now.”

The man, shrouded in darkness, bore a voice as stern and daunting as his stature.

“Yes, General…”

“After all these years, even though it’s what cost you defeat at the hands of a sapling Teutonic Knight.”

“This is so… General.”

The man sat up, gripping his shoulder. What little bit of torchlight there was in the room flickered over his face, revealing a ghastly scar across his jawbone, just above a bitter grimace.

“You should know…night battles are won and lost by the general’s sense of balance. His ability to perceive the flow of battle when his sight is at its most vulnerable, and knack for adjusting to the enemy’s tactics with a calculated defense and his own plan to take advantage of the enemy’s vulnerabilities, are what make a general dangerous at night.”

The man had turned his back to his downed opponent, basking himself even further in shadow.

“Yes, sir. I understand, and you will see this applied to this very battle. This will be the night, the first time since six years ago…”

“Yes, I have faith you’ll see to it, while I play the decoy. We only need the siege to be successful enough to get one Wolf in, but if you have the chance to do further damage, take it. Either way, our contact will be ready to receive the Wolf, and then…

“…the Red Sword will finally be in our hands.”

“Indeed it will, General Shuant.”

_________

On the northwestern shores of Takanova Island, a garrison unit of five hundred men rested carelessly after setting up their siege defense equipment.

“Ah, all that hard work and we don’t even know if we’ll get hit tonight!”

“Well, we’ve had our number called every night in the last week, so I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see it happen again.”

“Guess that’s true! But it doesn’t matter, because the brick wall squad is here!”

“UuwoooHHH!!!”

“Oy you dunderheads, keep it down will ya? I’m trying to listen to the sea’s voice!”

“Ahh, sorry Commander, just trying to stay energized, ehe.”

The tall, scraggly man walked by their small campfire, ignoring Ralin.

As he looked out to sea, his eyes slowly grew wide.

“Ah? Commander? Something wrong?”

“You can’t hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“Something…. big…is headed this way.”