"That day, I thought that bandit from Beatriz's farm was right. Henrich has a block when it comes to empathizing with people. Maybe we remained so victorious, but I've done so many worse things. Why not kill a king?"
A few hours later when Henrich said this, Gaius was in one of the cities Jeff III was headed to. He had strong alliances not only with Henrich, but with other even more established kingdoms.
Masked, he was with another person on top of one of the city's houses, a person Henrich trusted as much as Gaius, Marshal:
Well... have you decided which plan you're going to follow? – says Marshal
Do you have the rifle? – says Gaius
The one I always used isn't good from afar, plus weapons are hard to find. – says Marshal opening the case where the rifle was kept
Where did you get one of those? – says Marshal
Here in this... what do you call the set of all regions again? – says Marshal picking up the rifle, and starting to clean it
That would be... Tassal. – says Gaius
Tassal, no way... there's a well-known tools guy here in Tassal, but I got this one from a guy outside of here, don't ask how much I spent. – says Marshal testing the aim
And does it actually work? It seems more mystical than real. – says Gaius
Haha, believe it or not, rookie, this trigger opens watermelons. – says Marshal
Marshal looked at his watch
Eleven o'clock, where is he now? – says Marshal
He, accompanied by Henrich, his royal defense, is inside the carriage. Can you hit him inside it? – says Gaius
To tell you the truth, I don't even know if I can hit him outside of it. – says Marshal
Well, that's why Henrich is there, he'll gain more credibility with the other kings. – says Gaius
As if he needed it. – says Marshal
Yeah... – says Gaius
Jeff III had a meeting that day, in the center of Goldrest City, the most advanced city in Tassal, even considered the country's capital. So this time, it was one of the most complex missions the band was undertaking.
Ready, you can get down now. – says the carriage driver
Daughter, you can stay here if you want. – says Jeff III
Can I go out to see Henrich? – says Laura
It's dangerous for a princess to be in an open place. – says Jeff III
He stepped out of the carriage, and saw Henrich, Leila and Tobias providing security:
I appreciate this, you can stay out here. – says Jeff III
And from other carriages, other kings and queens emerged, greeting each other, when only Henrich knew what was about to happen. Marshal took a deep breath when he aimed at Jeff III's head, and when the rifle's sight was on his head, he turned exactly to where Marshal was and smiled:
What the? Look around, Gaius! – says Marshal
Stay calm, no one around here, but why this sudden fear? – says Gaius
That... we're kilometers away, how did he see me? – says Marshal angrily
It doesn't matter, just fire. – says Gaius
The way he reacted to this, it was as if he wanted it to happen. – says Marshal
What do we do then? – says Gaius
I don't think this rifle can kill him, I don't know, kill him with your sword. – says Marshal
Do you think he's an entity? – says Gaius
At that level, I don't know, but... we might be leaving Henrich vulnerable to being killed by Jeff. – says Marshal
Gaius leaned down to descend:
Just keep an eye on what he's going to do, I'm already going there. – says Gaius
And at that moment, the minute Jeff III was supposed to die passed. Henrich noticed this, and despite appearing calm, he thought something had happened:
We've never advanced like this before, it's good that we're allied with Jeff. – says Leila
Jeff approached Gaius with a companion:
Molly, I want you to meet Henrich, one of my most skilled knights. – says Jeff III
Henrich bowed:
It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. – says Henrich
He's a handsome man, Jeff, was he part of Boris's defeat? – says Molly
He was the one I was talking about, a man of his word, and despite having only two hundred men, he managed to defeat the empire. – says Jeff
They and the other majesties entered the castle, to go into the meeting room, and start it. When Jeff walked to the room, Molly said:
Jeff, you used to be better, mixing with commoners? – says Molly
Despite being a commoner, he serves my plans. Until then, his band won't last long. – says Jeff III
To me, he was just an amateur. – says Molly
Everyone except us are just pawns. Does it make sense for a queen to worry about a pawn? – says Jeff III
While the band waited outside, Gaius accessed the upper part of the castle, and managed to pass with some ease to the meeting room. Behind one of the pillars, he overheard a conversation:
May we begin? – says the king who was in the middle of everyone at the table
There were five majesties, including Jeff and Molly. The reason for the meeting was a possible threat that would directly affect their alliance:
Although there are many of us, the Roy X empire is expanding more and more; we'll need to do something. – says one of the kings
An agreement would be the most beneficial for us. – says Jeff III
Just like last time? If we let them expand more and more, we'll lose control of Tassal. – says the other king
But one of the kings said loudly:
It may sound strange, but I've dealt with this kind of situation before, someone refusing to follow my orders, and great advice is... make that person disappear, without a trace. – says Connor
And while they were discussing what they would do about it, Gaius appeared in the middle of the table, startling all the majesties in that place. He swung his sword, and before Jeff III could even do anything, the dark green walls of the meeting room were stained with a red liquid.
Purposely, Gaius let the other majesties flee, while looking at the dead body of Jeff III, a man who had just counted on him. Despite being a noble, Gaius didn't feel that this type of death was fair; he had never killed anyone other than bandits.
A few hours before, Henrich said he wanted Jeff III dead. Upon hearing this, Gaius took a few steps back, questioning if this was the man he had trusted so much. Henrich was calm, as if he had spoken a common everyday phrase. He leaned against the door and said:
You... know that Jeff III... – said Henrich
He's our ally! How could you... – said Gaius
Our ally? What do you consider an ally? – says Henrich
This, this is cra... – said Gaius
You are my ally, Leila is my ally, I don't make alliances with anyone besides my band. – says Henrich
Gaius said nothing, until Henrich said:
Jeff... doesn't care about... insects like us. Imagine how many deaths are on this man's hands. I know that in a few months, he'll send us on a suicide mission. – says Henrich
Henrich placed his hand on Gaius's shoulder:
Kill him, so Laura can be the new queen of the empire, then I will eventually become king. – says Henrich
So your relationship with her... – says Gaius
Don't think about it, Jeff isn't even one percent of what Laura is. We've known each other for years. Do this for the band, do this for my ambition. – says Henrich
Damn it! I'll do it! – says Gaius
Alright, I'll tell you the details of what we'll have to do. – says Henrich sitting on the floor
Gaius sat on the floor, while Henrich placed a map of Goldrest City, making a mark:
Here, is where you and Marshal will be. – says Henrich
Marshal knew about this? – says Gaius
Always knew. You'll use his rifle, to make a single shot, when that happens, the band and I will protect the majesties, while you head south, there's a hiding place that Marshal will show you, you disappear from the map for a few days, with a new look you return to the band. – says Henrich
And if... it goes wrong? – says Gaius
If it goes wrong, find a way to invade the castle, taking the opportunity to listen to the meeting, but it's not important. – says Henrich
Gaius took a deep breath:
I trusted you for this, I know you're capable. – says Henrich
Marshal can't do this alone? – says Gaius
You're plan B. – says Henrich
Fourteen hours later, guards surrounded Gaius, ready to attack Gaius, until he died. Among them were Henrich and Leila, Tobias further back was extremely scared.
Gaius jumped out the window as fast as possible, shattering into thousands of pieces, he was ready to fall onto the street, but an arm grabbed his torso, pulling him back, throwing him against the wall, breaking it, suddenly an entity was among them all.
As many knew they could easily die to this entity, many fled, except Henrich, Leila and Tobias:
What do we do? – says Tobias
Why don't we call Gaius? – says Leila
Gaius who was masked looked into Henrich's eyes, both brandished their swords, until the masked man spoke:
If you kill me, you'll probably die to this entity, let's focus on it, before we resolve this. – says Gaius
What? We're going to attack him... – said Tobias
Let's focus on the creature. – says Henrich
Leila looked at the masked man going towards the entity, which was between them:
Kind of ironic, isn't it? – says Jeff III
How so, ironic? – says Gaius
Jeff fought against the three, having more difficulty than usual, he was transformed into his true form, a terrifying werewolf, Tobias was in complete shock seeing that monster.
Gaius and Henrich pressured the entity to the maximum, the problem was that Jeff was just holding back, thus severely wounding Henrich, leaving Gaius and Leila, who at this point were suspicious of the masked man, thinking it might be someone.
While fighting, Gaius began to feel more tired, feeling the weight of the armor, and his mask made it difficult to breathe, and Leila who was doing her utmost to do something merely held Jeff back.
Jeff then defeated Gaius, once again gaining the upper hand, Henrich saw this and didn't know what to do, this wasn't in his plans, and with a few more attacks, he defeated Leila too, he laughed at the three:
You are weak, did you think my empire would end like this? – says Jeff
Many not understanding what he meant, Jeff said:
I am Jeff III, but... I think this will be interesting. – says Jeff
You're not going to kill us? – says Henrich
The Otherworld has so many better things to offer... and I think if I leave one of you alive, it will give me a good battle one day. – says Jeff
He created bone wings, and before leaving, he said:
This won't be our last encounter Henrich, on the Day of Calamity, we'll meet again. – says Jeff leaning towards the window
Observing the four:
New friends... old problems... – says Jeff fleeing
When the creature left, Gaius, still tired, reached the window, looking at the castle surrounded by guards, and when he looked back, he saw Tobias try to attack him, but he was easily disarmed:
Let me go! – says Tobias
Leila looked at Henrich, who seemed defeated, he had never lost before, even though, in a way, human Jeff III would have died, it didn't happen as expected:
Henrich, we need to go. – says Leila
Leila! We have to go after him. – says Tobias looking at Gaius fleeing
Gaius was on the rooftop fleeing, still processing everything that was happening, when he suddenly heard a gunshot, looking from a distance he saw Marshal shooting.
And he also saw Leila and Tobias running after him, and when he was about to descend, he saw Tobias get shot in the arm, falling to the ground quickly, Leila was about to stop but Tobias shouted:
Go after him, Miss Leila! Don't let him escape! – yells Tobias
When he reached his horse, he was still being pursued by Leila, who seemed determined to capture him, at the same time he wanted to reveal himself, he knew that if he did, Leila would no longer trust Henrich as much.
But Gaius was shot, causing him to fall from his horse, there were so many questions about what was happening that he didn't even know what to do, he fell until he was near the city's port, he entered one of the houses and didn't know what else to do, his bleeding was getting worse, Tobias was wounded, along with him, and he ended up fainting in the house.
Leila arrived, following the masked man's tracks, seeing a house with the door open, followed by a trail of blood, she entered carefully, but soon found his unconscious body:
Bastard. – says Leila going to see who it was
But when she removed his mask, it revealed to be Gaius, in a deplorable situation:
Henrich, was this your plan? – says Leila
She held the part where Gaius was shot, but his situation was terrible, Leila didn't know what to do, was the man who killed Jeff III Gaius?
That's why he didn't want to attack him... how could they not... – says Leila hearing footsteps
Leila could leave, but if she left, Gaius would be arrested, and probably killed, looking at a boat, seeing the situation, she decided to take Gaius away.
As she was already very strong, Leila managed to row the boat with Gaius, with some first aid items:
Damn, Gaius. – says Leila
Not far from that place, Leila found a small island, with houses, without much thought she rowed there, arriving at the island, she noticed it was strangely empty, but as she was in desperation, she carried Gaius to one of the houses, placing him on the bed to begin treating him.
Gaius was in a deep sleep, where... the only part he remembered was the fallen wolf, crawling until it reached other wolves, who approached it.
As they were being sought, Leila couldn't even sleep, staying up all night waiting for someone, dawn broke and Gaius showed no sign, it seemed he was dead, his eyelids were purple, not from injury, but as if he had no energy.
Despite wanting to leave, she had to wait for him to get better, and for a few days, she had to survive...
When it was day, on March 24th, Gaius woke up, feeling weak, he had lost a lot of blood, he was lucky to have stayed alive, a shot like that would have easily become infected, but he didn't even know where he was, before fainting he had already accepted that he would be arrested, but he was in a place very different from a prison, he looked around, he noticed he was in a room with very old wooden walls,
There was a nearly broken desk, with his things, and his diary was open, still not understanding much he got up, looking at the window, and he was in a completely different place, he only saw sand and a huge sea, he left his room, seeing he was in a dilapidated house, with few things, and some things scattered on the floor, among them a sword, and looking closely he soon realized it was Leila's:
Leila... saved me. – says Gaius leaving the house
From afar, he saw the immense sea, and at the very end he could see the port they were at, Gaius realized that besides treating him, she had to carry them to this island, the same one who was hunting some fish soon returned home, and seeing that Gaius was awake she said:
Gaius... – says Leila tired
So several days have passed. – says Gaius looking at her
She approached him and punched him in the stomach:
Idiot. – says Leila entering the house
Hey... I'm still... – said Gaius
Sick? You're just trouble Gaius. – says Leila placing the fish on a table
And when he remembered he was masked, he immediately said:
You must be wanting to know why this is. – says Gaius weak
Leila pulled up a chair and sat down:
We have plenty of time for this, you can start, then in the end we'll see if I forgive you. – says Leila
Gaius entered the house, grabbed a chair too and took a deep breath:
Henrich, had a plan to become a king, gain more power, that good old story, but with Jeff alive, it would take years for him to assume, while we're here he must already be receiving awards... – said Gaius
I already know you needed to kill him, but why not tell me? It just doesn't make sense. – says Leila
He... I... your knowing about this, made my mission fail. – says Gaius
I won't tell anyone, just be honest. – says Leila
Only Marshal and I knew about this, the initial plan was to kill Jeff with... – says Gaius remembering the shots
Gaius suddenly got angry:
Marshal! That bastard, shooting at me and poor Tobias! – says Gaius
Was he the one shooting? – says Leila
I don't know.... but no one in Tassal has a weapon like that, not that I know of at least. – says Gaius
The way now is to wait, wait until we can leave, and return to the band. – says Leila
Gaius, began to think about some things:
Leila, didn't you notice? – says Gaius
Didn't notice what? – says Leila
If you didn't know, what's the chance that I also didn't know? Didn't know that Marshal would kill me. – says Gaius
Gaius... rest, you haven't even woken up and you're already freaking out. – says Leila
Gaius rested while looking at the beach:
I don't know why anymore... – says Gaius
Leila took a deep breath:
Regardless of what you think, we'll go back there after a few days. – says Leila
It's not so bad staying in a place with this view, I expected to see this twenty years from now. – says Gaius
Baron told me about when they stole the cart, and you rescued a woman from the bandits. – says Leila
She was very violent, if I were in her place I wouldn't stab the bandit like that, maybe she's a great option for the band, since she has no one to stay with. – says Gaius
And you think Henrich will allow it? – says Leila
The Henrich you know is completely different from mine, you see him more as a general, I see him as a partner, he's not so bad as to leave that poor woman alone. – says Gaius
Leila just laughed.
So for a while, Gaius and Leila's activities ceased, they needed to remain hidden after everything that happened.
After a few days of Jeff III's assassination, the city that was once synonymous with peace, now saw itself surrounded by flyers to hunt the masked man, various detectives and police surrounded the kingdom, which was of Labrahn, the most irritated majesty of the meeting, he was in a hotel distant from the city, since they thought that the masked man could hunt the other majesties.
But a detective without much knowledge in the region, but he was one of the best in the area, being purposely forgotten, so as not to be a great threat to whoever was investigating, his name was Tyler, and he managed to access a brief interrogation to Labrahn:
I'll be brief, I'll point out what may have happened, along with facts, and then as you understand this, and as I'm here to help you in this case, you will define the veracity of this accusation. – says Tyler
Be quick. – says Labrahn
Have you thought about investigating the guards, how a protected place let a man of one meter and ninety invade one of the most sacred houses in this city? – says Tyler
I understand. – says Labrahn
It would be as if someone from inside had done this, and according to documents I had access to about this case, the most recent royal guard was Jeff III's guard, coincidence? – says Tyler
Labrahn served him some wine:
You know what I think? – says Labrahn
You can speak. – says Tyler
I think there's no way, a commoner to think about these things, our meeting was about a rival kingdom, I think it's too much of a coincidence to have a man killing a king who just took his territory. – says Labrahn
Excellent accusation, but I think that... Roy X has a personality of making mass attacks, it doesn't make sense to send just one man. – says Tyler
Regardless of what happened, it's done, my security is much more reinforced, this part of discovering who the assassin was, I leave to you, not wanting to waste my time with this. – says Labrahn
I understand... – says Tyler leaving the room
But I liked your version, I'll think about it. – says Labrahn
In a castle with the yellow flags of the old Jeff III empire, Henrich drank wine of the same brand, thinking about some things:
Leila and Gaius are missing, I fear that if I do something, I will become a suspect, and... was Jeff an entity? How did I never feel this before? – said Henrich until Marshal entered his room
Henrich looked at him with a serious gaze, the two stared at each other for a few seconds:
I know that... everything suggests that I am a traitor, but... my things, my face is bruised, I lost that rifle. – says Marshal injured
Who would find you there? – says Henrich
The same way that king managed to look back at me. – says Marshal
Henrich laughed:
It's all so convincing for you Marshal, but things work this way, you trying to kill one of my men out of envy... – said Henrich
Don't get carried away... – said Marshal
Go away, and pray that Gaius didn't die, otherwise... you'll visit your brother. – says Henrich
Marshal with a little anger left Henrich alone, while thinking about what to do next.
Downstairs, some members of the squad were thinking about what had happened, they were Gabriel, Baron, Durval and Clement, who was drinking:
Tobias, is he okay? – says Durval
He's very injured, he won't recover anytime soon, and the expectation is that he'll stop fighting. – says Baron
All this because of one man. – says Durval
There was no way to know this would happen, but if we were there, we could have captured him. – says Baron
Or if Gaius were there. – says Gabriel
Where is Gaius? – says Clement
Henrich said that when he found out Leila was missing, he went there to rescue her. – says Gabriel
And why didn't we go together? – says Clement
Henrich didn't say anything when I asked him that. – says Gabriel
Henrich arrived at the room where they were talking, he said nothing, just sat down and looked at them:
Do you know what we should do next? – says Durval
Wait for Laura to take the crown, but it's a week of mourning, until then they might want to kill her too. – says Henrich
Despite having been a disaster, your morale with the kings who were there even increased, they're saying you released a monster and you killed him. – says Baron
Henrich took a deep breath:
Disaster? Do you call what happened a disaster? – says Henrich
He looked at Baron:
Tobias won't die, and the traitor is no longer among us, when Leila and Gaius return, we will advance once more. – says Henrich
Traitor, was there a traitor in the band? – says Durval
Later I'll explain better, but there's no reason to be upset, but rather to celebrate. – says Henrich
The next day, Baron saw Beatriz training with the sword she had just received:
Do you want to become a warrior? – says Baron
Beatriz sweating said:
After everything they did, it won't come cheap at all. – says Beatriz
Do you think there's any more idiot from that group alive out there? – says Baron
It's certainly not just one group. – says Beatriz
A band? – says Baron
More than that... my... my dear Victor was like you, the difference was that he was against the nobility. – says Beatriz
So those bandits were part of some kingdom's empire? – says Baron
I... I don't know, but they could be bounty hunters, one of the worst, killing even my little ones. – says Beatriz
I'm not a very religious person, but I'm sure what they did to you, will definitely come back to them. – says Baron
Certainly, but I want to kill the noble who ordered Victor's death. – says Beatriz
Who knows one day, Henrich might help you. – says Baron
Meanwhile, Gaius wrote something in his diary, something related to the days he spent on the beach, surviving, until Leila entered the house:
Is it your turn to get fruit? – says Leila
Probably not. – says Gaius
Probably not? I already did that yesterday. – says Leila
Then why ask? – says Gaius angrily
To see if you weren't lying the other times, I think I found out the truth. – says Leila angrily
What the heck, don't you just eat fish? You have to keep getting fruit for the lady. – says Gaius getting up
You're the one who eats the most guavas. – says Leila laughing
Gaius grabbed his hat, to be able to endure the heat:
I hope you eat something poisonous, it would be a blessing for me. – says Leila
For me too, not having to put up with you anymore. – says Gaius leaving the house
These days things were already more organized, there were some handmade boxes to store the things they found and there was a lot of fish left over:
Where is this damn forest. – says Gaius
When he entered the woods, he already found some guavas, which were higher up:
It doesn't even seem like I was killing monsters just now. – says Gaius filling the box
Until Gaius going further to the end of the island, found more wreckage of a boat:
Could they have made the houses? – says Gaius
He left the box on the ground to see if he found anything, and mostly it was just wreckage, with the only things that were worth were either broken or expired, but surprisingly, he found a chest that was intact, and with the little of his strength he broke it in half:
A crystal? – says Gaius picking up an unknown material, its aura was the same as when he encountered entities
When Gaius returned to the box, he saw that a man was eating everything inside, he immediately got angry:
Hey! – yells Gaius
The man ran into the middle of the woods, Gaius followed him:
Come back here you thief. – says Gaius trying to hit the man with twigs
Until the man led Gaius to a waterfall:
Stay where you are... – says Gaius
Look... look down. – says the man who had a horrible visual
Gaius discovered that the island was actually a part that led to a gigantic forest:
You're not alone... – says the man
Who are you? And why did you take my fruits. – says Gaius
Here... it's no longer Tassal, I want to leave here. – says the man
Maybe, if you help me with something, I can get you out of here. – says Gaius
Can you really? – says the man
What's your name? – says Gaius
Neil. – says Neil
Neil... do you know how to cook? – says Gaius
I... I was the cook of that boat. – says Neil
Give me a hand because someone doesn't know how to cook that well. – says Gaius
Gaius then returned to the house where Leila was and upon seeing Neil she got annoyed:
You leave and come back with a friend? – says Leila
Relax, now you'll want to eat fish all the time, Neil was a great cook. – says Gaius
The boat that my band and I were on broke on this island, I've lived here for years. – says Neil
Leila pulled Gaius aside:
How can you trust someone like that? – says Leila
Trust him I don't, it will be a trade. – says Gaius
A trade? – says Leila
Yeah... the fish you make, you know... it's not one of the... – said Gaius until he took a punch
And that night, no one ate any more fruits.