"...Some other time."
After a long internal battle, Cyril finally refused again.
I could try, but I am not at my optimal state. If I am to fight someone strong, I need to give it my all.
"It's not that we think we'll lose. It's just a logical decision, yes."
The corner of his eye twitched and he ignored Rhamn's words.
Selene nodded, her golden eyes distinct in the dim lights of this stone room.
"I understand, then I'll find you in the city and we'll continue."
With that she turned around and walked towards the exit.
Soon she was gone from this room, disappearing as gently as a breeze in the morning.
Cyril stood still for a moment.
That simple, huh?
He then switched towards the kids in the corner.
Their bodies trembled as he stared at them, fear visible in their eyes.
Need to do something about this...
He slowly walked closer.
At his approach they dug themselves deeper into the corner, as if wanting to phase through it.
Cyril froze in his path, feeling slightly perplexed.
I need to show them I am not a threat.
Maybe a smile? But...
"...I can help you make it more natural."
Really? Then let's try.
With renewed enthusiasm Cyril resumed walking.
As he got closer, and the children's faces turned paler, Cyril slowed down and showed his arms.
A certain force began acting, and the corners of his mouth began rising by themselves.
Soon, a warm, reliable, and very human smile stretched on his face.
The kids froze, looking at his face in silence.
I think it's working.
Enduring the unusual feeling, Cyril stepped closer and patted them both on the head.
"Don't worry. It's over."
The kids began breathing evenly, their eyes on him.
"Let's go find Myra."
Hearing her name, they slowly but eagerly nodded.
Cyril's face kept a smile as his blue eyes scanned their faces.
Success.
His smile became a bit wider.
...
In a moment, they've gone through the double doors, entering the next room.
"Jack is nowhere to be seen. Did he just escape?"
Very likely.
He walked a few steps and looked around, the two kids soon following him in.
It was a long corridor with cages lined in rows on both sides.
On the ground lay the unconscious bodies of mages, some had their white coats removed.
At the very end of the corridor stood Myra, busily fiddling with another lock on the cage.
Near her stood a group of humans in various states of distress.
Some wore rags, some the white coats, but they all had hopeful faces full of newfound joy.
The kids near Cyril busily scanned the group, trying to find something.
In a moment their eyes widened, beginning to tear up again.
"Mom, Dad!"
They hastily ran into the group, where two ragged humans greeted them with a hug.
Both the parents and the kids let out tears, though these didn't seem bitter.
As Cyril walked closer, observing the warming picture, all the other people immediately locked their vigilant eyes on him.
Alright.
His mouth curled into a reliable smile as Cyril bowed slightly.
"My name is Cyril. I am with Myra, here to rescue you."
"..."
The humans' eyes quickly grew friendly as some breathed a sigh of relief, some even had subtle red coloring their faces.
"Thank you so much!"
"We've heard the noises outside. You must've been buying time for Myra."
"Heroes, the two of you!"
Cyril stood straight, listening to their optimistic words with a silent smile.
"Ha! See how easy it is? With your face it will be easy to make a hero's reputation."
Perhaps.
The butterfly flew off his shoulder, flying among the people, bringing smiles to some with her flutter.
"What a beautiful butterfly..."
Soon Myra returned to them, behind her a few more rescued prisoners.
Noticing Cyril, she flinched, before casually walking closer.
"Viper is taken care of?" She asked, not looking him in the eyes.
"Yes. Although Jack escaped in the midst of things."
"I see... Before we go, I want to do some first aid. Can you go check out the room ahead in the meantime?" Myra pointed to the door nearby.
"I think it's the main office. There could be something important in there."
Cyril looked over the people. Most had bruises, blood on their bodies, and limping legs. Only their eyes were in good condition.
"Sure."
The butterfly landed back on his shoulder as he went straight for the door.
Opening it, he went inside.
The voices of the rescued prisoners became muffled as he looked around the room.
It was a small office, but opulent in its design.
Unlike everything else in here, the walls were covered in a complex green wallpaper. A few paintings hung on them, completing the luxurious atmosphere.
At one end of the room was a bookshelf covering the room, filled to the brim.
In front of it stood a construction with a glowing crystal. Magic could obviously be felt from there.
…It's the source of the illusion spell covering the base.
"There must be a user of illusion magic working with the demons. I wonder if we know of any?"
Let's think of this later.
Cyril walked closer and broke the crystal.
The construction flickered for a moment and grew quiet.
There.
Cyril nodded and turned around, observing the rest of the room.
At the other end of it stood a dark wooden desk with a flower vase on top.
As Morpho carefully examined the paintings, he approached the desk and opened its drawer.
Within was a pile of documents, which he carefully looked through.
Reports on the experiments... Seems like they were unsuccessful.
"The ghouls from earlier looked a little bit more human... I wonder what they would consider a success?"
Rhamn sent him a curious glance, which he ignored and rummaged through the desk further.
Nothing too interesting.
With that, he looked around the room, scanning every corner of it.
Let's look around in more detail.
As he passed by one of the paintings admired by Morpho, he froze, observing it for a second more.
I know this painting.
Some years ago this was in my father's collection. What is it doing here?
"Probably just a copy."
…Yeah.
...
In a while, someone opened the door.
"Cyril, how is it going?"
Myra strolled into the room, her face much more relaxed now.
Cyril, standing near the bookshelf, turned towards her.
"Nothing useful. They were cautious in not leaving any traces."
Myra pinched her chin, a slight frown forming.
"I already tried interrogating one of the mages, they don't know much... Maybe we could try to see what Viper knows?"
Oh.
"Viper didn't survive the fight."
Myra widened her eyes, staying silent for a second, before cautiously asking.
"How did you feel?"
"It was a tough fight, but nothing too much."
"No, I mean... was that your first? Are you alright?"
Cyril stared at her concerned but mostly curious eyes for a moment.
"I felt..."
Nothing. "Excited."
"...complicated."
"Don't worry, it will get better." Myra slowly nodded.
After an awkward pause, she sent him a mischievous look, holding back a chuckle.
"And what was with that smile? That scared me for a second."
"I am practicing. Anyways, there is nothing here. The safe only had money and jewelry."
Myra chuckled and turned to look at the door.
"...Too bad we can't find the ones behind this, but at least everyone from my village is safe. Most of the people were taken from the slums back in the city."
"I see."
Cyril walked to the exit.
"Let's go back. According to Jack, guards would be here any moment. Let's leave the investigation to them."
Myra nodded and followed after him.
Once outside, they've gathered all of the prisoners, and together they went towards the exit.
When passing through a hall where his battle took place, Cyril was greeted by a changed sight.
In the middle of the room was a body on fire, slowly being reduced to a charred corpse.
In front of it was a bulky spherical shackle as well as a small card.
"What happened here?" Myra whispered with a frown as Cyril went to pick up the card.
Thanks for the help, knighties... As well as a smiley face.
"Tsk. Jack, that moron. We can track him with this." Rhamn shook her head with a contemptuous smile.
Whatever. I don't care about him.
Cyril put the card in his pocket and went on his way.
"That's Viper's body. Jack burned it. I don't know why."
Myra stiffly nodded and turned around, motioning for the people behind to follow.
People warily eyed the still burning body, some even spitting on it as they passed.
Walking under the dim red light, they've passed the stone corridor until finally arriving at the stairs leading up.
Climbing them, he pushed the door and went outside.
What first greeted him was the full moon raised high in the sky.
The next thing that attracted his attention was the squad of guards, wearing proper armor, standing watch around the stone building he exited.
His arrival startled them, and they raised their weapons.
"Halt! Who are you!"
Weapons and magic circles pointed at him, Cyril calmly looked around at the guards and made a reliable smile.
"My name is Cyril Thorne. I've discovered a bandit camp here and infiltrated it."
Despite his warm smile, his voice still carried a bit of his coldness, making a bizarre contrast.
The guards went silent until someone who seemed their leader stepped forward.
"Thorne?" He briefly observed his blue eyes and blond hair.
Soon his face became more tense.
"Is-is that so?"
Cyril calmly stepped away from the buildings.
From there a crowd of people soon exited.
First Myra, then the injured.
As more people showed up, the looks on the guards changed.
"Quickly, call a healer!"
...
As the full moon still shined bright in the sky, the camp in the middle of the woods was livelier today than usual.
The bandits were all captured, being slowly taken somewhere by a separate group of guards.
The others remained here for now, offering aid, talking to the victims, and making sense of what happened.
Cyril and Myra stood to the side, waiting to be let go.
At some point the guard's leader walked up to them, a flattering smile on his face.
"What you did today was truly a heroic deed!"
Cyril gave Myra a look and turned to him.
A bright, reliable smile soon spread on his face.
"We are just doing what's right. We are students of Ailanthus, it is our duty."
The guard's face froze for a moment.
He slowly nodded, staring at the two of them with wonder.
"I'll be sure to tell people about today. They need to know about a new rising star, two future knights!"
The smile on Cyril's face widened just a little bit.