Two hours passed since the soldiers' pursuit of Yousafer and Yuray. One of them returned by boat to the warship, where he met those returning also from the explosion site towards the shore.
— The soldier recounted what happened when the two reached dry land.
— Deep thought appeared on Ron's face, as it seems they are behind the explosion.
Ron turned to the soldier and said:
— Well done.
The soldier nodded:
— This is my duty, Lieutenant.
Darom said while humming:
— With a high probability, they are the cause of the explosion.
— Ron began walking with lazy steps, placing his hand behind his hair, and said with confidence:
— This is clear, and who else? It seems our enemies are multiplying every day like flies.
— One of the soldiers rubbed his temple while speaking in a voice everyone heard:
— We should have arrested them and conducted more research. Lieutenant, shall we pursue them?
Ron whispered while watching the sea:
— No need for that, their flag is new. There are many flags that start and fade with time, and their owners perish before a star is printed on them. Also, we have the mission of arresting that fraud.
One of the soldiers said:
— By the way, Lieutenant, does the Human Demon's flag have a star?
Darom intervened, annoyed:
— Are you without a mind? And why would we waste our time pursu...
Darom fell silent suddenly as if he realized something, then corrected his words:
That bastard, we will catch him even if his flag does not bear a star, for he is born of that year.
— One of the soldiers, who seemed young in age, wanted to speak, but he stuttered in his words and did not finish.
Darom noticed him then called him:
— Kaisen, do you want to say something?
The boy's face reddened, who seems to be new in the army, with his shiny silver hair and sharp facial features:
— What... What is the story of the stars on the flags and the rebels, Vice Commander?
Looks of curiosity appeared on all the soldiers as they waited for the answer from Darom's mouth.
— Some things remain hidden from many people, especially these things that concern the rebels.
Darom praised internally: A wonderful question, boy.
Then he crossed his hand towards his chest and spoke gently while glancing at the boy:
— The stars determine the danger of the flag owner. For example, the rebel Human Demon, his flag has a star. The more the number of stars increases, the danger of the flag owner increases. As for the rebels, they are those who abandoned the nation's flag and revolted in the face of justice. They claim freedom, and they are nothing but demons.
Everyone listened; some knew the stories about the rebels, but some did not know anything.
One of them asked:
— Vice Lieutenant, why do they leave the United Nations Church flag?
Ron intervened, saying:
— I will answer your question with another question: Why do they fundamentally revolt against the army? Or rather, why do they revolt against the world?
The soldier entered into deep thought:
— And how would I know?
Ron looked towards him then completed his speech:
— Those bastards, legends and wrong illusions have clouded their minds. They do these things for a goal that does not exist fundamentally. Everyone who is a rebel is an enemy to the world, and they know that, but they chose this path themselves.
Ron stopped speaking while examining everyone with his eyes:
— This is enough today. You will know everything later. As for now, let us complete our mission and search for that demon.
All the soldiers raised their voices at the same time:
— Yes, Lieutenant.
ـــــــ
— Returning to Yousafer and Yuray.
In front of the entrance of a forest dense with trees, two people stood, and in their faces was a determination that does not shake. One of them raised, with dark black hair, a medium-sized map while looking at it then towards the forest entrance. In this place there was a straight road, but it is full of weeds, and it seems that this road has not been used for years.
These two people were Yousafer and Yuray.
Yousafer said:
— This is a shortcut to the Kingdom of Randor, but it seems it has not been used for a long time.
Yuray whispered, saying:
— It is possible that people found another shortcut other than this.
Yousafer muttered:
— I do not know, but I read a while ago in one of the newspapers that this forest is considered a settlement for many bandits and rebels.
It seems that this news is the reason for people not using this road, or that there is another road they use that does not exist on this map.
Yuray nodded:
— Anyway, let us enter and we will know everything. We will not lose anything, we have to shortcut the road, for circling around this forest will take from us a longer time.
— You are right, let's go.
Yousafer grabbed the leather map then put it in the bag and placed it on his shoulder.
ـــــــ
— Kingdom of Randor.
Somewhere in the Kingdom of Randor, a young man sat on the top of the tower contemplating the blue sky. There was no difference between the color of the sky and the color of his eyes, rather his eyes are more blue than the sky, with arched eyebrows and sharp facial features. A dark blue robe covered him, his robe adorned with black shells descending vertically from both sides, and on his chest the flag of the United Nations Church, and black trousers and long boots reaching his knee.
Behind his back there was a long dark blue scythe twisted inward.
Shouting reached from the bottom of the tower to the young man's ear, as it took him out of his thinking:
— Maimon! Maimon! We have to go immediately to complete our mission, for the Commander will get angry again because of our negligence!
Maimon turned his gaze towards the young man below the tower, who was wearing the same clothes as him with brown hair combed back, then said:
— I am coming.
Then he looked at the sky again while muttering to himself some words. After that, he jumped from the top of the tower which is fifteen meters away from the ground to land lightly.
— What are you doing, you idiot, above the tower? Are you contemplating the sky again? Because of you, I will be scolded by the Commander!
— What a nuisance, can't you complete it alone? Maimon asked.
— Even if I could, you have to accompany me. For your sitting only contemplating the sky... do you think you can do what you want? Do not forget that you are a member of the Kingdom's Knights, and every knight has his role, you idiot.
— Maimon looked towards the front without saying anything, because if he spoke, his friend beside him would start talking and would not shut up.
ـــــــ
— Return to the forest.
In the forest dense with trees, the two walked between the golden threads of sunlight that pass between the branches.
Yousafer with his black clothes striped with some purple color, and a red flag adorning his chest, and Yuray with his white clothes and some silver patterns, and also the same flag adorning his chest. The flag embroidered on their chests is the same one Yousafer drew with his hand; the first as if it is the dark night, and the other bright as the day.
Yousafer looked towards the young man beside him then said:
— Yuray, are you ready for this journey?
Yuray replied without turning, keeping his face towards the front:
— This is normal that I am ready, and I am happy to undertake this journey with you, also I am excited for it despite its difficulty.
Yousafer put his two hands behind his head without change in his facial expressions:
— I do not know the reason, but I feel I need this journey, as if something attracts me and makes me excited for it.
— Soon we will become wanted, and we will be subjected to many chases. That is a wonderful thing, to be hunted everywhere, this will help us a lot to develop our abilities.
— Developing our abilities and searching for the remnants of war and digging up the history of this miserable world and knowing the reason for my nightmares... this is what we went out for. I hope I find this world entertaining.
A few hours passed while they were penetrating more and more inside the forest.
The road in front of them became full of tall yellow grass, and this grass was a reason for their slowing down.
Yousafer muttered:
— This forest is very strange, there is a strange stillness here. Is it abandoned? I hope I find some bandits and rebels in this place.
Yuray said:
— Night will fall soon, for the sun started to descend. We have to find a suitable spot for camping, add to that we do not possess food.
— No problem, there is still time until the sun sets, we will hunt something on our way.
"Rustle."
They walked for some time, and suddenly Yousafer tilted his head to the side towards Yuray with a malicious smile on his face:
— We are being watched.
A smile appeared on Yuray's face:
— Did you like that? But do not get too excited, for there is one person watching us.
— I know that, but don't you see that we are with a high probability lost in this forest? We lost our way because of this tall grass. Finding a person here to be our guide, this is a wonderful thing.
"Rustle." "Rustle."
Yuray's expression changed suddenly:
— There is another person... no, there is a third person.
Features of joy and pleasure appeared on Yousafer's face:
— They are coming... They are coming...
The grass moved beside them suddenly. Seriousness appeared on Yuray's face, and a smile on Yousafer's face while he watches the grass moving right and left as if a road opens in front of them.
And from among the grass an arrow launched approaching Yuray's face quickly, Yuray tilted his face so the arrow collided with the tree.
He heard a voice coming from the grass beside them:
— You will not escape again.
End of the chapter
Rebels?? Or bandits??
Your comments are important and motivating to me.