World Isekai

Reaper slowly woke up before the group in panic.

His instincts kicked in, as he dragged himself backward a couple of feet, raising his palm.

Only a small puff of smoke came out of it, but nothing else happening.

He kept dragging himself on the ground, unable to gain significant distance.

"I took the liberty of breaking both his legs," said Griswald.

"Good, he's not getting away this time."

"No. I had to chase him for quite a while. He's out of mana, now. Even if he recovered some, he wouldn't be able to get far enough from us."

"Chasing someone teleporting around is quite a feat," said Mori.

"It was easy. Especially once I put some of my blood on his clothes, all I had to do was to be patient. He did create some obstacles, but nothing that could stand in my way."

"Good job, truly. Lilae, it's your turn."

It was as if midnight had struck, bringing her back to reality.

Nothing stood between her and Reaper, besides her own emotions.

"Come-on... Lil', we've been through so much in the past 4 years... I've saved all those kids for you, and did anything you wanted me to. I can't die like this, you know I was just trying to survive..."

She slowly walked forward, reached him in a few steps and laid a knee on the ground.

She grabbed his throat, tightening her grasp slowly as she looked into his eyes.

"If you wanted to survive, why not turn to us? We wouldn't be here if you did," she said.

"-S-o-rry-."

Reaper was slowly choking, barely able to say any words, staring into Lilae's teary eyes.

"You valued your own life above ours, Mori isn't wrong. You tried to kill us, to save yourself. We're not the bad guys for valuing ourselves back above you," she said in-between sniffling.

She brought her other hand to his neck, his face was redder by the second, as his eyes looked around for any comfort.

Comfort, there was none.

All he could see was Lilae's face, in-between anger and sadness as she kept piling up the pressure.

He grabbed onto her shirt and her hair.

He tried punching her, but she didn't budge.

Desperation was settling in, until slowly his arms fell to the side, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Lilae didn't stop, the strength of her grasp only growing until a loud 'snap' echoed.

She let go, his body hitting the ground as she stood up, looking at it.

Mori walked forward, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she quickly slapped it away.

She furiously walked to the carriage, sitting in the back in silence.

Mori turned toward Griswald.

"So, what's the problem?"

"I'm surprised you noticed."

"There has to be a problem behind us if you took a detour to arrive at the front," said Mori.

"Yes, there's someone on your tail. I'm afraid one of Reaper's clones informed them of your whereabouts before I got my hands on him."

"Well, this much we knew."

"I took liberty to scout ahead, she didn't sense me at all, but I can tell she's quite strong. Sovereign, most likely."

"Can you deal with her?" asked Mori.

"I'm afraid not, she's strong and has a dozen trained guards, some of them powerful mages."

Mori nodded in silence, thinking.

"Alright, join us for now."

"It seems fate brought us together again, Daughter," said Griswald in a pleasant tone.

"Father," greeted Aura as she headed toward the carriage.

"So cold! Breaks my heart," said Griswald to Mori.

"You better be on your best behavior, we have a long way to go and I'm not going to let you damper the mood the whole time."

Griswald bowed again, "You can count on my utmost professionalism."

Xannos had been frowning for so long, but finally voiced his opinion.

"This is weird. This feels really really... really weird. Aura's father is Mori's... Servant?"

"I owe Mori my life. He spared it, in his greatness, truly a magnificent-"

"-He wants my blood. Their eyes turned purple once they started drinking it while I was harvesting hexes. It's a lot more potent, and he wants more. Aging and growing weak scares him."

"You saw right through me~" melodically answered Griswald.

"Your presence is truly refreshing. You're simple, you want something and I have it. Our relationship couldn't be better. How would you betray me if I'm the only one who can provide you with this 'youth' you're chasing?"

"The word you're looking for is 'fucked up', not 'simpler'. Your relationship is fucked up, let me tell you that... But hey, you do you..." said Xannos, walking away while shaking his head.

While everyone was waiting in the carriage, Mori brought Griswald up to speed.

"Well, I don't know about that. Her mother could be the one who did it, I haven't kept tabs on her."

"It's fine, maybe we'll find clues on the way."

"Right. As for that dungeon, I doubt you would have a hard time. The Unkindled, however, should be avoided. I can guarantee he exists, and he's quite the annoyance. Furthermore..."

"What is it?" asked Mori.

"Well, I don't want to be rude, but you've recruited... weaklings," whispered Griswald.

"Your daughter is one of them, should I remind you?"

"Well, it is what it is, as they say," he laughed. "She has other talents, I'm sure, but none of them would make much of a difference from being alone."

"You were alone in your domain for what, 100 years? How much did you accomplish?"

Griswald sighed, "Anyhow, I get the gist of what's happening."

"Good, then you know what you have to do, once we reach the mountains."

"Yes. About our little... arrangement..."

Mori rolled his eyes, as he raised his arm and pulled his sleeve.

"If you start acting greedy it'll be the last time you have any."

In a swift motion, he cut his wrist. Blood poured out, which Griswald didn't let go to waste.

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