“Pack up now! We’re going after them,” he ordered.
Izu and Kozu, who had also been watching the retreating group, gave him a worried look.
“Koya, I know you’re strong, but are you sure…?”
“I said pack!” Koya screeched, making both of them jump and rush to do as he said.
Had Koya been in his right mind, he might have noticed something that both of the twins had: the color of the Belt on one of the group members. It was near Green, way higher than any of them could hope to match. But, enraged as he was, he completely missed that detail, as well as the Belt now wrapped tightly around his hated enemy’s waist.
All he saw was his opportunity for redemption. And revenge.
Within a couple of minutes, Koya and the twins were rushing after the small group, each thrumming with Essence as Koya threw caution to the wind in an attempt to keep up.
Herald Leroy and his little group wouldn’t know what hit them!
***
Roy stared up at the old man, whose face was twisted in anger, and didn’t know what to say. He’d overheard everything and now knew what he was, and that he’d been lying to him the entire time.
“What do you have to say for yourself, boy?” Irusaru asked again, and Roy could feel an almost imperceptible pressure beginning to press down on his body.
“I…I don’t really…” Roy tried to say, floundering for something to say, but not being able to find the right words.
“Nothing to say? Very well. Allow me to see if I’ve understood, then,” Irusaru said, his eyes blazing as the pressure over Roy intensified.
“You led me to believe that you were a normal Power cultivator, your power earned, and your core belonging to you and you alone — not some freak who had to steal to gain power. You led me to believe that your life was in danger from an outside source more powerful than any we could hope to match, leading me to bring you here, to the most secretive and valuable area our clan owns. You then drank from the Power Basin, the purest and most powerful form of Power Essence we have at our disposal- one drop of which would cost you over ten-thousand Kinka to obtain anywhere else.
“You deceived me, using my interest in your Path to blind me to the truth: You are a thief, a parasite whose clan did not want him, so you wandered out into the world to find the power you could not get from them.”
Each word was delivered with a deceptive calm, but they hit Roy like a ton of bricks.
Did Irusaru really think that way of him? Did he really think he was a freak, like the rest of them?
For some inexplicable reason that he could not explain, the old man’s words hurt worse than anything he’d ever endured at the hands of the Shah. Worse than any taunt, blow or injustice that they had doled out over the long years. Still, he could not talk.
“What were you planning on doing once you’d gotten all you wanted out of me?” Irusaru continued, slowly walking down the slope of the hillside towards him. “Planning on going to our enemies with the information on Tonde Basin and seeing us out?”
“No! I would never do that!” Roy finally exclaimed, finally finding his voice. “I wouldn’t! Not after all you’ve done for me. You took me in and treated me fairly. Gave me food to eat and training in the Martial Arts. That’s more than anyone has ever given me. Please. You have to believe that I would never betray you or your clan!”
“Lies!” Irusaru thundered, shaking the mountainside with his fury. “I should end your miserable life right here and now for your digressions, but it would be shameful for one of my level to lower myself to killing such a weakling!
“Leave this valley, boy, and run! I will be sending word to the clan and have the appropriate Martial Artists sent after you. If you don’t want to die, I would recommend leaving immediately!”
There was a golden flash of light and Irusaru vanished, leaving a stunned and hurt Roy standing there alone. He slowly digested what the old man had said, replaying his words in his mind. The old man had called him a freak, a liar, and a traitor. He had turned on him the moment he found out what he really was, as he’d expected he would. He could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he stared out over the beautiful clearing that Aika had brought him here to see. The beauty was lost on him now, as he felt the crushing weight of despair settle onto his shoulders.
Then his sadness turned to anger, and from there, to rage. He’d been right not to tell the old man who he was, and it had been a huge mistake on his part to tell Aika the truth. He should have known this would happen, and he was now paying the price for his foolishness.
Gritting his teeth, Roy could feel his stomach roiling as he took off running down the steep hill, heedless of the loose stone falling around him. He hit the ground running, sprinting through the trees with speed he did not know he’d possessed. It wasn’t long before he was coming up on his small house and the furry pile that was Ferry curled up next to it.
“Ferry, wake up, girl. We’re leaving!” Roy shouted as he approached, getting the ferret’s attention as she lifted her head.
She gave him a questioning sniff as he passed, but he ignored her. Tearing the door off its hinges and tossing it back, Roy quickly gathered up his things, not even realizing what he’d done until he was exiting the small house.
Had he really done that?
Shaking himself once more to dispel his wandering thoughts, he quickly slung his pack onto Ferry’s back, mounting up just a moment later. He hesitated for just as second as he looked toward the waterfall where he had spent so much time training, then turned Ferry to the valley’s exit.
If Irusaru really was going to send people after him, and he didn’t doubt the old man’s words, then he would have to move as quickly as he could and make sure to cover his tracks. He could feel rage churning in his chest as Ferry bolted through the narrow crevice that led into Tonde Basin and back out into the blasted, stormy landscape of The Crater.
If Irusaru would treat him as the Shah did, then he was no better than them. People who had power always preyed on the weak and helpless, that was the way of things. Roy had foolishly forgotten that lesson, drilled into him by the many years of torment under the Shah. He would not forget again.
Roy took one last look back, as the crack that marked the entrance vanished, melding back into the surrounding stone. Then he angled Ferry west, to the far side of The Crater and to whatever lay beyond.
34
Koya growled in annoyance as he paced around the area where he’d lost the group over two months ago. Had he not double-checked the surrounding area and confirmed that they had not gone past them, he would have been sure they’d given him the slip.
He was sure that they were still somewhere around here. Perhaps in a hidden Dungeon or some similar place. Izu and Kozu had started complaining again after a couple of weeks of waiting, and Koya had been forced to remind them of what he’d done to the Beasts to get them back in line.
However, there were only so many times he could threaten them before they hit back. They were beginning to lose their patience after two months of sitting in the same spot, living off the scraps of their remaining rations and little else.
Had Koya been a less stubborn person or perhaps a little saner, he might have abandoned the quest, but he was too deep in to quit now, especially since the one responsible was practically hiding right under his nose.
Izu let out a loud snore, turning over in his sleep, and making Koya clench his fists once again. The two idiots had been nothing but a hindrance their entire trip. They contributed absolutely nothing, eating all his food and complaining non-stop about everything. He should be sleeping right now but had been forced to take watch, since Izu had refused to wake up and take his turn.