Author's note: Long chapter, enjoy! And the more I write, the more plotholes I discover. This is what happens when you plan as you write (and when you know need to edit the book badly after you're finished with it), lmaoooo.
A low laughter resounded throughout the cavern, and the soft sound of water dripping could be heard.
A raven-haired woman laid on a large bed supported by a wooden frame, its white sheets were thick and seemingly comfortable. Beside her, another red-haired woman laid beside her, both of them unconscious, their eyes closed and chests rising up and down.
Despite it being a cavern, the area the women were in was a proper room, furnished with a wardrobe, armor and weapon racks, and there was even a table for dining purposes. On the walls of the cavern room, there were a few paintings, and a piece of tiger skin laying on the ground. The wooden door leading to the room was slightly open.
The raven-haired woman started twitching, a small frown creased her forehead before she slowly blinked her eyes open. Her usual limpid, onyx eyes were hazy, and she groaned, pushing herself up. She was silent, scanning her surroundings and she inhaled deeply, squeezing her eyes close as she tried to clear her head.
Where is this place?
Cecil exhaled, her eyes finally became clear. She scanned her surroundings again, and the memories of her saving Hana and falling asleep because of the powder rushed back to her mind.
...this is definitely Leonaut’s hideout.
Their hideout is in the caverns, it’s no wonder Xue had a hard time finding Hana in the novel.
Moreover, in the novel, he didn't have the help of the alters.
From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of red hair and she gasped, glancing beside her in disbelief.
Hana?!
How did she end up here with me?
Cecil reached over, shaking Hana lightly, whispering. “Hana? Hana!”
There was no reaction from Hana, and Cecil wanted to shake Hana once more, until she heard the voices behind the opened door.
“Oi, what ya doing here?”
“Boss wants me to check if they are awake yet.”
“They are sleeping like logs, don’t bother.”
“I gotta check, man. I don’t wanna get my ass kicked by boss.”
“Go ahead, you’re just wasting time.”
Halfway through the conversation, Cecil had already laid back down on the bed, closing her eyes. She heard the sound of the door creaking open, the footsteps of two people were heard clearly.
“See, what did I tell ya? Just like logs.”
The other man grunted in response. “Why did boss even let them sleep in his bed? If it were my choice…”
Cecil heard a smacking sound.
“Oi, you stupid?! Boss said not to touch them or move them!”
“I heard ‘im!” the man said, sounding amused and cheeky. “But no one would know if we touched them a little, eh?”
“Whatever, I’m not taking a part in this again, gotta report back to boss.”
“Heh, keep an eye out for me.”
“Piss off.”
“Hey man, just do me a favour. You lost the bet last week, you owe me.”
“...I’ll close the door, happy?”
Cecil heard a pair of footsteps getting further and further away, and the sound of a door closing. She could feel the presence of someone standing over the bed.
“Damn, who should I start with first?” the man spoke eagerly. “The black one, always liked those with black hair.”
A second later, Cecil felt a hand touching her shoulder and she could feel goosebumps all over her arm and shoulder. She knew well enough what this man was planning to do, but Cecil couldn’t react rashly. She had to wait until it was the opportune moment.
The next second, Cecil felt herself being turned over and the empty space beside her on the bed was pressed down. She snapped her eyes open, narrowing her eyes at the man who was leaning down, his lecherous hands reaching out to her chest.
The man’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wha--”
Cecil didn’t give him any opportunity to resist, pushing him down, planting his face on the bed, muffling any sounds that escaped his mouth. She lifted her hand, hitting it against his neck, knocking him out swiftly. Cecil shuffled away from him, panting, her hand touching the shoulder where he previously touched. She could still feel the goosebumps, and anger was still bubbling within her. If she wasn’t awake, both her and Hana would have been in a dreadful situation.
Is this what happened in the original timeline of the novel?
Is this why Hana changed in the way she did?
Cecil shook her head, she didn’t want to think of what happened. She couldn’t confirm it now, and neither could she deny it, but it was no point dwelling in something like that.
Doesn’t matter, now that I’m here with Hana.
If I’m here, I’m not letting anything happen to her.
She started to shake Hana lightly once again, calling out to her softly. Hana finally reacted, letting out a moan and she blinked her eyes open, her blue eyes appearing unclear. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes.
“Hmm...Cecil?” Hana said drowsily, bowing her head as she smiled. “Good morning.”
Cecil rested her forehead on her hand, sighing. “Hana, it’s not a good morning.”
“Not morning…?” Hana blinked rapidly, frowning, before her eyes widened in recognition. “Ah! I remember--”
Cecil quickly covered Hana’s mouth, muttering softly. “Talk softly, Hana.”
Hana nodded obediently, and Cecil removed her hand.
“I remember now! You and I were taken away by the bandits!” Hana hissed out.
“Hana, why are you here with me?” Cecil questioned. “It was only me alone at that moment, how did you--”
“I followed you!” Hana pouted, before her pout disappeared and she seemed downcast. “I…I didn’t want to leave you alone, Cecil.”
Cecil furrowed her eyebrows, her expression disapproving.
“I’m sorry, I...I did something bad, didn’t I?” Hana seemed even more downcast as she observed Cecil’s unhappy expression. “I didn’t know what to do! Xue wasn’t there, and--and they say they were going to keep you, I was scared! They say bandits are bad guys, and if they did bad things to you…”
Hana’s lips began to tremble and her eyes started to well up.
“Okay, okay Hana, I understand,” Cecil eased up her expression, smiling helplessly as she patted Hana on the head. “You did what you thought was right, it’s alright.”
“I didn’t mean to cause more trouble, I just wanted to help…”
“You did well, you did very well,” Cecil comforted her. “You were very brave.”
Hana sniffled, hugging Cecil. “If something happened to you, Xue will be very sad and angry too, I don’t want that to happen too...”
Cecil’s smile stiffened, confused at what Hana meant. “Why would Xue be--”
“W-who’s that?” Hana sniffled, interrupting Cecil and finally noticing the unconscious man on the bed.
“Another bad guy,” Cecil turned and glared at the man. “I just knocked him out when he came in earlier.”
“Hey!” someone called out, and the door started to creak open.
Cecil moved quickly, taking the opportunity of the noisy creaking to run towards the door, hiding beside it.
“Who closed the door? The boss said not to close it, and you know what happens if we don’t listen--”
Hana rubbed her tears away, looking up at the man standing at the door, his eyes growing wide as he blinked rapidly. He glanced back and forth between his unconscious comrade and Hana, especially her red-rimmed eyes, and his jaw dropped.
“Th-this…”
Hana only stared innocently at the stunned man, blinking twice.
“Ah, hello!” Hana waved at the man, smiling, sitting on the bed. “I’m Hana, Hana Katae! Nice to meet you!”
The man wanted to cough blood.
“Oh, I forgot, you are bandits.” Hana’s smile then dropped and she stopped waving, appearing sad as she pointed to the unconscious person on the bed. “I can’t be so nice to the bad guys…just like him.”
The man didn’t know how to react to Hana, clearing his throat, rubbing his neck. “Uhhh, did this guy do anything to you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Hana shook her head. “If you want to know, you need to ask Cecil!”
“Who’s Cecil...wait a second, the black-haired woman isn’t--agh!"
Cecil dashed out from behind the door, doing a spinning kick as she struck the man on his jaw. The man flew into the room, and Cecil gasped as she realised the momentum would cause the man to hit the table as well.
She stretched her hand out, pushing upwards and she frowned when she didn’t feel anything, and nothing happened either. The man crashed into the table at the same time, causing it to topple over and landing on the ground with a deafening thud.
Hana gasped, flinching back at the loud noise and she turned back to Cecil, nervous. “Cecil, that was very loud!”
Cecil clicked her tongue, searching around the room and she noticed a few familiar lanterns mounted onto the cavern wall.
A lantern that resembles the shape of a dreamcatcher.
Damn! They have it in here!
Is that why Xue had even more difficulties finding Hana?
The loud noise from the room attracted the attention of the nearby bandits, and they glanced at one another, rushing to Leonaut’s room.
“Hana, we need to run!”
“Okay!”
Hana hurriedly got down from the bed, joining Cecil.
Cecil unsheathed her daggers on her hip, and the two of them proceeded to run out of the room.
***
Xue strode through the woods, wearing an impassive look on his face. However, the unwelcoming and gloomy atmosphere around him says otherwise. It was strong enough to be sensed by the animals and creatures in the woods, scattering upon laying their eyes on the frightening man.
They were scared to even alert the man, scattering away as quietly as they could.
Kai: “Right.”
Alric: “Go right, I-I think.”
Zasiok: “Definitely to the right.”
Xue turned to the right instantly, his eyebrows twitching.
Xue: “One of you speaking is enough.”
Kai gestured at the other two to be quiet, pointing to himself. After all, he was the first soul to be absorbed and the most experienced one among them all.
The three of them were seated at the lobby area, their mannerisms completely different from one another. Zasiok shrugged at Kai and Alric wore a concerned look on his face. Kai closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Kai: “Left.”
Xue turned to the left, walking for a few seconds until Kai spoke up again.
Kai: “North.”
Xue turned to his north, walking.
Kai: “Left.”
Xue turned again.
Kai: “Wait, right.”
Xue barely turned again before Kai interrupted him.
Kai: “Ah, no, left!”
Kai: “Hold on, back to right.”
Kai: “Right again--left.”
Xue: “...”
Xue closed his eyes in frustration, and the swirling blue surrounding his spear glowed brighter than ever. He gave it an angry swing, the attack slicing the air and the trees in half, the animals in the woods flew into a panic, some of them even digging into the ground, hiding desperately as their little bodies shivered.
The woods were filled with the sounds of trees collapsing onto the ground, as if they were crying out in injustice, along with the animals.
Kai opened his eyes, jolting back as he almost cursed out in shock.
Alric’s expression mimicked those pitiful animals that suffered Xue’s wrath.
Zasiok rested his chin on his hand, sighing.
Xue: “Do it properly.”
Kai: “...I’m sorry, sir.”
Zasiok: “Did you really have to destroy those trees? They did nothing--”
Alric covered Zasiok’s mouth, gesturing for him to remain quiet. Zasiok pried Alric’s hand off his mouth, gesturing back to him that he understood, wiping his mouth.
Kai recovered from his shock, feeling indignant.
Kai: “...hold on, why am I apologising? It’s not my fault the guy is walking around like that! I’m only telling you where he is!”
Xue: “I don’t care, hurry up.”
Kai felt aggrieved, regretting his decision to take the role to lead Xue. If it wasn’t for Hana and Cecil being kidnapped, he wouldn’t even help this ungrateful bastard.
***
Cecil and Hana stood back to back, finding themselves surrounded by bandits. Since Hana hadn’t properly acquired her second soulbound weapon, she couldn’t fight as much as compared to Cecil. Moreover, with the energy dampening lanterns here as well, it only made the situation worse for them.
Cecil sighed in her heart.
Once we head back to the academy, no matter what, Hana needs to go for the sword mound expedition to get her next weapon.
There was only so much Cecil could fight off on her own. In addition to that, she still hadn’t gotten over the trauma of injuring people with her daggers, thus, she couldn’t fight freely like she did in the alleyway.
“Hey, come on now, try defeating us all.”
“That’s right, or should we give you a chance?”
A few bandits guffawed at their comrade’s words.
“Pretty ladies shouldn’t be fighting.”
"That's right, that's right."
"Then what should we be doing?" Hana questioned innocently.
The bandits were taken aback by Hana. She was actually genuinely asking, clueless as to what they were implying.
Cecil didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Hana's response.
"That is, uhh...you know..."
"Pleasing--"
Cecil threw her dagger at the man speaking, and he halted in his words to dodge the dagger. Cecil glared at the bandits, calling back her dagger.
"Don't listen to them Hana," Cecil muttered out. "They are just spouting nonsense."
"Hmm! Okay!" Hana nodded.
Another bandit clicked his tongue, rushing at Cecil. "Throw them back onto the bed before boss reaches here!"
The bandits stiffened before moving, they were afraid of their boss finding out that they let these two women escape from the room.
"Who even let them out anyway?!"
"They knocked Kid and Kuro out!"
"That Kuro? You kidding me?! Did he try touching them or something?"
"Knowing Kuro, yes."
Cecil sidestepped the bandit heading for her, pulling Hana aside as well. Hana stumbled with a yelp, before smiling at Cecil gratefully.
"Just dodge them Hana, I'll handle the fighting."
"Okayyyy!"
Another bandit went in, aiming for Cecil with his sword. Cecil exhaled shakily, squeezing her eyes open and close.
I have no other choice.
I need to hurt them to get out of here with Hana.
Be it my trauma for injuring them, or Hana's trauma to seeing violence because of Xue, I have to do it.
Cecil rushed forward as well, ducking from his fists, using the momentum to slash the bandit on the side of his waist. Cecil panted, turning away from the sight of the blood.
The bandit cried out, clutching his waist and he knelt onto the ground. The next second, he felt someone stepping onto him and he found himself kissing the cold, hard ground.
Cecil used him as a step to launch herself into the air, her eyes fixed onto the two bandits cornering Hana. Hana tried her best to dodge them, following Cecil's commands to not attack them.
She had nothing to hurt them with in the first place, and she had never fought with her fists before.
"Hana, close your eyes!"
Hana avoided them once more and she shut her eyes, trusting Cecil. The two bandits stumbled, before spinning around and lunging for Hana.
Cecil dropped onto them, daggers sinking into their shoulders, and her sudden weight made them fall, dragging them onto the ground just as she landed. She withdrew her daggers, closing her eyes slightly when she spotted blood spurting out from their wounds, looking away.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
Cecil turned around to respond to Hana, when she froze.
"Sure, you can."
Hana felt someone's arm draping around her shoulders, and she opened her eyes in surprise. She glanced at the stranger beside her that uttered those words, immediately recognising him.
This man...is really another part of Xue.
Leonaut stood beside Hana, looking at her with a smirk on his face. After which, he glanced at Cecil, pulling Hana closer to him.
"Boss!"
Cecil stood up, keeping her daggers before Hana saw them. She didn't dare look down to see the blood stains on them, or on her fingers. She felt that if she saw them, her hands would start trembling uncontrollably.
"So, you wanna escape from this place?" Leonaut twirled his flute around his hands. "With Hana?"
Hana blinked before she gasped. "You know my name?"
Leonaut just chuckled, ruffling her hair and Hana made a noise. He then looked back at Cecil, still smirking.
"Yes, we plan to escape."
Leonaut nodded with a hum, his smirk growing wider. "That's fine, I'll allow you to."
"What's the condition?" Cecil asked, knowing that Leonaut would not let them go for free.
"If you land a hit on me." Leonaut dropped his arm from Hana's shoulder. "I'll let you and Hana go."
***
《 start 》
With you and Hana by my side, I felt at peace.
I felt...happy.
I felt myself changing, with you by my side.
Now that you aren't here, it reminds me of how alone I was before.
Without Hana.
Without you.
...without you here, it's worse, Cecil Lan.
So much more worse.
《 stop 》