System Change

With their enemies taken care of, Derek and his group made to leave the palace courtyard. The entire area was a mess with splotches of sand, unlevel earth, deep cut in the ground, and general destruction, but that had nothing to do with him. The King could figure all that stuff out when he got back home.

Edward called on one of the servants left in the palace and handed the surviving guard, Brandt, off to him. The guard was only unconscious now. He would wake in time. Avery had revived him, and Edward pumped him full of potions afterward. He just needed some rest.

“We can go now.” Edward said, and they all began their trek back to the Teleportation Building under the murmurs and gazes of onlookers. What happened here today would surely be gossiped about for a while, or at least until something else big happened.

Avery left the group about a quarter of the way back. He had to get back to the restaurant and his recruits. He had left the two boys in the middle of training without giving them much of an explanation. Derek couldn’t help but smile because the man’s eyes lit up just like his voice did when he talked about them. It seemed the man really enjoyed having disciples.

“Well… that was uneventful.” Derek said as they walked through the giant city.

“I know.” Edgar replied. “I really expected more out of the Vice Leader of the Assassin’s Guild. I didn’t even get to go all out. It was all too easy.”

“She seemed a bit worse for wear because of Avery. It would have been a better fight if she was fresh.” Derek said.

“Are the two of you crazy?” Edward cut in. “Uneventful? Easy? Do you know what I just went through? Do you know what it’s like to have both of your arms cut off?”

“Yes.” Edgar said.

“Y-you do?” Edward was flabbergasted.

“Unlike some member of my family, I don’t take it easy when I’m training.” Edgar said.

Derek nodded. “You get your best skill ups when you’re in real fights.” He looked at Edgar. “You had both of your arms cut off?”

Edgar nodded. “Yeah. I was in a dungeon a couple of years ago. Have you fought any of those Mantis’s with the scythe-like arms?”

“The wind ones?” Derek asked.

“Yeah, those.” Edgar confirmed. “I was fighting a boss type, and lost an arm early on in the fight. Then at the end, I gave up my other arm to finish it off. My team was there to help put me back together, though. What about you?”

“People.” Derek said. “People are the worst.”

“What happened?”

“Ambush.” Derek began. “I walked straight into it. One of those mistakes you don’t make twice. Usually, you don’t get to make it once. I got lucky. It’s one of the reasons I love my Endurance and Vitality so much. Lost my arm in the ambush. When I finished the fight, my remaining arm had multiple fractures. It was a pain, and I didn’t have a team to help put me back together.”

“Yeah… the two of you are insane.” Edward said. “How come I never heard about you losing your arms?” he asked Edgar.

“Loose lips sink ships.” Derek answered.

“I like that.” Edgar said. “Never heard it before.”

“It’s a saying where I come from.” Derek said. “Like snitches get stitches.”

“I like that, too. I’ll have to remember those.” Edgar said. “But to answer your question, brother. My team knows when to talk and when to keep their mouths shut.”

The three continued their small talk all the way back to Savannah. It took much longer to get back when you weren’t guzzling Mana Potions and using skills. By the time they made it back to the Crown Restaurant in Savannah, it was dark out.

The three men were escorted back up to their original room where the King, Alanah, and Natalie were still waiting for them.

“You took your time getting back.” Alanah said. “Avery reported in over an hour ago.”

Derek smiled. “Well, we weren’t in a rush this time, and I wanted to see a little bit of the capital.”

“Wait. You knew?” The King butted in. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Alanah shrugged. “You didn’t ask. I’m surprised your people hasn’t sent you anything.”

“About that.” Edward said. “Brandt is probably still unconscious. He was beaten pretty good. He’s lucky Avery showed up when he did.”

“That’s good. I was worried.” The King replied. “So, what happened? Did you capture Gerald?”

“Of course we did.” Edgar pulled out his seat and flopped down. He grabbed a fork and dug into whatever was in front of him. “Actually, it was a letdown. Too easy.”

“Oh, here we go again.” Edward facepalmed.

“What?” The King asked.

Edward sighed. “I got my ass kicked, is what. I was nothing more than a spectator while Avery fought three people, then when the Shadow Witch got bored with me, Avery had to fight four people.”

“That doesn’t sound like it was too easy.” The King said.

“Well…” Edward started. “Then these two showed up.” He pointed out Derek and Edgar. Derek had taken his seat at this point and was working on finishing a glass of wine. He didn’t really like wine. “Instantly, they took Gerald out, then Avery got loose again. After that, it was over. I didn’t even see Avery beat his opponent. One second he was cutting himself out of some vines, the next second, I blinked and he was reattaching my arms.”

“Reattaching your arms?” The King let out a gasp.

“Yeah. The Shadow Witch cut them off so I would stop trying to help Avery.” Edward said. “As if he needed it.” He muttered under his breath.

“That damn Assassin’s Guild.” The King clenched his fist.

“It was strange, though. She wouldn’t kill me… even when Gerald commanded her to.”

After that, Edward described everything that went down in full detail. He was there from the beginning and hadn’t missed anything.

“So, where is Gerald?” The King asked. “You didn’t put him in the dungeon, did you?”

Derek raised his hand. “I have him… and the others.”

“You have them? What does that mean?” King Edwin asked.

“Do you want to see?” Derek smiled and stood.

Alanah already knew, and Edgar and Edward had watched him used Time prison. Derek felt confident enough in his own strength to reveal more about himself. Plus, now that Gerald was captured, he didn’t need to worry as much about his companions anymore.

Derek walked to an open space and ripped the void open, revealing the door to his Time Prison.

“Alanah.” Derek said. “It would be best if you came in and stopped Gerald from contacting anyone. He still has all his storage rings and stuff. When I open the door, I’m pretty sure he will be able to use his communication crystals.”

“How interesting.” Alanah stood and walked beside Derek.

Derek reached out and opened the door. The light from the room shined into the Time Prison, illuminating the dark lobby. As soon as the door opened, two heads turned to look at the new arrivals.

“After you.” Derek said.

Alanah shrugged and walked inside. If that wasn’t a display of trust, Derek didn’t know what was. He could basically close the door and trap her, yet she walked in without any questions. Derek followed.

The Shadow Witch and Gerald jumped to their feet.

“Stop.” Alanah said, and Derek felt it.

He had the urge to stop moving, but he could fight it. The Shadow Witch also fought it after some time, but Gerald was frozen.

Alanah’s gaze landed on the Shadow Witch. “You go wait at the side.”

The pale woman frowned, but moved to the side. Derek smiled, then walked over beside the Shadow Witch. Not because some of Alanah’s command landed on him, but because he wanted to make sure she didn’t try something, like contacting her guild. Definitely not because of Alanah… nope.

“She’s pretty scary, isn’t she?” Derek whispered to the woman.

The woman clicked her tongue, but didn’t answer.

“So, do you think you could have beaten Edgar if you weren’t injured or fatigued?” He asked.

The woman shot Derek a nasty look. If looks could kill, he would be dead. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “No.”

“Surprisingly honest.” Derek said.

“I may have been able to escape.” She continued. “What was that skill you used when you arrived? How did you move like that?”

“Trade secret.” Derek smiled. From what he gathered, the woman, even though she was an assassin, hadn’t actually killed anyone. Cliff and the plant user was responsible for the deaths of Edward’s guard, even if the Shadow Witch had immobilized them in the first place. And when it came to killing Edward, she refused. He was interested in hearing her side of things.

“Done.” Derek heard Alanah say.

He looked over and almost burst into a fit of laughter. Gerald was standing in front of Alanah, naked except for a piece of cloth wrapped around his waist. Alanah was shuffling multiple storage rings in her hand.

“Good talk.” Derek said to the pale woman as he walked toward Alanah.

“Follow.” Alanah to Gerald, and he fell in line behind her as she led him out into the restaurant.

“Catch you later!” Derek shouted at the Shadow Witch as he closed the door behind himself.

“Neat trick.” Natale said. Her eyes glowed as she watched Derek close the tear in space. “Void?”

Damn, that woman is scary. Derek thought as he looked back at her. He shrugged.

“More and more interesting.” Natalie said before shifting her focus to the near naked Gerald. “Now, what do we do with you?”

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