Chapter 136 - A Surreal Encounter

"Are you alright, Master?"

X asked as Rynold wiped his nose. There wasn't anything there, but Rynold would feel more at ease if he wiped.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's keep going."

The feeling of somebody talking about him aside, Rynold kept moving forward. He had been on his feet since he left the orphanage, refamiliarizing his feeling with his leg.

'Luckily, the mercenaries had some first aid with them. I wouldn't know how to fight without a working leg.'

Rynold glanced at the stints that supported his leg. It wasn't the best medical care, but it was better than nothing.

Maintaining their pace, Rynold and X traversed a regular path that was rather uninhabited. The direction they were heading was the hilltop that the mercenaries had pointed them to.

The journey that the two had set out on was quiet throughout. That is until X suddenly spoke.

"Master. Why are you helping these people?"

It was uncharacteristic for the Mech Knight to initiate the conversation, much less ask questions. But, Rynold was rather proud for X to seek the reason for doing things.

"I can't really say for sure," Rynold answered, "All I know is that it's the right thing to do."

"How can you tell that it's the right thing?"

Rynold stopped walking and stared at X. Truthfully, Rynold was surprised that X asked him a question like that, catching him off-guard. However, he was glad all the same.

"You see, X. People have their own definitions of right and wrong. Good and bad. To me, this is the right thing. People won't usually understand that and often deny it. You're still young, so your definition of the 'right' thing may not be defined yet. But, to me... Doing this just feels right."

Rynold tapped X on the back and continued walking. The Mech Knight simply stared in silence as he tried to comprehend what his Master had just said. Following a brief moment of standing still, the Mech Knight soon followed.

As the two continued on their trek, they passed by a few enemy squads unnoticed. In fact, the squads seemed rather distracted and demoralized. It was as if they had lost the will to live.

Rynold paid no attention to them whatsoever and continued. In his mind, so long as the soldiers don't terrorize the innocent, leaving them alone should be fine.

Soon, the two reached the foot of the hill where the Duke supposedly was. Unfortunately for them, though, enemy soldiers covered the path up.

The only other way up was an extremely steep ledge.

'Hmm...'

Rynold currently had a couple of options.

One option was for him to shoot his grapple up, find the Duke, and 'convince' him to stop the cull. Another option was for him to go up and gather intel. It was an effective recon mission to know what the actual goal of the Duke was.

And, lastly, he could assassinate and kill him, ending the entire mess by killing the snake off its head.

However, Rynold was skeptical if any of the options laid in front of him would work.

The Duke was sure to have guards around him; that much is obvious. The guards would also be likely to have access to Mana, making them formidable foes.

The most important factor to consider was the fact that the Duke could also be a Magic User. No, Rynold was sure that the Duke was one. There was a chance that the Duke would be the most powerful one out there.

With those things in mind, the most sensible to do was to try and figure things out. Rynold could act straight away if things go wrong, after all, considering how close he is to the head of the operation.

"Stay here," Rynold ordered.

The situation called for stealth. Taking the Mech Knight with him with his huge metallic body might not be the best idea.

Pulling the Miniature Floating Platform back out from his inventory, Rynold stepped aboard and floated. Steep ledges don't really have an effect on a person that could fly.

Rynold easily made his way up, stopping only a few inches from the hilltop. From where he was, Rynold could hear a conversation between people.

"My Lord, you shouldn't strain yourself!"

It was a relatively worrying tone that accompanied a womanly voice. From what Rynold could tell, there was something going on with the Duke's health.

"I'm fine," the voice of a man answered as the sound of something rustling went on.

'Hm?' Rynold continued to listen in on their conversation.

"Is the stage prepared?" the Duke asked.

"Yes, My Lord. Everything is prepared as you've requested."

"Good. It's time to move out. Tell the squad captains that we're headed to the castle in five minutes."

'The castle?'

Rynold's eyes widened. What's the point of doing all this when he's just going to storm the damned castle at the end? Was there a point in him continuously and savagely ordering people to die?

However, his expression sank even more once he realized something else entirely.

'Lissa!'

His mind raced. Rynold was currently at a crossroads, not knowing which he should take care of first.

He could, idealistically, stop the Duke right now. Simply rushing to him when he least expects it was viable, but Rynold wasn't sure if he should do it. There were unforeseen circumstances that he had to take into account.

"Soon, you'll be back in my arms..."

Rynold overheard the Duke talking to himself. It appeared that the man was longing for someone. Someone that he had so willingly committed manslaughter for.

Regardless, Rynold knew he couldn't let this easily pass. Now was not the time for second-guessing.

No, it was time to act.

Commanding the Miniature Floating Platform, Rynold decisively elevated himself to the hilltop. From there, he alighted, put the Miniature Floating Platform back in his inventory, and stormed the tent that the Duke was in.

He was sure that the Duke didn't expect someone to come up to him from the steep side of the hill.

Rynold held his breath as he entered the tent. He made sure that he was quiet, not daring to make a single sound. His hands were in the shape of knuckles, ready to strike down the moment he got close.

"Where you the one who harmed my good-for-nothing son?"

The Duke casually addressed Rynold's entrance. He didn't even spare Rynold a glance as he stared so deeply into the orb he was holding. Rynold was only spotted because of the orb's reflection.

It was unlucky.

Rynold's breath felt cold. He couldn't shake the feeling of danger as soon as the Duke acknowledged his existence.

Was it possible for a person to emanate such a cold aura? Rynold started to doubt even himself.

"So what if I am?"

Rynold could barely control the shaking in his voice. Every one of his five senses was telling him to run. Whoever this guy was, it was much more dangerous than literally anything that Rynold had come across.

"No matter," the Duke said as he slowly turned around. "An ant should cower in the face of a god."

Without even so much as a single chant, black mist poured out of the Duke's hand. The Duke directed the black mist all headed towards Rynold.

Rynold quickly rolled to the side, evading the black mist with relative ease. He didn't have to sense to tell that whatever the black mist was, it was dangerous.

However, the black mist didn't stop.

As soon as Rynold dodged to the side, the black mist simply followed him. There was no resistance in the air or any sharp movements that indicated a physical body. No, it was like a poisonous gas that was following only him.

'Shit.'

Now backed in a corner, Rynold had no other choice. He raised his Mana Gauntlets to guard. None of his Accord Spheres were deployed, making Rynold fend for himself.

As the black mist collided with the Mana Gauntlet, an explosion occurred. The force of which managed to throw Rynold out of the tent, ripping the thick fabric. The shock of both the explanation and Rynold being thrown back caused him to lose consciousness.

Thrown off the steep cliffside, Rynold was now hurtling towards the ground at incredible speed. Unfortunately, Rynold was out cold.

Looking up, X saw Rynold getting thrown off the cliff. Immediately, the Mech Knight planted his longsword on the ground.

Without even a second thought, X jumped and caught Rynold as they both headed towards the ground.

With X's metallic body, Rynold didn't feel the shock of the landing at all. Or, at least, the shock didn't manage to wake him up.

Still, it all seemed to happen too fast.

Rynold had lost consciousness because of a split-second occurrence. He didn't even have the time to establish why the thing had exploded.

And, now that he was out cold, Rynold couldn't do anything about it.

X tried his best to wake Rynold up. However, no matter how many shakes, slaps, or sounds, Rynold didn't seem like he would wake up anytime soon.

What's worse, X saw what the Mana Gauntlets Rynold wore looked like. The usual metallic shine that gave off a vibe of rustic was no more. Instead, it appeared to be decaying.

So, what do they do now?

"The curse magic is running through your veins."

Waking up in a murky, dark place, Rynold looked around. He couldn't recognize where he was or the person that talked to him.

"Where am I?"

Rynold couldn't move. He was on his back and could barely even open his eyes to see. Not that there was anything to look at, anyway.

"Why your mind, of course."

The voice reached out once more. From what Rynold could tell, the person that was talking to him wasn't anything ordinary. What's more, her voice seemed caring and warm.

"Oh. I'm doomed, aren't I?"

Rynold didn't feel sad that it had come to this. No. It was a lot similar to frustration. Frustrated by the fact that he couldn't do anything more. However, he wholeheartedly accepted the fact that he was dying.

"No, child. Allow me to lend a hand."

With a serene smell, Rynold's mind became clear, clearer than it's ever been. From the original murkiness became clear. The air around him felt safe and smelled sweet. Rynold hadn't felt as peaceful as this before.

Rynold was still on his back. As he opened his eyes to see, his vision was immediately greeted by a pristine looking surrounding. It was white to the touch. Furthermore, a woman was floating above him, staring deeply into his eyes.

"Why help me?"

"Child, you've done so much to protect the natural order of things. I should at least return the favor."

"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

Naturally, Rynold was curious. Nothing about this made any sense. He hadn't done anything that supposedly protected things; he just did what he felt was right. So, why the hell is someone omnipotent as this woman helping him?

"I am Lumie," the woman introduced herself. "An Emissary of Order. I have been watching you closely, young one. I originally did it as a favor to an old friend; however, I have never seen someone fight against the strings of fate in his sleep."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Rynold sat up as soon as he heard Lumie's explanation. The Emissary of Order followed Rynold's movements and moved to continue her stares deep into Rynold's eyes.

Now with a clearer mindset, Rynold looked at the Emissary of Order's appearance. Lumie wore clothes that were rather simple and modest, but it was clean to the touch. She also was emanating a magnificently beautiful area that radiated divinity and light.

To Rynold, the experience of being around the Emissary of Order was indescribable.

"Can you start from the beginning? What do you mean by an old friend? It's that arrogant blowhard, isn't it? Who in the right mind would tell a person like you to watch an insignificant human of all things? What the hell is that guy thinking?!"

Rynold's confusion spoke for itself.