A PROMISE TO FULFILL

Chapter 4

34.

In a meteoric speed, the party sprints out as they head to Coronn. They are planning to at least stop for a while in Bysstal but it looks like they cannot afford to do so. Stopping at Bysstal increases the risk of exposing Kane's identity, even though it's inexorable, they are delaying it as much as possible in order for them to investigate more, silently.

Hours of travel slowly dispatched the tension. Hunger is the only thing that reminds them that they are travelling the whole day. The party camped far away from Bysstal's main town, they wanted to stay in the small village nearby, where they first investigated Kane, but they all know it is not worth the risk. As the sun settles, they are already prepared the things they need to start a fire and cook for their dinner. While preparing, a carriage seems to head their way.

"Look, it's heading right towards us" Ryuu pointed out.

"Should we escape?" Reiko asked.

"No, let's see what happens from here" Kane answered.

"That might be an important message from Gramps" Akari hypothesized.

The carriage stopped in front of them and an old lady came down.

"Who's that?" Ryuu asked.

"Wait, I remember her… Reiko, that's the old lady before!" Akari answered.

"Oh, that's why she looks familiar" Reiko responded.

"I'm happy that you still remember me" The old lady said.

"What do you want?" Kane asked.

"Wait… I recognized that voice… Have we met before?" The old lady asked.

"No, maybe you mistakenly recognized my voice for someone else's voice" Kane answered.

"While on the road, my son right here said that he saw a campfire, I have a feeling that I might meet someone I know that's why I told him to head this way. Fortunately, I am right" the old lady explained.

"Good thing your son accompanies you now" Akari mentioned.

"Eeeeeeh, Ever since that incident happened, my son does not want to let me go out alone. By the way you should come join us for dinner, I bought some ingredients, you can also sleep on our place instead of camping here" the old lady offered.

"Should we take the offer?" Reiko whispered.

"I honestly really want to…" Ryuu whispered back.

"She looks like she doesn't know anything about Kane tho…" Akari added.

"Ooooy Captain, What do you say?" Ryuu whispered to Kane.

"Stop whispering, this old lady can't hear you. Come now, I insist. Something tells me that I should offer some delicious food and warm shelter" the old lady insisted.

"Fine, but we will leave first thing in the morning" Kane replied.

"YEHEEEEY!" Ryuu shouted.

"Thank you for your kindness" Akari said.

The party heads down to the small village where the old lady resides. They eventually had a delicious dinner. Afterwards, since they were in a hurry and couldn't shop in broad daylight, Kane offered to buy every goods the old lady have, twice the original price. Akari, Reiko, and Ryuu already expected Kane to do it and they are speechless because Kane did it. With a favorable deal on both ends, the old lady agreed. The night goes deeper and everyone is on their bed, meanwhile a sudden realization enters Akari's mind.

-Kane is not the type of person that talks frequently… and yet… The old lady recognizes his voice. Plus the old lady said that she should cook for us. I remember her offering to cook for us once we expressed her gratitude to the person that saved her… I think she feels that it was Kane that saved her… I strongly felt the same way the second time I bumped into him…

The next morning, the party left the village. Since they already replenished their inventory, they don't need to stop at Suanga. A few weeks later, after camping outside every night, they finally reached Coronn.

Coronn is a real nature's beauty, white sand, clear blue sea, humongous rocks, and marvelous palm trees. Everything harmoniously blends to each other, including the species existing in the area.

"WWOOOOOOOOOOOWW" Ryuu, Akari, and Reiko synchronously reacted.

"THIS IS BEAUTIFUL, NEE-SAN BURY MO ON THE SAND!" Ryuu said.

"You want me to bury you alive? That's weird" Reiko responded.

"Nooo, I mean bury my whole body but not including my face" Ryuu replied.

"Sounds fun! Me too!" Akari added.

"Don't get too distracted, focus on the mission first" Kane intervened.

"First… meaning to say we can still do this after the mission?" Reiko clarified.

"Depends if the mission does not take that long" Kane answered.

"YOOOOOOOOSHA! LET'S DO THIS" Ryuu said.

"He looks fired up, let's do our best!" Akari responded.

"Hai hai, now we need to formulate a plan to catch those pirates" Reiko replied.

"How are we gonna catch them?" Ryuu asked.

"First we need to locate where the spiky turquoise resides. For sure they will head there, then the only thing we have to do is to wait and capture them" Reiko answered.

"So it's a surprise attack, that is a good plan!" Ryuu praised.

"But how are we gonna know who's the alchemist?" Akari questioned.

"I haven't thought of that but I'm pretty much sure Kane will figure things out" Reiko said.

The party started to search the place. They tried asking the locals about where the spiky turquoise resides but the locals don't want to give more info about the turquoise. Most of them will randomly point in a direction then run away. The effect of the pirates hunting the native species makes the locals avoid giving information even to tourists.

"AAAAHHH, This is frustrating, we've been to different locations that they pointed but we haven't found the spiky dudes" Ryuu complained.

"I thought this won't be that hard but it looks like we need to gain their trust first before they spill what we want" Reiko added.

"Maybe we should just locate them ourselves?" Akari suggested.

"That will take some time, Coronn is bigger than you thought. They don't have a guild here but random tribes are spread in the area" Kane argued.

"Looks like we won't be spending time relaxing here, DAMN THOSE PIRATES!" Ryuu shouted.

While the party was trying to formulate a new strategy, they heard a sudden movement in the bush. Kane wields his Demonic Black Scythe, due to his overwhelming aura while holding the item. The person hiding in the bush runs as fast as he can. The party immediately chases him and shortly catches the kid who's hiding on the brush.

"Speak" Kane pointed the scythe.

"PLEASE SPARE ME, I DIDN'T MEAN TO EAVESDROP!" The kid begged.

"You are scaring a kid again, I'll handle this one" Akari pushed Kane.

"What's your name?" Akari softly asked.

"I'm Totep" Totep answered.

"What are you doing in the bush?" Akari asked.

"I heard you asking about the spiky turquoise earlier, I followed you to see if I can trust you because I cannot beat those pirates alone. The villagers are afraid of the pirates, that's why none of us wants to interfere, but I don't like it that way…" Totep explained.

"Finally! Our task is actually to beat those pirates, want to join us little kiddo?" Ryuu offered.

"I'm not a little kid anymore! Let's fight them right away!" Totep furiously answered.

"That's the spirit! Let's beat those dudes into pulps!" Ryuu responded.

"Well that was quick.." Reiko whispered.

35.

Since they finally have someone who can lead where the spiky turquoise are, the party immediately moves as they plan. But unfortunately the ambush won't be an option because the pirates camp where the spiky turquoise resides, helding them as a prisoner.

Totep showed them a Coronn's map wherein different villages and caves are in detail. In the far north of Coronn, there is a cave near the shore, pirate ships are anchored in close proximity.

"Soooo we can't do an ambush, what now?" Ryuu asked.

"We still can" Kane argued.

"But how are we going to ambush them if they are already there?" Ryuu questioned.

"Ambush means attacking in surprise, it doesn't matter who gets there first" Kane answered.

"Kane has a point, but what if they use those spiky turquoise as hostages?" Akari asked.

"Don't worry, I learned a new skill. I can turn their vision into pitch black for a short period of time, probably more than a minute." Kane explained.

"WOOOOOOW TRY IT ON ME!" Ryuu requested.

"Black out" Kane casted a magic that turns Ryuu's eyesight into total darkness, the skill also adds fear to the target.

"Oy Ryuu are you fine?" Akari asked.

Ryuu drops into the sand, trembling in fear.

"Weeeeeell that's what you get, you asked for it" Reiko responded.

"I minimize the effect on Ryuu, he is probably shaking due to the additional debuff on that skill. Anyway, once I used that, charge in and apprehend the pirates quickly" Kane instructed.

"I think this is also a good opportunity to expose the alchemist…" Reiko mentioned.

"Really? Why?" Akari asked.

"There are different reactions when we all encounter fear. For example, in Ryuu's case, we all know that he is a scaredy-cat, even though the spell ended, he is still knocked down by fear. There are numerous possibilities on how a person reacts to fear " Reiko explained.

"Meaning to say that the alchemist might do something to remove the spell…" Akari hypothesized.

"That can be a possibility, we just have to be observant, and study their reaction first, Kane said it lasts more than a minute so let's just watch for 30 seconds then apprehend them" Reiko suggested.

"That's my nee-san right there" Ryuu boasted to Totep.

"You bounce back real quick" Totep commented.

"Let's move" Kane ordered.

"HAI!" Everyone responded.

Alongside Totep, the party immediately moved towards the northern part of Coronn. As they reach their destination, they gradually slow down and sneak to a closer proximity. In that instant, Kane casted his skill once again.

"Black out" Kane cast a terrifying skill that shuts the target's eyesight. Removing their vision and covering them in fear.

The pirates randomly reacted to the skill. Some screamed, some tried to wield their weapon into a defensive stance, while others trembled on the floor. After a 30 second observation, they round them all up then the discussion towards identifying the alchemist follows.

"I think this guy with a bandana is the alchemist, he keeps on touching his pockets. Maybe he is trying to find something to use to counter the skill" Ryuu said.

"I think this guy with an eye patch is the alchemist, he switched his eyepatch to the other side to test if both of his eyes are still working. Pirates cover the other eye so that they can use that to see well in the dark but he keeps on switching the eyepatch coz both are not working. That's a sign of experimenting or some sort, using logic to solve the problem." Akari argued.

"No, I think that this bald guy is the alchemist. He immediately crawled into a corner then tried his best to avoid collision with the other pirates. He prioritizes his safety rather than panicking because he knows he is an important person to the Mad scientist" Reiko responded.

"What are you guys blabbering about? None of us is a scientist, are you guys blind? Can't you see we are all pirates?" one of the pirates shouted.

"Maybe you are the Alchemist! You are being too defensive!" Ryuu shouted back.

"Anooo….. May I free the turquoise now?" Totep Asked.

"Sure, free them and lead them somewhere far from here, we will take care of these pirates" Akari replied.

"Thank you!" Totep said as he rushed to unleash the spiky turquoise.

"I know who it is, grab that long hair man" Kane said.

"Him? Why him? He did not even do anything" Ryuu argued.

"Exactly, he reacts well. Instead of panicking, he just sat down there, closed his eyes and tried his best to use his hearing instead. He even immediately reacts when we are walking towards him. He did not resist when we apprehend them. It's like he is not afraid of anything even though he is not strong. It's rare for someone to not be afraid of something, and it looks like his soul has already left his body." Kane explained.

"Now that you mentioned, He actually looks quite different from the rest of them, he is less barbaric in the outside image but also lifeless?" Akari responded.

"I'm the alchemist, please kill me" the long-haired man said.

"Wait what now?" Ryuu commented.

"Want me to prove it? You can go ahead and check my luggage on our ship. I won't tell you anything about the mad scientist…. Please kill me instead…" the alchemist stated.

"Well this is an unexpected plot twist.. Ryuu go and check their ship, we'll wait you here" Reiko instructed

"Hai!" Ryuu swiftly goes to the pirates' ship.

"If your luggage can prove you're the alchemist, how come that your own crewmate never knew about it?" Akari questioned.

"We… We respect each other's space…" the bald guy embarrassedly answered.

"That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard" Reiko commented.

"HEY WE ALL HIDE SOMETHING!" the bald guy defensively shouted.

"Hurry up and kill me already!" the alchemist intervened.

"If you really want to die, why won't you just kill yourself?" Kane questioned.

"Killing myself is too selfish. I want to die in somebody else's hands… The way they end up on mine…" the alchemist confessed.

*After some minute, Ryuu comes back, carrying a bag*

"I found this bag, there's some empty vials on the packets and some weird powder and herbs." Ryuu said.

"Yeah… That's his bag" the bald guy said.

"You knew it was his bag but never found out that he was an alchemist? Unbelievable.." Reiko said disappointedly.

"Hey we don't judge each other here! I thought he was a doctor, or somesort..." the bald guy answered.

"I'm done talking with you…" Reiko responded.

"What should we do now?" Akari asked.

"For now, we'll take everyone back." Kane instructed.

"How?" Ryuu responded.

"Mych gave me this crystal. She said that it will teleport the user to her location, the number of people that can be transported depends on the amount of mana that the user has." Kane explained.

"I do understand why we are taking the alchemist but why are we taking the other pirates?" Reiko questioned.

"Waste of meat" Kane directly answered.

"I should have not asked…" Reiko whispered.

"Nee-san what does Captain mean by that?" Ryuu whispered to Reiko.

"You know, Mystic forest, food chain" Reiko whispered back.

"OOooooh… I should have not asked...:" Ryuu replied.

Kane twisted the crystal and in that instant, a magic circle appeared in both the sky and the ground. The magic circle kept on expanding and it almost reached the whole border of Coronn.

"CAPTAIN, I THINK YOU ARE EXERTING TOO MUCH MANA!" Ryuu panickedly screamed.

Kane immediately lessens the mana he is exerting, the magic circle shrinks but they teleport the pirate ship with them, creating a huge earthquake upon landing on the forest.

*Mych cannot say a word*

"Hehehe, gomenasai" Akari embarrassedly apologized.

"Captain almost teleports the villages in Coronn! THAT'S SO AMAZING!" Ryuu shouted.

"Good thing Totep and most of the Spiky turquoise gain some distance" Reiko said.

"Most?" Mych questioned.

"There's a pair of Spiky turquoise over there" Reiko pointed to their left side.

"My bad, it's my first time using this crystal" Kane said.

"Aaaa… at least you have new species here, plus we even brought some supplies.. Hehe" Akari bargained.

"OY WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY SUPPLY? WE ARE NOT SOME CONSUMABLE MEAT!" the bald guy complained.

"I guess it is also my fault for not clearly explaining things to Kane" Mych responded.

"Anyway, so you already found your target, how was your trip?" Mych asked.

"EVERYTHING IS IN SHAMBLES! THEY KNOW, AND WE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY KNOW BUT WE KNEW IT WHEN SOMEONE SAID THEY KNOW. SOME OF THEM DON'T KNOW THEN WE DON'T KNOW WHO KNOWS THAT'S WHY WE LEFT!" Ryuu excitedly but randomly tells the story.

"Hahahahaha, that sounds interesting~" Mych cutely chuckled.

"I can listen to that laugh all day long…" Ryuu commented.

"What Ryuu is trying to say is that everything is complicated right now" Reiko said.

"It looks like it... You should stick with the alchemist, things might go well from there" Mych suggested.

"That's actually the plan, let's head back to Mechtown" Kane said.

36.

The party ride their wagon and set their course back to Mechtown. After some hours, Kyap is surprised to see them after a month, he expects it to be longer but he has some synopsis on the sudden return. Meanwhile, Hikari welcomed them with tears.

"So what's up? How did you manage to reach your destination and go back after only almost a month?" Kyap asked.

"Mych gave us a crystal that can teleport to her location" Ryuu bragged.

"HAHA! I guess being friends with mythical beings is surely handy, what's up with that gloomy guy?" Kyap added.

"He is the alchemist that we are looking for. We brought him with us coz Captain's order" Ryuu answered.

"Why did you bring him here?" Kyap asked.

"Probably to interrogate him? As expected, he won't spill any information about the Mad Scientist so I don't know what they are planning to do with him" Ryuu answered.

"I told you, You won't get anything from me, just kill me" the alchemist intervened.

"What's up with the attitude?" Kyap questioned.

"He wants to be killed by other people but not by himself" Reiko replied.

"Well that's messed up. Getting information from him is impossible" Kyap commented.

"I remember the guy that Kane caught before, he detonated himself just to avoid spilling information. I guess every pawn of the Mad scientist will do the same thing" Akari mentioned.

"Then why bother bringing him?" Kyap questioned.

"We actually don't know yet but Mych told us to stick with this guy and things will go well" Reiko answered.

"Well, we can't argue with a creature that lives longer than us. I guess you can all just rest here and thoroughly think about your next step tomorrow" Kyap suggested.

"What are we gonna do with him while we are sleeping? Someone might rescue him like what happened before." Ryuu asked.

"No one is going to rescue me. They know about the tracking technique you guys did. They won't risk it just to save me, they have plenty of other alchemist" the alchemist said.

"I thought you weren't gonna spill anything?" Reiko questioned.

"It will be easier for you to dispose of me if I clarify to you that I don't have the value you are expecting" the alchemist answered.

"Should we believe him?" Ryuu asked.

"I think he is telling the truth, plus it logically makes sense if it is true" Akari replied.

"I suggest that we throw him to the jail, we can retrieve him back once all of you have a rest. I already cleanse the system here so don't worry, the knights will do as I say" Kyap suggested.

Since they were tired from their long journey, they took Kyap's offer and put the alchemist in Mechtown's jail. Finally sleeping on a comfy bed after all those campings that they have done.

The next morning, a knight rushes to the guildmaster's room, knocking loudly at the door.

"So noisy… 10 MORE MINUTES PLEASE!" Ryuu shouted.

*Kyap opened the door*

"What's the commotion all about?" Kyap asked.

"Sorry for intruding early in the morning but the knights on duty last night were poisoned and the prisoners escaped" the knight reported.

"WHAT?" Kyap madly reacted.

"I saw the red flag miles away when Kyap threw that line last night…" Reiko commented.

Kyap rushed to the jail together with the whole party.

"I knew that alchemist was lying, of course someone will try to bail him out!" Ryuu said frustratedly.

"Investigate the area. Check every cell for clues" Kane ordered.

Everyone started to thoroughly investigate the area.

"The enchanted map cannot detect his location…" Reiko mentioned.

"Aaano.. Guys.. You might want to see this.." Akari called everyone's attention.

Upon reaching the last cell, they saw the alchemist lying on the bed even though it is not locked.

"Are you here to bring my breakfast?" the alchemist asked.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kyap asked.

"Honestly, the cell where you put me stinks, that's why I moved here" the alchemist answered.

"That's not what Kyap meant! Why did you not escape?" Ryuu responded.

"The question is, why would I? I'll just give you more clues if you manage to catch me after I escape" the alchemist replied.

"But why can't we track you? How did you remove the tracker?" Reiko questioned.

"I'm an alchemist, I can easily figure things out, besides I was bored last night" the alchemist said.

"You disabled the tracker and still think that we can catch you?" Ryuu added.

"I saw that the Fairy you are talking with have animals that can track, I'm quite sure you all can find a way or two. Escaping from your captain is impossible, doing it is just delaying things" the alchemist said.

"Hehe.. We got ourselves a new type of problem…" Akari commented.

After their discussion, they focused on retrieving the other inmates. What truly happened last night was someone came to the station and gave them alcoholic drinks and some food. After examining the leftovers they saw that the drinks have toxins from a herb that made the knights fall asleep. Making it possible for the intruder to unlock every cell.

What the prisoners did not know, Kyap implemented a new tracking system that he learned from Kane. He innovated a bracelet that detonates if not properly disarmed and it also has a tracking spell attached to it. Since it appears on the enchanted map they managed to capture 80% of the prisoners while the rest detonated.

All of the commotions were solved within the day, they now proceed to discuss things with the alchemist for their future plans.

"By the way, we haven't asked you this but what is your name?" Ryuu asked.

"Gali" the alchemist answered.

"Gali is actually skilled, based on my observation" Reiko mentioned.

"He is the first one to disarm my invention without detonating it. I am impressed." Kyap responded.

"It would be handy if he could help you, Kyap-san," Akari opened up.

"Indeed, he'll be a key for more breakthroughs but I doubt he will voluntarily do so" Kyap replied.

"I told you, just kill me and everything will end" Gali intervened.

"I think there's something wrong with his mouth, every time it opens, it will automatically say kill him" Ryuu commented.

"Okay, I'll grant you your wish if you answer this. Do you hate the mad scientist?" Kane asked.

"I guess there's no other way, fine, I'll tell you my story. I used to idolize him, following his footsteps. I've done so much just to be like him until one day, he ordered me to experiment on a little boy. I thought that kid was already dead but when I entered the laboratory, that kid is alive, begging for his life. The mad scientist wanted me to replace his limbs and attach claws from different species. It was a success, and the mad scientist praised me. That's why he put me in charge of an advanced species development project. Later that day I saw the kid in deep sorrow. He thinks he's a freak and all of a sudden he ended his life. My co-workers convinced me that it wasn't my fault. I continued the project and got used to it. After a whole year I woke up and realized how many lives I've ended. The success rate is 70% depending on the host but none of them last because they all ended their own lives…." Gali confessed.

"That's cruel…" Akari commented.

"Now to answer your question, do I hate him? I hate him as much as I hate myself! I ran away and joined the pirates that invaded our facility just to escape that hell… But no matter where I go, it always haunts me. I don't have the courage to kill myself because it resembles all the kids that I turn into monster then ended themselves. And the truth is, I'm the real monster of the story… I don't want to end like them. If someone will kill me, that could bring justice to all the lives I have taken…" Gali explained.

"Here's a deal, you work here with Kyap for the meantime. I will kill the mad scientist and later on, I will end your life as well." Kane offered.

Everyone in the room is stunned when they hear Kane's offer, it is one of the most bizarre deals but it will most likely happen.

"HAHAHAHA, this sounds interesting... It's too good to be true but judging the way you are, you might pull this off. Sure, I, Gali, will gladly take your offer but that's the last clue you'll get from me. Make this worthwhile and I'll use my skills here in the meantime" Gali answered.

"I promise, I'll hunt the mad scientist and then end your suffering" Kane stated.

"I'll wait for that day" Gali replied.

Kane and Gali shake each other's hand as a sign of respect to their deal.

-I never thought this kind of deal could exist… This is a promise that I don't want to fulfill… I hope things go differently from here...