55 - Nothing Is Where It Should Be

Rygar watched Eris, who was gripping a piece of charcoal between her fingers with unnecessary force, nearly crushing the small object against the parchment's surface. She bit her lower lip, her crimson eyes half-closed, trying to force her brain to solve the calculations he had given her to test her progress.

"Hah! This is impossible!" Eris exclaimed, throwing the charcoal to the ground and crossing her arms.

Rygar chuckled slightly, picking up the charcoal and placing it back in her hand.

"It's not impossible. It's like training with a sword—the more you repeat, the better you get. Try again, think through each step calmly."

She growled but turned back to the parchment, determined to solve the problem.

It was then that Rygar turned, sensing something. Tinaver was finally appearing on the horizon, its stone and wooden structures forming a familiar silhouette against the blue sky. He narrowed his eyes, adjusting his focus, and instinctively expanded his senses. First, he tried to catch the sounds of the city.

His smile faded.

Wasn't the city quieter than it should be? Something was wrong. He frowned, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling creeping up his spine. He took a deep breath and inhaled, trying to catch the scents carried by the wind.

And then his feeling intensified.

The scent of blood.

A chill ran through his skin. His jaw tightened. I hope it's just a group of bandits… he thought, trying to suppress the growing sense that it wasn't something so simple. The scent was coming from the direction of the Iron Legion's base.

His instincts screamed a warning. Something was very, very wrong.

He stood up quickly.

"Ghislaine, I'm going ahead. I have a bad feeling." His voice was firm, leaving no room for discussion.

Ghislaine, who was holding a book in the cart beside him, turned, her feline eyes gleaming with alertness. But before she could say anything, he had already taken off.

The surroundings blurred. He ran like lightning, his legs moving in explosive bursts of speed. The wind lashed against his face, the city's sounds growing louder as he approached. But… something was strange. Tinaver seemed different. The atmosphere was heavy, as if a veil of tension hung over everything.

He leaped over rooftops, slid through alleys, ignoring the confused looks of the few citizens crossing his path. The scent of blood grew stronger.

Then he saw it.

The Iron Legion's base.

Or rather, what was left of it.

The main entrance was destroyed, rubble scattered across the street. The outer walls were marked with deep cuts and magical burn marks. Parts of the second floor had collapsed, revealing devastated rooms. It was the scene of an intense battle.

What the hell happened here?!

His rage grew, his heartbeat accelerating. He activated his Magic Eye, expanding his perception to track any nearby mana signatures. Energy flowed through his body, and he detected a signal inside the ruined structure. Without hesitation, he rushed inside.

Weaving through the debris, he arrived at a partially destroyed room. The ceiling was cracked, allowing daylight to stream through the gaps in the wooden beams. In the center of the room, a woman was tending to an injured man, cleaning the deep cuts on his arm.

Rygar entered abruptly, his voice heavy with urgency and fury.

"What happened here?!"

The woman startled, nearly dropping the blood-soaked cloth. But before she could respond, the injured man moved. His eyes widened at the sight of Rygar, and he forced himself to sit up despite his pain.

It was Joseph.

The former slave Rygar had rescued. A former mercenary and one of the Iron Legion's most dedicated members. His face was pale, covered in sweat, but a relieved smile formed.

"Boss… it's good that you're back…"

Rygar approached without hesitation, raising his hand and casting advanced healing magic. Golden energy coursed through Joseph's body, sealing his wounds in an instant. The man let out a heavy sigh, his expression visibly improving.

"Boss, we need to act quic—"

"What happened while I was gone?" Rygar interrupted, his voice tense. He needed to know. Now.

Joseph hesitated. The silence that followed was heavy. The man looked away as if trying to avoid Rygar's gaze. But there was no choice. He took a deep breath and began speaking.

Joseph inhaled deeply, his face still pale from blood loss, but his voice carried urgency and tension as he started recounting the events. Rygar remained silent, every muscle in his body tense, listening to each word as if they were being etched into his mind with iron.

"A few days ago, Peikak discovered that the Joylore house was also investigating us. And that they had already gathered far more information about us than we had imagined. Until then, everything was going well. Trade was thriving, new members were joining every day. And Taes was an impenetrable shield, taking down any strong opponent that appeared, ensuring that we suffered few casualties."

Joseph paused, his gaze momentarily shifting to the ground. Rygar noticed his trembling fists. Joseph swallowed hard and continued:

"But then… One day, a group of Milis' Holy Knights ambushed and killed some of our members in Tinaver's northern district. It was brutal. No warning, no negotiations. They just massacred our people. Taes didn't hesitate—he took several of us, including me, to confront them. We wanted answers, we wanted to understand why we were being attacked like this, but…" Joseph gritted his teeth, his face contorted with guilt and rage. "It was a trap."

Rygar didn't blink. His gaze was locked onto Joseph, the words echoing in his mind like war drums.

"A troop of Holy Knights loyal to House Joylore surrounded us. And among them were three Saint-level swordsmen—two from the Water God Style and one from the North God Style. They accused us of conspiring with the assassin Verdia Solarion and accused you of terrorist and genocidal acts."

He exhaled heavily. "At first, they tried to lure us in. After a while, we could clearly see that they were waiting for you, the 'Red Wolf.' They played with time, measuring our strength."

The more Rygar listened to Joseph, the worse his thoughts became—the most terrible possibilities ran through his mind.

Joseph continued, "But Taes noticed your delay, and before they could act, he used chantless magic to ambush them and severely wounded one of them. That enraged them. They lost patience and decided to capture the Legion's members to force your arrival. No matter what we did, they were determined to drag you into this fight. When Taes realized the battle was lost, he called four more warriors and held them back so the rest of us could escape… including me."

Rygar felt a wave of heat rise through his body. His breathing grew heavy. The air felt dense, as if the very atmosphere around him was being distorted.

"That was two days ago... after that, some holy knights came here to the base—"

Joseph's words started to lose meaning for him. A dull ringing grew in his ears, drowning out any other sound. The world around him began to lose its color, turning into shades of red and black. His chest rose and fell too fast. Each beat of his heart felt like a war drum being struck with brutal force.

His eyes wandered, but they no longer saw the destroyed base. They didn't see Joseph standing before him. In his mind, images appeared: Taes, Kidar, and the others, wounded, chained, possibly tortured. Their blood staining the ground. Their screams silenced by merciless blades. The cold smiles of the Joylore House knights as they destroyed everything he had built. Everything he had created with the goal of bringing real change to this world.

Guilt coiled in his stomach like sharp claws. Where was he while this was happening? Enjoying himself. Traveling with Ghislaine and Eris, laughing, without a care. Feasting with Godbard and the dwarves, eating dragon meat joyfully. He wasn't here. He wasn't here when they needed him.

He had been warned about this, that Milis would go after subordinates, friends, and family when they couldn't deal with someone directly. And yet, he had traveled far away.

His hands began to tremble. The air around him seemed to vibrate.

Joseph kept talking, mentioning strategies and countermeasures, something about seeking the Pope's faction for help and that most of the situation had already been resolved. But Rygar wasn't listening anymore.

Something inside him snapped.

His breathing turned into a growl. His body burned, not with heat, but with the uncontrollable fury growing within him. Every fiber of his being screamed for blood. His vision blurred for an instant, then everything became clear in a different way. His beastly instincts decided that the best course of action was to protect his own.

There was no logic anymore. No strategy. Only the brutal, inescapable truth:

His pack was being hunted.

And now… he would hunt them back.

Joseph was still talking, his voice becoming a distant echo in Rygar's mind. The world around him felt murky, as if he were underwater, but one sound pierced through the haze—the erratic beating of his own heart, accelerating with every word spoken. Guilt bit deeper than any blade. He had been traveling, laughing, enjoying Ghislaine and Eris's company, while his friends were here, being hunted, captured... maybe even killed because of him.

His fingers clenched so tightly that his claws tore into the flesh of his palm, but he didn't notice the pain. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, his eyes fixed on nothing, his thoughts spiraling into a storm of growing rage. The room around him felt stifling, as if the very air was bowing under the presence of something monstrous.

A deep growl rumbled from his throat, dense and primal, making the wood and debris around him vibrate slightly. Joseph took a step back, alarmed.

"Boss... calm down! We already have a plan! We can fix this!" His voice was firm but carried hesitation, a justified fear.

The woman tending to Joseph was pressed against the wall, eyes wide, body tense, like a deer facing a predator.

But Rygar no longer heard them. He was pure instinct now.

In an explosive movement, he launched himself at the mansion wall, tearing through it as if it were paper. Wood and debris flew in all directions as he emerged from the wreckage, his eyes blazing with an intense golden glow, predatory. His entire body radiated chaotic energy, as if he were about to explode.

And then, at the destroyed entrance of the Legion, he saw Ghislaine and Eris. The young girl was mounted on Skoll, her eyes wide, not understanding what was happening but sensing the danger in the air. Ghislaine, however, understood. The moment she looked at Rygar, her instincts screamed in warning. She rested a hand on her sword hilt, her muscles tensing.

"Rygar, calm down. What happened?" Her voice was firm but controlled, as if she were speaking to a beast about to attack.

He didn't respond. He didn't even look at her. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed both hands against the ground, his claws digging into the earth. The world around him disappeared as he inhaled deeply, scenting. Every smell in the city, every speck of dust, every trace of blood mixed in the air formed a three-dimensional map in his mind. He was tracking. Searching.

His muscles were taut like an animal on the verge of striking. His furry tail swayed slowly, his ears alert.

And then, he found it.

A familiar scent, mixed with sweat and metal. Kidar.

A new growl rumbled from his throat, but this time, the sound expanded, carrying magic instinctively. Howling Magic. The air vibrated, an invisible pressure wave spread out, making the glass around him crackle. Ghislaine frowned.

Before anyone could react, Rygar shot forward. His body moved in a blur, running on all fours, his muscles exploding with brutal speed. Each leap, each stride, made the ground crack slightly under the force of his movements. He wasn't thinking logically anymore. At this moment, he was no longer a warrior. He was a beast.

POV: Ghislaine Dedoldia

I hadn't really believed him when he said he also had savage outbursts. I thought he was exaggerating. That he had more control than he imagined. But now… now I understood.

What I saw there wasn't a reckless warrior. It was a predator in its purest state. Something I had only seen a few times in my life. Rygar, in particular, looked like a wounded wolf, desperate to kill whoever was harming his pack.

My instincts told me not to cross his path. But I couldn't let this happen. Compared to my childhood, his case was much worse—could he return from this on his own? I wouldn't risk it. I owed him, a life-debt.

I looked at Eris, who was frozen on Skoll's back. Her expression shifted between shock and confusion. And the wolf looked afraid.

"Eris, stay with Skoll," I said firmly. "Tell them you came with Rygar, but don't leave Skoll's side. Understand?"

She nodded, grasping the gravity of the situation.

Then I pushed myself forward, running in the direction Rygar had gone. My mind worked quickly. I knew he wasn't in a state to think rationally. I didn't know if he wanted me to stop him or if he just wanted blood. But if he was in this state, he probably wouldn't use all his strength properly.

I needed to be there.

Before it was too late.

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