The leader sighs in defeat 'Alright. For now, I need to discipline my men. But I will still come when he wakes up.'
The red-haired man reopened his eyes. The faint glow vanished as he responded and he started smiling again 'Sure thing but I do plan on taking this one with me.'
The leader responded hesitantly 'Fine… as long as you don`t kidnap this one.'
'Haha… kidnap? Why would I ever do such a thing'
The unit leader looked at him and sighed 'There is no point in dragging this on. Just make sure you heal him up properly' as he made a way for him to pass from.
The red-haired man wasted no time as he sprinted into action towards the town, kicking up a dust cloud behind him which startled a few men.
He could hear the yelling of the captain behind him. Telling his men to get back to the camp right now and felt kind of sorry for what awaited them.
He turned his face to look at the sky. The dark translucent Veil was being lifted off as holes began to burn into it and the smoky air started to return back to normal.
But the land that it left behind was dark and lifeless. The whole terrain changed up leaving behind dead and desolated land.
'I guess I will never get over this feeling' he sighed watching the aftermath.
He looked towards the kid resting 'First lets take you back home safely'
The speed was unlike anything else. It was like he was flying yet his hands and shoulders were stable, not making a single bump upon which the boy rested.
While moving through the village, one of the creature's skin was exposed to the outside light as it shined down upon him. Just like how it did for Ignis but this time there were no cracks and it was burning the creature, hurting him as it screamed.
This Weeping Beast whose body was smaller compared to most others raised his hands towards them as it cried.
His body was being turned into dust slowly like poison spreading around the body, eating away everything as the light spread around and burning it into dust after being exposed to the outside.
The veil was like a shield that protected the inside against the outside world and now without it, the inside was being destroyed.
The creature cried as it raised its hand towards them but the red haired man just jumped onto his head saying 'sorry' as he looked down at the creature like he showed pity for them before jumping off.
The creature that was screaming in agony froze entirely and soon the dust kicked off all around before it eventually fell to the ground.
He pulled it off without creating any disturbance on his shoulder upon which the kid was sleeping peacefully and picked up the pace once again as he exited the area dashing towards the village.
The distance that took the kid multiple steps to cover was covered by the man in almost a single step and soon he arrived back at the village.
Cor saw the red hair rushing in and fly past him. He turned back and questioned in confusion "Ked?... Were there really wolves out here?"
The red haired man went straight towards the tavern carrying him as it was the only place which worked as both, a tavern and had an inn.
Rhina instantly recognized the situation.
'A roo—' said the red haired man but was cut off by Rhina 'The first one by the stairs.'
The rumors had already started to circulate around the village.
But this time rumors were not of the kid but the man who brought him.
"Ananke, The Mad Hero" is in the village.
Known as Mad Hero, famous for his charisma and trusted for his shadow in which the children can play freely without any fear of outside.
The title given to him for his awakening. No one knew why he was called the "Mad Hero" but they just used it to refer to him.
Even kids themself knew about the man who is given the ranks and title of hero while not being one became an inspiration for all.
He was the only one of few people in the world who had reached the status of "Monarchy division". A division made for those whose strength could no longer be measured within the normal ranks and far exceeded the "Saint division"
Rhina soon charged into the room with bandages and hot water in a bucket but when she touched the kid's skin, her hand retraced instantly from the cold. It was almost like touching a body taken out fresh from a frozen lake.
Looking at how badly the kid was injured, she demanded an explanation of what went on from Ananke. After all, these injuries are not normal. There was no sane explanation either.
Ananke hesitated at first but she almost looked like a mother worrying for her child. He told her everything that went on but it was not much as he had only found him in the Veil Protector Rooms but by the time he arrived, it was the end itself.
He told her to not worry about him as he will recover sooner or later. She said in a shocking expression 'His ribs are broken. Head bleeding, scratches all over his body. How will he recover soon? This will take months. He might never be able to walk normally again'
Well, the last one was just an exaggeration as there was nothing wrong with his legs.
Ananke told her calmly 'That exactly why. When I arrived, he was almost dea— was bleeding much faster. His body is recovering at an extraordinary pace for some reason.' as he looked at the ring.
'That ring is healing him to some extent' and thought 'But feels somethings off… how come it never healed his swollen face'
Ananke asked 'Do you know who gave him the ring?'
'It was his master, Fariz`s ring, he showed it off telling how he got it from some Wandering Stranger.'
That word instantly caught Ananke's attention 'Wandering Stranger?! Did he notice anything that was out of character?'
Rhina spoke 'That man did come to the tavern but I can`t recall what he looked like. Other than that, Fariz asked me if he ever was not to return then to give the ring to the kid. It was weird of him to say that. I thought he was just "rambling on" like his usual self'
'I see… thank you for answering my question.'
He thought to himself 'Used to— I was late again… I did not save anyone but the survivors' as he looked out of the window.
A surprised voice from Rhina echoed 'Why happened to his dark eyes… they are hazel?!' as she inspected his eyes despite the cold skin harming her.
Ananke scratches his hair shyly like admitting his mistake 'Oh umm… about that—I kind of forgot to tell you. He awakened his rose.'
'He what?'
Meanwhile the kid was in a dream. A dream of him drowning in endless water. He wore white clothes and sank deeper every passing moment into the darkness of cold depthless dark water.
'it hurts… I hate it… So cold~'
The boy opened his eyes to find himself in the water.
'Huh what is going on?'
He closed his eyes immediately.
He begged 'Huh- No please don`t. Don`t do this to me. Please stop. I hate it. Help me. Someone, anyone, make it stop.' but it was useless.
He had always been scared of water going into his eyes. Even when something went into his eyes. He would rather not tell anyone and wait it out than use water to clean it out.
He tried to move around but was unable to move from his location. It felt like an invisible chain restrained him from moving as he floated in this mass of water.
He could not struggle, he could not scream. All he could do was watch which he refused to.
Just then a voice echoed once more. It was of the shadow he heard during the fight against Elenbel.
"I told you I would come back" but this time it sounded peaceful and soothing to hear and it whispered to the Kid "Give up now and I will ease your suffering"
No response.
It repeated "Give up now and I will ease your suffering"
…
Nothing. The boy had not even bothered opening his eyes to see what was going on, completely ignoring the voice.
"Give up now and I will ease your suffering"