For Our Hero Part 2: Feelings

[Location: The City of Andacia/Warehouse Area - Kingdom of Tevell]

[2 week and 3 days have passed]

In the middle of the battle, an arrow flew in the direction of Aeryn, we couldn't react in time to avoid it and she was paralyzed when she saw how a sharp point went towards her face at full speed without being able to move to avoid it. then a shadowy figure stands between her and the arrow which hits her body through the armor plate.

-Guard Captain: Guuuaaahhh!

-Aeryn: Aahh!

-Jeane: Oh no!

We were shocked to see that the figure that stood between Aeryn and certain death was the Guard Captain of Andacia, due to the impact of the arrow his body fell on his back and Aeryn managed to catch him on the ground, the arrow had entered deeply into his body. chest and the hole began to sprout some lines of blood.

-Guard Captain: (Groaning) ughh...are...are you...okay miss?

-Aeryn: Why...why did you save me?

-Guard Captain: (Groaning) As...s-soldier...it's...It's my duty...p-protect the people...

-Aeryn: (Shaking) W-Wait, right now I-I'll heal you!

Then Aeryn began to heal the Guard Captain's wound with Heal but without removing the arrow, Mei and I approached them to see how they were but it seemed that Aeryn's magic had no effect due to the arrow embedded in it.

-Mei: Aeryn...your magic...

-Leah: It won't work...if you can't close the wound...

As Aeryn tearfully continued trying to heal the Guard Captain the battle continued around us, the other guards formed a circle around us as they continued to fight the mercenaries to protect Aeryn and the fallen captain.

-Mercenary Leader: Bah, that stupid got in the middle.

-Jeane: Bastards, you will pay for this!

-Celes: Bloody cowards!

Filled with rage, Captain Jeane charged at the mercenary who fired the arrow while Celes faced the Mercenary Leader who showed a slight expression of annoyance as he saw how the Guard Captain got in the way of the shot.

-Fancy Merchant: Heh! if he had stayed at his station with the rest of his soldierboys, he would still be alive.

As much as Aeryn tried to heal his wound, she only managed to prevent him from bleeding to death, but as long as the arrow continued in the Guard Captain's chest, she would only be delaying the inevitable.

-Guard Captain: (Groaning) Enough...you only...w-waste your magic, you must...you must save it to...to help others...

-Aeryn: (In tears) No...No! I can't let you die after you saved my life!

-Mei: Couldn't we take out the arrow?

-Leah: No, without the necessary equipment, removing the arrow would only speed up the bleeding.

It was only a matter of time before Aeryn ran out of magic power and the bleeding began to flow again but she didn't seem to mind that and just continued to heal the Guard Captain's wound. Meanwhile Celes and Captain Jeane finished off the mercenaries that were protecting their leader who was wearing a confident smile.

-Jeane: You don't have any more lackeys to hide.

-Celes: Your luck ran out, now you'll have to face us.

-Mercenary Leader: Ha! And do you think that a couple of whores can intimidate me? it's you who ran out of luck.

The leader of the mercenaries dropped his sword and took out the object that he had on his back wrapped in a blanket, at the moment he revealed it it turned out to be another sword but this one was different since when he took it out of its sheath, its shine of the blade of the sword was strange.

-Jeane: Is that...?

-Celes: There's only one way to find out.

Seeing the strange sword of the mercenary leader, Celes did not hesitate to launch her special technique which has improved since the last time, reducing its preparation time.

-Celes: Take this! [Lightning Blade!]

As soon as the lightning-wrapped blade shot out of Celes' sword at the mercenary leader, he prepared to block with his strange sword and upon impact what must have been a challenge of resistance. He didn't really seem to make the slightest effort as Celes' Lightning Blade was hitting the sword but it slowly began to diminish until it finally ended up disappearing.

-Mercenary Leader: Hahaha! is that the best you can do?

-Jeane: Just as I imagined, a Magic Sword.

-Celes: This is a surprise, I had read about them but this is the first time I've seen one in person.

-Mercenary Leader: Ahh I see what you know about them, this beauty cost me a fortune but it was really worth it, with her in my hands your magic will be useless against me.

Seeing how Celes' strongest attack was blocked without any effort by her opponent was something that worried us, we couldn't leave Aeryn alone but she wanted to help Celes anyway.

-Leah: Mei, I'll go help Celes and Captain Jeane, you stay to help Aeryn in whatever you can.

-Mei: Y-Yes, be careful Leah.

I took my spear that had lost the effect of the enhancement and passed between the guards who were still fighting with the other mercenaries, I ran until I reached the side of Celes and Captain Jeane.

-Leah: Celes, what was that? How did he stop your attack so easily?

-Celes: Leah?...it's a Magic Sword, its blade was enchanted with properties capable of absorbing magic to accumulate it and then convert it into a burst of energy.

-Jeane: They are very rare and also very powerful but...

Captain Jeane and Celes smiled in a very nonchalant way even knowing what kind of weapon the enemy was using, I on the other hand felt somewhat scared since I had never seen a weapon of that type so I didn't know how they could be so confident.

-Celes: Although they are powerful, they have a fatal weak point.

-Mercenary Leader: Fatal weak point? Ha! Don't make me laugh, do you think that with that false confidence you could win?

-Jeane: False confidence? I clearly see how ignorant you are, despite having it in your hands, you haven't realized it, Celes, ready?

-Celes: Let's do it, Leah, stay behind and don't interfere, we'll take care of him.

Even though I wanted to help them, Celes asked me to stay behind, but it wasn't because she didn't trust my abilities, but because she had confidence in her abilities to defeat him without my help, so I nodded and stepped back, remaining a spectator.

-Mercenary Leader: Hehehe, I don't care if you bring one, two or how much help you want, the result will be the same.

-Jeane: The two of us are more than enough, in fact I could kill you alone but, when will I have another chance to fight alongside a Zeorian Knight.

-Celes: Did you know?

-Jeane: I saw your combat style, at first I had my doubts but now seeing you fight more closely I could see Zeorian's swordsmanship.

-Mercenary Leader: Bah, I'm bored of this, time to finish and collect my pay!

With a confident smile on his face the leader of the mercenaries waved the Magic Sword at him and released in a magical burst with the energy he absorbed earlier from Celes's attack which he directed at Captain Jeane.

-Jeane: I see that your stupidity prevents you from realizing your ignorance.

With a nimble swing of her sword the captain deflected the magical blast and quickly she and Celes charged at her enemy who still confident faced them with her Magic Sword.

-Mercenary Leader: It is useless to resist, my sword is loaded with more power than you think!

They began to clash swords at high speed, despite facing two opponents, the leader of the mercenaries remained calm and controlled the situation without problems, it was clear that he was a very skilled swordsman but the two did not seem to have any problems, rather it seemed that they wanted to prove something.

"Despite the kind of enemy they face, they still don't seem worried, does that weapon really have a weak point?"

The conflict continued while the mercenary leader released from time to time the power that he had accumulated in his sword but despite his incredible power the two were able to handle it without problems.

-Mercenary Leader: Gaahh! This has gone on for too long, time to end this!

At that moment, the mercenary leader raised his sword and an incredible amount of magical power began to gather from the blade, which seemed to be a swer that intended to release all the power that his sword had accumulated up to now.

-Jeane: Here it comes, Celes, you know what to do!

-Celes: Leave it to me!

At the moment the enemy thought to release all the power of her sword, Captain Jeane quickly stood in front of him and quickly blocked the attack from the front before even the mercenary leader managed to finish executing it.

-Mercenary Leader: W-What are you doing!?

-Jeane: We told you before, these swords have a fatal weak point but you didn't want to listen to us.

With a clash of swords, Captain Jeane kept at bay the Magic Sword that uncontrollably expelled all the power that was inside, while the confident face of the mercenary leader turned into one of terror when he saw that he lost control of his trusty sword.

-Mercenary Leader: W-What is happening!?

-Jeane: It is overloading, when our swords clashed before your sword managed to release its accumulated magical power, it entered an endless flow of absorption and release.

The captain smiled confidently and took a long leap back while the mercenary leader held his Magic Sword which he was no longer able to control due to the incredible amount of magical power that was being released and absorbed non-stop.

-Celes: But if that flow is cut aggressively it will end up imploding!

From behind Celes had been preparing her Lightning Blade waiting for the right moment to execute it, by the time the mercenary leader noticed her it was already too late, Celes had launched her technique against the Magic Sword.

-Celes: This is over!

-Mercenary Leader: Aaahhhh!

The moment Celes' Lightning Blade impacted with the Magic Sword she was forced to absorb the attack into her state. It ended up absorbing all the magical power that had been released plus Celes' attack which finally began to crack until the Magic Sword was completely destroyed in the hands of its owner.

-Mercenary Leader: No...why?

He fell to his knees as his trusty sword turned to dust in his hands, Captain Jeane approached him looking at him pityingly.

-Jeane: In the right hands, a Magic Sword can be very powerful but in someone inexperienced like you it was just a waste.

-Leah: In-Incredible you guys are incredible!

Seeing how their leader had been defeated, the mercenaries who were still standing panicked and slowly backed away until they ran away from fear.

-Fancy Merchant: W-Where do you think you idiots are going!? What do you think you are being paid for!?

-Andacia Guard: The enemy flees! follow them and capture them!

Several guards followed the fleeing mercenaries while others stayed behind to help their wounded comrades, also to arrest the merchant and the mercenary leader.

-Fancy Merchant: W-What do you think they're doing!? let me go wretches!

-Jeane: My lord, you are under arrest for illegal merchandise trafficking, attempted murder of public guards, civilians and a high royal official.

-Fancy: W-What!? don't-don't say stupid things! I can't go to prison!

-Jeane: In that case, we can reach an agreement, if you reveal all the illegal deals you made with Count Belin, we can change your sentence.

-Fancy Merchant: Y-Yes! fine, you win! But don't take me to prison!

As the terrified merchant confessed his dealings with the Count, Mei, Celes and I returned to Aeryn's side who was already exhausted after using much of her magical power to keep the Guard Captain alive.

-Andacia Guard: Excuse me miss, we take care of our captain now, our doctor will take care of him.

-Aeryn: Huh? oh...y-yeah, sure.

The guards that remained picked up the Guard Captain very carefully and carried him back to the station while Aeryn knelt on the ground exhausted and stared at her hands stained with the Guard Captain's blood.

-Mei: You did everything you could, let them take care of it now.

-Aeryn: S-Sure...

-Leah: Aeryn, you did a good job.

-Celes: You should be proud Aeryn, you managed to keep him alive while a whole battle was going on around you, that's quite an achievement for a healer.

She looked at Celes with tears welling in her eyes and smiled at her as she wiped away her tears with her arm and then nodded to her.

-Jeane: Well, with the merchant's confession we can already besiege the Count's mansion with enough evidence to force him to submit.

-Leah: Does it mean that we can finally free Zyrus?

-Jeane: That's right, but I think your friend must be very exhausted after using so much healing magic non-stop, why don't they take her to the inn to rest.

-Mei: I'll take her, Leah, Celes you go with Captain Jeane, I'm sure Zyrus will feel more comfortable if he sees familiar faces.

-Leah: Mei...thank you.

-Celes: Very well Mei, you take care of her then, let's go Leah.

While Mei, who was holding Aeryn on her arm, they said goodbye and left the warehouse area with the other guards who had the surviving mercenaries arrested.

-Jeane: Well, let's go then, tell the rest of the guard to see us at the entrance of the mansion, we will take the merchant with us to see what face the old Count makes.

-Celes: Okay, we'll go after you, Lady Jeane.

We accompanied Captain Jeane to the Count's mansion while they took the handcuffed merchant, shortly after arriving at the large mansion we saw a group of guards in front of the gate entrance.

-Andacia Guard: Lady Jeane, we expected you.

-Jeane: What is the situation?

-Andacia Guard: There has been no movement inside the mansion and the rest of the guards outside who were still loyal to the Count have already been arrested.

-Jeane: Excellent, then we will proceed as planned.

The guards nodded and proceeded to open the gate to enter the count's domain that was inside.

"Here we go Zyrus, just hold on a little longer"

Arriving at the main entrance, the guards forced the door open causing a loud bang inside, frightening the servants as we entered.

-Count Belin: What does this mean!? Who dares to enter my home by force at this time of night!?

From the second floor, as I was going down the stairs, an overweight man leaning on a cane and wearing a red robe appeared.

-Jeane: Good evening Count Belin, we're sorry to bother you at this hour but we've come to take you into custody.

-Count Belin: What stupidity is this!? And for what reason do you dare to say that!?

-Jeane: Maybe this will refresh your memory, bring it.

One of the guards who stayed outside brought the handcuffed merchant into the mansion and pushed him in front of the Count who looked at the Count in fear.

-Fancy merchant: I-I'm sorry my lord!

-Count Belin: Tsk, what about this? you bring me a handcuffed man? what do you expect me to do?

-Jeane: I see that you continue to insist on feigning ignorance, very well, in that case let me state the charges against him.

Captain Jeane began to mention all the charges against the Count, several about illegal deals and about conspiring against the crown of which we had no idea.

-Count Belin: Bah! Those are just baseless assumptions.

-Jeane: If he is not convinced, then maybe you want to talk to his majesty personally in the capital, guards, arrest him.

-Count Belin: W-What!? Take your hands off me, you don't know who you're messing with!?

As the guards arrested and forcibly took the Count out of the mansion and the merchant, Celes looked at the captain somewhat seriously.

-Celes: So you just used us.

-Jeane: I'm sorry, it was not my intention, just that the opportunity appeared.

-Leah: Huh? what do you mean Celes?

-Celes: Jeane already had enough evidence to arrest the Count without the need to arrest the merchant.

-Leah: No...I don't understand, why would she do that?

-Jeane: I wanted to see how determined you were to help that boy

She walked up the stairs and placed her hand on the banister.

-Jeane: The princess asked me if I found him on the way, to take him to a safe place but when you told me that he was your friend, well, I couldn't help but put you to the test.

-Celes: A test, to determine if we really cared about him.

-Jeane: That's right, the princess told me what he was, the hero who had to save our world, the truth is, when I heard that he refused to carry out such a mission, I was angry.

She turned to see us with a somewhat sad expression on her face.

-Jeane: Many of us grew up listening to the story of the first Hero, for many it was a source of inspiration, something we aspired to be.

-Celes: I imagine the discomfort you felt when you heard that the new summoned Hero did not meet your expectations, right?

-Jeane: You can say something like that.

I approached the Captain somewhat worried and annoyed.

-Leah: I don't care if Zyrus was summoned to be the Hero of this world! For me and for the others... he is already a Hero... our Hero.

-Celes: That's right, Lady Jeane, My Lord may not be the Hero you expected, but for us, he was the Hero we needed.

-Jeane: I know, the truth is that if you had obeyed me at the Guard Station when I told you to go rest, I wouldn't believe the same.

Then she put her hand on my head and walked down a hallway to the left pointing.

-Jeane: This corridor should be the path that should lead to the dungeon of the mansion, there should be found your Hero.

Celes and I looked at each other and ran down the corridor that the Captain indicated, we went through several doors until we found some stairs that led to the basement of the mansion and finally we reached the dungeon lit by torches. In it there were several cells and we searched each one of them.

-Celes: My Lord! can you hear me!?

We went from cell to cell calling him, waiting for him to answer us, but then we saw him in one of the cells.

-Leah: Zy...rus?

-Zyrus: (Snores)

When we finally found him in one of the cells while we were very worried about him, we found him sleeping very carefree leaning against the wall.

-Celes: My Lord! Wake up!

-Leah: Zyrus! it's not time to sleep!

Little by little he seemed to be responding to our calls until he finally started waking up stretching and yawning as he looked around.

-Zyrus: (Sleepy) Uhh..? The sun's up?

-Leah: Zyrus! over here!

Finally seeming to realize we were here, Celes smashed the lock with her sword and opened the gate for us to enter.

-Zyrus: Oh...Leah...Celes...good morning.

-Celes: It's still night My Lord, he doesn't know how much we care about you.

-Leah. That's right, we were really worried about you and you were sleeping like nothing happened...guuhh..

I couldn't help it and I ended up jumping towards him to hug him, resting my head on his chest while he cried with joy, after all, I really wanted to see him again and for him to be safe.

-Zyrus: Ahh... Leah!

-Celes: I'm sorry, My Lord, allow us this moment.

Celes also reached down and hugged Zyrus as tears fell from his eyes, we were both happy to be reunited with the person we wanted to see again.

-Zyrus: I'm sorry I worried you both.

I could feel his hand on my head and how he caressed it was really comforting, it made me realize how important he had become to me.

-Zyrus: Please, just tell me you didn't cause a ruckus to getting here.

-Celes: Don't worry My Lord, I made sure it didn't happen.

After a moment we separated and we told him about everything that had happened since the moment we separated, he seemed quite surprised to find out what we lived through to have to rescue him.