10 ESCAPE

The sun is almost setting and the moon is on the opposite side rising.

"What happened here??" Rouge entered the scene, he saw an empty street with only Rustain standing over a small puddle of blood. "Where're the mercenaries?!"

Gludo who followed Rouge saw Rustain standing, blood-splattered on his face, hands, and his face expressed the emptiness he felt at the moment.

Feeling no remorse at all after he killed the mercenaries he stared on the rooftop and saw Kuro emerged from the shadows above and with his mysterious gaze, Rustain who is far down unknowingly used magic to widen his vision and saw the reflection of Rouge and Gludo approaches him.

Rustain returned to reality and as he turned around he noticed Rouge and Gludo staring at him with concern.

He smiled at them, as he replied.

"They manage to run away, haha" Rustain tried to laugh it off but Rouge narrowed his eyebrows to show Rustain his doubt "It's the truth!"

Rouge sighs as he lets go of the talk and just tries to keep what he is thinking to himself.

"Sigh!" Rouge looked at Rustain trying to analyze the scenario and just the glance of it he got a hint to what happened "I will not ask more questions, let's tidy you up" Rouge reached out a small blue gem in his pocket. "Stay still /Slieclia/"

After the incantation, the blue gem illuminated a blue light. This light began to enveloped Rustain's body and the blood-stains began to vanish.

As soon as Rustain became clean again the gem became colorless and crumbled to dust.

|Was that a mana crystal??| Rustain unconsciously used telepathy. |I accidentally used telepathy|

Kuro , watching from above, felt disgusted but he remained with his poker face as he decided to answer Rustain's question.

|No kid, it's an elemental gem. Humans can use that as a medium to channel spirit magic, but truth be told it's a spirit's excrement.| Kuro said bluntly.

|So Rouge just used spirit poop on me| Rustain felt like throwing up as he said that.

|Don't worry it doesn't stain--| Kuro was about to finish what he was going to say but his stomach hurled.

|you were clearly about to vomit!!!| Rustain screamed in his head.

|lest not deal with this, just look up ahead there are people with---| Kuro pointed to the direction of a bell tower and returned to his serious mode cat face but his connection was cut off.

"Rustain you've spaced again!!" Rouge patted Rustain by the shoulders snapping him out from his link to Kuro. "Hey, are you listening?!"

Rustain didn't reply to Rouge but used magic reinforcement to his eyes to see further and saw a slight glistening of multiple arrowheads aiming in their direction.

Rustain was about to immediately took action by pointing out the danger as he saw five arrows came flying their way that's reinforced with multiple enhancing magic so it will hit its mark and pierce through but something swells up inside Rustain, another force came rushing out instead, and this time it feels different from when he lost his sanity from the ecstasy of his first kill, this new feeling is as if a strong surge of energy came flowing inside Rustain giving him the feeling that he can stop the arrows.

Rustain unknowingly stepped in front of Rouge and Gludo, his eyes glowed bright gold as a sign of magic will be cast, and with a single wave of his hand and a simple incantation, Rustain conjured a wall out of his shadow.

"Kid what are you doing, watch out!!" Gludo shouted he's going to pull Rustain away, but what he saw shocked both him and Rouge.

"/Vit/" Rustain calmly said. A wall of shadow appeared and swallowed the arrows.

Rustain's eyes went back to normal when he regained awareness of his surroundings, Rustain realized that Rouge and Gludo were staring at him in awe.

"Sh-shadow m-magic?!!!" Rouge shouted as he saw the arrows being swallowed by the shadow, as the shadow returned Rouge immediately came running to Rustain's side checking him from head to toe. "Are you okay??!! Are you hurt?!!"

"I'm fine what happened, I blacked out for a moment," Rustain said confusedly.

"Where did you learn that, tell me the truth!!" Rouge said bluntly with his commanding voice.

"Learn what?? All I can remember was blocking out when I was about to tell you about the incoming arrows." Rustain looked at Rouge with confusion.

"Kid, you just used shadow magic, an origin magic that requires a sacrifice. Are you sure you're okay??" Gludo said as he pulled Rouge away from Rustain preventing him from pestering Rustain any longer. Gludo looked Rustain straight in the eye and signed afterward, after he was done confirming if Rustain told the truth. "Haaa~~. Seems you are not lying, but better not use that magic, worst case you can die."

"D-Die!" Rustain flinched.

Rustain flinched when Gludo said that, like a sudden prick in his chest is felt, making him feel guilty of the fact that he is dead and he can't even tell them that he is a living corpse.

"Stop talking!! Can you hear something??" Rouge immediately said that creating a more intense feel to the moment.

Rustain who is a tier 3 caster immediately channels his mana to his ears and tries to listen carefully to his surroundings after Rouge said that but for Rustain there is not a single sound that can be heard around his range of four kilometers.

Gludo shook his head, who had the same thought as Rustain.

"I can't even hear a sound, what's wrong??" Rustain said as he looked Rouge with confusion.

"That's the problem, we're in the middle of town, where did the people go? " Rouge said in a serious tone, a sinister feel filled the air around them then he remembered something "Wait, this feeling is deception magic!!"

"You mean like illusion magic?" Rustain said in awe.

"Yes, something like that, we must break the spell immediately by finding the caster, Gludo can you--?" Rouge stopped as he noticed the change of atmosphere around Gludo the dwarf.

Gludo is giving of the sinister aura in the air. He then skilled and soon his body deformed and seems to be reconstructing itself into a tall figure of a woman in wicked messy red hair color.

Rouge and Rustain are speechless as both of them look at the red-haired women smiling at them with her sinister aura and the surrounding area along with the sky changing into a gray scale.

"Hehehehehehhehehehehhehehehehehhehehehehehhehehehhehhehehehehehhehehehehheheheheehehheheheheh'' the red hair women started to laugh creepily, she then raised her head and her messy hair did not show all of the parts of her face but it did not hide her ear smiling face and glowing blue eyes as she glares wickedly at Rustain's direction. "/bazvel/" the woman cast a spell then suddenly out of nowhere dark chains wrapped itself around Rustain.

"AHHH!!!!" Rustain screamed in agony when dark electricity came out from the chains.

"Rustain!!" Rouge unsheathed his sword and tried to slash the black chains but it only repelled the sword leaving the chains unscratched. "You! Are you also part of the order!"

The woman looked at Rouge with confusion as she pondered on what Rouge said.

"Order?? No, I'm here on my own wishes" the woman then vanished only to reappear sitting on one of the chains that bind Rustain. "Looks like my job here is done" the women tried to touch Rustain but Rouge came charging with full force towards her.

"Don't touch him, you witch!!" Rouge used body reinforcement and cast fire magic on his sword making it flare and the air around the sword seems to be turning into steam because of how hot his sword is.

(CLANG!!)

With only one finger the woman blocked the sword and flung it making Rouge be thrown away from the position he's in.

"How rude to call me a witch, don't compare me with those insignificant copycats." the woman said to Rouge, she continued what she was doing earlier and this time Rouge couldn't do anything but watch because his fall was hard enough to immobilize him. "Remember this human, I'm not on your side but for Rustain I'll do this much" the women touched Rustain by the forehead and instantly multiple magic circles appeared on top of Rustain reaching the sky and beyond. "Human, protect this child"

The women disappeared instantly and the sky returned into the setting sun.

Rouge woke up who seemed to be sleeping on the street's dark alley with Gludo and Rustain beside him.

"Huh?? What happens" Rouge recalled what happened and this time he heard a dozen men coming their way while talking.

"They were just standing in the middle of the red district but when I fired my arrows the target used magic and they disappeared along with the arrows." One of the people in a full set of armor said who walked bypass the alley where Rogue is.

"Don't worry the other team is searching, we must kill the target and finish our job, the blood moon guild never misses its kill" the other man covered in old brown hood said.

*shit! The blood moon guild is involved; we must leave now.* Rouge said as he controlled his breathing carefully trying not to expose their location.

When the people of Blood moon guilds left and Rouge is sure enough they won't be caught he slowly tried to wake Rustain.

"Hey wake up, wake up" Rouge whispered. "We need to leave town right now"

"Huh??" Rustain woke up.

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