Quicksand

Heon Lightwalker, the resident gaijin – or the Japanese language for foreigners, only with a negative connotation – born and living in the capital city of Japan's northern island, never thought the police would arrest him.

Even more so, by the police in another world, who used spears and swords, and probably magic, to arm themselves.

To think that was strange was an understatement of the year.

Heon, a high school student who would graduate in a couple of months, was accused of killing the strongest man in the entire kingdom – and possibly also the strongest one in the Five Great Kingdoms of the Caeeruz continent.

What a ridiculous notion!

If he could, he'd laugh.

However, the spears and sword pointed at him were a different matter entirely. How could he shake it off and act like it was nothing?

He was certain that even taking a single deep breath would prompt the three Aldlake City Guards to thrust their sharp weapons into three different parts of his body.

He'd piss his own pants if they just decided to execute him there.

Thankfully, the crowd disappeared the moment the city guards raised their weapons.

"Hey, what do you mean by that? Killing the late King Verghan, are you kidding me?"

Sunny was the first to protest. Even buried up to his neck, the red-haired manic boy still showed his excitement at the accusation.

Heon took a double look from the corner of his eyes. He was right. Sunny was excited. It was clear from the vicious grin and his dark eyes; one widened while the other narrowed.

"Surely, our dear friend Heon would never do such a thing!"

"I'm not your friend!" Azran denied with a glare at Sunny. Then, she turned to the city guards, once again raising both hands non-threateningly after Heon let his hold of her go. "I'm not their friend. I'm a bounty hunter asked to bring this murderer to the City Guards."

"Silence!" the city guards' leader snapped, drawing his sword further towards Heon's face. "One of you is confirmed as the Kingslayer. The other one is accused for murder and attempted another. High chance, you are also a killer."

This was the statement directed to Azran.

"I'm not–"

"Arrest the three of them!" the leader shouted.

At once, the ground beneath Heon's feet turned to mud, sucking him in. It looked much like the quicksand he saw on TV.

A choking sound brought his eyes to Sunny. The healer mage who was buried up to his neck now had completely submerged to the ground, only leaving a tuff of red hair.

A glance to his left, Heon expected Azran to be in the same state. However, the earth mage had taken control of the ground surrounding her. The quicksand stopped, leaving only mud as deep as the green-haired girl's knees.

Much to her displeasure, the city guards pointed their weapons at her. Azran jumped away, avoiding a thrust of the spear by a mere inch. She landed a couple of meters away, pulling her small knife from the hidden holster on her inner thigh.

"I have nothing to do with them. I'm a bounty hunter tasked with bringing Sunny Graver to the authority to be judged!"

"As if we'd believe you!" The leader charged at her, followed by another city guard, leaving the last one behind to take care of Heon and Sunny.

Struggling against the pulling force of the quicksand was useless. It would only make it worse, Heon knew that much. Instead of moving around to pull himself up, he stayed still and tried to think of a way to get himself free.

The choking noise had vanished, signing that Sunny was too far gone. Despite the difficult situation he had with the manic boy at the moment because he only saw Heon as a replaceable tool, Sunny had healed him more than once. Probably also bringing him back to health from the brink of death.

He had to pull Sunny out of the quicksand before he lost all air in his lungs and inhaled mud instead.

But first, Heon had to get himself free. It was only a couple of seconds, but he was now down to his hips.

'Think, Heon! Think like your life depends on it!'

It was.

His life truly depended on it.

The clink-clank of sword and spear versus small knife behind him, along with the sound and vibration as the earth shook from Azran's magic, became an added pressure.

Looking up at the city guard still pointing his spear to his face, Heon could see that he was about two or three years older. He didn't know the minimum age limit for someone to join the city guards.

But from the slight shuffle of his feet, Heon was pretty confident that this city guard was a junior, a newbie suddenly faced with the boy who they accused of being the king's murderer.

"What will happen if I confess to the murder?"

The city guard's face became grim. "You will be executed publicly."

"Here? Now?"

"We have to transport you first to the capital. To the Queen. Then, and only then, you will be publicly executed."

"I will confess, but with one condition."

"You have no place to negotiate."

Damn.

Heon bit his lip, thinking fast.

"I will confess," he repeated, locking eyes with the newbie city guard, "And say that it is you who will catch me. It is you and only you, that I confess to. But only if you help my friend out of the quicksand."

He broke eye contact with Heon, confirming that his demand was currently being considered.

"Please," Heon pushed on, "He can't breathe inside the ground. What will the others say, if they found out that you let someone suffocate to death while you only standing by, watching?"

"Stop your blabbering mouth! He's as much as a murderer as you are!" the spear's sharp edge almost poked Heon's eye, making him flinch hard.

The quicksand was now up to his chest. Both hands were still raised. His chance of getting away from this was slimmer by the seconds.

Heon tried again, playing his bluff. "You don't know that. My friend already said that girls are troubled and not pure. Even after years of staying together, sometimes she didn't recognize us."

'Oh God, I didn't even know what I'm talking about,' Heon thought, hoping Azran would forgive him for the lie he would utter.

"One day, she claimed us to be her husbands. Next, she said we were her long lost brothers. She's crazy and would say anything that occurs in her imaginative head."

The city guard looked truly conflicted now.

"Come one. Either you can be Bahran Pasai's greatest hero as the only one who delivered me to the queen, or you can be a heartless city guard who let innocent boy die slowly."

Now, Heon had the perfect, last nail in the coffin.

"Can you even look at your parents eyes after this and not feel like a failure?"

The city guard tightened his hold on his spear and shoved it on the quicksand that swallowed Sunny.