Chapter 5 - Ambushed

[Luz POV]

I was in one carriage, along with my mother Alice, Arthur, Angela and Jasmine, with Helen in the front controlling the mana beasts, my father Rey in the other carriage, with the rest of the Twin Horns and most of the our backpacks. It was a morning, the sky showed no sign of rain, and most especially, it was my brother's birthday.

I saw Jasmine and Helen showing him some presents, then putting them back in the boxes, I was happy for him, but I was also happy for my mother. The day before, I had noticed something in her, there was an extra essence inside her body, apparently another new member of the family was on the way and I had barely arrived here.

This happiness that I had didn't last long, I felt as if the sky was darkening even though it was bright, I knew well what was to come.

"BANDITS! PREPARE TO ENGAGE!" Getting to hear Helen warning us. It really was what I expected.

"Submit, O' wind and follow my will. I command and gather you around in protection. Wind Barrier!"

Instantly, I, my brother, Alice and Angela were surrounded by a green barrier while Jasmine was behind us. Angela had done this spell while she was holding a kind of staff that I can tell channeled mana. The shield protected us from arrows, which came from some directions and ended up through part of the fabric of our means of transport.

I closed my eyes and I could feel, besides us, there were about 30 bandits, this ambush was small compared to others I've been present, but it seemed to be minimally organized, as if it were a small team from some clan of thieves. Still feeling my surroundings, I saw my father and the rest of the group fighting them, I even noticed Helen joining them. As if Jasmine and Angela were only here to protect the weakest people, us.

I feel irritated by this, not because they see me as a child, after all I was in the body of one, but because they won't help the rest of the group. I got up and walked out of the protective shield.

Immediately being stopped by a strained voice "Luz, Please! Don't go there, let them take care of it, don't leave here!" it was Jasmine's voice, she was the one who spoke the least there, so the first time she spoke so many words, was it to stop me from something?

"I'm sorry, but I was take for this family, I don't want to be a glass vase here." As I said that, I could see my brother, who had just turned 4, get up and approach me. I handed him his wooden sword, and he took it firmly.

"Are you really going to do this...?" Angela said a little shakily as she kept the shield active.

"Of course. This better be over as soon as possible." Arthur said, taking a long breath.

"If you don't go on the offensive, we will. The most important person here is Mom, if they find out she's a healer they'll only focus on her. Besides, I know you can't try too hard..." I said looking to Alice, who was making a surprised face, possibly thinking about how I had realized about her pregnancy. On the other hand, Arthur didn't get what I was saying.

A few seconds after I said that, I could hear a laugh, I looked over to see where it was coming from. I noticed a bald man with a big scar on his face, he was far enough away not to hear me speak, but he could still see us. "Look what we have here. Pretty good catch boys. Leave only the girls and the kids alive. Try not to scar them too much. Damaged goods will only sell for less." he yell that with a smirk that revelead a nearly toohless mouth.

Demaged goods...

I can feel tremendous anger rising in my body. I've lived this long, I knew there were people like him, but still, I wanted to kill him right here and now. Arthur didn't look any different from me, I could feel him trying to calm down, but it was like he didn't want to be sharing the world with trash like that bandit. I know very well how it is.

When we got out of our carriage, we could hear our father warning everyone. "There are only 4 mages, none of them are spellcasters! The rest are ordinary warriors!"

I could see the way Rey was giving instructions as he fought some of the thugs. It was like watching some old warrior return to the battlefield, showing no difference from his glory days. And that thought of mine was confirmed, when he shouted "Safeguard Formation!" and the Twin Horns were being guided by him, until Angela and Jasmine left to obey the formation. With carriages and mom still being the main focus of protection.

"Art, stay here and attack anyone who crosses the formation!" I said, with the same nodding as I went to join the Twin Horns.

"World of shadows, listen to me, listen to the one who carries corruption, surrender your souls to me, so that I can use them to reach the light you hate so much. Soul Speed!"

I mentally activated the same magic I used against Adam before, that was not a common magic, it was one of the magics that came with me, due to Soul of Corruption. I still owed Jasmine for creating that theory back there, which helped my lame excuse.

I started to run quickly with a trail of smoke rising from my legs, helping Rey to disorient the bad guys. Durden saw my effort and used earth magic to create a 4 meter gently sloping wall, it served both as protection and as my platform, where I did a light run going straight into the air, dodging knives being thrown at me.

"ANGELA! WIND!" I called out to our windcaster, who seemed to understand what I wanted. Launching a gust of wind at me, which served to propel me and give a powerful kick to the head of one of the bandits, killing him with his neck dislocated. While I was in the air, I saw Helen shooting some arrows at bandits who were trying to get close to me.

I was still upset, in the peaks of glory, Soul Speed ​​could reach MACH 6 without any problem, but apparently my core was limiting skills that were carried by my curse. Making me at least twice the speed of a common black core augment. I didn't even have the right moment to test the other skills that always came with me, but I could feel that maybe they weren't even useful while my core is in the first color.

We continued to fight, we were doing well, with the exception of Helen, who was hit by an arrow that came from one of the bandits making her hide inside the carriage where my mother was, possibly she was being healed there. But it wasn't the only complication, I saw my father being the second to be badly wounded, he was knocked down hard, banging his head on some of the residual stones from Durden's spells, causing him to bleed from his head, the blood rushing to his lips.

"Dad!!" "Honey!" "Rey!!" Arthur, Alice and I said at the same time as we watched that scene.

I used Soul Speed, tried to take him to the carriage as well, where Arthur and Helen helped me to take him to mom who started to heal him, while Helen left with her bow in hand and shooting at the bandits who had knocked down my father.

"That one was badly injured before! They must have a healer! Focus there!" I could hear a man with a ragged voice yelling that, my body heated up quickly as I felt that they were going to focus more there.

Due to healing magic, Reynolds was able to recover quickly, getting out of the carriage as Art and I followed, but soon we were interrupted. "No, Luz, you've done too much already, go take care of your mother. You too Art!"

"No dad! We'll stay with you!" We said almost in unison, it seemed like we were forgetting for a moment the body we had, but we didn't care, we wanted to fight for them, I don't know Arthur's absolute motivations, but I, I hated the idea of ​​leaving someone behind, especially someone who had just recovered.

"LISTEN TO ME, ARTHUR AND LUZ LEYWIN!" He spoke almost roaring to us, the way he acted at home, it was extremely different to hear him like that, it was the kind of voice they usually used in moments of despair.

"I know you... you two can fight! That's why I'm entrusting your mother to you. Protect her and protect the baby inside her. I'll catch up to you after this is over." His words didn't affect me that much, I knew that clearly, but I looked at Arthur who had a surprised and astonished face.

"I was planning on telling you when we arrived in Xyrus, but..." Not finishing his sentence, I noticed father just looked at us sheepishly, still pale from the blow he received from the bald, axe wielding boss.

"We will protect them at all costs." Arthur said this, while I agreed with him. Our father looked at us, but with more focus on Art, having a proud smile "Atta boy, That's my son."

We took our mother out of the carriage and left her away there, with the TwinHorns and our father keeping the bandits at bay, making sure Durden defeated the last one carrying an arrow.

"Forget it! Let's finish her off! Attack!"

I could hear the bandit chief say this, but I was looking around, I was seeing all the bad guys there still focusing on the others, so which one was being told to focus on our mother? My question has unfortunately been answered. With a recitation being heard in the distance. A mage casted a water spell, propelling me, Art and mother Alice closer to the edge of the cliff. It looked like he was camouflaged among the others, and that's why we weren't aware about him.

And it didn't stop there, I saw him approaching both of us, already so close that it was difficult to dodge, because we were so close to the edge. That's when I looked slightly to the side, and saw Arthur with an expression, an expression I knew all too well and hated to see on others' faces.

Arthur augmented his arms and threw our mother out of harm's way, while grabbing the mage who came through the clothes. The wizard tried to cast another water spell, not in our direction, but in our mother's, so that she would be thrown over the cliff, but I wouldn't allow it. I also grabbed that mage by his clothes, it didn't stop him to release the spell, making the 3 of us propel ourselves towards the sky, above the abyss.

I've had lives that were so short for making choices like this, but even so, I wouldn't want Arthur to be alone in this, if protecting our family resulted in us having to go along with a bastard to the ground, we would do it no matter how many times were necessary.

I could see our mother's horrified expression as her adopted son and her blood son were being taken to probable death to protect her. I gave Art's clothes a hard grip, causing him to release the bandit, and I pushed myself forward, stepping hard on the free-falling bandit. Concentrating to use another spell I had up my sleeve, which could propel me towards where I'm looking, however I had barely started reciting and felt extreme pain coming from my mana core. Really, that magic couldn't be used with such a weak core, and I found out the hard way.

But being able to see a little of the last seconds of the battle, Helen and Rey managed to kill the leader of the bandits, Angela was helping Jasmine who appeared to have been injured, and Durden, who was running to the edge of the cliff, use an earth spell to create a platform for us. But it was too late, even with the impulse I gave against the bandit while holding Arthur, that water spell had left us way too far from the edge.

My core was having a little trouble, I couldn't think straight, Arthur had tears in his eyes while falling with me. There was nothing to do, making me close my eyes and accept, one more world, in which I didn't live long enough.

"Take good care of your next child, Reynolds." I whispered, as my consciousness was shut off by the extreme pain in my mana core.

[Arthur Leywin POV]

I opened my eyes a little, and I saw myself inside my old body. Sitting on my throne while watching the people around me. All petty, who only cared about power and money, I was disgusted with them, they seemed to be talking about some extreme governance talk or if I was for or against some new law, but I could hear a voice from one of them.

"And you, King Grey, what will you do now?" For some reason, that was the only question that didn't seem muffled, and with a long sigh I answered it. "I want to retire..."

Even though their voices were muffled in my perspective, I could sense the out of control and chaos my response caused. I didn't want any of that, what was glory for? Money? Admiration? I just wanted to go back to Ashber. I miss Alice, Reynolds, Durden, Jasmine, Helen, Angela, even Adam! There is also another one, the person who could be closest to m-

"You missed me?" I could hear the voice of the one who had been put as my adoptive brother in my life as Arthur, I got up and looked around, but the voice continued to speak. "So... why don't you.... Wa..ke... Wake... up.... WAKE UP!"

I opened my eyes and coughed quite a lot, with a few drops of blood running from my mouth, but not that many. Feeling a huge pain in my back welcoming me, showing that I wasn't dreaming.

Where I was? How was I alive?

I tried to get up, but my body didn't move properly, just my head and neck, so I could look around and see something that almost made me vomit. The mage we had taken with us was surrounded by a pool of blood, his skull mostly split in half, with some bones exposed, most of which were broken, and those that were whole were more of the ribs.

This was so much gore, there were even small insects around the corpse's body. And because of my willpower of not wanting to be near that anymore, I was able to move a little, getting up and turning to the other side.

"Wait... I was supposed to be in a similar state or worse... Why am I fine..?" I thought that, until I felt tremendous hunger. I noticed one of the bags we were carrying nearby, opening and miraculously, that was one of the bags that had some food in it.

I was eating desperately, even starting to cough because it was very dry, I looked at the bag again and saw a canteen of water that was crumpled, but still usable. I drank some of the water, and then slurped up more of that snack. But my mind was filled with another question, the most important question.

"Where's Luz?" I said this to myself, looking back at the clearing where I had fall.

"Relax, my child, he is with me." I was hearing an unknown voice, coming from somewhere nearby, but I didn't see anyone only the corpse, my eyes widened.

What is happening here?