Chapter 26 -The Chase

Aether's breathing was coming out short and hard. He blindly pushed the bushes and trees in front of him out of the way as he ran. His legs were numb and he was sure that any given minute he could collapse. His chest burned with every shallow breath he took. He tried desperately to silence his breathing, but the sharp wheezing ringed in his ear like a drum getting louder as time went on.

"Fuck." Aether gasped out as he leaned against a tree. His hair stuck to his forehead like paste. Sweat trickled down his head and into his eyes. He winced at the sensation and scrubbed his eyes. He blinked hazily at his hands that were covered in dirt. A few stray leaves had stuck to his palms due to the sweat, so he got to work peeling them off with shaky hands.

His entire body trembled. Even while leaning against the tree for support, Aether found his body betraying him. Running away in the Royal Palace was one thing, but this? Aether gasped out with another shaky breath. A few tears welled up in his eyes as he slid to the ground. He feared that this was it.

He let out a choked laugh. He hadn't been mindful of his surroundings. He had a general idea on which direction they had come from, but he hadn't taken into consideration how far they had traveled. He let his head drop into his arms, his legs pulling closer to his body like a little ball.

This was all his fault.

He lifted his head. His eyes were rimmed red, hiding the small glint of determination in them. Silent tears streamed down his face like a river. He wiped his face with his sleeves, but the already damped sleeves did little to help.

Running away from a single man in an environment where he could call for help or run into anyone who could help him at any given moment was way easier when compared to this. Aether had three, possibly six pursuers. All capable of killing him with a single flick of their hand and no one to help him. To make matters worse, he only knew the appearance of three of them.

He bit his lip. His surroundings were deathly silent. It wouldn't be hard to hear if something or someone was coming his way, but that could be the same for them. If he made one wrong move he could easily give up his position.

He took a deep breath, his eyes hazy but calculating. If he could just get within hearing range of the training fields or even the Royal Academy, help would surely come his way. His eyes shifted. He took another deep shuddering breath.

'Focus Aether. Calm down.' He told himself, his chest was still heaving. 'You can get out of this. You just need to find the Royal Academy and all will be well.' His hands clenched his sleeves, 'It's going to be fine. It's going to be fine.' He kept repeating.

He rubbed his eyes once more and stood up on his shaking legs. His heart was still pounding against his chest and tears were still welling up in his eyes, but he couldn't just give up. He clenched his hands and gazed around him. The trees were constantly moving, casting shadows that moved with them. If he looked too long his eyes would trick him into thinking that there was someone there, but there wasn't.

He took a hesitant step forward. His foot making a soft crunching noise he did so. The noise itself wasn't loud, but to Aether it sounded like a firecracker going off, alerting everyone of his presence. He bit his lip and took another step, his eyes darting in every direction. Then another step, and another, until he could no longer see where he was just at.

He chest was moving rapidly, but it felt like he couldn't breath. He was biting his lip so hard that his tooth had pierced the skin and a trail of blood was seeping from his mouth. He was so hyper focused on his surroundings and the tree's shadows that he forgot to check his shadows.

With every step he took, the shadows at his feet flicked and moved, growing bigger with every passing second. It was something that any person in this world would have made sure to check, after all it was a battle tactic that shadow users loved to use. But Aether wouldn't have known that, so he never checked.

Crunch.

Aether's eyes caught the glimpse of a shadow to his left. With a beating heart and trembling limbs he dashed for the tree closest to him. His eyes watched as the shadow turned into three, their cloaks dancing behind them as they ran towards him.

His heart came to a halting stop as he realized he wouldn't make it.

In a moment of desperation Aether reached for the knife he had stuffed in his bag. Although he was terrified, he wouldn't be going down without a fight.

The shadows licking at his feet gathered behind him, morphing and twirling as it grew larger until a figure was formed. Aether had no warning as a pair of gloved hands came into his view.

His eyes went wide. He tried to turn on his heel, ready to stab the assailant, but the knife was easily slapped out of his hand. The assailant's hands moved with great accuracy and speed. One covered his mouth and the other wrapped around his waist. He screamed into the other hand and began to kick as hard as he could.

"Shush." A voice whispered into his ear. Aether flinched at the proximity, but the familiar voice calmed his racing heart.

He shifted his head to glimpse behind him. Relief instantly flooded him when Nox's face came into view. The adrenaline running through his body began to dissipate and his limbs slowly began to go limp. Aether slumped into Nox's hold, letting out a sigh of relief.

Nox removed his hand covering Aether's mouth and maneuvered it underneath Aether's knees. He placed his other hand behind Aether's back and hoisted him up in a bridal style hold.

Aether yelped at the sudden action, his face turned red. "Hey," he whispered, "Put me down."

"Shush." Nox whispered, his voice deep and soft on his ears. Aether shivered at the noise and unconsciously covered his one ear in confusion.

Nox smiled.

CRUNCH

Nox's face hardened. His eyes narrowed. The grip on Aether tightened causing him to wince in pain. He shot Nox a hard glare before turning around to see what Nox was staring at. The three servants from before that were merely a shadow were now in a clearing not too far away from them.

Nox jumped behind the tree that Aether was originally going to hide behind with ease.

Aether maneuvered his head so that he could sneak glances at the trio. Their faces were a mix of frustration and excitement. Each of them held a small dagger.

Aether paled at the sight. Images of the trio stabbing him flashed through his mind. His body unconsciously shivered and he found himself curling into himself as much as he could. He touched his stomach with fear. His skin was intact, but he couldn't get rid of the phantom feeling of the dagger piercing through his skin.

Aether closed his eyes. He no longer wanted to be here.

"Dammit! He's not here!" The black haired boy cussed. He gnashed his teeth and stomped his foot on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. He glanced at his dagger and with a cry threw it at a random tree smiling triumphantly as half of it impeded into the tree.

"Shut up." The girl hissed, "He couldn't have gone far. He's definitely around here." She smacked the black haired boy's head and yanked his dagger out of the tree. Sighing she wiped the dagger on her skirt and handed it back to him while rolling her eyes.

"Or he could have used an ability to escape." The red haired man elongated the beginning of his sentence, letting it roll off his tongue like he was talking to a child. "As far as we know he could already be back at the Royal Academy and telling everyone he knows about us." He hissed out.

The trio went silent. Their eyes were casted downwards hiding their dark thoughts. "Damn it! If he tells anyone we are screwed." The girl kicked the closest tree to her, the leaves fell in buckets onto the ground.

"Don't worry, we will fin-" The red haired man stopped mid sentence. His head snapped towards the direction of where Nox and Aether were hiding. His eyes scanned the area, a complicated look on his face. A small smile made its way onto his face.

"What?" The other two noticed his strange behavior and were tapping their feet impatiently.

The red haired man turned around so that his back was facing Aether and Nox, "Nothing." He smiled. The two gave him a confused look then shook their heads.

The black haired boy was biting his lip and pacing back and forth, "If we can't find him and he tells someone, do you think we'll be…." The red haired man patted him on the shoulder, stopping him from saying any more.

"Listen closely." He whispered, pulling the two in closer, "I've been sending out vibrations since the start of our little goose chase. Until a while ago I only felt one figure in this forest, but now I sense two." His gaze was serious as he spoke, "The tree a couple feet behind me next to the bush with red berries." He lightly gestured with his head, "That's where they are hiding."

The other two gazed at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure it's him?"

The red hair's eyes shifted behind him without turning his head. He shifted onto one foot and brought up a hand to rub his head, clicking his tongue as he said, "I can't say for sure, but there are definitely two figures hiding behind that tree."

"Two?" The girl's eyebrows furrowed. She brought her hand to her forehead and sighed, "He was alone wasn't he? If there are two all of a sudden then could someone else have also been listening."

The thought of having to pursue two individuals alone brought on a major headache. The girl groaned. She knew where this was going and she wasn't happy at all.

They each looked at one another with a grim smile on their faces. The girl gave the other two a knowing glance and turned around to take a deep breath. The other two gave each other a nod and slowly put away their daggers.

"We will each head in the opposite directions then circle around and come back." The red haired man whispered. "On my signal we will attack. Got it?" The two nodded along.

The red haired man stood up straight and spoke in his normal tone, "If he is still in the forest we will find him. How about making this a friendly little competition?" He crossed his arms, giving them a smug smile.

The other two paused for a while, the gears in their heads turning slowly, but eventually they caught on.

The girl smiled, turning around as she leaned forward with her head held high. She gave a short and curt laugh, "Fine, I'll take you up on your little bet, but don't come crying when you lose."

The black hair boy also nodded enthusiastically, "Deal. I'll win for sure!" He gave a childish smile, turned on his heel and ran into the forest. His figure was long gone in a matter of seconds.

The girl rolled her eyes with a smile, she shot the red head with a knowing look and left as well. The red haired man took his time to leave. Instead of running like the other two, he strolled along with his hands behind his head whistling as he did so.

Nox watched the transaction between the three with dark eyes. His lips curved slightly as the last of the three figures disappeared into the forest. A strange emotion flashed in his eyes and the shadows around his feet flickered with eagerness.

His hold on Aether tightened and without warning he leaped into the air.

Daggers pierced into the ground. The three servants from before leaped back right after their daggers hit the ground. Their eyes locked onto Nox who was a couple feet away.

Nox smiled as their eyes flashed in surprise.

"One of the Prince's." The girl whispered. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"He can't be left alive."

"But, if we kill him…" The black haired boy mumbled. His eyes were slightly cast down while he bit his lip. His anxiety was coming off him in waves.

The girl frowned and nudged him with her elbow, "Calm down. If we kill him here we can blame it on the demonic beast."

"Pay attention and don't lose your head." The girl narrowed her eyes. Gripping her dagger she attacked from the front while the other two attacked from the sides.

Nox smiled. The girl's dagger missed by a couple inches. Her eyes twitched at the deranged look in Nox's eyes.

Nox dodged each of their attacks with ease, but Aether knew he wouldn't be able to keep dodging forever and would eventually have to fight. He gripped Nox's shirt, pulling it down slightly.

Nox kicked the girl in the stomach and sent her flying back. While the shadows around him attacked the other two.

"AH!" The black haired boy cried out as his arm was pierced by a shadow. He jumped back and cradled his arm. The girl ran over to him. She pulled out a flask from her bag and began to pour it on his wound. The red haired man stood in front of them. He held his dagger in front of him and watched Nox with apt attention.

Nox smirked at their small dilemma and took the opportunity to jump back a couple of feet.

"Let me down." Aether pulled at Nox's shirt, "You can't fight with me in your arms, so let me down." Nox gave Aether a look, his smile replaced with one of worry. Aether met his gaze with determination. Nox nodded and placed him down behind him.

"Stay here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dagger. "Do you know how to use it?"

Aether took the dagger while shaking hands, "No, but no better time to learn then now, right?" He forced out a laugh and glanced down at the dagger. It wasn't like other daggers. Its hilt was pure black with small flowers and vines carved into it. For a dagger, it seemed that whoever had made it put a lot of effort into it.

When he had first learned about what type of world he had transmigrated into, he had thought that he would have the skill to wield abilities to defend himself. But when he learned the truth, he knew that sooner or later he would have to learn how to wield an actual weapon. To learn how to kill with brute force rather than with an ability to do it for him.

He glanced at the dagger. Touching the delicate carved flowers he froze. His eyes glazed over and the world before him changed. The hand holding the dagger was covered in the blood dripping from the dagger. Bodies lay around him, their eyes wide open staring straight at him with tear stains on their cheeks. Blood pooled underneath their twisted bodies. Their eyes staring right at him. Aether's hands shook, the dagger fell from his hand, splashing into the lake of blood.

He couldn't stop staring. The fear in their eyes was haunting.

A hand reached out and grabbed onto him. Aether flinched then let out a strangled whimper. He latched onto the hand like it was his life line and closed his eyes tightly.

"Aether?"

Aether shook his head, trying to rid himself of the horrid images.

"Aether, everything is fine." The voice was closer now, whispering nothing but reassurance into his ear.

"ARHH" The girl yelled running straight at Nox. Nox wasted no time in pushing Aether behind him.

Aether's eyes snapped open and as if a spell had been broken he was back in his original surroundings. He watched with wide eyes as Nox pulled out another dagger, similar to the one he had been given, throwing it at the girl, forcing her to dodge.

She leaped to the side, but Nox gave her no time to rest as he continued to throw dagger after dagger with great accuracy, hitting her with almost every throw. Streaks of red lined her legs and arms, her servants dressed now in tatters. She panted heavily.

Wiping her cheek that was stained in blood she cursed out, "Damn it."

She took a step forward, her legs trembling underneath her. She coughed, a dribble of blood came from her mouth, "You?" Her eyes went wide as she looked at Nox, "What did you do?" She whispered, her hands trembling as she tried to take another step forward, but found that her feet were not listening to her.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!" She screamed.

Nox gazed down at her. His eyes were hidden by the shadows surrounding him. His lips curled at the sides as he lifted the dagger to his face. A sinister smile graced his face.

The girl sucked in a breath. Her heart beating against her chest. One word echoed in her head.

Monster.