Chapter 8

"Old Ulysses was caught in the open. Ain't this a rare sight?" One of the masked individuals asked, a mocking and condescending tone in his voice. Ulric huffed, attempting to stand up. He placed his gloved hands on the wet concrete, trying his best to push himself up only to be struck with a kick to the stomach. His eyes widened in pain, feeling it travel through his body. It was where Bateus had kicked him earlier, the subsided pain now returning. He let out a violent cough, causing a laugh to escape the Creed member's mouths.

"You killed a lot of our people, Ulysses. It's our turn to pay back the favor." One said, causing Ulric, or Ulysses as he was known in the underworld, to shoot a piercing glance at the man. He observed his mask, it was much like his own, except without the special marking. And one major difference, the blue tint located on all the masks of the Wilting Rose was instead a tinge of red. It surrounded the eyes in a skinny narrow paint along with the lips. The masked man who had sliced at his mask earlier pulled his blade out once again, pressing it against his mask.

"I want you to feel what we felt." The man said, reaching over and lifting his woolen shirt underneath his frock coat to reveal his skin. He pressed the blade against the skin, drawing blood as he attempted to torture Ulric. But Ulric kept quiet, not wanting to wake up the others in the base as they were still so close. Blood spilt a deep, dark red as he traced the blade upwards towards his ribs. Ulric's vision was going blurry, suddenly seeing a flash of red sped by in his blurred sight. Somehow, directly after that flash, the pain had lessened immensely. His hand moved over to his cut, pressing on the cut to stop the blood from spilling out more. It wasn't deep enough, just deep enough to draw dark blood but nothing that would make him pass out from blood loss. The red like a flickering flame. Funny, considering how Yahil's nickname was Flicker due to his fiery red hair and his speedy nature. Suddenly, a realization came to as he saw the two masked men's bodies drop in front of him.

Ulric stood himself up, taking weary breaths of air. He faced the two individuals, his two best friends that he had just tried to leave in the dark about his disappearance. His eyes were wide in fear under that mask, happy that his mask obscured his emotions from sight. However, his words could not do the same.

"W-what are you guys doing out here so late? It's raining too!" Ulric stuttered in nervousness, watching the two.

"We like to go on late night walks. We try to bring you but you never wake up." Yahil explained, however, Yahil seemed different. He didn't have his regular upbeat and playful attitude, but rather a stoic and serious demeanor and expression across his face. Fleur didn't even answer the question. Instead, her quiet steps were walking up to Ulric.

"O-oh... Well, I-" He was cut off by the abrupt feeling of skin against his face. Fleur had slapped Ulric. Her hand left a red print on Ulric's face, causing shock through him. He looked at Fleur and saw something he hadn't realized before. Liquids were coming down her cheek, but it wasn't the rain. Fleur was crying. She was sad. She was angry. She felt a flurry of emotions coming at her all at once.

"Why?" She asked in a broken voice. The voice made Ulric wince, feeling as if he was struck with an arrow. Yahil stood in the back, his arms crossed as he watched the situation with serious eyes. Yahil was never this serious, not even during their hunts had he been THIS serious. A cold breath escaped Yahil's lips, manifesting in the air.

"Why... WHY ARE YOU LEAVING?" Fleur asked, weakly hitting Ulric in the arms as her head collapsed into his chest, her forehead pressing against him as her tears continued to drop. Her weak hits didn't hurt him physically, but emotionally? Mentally? It was the equivalent of breaking a bone.

"You're all Yahil and I have... Why are you leaving?" She asked again through her sobs. Ulric wrapped his arms around Fleur in a comforting hug, Fleur surprisingly not pushing him off but melting into it. Yahil remained in the back, watching them still.

"She's right, you know. Sure, we know the other hunters but you're the only person who we can actually consider a real friend." Yahil chimed in, and Ulric realized something. He didn't sound angry, but rather disappointed. As if he couldn't get angry at Ulric, but he wanted to be.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry Yahil. I'm sorry Fleur..." Those were the only words that could leave his throat. He couldn't find it in him to speak more words. A silence filled the air as he held her in his comfort, her sobs quieting down but the tears never left. It wasn't a comfortable silence. It wasn't even an awkward silence, no. It was a painful one.

"Why are you leaving?" Yahil asked, breaking the silence as he took a few steps to get closer to the pair. He took a breath, wondering if he should explain. These were his best friends after all... No, he had to. If he didn't, they would hunt him down until the end of the word to get an explanation.

"Theodore." Ulric finally spoke after a few moments of quiet.

"Theodore? The guy we hunted? He wanted to dismantle the Wilted Rose! And now after you stop him from doing it, you leave anyways?!" Yahil asked, his rage beginning to show as he felt his blood boil.

"No! That's not it!" Ulric yelled back, letting go of his hold on Fleur.

"Then what is it?" Yahil asked once again, getting louder by the second. They were far enough that the base wouldn't hear their commotion.

"It's not that easy..."

"Yes, it is! What is it? You turn your back on us, the Wilting Rose, on Brevell! For why?!"

"BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY TURNED OUR BACKS ON BREVELL!" He finally spat out, his voice echoing in the streets. The rain had quickly stopped after that as if his yell had parted the skies and clouds themselves. Yahil and Fleur stood there in quiet confusion, giving a curious expression at Ulric as he continued to release heavy breaths. The bloodshot eyed Fleur spoke up first.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. Well, no choice now. We had to spill the beans.

"Theodore wasn't a bad guy. We were lied to. Hell, I bet he didn't even have info on the Wilted Rose. I bet none of our past hunts were bad guys..." He spoke quietly, but loud enough that the pair would hear him.

"Theodore was the best. I learned this first hand. The breadmaker, Ms. Rudman. I've known her since I was a child, and she's never lied to me. Theodore was going to free the slaves. I met an orphanage owner breaking down. I asked her what happened. With Theodore's death, there was no one to finance the orphanage. We sentenced dozens of children to life on the street or slavery. We've sentenced them to death, guys. And then I met a beggar, a beggar who told of his story with Theodore. Theodore threw away the higher respect, he didn't care about his reputation. He dropped to his knees in front of the beggar, pleading for him to not take his own life. Imagine that, a royal begging the beggar... And we took him from this world. He's gone now, and it's because of us." He finished off his explanation, taking deep breaths with slow releases to control his anger at the thought.

"Now that damn levereter Pavao is gonna take office. He endorses slavery, says things like orphanages are useless and make our economy worse, says we should get rid of them." He said. The sun was rising now, giving a better view of Ulric and revealing the slice on his mask. He threw the hood of his cloak back on, removing his mask to look at the pair with his revealed eyes.

"The Wilting Rose is nothing but a mercenary group for politics..."

Yahil and Fleur stood in silence, taking in the thought. They were the bad guys, huh? Well shit...

"Alright. Let me and Fleur grab our stuff and we can go." Yahil said, turning his back to Ulric as Fleur followed suit, on their way to the base. Ulric's eyes widened, reaching out for them.

"What?! No! You aren't coming with me!"

"Of course we are," Fleur responded.

"No, you'll be hunted. We'll meet up eventually, just wait for me..." Ulric said, gritting his teeth. It was a hopeful dream, and he wanted it. Yahil didn't stop, walking off into the base. It was silent for a bit as he and Fleur just watched each other before Yahil returned with a brown bag connected to a rope. He handed it over to Ulric with a small smile.

"You'll need a bag to hold your stuff." He said, patting him on the back. Ulric gave a small smile, throwing his mask in the bag and slinging it over his shoulder, the rope across his chest, and in front of the cloak.

"I don't know where you're going, and I won't bother asking. Knowing you, you probably don't know either. But we'll meet again on your path, I know it." Yahil said, smiling. Fleur gave a weak smile, running up to Ulric and throwing a hug around him, the tight embrace feeling like a crushing experience to his bones. Yahil gave a chuckle, hearing the release of air from Ulric's lungs as he gave a softer hug around the duo, allowing for a group hug.

"Before you leave, I want you to have this," Fleur said, reaching into her shirt and pulling out something that Ulric never even realized she had. She pulled out a small gold necklace, a serpent as the pendant.

"When I was taken in, I was wearing this. This means the world to me, and I want you to have it to remember me. I keep it tucked in to keep it close to me and to make sure that no one ever steals it from me. Yahil was the only person who ever saw it." She explained, undoing it and walking behind Ulric, sliding her hands underneath the cloak as she attacked the serpent necklace onto him.

"I have one too. No one's ever seen it because it was the only thing I came here with as well." He said, lifting his sleeve to reveal a leather strap around his wrist. It had the words "Sapere Aude" carved into them. What did they mean? He had no clue. He only knew what Bateus had taught him. He slapped it onto Ulric's wrist, smiling as he now had a piece of them wherever he went.

"I love you guys." Ulric finally confessed, hugging the pair one last time before turning his back to them. He went to a local shop, buying a map to use before continuing to head on his way. It was this map that had taught him something, Brevell was just one kingdom of six. He lived in a continent called Gubraysia that had many villages and towns outside of Brevell. The sun was up, the bright green hills shining. It was time to leave Brevell.