Chapter 20: Loss of a Mentor

The room was dim. The light from outside was a deep orange, barely able to filter through the window shade. There was a roundtable in the center of the room. Rox and Ashur were sitting at it, all alone.

There wasn't a single soul inside besides the two of them.

Ashur felt terrible. In the pit of his stomach, he felt as if the waves from a storm were stirring all around.

The feelings of anxiousness swelling within him weren't helped either by Rox, who was just staring at him silently.

His fellow Adventurer was typically a man to say what was necessary, nothing more, nothing less so this wasn't anything new. Nonetheless, he wished he would just hurry and speak, as he felt his heart start to beat faster and faster.

He had an idea of who which Adventurers Rox was referring to, based on himself being the person the man sought out in particular. He just had to wait for the words to leave his lips. To get a confirmation, but he hoped his suspicions were wrong…

Rox leaned forward on the table, having his hands clasped together. He was staring deeply into Ashur's eyes. It was as if he was searching for something. To check and make sure he was prepared for the news. A second or two passed before he leaned back in his chair, his eyes softening.

"Severost and Ultri were found dead two days ago."

If this conversation was like a band-aid on a wound, not only did he rip it off but he also poked the wound. His level of bluntness in delivering the news didn't land gently on Ashur's ears.

There was silence, then, there was a chuckle, one that Ashur quickly covered using his mouth. Rox raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction, staying silent as he watched him.

When Ashur lowered his hand from over his mouth to Rox's surprise, a smile was on it. It looked forced though, strained as if all he could do at the moment was smile.

Ashur spoke, his voice having the slightest tremor in it. "Well, that's just great. My mentor and best friend…" his voice trailed off as he turned to look out the window for a moment.

He spotted several birds fly by, and a thought passing his mind was how free they looked. He'd wondered, were the two free now, just like those birds?

In the Sun Clan, death is viewed differently than in most places. The understanding is that everyone has a spirit. Once you pass, your spirit returns to the land, or sky depending on how your life was lived. You then become one with nature, able to exist with the natural flow of life.

As he gazed out of the window, he felt a freezing sensation inside his chest. The beating of his heart failed to warm his body at this moment, as he felt so very cold. It was a feeling of loneliness, as his comrades, who he'd trusted with his very life on many occasions were gone now. When he eventually found the base of operations for Black Jack, they were the first two he'd have called to assist him.

Ashur couldn't bear to ask anything other than this question. A part of him was scared to ask it because depending on the answer he was unsure of what he'd do but he still had to.

His gaze still fixed outside the window he asked. "How did they die?"

"For Severost it was one deep wound through the chest. The autopsy revealed the murder strike came from behind though, most likely a sneak attack. Ultri's death didn't appear to happen as quickly though. He was completely mangled, his body in tatters with both of his eyes missing. The two were found around the same area, near a Town called Lethal. Severost was found in an alleyway while Ultri's remains were discovered in a nearby forest. One that was nearly scorched to the ground due to his power."

"Hmm…"

Ashur was deathly quiet now. Facing the window, his hand holding up his chin as he gazed out it. Rox, despite having great instincts, unfortunately, didn't have mind reading among his specialties. At that moment, he wished he did however, as he had no idea what was going through the man's mind. The silence carried on and he waited and waited, until Ashur finally turned to face him.

The fiery heat of rage gleamed in his eyes. Despite the anger surrounding the man, his body language was very contained. He had no reason to direct his anger outward at the moment. All he needed to do was ask one more question.

"Do we have an idea of who did this?"

"Not completely but…"

"But?"

Rox paused. His lips were pursed tightly but seeing the man's expression dismayed him from lying, or worse giving him no answers at all. He released a defeated sigh.

"The last person we know who was in contact with them was Boreas. He and his adventuring party The Bush were in the area. Witness reports say his group as well as the pair of Severost and Ultri, were engaged in a conversation, one that got pretty loud."

"Alright. That's all I need to know."

Ashur stood up, practically kicking the door down as he opened it forcefully. He turned left and started to walk toward the staircase.

His footsteps were heavy, and his mind was moving 100 miles a minute; he couldn't be bothered to hold back his strength. It was all he could do to contain his malice that was increasing only by the moment.

Rox walked out of the room as well, a look of frustration on his face.

When Ashur had first stood, he'd said to wait but it fell on deaf ears, as the man was too deep in his mind to hear anything at this point.

Releasing a grunt, Rox leaped forward, jumping high over Ashur, who was making his way down the staircase. He landed by the entrance area, the whole Guild Hall shook and rumbled.

All who were doing things such as talking amongst each other or checking job boards turned. That included Ashur, whose distant eyes were now focused, being locked on the man standing before him.

Rox had a serious expression on his face. "I meant to tell you one more thing. Us A-Rankers have been forbidden from investigating this matter. Those on the Adventuring Council as well as Larouge will handle the situation."

"Huh?" Ashur tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as well as slowly emerging anger. John, who'd been off at a table a couple of feet away stood up, walking over to the two.

"What's going on?" He questioned; looking between the two men with a searching gaze.

Ashur smirked. "Oh, it's very simple John. Members of my clan were killed unjustly and apparently, I can't investigate."

"It's not that simple okay? If the working theory of Boreas committing that act is true, he's a danger to all of us. Especially since the last time I checked, he wasn't powerful enough to match you, let alone two of your equals."

Ashur clenched his fist. His face was lowered toward the ground as he tried to breathe in deeply and slowly.

"If you think I'm going to sit back and watch this play out you're out of your mind. If Boreas... If my brother killed some of our own a second time he's got to pay."

"A second time?" Rox had a puzzled look on his face.

If his words sprouted from confusion on what he meant or not was irrelevant as the question did nothing but anger Ashur. He was permitted from speaking of the event either way, so he just ignored his words. He started to walk past the man.

"Just leave me to my business."

A firm hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. He slowly turned, glancing up toward Rox whose eyes held not an ounce of hesitation. He refused to budge on this.

"I said no."

"Well, I say yes." Aura suddenly emerged from Ashur. It spread throughout the room in an instant. John had never felt that pressure from his companion before. It was a searing one, making the room feel like a hot spring out of nowhere. His palms started getting sweaty and John quickly wiped them on his pants.

Other Adventurers throughout the room seemed to be affected as well as some started wiping their foreheads; all watching the scene before them with bated breath. No one could guess the outcome of the newly started showdown.

The aura pouring out from Ashur did nothing but harden Rox's resolve, as his grip on Ashur's shoulder only became firmer, and firmer.

Ashur shouted. "Furgust!" And with a bright glow and a swipe of his hand, Rox was smacked by a palm made of light.

He got sent flying across the Guild Hall, smashing into a nearby wall. All in the hall seemed to freeze after the attack, staring in disbelief including John who was up close and personal to witness it. The only time he'd seen Ashur use the technique was during their recent monster cave raid, where he clouded his fist in light, punching the monsters and completely eviscerating them.

"Did you kill him!?" John asked, shock shooting out from his mouth.

"No. That big lug is too strong to be killed by something like that. I just wanted him to move, now, let's go."

As he prepared to take a step forward, Ashur felt a threatening aura from behind him. He quickly whipped around but it was too late, a big hand grasped his head, smashing him into the ground face-first.

Rox was holding him down, a couple of scuffs on his body. His skin appeared slightly redder than previously, but there were no signs of severe damage being taken. He seemed to get off with a light burn mark, as Ashur's hand was faintly imprinted on his chest where he'd been smacked.

He hissed through gritted teeth,

"I said to lay off."

The dust from the impact on the floor started to clear, and Ashur was still and unmoving.

'Did he…just take down Ashur in one blow?' John thought, nearly saying his thought out loud from the shock and confusion the sight brought him.

Rox continued speaking. "You're still younger. Don't get cocky just because you have a high amount of talent."

He then slowly removed his hand from around his head, but at that moment another shout emerged. "Furgust!"

Ashur's foot was clouded in light as he quickly pushed off the ground with his hands, delivering a powerful kick to the man's chin.

Rox grunted as the blow was powerful enough to send him into the air slightly. Ashur didn't waste this chance, screaming out "Furgust!" One more time, punching the man so hard he was sent flying towards the Guild Hall doors; completely shattering them as he continued to fly outside.

Ashur cracked his neck, some scuffs visible on his face. "John. You stay here. This is something I need to handle."

With those parting words, he dashed out of the Guild Hall in a fury. John glanced down, finding that in the spot where Ashur was smashed into the ground, his sword lay.

John thought that it must've fallen from his person during the initial crash. If the weapon being removed was a sign of this not being a fatal battle or not was unclear, but one thing was, Ashur was full of rage.