Dagger VII

"You're telling me that I should go back to that damned place?! I've been looking for a way out the entire time since I woke up! Ugh."

"Admit it. You've died!"

"So what?! I just want to live! If you think you have the right to decide my life, then kill me!"

Lefazio paused for a moment to think. 'This provocation should have alerted the Necrolyte that it was found. Yet, nothing is happening. How, and why?'

"Then, what about this?" Lefazio tapped his cane to the floor. In the blink of an eye, twelve runes appeared evenly in the formation of a circle with Ruvian as its center.

Ruvian was both amazed and terrified at the same time. He remembered how difficult it was for him to master the skill of instant rune conjuration. Yet, Lefazio did it with ease.

The runes began to glow as Lefazio raised his hand, and dark-gray Inanis Vis accumulated within it. The Vis then coalesced into the form of a sword.

However, the Vis sword wasn't going to materialize. Instead, Lefazio stabbed it onto Ruvian's back.

The boy let out a piercing wail of pain, as if he had just been stabbed by a real sword. Ruvian attempted to squirm, but every movement only caused the Vis chains to tighten further, increasing his agony.

There was neither blood nor mortal wound. Instead, the stab left a bright magical opening on Ruvian's back which then Lefazio put his hand inside.

"Earrghh, dam-mn it. Argh, what did y-you do?!" The painful sensation kept bombarding his receptor.

"Stay put." Lefazio's Inanis on his hand are getting more intensified.

Ruvian shrieked everytime Lefazio's hand goes deeper inside his body. As if something was forcefully displacing his internal organs.

"This is it." Lefazio gripped at something that was solid. Then he took out his hand quickly. The magical opening immediately closed back and vanished along with the runes.

Ruvian could finally feel at ease. The pain just went like that. But he was still breathing heavily.

"I just felt a faint aura of this thing from you on the day Adelle tended your wounds. I never dared to imagine that it was real." Lefazio examined the green translucent Crystal closely.

"No way …." Adelle bewildered. She knew what it is and what dread consequence of that thing being not in its chamber.

"How can this Crystal be at your hand, Ruvian?" Lefazio glanced at him.

But of course, Ruvian's lips shut tight. It was a promise to keep it from anyone knowing it.

"ANSWER ME!" Lefazio aimed his cane at Ruvian's face.

However, the boy chose violence instead. Even though his hands were tied, he still can channel his Vis into it. Unless Lefazio's Auram was in effect.

"Hearghh!" Ruvian channeled his Vis of Impetus in a sudden burst to his hands in tremendous amounts.

Once he activates it, will create a force blast that would be powerful enough to at least weaken the Vis chains.

He didn't care anymore, either Adelle or the cottage.

But alas, Ruvian was late to activate it. Lefazio knows that the boy has been accumulating Vis.

"A pity." Lefazio tucked his cane to Ruvian's forehead.

The old man's Vis flowed through, an Aspect that is capable to alter with mind.

Just within split-seconds, Ruvian fell unconscious before he could do any damage.

Lefazio then tapped the boy's neck, wrists, and ankles with his cane, delivering a touch of Auram. Runes made of said Aspect appeared and circled around each of said body parts.

He then stared at Adelle, noticing the bandage wrap. "What happened to your feet?"

"A-ambushed by an arrow. Erv–I mean–Ruvian helped to catch the archer."

Lefazio took a moment to have a seat and sighed. "Adelle, what do you think of him?"

She knew where he glanced at. "I trusted you, Gramps. But, it's kinda hard to decide about Ruvian. I failed to see any ill intention from him in these past days."

"Yes, I've told you before that he's a good boy. He hasn't changed since then. The only thing is, he was brought back to life by the Necrolyte's reanimation power."

"What's a Necrolyte? I only knew that they were dangerous. But Alesta's journal didn't specify more."

"It is a creature that–Ahhh … perhaps it would be more appropriate to talk about it tomorrow. I've been on a long trip." Lefazio grabbed the green Crystal that was floating around. "I will rest now. There are many things that need to be prepared."

"Take him to the storage room in the basement. He should be awake by the following morning." He then headed to his room.

"Okay." Adelle didn't mind despite her injured feet, she'll just need to walk slowly. Her condition was improving fast due to Sano rather than letting her immune system handle it alone.

She crouched near Ruvian. Touching his cheek and grinned.

'Well, things turned out in my favor. I'm taking advantage of your situation, Ervy. Heehee.'

Adelle then lifted him up to her shoulder. 'Hasn't changed much, huh.'

Still, not every plan will probably go out smoothly. Adelle knew this well. But, she couldn't come up with any other back up idea.

'This is going to be a hit or miss.'

After taking turns around the stair down, she arrived at the storage door. The air seemed as cold as ever down here.

The small room was empty. Despite its size, it had the advantage of being underground and having a sturdy iron door, making it perfect for keeping things safe. It was a good place to keep a prisoner, such as the one she had just locked inside.

'This has to work, no matter what.'

She gulped, the hardest part of her plan is about to begin. It involved Lefazio and she was going to do him no good.

Then, she will need to convince Ruvian to take her out of this place.

Adelle may be able to leave the cottage, but she can only do this in a limited amount of time. This was due to the Rune of Obedience on her neck.

The rune, without its beneficiary around, would trigger in three days.

This will cause disturbance to some of the nerve systems in the neck which would effectively hinders the brain's way to communicate with the rest of the body.

Which will result in a paralyzing effect. She wouldn't be able to move her limbs until the beneficiary came to her.

Her Master made Lefazio her beneficiary. Thanks to Gramps' Vis Level of eight, all that she needed to do to unwind the effect was just be around him.

Adelle felt a rush of memories flood back as she thought about her past. She remembered the excitement she felt when she was first adopted by her new Master, and how much she learned from him as they traveled around helping others during The Invasion. But everything changed when they discovered the portal.

Things start to get boring for her as Lefazio tends to leave without taking her. It was just that, Lefazio conducting research on the portal was meticulous and monotone. Not much Adelle can learn from it.

So she decided to stay, saying that she would take care of the cottage and oversee the portal.

She kills her time reading books, but soon it would prove to be hard and tiresome to understand the subject without her master to explain things.

So, she mostly went to the town when Lefazio was away.

Eventually, she becomes more of an adventurer than a professor assistant just within a small time frame.

She has been meeting new people with Lefazio, but being working together as adventurer for quite some time was more fulfilling to her.

She realized that it was more than coworkers like Lefazio would introduce them to her. Working along until the goal was reached, they would just leave or find a new place to begin new projects.

But here in Rumabel, she truly grasped what it is to be called friends. To have each other back no matter what. When they didn't do a commission, they would just have fun for the day.

No more leaving when everything is done.

Adelle then sighed. Her life was totally different when she came here.

A normal person's life, almost. Far from the caged life behind tall walls like her master provides.

But now, things are about to change.

She was preparing supper for her and Gramps. It was where her plan shall begin.

'This is it.'

She took out the mushroom-in-a-jar that she bought in the town using her friend's money.

Slowly and carefully she poured the water out from the jar into a cup. It was as clear as normal drinking water.

Now everything would depend on whether Lefazio would suspect the spiked drink.

Adelle couldn't help but smirk, feeling confident that the chance of being found was low. Lefazio had trusted her for a long time and she knew he wouldn't be watching her every move with his Sensus.

"Gramps! Dinner is ready." She delivered it to Lefazio's room.

"Thank you, dear."

The mushroom, mentioned in a book that she read, was named Red Ear hence its look.

It has a tranquilizing effect, which is also a sleep-inducing agent.

She was not going to poison him. That will create way more bigger problems. What she needed was just putting Lefazio in a deep sleep so that would buy time to make a run.

"Adelle!"

"W-what, Gramps?"

"Have you finished the runic writing lesson?"

"Umm … I haven't had the chance to learn it yet. It's actually quite hard to learn it all by myself."

"Alright. I'll teach you the subject tomorrow. I had enough time before noon."