A journey to the north-east (3)

Levinte enjoyed his food in picturesque surroundings. The pair was in a restaurant located almost at the top of the hotel. Naturally, they could see a magnificent panorama of the city below their feet.

The opulent comfort made Levinte feel very lucky to be stuck with an extremely aged man that looked like a rich teenager.

Then Levinte thought of something and he turned to look at Acre, "I'm curious about something, mister. Why is the Gertrud bloodline so special than other people?"

Acre answered, "A long time ago, the first emperor drank a magical crystal water."

With a face scrunched up, Levinte was more disgusted by the fact that someone drank water made from stones rather than being shocked that there was such a thing as a magical crystal. He shook his head to snap himself out of imagining the scenario. "A magical crystal water... I've never seen magic in my life."

Acre giggled and glanced at him. "You're looking at a product of magic."

Levinte was amazed and backed up slightly, "You're made up of magic?"

"That's a question that I'll answer in the future."

Clicking his tongue, Levinte had expected the man would say something like that. Before Acre could begin his lectures about the world like an old man, Levinte interrupted. "Tell me more about the Gertrud family. Did they really drink a magical water crystal? So did they crush the stones into tiny pieces and then dilute them in water?"

Acre raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "How would I know what method they used to consume the magical crystal water? That was way before I was born."

Levinte nodded. Fair enough.

He continued, "But I know magical crystals can be found in various places in nature all across the south and east of the world. It's likely places where powerful empires are built like this one. Another example is the Empire of Qiang."

The Empire of Qiang quickly broke down after the World Clash ended. Currently, the ancient capital city of Qiang remains deserted. Outside the capital, the vast stretches of desolate lands are rumored to be inhabited by dangerous criminals.

Before Acre wanted to explain more, Levinte interjected. "Who's more powerful, the Arnayisa empire or Machaera empire?" The question was equivalent to a child asking if a lion is stronger than a tiger.

Because of his interruption, Acre's mouth was left open, then he pursed his lips. He tilted his head as if a flash of remembrance passed through his mind. Then he said, "Arnayisa empire."

Levinte: "We're on the same page,"

Acre: "Oh? How do you know?"

Levinte: "Because I've read more documents about the Arnayisa empire than this one. Machaera's documents are just about swords which I find sometimes boring to read. Although I never encountered their history about drinking crystal water."

Acre resumed his elucidation, "The magical crystal that the first emperor drank was the same crystal he made to forge his sword. It's said that the ancient magical crystal is very powerful and rare. That's why the Gertrud bloodline is among the most distinguished families in the world."

Their conversation was soon interrupted abruptly when screams echoed throughout the whole restaurant. Levinte stood up at once, looking at the direction of the source. "What's happening?" He panicked.

Acre remained in his seat as he looked in the same direction. When more layers of screams reverberated around the room, he became alarmed and darted. Levinte froze when he realized he was left alone, "Mister!"

"Stay where you are!" Acre shouted. What terrific speed! Levinte's brows furrow in astonishment at how fast Acre ran just now.

Shit! What should I do?! His legs wanted to run but his brain insisted to heed the man's warning. Standing on the spot like a mannequin, Levinte truly stayed where he was, not moving a single muscle with shallow and rapid breaths as if someone was staring at him.

Indeed, his instinct was soon proven to be accurate when he could see a black figure rushing toward him in his peripheral vision. Levinte felt like a needle was pierced into his heart as the sharp pain made him move involuntarily.

Just as he was about to move in slow motion, someone came to his rescue. The way Acre popped up was quite surprising because it felt like when you don't see anything and the second you blink, you see a face pop up in front of you.

Both figures caused Levinte to scream. A wave of fear emerged from his face as tears began to pour out. His legs gave up and he crouched down. To justify, it was his first time experiencing something scary like this, even more terrifying than any paranormal experience.

"Cheap tricks," Acre muttered as he sent a powerful blow to the enemy's chest. Thanks to Levinte's legs for giving up, Acre saw the open space to strike an attack without an obstacle.

The mysterious person covered in a mask let out a painful sound and was harshly thrown. When Levinte heard a loud crash noise, he quickly looked in the direction of the sound. He recoiled in horror, crying even harder at the sight of bloody and twisted limbs.

It was a natural response coming from a first-timer to these sorts of things. Acre knelt and consoled the weeping boy, "Don't look at it if you're not used to it. Close your eyes."

Levinte bawled even louder and turned his head to look at Acre, his expression saying: "You literally killed someone."

Acre only sighed, "I know. I'm sorry."

The boys's expression changed but it was readable: "The hell you're sorry for?"

Just as Acre wanted to put more effort into comforting him, he stood up at once and opposed more incoming enemies. Levinte felt like an object trapped in a circle of fire surrounding him.

"Trust in this old man's skills!" Acre said while fighting.

Damn it! He felt so useless he could only restrain his cries to at least help Acre from getting distracted by his noise. It did not take long until everything settled down, precisely speaking that all enemies had been defeated by Acre. Only this time, Acre restrained himself from killing anyone for the boy's sake.

Even in a crouching position, Levinte's legs gave up for the second time and his buttocks hit the ground, now in a sitting position.

The people in black laid helplessly on the ground with limited movements. After confirming the young one had finally calmed down, Acre stepped on the enemy's injured leg, slowly adding pressure as he began questioning. "Who sent you here?"

This could be considered as his 'moderate' method of torture and forcing someone to spew out illegal pieces of information since he wanted to avoid adding more trauma to the innocent boy. Nevertheless, it was still a disturbing experience.

The tormented enemy only emitted a cry in response. Unsatisfied, Acre added more weight. Perhaps the pain was finally unbearable, the person spoke up, "A rich man..."

After saying those words, the person suddenly convulsed, emitting a sound like choking as his eyes rolled back.

Acre stared at him, initially shocked because of the sudden paroxysm, then because he had seen something like this happen before.

He already figured out the perpetrator.

Not forgetting to leave money for the bill at the counter, Acre left the restaurant with Levinte being carried on his shoulder. The boy suffered a great shock from the incident just now and collapsed.

The guards arrived at the scene and assisted the terrified customers to safety. One of the guards caught up to them, "Is the kid okay? Do you need help?"

Acre shook his head and politely declined the offer, telling the guard that he will handle the boy himself. Then the guard asked for his well-being, "What about you sir? Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"I'm okay. Thank you for your concern."

Performing his duty as a guard, he nodded but wanted to make a last confirmation. He tapped lightly on Levinte's shoulder. "You awake kid? Is everything okay?"

Luckily, Levinte used his last consciousness to answer the guard, completely washing off any suspicion.

"Sorry for the delay, you may go." The guard stepped aside and Acre smiled at him.

Since the occurrence soon became a hot topic among people dwelling in the hotel, most of them gathered at the restaurant, so there were fewer people in the lobby to stare at them weirdly.

Acre gently placed Levinte on the bed, "You should rest." He felt like a father tucking his child into bed.

After making sure everything was okay, he exited the room and entered his room. Acre searched for something in his pouch and took out a golden keychain. The keyring acted like a ring as he put it on his left index finger.

Then, he sat on a chair, fixing his eyes on his fingers, and fumbled with the keychain while pondering with a serious face.