Free

Ron slowly opened his eyes and lay there for a few moments, looking up at the ceiling. Suddenly, he heard someone shout, "He woke up!" As Ron turned his head, he saw a mage using his healing magic on him. 

He noticed that Bob had already awakened before him.

However, as the mage looked at Ron's face, he let out a scream and quickly backed away as if he had seen a demon. "His eyes!" exclaimed the guard. "He has a devil's eyes!" He then ran out of the room in a panic.

Ron felt strange in his eyes, the same sensation he had felt when Azazelus's blood was pumped into his body. He looked around the room and saw other guards and Raze looking at him with fear in their eyes.

Raze suddenly came forward and pushed Ron's face onto the ground. "CLOSE YOUR EYES!!," Raze commanded, as he made him look down onto the ground. As Ron concentrated, his eyes glowed, and the ground beneath him seemed to liquefy, as if it had never existed in the first place. The seemingly endless melting of the ground continued until Raze told Ron to close his eyes.

"Close your eyes, do not open them, no matter what !," Raze warned as he tied a cloth around Ron's eyes to blindfold him.

After a few minutes of everyone calming down, Raze asked, "Did you make a pact with an archdevil?"

"I guess so, I did?" replied Ron.

Raze and the other guards then kneeled in front of Ron. Bob was still there and asked, "Guys, why are you kneeling down? Are you doing push-ups?" Ron, whose eyes were still closed, heard this and asked, "Wait, why are you guys kneeling down?"

"You, who are chosen by one of the King of Darkness, we pledge our loyalty to you," Raze declared.

"I don't understand what you're saying, sir," said Ron.

"You made a pact with one of the servants of our gods. You are one of the few people who made a contract with an archdevil in our continent," Raze explained.

"WHAT??" exclaimed Ron in surprise.

"The eye of devil is the proof that you are a chosen by one".

"Wait, you mean one of them, so are there more like me" asked Ron.

"Yes, we don't know the exact number, but only descendants of ancient families in our country can make contracts with Archdevils. However, no one knows their identity, location and numbers"

"But it's weird, I don't sense any dark magic form you, why is that?" asked Raze as if he is still suspicious.

"I dunno, maybe it's because of the black taker, I guess," Ron mused. He couldn't tell him about the buff the goddess gave to him.

Raze smiled, "Oh, I see." He waved his hands again, and Edward stepped forward, swiftly slicing one of the men in half.

"My lord-dd, why?" asked one of the men, as he saw the sword coming out from behind him.

"Sorry, but you have to die now. We can't risk letting this information out, even to the higher-ups," said Edward remorsefully.

Slowly he killed of the men one by one until there was non left.

The sounds of cries and screams could be heard until it came to an end. Bob was sitting terrified in the corner, looking at the bloodshed. It was the first time Bob had seen someone getting killed in front of him.

"Why did you kill them?" asked Ron.

"We can't let anyone else share this information with anyone. If the Norhaen Empire hears even a glimpse of this, they will hunt you down to the death, no matter what," explained Raze.

"You both have to move away from here tonight itself," added Raze. "We got the ancient rune so we completed what we had to do here. It's time to go," said Raze.

"Edward will be with you. He will safely take you to someone I trust," said Raze as he walked out. "Hope, we will meet again soon."

"How can we leave so suddenly?" exclaimed Bob.

"We have to, it's too dangerous to stay any longer," replied Ron.

As they prepared to leave, Raze took out a horn and blew it, creating a loud sound. It was a signal, and the hidden dark mages removed their cover and started attacking the rest of the guards.

The dark mages broke down the walls surrounding the building, and all the slaves ran out in commotion. Raze killed all the soldier who were guarding the entrance to the camp and opened it up.

Seeing the door open, all the slaves started running outside, feeling the glimpse of freedom they had longed for. The night was full of commotion as the smell of blood and smoke flew into the air.

Edward took one of the horses and rode away from the camp along with Ron and Bob.

Bob breathed in the fresh air and gazed at the lush greenery around him. "It's so beautiful," he exclaimed, feeling grateful to be breathing fresh air for the first time.

Ron, too, felt a sense of relief as he heard the sounds of nature and birds chirping. He had spent the last eight years trapped inside a mining camp, with only the sounds of mining and screams to fill his ears.

.

After riding for an hour, and he finally decided to set up camp. "Let's camp here," he said, stopping the horse.

"We're quite a distance from the camp, so we will be safe for the night," he assured, handing two boxes of food to the duo. Meanwhile, Edward started setting up a tent.

"We'll be staying here for the night. After you finish the food, both of you get some rest. I'll keep watch throughout the night," he added.

Ron and Bob were exhausted, so they went inside the tent to rest. They knew they had a long journey ahead of them, but for now, they were content to get some rest.

The next morning, the trio resumed their journey. Most of their travel took them through dense forests, where they encountered various animals and even some small magical beasts along the way.

Travelling furthermore into the mountains, they reached a small village.

The village was busy, with people doing what they have to do. There were people selling, fruits, a snake chamber playing, then also there were portions and gems in one of the shops.

Edward halted before one of the shops, purchasing essential supplies and food for the rest of their journey. He took the opportunity to inquire among the locals, seeking information about the current status of the camp they blew up.

Soon they continued their never ending travel.

"Where are we going to?" asked Bob.

"To the land of milk and honey," replied Edward.

"C'mon, man, tell us. We've been travelling for four days now" asked Bob.

"I wish I could, but I don't actually know. However he assured me that this person is an abyssian, so we have to put our faith in him." replied Edward.

"Huuuu? what do you mean you don't know? I thought you knew this person well," questioned Bob.

"I only heard about him from Raze and it's not my place to pry into his personal relationships," explained Edward.

"Man" said Bob.

As they journeyed further through the valley, the ground began to shake violently beneath their feet.

Suddenly, the rumbling grew louder and more intense, causing Edward to quickly dismount from his horse. He motioned for Bob and Ron to do the same, their eyes wide with alarm.

"Keep both your mouths shut" he cautioned as he led them to a nearby tree for cover.

The rumbling came closer until it stopped her the horse. The horse was making a lot of noise, but after, it soon stopped. All of the tree looked behind the tree to see what it was.

"A Verdant Wolf," Edward announced, his voice low.

"What is a Verdant Wolf?" asked Ron.

"It's a magical beast with nature properties," Edward explained in hushed tones. "It can use nearby plants to attack its prey or enemies."

He said as his eyes fixed on the wolf. "It's smelled us and caught up to us. We need to kill it or it will follow us further."

"Also, taking down a Verdant Wolf would be a valuable learning opportunity for both of you," Edward added as he unsheathed his sword.