Chapter Eighty-One: The Plan Set In Motion

*Alex's Perspective*

Alex was standing on a cliff overlooking a small town that was currently bustling with nightlife.

"So are you two ready?" Alex asked Ophelia and Adelia, who were standing behind him.

"I know I am!" Ophelia said cheerfully.

"We'll be waiting for you; please be careful; you'll be on your own until you reach the woods." Adelia said.

"I promise I'll be fine." Alex said.

"Alex...you know what happened last time you fought seriously." Adelia tried to caution Alex.

"I know, and I know what I might have to do; I accepted that the second you told me about this mission." Alex looked over at Adelia "I'll be fine."

Adelia looked at Alex, knowing full well he was lying to her; she didn't want him to suffer through the trauma he had gone through the last time they were on a mission together.

"Adelia, we both know what we all will have to do. I know you want to protect your boy toy, but he accepted this; you should too." Ophelia said.

Adelia sighed and nodded to what Ophelia said.

"Alex, before you go, here I think you wearing this would be appropriate." Adelia said handing Alex a box.

Alex looked inside and smiled "Thank you, Adelia."

"Well, Alex, good luck!" Ophelia said before she and Adelia entered the shadows.

Alex grabbed a blanket and wrapped it over his head.

"Here we go..."

* Raven's Perspective*

"Raven, what are we doing here?" Freya asked Raven, who was sitting in the woods watching Alex.

"We are keeping a eye on Alex." Raven said.

"But how did you even find him?" Freya asked.

"I may've put a piece of paper with tracer magic in his pocket..." Raven said, scratching the back of her head.

"Yup, that'll do it." Freya said, sighing.

"What are you two doing here?" a voice from the side said.

Claire had followed the two after she spotted them escaping the camp; next to her was Seraphina, who also noticed the two sneaking out.

"We were just following Alex." Raven said.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this." Claire said.

"I know, and I didn't listen." Raven said.

"Dammit Raven." Claire said, putting her hand up to her forehead.

"Claire, listen to me. I'm sick and tired of not knowing the real story behind why Alex is the way he is now. I'm sick of seeing him fake a smile just to try and hide what he feels inside, and I'm sick of him feeling like he's alone in all of this. So you can fight me on this all you want, but he needs people who understand and can help him share his burden. It shouldn't be just you, Claire; I respect and appreciate everything you have done for him. I truly do, but we also care about him. I especially love him, but you shouldn't be the only one who understands who he is now."

Claire was shocked at what Raven said. She was frustrated with Raven forcing this but also appreciated what she was trying to do.

"Raven, I'm not going to fight you on this; you're his family, and I know he doesn't want you to see this; it's your choice in the end; just be prepared..." Claire tried to warn Raven.

"It's alright, I'm prepared." Raven said to focus on what's happening.

"Look, Alex is putting on some kind of cloak and is heading to the village now." Freya said she had kept an eye on everything.

"Well, it's time..." Claire said.

"I'm sorry, Alex; it turns out your sister just loves you too damn much." Claire thought to herself. "But who knows, maybe this is what you need."

*In the Town*

"So, Asher, what the hell have you been doing the past few months?"

Asher, along with his two friends, Ven and Brys, were eating and drinking at the local tavern.

He had met them years ago when he stayed in town for a few months, and they gelled pretty quickly together, and as a result, he tries to come every few months to hang out a bit.

"I've been doing some odd jobs here and there." Asher said. "But anyway, Brys, I heard you and Carressa had a kid together while I was gone; what's their name?"

Brys laughed and said "My beautiful daughter Melaina, and yeah, me and Carressa are doing good; we even are planning a wedding soon."

"Really, tell me I'm invited." Asher said, smiling.

"Of course, man, you're absolutely invited." Brys said.

"Awesome! I'm so excited, man." Asher said.

Asher loved these downtimes he could have with the boys; he didn't have to worry about the fighting his group has been doing or anything; he could just kick back and have fun.

"By the way, Asher, have you finally manned up and accepted Sherice yet?" Ven asked while taking a sip from his drink.

"Nah...not yet." Asher said with a smile on his face.

"You know how much she loves you, right? She's been rejecting suitors from all over the place, just waiting for you." Ven said.

"I know...she's too damn good for me." Asher said.

"So, like Ven asked, when are you going to man up?" Brys asked.

"Soon, once I'm finally done with my business...I'll do it." Asher said.

"Well, we will be waiting for that." Ven said.

"Hey guys, sorry to cut and run, but I gotta get home soon; Carressa will kill me if I'm late." Brys said.

"Yeah, I gotta get back home too. I gotta watch my little sister." Ven said.

Asher stood up and hugged his friends. "Thank you two for coming out; I really do appreciate it. Not often I get to cut back and relax with you two."

"It's no problem, man; we enjoy talking with you too." Ven said.

Brys and Ven left the tavern, leaving Asher alone with his drink.

"I really don't feel like going back and dealing with Sylvia's shit..." he thought to himself.

Then he heard a bloodcurdling scream.

"AAAAHHHHH"

*Brys Perspective*

"It was nice to finally see Asher again." Brys said to Ven as the two left together.

"Right, so I gotta ask, what the hell do you think he does when he's gone?" Ven asked.

"I don't know, man; maybe he's a mercenary or something; it's got to be something crazy, right?" Brys said.

"I would make sense." Ven said, but then he noticed something. "Hey, is he drunk?"

Ven pointed out a figure wobbling back and forth with a jug of beer in his hand, bubbing through a song.

"Hey, are you okay, man?" Brys asked the drunk man.

"Do you need us to help you home or something?" Ven asked.

However, in a quick second, all of their voices went silent, with the only sound being heard being a bloodcurdling scream.

*Alex Perspective*

Alex had faked being a drunk man singing gibberish through the streets while being cloaked by the tattered blanket he found, and once he spotted the same two guys who were out drinking with Asher, he made a decision.

Alex took a deep breath, knowing what he would have to do.

When the two approached, Alex cut their throats with a hidden knife, causing them to both bleed out and die on the spot.

Alex ripped off his cloak, revealing him standing in the streets with a mask on his face—a similar mask to what his master Ghost had worn—and pulled out his tachi, waiting for Asher to show himself; there was no way he wouldn't after all.

*Asher Perspective*

After hearing the scream, Asher ran out of the tavern in a panic, but as soon as he did, he saw the horrific sight in front of him.

Both of his friends, who he had just been out drinking with, were dead on the ground, bleeding out.

Asher's mind was frantic; he had never thought something like this would happen.

"Ven...Brys..." he said, stuttering, tears coming down his face.

Asher looked up and saw the figure standing above the bodies, and he could've sworn he saw a ghost.

The same mask, the same sword—however, surrounding his body was a different color of lightning; it was black as night, and the figure had purple eyes staring him down.

"So...you couldn't be him... I know he's dead, so you must be his pupil." Asher said as a dark blue energy started to form around his body. "You...why did you kill them?"

The figure didn't say anything and instead just continued to stare down at Asher.

"They were innocent. They had nothing to do with any of this...and yet...you killed them. They had families...and you just..." Asher shook his head and formed a maniacal smile. "It doesn't matter; I'll gut you the same as I did the previous man who wore that mask."

Asher launched at Alex, who dodged his attack, before using his magic to shoot black lightning at Asher, who also dodged his attack.

Asher summoned his long sword, which was blue, and swung at Alex, unleashing a wave of blue energy that hit him, causing him to bleed.

Alex grabbed his stomach. "A light wound, not enough."

Alex continued to attack Asher with his lightning, one of which hit Asher in the arm, causing him to have burn marks.

"Well, I think I got him pissed enough; now it's time to enter the second step of the plan." Alex thought to himself before retreating, but he also kept using his magic to make sure that Asher would stay hot on his trail.

"Oh, you're not getting away that fucking easily!"

"He bit the bait...now it's time to lead him to the others."

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