Ambush

Though reluctant, I had to walk away from the magic item that I felt inexplicably drawn to.

"Where should we go next, Rudeus? Do you want to go see the red light district?" Eris asked as we left the armour shop.

"…Why would I want to go there? And where did you even learn about such a place! Do you even know what it is?" I shot back, confused at why she would even bring something like that up.

She shrugged, "I overheard some guards saying that's where they usually went on their days off, and that it was always really fun. Wanna go?"

"Urgh, even if I went, it wouldn't be with you." I helplessly answered.

Eris looked affronted at my response, "What! Why not!?"

I looked up and down her immature body, before rolling my eyes, "Ask me again in 10 years."

She puffed up her cheeks, looking like an angry squirrel, "Hmph! I'll just go there without you then!"

I laughed, "If you went there, some scary uncles might just eat you up."

"Uuu…! Don't look down on me, Rudeus, I'm strong!" She rebutted, showing off her bicep and flexing her muscles. They were remarkably more toned than most other children her age, due to her frequent sword training led by Ghislaine, but it still couldn't compare to the Sword King's own thiccness.

Hah, Eris is the type of person who, if you told her not to do something, she would only want to do it even more. If I keep telling her not to go to somewhere as seedy as the red light district, she might just one day sneak out of the estate to go by herself. Having already known her for some time, I knew that was exactly what she would do.

"Fine, fine. If you ever defeat me in a spar, I'll go there with you… Uh, don't tell anyone I said that or they might get the wrong idea."

Her eyes sparkled, "Defeat Rudeus in a spar? Heheh, that would be a piece of cake! Give me a few months, and I'll catch up to you in a flash!"

Ah, is this what they call delusional? Poor girl, already developing mental problems at such a young age.

Suddenly, I felt someone bump into me. This wasn't strange, considering that we were walking on a busy street. But still, instinctively I moved my hand over to my waist to check for my coin pouch. However, I could feel nothing but a pair of cut strings that hung loosely from my belt.

Fuck! I fucking knew it! Before we left the estate, I was told that displaying the Boreas crest was more than enough to deter any pickpockets, but this was obviously misleading information.

I immediately turned around to catch the person who had bumped into me but having not paid attention to the pickpocket's appearance, I had no idea who I was looking for.

Fuming, I turned to Eris to warn her about keeping her purse more securely, "Hey, I just lost my coin pouch, you better-"

I froze. The loud-mouthed little noble was nowhere to be seen. I started panicking a little, turning my head left and right to catch sight of her distinctive red hair. However, there were no signs of her anywhere.

"Eris!" I called out, hoping to hear her childish voice responding to my call, but to no avail.

Where the fuck did she go? I told her not to stray from my side! And right after I got pickpocketed too. The moment I turn my eyes away for just a second… Wait. Unless… it wasn't a coincidence?

The mere thought chilled my blood. Panicked, I summoned mana to the soles of my feet and used [Earthen Dash] to launch myself high up into the air. The people that had been in my immediate vicinity gasped from the sudden act, but I was too frantic to care about insignificant matters like that.

From a height of around 10 metres in the air, I scanned the crowd beneath me, trying to see even a glimpse of red amidst the mute hues of brown and black.

I kept myself afloat using [Air Step] while frantically searching with my eyes before finally seeing a brief flash of the familiar red of Eris' hair some distance away. I couldn't be sure, given how far they were, but it looked like she was being carried by a person.

A flash of anger blazed in my heart. Son of a bitch! I cursed as I ground my teeth in rage.

"ERIS!" I yelled out, while casting [Afterburner] on my back, pouring a flood of mana into the spell which resulted in a plume of concentrated flame that was larger than normal.

Boom! I rocketed towards the direction of the girl I was supposed to be protecting.

From my vantage point in the air, I could see that the kidnapper speeding through the alleys with Eris slumped on their shoulder, unmoving.

I poured more mana into my feet and used [Air Step] to adjust my trajectory before descending rapidly by launching myself downwards with the air platform.

I crashed on the ground within a secluded alley flanked by rather tall, two storey buildings, throwing up a dust cloud upon my landing. Battle Aura enveloped my body and legs, so I felt nothing from the fall from such a distance.

The figure stopped, upon seeing my arrival, and I glared at him with murderous rage. I could feel the anger beneath me distorting my features into one of unholy fury.

I unsheathed Blue Fang from its scabbard which was strapped to my waist and pointed it at him.

"Bastard! Unhand her!" I shouted with an intention to intimidate, though it must have sounded amusing with my still prepubescent, high pitched voice.

Now that I had a closer look, I could see that the figure carrying Eris was a middle-aged man. He had a long, fox-like face and sharp features with narrow eyes, a thin nose and silvery blue hair. There was also a spider-web tattoo that covered the left side of his face. He wore leather armour that could be seen underneath his heavy cloak. (Think Gin Ichimaru from Bleach)

Most importantly, however, I could feel a sense of danger emanating from the man. This was a feeling I did not receive even from Advanced-rank guards, which meant it was very likely this man was above that.

The man smiled, his lips parting in a way that conveyed twisted wickedness. His face lit up in undisguised amusement.

"Shi shi shi, I can't believe you really fell for such a simple trick. Isn't misdirection one of the most basic tenets in the North God Style? You're supposedly a North Saint, right? Shouldn't you know something so simple? Oh right, you're just an impostor North Saint! A fake! Shi shi shi shi."

"Misdirection?" I repeated, as realization struck. Fuck, the pickpocket must have been part of this! He distracted me and at that moment Eris was taken because I wasn't paying attention!

But what shocked me the most was the fact that the kidnapper had identified me as a North Saint, something that should have only been known by a handful of people here in Roa. Yet, what concerned me the most was that the man knew I was a North Saint, and yet still dared to kidnap Eris. That could only mean a few things.

Either he was confident enough to escape from a North Saint, or he was confident enough to defeat one. Neither option sounded ideal.

"Like I fucking care. Put her down now. I won't ask twice." I responded hostilely, keeping up a façade of cool indifference. My eyes glared coldly while I released a surge of mana from my body in a flashy manner. Now was not the time to show any weakness.

The man seemed even more amused at my statement, laughing hideously.

"Shi shi shi shi shi!! Looks like that man's information was right. You really can use Battle Aura… But you're still too young. You really think you caught us? Did you not stop to think that you found me too quickly? Did you not realize that you were led here on purpose? You only found me because I let you find me!"

Us? The plural term cautioned me. Suddenly, faint whistles in the air caused the alarm bells in my mind to blare loudly. I rolled away instinctively and the next moment, four arrows flew past me and sank into the ground where I had been standing at a moment before. The arrows were fast enough to be buried in the ground half way up its shaft.

My eyes widened at the sight. There was definitely mana infused into those arrows. I looked up to see four archers with nocked bows standing on the roof of the two buildings the alley was located between.

At the same time, I could also see that on the other end of the alley, there were two men who had just entered, closing off the narrow lane.

One of them was a short man, who held a chain sickle. He wore a hooded cloak that only partially revealed his scarred face. The other man was a tall and muscular brute who had a savage expression on his face while wielding a massive warhammer.

I understood that I had just been foolishly led into a trap. Yet it was a trap that I had no choice but to enter willingly, since they had Eris with them. There were seven assailants, and most likely all seven of them could use Battle Aura. Seriously, wasn't this a little overkill? I'm just a damn kid!

"You ain't going anywhere, boy." The short man hissed out.

On the other side, the kidnapper dropped Eris like a sack of potatoes. "What a waste. A North Saint as young as you will be dying today." He uttered with a cruel smirk. "What a waste." He repeated.

I narrowed my eyes as I suddenly felt the threat level I could sense from the man rising drastically. My mana sensitivity told me the man had just started layering his Battle Aura on his body, and it wasn't a small amount either.

I bared my teeth menacingly. My attention wasn't on the kidnapper, nor was it on the two other armed men on the other side, and it certainly wasn't on the four archers aiming their arrows at me. Instead, it was on the unconscious Eris who was slumped on the ground. My goal here wasn't to kill these foes. I just need to escape with Eris safely.

"GHISLAINE!" I yelled out, knowing that my Master's keen sense of hearing would allow her to hear his cry for help as long as she was in Roa. Facing such a threat, my only hope to get out of this safely was for her intervention.

The kidnapper chuckled in response, his laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. "Shi shi shi shi. Are you calling for the beast woman? If she was here I would not have the nerve to be so daring. The Black Wolf could kill me effortlessly. Unfortunately for you, she won't be coming no matter how loud you shout. She has already been… taken care of."

My rage sharpened, "You…! What did you to Ghislaine!?"

I was completely surrounded. Three men on the ground level and four more on the roofs. Until now, I still felt a little confident of my chances, with the reliable backer that was Ghislaine, who I thought would be able to deal with any problem I couldn't. But if what that man said was true… Kuk!

The kidnapper laughed, "You should be more worried for yourself, foolish brat. If we were here just to kidnap the girl, we would have already been long gone by now. However…" He grinned menacingly, his narrow eyes widening slightly to reveal sky-blue pupils that gleamed with killing intent.

"You won't be leaving here alive today, 'North Saint' Notos."

Notos? He called me Notos? Who the fuck calls me Notos? Such thoughts raced through my mind, filling it with unanswered questions.

The man continued, his posture settling into an unidentified stance with his hands out stretched, "You should know the name of the man who will kill you. I am North Saint Kaballah. Nice to meet you… and farewell!"