Leyten Raphael
The messenger woman had refused to talk, much to the Aeons' fury. Not that I stuck around to see what came next as I was already being dispatched on another mission. Now I swung through the forest canopy, moving with careless ease between the trees.
Not that I was actually careless. The forest had already been purged of Wikesmen forces. It was firmly under our control now. Still, complacency got people killed, so I kept my senses sharp even as I moved with apparent recklessness.
"Raphael," Carl called from a nearby branch, his voice uncharacteristically grim. "Did you hear? Their king's gone missing."
I paused, bracing a hand against the thick trunk. "What about it?"
Carl landed beside me, his expression troubled. "Remember how we rejected their king's negotiations? Turns out he never even told his own generals about the treaty. Not a single one."
I shrugged. "And?"
"Don't you find that strange?" Carl pressed. "He negotiates in secret, then vanishes. What's his game?"
Exhaling, I turned away. "Carl, we're soldiers, not strategists. Why waste energy worrying about things we can't change?"
"I guess you're right." Carl sighed. "Still, I wonder if he's planning a counterattack."
I scoffed. "He can't." The words came out sharper than I intended. "Or, even if he tries, it won't matter. Three Aeons and ten Leytens? That's more than enough to crush whatever resistance these primitives muster."
Carl didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue.
Suddenly...
Time came to a halt.
"RAPHAEL!"
Carl's voice pierced my skull like a needle, sharp and sudden. My vision flooded red, pulse hammering in my ears. I snapped my eyes open just in time to see the branch beneath me splinter—then I was falling.
The impact knocked the breath from my lungs. Above me, Carl stood frozen on the tree, his expression blank, as if trapped in a trance.
Then I saw him.
Professor Williams.
Two blades glinted in his hands—one long, one short—as he stepped from the shadows.
"So," he said, voice colder than the steel he wielded, "you really are a Eukaphrotian spy."
I rolled to my feet, sword already drawn.
Our blades met in a shower of sparks.
"P-Professor," I gritted out, muscles straining against his strength. "To think you were on my tail."
His eyes bore into mine. "And to think you were a spy."
With a brutal shove, he forced me to my knees. His left hand flicked outward—mist swirling, crystallizing into jagged ice spikes that hung suspended for a heartbeat before launching.
I barely hardened my skin in time.
The spikes shattered against me.
I rose slowly, wiping blood from my split cheek. "Just... who are you, Professor?"
He grinned, wild and unhinged. "Nobody important."
Another stance. Another lunge.
I pushed back, but he was ready—twisting mid-air, blades spinning like a deadly top. Steel bit into my cheek. A side kick slammed into my ribs, sending me skidding back.
Enough.
"Playmay's Fury: 1st Movement."
Mana surged, layering my body in triple-shielded armor. My skin hardened to steel. My fists became cannons.
He dashed back—but I was faster.
My punch connected before his feet touched earth.
Crack.
The sound of ribs breaking.
He flew, and I was on him in an instant—fists driving like battering rams, each impact shaking the air.
Then—
A bloody smile. A whisper:
"Instant Hypnosis: 3rd Form."
His body vanished.
My fists closed on empty air.
I barely registered the cliff's edge before the ground crumbled beneath me.
No—
Soil gave way. Gravity took hold.
The last thing I saw was Professor Williams, standing calmly at the cliff's edge, watching as I fell.
A trap.
And I'd walked right into it.
Professor Williams of Imemr
Perfect. Everything was going according to plan. Now that Raphael was gone, I had no more distractions to worry about. My main target is to infiltrate the enemy camp and gather intel on them. Defeating 2 Leytens all by myself was already a huge step towards victory.
With Raphael neutralized, my path forward cleared. Two Leytens eliminated—a significant blow to their forces. Now came the critical decision: report to Vestiron immediately or press my advantage?
Time was the enemy here. Every moment wasted allowed them to reinforce. I chose the riskier path—direct infiltration while they remained unaware of my presence.
The bound Leyten stirred as I released the hypnosis spell. His eyes snapped open, darting wildly for his missing comrade. A quick silencing spell kept his panic contained.
"Thou Shalt Not Lie: 1st Commandment."
Mana surged, forming luminous wings at my back—a cruel parody of divine judgment. The holy gravel in my left hand pulsed as I began:
"How many soldiers in the camp?"
A muffled grunt reminded me of his sealed lips. With a flick of my wrist, the spell lifted.
"Fifty soldiers," he gasped. "Two Leytens. One Aeon."
"Where is the king?"
"This person is unable—"
I cut him off. "Locations of all Aeons in Wikesland."
"Aeon Elke and Platus prepare to attack Tritine. Aeon Arturus guards the forest camp."
"Camps?"
"Three operational. A fourth under construction."
The light behind me flickered—my limit reached. The interrogation would end soon.
One final question: "The Boltaire family—"
Darkness swallowed my wings. The spell broke.
The Leyten slumped unconscious, his face eerily familiar. It mirrored my own expression years ago when I had been the prisoner, writhing under Eukaphrotian interrogation. For me, it was my first deadly trial…These Eukaphrotians….
No time for sentiment.
Blade drawn. A single thrust through the sternum. Clean. Efficient.
"May the Architect judge my actions rational."
The words tasted hollow.
But war left no room for hesitation.
I vanished into the trees, bloodied steel sheathed, moving toward the enemy camp.
They wouldn't see me coming.