Chapter 45: Chapter 40 – To the Capital

I shudder. So this is what fighting for your life feels like?

It's hard to feel like I accomplished something even though we made the summoned hero retreat. In those short few minutes, he managed to render both Karine and Vaqelin unconscious. If it weren’t for the arms Karine made for me, whatever it is that I did and Avilia managing to bring help, we’d probably all be dead.

Inhale. Exhale. I’m still alive. That’s all that matters! Based on everything I’ve heard about him, surviving the encounter is a big win! I shouldn’t feel down. I barely even used any power, so I’m no closer to death through running out of energy. That’s a win, too!

Oh, and my arm’s on the ground! Looks like when he did his disappearing act, he managed to dislodge his sword from the arm.

I pick it up and put it back in its slot.  It’s damaged, for sure, but it’s still a lot better than having just one arm. Oh, and not everyone knows my arms are prosthetic! Got to keep up appearances, right?

Oh, the damage altered the arm enough for my software to want to analyze it all over again. Might as well let it, right?

Based on a cursory glance, both Karine and Vaqelin look to be stable. No obvious bleeding, their breathing is normal. Pulse, normal. Looks like they were shielded from the worst, just lost consciousness.

I should…

“Irene!”

I turn towards the voice and I’m instantly embraced by Avilia, placing her head against my chest. She’s breathing heavily and sweat’s dripping from her delicate head.

I hug her back. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”

Ugh, my left hand just kind of pathetically hangs there.

“It is not your fault,” she says as she pulls her head away from my chest and looks me in the eyes, “I am glad you were not hurt.”

Honestly, I’m surprised I wasn’t. Sure, my arm was damaged, but he didn’t manage to hurt me.

Oh no, she’s getting teary!

“Don’t cry, everything’s fine. We lived through it!”

She shakes her head and smiles, the tears flowing freely. “I am just relieved and happy. I have seen what that man is capable of. I was so afraid.”

I forgot. While I had heard the stories, she had actually seen him in action when she still observed us outworlders. There was always doubt in my mind about how true they could be, but… She knew.

“I hope he can’t do that again.”

“Thankfully, he should not be able to.” She sighs in relief. “Even with his mana reserves, personal teleportation is very expensive to use. He should have been running on fumes.”

Maybe that’s why it felt like he was going easy on me?

“Do you think he’s close, though?”

“No, I do not. It is impossible for him to have had the time to change his return target to the capital. He is probably back in the beastfolk territory.”

“Couldn’t he just recharge his mana and come back?”

“Technically, but not in practice. He must have used so much mana, he would have to drink dozens of potions to recover it to try again.”

“That’s a relief. I don’t think we could take a second round.”

The soldiers finally reach us and medics proceed to check on Karine and Vaqelin.

Right, I was going to do that before Avilia got to me! I completely forgot she’s mainly concerned with my wellbeing, not so much that of other people. And truthfully, while her disregard for others is a bit unsettling, I can’t help but feel appreciation for her concern.

At least I had time to check the two weren’t hurt. I’m not too worried.

An alert appears in the corner of my vision. Ah, the software has finished its analysis.

Wow. Just by isolating some of the magic circuits, it can still retain most of its functionality? Loss of some fine motor function, weakened ability to utilize ambient magic particles…

I’ll take it. If this was my original arm, it’d be unusable, no question. If nothing else, this arm is a lot more robust.

After a short while, with some light recovery magic, the two are awake again. With the two briefed on what happened after they were rendered unconscious, Karine looks even more determined than before.

“While things didn’t go exactly as planned,” Karine says, “With the summoned hero defeated, we shouldn’t have any more unexpected problems.”

I sigh. “We’re still going to infiltrate the capital?”

She nods. “Of course. Me and Vaqelin are essentially fully rested, and Avilia’s just a bit fatigued. Considering what you went through, you don’t look that much worse for wear. And now we can use their hero fleeing against them, too.”

“I distinctly remember you saying that I wouldn’t have to fight, though.”

“Not counting on the summoned hero being mad enough to teleport all his way here was my mistake and I apologize for that, but with him out of the way, I can’t see there being anyone left who we couldn’t handle.”

“But isn’t that the kind of thing you should’ve accounted for if you like to think you’re some sort of a strategist?

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Karine shrugs. “I guess so. But we still live, and he’s no longer here. Seems like placing my trust in you was the right call.”

She hasn’t learned anything.

“But without Avilia’s quick thinking things could’ve gone very differently. You can’t just keep trusting on dumb luck.”

“But I didn’t place my trust on luck. I placed it on you.”

I’m really not getting through. There’s no point continuing this conversation, is there?

Not a moment’s rest with her.

“Whatever. I guess we should just get going, then.”

“That’s the spirit,” she says as she leads us to the entrance to the secret passage. “We’re only a couple of hours behind schedule. We still have plenty of time.”

Avilia looks at the door warily. “Are you sure there are no traps or guards in this passage?”

“The smugglers told us that there’s a few illusions there to keep the city guard from noticing it, but that’s it.”

“And you are sure we can trust these smugglers?”

“Yes. Most of them are sympathetic to the cause.”

“But if we win,” I say, “Wouldn’t us knowing about these passages make their lives harder?”

“Not really. The clampdown on trade in the kingdom has turned a lot of regular merchants into smugglers. Not everyone can afford the licenses and increasing tariffs.”

“Okay, with that out of the way, let’s go.” Karine walks into the dark, open passage with Vaqelin just behind her.

Avilia grabs my hand, and pulls me into the darkness behind her.

Oh. After walking a few meters into the passage, we are greeted by a well-lit space inside. Once they see us inside, Karine and Vaqelin continue walking.

That was the first illusion. I guess it makes sense, you wouldn’t want people to see that this thing is in use from the outside, either.

I haven’t had much time to think about my… “Fight” with the summoned hero. I remember hearing a voice during it. A voice that felt like it came from inside my head.

What was it? At first, it sounded a lot like the voice I have heard in my dreams. But in the end, after I uttered the words forced into my head, I couldn’t recognize it anymore.

How could it force information into my brain? Only the software inside my head can do that. Right?

“What are you thinking about?” Avilia asks with a whisper.

“Just what happened with the summoned hero.”

“Oh, did something out of the ordinary happen?”

I end up explaining to her what I went through during the fight and she just listens. How I blocked his attacks, how he effortlessly struck both Karine and Vaqelin down. The voices, the chant I couldn’t understand. How he reacted, and how he left.

“What do you think it all could mean?”

“This sounds… Almost fantastical,” she whispers. “If I had to guess, it sounds almost like your technology has started to merge with magic.”

“Which it kind of has, right? My arms and legs aren’t cybernetic, but magical artifacts.”

“Yes, that is true. But that leads to an unknown territory. Who knows how the two could interact when they are combined like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“You told me about your dreams earlier, right? And based on that, it sounded like you may have been contacted by one of their gods. Maybe that god has…”

She falls quiet.

“You mean to say,” I whisper, “My software might’ve been influenced by, whatever that being is?”

“Yes. Maybe, maybe not. This is all conjecture. I cannot be sure. But I do not know how you could have made the summoned hero run away otherwise.”

Well, that’s not very reassuring.

“Hey, you two,” Karine says from ahead, interrupting our conversation. “We’re almost out already.”

It was that fast?

And with that, we have finally entered the city.

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