Chapter 240: 232 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Noble Sacrifice of a Protective Father

Chapter 232 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Noble Sacrifice of a Protective Father

“Now you are in deep shit.” Bradley sighs, spitting to the side. “And it could have been all good if only you accepted my proposal.”

I turn back to him and he tenses a little. For some reason, he always does when facing me with the mask on. He’s never been a coward or anything, so I don’t think it’s about the design of the skull. Whatever it is, I’m glad for that detail today. The more intimidated he feels, the better for me.

“Isn’t your entire escapade pointless now?” He asks with a raised brow. “You came here for me, but will leave in a bag because of your silly beliefs.”

“I came here to rescue you.” My grip tightens around the handgun. “Unfortunately, I was not aware you didn’t need rescuing. What you needed was a bullet to the head, traitor.”

“That didn’t end according to your plan either.” My former partner chuckles amusedly. “Well, maybe I would have made you another offer if only you hadn’t raised your gun at me. Right now, I’m afraid I can’t let this go. It’s a shame, but that’s just how it is.”

Sighing quietly, I holster the pistol as the pair watches me intently. The woman’s posture adjusts a bit, but Bradley only shakes his head with a knowing grin. I have no way of using it again even if I want to, and my other weapon is not reloaded. While I mastered that skill long ago, it still takes longer than either of them needs to take me down.

“I really hoped for a different outcome,” I say firmly.

“I bet.” He laughs. “This clearly isn’t the place where you expected to die.”

“No,” I reply and his grin widens, until he realises that I’m actually denying his words. “This isn’t the place where I expected to kill you.”

Bradley lets out a snort. “Don’t joke around. You have nothing—”

Pulling my hand up from the holster, I brush my fingers against one of the fist-sized spheres attached to my belt. It comes into sight only as the motion lifts my cloak a bit, but that split-second is enough for his eyes to widen. The wooden shell falls to the ground and splits into two.

A shout from both the front and the back reaches my ears as I dive to the side. The woman will take a moment to recover from the blinding flash, but Bradley knew what was going to happen and must have managed to shield his eyes at least partially. I don’t exactly know since I had to close mine and jump into action right after.

The window in the nearby barrack doesn’t have any glass so I throw myself through it, landing inside the wooden building, right between two very simple beds made out of boards. There are dozens of them arranged side by side, leaving just enough space in the middle of the longhouse to allow easy passage from the front to the back.

But, I don’t gawk around and get on the move the second after I land on the floor with a roll. My hand is already reaching for a new bolt and slotting it into my weapon. I love this not-so-little thing but sometimes I really wish the Dwarf artisan I met was a bit more talented and managed to come up with a repeating mechanism. According to him, it was too much to ask without specific artificer inscriptions and rare materials, not to mention designing the thing for handheld devices.

You are always taught to work with what you have, though, so that’s what I need to focus on. Before either of the two makes their move or figures out which barrack I have escaped into, I turn around and peek out of the window with my crossbow rifle poking out of the frame. From the assumed angle, I find the masked female glowing with numerous glyphs right in my sight. Not wasting the precious opportunity, I pull the trigger and send the projectile at her neck, not sure how durable that face cover is or if it’s just a decoration.

It ultimately doesn’t matter though because my bolt ricochets off another purplish formation, just on a much smaller scale, causing the cloaked figure only to flinch. I should have figured she could create personal anti-projectile barriers after witnessing her erect a big one in front of Bradley. But, I had to try.

My location gets exposed immediately and her annoyed eyes lock on me. I would have expected more venom in them since she has to be something a bit more important to the cult than just your common grunt. Maybe she is just so far above it all that she doesn’t even find it worthwhile expressing her rage on insignificant nobodies like me. The difference in our power levels is clear as day.

After everything, I’m Tier 4, but my Class doesn’t get that much powerful with each new stage. It’s always been mostly about utility. Honestly, it suits a former sniper like myself, providing me with a plethora of options for conducting my operations, from reconnaissance to the final shot, but it lacks pure firepower.

In the end, being a Stalker doesn’t sound too powerful, does it?

God, there can’t be a more misunderstanding-inducing and worse-sounding Class in this world.

So, I invoke one of my basic abilities called Stalking Step and run away without creating any noise. Moments after I move past the nearby bed, the wooden wall behind me explodes with a blast of lightning. Jumping out of the window on the opposite side to the one I entered from, I land on the porch and sprint to the end of the building. A quick glance past the corner, I rush to the next barrack and get inside again.

Running to the windows facing the last known positions of my opponents, I drop into a slide while reloading and hit the wall without a hint of disturbance. Looking out of the pane-less square, I activate Mask Presence and take a deep breath. A chilly sensation washes over me as I feel myself kind of disappear. I know I’m still visible, but it’s easier for people’s eyes to simply pass over me if they don’t focus on my position hard enough.

I moved far enough to get an angle on Bradley this time. He is frantically scanning the barracks currently being barraged with spells by the rune-wielding woman. I’m nowhere near his cone of vision, which is fortunate. The purple barrier is gone too, letting me hope that this shot can finally connect.

Third time’s a charm, right?

The bolt is released with a quiet twang, my ability unable to mask the noise of an attack or other offensive skills, and I watch it sail towards Bradley’s head. By some stroke of luck, his gaze moves close enough to my position before the shot that he spots the assassination attempt. He throws himself to the back at the received sound cue, but since the distance is not great, the bolt still strikes true.

Only to graze over his entire forehead and fly further, its path slightly altered, a painfully deep gash created right above the guy’s brows now. He managed to tilt himself enough to save his life. Lucky bastard.

Not for long, though, as a literal waterfall of blood descends onto his face, the arrowhead cutting deep enough to cut his damn skull while passing by. The agonising wail as he stumbles tugs at my heart, but I immediately steel my mind, reminding myself that this is no longer my sworn brother. This is a traitor and a terrorist set on homicide. My partner is dead. All I can do now is avenge him.

I’m on the move right away, but it’s not fast enough. A chunk of rock crashes into the window as I’m escaping, demolishing the entire wall and clipping my back as it flies through another. A growl escapes my throat as I get up from the rubble and start running again, chancing a glance over my shoulder. The woman is floating above the ground, starting to fly after me.Th.ê most uptod/ate novels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m

My steps still silent, I dodge another, much smaller boulder and roll through the window on the opposite side. Hitting the porch, I roll and grab another sphere from my pouch this time. Throwing it to the left like a bowling ball, I force it to roll over the wooden patio while I sprint in the opposite direction, the sound of hard boots hitting wood in a rhythmic pattern echoes behind my back.

A Galloping Grenade as I have named it. It’s a simple shell with two wooden halves inside, one of them attached to it permanently while the other has a little bit of wiggle room and holds a heavier piece of metal. As the ball rolls, gravity does its thing and the pieces strike each other, creating a fairly authentic noise. At least of a wooden surface, which is perfect.

I hear another crash and spin around. The array master barges through the wall with her back to me, her attention focused all in the direction of the running sound. As she pauses in confusion, holding her arm out prepared to strike me down, I unsheathe my military knife and charge at her from behind.

If projectiles don’t work, maybe melee will do.

Reaching her undetected, I aim for the neck, but she proves to have immaculate senses or intuition, or perhaps it’s another of the hundred formations glowing all over her attire. She winces as my blade enters her personal space, beginning to turn. As a result, my swing from the side finds purchase below her shoulder, too high to puncture a lung as it slides off her clavicle. But, nothing repels it so it disappears fully in her flesh, confirming that she can be wounded.

A piercing scream erupts from the mage and I’m blasted to the back by a powerful thunder wave, the work of another of her enchantments. My grip remains tight so the knife comes with me as I tumble on the ground and land in a crouch, quickly sheathing it. Our eyes meet again as she clutches the deep wound, pure hatred glimmering in their depths. Which, to my surprise, mellows out again into just anger and extreme irritation.

“You fucking... GAAAAH!” She slams the nearby wall in her riled-up state, using it as an outlet. “I should have known you are going to be just as cunning...”

I frown lightly, but she obviously can’t see it. It’s hard to understand what she means. Maybe she refers to Bradley. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he had to fight someone to prove himself or something.

Nevertheless, before she flings another spell at me, I hoist myself into the safety of another barrack. These buildings are my only advantage over them. I can only hope she isn’t hiding enough firepower to level the entire place and that she does mind the living quarters of her comrades, even if currently completely empty. If I could land a solid shot on that traitor and use these houses to escape, that would be great.

I can’t set many traps behind me as it’s clear this woman won’t bother using the same means to travel as me. I don’t have anything potent enough to blast her while it gets damaged by another of her flashy entrances. So, I can rely only on myself and run.

No earth-shattering blows come after me as I sprint through two empty barracks and again hop into the lane of our first meeting. Bradley is gone this time, but the massive trail of red he leaves is like a navigation assistant. He can’t seal such a deep wound without powerful skills or medicines, which I assume he doesn’t have access to at his current rank in the cult.

Following the hints like a shark, I chase after my prey. As the path hides between two buildings, I jump through a nearby one not to run right into him holding an angle. Bradley isn’t a moron. He knows he has a glowing target on his back now. He is going to expect me to use it to track him down.

Thankfully, my stalking stance doesn’t consume much mana so I can keep it up for a long time. He won’t hear me, but he will see me. Unless I approach this differently.

Poking my head out of the window, I quickly check the trail, but it doesn’t come into the next lane. That means he has either hidden in one of the barracks and set up an ambush or is still between them doing the same. I begin moving away from his assumed position for a while. Then, I cross the street and my eyes land on a fairly tall outcrop that will be perfect for my plan. As long as I reach it undetected.

Unloading the current normal bolt, I replace it with a custom one, which has a round, blunt tip the size of a golf ball. It’s much heavier, but that’s as intended. I twist the upper half of the orb. Aiming into the ceiling at an angle, turned somewhere in the direction where the woman might be, I shoot into the air. The projectile quickly reaches its peak and starts falling away from me. As it falls, the timer reaches zero and previously closed holes open. A ramping-up whistle fills the area. If I’m lucky, they’ll both think I’m preparing some kind of a big technique in that spot.

No one assaults me as I reach the uneven pillar. Pulling out a miniature grappling hook, I spin its head a few times before launching it around one of the protruding parts. Making sure it doesn’t break off, I hastily climb atop the natural structure, dropping onto my stomach right away.

Reaching under my vest, I pull out a see-through veil and roll over twice while throwing it around myself. Fully wrapped up, I end up on my front again and activate Optical Camouflage, just the tip of my weapon poking out from beneath the sheet. I can still see through it fully, but to anyone outside, it should have assumed the same shade and texture as the stone beneath me, turning me into part of the scenery.

Steadying my breath, I scan the lanes through my SPECTRE. First, I spot the runic mage casting some kind of a searching spell around the place where my bait has fallen. Then, I find Bradley where I have expected him to be, just between those two barracks I passed by. Ten daggers surround him as they float within dark energy, all pointed in the direction of the blood trail. Him being a Shadow Assassin is a lot of trouble as his magic is extremely lethal.

But, it doesn’t matter how strong or dangerous it is when he faces the wrong direction. From my position, I have the perfect shot lined up. Right into the back of his head. One more glance at the woman, I make sure she isn’t in the line of sight to him. I can’t have her save him with a barrier again. At one point, I’ll run out of opportunities. Or ammunition.

Not to mention it still doesn’t feel like she is giving this fight her all. Does she really care so much about these huts?

Anyway, the tenants are bound to return soon too. At least part of them. All the traces I left behind lead to this place. Or they will finish combing through the entire complex and come back to their beds. I definitely don’t have enough bolts to face an army. The longer I take, the lower my chances of success or escape get.

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I look around the room, scanning every corner.

“What are you looking for so hard?” my other captor inquires.

“Since this looks too good for a cell, I assumed it’s an infirmary or something. Or did Bradley actually not make it?” I turn to her, part of me hoping for her to confirm.

“He is alive. Barely. Don’t worry, though. You’ll see him dead. I just needed a scapegoat,” she answers.

“A scapegoat?” I frown.

“This is my personal room. We brought you here right after the shockwave knocked you out. Since the intruder is out of the grid, I need someone to blame for all this chaos and destruction. That man is relatively fresh and always felt quite ambitious and arrogant. Thanks to the fact that it was only us in the barracks, I was able to blame this on him and his plan to take me out with an ambush to prove his skills and try to take my place. His head will roll, but the higher-ups need to verify everything so that my position remains uncompromised. I apologise, but it’s important for my mission,” the military woman explains.

“Won’t his version of the events completely ruin it, though?” I tilt my head in confusion.

“I took care of that,” the violet-skinned girl replies. “He is going to say whatever I tell him to. Wrapped the guy around my little finger. I could have even directly altered his memories, but that would require a much more... direct... approach, and I find myself rather repulsed to touch another male after developing these feelings for Master which are rather uncommon for my kind. Similarly, no other semen tastes decent to me anymore.”

“Wha...?” My brain bluescreens for a moment. “Who... What are you?”

I’m starting to have a fairly decent theory after those comments, but surely, that can’t be, no? From what I heard, they are stuff of legends, in both worlds.

“Time for introductions!” She stands up with an excited expression. “This here is Madeline, a former member of the cult who is currently working as our double agent amidst their ranks so that Master and his allies can fully dismantle this barbarous organisation. She’s also my student at the moment and why I was able to save the three of you as I have been monitoring everything from inside her.”

“It’s my honour, Sir Carter.” The robed lady lowers her head.

Did Bradley tell them my full name?

“As for me, I’m Ailish, and I’m an Arch Succubus. I’ve bound myself to one master after he woke me up from my slumber and offered me the world.” The demonic girl flutters her eyelashes like a maiden in love. “I had no idea we would be able to find you so fast! Lumina must have blessed us from above! You have no idea how much I dreamed of the moment I could introduce myself to my father-in-law! Until recently, it wasn’t possible for it to be more than a fantasy! Oh, I’m so happy my entire body is shivering!”

My processing organ fully shortcircuits this time.

I gape at her blankly. “How long was I...”

Ailish giggles as she reads my unspoken question like an open book and swats my shoulder. “Just a few hours, silly. No, it’s not Noah. I’m talking about Alastair, of course.”

A wave of dizziness so powerful the edges of my vision blacken hits me.

It’s official now.

I’ve lost my mind from the blast and this is a hallucination of a dying man, slowly bleeding to death.

My brain is coming up with all the wild shit I would have wanted to hear if I made it out of that fight, no doubt.

“—lo? Hello? Earth to Connor? You still with us?” The Succubus waves a hand in front of my eyes, recapturing my attention with another reference to my homeworld.

“That’s... not possible.” I swallow heavily, my throat refusing to work with me. “Alastair is...”

“Back in Europe with your parents?” Ailish smirks. “Yeah, no. Just like you and your friend, he got swooped into Naharren with a bunch of companions. Well, while their arrival was intended, his part in it was unplanned, like yours. Though, now I’m starting to wonder if it truly was as incidental as Lumina thinks with you being here all this time.”

It feels like someone is squeezing my heart with a fist, making it almost impossible to breathe.

“It can’t be...” I shake my head. “Whatever game you are playing here, devil, I won’t fall—”

“Oh, shush.” She rolls her eyes and leans forward, placing a finger against my forehead.

A prick of pain shoots through my brain before my vision swims. A slightly cloudy one replaces it, with a pinkish tint. I find myself looking at an extremely familiar table, but the viewing angle is a bit awkward, lowered somehow. A strangled gasp escapes my throat as the camera pans onto Ayumi sitting on its opposite side, looking as beautiful as always, chuckling at something adorably.

For a moment, I think that I’m somehow witnessing this scene through Noah, which would explain the position, but as the image shifts, he is revealed next to my loving wife. My confusion only grows as whoever eyes I’m looking through continues to look between them and their plate.

At least until their gaze wanders to the right, landing on a man sitting very close to their side.

A fairly good-looking guy with bright, neatly arranged hair, feeling like white or perhaps silver under this filter, takes part in the conversation. He wears fine adventuring attire in dark shades. Hard to guess his age with such a smooth face, but maybe I’m looking at him through their child’s eyes or something, making him fairly adult.

But then, he turns to me as my host says something, and shows a warm smile.

My breath hitches.

It’s that smile.

Everything can change, but it’s always that smile.

And those smart, unbelievably mature for his age grey eyes.

They shine with just as much brightness and understanding as over a decade ago.

Alastair.

The vision starts to swirl and fade, my hands subconsciously shooting forward to claw at it, take a hold of it, and force it to stay a little longer. Unfortunately, it disappears, replaced by the previous room belonging to the mage. My head slowly rotates until my eyes meet the violet-skinned lady’s gentle smile. She reaches out to caress my cheek and only then do I notice the wet trails running down them, her fingers wiping them off.

“I apologise, but any longer and they would have noticed.” She chuckles quietly. “And as much as I want to go and scream into our bond until everyone hears, I think there are better ways and moments to let him know about the situation. Like, not being almost bedridden or maybe face-to-face?”

“You are right.” I take a deep breath to recompose myself. “So... You are his wife? Do you think... he hates me for what I did?”

“Are you an idiot?” The Succubus smacks me on the head. “Seriously, is this kind of shit inherited? Man, he almost started turning this realm inside out the moment he learned about you in that village. You should have seen his face. He went straight to the Goddess ready for it to go down. I don’t want to tell him right at this moment exactly because of that. He is going to drop everything and sprint here until his immortal body crumbles from exertion.”

There are many words that raise a flag or two, but I’m unable to focus on them as a smile forces itself onto my lips.

“But, to answer your question, yeah, I am.” She smiles lovingly too. “That’s how you were able to see that scene. It was live. Thanks to the deep bond we share with him. It’s an incredible connection.”

“We?” My brows furrow slightly.

“Yep. A connection needs two points, right? For this one, there was me, and Sirgia, the Dwarf through whose eyes you have been looking,” Ailish answers amusedly. “Technically, I could have used another, but Codae is still fairly fresh.”

“Another?” I let out an involuntary chuckle. “There’s more?”

“About twenty or so.” She taps her chin thoughtfully. “If we count only sworn mates at least.”

I rub my eyes.

Is this definitely not a dream?

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