Soul Knight - Chapter 37 - Nick and Eirwen (Patreon)

Rebecca’s expression looked almost like she wanted to cry once more, her eyes showing worry. “Oh no, what is it now?”

“I just wanted to apologize for my…not being completely honest with you. Before I arrived here, I sent some teams to sneak into your city. Those slavers we found just now outside the door didn’t fight each other, it was my team in the sewers.”

Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked conflicted. “You… are they armed?”

Nick nodded. “It’d be kind of dumb to try to face a bunch of rogues and kidnappers unarmed. I sent them in to try to find the children, and I had done it before we met at the gates. I didn’t really have a way of calling them back when you were so helpful. Before we arrived, we assumed we would have to siege the place.”

Rebecca looked hurt, her expression slacken and her posture defeated. “You… lied to me? I welcomed you into our city of Zura under the conditions that you and your people came in unarmed, and you broke my trust?”

Nick sighed. “I told you about our first meeting with Torvus. Do you think I could trust that something like that wouldn’t happen again? In the end, what I did wasn’t to hurt the people of Zura, but to rescue the orc children. I made an Oath, and it is my duty to do everything in my power to rescue them, as long as the battle is honorable. While my people snuck in, it wasn’t to attack your people and stab them in the back–it was to find and save children, to fight the evil responsible–an honorable battle. Is that so horrible?

Rebecca hesitated, and it seemed she couldn’t settle on whether to be hurt or angry. “I…”

Nick continued, “Things would have been completely different if you believed me from the beginning, but that’s a difficult thing, and I don’t blame you for wanting to verify our claim. I’d have loved to just marched my men inside, and go straight to rescuing the kids. But our enemy is devious, and has made you and your own faithful people into an obstacle to justice as well, and I couldn’t risk the alternatives. I’ve been forthright with my goals from the beginning, and have not lied to you–an omission, but not a lie.”

Rebecca’s brows furrowed in thought, her eyes scanning left and right as she likely searched her mind for their conversations.

“I… suppose that is true, but I do believe a lie by omission is still a lie. And…” She sighed. “I am hurt that you didn’t trust us to help you find justice, but with what Torvus did on your first trip, I suppose it’s understandable what you did. You even told me now when you didn’t have to, you could have kept the ruse up for even longer, keeping the wool over my eyes as I continued to believe you.”

Her hands gripped her habit tightly around her thighs. “It is really best I direct my anger at the true villain. They have made a mockery of my people and our goddess. If not for you, this wickedness would have continued. Even more unfortunate, is that it is likely my father.”

Nick nodded. “Or the guy with a scar on his face with the evil-sounding name, that you should have totally seen coming. I mean, a merchant named Brutus? C’mon.”

She snorted, then she started laughing, her chest shaking. After a moment, she took a deep breath. “I… thank you for that–some levity does take the sting away a little. You really haven’t lied to me?”

“No, but I have my own secrets, about my race and my background. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s for me to be on the side of good.”

“I…do believe that. I may not be able to detect lies like you miraculously can, but despite the dangerous air about you, you do seem trustworthy. The truth is, I know a lot about the purity of soul, and I know that one cannot mend another’s safely like you can unless it is. Those that might be able to do it without a pure soul pay a horrible price, and would not use it on mere slaves with a smile.”

Nick chuckled. “What, you mean like some kind of sacrificial ritual or something? Huh.”

She nodded, but then covered her chest again, her cheeks taking on a blush. “W-Wait, didn’t you say something about actually being able to see through my clothes or able to see my soul, that it was one of the two?”

Nick smiled, as he looked her in the eyes. “I did say something like that, didn’t I? If I did say it, then it must have been the truth.”

She seemed to blush even deeper, before she sighed, and gave him a determined look. “Nicholas Noblefrost, as Archpriestess of Zura, I free you from your Oath. Your honorable orcs may arm themselves, and let’s go save those children, and bring justice to those responsible.”

Nick chuckled. “You won’t regret your decision, I promise you that. Let’s move!”

***

Eirwen shot her crossbow, sending a bolt into the shadowy creature. The monster’s magic washed over her as it screeched, goosebumps covering her body as fear stirred inside her, making her want to retreat. Triggering Quick Load, she rapidly loaded a bolt and cocked the loading arm, reloading her crossbow and firing again in quick succession.

Fang and Luna flanked Kaya with their spears, as she swung her axes, sending her feral energies cutting into the monster with her Cleave skill. It fed on their fear, replenishing its shadows, and they did their best to hold on to their resolve, facing the magical fear effect.

An orc scout fired an arrow filled with mana, and it cut deeply into the creature’s core, the monster finally dispersing.

Kaya sagged with relief, her face reverting to beastfolk so she could speak. “Those things are much tougher without Nick around. Where do you think that thing came from?”

“They appear to be summoning them, or unleashing them from somewhere. I am a bit worried, but each one we kill is one less they will have for the final battle. They are just wandering out of the room.”

Eirwen’s group found where they thought the children were being held, but creatures made of shadows started arriving in the sewers from through the door.

Thankfully, Luna’s party had finished their search on that side of the town, and they had managed to meet up.

No bandits were spotted, so they simply dealt with the creatures as they appeared. They wanted to move in, but they were waiting for Sable’s group, and Nick’s forces start combat up above.

Because there appeared to be just too many enemies on the other side of the door. Eirwen could see and feel that there must be near a hundred of these things, along with many others she was nervous to fight.

Even one of them took effort for their smaller group to kill, but she knew the orc warriors supported by their shamans were on another level from the scouts in their capability to fight.

Kaya sighed. “What’s taking him so long, anyway? Is he just out for a stroll with his new army of orcs?”

Eirwen hummed, as she searched her connection, her Pact, with him. She couldn’t feel all that much unless Nick intentionally sent feelings to her. But she did feel things like phantom sensations and emotions. Combined, she got a general idea of what he was doing with enough time and focus on it.

“Looks like…they might be on their way here. I’m not sure why they took a while, but hubby did fight some things earlier. Maybe they found other bandits, or rescued others?”

Some soft barks and yips echoed off the walls, Luna and Fang’s tails wagging as they responded with their own. Sable arrived with her group of orc scouts, and now they were in position and ready.

Speaking with the scouts, Eirwen and Kaya learned what Nick was doing–he was killing slavers and rescuing slaves. Sable’s had stopped some from retreating, even making it look like they had fought each other.

Kaya wondered, “Maybe we should get Nick to come straight down here? This might be the best way to go on the attack. Once we’ve secured the hostages, Lothar can come here if needed.”

Eirwen hummed. “Okay, let’s do that. Think you can do that, girls? Go get Nick’s attention, and bring him here.”

She thought she could get him to come running over their Pact, but didn’t want him to overly worry. Sending the wolfling girls was easier to convey the message, for now. She wondered if their bond would ever be enhanced, where it would become a little more useful or not.

The three wolfling girls barked and yipped, immediately running off. They would meet up with Nick, and make a move on the hostages.

***

As they arrived near the church, Nick’s annoyance went through the roof. Thankfully, he had the orcs waiting around the corner while he scoped things out, but this was not the situation he was hoping for. He had hoped they would be able to enter the church, and just hunt down the bad guys inside.

A man stood in front of it, with what looked like a large mob having formed outside. He was proselytizing, working up the crowd about the orcs in their city. He was flanked by several priests, and Nick could tell they were the more corrupt of the bunch.

“Their spirits are impure, their intentions for our great city evil. They plan slaughtering us and taking, their horrible nature unfathomable. We must push them from our city, before it is too late!”

Shouts of agreement came from some people, but Nick noticed that many just looked on with a calm gaze, even if a bit worried. While the group of people threw rocks and fruit before, it seemed that the larger populace was not easily convinced to commit violence.

He realized that Rebecca’s talk about them being a peaceful people was entirely correct–he had just seen the religious zealots, and those tainted by the odd faction’s teachings.

Nick looked over to Rebecca. “You gonna be able to break up this mob, too? Things could get dicey here quickly.”

Rebecca looked at the crowd with worry. “I don’t know if they will listen to me now. I cannot believe any of them are giving in to the hate, where there should be nothing but love and wisdom. This has been festering for some time it seems. We–”

Some barks and yips entered Nick’s ears, and he could barely hear them over the noise of the nearby crowd. Looking, Nick found the wolfling girls barking from the sewer nearby.

Nick could hardly see them through the grate, but he saw them pointing in the direction of the church, and then pointing down the alley nearby.

“They want us to enter the sewer–it looks like we can likely reach the hostages from there. That’ll get around this situation, so we won’t have to fight through a bunch of human shields. Once we prove to them that there are in fact hostages, it might help turn things around?”

Rebecca looked at the mob, then back to the sewer with worry. “I…can’t believe my people are getting in the way of justice. They are truly being used, just as you said. Still, I want to try. I must open their eyes, and it will be a lot easier with the objects of their hatred not in sight. Then, we really must watch the prisoners. You may go, and we will do our best to quell their anger.”

Nick looked over Rebecca’s priests and priestesses one last time, doing his best to get a feel for them. “Alright, but do me a favor. Trust no one, except those here–though, look out for that Frederick guy. Act as if anyone else who tries to join your cause and get close to you has a knife and is waiting to stab you in the back. If things get tough, you should flee and head to my men outside the city, or rejoin me in the sewers.”

She gave him a small smile and nodded. “Alright, I will be careful. Stay safe, Nicholas. I wish you success in rescuing the kids.”

They went down a side street, and found a location for Nick to cut through the grate, and lower themselves inside. His wolflings were happily waiting for him, leading the larger party over to the hidden entrance of the church.

The two dozen orcs and the few wolflings joined him underneath, and when he saw Kaya and Eirwen, he was relieved.

They updated him quickly as to their progress, though it seemed he had to give them a lot more information than they had to give.

Eirwen looked over the orc warriors. “Looks like they found weapons? What happened?”

“We took back a warehouse, and I finally got Rebecca to cave on letting them arm themselves.”

Andross chuckled from behind him, “They are just puny swords and knives. We are only slightly better off using them instead of our fists.”

Eirwen raised her brow. “Rebecca, the Bishop’s daughter? You made friends with her?”

Nick shrugged. “I think so. She was helpful from the beginning, really. The people of Zura don’t seem bad at all, just some of them have been misguided. Seems like someone is trying to twist their beliefs, and they worked a lot harder on the men than the women, for whatever reason. Let’s hurry, before we lose our opportunity.”

He drew his soul blade, and cut through the door’s hinges and whatever was barring the door in nearly one go. Kicking, the door flew open with a clatter, and he rushed in.

As he ran into the large room, Nick was shocked. The many orc children and adults were in large cages, while shadow monsters roamed outside of them. A man was in the center of the large room on a stage, and Nick wasn’t all that shocked at who it was: Brutus.

He was running some sort of ritual, nearly a dozen men in robes and assassins kneeling in prayer.

The orc children and adults were filled with fear, which was powering the ritual. As the fear and essence gathered, a new shadow creature was being created.

Nick dashed inside, his orcs, wolflings, Kaya and Eirwen in tow. Nick’s Frost Aura washed over the shadowy enemies, ignoring the orcs within the cages.

Andross and his warriors roared, the shamans casting their buffs on them. They were quick to attack any nearby shadow warriors, their blades carving into their shadowy flesh. The wolflings helped by joining at their flanks, and the archers joined in their attack.

There were dozens of shadows, nearly over a hundred. “Damn, didn’t know I would get my wish so quickly.”

Nick made his way over toward the ritual, his blade flashing. The many shadow creatures slowed in his presence, and this made it much easier for the orcs and Kaya to defeat them. Elemental energy joined some of their blades, making them cut through their shadowy defenses with just a few blows.

Brutus and those praying stopped their activities and stood. “You dare come here? This is my domain!” Shadows stirred around Brutus, as he appeared to be drawing in essence and shadows from the shadowy beings in the rear of the room.

Nick snorted as he sliced a shadow in half. His blade turned white as he used his body enhancement, and Brutus sent more shadows at Nick and his forces with a sneer.

He continued cleaving through each of the wave of shadows with a single swing, their numbers seemingly unending.

The rogues near Brutus were covered with shadows, and it appeared they had a sort of barrier against Nick’s Frost Aura.

But Nick saw them coming through their souls anyway, and he cut into their legs before they could even get in range with their daggers, with casual swipes of his sword. Stumbling to the ground, the frost began covering their bodies as their shadowy protections were removed.

Nick continued his approach toward Brutus undaunted, slicing through shadows left and right. He mixed in attacks with no essence, to maintain his charge and keep up with the enemies attacking.

Arrows from the scouts also targeted Brutus, but shadows gathered around him, blocking the attacks. Nick could tell the man bordered on the second stratum, him using some evil methods to empower him beyond what a normal person should be able to accomplish.

The magical gem he was focusing shadows into had an immense buildup of essence.

The wolflings, Kaya, and the orcs fought fiercely, powering through their shadows as well. They pushed forward, starting to overwhelm the number of shadows. The fears of the children were being removed, the shadows shrinking as their hold over their psyches decreased.

Nick’s frost really began overwhelming the shadows, and Brutus looked around with an angry expression.

“I can’t believe you’re making me use this. Years of progress lost all at once, all this work for nothing!”

The man picked up the crystal from the center of the ritual, and shattered it in his hands. Nick just barely covered his core with his soul essence chains as a wave of shadows filled the room, covering everyone’s sight.

An all-encompassing terror enveloped Nick’s body, and he heard many screams of fear as the shadow monsters grew and were empowered. They cut into several orc warriors, Nick hearing the blade-like implements cutting into them.

Even Andross screamed in terror, and Nick’s wolflings whimpered in fear. Nick firmed his will, pushing with his essence as he shoved away the powerful magics. Gathering his Cure Affliction, he freed Kaya and Eirwen first, then moved on to removing the fear from his followers.

“I’ll make you pay for this, half-breed. You will die, for giving me this setback!”

Brutus gathered much of the shadows from around the room, including several of the monsters into a swirling orb above his head. The essence and mana in the air gathered around it, and Nick rushed toward him.

Eirwen covered Nick in her new spell, Omni Barrier, as he cast Frost Shock into the man’s face and dived to the side.

A beam of dark light was released, the beam’s trajectory altering from a straight-on blast. The clear barrier shrunk as it was consumed, and the black beam pierced into Nick’s shoulder.

Grunting, Nick just barely twisted his body to carry on with the momentum of the attack, the beam having cut a bloody line through his armor.

The man snorted, as the orb pulsed. While Nick could see it was smaller, but it appeared there was enough for him to use the attack several times.

“There’s more where that came from. You are just delaying–”

A spear pierced into the man’s hip, having been thrown from beneath the stage. A wolfling, Sable, leaped after her throw, her claws and teeth bared. The man reacted by sending shadows from his orb, his shadows shredding into her body and sending her flying.

But Fang approached from behind, stabbing him with her spear into his back. But she missed his vital point, and a wave of shadows was sent out, sending Fang flying away.

They had given Nick enough time to arrive, Nick’s white blade nearly ready to cleave the man in two. The beam of shadows began to shoot out at Nick again, but he swung his blade just in time, cutting the orb in two instead.

An explosion of shadows sent Nick flying back and into a cage, hitting it with a groan. The man began to run, and he was bleeding profusely. The many orc scouts and Kaya moved to try to take him down, but more rogues appeared from the shadows, and the shadow monsters surged forth once more.

The man reached a door in the rear of the room, and for a moment, Nick thought he might get away. But Luna was right on his heels, her spear piercing his leg as he stepped through the door.

It was with much satisfaction that Nick walked through the door, finding the man down on the ground, with Luna standing over him. Brutus was nearly out of essence, and she easily dodged his shadowy attacks, and threatened him as he tried to crawl away.

“How nice of you, to get out of sight of everyone. Makes this much easier.”

Probing Brutus’s soul, Nick felt an immense weight of sins on the person. He could tell the slavery ring was almost entirely his doing, and he had driven many more to evil through his deeds.

Nick gathered his soul magic, and he cast the spell.

Apparitions of Brutus’s wrongdoings were shown, of countless sins of violence and extortion. Many lives ruined through his orders, and numerous betrayed to get what he wanted.

He took a sadistic joy in torturing others, of instilling fear in them and sending them into the depths of despair. It appeared that this was part of his Ideal, that he hoped to turn into a Concept at a later date, gathering the essence into that gem he shattered.

One scene among many stood out, where Brutus handed a man that must have been the Bishop a strange object that almost looked like an ornate perfume bottle or vial. Nick didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t anything good.

Essence drained out of Brutus’s body, and entered Nick’s mouth as the man screamed in terror. Nick’s chains dragged in all the essence, filling his core with energy as the man’s sins were purified.

It was an immense amount of essence, and Nick was shocked at the weight of the man’s sins as he stirred his core following the cultivation method. His core strained to grow along with the energy despite the special ability, and Nick actually became worried about what he might feel if he did the same to the Bishop, who was in the second stratum.

As the man died, Nick had nearly hit the 9th level. Luna’s canine smile was wide, as she clapped and woo’d in joy.

Nick chuckled. “Good job, Luna. I’ll have to come up with a reward for you girls soon. You did great.”

Returning to the room, the many assassins had either been killed or captured, and the orc soldiers were freeing the children.

Eirwen and the shamans were working on healing those injured in the battle, and Fang and Sable were not looking good.

They were whimpering in pain, and looked worse than Nick had originally thought. Their armor had been completely shredded, blood covering their white fur.

Several shamans sent yellow light washing over them, and while their wounds were clearing up, they were lethargic, their bodies sagging as they yipped in pain.

“That was some good work, girls. I’m sorry you had to get hurt, I’ll try to find some way to reward you for helping me with Brutus. That–”

The two wolfling girls stood, their tails wagging, as they jumped and hugged Nick and tried to lick him once more, bowling him over. Eirwen and Kaya laughed from the side, where they were helping with the orc children.

Kaya chuckled. “That was not their blood, but from the bandits. They had done a really good job, blocking those shadows with essence. Their energies are a lot like my feral essence, it seems.”

Luna had joined in on the attack. Nick put up the token effort to keep their tongues away from his face, but he couldn’t help but laugh as he scratched between their ears. “You girls sure are sneaky. You did good, though.”

Eirwen offered, “Let’s get these kids out of the city? That way we can send someone to get Lothar.”

Nick got up, “I’m all for getting the children out of their clutches. I hope we can settle this without Lothar, but I’d feel more comfortable with him near. We don’t know what the rogues from Havendale might be doing.”

Kaya looked at the assassins tied up. “We can take these prisoners with us, or…?”

Nick brushed over their souls with his soul magic. As he continued using it, he was starting to understand what he was actually doing instinctually. He was probing Archaen Law to measure the person’s actions, the taint of their mind and soul.

Having spoken with Rebecca, she pointed out a sort of redemption, a repayment to society by having the men become slaves, or indentured servants with a sentence.

Coming from a modern world, Nick understood the importance of due process and justice, as well as rehabilitation and redemption. However, living in a deadly world where the law was loose, and many crimes went unpunished and having soul magic, he understood something else.

Not everyone was deserving of redemption. Not everyone could be rehabilitated, and by letting many of these men live today, he was certain someone else would pay the price.

He could not in good conscience let these men out of his sight because by doing so, he would be responsible for risking another innocent life harmed in the long list of those already damaged.

Finally, while these men could potentially pay back those they hurt with the money from slave labor, Nick had another way for them to aid those in need.

By making a hero stronger. By making it so that when the hero needed that extra ounce of strength to defeat an evil enemy, he was strong enough to win.

Walking the Hero’s Path was fraught with danger, and to protect the weak, he would need every bit of power he could obtain. If Judgement was evil, then it was an evil he would have to live with, one that he would have to commit again and again.

Nick called out, “Andross, take the third one from the right, and leave the rest here. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

Andross chuckled as he walked over, hefting the tied up priest over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “You got it, boss. We’re still after that Bishop in a minute, right?”

Nick nodded. “Once the kids are safe, we’re after him next.”

The orc warrior left along with all the others, the many children and their caretakers heading out.

Eirwen and Kaya looked at the men with a bit of worry. Eirwen grabbed Nick’s shoulder. “I think judging them is necessary. The judge and the jury are Archaen Law, something far above our understanding. You may be the executioner, but the weight of their deaths are not on you. I think it’s your duty to bring them justice, and as a hero, you can do far more good with their strength.”

Nick nodded solemnly. “Thanks, Winny. It means a lot to me for you to believe that. Are you going to go with them? You don’t have to watch this.”

Eirwen stood by his side, her expression filled with steely-eyed determination. “I don’t. But I will. You shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

Kaya nodded. “I’ll stay. I can tell what these scum have done deserves punishment, and I’ll witness their sins, along with their judgement.”

Nick’s hand reached out toward the first sinner, screams echoing through the room.