ROTLE- Chapter 187- Brother, Actually (Patreon)

“Why are we running to the sound that’s painful, again?” Tanor asked as the trees zipped past them in a blur.

Aiden’s legs weren’t carrying him fast enough as far as he was concerned.

“Because Lord Lacheart is leading us there.” Estabel was not running, she was flying forward like a fired projectile.

If Aiden’s memory served him correctly, wasn’t the spell formation for flight magic a little too high for her? It was supposed to be the domain of those in level two hundred and above.

There was still the possibility that she was lucky enough to be offered the specific spell as a class skill, though. That was one of many beauties of the [Mage] class. You could find yourself with a strong spell for a skill that you could—if you were fortunate—spam.

Then again… his eyes shifted to her staff momentarily… it could just as easily be one of the spells bound to her staff.

“Yerit, dear,” Estabel said, turning her gaze to her subordinate who was having the most difficult time catching up. “You can just take your time and meet us there.”

Tanor was bounding through the forest like a running boulder. For some reason, he looked very heavy in his armor.

He certainly ran as if he was supposed to be heavy and constricted.

Aiden kept his eye out. He could hear the sound of battle. The tension in the air tried to settle on his shoulders as he heard a voice scream out in pain. He shrugged it off easily. Tension did not get to him so easily.

Tanor grimaced, sucking his teeth sharply.

Aiden had already seen the reason for his discomfort. There was a man at the foot of a tree. From what he could tell, the man had been thrown into it with enough force that his body made its best attempt at wrapping around the tree at the wrongest angle. His eyes were wide open.

He had died terrified, fully aware of the source of his demise at the last minute.

“There will be more of that,” he said, continuing forward.

They would be walking into a field of chaos when they got there. Personally, he had never had to deal with Nosrath. Like the [Crystal of Existence] all he knew about the [Heart of Nosrath] was from secondary knowledge, the archives and research of the Order libraries.

He’d never met the beast in person.

Something leapt into the range of his awareness. His perception higher than normal, his range was wide. He looked at Tanor.

“Duck.”

Tanor obeyed, dropping low but still running. Aiden moved to the side, still charging forward. First came the scream of pain, then the yell of being unable to control themselves. A woman shot through the air, moving past them like a fired cannon if it was made from a human body.

It disappeared behind them, flying into unknown destinations.

Nosrath was already engaged in combat. That was good.

“Whatever happens,” he announced, “when we get there, nobody is to engage Nosrath.”

“Nosrath?” Tanor gave him a wide-eyed look of shock. “How the hell do you know it’s Nosrath?”

He recognized the roar that had drawn their attention. The Order library had described it perfectly well, detailed in every way.

“Believe me. It is.”

Now they could hear the chaos of active skills, mana bursting to life. Nosrath’s roar was coming more frequently now. But it was not like the one that had drawn their attention.

Someone was barking out orders in the distance. Something about holding their ground and the monster dying here and now.

The enchantment was telling Aiden that Ted was right there, in the direction he was heading, arguably at the heart of the battle.

That changed things, if he truly was a part of the combat.

Fallen trees littered their path now. Some were shattered, thrown into others. There were so many trees. Aiden could not help but turn his head to look at one that had landed on its roots and looked as if it was already taking root.

Estabel gave him a worried look. “Aren’t these trees supposed to be difficult to destroy?”

Aiden wasn’t sure what to say. The trees were supposed to be normal trees in the first place. The difficulty of them in this instance had come as a surprise to him when he’d entered the forest.

“They’re probably easier to uproot.”

Two halves of one tree flew past them, and Estabel cocked a brow at him. “You were saying?”

Aiden was saying nothing.

He kept his eyes forward and continued leading. It was better than another thing proving him wrong.

The forest released them into a massive clearing. It had lumps and craters, holes were trees had most obviously been uprooted. There was nothing natural about the clearing.

At its center, Nosrath fought a number of people armed in robes, heavy armor, and light armor. There were corpses littering the ground, so many corpses.

Tanor staggered a little, his knees almost giving out under him. “Am I the only one smelling that putrid thing?”

Yerit was still far behind. Telma got to them now, scowling.

“Demon mana,” she spat. “A demon lurks around.”

Aiden looked at them. He didn’t know that demonic mana had a smell. But that was not what was worrying him right now. It was the sight in front of him. While there were people about, they only peppered Nosrath with spells and attacks from afar, most of them harmless.

The true threat to Nosrath were the monsters climbing and clawing at it. A particularly large [Basiliker] had wrapped itself around its torso and was making an active decision of trying to eat its head. Nosrath kept getting distracted by it in an attempt to bash its head in.

It succeeded once before their very eyes. It grabbed the creature by the neck while a scorpion like monster climbed its leg and stung profusely. With the [Basiliker]’s head in place, it pressed its massive clawed hand on top of its head and crushed it.

The [Basiliker] exploded in a spray of black tar, then dissipated into smoke.

Free, Nosrath turned, shaking of a gorilla-like monster. When it fell to the ground, he tore its head off with a massive swing.

When the beast turned to smoke, Oncot rushed it, scattering the smoke to leap upon Nosrath. His massive cleaver was…

He wasn’t carrying a massive cleaver. It held two broad swords, one in each hand.

Aiden wondered what the hell had happened to the warrior’s cleaver as one of them broke against Nosrath’s thick skin.

Nosrath turned, batting Oncot aside. The large man took the brunt of the blow with the second broadsword and what was left of the first. Still, he was thrown aside, slamming into the ground with enough force to break the soil and uproot the dirt.

Telma’s eyes hardened as she stared at the battlefield, watched men and women fight with their lives on the line to kill the creature.

“Demons,” she snarled.

It was interesting how humans could be monsters to each other but still hate creatures they’d been told all their lives to hate.

Maybe not so interesting.

From another side of the clearing, a group of people burst out from the forest. Then another group burst out of the other side.

Aiden frowned as he watched them arrive. Some carried the flags of the kingdom they represented, designed to dissuade others without sufficient backing from standing in their way. Others were unadorned and without banners.

This was going to be a problem. Aiden and his group were not the only ones who had been drawn to Nosrath by the sound, not that he had not expected it.

Moving his gaze, his eyes settled on Ted in the distance. He stood like some knight of great repute. A sword in hand, he had its tip to the soil while he rested both arms on the pommel. He stood in a regal stance, with his back straight and his head held high. He was a king watching his subjects fight, waiting for which one would prove himself.

It worried Aiden because he had once seen Ted in that very position, clad in the armors he wore into battle when he was the [Demon King].

Interestingly enough, though, it didn’t worry him as much as it would have a few days ago. Somehow, Ted becoming the [Demon King] wasn’t as worrying as it was supposed to be. It was almost… inconsequential.

Because you just might end up being the [Demon King].

Tanor’s gaze followed his. “And whose young lord is that?”

Estabel and Telma turned their attention to Ted.

“He looks competent,” Estabel noted. “And his subject looks to have a wounded ally.”

That was Elami, still carrying Valdan. A part of Aiden had hoped that Valdan would’ve woken up by now.

Alas, he was not to be so lucky. Seeing Valdan laying like that once more reminded him that he actually missed the man. The sight brought him sorrow yet brought him rage.

Telma’s eyes settled on Nosrath. She pulled an arrow out of her storage space and nocked it.

Aiden’s rage did not usurp his reasoning. He raised a hand and placed it on her bow. “Not yet,” he said.

His eyes were calculating a path. They could ignore the entire chaos of the fight and cut around to Ted and Elami.

“What are you doing?” Estabel asked.

Aiden looked at her, confused. She met his eyes then glanced at his mouth pointedly. Pausing, he realized that he had been tugging on his lower lip with thumb and forefinger.

“Oh.” He dropped his hand.

That was a bad habit he really needed to get rid of. And it was not the first time he was telling himself that.

“We’re not joining the fight,” he informed them.

“That is Nosrath,” Telma scowled. “Why?”

“The barbarian has a point,” Tanor pointed out.

“Oh,” Estabel cooed like a loving mother, “how nice of you to finally join us, Yerit.”

Yerit pulled up next to her, panting. She bent, resting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

Someone yelled in pain as Nosrath ripped him in two for not escaping fast enough. Yerit saw it, turned and threw up.

The [Basiliker] was already back, trying to draw Nosrath’s aggression. The sky lit up with a blinding light as some [Mage] or another class conjured a bright ball of fire high above.

“Solar flare,” Estabel mused, stroking her jaw like an intrigued academic. “If its powerful enough it might scorch the skin.”

The ball of fire as large as a truck dropped. It slammed into Nosrath. It created a shock wave. The heat wafted over everything and everyone. Some of the trees still standing caught on fire. Someone turned to a random person, yelling and cursing at them, pointing to the battlefield. The eyes of some of the new arrivals turned on a specific group as burnt corpses hit the ground, dead and smoke and mist was left in the wake.

Nosrath was not one of them. It stood tall, roaring in anger and determination. It was a ruler whose domain had been trespassed upon by useless vagrants.

As for Ted, a slight scowl crossed his lips. Elami leaned close and whispered something in his ear. Ted’s eyes moved over to the one group everyone was paying attention to. His hands hardened on the pommel of his sword as if he was trying to make a decision.

“Will that be his advisor?” Tanor mused. “His men just died, perhaps the advisor is advising him.”

The last thing Aiden wanted was someone unknown playing advisor to Ted. He could not let that happen.

With a hardened expression, Ted surveyed the battlefield with his eyes. They were hard, angry. It was as if he felt insulted by the blast of fire that had wiped out his summoned creatures. Still, they were coming back, each one rising or walking out of the darkness.

His eyes settled on Aiden. They brightened. Beamed.

His raised one of his hands, smiling like an overenthusiastic child, and waved, hands moving in the air like he didn’t care.

Telma, Tanor and Estabel looked at Aiden.

“Friend of yours?” Estabel asked.

Aiden smiled proudly. He couldn't help it. “Brother, actually.”

At least he’s okay.

“Come on.” He pointed down the side of the clearing. “Let’s go. No one engage the angry monster.”

With that, he jogged down the side of the clearing, keeping an eye out for any stray attack. The others followed beside him. As they ran down the side, more men joined the battle against Nosrath. Aiden recognized the banner of Nel Quan. He also recognized a man who had his head slapped clean off his body. The breast plate of his armor had the emblem of the Bandiv kingdom.

That’s interesting, he mused, watching a man waving scimitars around. He had clothing wrapped around his head so that only his eyes were visible. He recognized the sword movement from a nomadic tribe that spent their time mostly in the desert planes.

It was interesting because he was the only one dressed like that there. Had the tribe not sent a complete party or was he acting on his own.

They passed a group hiding in the forest as they ran. Aiden’s perception flickered. His hand shot out, grabbing a spear before it stabbed him in the side of the head. He tightened his grip and the wooden shaft shattered just where it met the iron head.

“Did anyone see him?” he asked, coming to a halt.

Everyone halted too, Yerit hiding uncomfortably close to Estabel because no side of the [Mage] was safe now. A battle raged on one side and they had just been attacked on the other.

Telma grinned. “I did.”

“Good.” Aiden pointed into the forest and its cluster of trees. “Kill him.”

Without hesitation, she nocked an arrow into her bow and let it fly.

The arrow did not just fly, it boomed.

Roars and shouts of pain scattered through the forest as blood sprayed and people suffered from the shot.

Aiden blinked, looking at her. “Him,” he said in clarification. “Not them. Singular.”

Telma shrugged. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

With a sigh, Aiden returned his attention to where they had been attacked from. “Attack again and we’ll come in there and clear the rest of you.”

“Aggressive,” Estabel muttered, pleased. “You are usually more merciful. Would you say killing a [Saint] changed the way you see things now.”

“Nope.” Aiden turned and continued their path. “He just pissed me off.”

The man had tried to kill him, so that had to be justification enough. It was hypocrisy to try to take a person’s life and judge them when they do the exact same thing just because they found success where you failed.

If you bully, you should not cry unfairness when you are bullied. If you steal, you don’t get to complain when you’re stolen from. If you kill… well…

These things happen.

There were no more attacks for the rest of their trip until they got to Ted and Elami. Ted still kept his hand on the pommel of his sword but he looked less agitated now, more at ease.

He smiled at Aiden. “I knew you weren’t dead.”

“I’m not the easiest to kill,” Aiden answered.

Then pointed out the others, introducing them.

“This is Alphonset the third.”

Ted nodded to Tanor. “Nice armor.”

“Uhm… Thanks?” Tanor made a pointed effort of looking at the battle raging then back to them.

“Estabel,” Aiden said. “mage of the Mage Radiant.”

Elami was not pleased with that. Ted nodded in acknowledgement as if he could not afford to take his hands of the sword.

“Nice staff,” he said as a tree flogged somebody in battle and sent him skyrocketing upwards.

Estabel nodded. “Thank you.”

“Yerit.” Aiden pointed the girl out. Yerit was basically within the protection of the trees now, away from the combat. “She’s not a fan of violence.”

“Aiden used to hate violence too,” Ted said to the woman. “You’ll get used to it.”

Estabel moved her staff and translucent blue dome appeared around them. A tree slammed into it and simply slid off the dome.

“Saint killer used to hate violence?” she laughed. “That’s a doozy.”

Elami’s face snapped to Aiden. “Saint killer?”

“Now’s not the time.” Aiden shook his head dismissively as the skies above began to brighten with the dawn of first light. “Ted, you have to draw your men back.”

“What?” Ted sounded like a child who had just been told to stop eating after being given a meal. “Why?”

“Because we cannot be a part of this fight.” He gestured at Nosrath. “It was slowly beginning to look like it was fighting an army. “The chaos is too much.”

And his monsters were doing the brunt of the work.

“But Elami said the level up from dealing the most damage is going to be insane.”

Aiden sighed. “I’ll get you five levels, just leave it. The level is not worth it.”

Tanor’s jaw dropped. “Just like that?”

“What even are you?” Telma asked.

Aiden ignored them, eyes darting around. “Where are the others? Where’s Zen.”

He wasn’t ready for any bad news right now. A woman begged for the gods to save her as she crawled away from the battle, her lower half completely missing. Nosrath was covered in blood now, as much of it his as the corpses that now littered the floor.

It was chaos out there. Working in teams would’ve yielded a far better result. But there hadn’t been enough planning, and nobody wanted to work as a team just to lose to prize to some other person in the end.

It created a massacre of blood and gore and human villainy as one man killed another just because he was in his way.

The entire thing was disorganized. And the records of this specific encounter had not been this chaotic and bloody. It had not been this… gory.

People had died, but the details the Order had hadn’t been this bad.

“The others are fine,” Elami answered.

Aiden looked at the [Healer]. “He is still not awake,” he said simply, his voice almost hard.

Elami looked down at Valdan in his arms. “There have been some… issues. I will discuss them with you when we are safer. Must we fall back?”

“Yes, we must.” Aiden returned his attention to the chaos.

Nosrath was roaring in pain now, hand reaching up as if in imploration to some god as demons dragged it into the depths of hell. A massive green star shot from below to explode in its neck. The monster staggered, teetered backwards.

“IT FALLS!” someone bellowed in victory.

Oncot jumped high in the air, battle axe in hand.

“Where does he keep getting all those weapons?” Ted mused.

Just before he slammed into Nosrath, a green giant serpent made of mana slammed into him.

Ted sighed. “Alright.”

He took his sword from its position and moved to hand it over to something. Aiden knew that move very well. In response, he grabbed Ted’s arm.

Ted looked at him, confused. Aiden discreetly looked to the others that had come with him. He saw realization on Ted’s face.

“Brother dearest,” Ted said in a posh British accent. “Will you be a dear and hold my sword like you usually do?”

He offered it to him.

Ted took it without a word.

Nosrath roared again. Pain was being usurped by anger.

A man in a knight’s armor raised his sword to the sky. “THE BEAST FALLS TODAY!”

Cheers roared out of the group, their morale boosted by the momentum on their side and the weight and confidence of his voice.

“Poor guy,” Ted muttered, shaking his head as he stepped back. “They really haven’t been doing much.”

And just like that, all his summoned creatures turned into mist, disappearing with the wind. The moment they were gone. Three men died to Nosrath in the blink of an eye.

It rounded on the knight as if affronted and roared at him.

Aiden saw the man take a hesitant step back, before regaining his wits. Nosrath charged him. A [Mage] clad in robes and a staff moved to intercept. She raised her staff. A spellform took shape in front of her. It was large, filled with circles and triangles and squares. Tiny scribbles of sigils and runes marked it.

Estabel watched it with intrigue.

Her eyes widened in horror as realization dawned on her as Nosrath got closer. It trampled her underfoot before the spell was completed.

Estabel sighed. “A poor choice of spells. She overestimated her crafting speed.”

The knight met Nosrath head on, with blazing skills and a burning sword and a war cry on his lips. He died louder than his war cry.

Ted frowned. “Uhm, Aida?”

“I’m listening.” Aiden’s eyes did not leave the battlefield. The Order had a record of the events that had transpired today. It meant one thing. His eyes scanned the trees and the shrubberies, the paths outside of the battle.

“I know we’re falling back,” Ted said carefully, “but who’s going to tell Oncot?”

Aiden’s eyes found Oncot immediately. He was crushing a man’s head in with a battle hammer.

“Oncot does not listen,” Elami said flatly. “Someone will have to force him to retreat.” He looked at Aiden. “Someone will have to bring him.”

Aiden sighed and stepped forward. His eyes still scanned the surroundings.

“Fall back,” he repeated. “I’ll deal with him.”

Only when they started moving back did he take a step towards the violence. Estabel’s blue dome dissipated.

Aiden took another step, paying attention to everything around.

The Order had clear details of what had transpired on this day in his past life…

So where were the damned agents that were watching?