Chapter 79: Fugitives.

Zyra let out a long, heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Oh no, she thought. What trouble has he brought me?

On hearing his cousin’s words, Hunter’s face became uneasy. Achilles had just confidently claimed he could explain everything, but looking at him now, the man was doubting himself.

He just stood there, shifting from foot to foot under Hunter’s sharp glare. Before anyone could say another word, the heavy wooden lids of the boxes popped open with a loud crack.

Hunter and Zyra instinctively took a step forward, leaning in to see what kind of bizarre cargo Achilles had smuggled into the valley. But they didn’t even manage a third step before a figure began to rise.

From the second box, a woman stood up straight, stretching her cramped arms and legs. "Are we finally there?"

Zyra gasped. Her mind had been racing with wild possibilities...forbidden weapons, stolen monster eggs, stolen beasts, rare herbs....but this? This was absolutely not on her radar.

From the remaining two boxes, two younger women rose to stand. Unlike the first woman, who was already sharply studying her surroundings with a keen eye, these two kept their heads low, their shoulders tense and trembling slightly.

"Great, people in boxes! Normally, we would put them in the ground and say a prayer, but it looks like that’s not what’s happening here. Who are these people?" Zyra demanded, her voice rising in disbelief. "And why were they stuffed into boxes like illegal cargo?"

Hunter’s jaw tightened as he stared at the newcomers. He turned a burning gaze onto Achilles. "Why did you bring Soul Maidens to the valley, Achilles? This is the absolute worst place to bring people who are actively being extracted by your team because someone is always looking for them."

Zyra shook her head vigorously, her mind spinning into a knot. "Soul maidens? Extracted?" She threw her hands up in the air on remembering that Hunter said that he could sniff soul maidens. No wonder he could tell what they were when she couldn’t! So, why was his manager smuggling soul maidens? "Can someone please explain what is going on in a language that I can actually understand!" Her eyes darted fiercely between Hunter and Achilles, practically screaming for a straight answer.

"They are fugitives on the run," Hunter told her flatly, his arms crossing over his chest. "Though, I don’t know what they are running from... yet. If you know the right people in the underground markets, you can get the number of an extraction team if you are looking to hide. They are supposed to take you to an undisclosed location for a given period of time. Protection can be added, depending on the how much you are willing to pay." He raised his brows at Achilles.

The question in his eyes was clear, what are they doing here?

Achilles rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a nervous, airy laugh. "Hey cousin, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Your own wife was a fugitive once, remember? And she is...or was a soul maiden too, so I thought they could start a fugitive soul maiden club or something?"

He laughed--alone.

Achilles sighed, his playful demeanor dropping into a look of genuine exhaustion. "Look, my initial plan wasn’t to bring them here. But most nations and Concordia have tightened their border security to the extreme. The only place that came to my mind was this valley. No one in their right mind would come looking for runaway Soul maidens out here in the wild lands."

At the mention of the location, the pale face of one of the younger Soul Maidens twisted into pure terror. "The... the wild lands?!" she squeaked.

Achilles turned his head to face her, eyebrow raised. "What? Would you rather go back to the First 7 Academy?"

Both of the young Soul Maidens shuddered violently at the name, their faces draining of what little color they had left. "No!" they cried out in unison.

"Good. I thought so," Achilles said, nodding satisfyingly.

Zyra stepped closer, her curiosity getting the better of her anger. She looked at the two trembling girls. "Why did you run away from the academy? Isn’t that place supposed to be a paradise for the most talented Soul maidens scouted by the Divine Soul maiden herself? It is the dream academy for anyone like us. I was waiting to awaken my bloodline to join the rest of my sisters." The smile on her face was almost dreamy.

The girls looked at each other, and then, like a dam breaking, they started talking. They told Zyra everything. They spoke of the grueling, hidden cruelties behind the academy’s strong walls, sending unwilling soul maidens beyond the veil, and the absolute lack of freedom. The forceful non-stop healing of beasts and soldiers day and night.

The worst part was the auctioning of their marriages to sons of the wealthy from top clans. They were like high priced merchandise, sold off by Trinity to the highest bidder.

It was a horrifying picture. To the outside world, Soul Maidens were treated like priceless treasures, revered and pampered. It was deeply saddening to realize that behind closed doors, their own leader treated them like disposable trash.

"Are you sure the Divine soul maiden knows?" Achilles asked like an ignorant person.

Hunter scoffed, "That has to be a joke, of course she does."

Standing a few paces back, Gilby, one of the best hunters under Achilles snorted a little too loudly. He was leaning against a wooden lamp post, casually chewing on a stray piece of grass. He swallowed, spit out a bit of green fiber, and shrugged. "Man... that’s rough. Maybe we should just launch a rescue mission and get the rest of them out."

"No," Hunter and Achilles barked at the exact same time. Anyone with a brain would not dare go to that Island uninvited unless they were sure that they could come out alive.

Achilles went a step further, waving his hand dismissively. "Julia has declared an intense search because more and more of them are running away. The Thorn Guild has completely suspended all extraction activities. We are laying low. No more rescues of Soul maidens for now."

An awkward silence settled over the group, heavy with the reality of their situation. Then, someone cleared their throat with a soft, polite cough.

Everyone’s eyes snapped over to the first woman who had stepped out of the boxes. She didn’t look terrified like the other two; instead, she gave a small, composed wave.

"Hello," she said smoothly. "I am not a Soul maiden like these two. I am Malia Gravis. And since we are sharing, I had to run from the Capital because I led a protest against the fake lotto they want to introduce."

Hunter didn’t look impressed. He folded his hands, his expression hardening into stone. "That’s a moving story, Malia. Truly. But you all cannot stay here."

Instantly, panic gripped the women. Their composed facades cracked. "Where are we supposed to go?" one of the younger girls asked, her voice cracking. "We have nowhere else. If we leave the valley, we’ll be captured by sundown."

"That is if the beasts do not eat us first." Another said.

"That is not my problem," Hunter said coldly. "I cannot have the Capital’s Mayor and the Divine Soul Maiden herself breathing down my neck for sheltering their fugitives. Do you have any idea the kind of brutality they would bring down on this valley?"

Achilles let out a sudden, booming laugh, slapping his knee. "Oh, come on, Hunter! That is literally the exact same thing you did for Zyra!"

The two younger Soul Maidens froze. They slowly turned their heads, looking first at each other, and then back to Zyra. Their eyes went wide with sudden, sharp recognition.

"Zyra?" one of them whispered. "Zyra... Scorpion?"