Chapter 381: The Mission Continues! [T30 Bonus - s 3/5]

Chapter 381: Chapter 381: The Mission Continues! [T30 Bonus Chapters 3/5]

Chapter 381 – The Mission Continues! [T30 Bonus Chapters 3/5]

No more time was wasted. Cassius, Meadow, William, and Diaila set off soon after, determined to complete the mission at any cost.

Since they needed to move fast to avoid being late and risking failure, they decided to run as fast as they possibly could.

That was where the first problem showed up. Cassius was fast. Extremely fast, even, especially with his golden plasma active.

William was somewhat slower, but his physical abilities ranked among the best in their entire class. He could keep pace well enough.

The real problem was Meadow and Diaila, neither of whose aspects suited direct combat at all.

The only real solution was for each man to carry a woman, the same way they had while fleeing the Fourth Rank dragon earlier.

And that was where the second problem appeared.

William refused to carry Diaila and run with her. When Cassius asked why, his answer was plain and simple:

"I don’t like her."

That was an argument Cassius couldn’t really counter. He asked whether William would set his feelings aside, just for the sake of the mission.

The heir of Castria fell silent, glancing at Cassius, then slowly at Diaila, who looked back at him as though deeply wronged, and shook his head slightly.

"I could," he said, "but I’d rather not."

Cassius found William amusing. But there was no time to indulge him further, or dig deeper into that.

There was another option: Cassius could carry Diaila instead. But he didn’t want to. So he smiled gently at William and gave him a thumbs up.

"I’m counting on you, William."

Then, without giving anyone room to argue, he scooped Meadow into his arms and blurred out of the forest, heading straight for the Hushsight Domain.

William sighed quietly. He turned to look at Diaila and frowned deeply.

"You make me trip, and you’ll taste my sword," he warned flatly.

Under normal circumstances, Diaila would’ve stayed silent. She was just a lowly Tier Three, after all. But lately, a new confidence had been building inside her.

And unchecked confidence, more often than not, curdled into arrogance.

"Don’t threaten me," she shot back, voice hard. "If you touch me, I’ll tell Julaibib everything. And if you think you’re stronger than him just because he’s a commoner, you’re in for quite the surprise."

Her expression turned smug, obnoxiously so. For a heartbeat, William imagined what it might feel like to slice off her head right then and there.

The thought lasted less than a second. But that was enough. Diaila felt the killing intent behind it hit her so hard her knees buckled, dropping her to the ground.

Her eyes went wide, chest heaving as she struggled to pull in a breath.

Without a word, William stepped forward and gathered her into his arms, his face unreadable.

Diaila blinked, feeling the sharp wind slice past her face as William dashed through the forest at full speed, keeping close behind Cassius.

Her heart pounded, her eyes fixed on William’s cold face. She hadn’t noticed it before...but this was the first time a man had ever held her like this.

And it had to be someone other than Julaibib. Bitterness swelled in her chest, and, mostly just to annoy him, she started talking.

"You know Julaibib is better than you," she spat, shouting over the wind to make sure he heard. "Way better! Did you hear me?"

William didn’t answer.

"Not answering means you agree with me. Perfect," she said, growing bolder. And once it fully sank in that a Tier Two family heir was carrying her, princess-style, her confidence and audacity shot through the roof.

"Can you hold me a little more gently? Don’t touch me inappropriately, or I’ll tell everyone, starting with Julaibib. Hey, I said gently, didn’t I? And why aren’t you smiling? I’ve never once seen you smile. You always look like nothing’s worth your attention. All you ever do is train with that invisible sword. You’re lonely, aren’t you? Say something."

William had stayed silent this whole time, but he’d heard every word, and his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Diaila didn’t seem to notice or care. She shifted, getting more comfortable in his arms, arm looped around his back, and kept rambling.

By this point, she wasn’t even expecting a reply. It didn’t matter. She just needed to talk, to keep the fear at bay.

This mission was dangerous, and Diaila wanted a moment to forget that. So she kept going, saying everything and nothing at once:

"Hey, Will... I can call you Will, right? Yeah, I’ll call you Will. Will, I’m talking to you. You should smile more, you know. Julaibib always smiles, that’s part of why I like him. He makes you feel like life isn’t that hard, like it’s not worth stressing over. He’s so carefree. But you look like you don’t have a personality beyond that sword of yours."

"And you have no personality beyond being close to Julaibib," William finally spoke, timing a jump just right to clear a boulder blocking his path.

His response caught Diaila off guard, but he wasn’t finished yet.

"You haven’t said one real thing about yourself this whole time," he continued. "Just Julaibib, over and over. Tell me, is that who you are, because of him? Did you build your entire identity around being close to him?"

He glanced at her for a moment, then clicked his tongue.

"Pathetic."

That was all he said, but something inside Diaila cracked at the word. Her face twisted, and in a sudden burst of indignant rage, she thrashed against him. Tried to, at least.

William, seemingly anticipating it, tightened his hold around her enough that she couldn’t move a single muscle.

Her anger boiled over into something close to fury.

"You know nothing about who I am!" Diaila screamed. "Don’t you dare call me pathetic! You’re the pathetic one! You are!"

"I’ve heard enough to judge. And you are pathetic. Now shut up before I knock you out," he glared at her. "I don’t have energy to waste on you."

William didn’t speak again after that, even as she kept talking, demanding an apology.

Eventually she grew tired of talking, her anger fading with every kilometer. But the frustration lingered.

"You have the nerve to call me that," she scoffed, "as if you have any personality beyond your sword."

"I chose this life," William said. "You, on the other hand, chose yours because you’re nothing without Julaibib."

Those words looped over and over in Diaila’s mind, relentless, as if they demanded to be replayed.

She fell completely silent, her chest aching, though she couldn’t say exactly why.

The rest of the journey passed in complete silence, neither of them willing to speak to the other.

Meanwhile, Cassius ran ahead of them, occasionally chatting with Meadow, but mostly conversing with Scarlet, seeking her advice.

By now, Cassius was starting to figure her out. She was overbearing. So the trick was to make her feel like she was the one in control.

That was why he kept asking her for advice on how to hunt these dragon hunters. If her answer sounded reasonable, he planned to act on it. That way, the Primal Queen would have no reason to refuse doing something she’d suggested herself.

And so,

’Oh, yes, Scarlet, tell me more. What a brilliant idea!’

...Scarlet went on to show Cassius just how long and eventful a life she’d actually lived.

1 hour 12 minutes remained.

...

At the same time, in a dark alley off Lesquin Street inside Vorn City, Anesthesia and Raven, wearing masks that hid their faces entirely, stood before a black wall.

They exchanged a look for a couple of seconds, then nodded. Anesthesia raised her hand and knocked on the wall.

Not once.

She knocked twice, paused a second, then knocked three times in quick succession, switched to her left hand for seven more knocks, ending with both hands striking at once.

The sound came out strange, trailing off on a note that didn’t seem to echo at all.

Raven watched her with curiosity before turning his attention to the wall itself.

A moment after Anesthesia finished, the wall in front of them cracked, then split open, revealing a black door with a small viewing slot cut into it.

That slot slid open a second later, revealing a pair of green eyes, lashes so long they hung over them like hoods, peering out at them.

"Who are you? What do you want here?"

"I am Trustworthy," Anesthesia said.

"And I, Untrustworthy," Raven added.

Both of them pulled out a black card, a grinning jester printed on its face. "And we’re here on business that’s absolutely none of your concern," Raven murmured, his tone dark.

And Anesthesia followed,

"Now open the damn door."

—End of Chapter 381—