Chapter 47: The Bloody Condition

The Firewing beside him suddenly let out a strained cry as it flew to the air.

"Wait!" Benign’s head snapped upwards. "Get back. Let’s think about this..." His hands dug into his palms. "Who fucking did this?"

"I have a few guesses. But until Vergil awakes, the messenger can’t tell me—"

"What happened to Vergil?" His voice cracked at the end. "How many firewings were taken?"

Lady Alana held her right hand with the other. "I was told Stun lost an arm. He is in cardiac arrest till further notice. It was an ambush."

She paused before adding. "Vergil was saved, but he’s still in shock. All of them. All the firewings you left at Kiron are gone. This letter was delivered later."

The Firewing returned to the ground and buried its beak inside Benign’s neck. Its eyes were frightened and locked onto the bloodied feathers.

Benign placed a hand on its neck. He looked back at the Lady and understood why her expression had made him sick.

The sickening expression reminded him of his grandmother announcing the death of his parents.

"Tell me clearly, who ambushed them?"

"No one can say for certain. It just wasn’t Olien. Lyra was sure. She handled the direct offense without knowing what their target was."

The firewing on his shoulders trembled. "They are alive..." Benign whispered. "They have to be."

The last caw from Kendrick replayed in his head. Apart from Olien, there should be no other party that had a grudge against the Firewings. Unless it wasn’t a grudge against the firewing that caused this.

The Firewing cried again, the sound growing quieter and almost pleading.

Lady Alana lowered her gaze.

Benign swallowed hard. "Can I contact Lyra? I need to ask her some questions."

Lady Alana nodded. "I already requested it. Come."

With a wave of her hand, a portal opened in front of them, leading to the Fifth Branch meeting room. It was empty. She turned to the firewing who wanted to join them.

"Please stay. We’ll find them."

Benign rubbed its neck to reassure. After a few chirps, it removed its weight from the soldier and crouched on the ground. The soldier rubbed its neck before walking through the portal.

A crystal resting upon the throne began glowing when they entered. Soft blue ripples spread across its surface before the image of Lyra appeared.

Her pink hair had noticeable blond streaks at the end. When Benign noticed that last, she had been in distress about her father’s glitch. "Sister," She forced a smile that disappeared the moment she noticed Benign. "Protector."

Benign came forward.

"I’m sorry for contacting you like this."

Lady Alana shook her head. She spoke first. "No... I requested the call. Tell us what happened?"

The young elf closed her eyes. "I still don’t know how they found us. Stun and Vergil took the firewings for their routine exercises, flying around the desert. Then vibrations alerted us that the Desert Cranes were fighting hunters."

Nobody interrupted. Lyra continued. "I left to check, and took my attention away from the firewings. It happened so fast. Carefully meditated. I couldn’t have imagined that the firewings were their target, so Stun and Vergil were the only ones with them."

After Lyra finished, her fingers tightened around something outside the crystal’s view. "They also knew exactly where the Firewings practiced. I am checking for a spy amongst us right now. But nothing yet. I’m sorry."

Silence settled amongst them.

"Any... dead?"

"I don’t know if they killed any because Stun and Vergil were the only ones left. Kendrick’s caws alerted us, but they had already been taken away."

Benign’s stomach sank. The room remained silent while the soldier’s mind wrestled with different possibilities. If Kendrick lived, then there was hope he’d be able to find the rest. He couldn’t lose hope yet.

"Something else happened that I feel I should mention."

Benign and Lady Alana raised their heads to Alana at the same time.

"One hunter escaped. Before he did, he and two others forced one of our warriors to reveal how the Protector used his blessings. I had told the warriors about your Hell Rain blessing, so he was forced to mention it and what it did. I don’t know if it means anything, but I thought you should know."

The answer surprised Benign, but also answered the question.

He was the target. Not the firewings. They were just casualties that the enemy knew would catch his attention.

Lady Alana seemed to understand as well. She turned to Benign. "They went after your Firewings. Why would they need to do that? Do you know?"

Benign slowly shook his head. He had only made two appearances with his firewing. On the day he snuck in, and a few hours ago when the attack must’ve already happened.

None of those moments meant the firewings were more than transportation.

"Your station had a spy all along, Lyra." Benign finally spoke.

"Yes," Lady Alana raised her head. "While they calculated this attack, they had a lot of pieces to work with. They knew the Hero passed Kiron and left important companions behind. They also knew about a blessing that the Hero never used here."

Benign looked away. He only ever used the blessing before Castrius arrived.

If Castrius worked for the same man as the generals, then there was no need to investigate his blessings again. Unless they wanted to know more.

That meant, along with the Death Tag used on the General, the enemy knew he had just two combat skills, each with a serious downside. They were really interested in playing offense.

"I will tighten the investigation then. I’ll keep you informed..." Lyra’s eyes shifted to the person who walked in. A young messenger whispered to Lyra before handing her a letter. Another pink envelope. Lyra looked back at the soldier.

"Another letter just arrived."

Lady Alana’s expression darkened. "Open it."

990+Benign remained unusually calm.

A minute later, Lyra sighed. Her expression seemed relieved. "They communicate that they have all the firewings alive. Also," she looked directly at Benign. "They asked for a private meeting with the Protector."

"Or else..." Her voice faltered. "...the remaining Firewings will die one by one daily."

"Daily?" Benign repeated.

Silence.

The crystal dimmed. "I have to leave now. I want to track the one who sent this letter to their secret lair. Maybe we’ll get them before anything gets out of hand. Bye for now, Sister."

The older sister nodded. "Take care, Lyra."

The connection ended. Nobody spoke.

The soldier simply walked away from the meeting room, the feathers still clenched in his hands. As he reached for the doorknob, the door opened.

The other members of the Fifth Branch walked in, chattering gleefully. Benign let them walk past before he continued out.

"Are you alright, Benign?" Suera asked, being closest to the door. Her eyes dropped on the broken crimson feathers. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Lady Alana, what is that—"

"The enemies. They are baiting him."

Those were the last words Benign heard before leaving the room.

’Baiting him’ was an understatement. They knew he would arrive.

However, those kidnappers definitely had plans with the firewings, because there was no need to go through all the trouble if they just wanted his attention.

There was already a plan to attack the headquarters the next day. To steal the Hero alive. Baiting him to leave before the attack made no sense.

Unless they needed him to choose between the Protectors and his firewings. Which also had no long-term disadvantage because if he leaves, the Protectors could handle themselves better than the firewings.

"There’s just one more thing." He closed the door behind him.

He fell on his bed, keeping the feathers above his face. "The general who’ll be attacking us tomorrow might differ from the one that did this."

[Very likely.]

[Should I show you information about the three Generals?]

The feathers dropped on the soldier’s face. "Did you not think to send that to me long before now?"

[...]

[During my hiatus. I worked on updating my memory. I found the information stashed there.]

"Excuses. Just show me."

A long dropdown appeared in front of him. Having the names of the Generals as well was the last thing Benign expected. He sat up right. "Castrius isn’t here."

[He was never a General. At least not the Warlord’s General.]

Those words made Benign raise a brow. Castrius clearly served the Warlord. If not the Warlord, who else did he serve as General? "Well, I’ll have to worry less about him."

[Maybe not.]

Getting out of bed, Benign paused. "Why?"

No reply came forward. He rubbed his face with his right hand and took back the feathers with the other. He left his room to find the firewing.

The only things he needed to do were name it, find the firewings’ current location, and wish for the Protectors to be winning their fight when he got back.

He had dropped a gift during the slime child’s last espionage, so it should be easier.

"I’ll be working with the guess that two Generals are currently active. Let me know if you find any more information, okay?"

[Noted.]

[What will be your next move?]

"Go to the firewings, of course. There’s no need for even another feather to be touched if I can help it."

[Will the Fifth Branch know about this?]

The soldier gave no response.