The Path of Ruin

*(A/N: There will be an another chapter in a few hours. And then another. Sorry for the late update.)*

Twenty-three.

That was the number of people among the Imperial soldiers that Kael had so far been certain was a bearer.

And if he was not mistaken, this whole unit sent to capture Tharon consisted of a total of two hundred and fifty men.

Kael had honestly thought that traveling with a group of two hundred and fifty people would be quite troublesome. But... it wasn't. The soldiers were very disciplined and knew exactly what to do.

Resting places were carefully and precisely chosen. The path was predetermined and it was almost impossible to be attacked. What idiot bandit would try to attack a group of two hundred and fifty soldiers...? Especially with the flag of the Empire waving over the carriages.

Although... Kael wasn't sure if they could even see the flag.

Because there was a squad constantly patrolling around the advancing group, diving into the forests ahead of everyone else, scouting for possible danger. A team of... assassins, probably, led by Hakon. Or something like that.

In short, this journey to the capital of the Empire was perfect, devoid of all flaws. They were on the second day of their journey and still nothing had gone wrong.

Everything was going as it should.

However, still... Kael had a problem.

And that was his curse.

'Eight days. I only have eight days.'

And their journey was scheduled to last another three weeks. And therein lay the problem.

'I haven't killed anything in two days!'

They were not encountering any creatures. Because no danger was allowed anywhere near the group! And even if they did, Kael was pretty sure that the other soldiers would be faster than him.

So Kael had to think of a solution.

And so, he moved, causing the eyes that were constantly on him to be suddenly alerted.

The group was moving quite fast, really... they were covering many kilometers a day. Nevertheless, Kael quickly approached the very edge of the group.

There was someone he had his eye on. An old man he had last spoken to two days ago, carrying a long and thin sword at his waist.

But as soon as his eyes locked on him, he had to pause. His brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the man who suddenly appeared in front of him.

'A bearer.'

He did not recognize the man, but he was probably one of those who kept his eyes on him at all times.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to speak to the General..."

"The General is not someone you can talk to as you please."

It made sense, actually...

"But... I want something."

The man's brow furrowed like his own.

"What is it?"

"Can I... wander in the forest too...? With the scouts, I mean."

The man in front of him had his face covered. He wore a mask that reached above his nose and covered his neck and mouth, and his clothes were rather dark colored.

So it was difficult to see his full expression. Despite this, however, Kael was able to make out exactly what the man's expression was like.

He was surprised. And also...

"No, no."

He looked like he was definitely going to refuse.

And he did.

"Why not? The scouts are about twenty people, and only three of them are bearers. They are slower than me, weaker. Yes, maybe they are more experienced than me and they would beat me easily if we fought. But my physical abilities are, probably, better than theirs. If not, then better than most adults. And I have spent almost three months in these forests, believe me. So I know what to do."

"That's exactly the problem, kid."

"Ah..."

Kael now understood the problem.

They didn't trust him, logically. And even if they could capture him again, they might lose a few of their regular soldiers because they were dealing with a bearer. Just like the first time.

They didn't want to send him into the 'forest' where he could cause trouble right in front of their eyes.

"I always have a few people following me, watching my every move... The only thing that will change is that the ones who will come after me will be in the forest, not in the moving group..."

The man opposite still shook his head from side to side. He didn't look like he was going to let Kael in any way. And he also didn't look like he was going to deal with him any further. So, he turned away without further effort. He was about to disappear again before Kael could say anything to him.

"You want to join the scouts... is that it?"

Kael felt goosebumps all over him for no reason. He had a calm tone, even though his voice was deep and heavy.

First the man who had been dealing with Kael slowly turned towards where the voice had come from, then Kael. Standing in front of them was... the old man with the sword at his waist.

Ah, though... the General.

"G- General!"

The man immediately stood at attention as if waiting for orders. But the old man did not focus on him even for a moment.

His lips were straight, his eyes sharp. His expression was a little strange, though... It was as if he was having a little fun, albeit with a cold expression.

Kael paused. For a moment, he felt like swallowing hard, but he held himself back. He had to keep behaving the way he had in front of this man. So he forced himself as hard as he could, squinted his eyes slightly, and put on a serious expression.

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

The general paused for a moment, just like Kael. His eyes roamed over him for a moment, studying him. His posture, his expression... everything.

"Why do you want it?"

"Just walking, doing anything... it's not really my thing."

The General's lips curved upwards slightly at his answer.

"I see."

General looked around. The movement of the group had stopped with him. Everyone was looking in his direction.

But he ignored them. He turned around and walked back to the front of the group with slow steps.

"You can go, I give you permission."

A momentary look of surprise appeared on Kael's face. But he quickly recovered at the General's next words.

"We're moving again, come on! No stopping!"

And not only him, but everyone else too.

Slowly, the group began to move forward once again. But Kael and the man next to him remained where they were.

Kael turned his eyes to the man who was still standing at attention. Then... his lips curled upwards slightly.

He quickly realized the mistake he had made, but he didn't hold back. He had made this mistake once, there was no going back. So he kept his expression.

"Tch."

The man next to him clicked his tongue, then turned around.

"Follow me. And... don't try anything. You won't get as much mercy this time as before. I'm always after you."

"I never had any intention of running away..."

*******

The man was a man of his word. He was really following Kael all the time. He was nowhere to be seen, but Kael could feel his presence... his gaze.

But then, he noticed something different. Not long after he entered the forest, only a minute or so, he felt the presence of something or someone else watching him. So, he paused.

Only a second later, the air in front of him fluctuated. As if... as if someone was coming out of camouflage. So much so that the ripples resembled leaves.

And then a person slowly emerged from the nothingness, dressed completely in black... a familiar person with a familiar face.

Kael opened his mouth to say something, but Hakon spoke faster.

"Ah, no... you don't need to explain. I know everything."

"Oh..."

Hakon looked at him for a while, sighing. Like the other man, he clicked his tongue. But he knew there was nothing he could do, so he did nothing.

"Look, my little friend... What was your name again? Kael?"

Kael nodded his head.

"Okay, Kael... Now, I'm going to think good things. I'm going to think that you won't try to escape, that you'll really do what you've been told... Because that's what I want to think, and also for the general. So listen to me carefully."

Kael nodded again. He didn't care that there were rules he had to follow. All he wanted was to kill a few creatures. No more, no less.

"Good. Now... the scouts have simple rules. We keep a circle around the group at all times, keeping a certain distance between us. Taking turns and resting, of course. If we see a creature and it's something we have no trouble killing, we take care of it ourselves. But if we see something troublesome, we go back quickly and report it. Then..."

And so on and so forth, he told Kael a lot of things.

Actually, it was really all simple things. Even though Hakon explained everything at length, most things were basic and easy to remember.

"Do you understand? I'm not going to start from the beginning because..."

"I understand everything."

"Oh, very good then! You can start right now... let's go!"

And there were ripples around his body, just like when he first appeared. He was surrounded by what looked like leaves, but Kael couldn't quite make out what they were. And after a while, Hakon disappeared.

Kael had really understood what he had to do. It would take a little more experimentation and trial and error, but he thought he would do a good job with the rules and not cause too much trouble for the main scouts.

Still, for a few seconds, he just stood there, staring in the direction where Hakon had disappeared. But... he didn't just stare.

'Same thing, the same thing again... these abilities, they are strange. It's like they are connected to that warmth that makes me feel stronger...'

Each one was different in one way. Or many ways, probably. But... they were also the same.

He narrowed his eyes, three things running through his mind as he moved slowly. The first was what the general used in battle. The second was Tharon's strange yet amazing dance as he controlled the rain and the dragons. And the last was the way Hakon felt when he disappeared.

And so, thoughtfully, he dived into the undergrowth of the forest.

With eyes on him, of course.