"Damn, that was quite something to behold. Several of them were high ranking Knights, with the Duke himself being the highest ranked in the entire nation as Knight Commander. And the last two of his older children that survived your initial attack, they were both Generals, the third highest rank after Commander and Lieutenant," Remarked Phyurio, walking down the stairs.

"If they’d treated me as a real threat the instant they saw me, I doubt I could’ve pulled it off. In the end, their arrogance was their downfall," I responded, as I dissipated my Soul Weapon.

"Indeed, we’ve attacked several corrupt Noble families in the past few weeks, and none of them were as arrogant as this lot were. Setting that aside though, your skills are the real deal for sure.

Your movements are sharp, you can cast Spells without chanting out loud and you’re highly adept with your Soul Weapon. Especially for your age, that was impressive. And that Soul Weapon of yours, a whip...it’s an unusual type, but it looked quite effective," Spoke up Gior.

"That’s understating it, it seemed incredibly versatile and useful if you ask me," Chimed in Phyurio.

"So far, other Soul Weapons are the only things it hasn’t been able to slice through. I managed to slice clean through the armor of a couple of Knights back when they attacked my village," I replied, as I stretched my arms up with a sigh, "Alright, I think I’m just about ready to get out of here. I’ve been in this place for long enough as it is."

"What will you do now? You could join us, you know," Suggested Phyurio, adding, "We plan on running wild here in Dianus for a while longer, until security becomes too tight to operate."

"Hm, thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna have to pass. I’ve thought about it, and I really think that my next move should be to find my brother. I’m worried about my father too, but he’s a Royal, so they won’t kill him. And I’m guessing that breaking into the Royal castle won’t be easy, right?" I surmised warily.

"That’s putting it lightly, it’s practically impossible. They have several high ranking Knights as guards, as well as a complex security system rigged with deadly traps. Trying to sneak in there is a death sentence, and you can’t always count on being underestimated," Gior informed me, as I headed for the door and opened it.

"I’ll keep that in mind...at my current ability level, I doubt I’d stand a chance in a head on battle against a high ranked Knight. Things won’t always work out as smoothly as it did today...not only did I get lucky with their incompetence, but I also had prep time and planned to set things up in my favor," I sighed reluctantly.

Sorry, Rhyle...but I just don’t have what it takes to save you yet, not to mention that I’m sorely lacking in information. I won’t accomplish anything if all I do end up getting myself killed, that won’t help anyone.

Hm? Strange, there’s no one here...

"What’s the matter? Why did you stop?" Inquired Gior, as the two of them followed after me.

"The kids, they’re gone. They must have run away in terror...which means they’ve probably gone to get help. Which means we should scram ASAP," I surmised with an irritated sigh.

"Good call, let’s hurry up and get out of here," Nodded Gior in agreement.

We headed through the corridor and to the front door, which was slightly ajar. Gior stepped forward and peeked out through it cautiously, before slowly opening it further and poking his head out.

"Is the coast clear?" Inquired Phyurio warily.

"Yeah, I don’t see anyone out there. Let’s get out of here before it’s too late," Replied Gior, as we headed out.

"Alright, guess this is where we part ways. Gotta say, it was nice to meet some old friends of my mom’s, maybe I’ll see you again someday," I mused, as we walked out and shut the door.

"Here, take this. I know it’s a bit bulky, so you might need to get something to carry it in," Remarked Gior, as he opened a portal and pulled out a phone, along with a charger for it.

He’s got the Pocket Dimension Skill too, huh? On another note, this phone is like a freaking brick, it’s huge.

"No worries there. You’re not the only one with that Skill," I responded, as I tossed the phone and charger into my own Pocket Dimension.

"Wha-...huh, you’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Alright, the two of us will head over that way, maybe light some stuff ablaze and whatnot. It should make it easier for you to get away, just go in the opposite direction," He instructed me.

"Yeah, sure, thanks a lot. By the way, if I may ask one more question. How did you survive being a Heretic? And did my mom know?" I asked him.

I really want to know...if she’d known that I was a Heretic, would she have treated me any differently?

"After my appraisal, I ran away and hid in the mountains before I could be captured. One day, your mother came across me while training a rookie Adventurer-...this guy...-and when I revealed that I was a Heretic, she showed no fear or animosity...though he certainly did," He muttered, giving Phyurio a salty side glance.

"Hey, I was just a kid, I didn’t know any better! And I’ve said I was sorry about that like a thousand times!" Responded Phyurio indignantly.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, she trained me, and helped me hide. After she left with your father, this guy became an official Adventurer, he’d take on quests as a solo Adventurer, then meet up with me out of town and we’d complete the quest together.

As a result of everyone thinking he’s been completing those quests on his own, he’s now a Platinum Adventurer, the second highest rank. Oh, yeah, not long before your mother left, she got me a book of Light Spells that she’d found off of group of invaders from the Light Continent. I’ve learnt all I can from it, so you could probably make far better use of it now," He mused, as he took out an old, worn-down book and handed it to me.

"Oh, wow, thanks a lot. This’ll help out a ton, it hasn’t been easy learning how to use Light Spells from scratch," I grinned, as I gratefully accepted it and put it away in my Pocket Dimension.

"Hey, shouldn’t we head out now? The Knights could be here any minute now," Spoke up Phyurio nervously.

Yeah, standing out here in the open for much longer probably isn’t the best idea. The three of us then parted ways, heading in the opposite direction.

Hm, looks like I’ll have to climb over that wall to get out of here. Good thing there aren’t any spikes or barbed wire on the top of it, maybe I can form some steps along the wall using an earth Spell.

I then halted as I heard a rustling coming from a nearby bush, quickly forming a fire Spell and sprang back warily.

"Who’s there!?" I exclaimed, as I took aim at the bush.

"It’s, um...it’s me...," Came a familiar voice, sounding more timid and nervous than usual.

"Oh, Prysm. You’re still here? What, are you here to kill me or something, to avenge your family?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I-...I don’t want to kill you. I realized something today...when my appraisal revealed that I have the Light Attribute, father, mother and my older brothers and sisters, they hit me a bunch of times after we left the castle, and they said such horrible things to me.

And I realized that, even though it all hurt so much, it was nothing compared to everything they were doing to you. And then, when I saw you kill them the way you did, I...I didn’t feel any sadness at all.

In fact...I felt happy. I felt like saying ’this is what you deserve’, I felt so spiteful after everything they did to me on the way back from the castle," She admitted, trembling slightly.

Hm, now that I take a closer look, I can see that she’s covered in bruises.

"I see. So, what will you do now?" I asked her, as I used an earth Spell to form steps along the wall.

"I don’t know. If I stay here, I’ll probably be killed for having the Light Attribute. My other siblings went to find the Knights, and when they went, they pushed me away and told me that I should die," She replied with a grimace.

"Yeah, sucks to be you, you’re probably screwed," I shrugged indifferently, as I began to head up the steps, "Well, guess is goodbye, so-..."

"Could I...could I come with you!?" She suddenly exclaimed with a desperate look on her face.

Huh?

"Uh, you do realize that I just murdered most of your family, right?" I pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"It was obvious that they stopped seeing me as a member of their family-...or even as a person at all...-after my appraisal. They would’ve killed me. The moment the results of my appraisal appeared, my life with them as I knew it was over for good. I don’t feel sad or angry that they’re dead...I just feel relieved. And I...I don’t want to die! So, please...please take me with you!" She cried in distress.

Wow, I, uh...I really didn’t see this coming. So...now, what do I do?

"Nah, I’d really rather not. Later." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP