Heisen's Eye

Chapter 14

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Airi's POV
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"Oh right, Airi." (Astrid)

"What is it?" (Airi)

"The boy woke up." (Astrid)

...

"What?" (Airi)

"You know the minotaur boy? He's awake." (Astrid)

Taking a few seconds to comprehend what Astrid said, I stare at her in shock.

"He's awake? Right now?" (Airi)

"Yes, right now. It was pretty easy to tell, considering the large bookshelf blocking the infirmary door from opening." (Astrid)

Forgetting my previous exhaustion, I jump up and begin running towards the stairs at the end of the room, with Astrid close behind.

I race through the barrack's corridors, not caring for the safety rules in place.

Pushing aside various knights, archers and mages, I reach the infirmary door, and, sure enough, you could see a bookshelf directly infront of the door through the mirror.

He's actually awake.

He's no longer asleep.

Taking a few seconds to assess the situation, I begin to chant a [Rock Bullet], before remembering the artifact that prevents all magic aside from healing to be used around the infirmary.

I sigh, out of options.

I can't use brute force, Astrid'll hate me if I break the door. I can't use magic because of the artifact.

Maybe I could talk to him? He might listen if it was me.

Well, right now it's my only option.

"Hey, Ryu? Can you move the bookshelf?" (Airi)

"Stop. Don't try to sweet talk me. It won't work." (Ryu)

I could barely hear his voice through the door, but I could tell it was shaking.

He's scared.

"I'm not trying to sweet talk you, but we need to get into the infirmary, your wounds aren't healed." (Airi)

"I can take care of myself." (Ryu)

Its not going to work, he doesn't trust me.

Panting behind me, Astrid finally catches up.

"So? You believe me now?" (Astrid)

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how to get in." (Airi)

"Oh, don't worry about that, I sent Etsusu to disable the artifact for a few minutes, it'll give us plenty of time to bust in." (Astrid)

I heave a sigh of relief as I hear that, and I begin to prepare to bust in.

"Also, I don't care for this door all too much, so do whatever you want." (Astrid)

I have all of my options back. I can brute force my way in, or blow my way in with magic. All the same, really.

"All right then. Astrid get me 3 earth mages. We're blowing our way in." (Airi)

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Ryu's POV
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I'm shaking.

Why am I shaking?

Why do I feel this massive weight on my shoulders?

Why is there a lump in my throat?

I only have questions, no answers.

I have no answers, and yet, I barricaded myself away from those that could give me them.

I'm pretty stupid, aren't I?

I said to myself I didn't want pity, and now I'm wallowing myself in it.

What do I want?

I don't know. I don't know what I want.

I want a lot. I want freedom. I want a family. I want friends. I want companions.

I want to be happy.

I've come to that conclusion again.

I just want to be happy.

Sliding down the wall under the window, I begin to insult myself in my head.

I insult myself over and over and over again, until I hear a shout coming from outside the room.

"--o, one! Fire!" (Airi)

Having no time to react, I'm assaulted by waves of ash that came from the destruction of my barricade, and several sections of the wall that were caught in the blast.

In seconds, the dust cleared from my view, revealing the Knight, standing triumphant in the wreckage of the door.

I state in awe as the Knight spots me and begins walking over to me.

"Looks like you're awake, Ryu." (Airi)

I continue staring at her, eyes wide open.

"Say, what's this about being able to take care of yourself? I hate to say it, but if you could truly take care of yourself, you wouldn't be in this situation right now." (Airi)

I give her no response as I tear my eyes away from her and look at the floor.

"Hey, come on, stand up, the floor's all dusty." (Airi)

The Knight extends her hand towards me, and a few seconds pass before I reluctantly take her up on the offer.

"Hey~ This is nice and all, but what are you going to do about my precious door, 'riri? That cost a fortune, you know?" (Astrid)

"Yeah yeah, it's not like you paid for it anyway, just ask for a repair job from the Captain." (Airi)

The small, blonde girl clicks her tongue at the quick-witted response given by the Knight.

Further examining the wreckage, I now notice the large crowd of soldiers that were previously hidden by the clouds of dust.

Almost instinctively, I reach over my left shoulder with my right hand, grasping for a sword that never reached my palm.

I start to panic as I realise I don't have my sword with me. I survey the room, looking for any of my belongings, my eyes darting from one side of the room to the other.

Spotting my bag on the other side of the infirmary, I dash towards it, showing no previous signs of preparation. I reach it in seconds, slinging my holster over my shoulder and drawing my sword.

In response, the guards situated just outside of the wreckage all draw their swords, the archers ready their bows, and the mages begin chanting their spells.

I have no chance of winning this. I'm dead, no matter how you look at the situation.

I can't say I didn't expect this. I always knew that I'd die at the hands of a human, not a monster. But to think I'd die at the hands of an honourable soldier and not some washed-up outlaw.

Oh, how expectations can crumble at the drop of a hat.

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Author Notes
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Hey, it's another new chapter! I'm beginning to enjoy writing these more and more as it gets more action-y. As I've said before, being able to write fight scenes, or scenes of tension just seems like so much fun to me, so I'm glad I can write them like this.