The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 253: Resolve

Chapter 253: Resolve

The moment the Inquisitor drew his sword, the crowds scattered, flowing past the approaching men and women like water. In an attempt to blend in with the fleeing people, but it soon became clear they had locked on to my position.

The entire situation felt impossible. Even if someone had seen me in the brief seconds I’d been exposed, why had they reported it with such haste? Had the Inquisitors really been ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, or was it just pure happenstance? Most importantly, did they know who I was, or did they simply think me a demonkin they wanted to interrogate?

At the thought of suffering through their cruel torture yet again, a long, dreadful shiver traced down my spine, shaking me to the tip of my tail. Memories of my treatment at the hands of the inquisitors rose unbidden, and I gasped in pain, pressing a hand to my chest, my soul throbbing. Panic closed up my throat, and my breathing came in short, shallow gasps. I gripped my staff tightly, backing against the wall, gaze switching wildly from inquisitor to inquisitor as they closed in.

The street was close to empty now, with only a few, brave and very bored people clinging to the alleys, peering at the scene. I counted five inquisitors, three men and two women. The women were the same I’d seen outside the inn, an older, hardened inquisitor, and a younger girl with brown hair and piercing green eyes. The men were tall and strong, wrapped in plate armor and bearing large broadswords.

"Well done," the older woman murmured, resting a proud hand on the green-eyed inquisitor’s shoulder. "It seems your intuition was correct after all."

They seemed close, but there was a professional sense of distance. Master and apprentice, perhaps? Either way, they conversed in hushed voices, unaware that I could, with my demonkin senses, make them out.

"We can’t be sure yet, Leera," the girl replied.

She studied me closely, trying to peer past my hood and at my face. When that failed, her gaze dropped lower, falling on my cloak-covered chest in anticipation. She sighed as disappointment clouded her face, her hands tightening into fists. What had she been looking for?

"Indeed." The inquisitor nodded, and raised her voice, directly addressing me. "By order of the Divine, all demonkin are sought for questioning. Surrender yourself, and you will remain unharmed.."

I stood still and silent, watching them from beneath my cowl. My breathing was still light and shallow, but the initial surge of panic had faded. The woman, Leera, seemed to be the leader, as well as the strongest among them, falling somewhere near the peak of fourth level. The rest were scattered between third and fourth.

The young inquisitor, Aqua, caught my attention with her intriguing aura. There was a depth to her soul that seemed to exceed her current abilities, reminiscent of mages of higher levels. It triggered a sense of familiarity, though the memory eluded me, like trying to recall a distant dream.

As though sensing my thoughts, she shifted, again peering at me closely. There was an enigmatic desperation in her gaze, a longing, yearning even. The raging swirls of green in her irises held such intensity I took a step back, my tail twitching uncertainty.

At my silence, the inquisitors shared grim looks, hands tightening on the hilts of their weapons. Taking a deep breath, I wracked my brain, desperately searching for something that would de-escalate the situation. After a moment, my hand fell on the silver broach pinned to my cloak.

Taking a deep breath, I faced Leera and nervously raised my voice. "I’m Starlight, a member of the Glory Chasers adventuring party. May I know for what reason you seek to detain me?"

Feeling rather proud of my composure and response, I watched Leera’s expression. My spirit plummeted a moment later when she scowled, crossing her arms beneath her breasts.

"Who the hell asked, filthblood? Submit to our questioning or face the purifying light of the Divine. I will not repeat myself."

Filthblood. It was a familiar slur that hadn’t entered my ears in months, since escaping Lord Byron’s clutches. Once, it had been far more common than my name, but it stung now, slapping like a physical blow.

"I can’t do that. I’m sorry," I whispered.

Her eyes narrowed and she took a step forward, finally drawing her sword. "Sorry? Not as much as you will be when I’m-"

She froze mid-sentence, her eyes bugging out, as a massive gust of wind tore down the street, wrapping around the two inquisitors closest to me. Closing my fists, I soul-cast Binding Winds, binding their arms to their sides and squeezing the breath from their lungs. Their screams trickled off as they gasped for air, unable to even struggle as I threw them at the third male inquisitor.

"What the hell?" Leera gasped, her face white with shock.

After attaining fourth level again, I found myself capable of Soul Casting third-circle spells, albeit with significant strain. Devoid of external aids like magic circles, runes, or chants, even I struggled to predict a spell cast internally. The inquisitors would have little hope of preparing for such an unexpected attack. But, while their surprise was understandable, it did little to exempt them from the results.

The male inquisitor also fumbled in astonishment, unable to so much as dodge as the human projectiles slammed into him, sending all three of them sprawling. Their armor squealed, grinding together, the awful noise followed closely by the crack of bone and tearing of flesh.

Taking advantage of the confusion, I took off running, fleeing down a nearby alley. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aqua still watching me, unfazed by the sudden chaos. Her eyes widened as the winds blew my cloak back, revealing my face, my crimson hair streaming out behind me.

"It’s you..." she whispered, clasping her hands to her chest.

Finally recovering, Leera lunged toward my fleeing figure. Power gathered in her sword, the beginnings of a magical technique, and I threw myself aside. Less than a heartbeat later, a rush of sunlight blazed through the street, scorching the paving stones in an uncannily straight line, engulfing the area where I’d been standing.

I groaned, pressing a hand to my shoulder, as the Sunpurge throbbed. Even with my protective cloak, I might have suffered greatly had the attack connected.

"Dammit, how’d she know?" Leera cursed. Still running toward me, her powerful, fourth-level legs eating up the distance, she raised her sword again.

My erratic evasion had placed me against the wall, trapping me before her next magical technique. Unable to dodge, I threw my hand out, summoning my staff. As the next wave of light roared toward me, I cast Aegis, using the precious time bought by the first-circle spell to roll out of the way.

The sudden burst of stars and subsequent formation of the Staff of Fate sent another wave of surprise through the inquisitors, especially Aqua, who stared at it dumbly without moving. Revealing my staff would only reinforce their conclusions, but I had no time to worry about that now, not when the encounter had escalated to this point. They’d stop at nothing until I was chained at their mercy, screaming at the horrific tortures they’d inflict on me. I couldn’t submit to something again, not when I had the power to resist.

Shaking off her disbelief, Leera tightened her grip on her sword, glancing at the male inquisitors, who had finally broken free of the Binding Winds spell. Well, two of them had, the third rolled on the ground, clutching at the bloody shards of rib protruding from his side.

"Detain the filthblood. Don’t hold back, either. Failing is no longer an option."

The two nodded grimly, eyeing me with unmasked hatred. Apparently, being thrown around like dolls did me no favors in their eyes. Their broadswords glinted menacingly in the morning sun, saturated with enough magic to cleave a building in half, much less my small, delicate body.

"Hear me, Fable," I pled, grasping my staff with both hands.

A ring of starlight appeared in the air, leading to the ancient forest without the city. The inquisitors shouted as Fable appeared, leaping through the portal, his lips already curled in a snarl. He was regular-sized, though even that placed him at the peak of fourth level, on par with Leera.

"An infernal monster!" One of the inquisitors shouted, "She’s in league with the demons!"

"Kill it before it gets loose in the city," Leera cried. She glanced at the brown-haired girl behind her, who returned a nod. "Aqua and I will handle the filthblood."

Fable growled, turning his head and meeting my gaze. I nodded, my tail lashing nervously, and his lips curled into something resembling a smile. Moments later, as the inquisitors charged, he howled and transformed, swelling in size until he occupied half the street, a shining, silver mass of claw, tooth, and horn.

Before the inquisitors could react, he blurred, pouncing forward and swatting an inquisitor with his massive paw. The man grunted, managing to raise his sword in a clumsy parry, but the impact sent him smashing through a nearby home. Dust and debris rained down on his head and the building shook, threatening to collapse. Several terrified screams split the air and a young woman, clutching two children in her arms, fled through the wreckage and into the city beyond.

My mana trembled, and I tore my attention from Fable, ducking just as an arc of Sun Magic sliced above me at chest level. Leera and Aqua advanced toward me, spreading out just far enough to avoid any area of effect spells I might cast. It was a popular tactic when fighting mages, who often loved large-scale destruction magic, but was ultimately meaningless. I couldn’t cast any combat spells, anyway.

After dodging another arc of light with Aegis, I caught a glimpse of Aqua. The inquisitor held no weapons, nor could I see any sort of staff or wand. Instead, mana flowed from her soul, wreathing her fists in watery light. The magical technique was completely unfamiliar to me, but shared similarities to how Soltair and Trithe sheathed their swords in sunlight and fire, respectively.

Within seconds, they’d circled to either side of me, trapping me between them. I risked a glance at Fable, finding him shaking an inquisitor like a ragdoll. The man screamed as the teeth as long as his arm punched through his breastplate, his feverish sword strikes bouncing harmlessly off my wolf’s hardened fur.

All I had to do was hold on for a minute, and Fable would come to my rescue. Faced with two inquisitors who outmatched my soul, that minute felt eternal, insurmountable, even.

But I had to try. No matter how daunting or overwhelming it became, I had no choice but to endure, or everything I had suffered would have been in vain. I couldn’t return to chains. I couldn’t.