The God of Jesters
Chapter 259 - 4.10.3 The only option left.

Chapter 259: 4.10.3 The only option left.

Remira was no brute. Her eyes were clearer than ever and she knew with the way her target had been holding onto the two victims, there was a high chance that a strike like hers would harm the innocents in her hands as well.

But she still struck as if intent on cleaving Sheva in half. And with her cry of ’DIE’ she made sure that Sheva knew this very well.

Anyone in place of Sheva would abandon the hostages and run with their full strength, or use those hostages to threaten Remira. Of course, they would only do such things if they knew Remira, as other Radiant Knights in her place would gladly sacrifice anyone as long as it brings them closer to eradicating curses.

As for fighting Remira with them all while carrying the hostages? It’s nothing short of looking for a bad time. They would die under her blade and the hostages would follow suit.

So what could Sheva do in such a situation? The time seemed still in her mind, watching the sword never lose momentum and coming straight for her.

She was not transcendent, to begin with, it was a mere misconception on Remira’s part, who had let her thoughts go wild after fighting Vegal, who appeared mortal on the surface.

So no matter what happened, no matter the choice Sheva would wish to make, her physique couldn’t keep up with the speed on the strike. All she could see was the sword ready to strike her dead.

’End?’ She wondered, as she closed her eyes, readying herself for the pain and horror that would soon follow along with that sword. But then nothing.

At some point, Remira suddenly twisted her body and changed the direction of her strike. Before making some distance between her and Sheva.

"A mortal?" She wondered. But before her words could end, a figure appeared and directly clashed with her. "I am sorry to leave you there, Knight Remira. You see, I was a bit busy." The Burnt Jara appeared out of nowhere.

And if one were to look deeply, he was sweating profusely. With fear and anger covering his face, he Taunted Remira. All in hopes of misdirecting her into thinking that his emotions which were becoming harder to hide were not related to Sheva.

A mortal that had fallen into this game due to his mistake.

"So that dwarf spoke the truth. They are at the center of that Clown’s conspiracy?" Remira wondered, looking at the so-called MouthPiece of Jester to appear at such an opportune time when he had previously escaped from her hands.

A sign that meant that these two or three were important. More important than the bait they set before. This means that as long as she deals with those three, this whole thing will come to an end.

But out of nowhere, the words of the mouthpiece surprised her. "They might as well be, go for the kill if you want, do whatever you want with them. But remember, one of them is a mere mortal." Jara mocked Remira, not speaking about who he was calling a mortal, he just created some distance and then turned to look at Sheva, who was still in shock after what happened just now.

His eyes were obvious. All they wanted was for Sheva to escape. In just a few minutes, things will go awry, and Remira won’t be the only problem they have to worry about.

And with Remira here, it won’t take those from Pulgasiri to find them soon enough.

’Run Sheva... this is no time to think.’ He wished to speak to her, wanted to let her know the danger of dallying around. But he couldn’t, this was his limit, as the more concern he showed for her, the more dangerous her future would become.

An illusion of distance is needed, the Jara of old needs to die, and Baldar has to completely take over his psyche and not as a false persona.

For Sheva’s sake, he has to forsake his old self completely, only then can he ensure her safety and his own sanity. Because living with worry and conflicting emotions was taking a toll on him, he had to eventually choose as Sheva did. He has to make a choice and follow that choice to that end.

"So she was a mortal," Remira said as if nodding to Baldar’s words, before turning toward him and asking. "I believe you on that aspect, I was able to feel a lack of energy and breathlessness from her when I had come close." Remira thought white she watched Sheva leave the scene, without a word.

She let it happen. There was no need to work hard in order to pursue a mortal, they had no means to hide from her, she could smell them clearly, find them easily, and then hunt them. "But that is where I stop believing you." She said, looking at Baldar.

"Your master does care about them, otherwise you wouldn’t have come out in the open just after my attack... no, you were worried at that moment, emotional even. You thought that I was going to kill them at that time."

At those words, Baldar knew that he lost. It didn’t matter if his words held truth or not, the only truth Remira believed in was the one she saw with her own eyes. Due to her old experiences, she was smarter than before, and much more insightful in all situations. Making her a tough opponent.

People as thoughtful as her can only be suppressed with false information or strength, both of which I currently lack.

In the case of information, it was even worse. Jara was too green and too emotional. He gave himself away the moment he had appeared.

I would even go as far as to say, his appearance has doomed his goals. On her own and without his intrusion, Sheva might have cooked up a lie. A believable lie which when backed by her clear heart, would easily let her escape this predicament. Or so I think, I can’t say for certain she can though after the transcendents from Pulgasari start rushing the village.

"You sure are smart Sir Knight. Much smarter than a little old burnt me." Knowing that he had messed up, Jara smiled. "I am Baldar by the way." He started with the lies. "The woman you saw was going to be my wife." Then the truth. Although he never said it, nor did he talk about it with Sheva.

Both of them wished to be family. "So you should know, I won’t let you harm her. She has nothing to do with this... that fool came here in search of me, because of me." He spoke again with a mix of lies and truth. There was no need to give away more information than needed.

But what was he hoping to do with this? I wondered.

What could he hope to achieve? Of course, it was easier to see. "So you should know, I can’t let you go after her. Kill me as much as you want."

Remira looked deeply at this man. Not knowing what to believe. But she knew that the majority of what he spoke probably had some value.

’A connection, that woman was able to find him, she must know something about that clown.’ Though the direction her mind ran was on something else.

In Remira’s heart, only the innocent deserve mercy. And being a mortal doesn’t make you innocent automatically, it just makes you powerless, and in the world, the powerless still commit more crimes than the transcendent.

So she was not the kind to show mercy in the face of such an emotional story. This man named Baldar was doomed the moment he joined the side of Jester and started to do his bidding.

And in a way useless, as he should be under strong contractual restraints and it might be impossible for her to extract any relevant information from him. But the woman might be something different, someone random who was free from such constraints.

’I can’t kill him then. Not like I would need to anyways.’

"I don’t see any value in killing the likes of you and wasting my time. I have enough of an undying kid and I don’t want to do the same thing with you."

"Speaking of Farhad, yes?" Jara smiled, before saying. "I can give you his location, specifically, his sister’s who was here." These words were surprising, but they didn’t change the choice that Remira had already made in her mind.

"Forget that Baldar, I will give you a choice." Remira knew that she had the upper hand at this moment, there was no need to act passively anymore, for the first time, she had an edge over her enemy. "In a few minutes, this village and the surrounding forest will be filled with transcendent beings. Neither you nor your lover can escape from this and all I need to do for this to happen is wait here."

Jara felt silent, he knew this. But there was a bit of hope that Sheva could run under the cover of the forest and reach the safe house before she got caught. All of it depended on luck and nothing else.

"Your worry seems real, so let me tell you this. I can’t do a thing about you. But I can save your lover and the other two. But you have to come under me, be my prisoner. This is your only chance of survival."

"The only way, your lover can live past this night."