'Tch- I almost had him!'
If there were a moment that I hoped I would not regret in the future, it would be this one. I had one opportunity to bring down the impostor and ascertain Bonner's location from him. However, it would seem that the event would not go as I had hoped. A large wall of stone blocked my path to the impostor, and I had a feeling he would seize the opportunity to flee the area.
As I focused on the fractures running along the wall frame, I was again reminded of the figure who assisted the Impostor in his escape. I assumed a beastman was responsible when the interference happened, but a declaration changed that opinion.
"You there! Under the authority of Arch-Captain Silvers! I order you to halt!"
I shifted my focus toward the commanding voice, and I laid eyes on the man there. He was short, around five feet four inches tall, and lean. He wore a bronze plate across his chest, and brown leather pants with bronze thigh guards safeguarded his legs. Bronze bracers shielded his forearms, and a red ribbon was tied around his collar.
His bleach blonde hair was damp from the rain, and stuck to his sharp face. He wielded his sword and pointed in my direction with a fierceness matched only by his smugness. His dark green eyes radiated with authority as he took steps in my direction.
For a moment, I was confused, but his words soon drew me in.
'Arch-Captain Silvers? Isn't that the lady guard who has Mark spooked? The one from the forest and the banquet?'
The more I considered the name, the more connections I made. Arch Captain Silvers was the first authority figure we were introduced to in this world. She and two others appeared before us when we were testing out our new abilities. In my display, I had thrown a rock at a tree and managed to level several more behind it. They were sent out to investigate and immediately sniffed out Mark from his hiding spot.
I was impressed by Silvers, but she was irrelevant to me for the past few days. However, his familiarity becomes apparent now that I get a good look at this elf. He was her lieutenant and was present on that day. If I recall he was a piece of shit, so it would be ironic that he stood in my way. Content with this realization, I gripped my bloodied forearm and turned to face the smaller man.
Without hesitation, many of the beastkin and beastmen present began to disperse immediately. Several more guards dressed in similar armaments as the Lieutenant appeared behind him, and many seemed winded. While I swapped a baker's dozen of furry combatants to armored warriors, my goal became even more apparent. I doubt their goal is to kill me, but I can't risk allowing myself to be arrested on the false charges that the impostor stirred up.
"Flank him," the Lieutenant ordered, and his squad of five complied.
Their boots splashed water as the six armored guards attempted to cut off my escape and kept their distance out of caution.
"Now, you there? Do you have a name?" the Lieutenant asked, his voice brimming with confidence.
"I go by Drago."
"Drago? Is that your actual name? Giving a false name when prompted by an officer of Astana is a crime, and you will be punished by the law."
"It is my family name, but that's not important. Running around here is a person capable of changing his appearance on a whim. He is-"
"Your family name is Drago?" the Lieutenant asked, interrupting me without consideration. "Do you want to tell me why you are attacking the fair citizens of this city, Drago? Have you gone mad?"
"They were attacking me," I corrected, and he shook his head unconvinced.
"These people do not simply gang up on innocent men, so you have clearly done something warranting it. You will tell me your intentions now!"
I was honestly surprised that he was blaming me for what had transpired, but then again, I shouldn't have.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I am Lieutenant Aywen Vasselleon of the Silver Star Platoon. Patriot of this city, and as such, I can not allow a rampage to continue and allow any man, even a Drago, to do as he pleases with the populace."
"Well, Lieutenant, I simply wanted to go home."
Lieutenant Vasselleon raised his eyebrow before taking a step forward. His sword remained raised as he took careful steps in my direction.
"I am sure you do, but I can not allow it. You have a few serious injuries on you, and you may bleed out if I allow you to walk away. That being said, I am ordering you to drop any weapons on your person and surrender yourself to my men. We will see to it that a healer comes to your assistance, and after that, you will answer all of our questions."
I shook my head and began to take a step toward him. He reacted quickly, and the man extended his hand in my direction.
"Lady Gohenta! Stone Barriers!"
Lieutenant Vasselleon's words buzzed with power, and before I could piece together what he was yelling about, the ground surrounding me rose and snapped around my lower half. My eyes widened as I was not ensnared waist-deep in solid stone, as if half of my body was petrified.
"What is this?!" I yelled, but the sound of the Lieutenant's snicker reached my ears.
"I can't afford to allow you to leave here, so do us both a favor and not fight. I can't allow another person to escape, Drago, so try to find relief that a man of my station captured you."
"I would, but you're capturing the wrong man. You want the shapeshifter and not me. He was the one who started the mob, and he fanned the flames. I was defending myself!"
Lieutenant Vasselleon seemed undeterred by his actions and gestured with his hand for one of the other guards to approach.
"Place the nullifier bracelets on him. We can't be too sure that he wasn't using some strength-enhancing magic to shatter my wall."
"It appears the time to talk is over, Lieutenant," I said.
"There's never any time to talk here. If you feel conversational, we can engage in a dialogue once you're safely behind bars."
"Not going to happen."
"Today, Private," Lieutenant Vasslleon laughed before gesturing for his men to move quicker.
The guard was a human man with black hair and scruffy facial hair. He moved with discipline as he hurried over to me with something in his hand. Upon his approach, he slipped his sword into his sheath and pulled a pair of thick cuffs for his waist.
'Those must be the nullifier bracelets.'
As the guard moved to place them around my wrists, I offered them to the man. He was wary, that was for sure, but I could see a glint of relief flicker in his brown eyes. He was sure that I was going to resist, and he was right. Once he got close enough to snap the shackles around my wrists, I leaned forward and slapped the metal restraints out of his hand.
The man gasped in surprise and immediately went for his sword. I grabbed his wrist with my left hand, which was difficult to do with the stone around my waist. He struggled, but I pushed him back to free up my arm. Metal scraped across the ground as the man was forced onto his back.
By then, the other guards had begun to move against me. Lieutenant Vasselleon began barking orders as I raised my arms and slammed my bloodied fists against the stone around my legs. The stone cracked, and that alone froze a few guards in surprise. It was a moment I needed to be able to pull myself from the restraint. The first one to react was Lieutenant Vasselleon, who extended his hand toward me again.
"Lady Gohenta!"
This time, I wouldn't be caught off guard by his use of magic. I had grown so accustomed to slugfests against the beastfolk that I forgot the possibility of magic being wielded against me. I pushed myself to my right and avoided the stone pillar that exploded from the ground. It shot six feet into the air diagonally, which made his intention clear.
He was attempting to hit me in my head with that stone slab, which likely would have incapacitated any normal person if not killed them. Several more raced from behind me as I moved from location to location. My blood splattered from each sudden movement, and I realized my body was becoming slower by the moment.
My arms grew warmer before a sharp pain slammed into my chest. A stone pillar surged through the ground, and oxygen vacated the premises upon its landing. The impact sent me staggering, and I found it challenging to focus momentarily. My lungs gasped desperately, trying to claw for any air in its proximity.
"Now, men, capture him!" shouted Lieutenant Vasselleon.
I couldn't breathe, but even more so, I couldn't allow myself to be captured and placed in jail. Bonner was still missing, and now the Impostor had escaped. If I get arrested, there is no way Mark would piece together what happened to us. Although it may hurt like hell, I must escape this situation and return to our home. I need rest and wait for his return so we can rescue our brother together. If that meant I would have to tackle the guards on this world, then so be it!
Babump! Babump! Babump! Babump!
My heart pounded in my chest as air soared into my lungs again. I tried to focus on the nearest guard and found three converging on me simultaneously. Their swords were bare, and the first man moved to slash me on my thigh. I was grazed since I managed to push myself away in time, but I slammed into a wooden settlement with enough power that it shattered on impact.
My body cried from the impact, but I snatched the largest piece of wood near my collapse. The guards continued their pursuit, but I did what I could then. I threw slabs of wood at them. Two of the three struggled to evade the smaller chunks, but once I regained my footing, I slammed one of them in with a bench-sized wood slab. I was certain he believed that would not amount to much against his armor, but he was rudely awakened when he was sent into a heap. The sound of his scathing armor caught his allies' attention, who snapped to look at him. Had they not done so, they would have realized the shattered slab in my hand.
I was not one to point out their mistakes at this moment, so I took advantage and threw the remaining slab at one of the two remaining ones. The air whipped from the power, sending him rag-dolled onto the street. He may not have seen it coming, but he definitely felt it.
The remaining guard's eyes flew wide at the sight and snapped his attention back to me. He hesitated and began stepping back as I climbed out of the rubble. I went in to hit him with an uppercut with my left when a wall sprouted in between us. My momentum carried it into the wall and blasted a hole in it. It didn't take a genius to understand what was going on.
"Regroup up and get into formation!" Lieutenant Vasselleon ordered as his stone wall collapsed under its own weight.
I located the short elf as his two remaining guards quickly moved to his side. Stepping over the rubble of the stone wall, I wiped the accruing blood over my left eye out of the way. Things would have been more difficult to manage if not for the rain.
"Drago! Stop this madness! Turn yourself over to me! You have fought valiantly, and I am more amenable to hearing your side!" Lieutenant Vasselleon called over, his confidence unshaken.
"Doesn't matter to me! I'll beat you again today and escape! This time, you'll see the ass-whooping coming your way!"
Lieutenant Vasselleon frowned as he turned to one of his men.
"Inform the Arch-Captain about this development. Have her send reinforcements to this location. I will hold him here until he-"
I didn't give the man the chance to finish his order. Thanks to his presence, the crowd of angry beastfolk that sealed off my previous escape options had dispersed, allowing me the opportunity to bolt to the nearest alleyway. I was almost there when a large wall rose just as I had arrived at the location.
"You're not escaping me that easily!"
I turned toward the elf to find him charging my location, his sword trailing his movement. Behind him was the last member of his squad. The young black-haired elf slid to a stop before extending his palm in my direction: "Lady Gohenta! Bless me with your guidance: Stone Bullets!"
Before I could react, a hail of stones pelted my body with a torrent of pain, before I was able to get out of the barrage. As soon as I stepped out of it, a sword was thrust toward my right shoulder. I struggled to parry the attack, but Lieutenant Vasselleon took advantage quickly. He stepped on my foot and extended his palm directly against my chest.
"Lady Gohenta! Stone Bullet!"
My eyes flew wide as a baseball-sized stone soared into my chest with resistance. Blood spewed from my mouth, and my breath caught in my throat again. Lieutenant Vasselleon quickly moved backward and avoided the punch I had returned. His sword cut through the air before he had taken a defensive stance and waited for his comrade to catch up.
My lack of oxygen brought me to my knees, and the pain of my injury further dragged me down. I could feel my vision becoming blacker by the second as I fought my lungs to remain functional.
"Quickly, man, place the nullifiers onto him!" Lieutenant Vasselleon barked.
'No. I can't... allow myself to be... he needs...me'
Babump! Babump! Babump! Babump! Babump!
I attempted to will myself to my knees as my heart kicked into overdrive. New life had begun to fill me as my second wind began filling my chest.
"I can't-"
Darkness consumed the world.