Hero Scout 67 Chapter 67 - Fool's Hope

Dodging aside feral ghouls and wild fighters Kenji crept back through the lines as the shadow Faun.

"Knight, you are ordered by Greenbeard to return to the back lines," yelled Kenji when he had finally gotten close enough so that the Fae Knight could hear him.

Whipping his silver helmeted head to meet him, the Fae Knight had his wounded Velociraptor dance over.

"Greenbeard should know that it is best to attack now while the humans retreat. What reason did he give for me to fall back now?"

Kenji nearly felt sick seeing the several heads arranged along the the Fae Knights lance like a kabab. Thankfully the training from this body's Master Faun days held firm, and Kenji continued to restrain his horror.

"He wants to comply with the Far King's wish that the Satyr general will be tested. Only if his property is discovered does he want the Fae to intervene, and only then at his own order. Hence you must vacate this battlefield at once," Kenji said, hoping in his heart of hearts that the so far unstoppable Fae Knight would just f.u.c.k off already.

"Well, he didn't need to send you to say that. Just make sure to go tell that 'general' that failing to hara.s.s the enemy while amidst their retreat would be a failing I would feel inclined to report," the Fae Knight said before turning and leaping away, followed by his lone remaining elemental.

Able to breathe easily again, Kenji stiffened as he found himself far deeper behind the enemy lines than he had expected. The defenders retreat had nearly finished entering the Lord's estate and the Golden Goose fortress.

"Ah s.h.i.+t," Kenji said, and ran after them as fast as he could. The surrounding streets and rooftops were filled with the enemy army, most of their remaining forces having poured into Tariak.

Distantly bursts of flame errupted, then huge explosions of magical fire followed by torrents more flame streaking through the air. Those wizards with fire spells had caste simultaneously at several carefully chosen alchemist warehouses, taverns and old building to build an inferno in moments.

Caught between the fast moving flames were the bulk of the enemy formation, Alamanc and two more accomplished wizards sending huge fireb.a.l.l.s to explode amidst the saytr ranks. Pa.s.sing a long line of smouldering hobgoblins, Kenji had the houses he was leaping past swiftly engulfed.

The timber broke beneath his feet, his Shadow Faun body becoming severely burnt as he pulled himself through the wreckage. By the time he was on the streets again he was a mess of molten flesh, the body soon callapseing which forced Kenji to continue on as his rat form and leave the Faun's body to be turned to ash.

Scurrying past burning timber and close enough to the ground to avoid the choking smoke, Kenji bound towards the Golden Goose fortress. Past endless marching feet he arrived to dive into the water and scurry up the stones, before turning back into the boy knight when upon it's walls.

The walls and the rooms within were filled to the brim with the defenders of Tariak alongside those families who had waited too long to flee.

Meanwhile Tariak itself was busy burning to the ground, the inferno filled with an army of satyric and monsterous screams. Horned figures flooded the moat as they sought to alleviate their heavy burns, while some few natural fire elementals sp.a.w.ned from the heat's intensity to add to the fiery destruction.

"This might just work," Violet said, covered head to toe in thick cloth and attended to by Grey in her own drab robes.

"That's the end of the enemy army I hope. If they have reserved after this, well...at the very least a good chunk should have been able to retreat. Even pulling them in so far, enough saytrs would have been able to outrun the flames to regroup outside the walls."

Even as he spoked Kenji could scarcely believe his own words, the otherworldly level of destruction completely consuming the entire town and everything within it. Soldiers and townsfolk started to sob heavily, tears streaming their cheeks as the destruction wiped away what had taken generations to raise.

Laying down on a crate, Kenji rested his eyes as he waited for the fire to die down.

"It's going to burn for hours, so take your time and rest up Kenji. I'll watch over you and wake you up if anything happens," Violet said with a smile and ran her fingers through his fiery hair.

"Just for a little bit. Wake me up in five minutes," Kenji yawned, and allowed his exhaustion to take him away and into a deep slumber.

Kenji felt almost immediately woken up by a tentative hand, a black eyes Violet smiling softly at him.

"Noir...? It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Indeed Kenji. You've been acc.u.mulating XP too slowly, but you've done enough now. Congratulations."

Kenji tilted his head, something off in Noir's tone.

"What's happened?"

"My brother has grown suspicious, soon I fear my actions in changing his plans will be discovered. This might be the last time we meet," Noir's eyes glittered with stars that ran down her cheeks like glittering tears to kiss the dusty stone below.

"I won't let that happen, your my friend after a;;," Kenji said as he held her hand in both of his. "Can't you run away?"

His words only made the star tears run all the faster.

"In a sense, but not with you. Even as a member of the Observer council, I cannot escape the authority of my superiors. Only a raised soul can do that, like you."

"A raised soul? What's that?"

"Like how you raise a soldier in wartime, we raise suitable souls to join our ranks. Those that have faced endless trials are strongest, heroes an excellent example. But as we don't have the time, here is your choices and the bonus gift for becoming level four."

Kenji hugged her tight, and softly Noir wound her arms around him in turn.

"We will meet again. Stay strong, Noir," Kenji whispered.

"I don't doubt you Kenji, I'll be waiting."

When Kenji let go a very sleepy-eyed Violet met his eyes, a soft smile matching the bright surprise in her lilac eyes.

"I think it's my turn to sleep," she said already looking as if within a dream and kissed Kenji lightly on the cheek without thinking about it. Cheeks going bright red, Violet's eyes widened.
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"Cheers," Kenji whispered, eyes unfocused and rather wanting to puke off the wall's side and into the bubbling water below. The strange thing about videogames, they were never so realistic as to show that an entire town set on fire might turn an old castle's moat to steam.

Going red in the cheeks, Violet shoved Kenji aside and took off like a bird realising she had the wings to fly. Left rubbing his head on the ground, Kenji didn't bother wondering what had upset Violet and focused on the two gleaming banners in his mind's eye.

The first banner was his usual, an additional forbidden slot with added internal s.p.a.ce. While the second was an evolution that upgraded his internal s.p.a.ce, made his base body not need to sleep and increased the efficiency of his [Forbidden Slot]s from 50% to 65% of the copied body.

Kenji picked the second option, his base form now appearing like a tall dark wizard with ashen skin. So too did he become instantly awake, as if all fatigue vanished in a moment. So too appeared the last banner, that left him with a flowery key in hand with the description of 'Flora G.o.d dungeon key'.

It wouldn't help him now, but once this business with the Far King was over with it night be useful. With his mind alert again, Kenji decided to do the rounds and check up on the soldiers, war leaders and while he was at it, find Violet and apologize.

For what? He hadn't the faintest, but she was one of his dearest companions and d.a.m.n it Kenji would make sure she was all right. Or as well as he could an apocoloptic h.e.l.lscape continued to engulf Tariak whole.