Chapter 114: Rewards
Chapter 114: Rewards
[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Hallways...]
"We were fast enough to arrive on time," Kang's voice cut through my swirling thoughts as he swept aside a chunk of rubble.
I didn't reply, my gaze fixated on his unconscious body.
"No..." I finally whispered, the words barely audible.
"Not fast enough." A wave of guilt washed over me. If it wasn't for this boy...
I gestured towards him lying next to my daughter,
"Valencia... she would have fallen into Quadra's hands..."
Kang could only look at the two sleeping peacefully together.
"I'll alert the association of the infiltration I assume you're going to stay here right?"
"Yeah..."
tap...tap...tap...
Watching Kang walk away I turned to see the person that saved my daughter.
...What a mysterious boy... Why on earth would you do such a thing like that?
You not only use bows... but a sword as well?
You're the biggest mystery I have seen in yearsAlthough it pains me to see that my daughter has some hatred towards you.
I hope you two can get along someday.
She said to me that you are nothing to her.
But now to me, you seem like somebody worth remembering.
Thank you...Thank you for saving my daughter.
▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Rel Laurence.
...
...
[4 Days Later]
...
...
[Location: ???]
๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑ Rel's POV ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑
uh... my head... FUCK it hurts...
All I see is black... eternal darkness. Is this...death?
Not exactly the afterlife I pictured.
FWANG!
[Hello Mr Axel! :D]
"AHHHH!"
Startled, I practically jumped within my own mind.
What the hell?
"System...is that you?"
[Is there something wrong? /ᐠ-˕-マ]
I felt kind of relieved knowing I wasn't actually dead... and honestly being inside of here again, felt like an unreal void-like mindscape.
"No, no...just thought I was dead."
haah...
Seriously why did I have to save her...
If anything else I probably would've left her to rot if she wasn't important later on...
But I guess right now this space called my mind seemed to always remain pitch black like usual...
And frankly enough seeing the system UI screen felt weird, no that wasn't the word actually... more strangely different than usual.
"System...did you upgrade your emoji game?"
[Wow! You can really tell?! (^ >ヮ<^)]
"Yeah..." I blinked.
The system was definitely... different. Less cold and robotic, more... expressive.
A strange upgrade, but honestly, I kind of liked it.
"Anyway, do you know when I'm waking up?"
[I Do! (ᓀ‸ᓂ)]
FWANG!
[Recovery Progress Bar: 10 minutes 34 seconds (99.01%)]
Okay, that was soon. Where would I end up, though? A hospital, probably.
Or maybe I'm out rotting in the corridors as I speak haha... surely Gerrard didn't leave me, right?
...
...
haah!!!
My eyes snapped open. Golden sunlight, a blinding warmth, faintly touched my skin, this was a better welcome to any place I've been to.
Though it was a little blurry I knew by the white room that I was in a hospital.
YAWWWNNN!
I sat up stiffly, the taste of sleep still heavy on my tongue.
A deep yawn escaped as I fumbled to my right, my fingers scrabbling against cool, rough ground.
Glasses...where were my damn glasses?
WHAT THE F**K?!
My eyes widened seeing a dark shadow staring back at me menacingly.
It had to be a hallucination, right?
I didn't know what to do but he was just staring at me like I was on my deathbed.
So slowly I moved my hands towards the stand by the bed and put on my glasses....
As the vision cleared, the figure sharpened into focus.
It was no doubt that the shadow in front of me was well-known by the world.
And to think he'd be sitting in my own room was even more surprising,
He was one of the more likeable old heads I've written in my novel.
It was Gerrard Freya.
The Miracles Guild Leader.
Staring directly at me.
A shiver ran down my spine. I'd never spoken to the man before.
What the hell was I supposed to say?
"Um...Morning, Mr. Freya...Sir?" My voice was shaking as I spoke.
"Indeed, it is." Gerrard who got up to close a bit of the curtain turned from the window, a tall shadow against the rising sun.
"Thank you so much, sir... for... saving me..." My stomach felt uneasy.
He made sure everyone younger than him spoke respectfully. Overtly so.
Gerrard's lips twitched with the lead of a smile.
"Drop the formalities. I came to talk."
"What did you want to tell me, Mr. Freya?"
Sunlight flared behind him as he turned.
"I wanted to thank you for what you did. Back there, a few days ago."
"What are you talking about, sir?" Genuine confusion washed over me.
"Don't make me spell it out," he said, his tone sharper.
I actually don't know what he was talking about though.
Gerrard sighed. "My daughter. You saved her."
Wait, what? I'm pretty sure it was you... but fine.
My original plan was to draw Valencia out in the open, out of Morwen's path.
But for some reason, she was attracted to the hallways...
"No, really, it's nothing special. I just happened to be there..."
"Yet, you saved her," Gerrard interrupted.
"Students don't fight back like that, especially against someone like him – an internationally wanted criminal." He paused, studying me. "More importantly, Anette's report states you...deflected his attack with my daughter's sword. An incredible feat, especially for an archer."
"No, I don't deserve any praise, Mr. Freya..."
"I determine who does and doesn't," Gerrard differed.
"And archers... archers who can use aura? It's unheard of."
Wait did he say aura?
I used aura?
That should be impossible for me though... I haven't learned about my own body let alone my own soul.
So there was no way I could've used 'aura'...
I don't understand what he meant by that, but I know Dempsey as a detective isn't one to lie...
"Enough of the praise" Gerrard continued. "I came here to say thank you. Not just as a Guild leader... but as a father who loves his daughter a lot. Thank you for keeping her from that...organization. I don't know what I'd do if I'd lost her." He paused.
"Words aren't enough for someone like you. So, I ask: what would you like?"
_____________
Authors Notes:
- Demi-Humans are capable of maintaining human form if they're powerful enough.
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