After Arthur closed the call with Julia and Maryam, his door was knocked. A pair of feet could be seen through the gap underneath, and Arthur closed his eyes. He recited his art in his mind, making him more sensitive to existence. Then, his eyes snapped open in confusion, and he walked to the door to open it.
“I knew that someone would be coming, just never imagined it would be the boss,” said Arthur to the Bloodflower Boss, cloaked beyond recognition. The figure smiled before she pulled down her hood, revealing that Arthur was right.
“It seems I chose well,” said the Bloodflower Boss. “Let us talk inside,” she said before storming in without Arthur’s permission. “Close the door.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” said Arthur with a sigh and closed it. As he turned, he found the boss staring at him.
“How did you know it was me before even opening the door?” asked the Bloodflower Boss while squinting her eyes. “These robes are created from special materials that allow no man to see through them.”
“My new name is ‘no man’ then,” said Arthur before he pulled a chair and sat down. “If it weren’t so late, I would have ordered some food from the inn.”
“No need,” she replied seriously and sat beside him. “There is no time to waste. I need you to take the job now and leave under the cover of the night.”
“And what is making you so urgent?”
“There are people who want to kidnap my sister,” said the Bloodflower Gang, making Arthur’s heart wary, but he dared not show it. “I need you to take her away from Helios tonight.”
“You trust a stranger with such a job?”
“I came to know those who harm you are always close,” said the boss, rubbing her hands together. “There is a mole in my gang, and I suspect they work for those targeting my sister. I cannot trust anyone inside because only they know how I treasure Little Yin.”
“And do you trust that I’m not one of those people?”
“I trust no one, but I have to rely on probability. The probability of a stranger arriving now being a part of several weeks of planning is slim.”
The revelation caught Arthur off guard, as this could not be them. It meant that someone else was aiming for Little Yin, but can it be for the same reason?
“I will accept the mission on several conditions.”
“The medal will be yours as soon as this is over,” assumed Bloodflower Boss.
“I don’t seek the medal,” said Arthur with a shake of his head. “I want its creator. I research runes and want to replicate these arrays elsewhere.”
The Bloodflower Boss frowned at his words as if they were nonsensical. However, the more absurd his claims are, the more believable they would be. As long as it was self-interest, people could believe it more.
“I cannot do anything about that,” said the Bloodflower Boss. “I don’t have him.”
“Then who does?”
“The answer can be your payment,” said the woman with a cunning smile. “Take Little Yin out, and I’ll make sure she tells you the answer once you get there. I will even tell you where he is held.”
“This brings up my second condition,” said Arthur as he saw a path forward. “What reason makes Little Yin a target?”
“If I tell you the reason, then I can no longer trust you,” said Bloodflower Boss as she offered him a handshake. “If you do this, then you will be a friend of mine forever. That is more money than you can imagine.”
Arthur was silent, considering every possibility, and then decided it was better than their plan of threatening the gang. However, it was still uncertain who aimed for Little Yin or whether this woman was telling the truth.
“I agree,” said Arthur as he shook her hand. “However, if this is a trap of any sort, then the Bloodflower Gang will cease to exist.”
The coldness in his voice and the conviction of his promises made the woman stiff, but she nodded her head as the two shook their hands. After that, she told him where Little Yin was waiting for him and that he needed to be there in less than an hour.
Arthur received a communication device from her before the woman left, hidden by her cloak. After he closed the door, Arthur turned around toward the open window.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” he asked the empty room, and a gale of wind entered through the window. Lyle materialized with his knightly armor, seeming to be deep in thought.
“I was following her from afar, and she doesn’t seem to be lying,” said Lyle. Arthur began to doubt the knight was the reason she was paranoid. “If she tells the truth, this deal is better than our plan.”
“I thought so as well,” nodded Arthur. “As soon as I get Little Yin to a safe place, she will tell me the location and captor of our forger. Then, you will use your knights to storm and save him, making him create a medal for me before being arrested.”
“I hate that I have to do this again,” Lyle sighed. “However, it must be done. In addition, when Gray knows you are with us now, he will be thrilled to join our cause again.”
“Is that so?” asked Arthur with surprise.
“He is, without a doubt, your biggest fan,” Lyle laughed. Arthur was speechless, as he never thought he would meet a fan. He did enjoy his fifteen minutes of fame when he danced with Princess Nera, but it was long ago.
Arthur had to leave after that and find Little Yan in the coordinates he was given. Since he had a location, Arthur teleported there and scanned the area.
It was a farm outside Helios with ever-stretching fields of wheat. But, according to her sister, Little Yin was inside one of the mills, waiting for him to arrive.
Arthur looked around and could sense no powerful humans or monsters that could be a trap. The only presence he felt was from the farmers in their houses and someone hiding in one of the mills.
“I miss the days of working as a gardener,” said Arthur as he cut through the field. “Even though I had one arm and a snake-woman wanted my body, the job was fun.”
The mill was closed, but Arthur passed through the door using his ether rune. It consisted of four runic lines: scanning his body, etherealizing it, ether control, and reconstructing his body using the scanned blueprint.
It was amazing what he could do with runes, as he could simply remove some of the lines to turn this rune into a weapon. Selena and Kody had lesser versions of this rune, and he even considered upgrading their abilities with it.
“Little Yin,” called Arthur in the dark mill. “I was sent here by your sister to escort you to safety. Come out since we have no time to waste.”
Arthur acted as if he didn’t know she was above him, standing on the horizontal pillars and inching toward him. He didn’t rush toward her because he wanted her to trust him, but to his surprise, Little Yin jumped to stab him from above.
“Ether,” muttered Arthur, turning himself into an ethereal body, and Little Yin’s dagger passed through his body as she landed. He then turned toward her, looking like a blue ghost, and stared into her eyes. “Why did you kill me?!” shouted Arthur, and Little Yin flinched before fainting.
Arthur blinked as he was still in his ethereal form, staring at the girl sprawled on the ground with a speechless face. He wanted to punish her for attacking him but never considered that she would faint thinking he turned into a ghost.
His rune reconstructed his body, and Arthur sighed as he stared at her. But, he felt relieved since it would be easier to leave the city without her attitude. Arthur picked her up, but her dress made it more difficult.
“Who wears a dress while trying to escape?” muttered Arthur as he threw Little Yin over his shoulder and left the mill. Then, he spotted a wagon with horses in the stable.
Arthur cast a silencing rune on the surrounding before he threw her in the cart and brought out a horse. It was easier to control a horse using his art to make it follow his commands. However, the horse seemed to like him without the art.
Arthur tied the wagon to him and brought out another horse since one might be too weak to pull them far. In return for the horses, Arthur left him twenty pieces of gold, unsure of whether that was enough or not
Then, he made the horses pull them away, running toward the forest. But, before the wagon entered the woods, Arthur spread his arms and created a portal that swallowed all of them, making them disappear from the farm.
