Chapter 13: Who am I? Shadow Tribe Badass, Y’all!

Chapter 13: Who am I? Shadow Tribe Badass, Y’all!

AKI approached the subterranean lake hand in hand with Elias and peered into the rippling depths at her feet. She could perfectly make out the rocky bottom through the crystal clear waters despite the lack of any visible current.

I wonder if there are any fish… Hopeful, she searched the pool of water, but nothing moved inside. Maybe it’s empty.

Disappointed, she leaned further over the edge. Elias suddenly yanked her back, nearly causing her to fall over.

“Whoa! Wh-What’s wrong, Elias?” She looked back at him, her arm still locked in his hand. His emerald eyes sharply narrowed on the opposite side of the lake.

“Aki, look…!” he warned in a hushed voice.

“At what…?”

Aki rebalanced herself before following the trajectory of Elias’s gaze across the lake—and gasped when someone appeared out of thin air.

A tall hooded figure hidden under black robes stood on the tips of their toes on top of the water. On a second look, they appeared to be hovering over the center of the lake rather than standing directly on it.

The cloaked figure turned their hooded face toward Aki and their perfectly shaped lips turned up in a fanged sneer. “How nice of you to show up, Sir Hero, Lady Right-hand. Finally made it, huh? I was gettin’ damn sick of waitin’.” They spoke so frankly it shattered some of the wariness built up by the mystical grounds they were surrounded by. The playful voice sounded like a man’s.

He makes it sound like he was waiting for us, but who is he? Maybe we’d know if he showed his face.

The man shrugged and voluntarily pulled down his hood as if he had read Aki’s mind. Short red hair cut to fall in layers stood out starkly against his black robes, and his thin, sharply angled dull green eyes twinkled with amusement.

He had a breathtakingly handsome face, although not one she recognized. Pointed ears poked out from under his hair, and while shorter than the Dark Lord’s, they created an instant connection between the two.

Could he be—

“…Are you a Shadow Tribesman?” Elias asked in her place, not hiding his surprise at the man’s unusual appearance.

The Shadow Tribe was a species with a greater capacity for magic than humanity, and they had legions of magical beasts at their command. Generations of Dark Lords had come from their ranks, and the current Dark Lord served as their leader.

Louis had said their overall population was so small few humans had ever laid eyes on them.

And now one of the few have appeared before us?!

The Shadow Tribesman flashed a welcoming grin, putting some of his fangs on display. “Bingooo! You guessed it. I’m the badass Shadow Tribesman, Jent Sutcliff. I’m the robed fella who slipped the Quest sheet over to that perky redheaded Thief in a plot to lure Heroboy and the gang here,” the young Shadow Tribesman cheerfully bragged while stretching over the water.

Perky redheaded Thief? He’s talking about Mina.

If he was telling the truth, they had come to this dungeon in response to his summons. Mina had mentioned sensing unfathomable magic from the robed man she had received the Quest from.

Putting all that aside, this man acted so casually he smashed the mysterious and supernatural image Aki had formed about the Shadow Tribe.

Dark Lord Kerdes fit the bill for what she had imagined, but perhaps the Shadow Tribe was filled with all sorts of unique personalities, including Sutcliff’s frivolous one.

Just as Aki was assessing him, Sutcliff’s eyes traveled the length of her body.

“Ho-ho, so this fine dame is His Greatness’s little Nako’s big sis, huuuh? Spunk runs in the family, I see. Nice. Very nice. Hotties for the win. Big sisters are totally my typeee,” he drawled and winked.

“Ick.” Aki shuddered. She wasn’t the least bit happy about being his type.

Ticked off, Elias stepped forward, protecting her with his broad back. “Sorry, but can you cut to the chase? You didn’t lure me this far underground just to hit on my Right-hand. I assumed the Shadow Tribe was behind this odd Quest. What business do you have with me?” Elias asked in a barbed voice.

Sutcliff mockingly threw up his hands like Elias had him at an impasse. “Oooh, sooo scary! I’m shaking in my awesome and stylish boots under the Hero’s mighty glare! …You’re right. I wasted my time picking flower petals in this dank and damp place because I wanted to hand something over to the great Hero.”

“You want to give Elias something?” Aki asked.

“Yeppers. Mister Lord Dark Lord asked me to.” Sutcliff snapped his fingers as if he were performing a magic trick. An ancient book with a rouge leather spine appeared above his gloved hand. He snatched the book out of the air and rapped it against his shoulder. “This bad boy right here is a nifty copy of the Book of Creation—an invaluable text containing the secrets of this world. I was asked to deliver this to Heroboy there. Sounds like it’s choooock-full of knowledge you need to have.”

For all he praised it for being an invaluable book, Sutcliff was playing with that sacred text like a schoolboy might his dreaded math textbook. Was that another extension of his carefree personality?

Wouldn’t the Dark Lord be upset if he saw? As Aki was pointlessly worrying over their enemy, Elias held out his hand to accept the book.

“I just have to accept that Book of Creation to clear the Quest, right? I need to get back to my friends and head straight to the Dark Lord’s Castle. Hurry and hand it ove—” Before Elias finished speaking, Sutcliff vanished into thin air as if he had been a mirage.

Where did he go?

Sutcliff’s tall shadow suddenly appeared behind Aki as she darted her eyes around the field in search of him.

Oh no!

“But I don’t wannaaa. What kinda Quest boss would I be if I handed it over when you asked? Mister Lord Dark Lord told me I can only hand it over once Heroboy awakens those super magical hidden powers sleeping within, y’know? So I’ll be borrowin’ the little lady till then!”

Sutcliff, who had appeared so close to Aki she felt his breath on her neck, wrapped his arm around her waist, and in one movement, leapt ten feet away from Elias. He darted to one of the enormous rock mountains dotting the flower field and hopped up the mammoth-sized boulders with the agility of a magical cat. Once at the top, he sat down and placed Aki on his lap.

Wh-What just happened? Dazed by her sudden kidnapping, Aki scrambled from his lap, but his sinewy arm shot out and curled around her waist, tugging her back in place.

“Wh-Wh-Wha-What are you doing?!” she stammered. “Let go of me this instant!”

How did things suddenly turn out this way? What’s he planning to do with me? Beating her fists against Sutcliff’s chest, Aki looked for Elias over her shoulder. She spotted his blond hair at the bottom of the rock mountain, a good distance away from how small he appeared.

Sutcliff had quickly carried her to the top of a mountain several stories tall. His catlike maneuvers proved he possessed the defining inhuman strength of the Shadow Tribe members.

Realizing she wouldn’t get anywhere with physical resistance, Aki tried persuading the man holding her instead. “Excuse me! What is Elias’s latent power?! What good does this do you—”

“ACK! Can you quit yapping so loudly next to my cute little sensitive earsss? What’s your name, little Nako’s big sis?”

“Eh? I-It’s Aki…” she said out of habit, then berated herself for honestly answering him. “Hey! Now’s not the time for friendly introductions!” she shouted at him, her face flushed from the shame she felt.

Sutcliff’s chest shook with a deep chuckle, his sickeningly handsome face breaking out in a great big grin. “You’re sooo cute and honest, Aki-pie. I can, like, totally understand why Heroboy fell for you. You’ve got the hots for her, don’t ya, Heroboy?” he taunted, twirling a lock of Aki’s hair in his fingers.

“Let go of her! Lay one more finger on her and—I will make you regret it,” Elias uttered in the deepest, quietest voice; it conveyed that his anger ran deep.

He glared at Sutcliff with eyes so frigid they overtook his usual gentleness. Those were the same wintry eyes Aki saw when he dealt with Princess Carolina.

The naked blade of his drawn Holy Sword reflected the blue glow radiating from the flowers blooming around him, blinding Aki even at a distance.

Sutcliff’s lips curled up with his bemusement at Elias’s silent rage. “You’ll make me regret it… Very nice. Raw passion like that’s necessary to awaken your powers. Kidnapping Aki-pie here was the right choice. Go meee. What Heroboy is most attached to right now isn’t his role as Hero or saving the world—it’s you, Aki-pie. You and you alone.”

Sutcliff lifted Aki’s chin up with his long fingernail. His sharply angled eyes devoured hers from a breath’s distance. What was it about Shadow Tribe eyes and gleaming with truculence? His eyes flashed like a mischievous boy about to pull a naughty prank.

“P-Please stop…!”

Sutcliff seized her wrist before her right hook could reach him. Aki tried to yank her fist away, but it remained locked firmly in his clutch. His slender arms were stronger than they appeared.

“Can’t help you there, cutie. Say, Aki-pie, you’ve already made out with Heroboy, yeah?”

“…HUH?” Shock over his ridiculously timed question temporarily outdid the fear coursing through her.

Why did she have to be asked about her love life under these trying circumstances? She had no reason to answer him. Besides, she didn’t even know the intent behind the question.

Baffled, she fell silent with a splash of red on her cheeks. Sutcliff nodded as if that answered it.

“I see, I seeeee. You’ve already made ouuut. Good, good. Then it’s of little significance if I kiss you once, yeah?”

“Wh-What are you—mmph!”

Sutcliff covered her partially open lips with his before she could finish objecting. Aki froze, eyes wide, unable to push him away as she felt him on her.

Amusement sparkled in his dull green eyes over the fear staring back at him.

What’s happening…? Shock and confusion stopped her brain.

What is he doing to me right now? Why is someone I only just met touching me? Indescribable guilt surged from the pit of her belly. Nothing was more despicable than letting Elias see her being touched by another man. She felt like she had just been defiled in a single instant. No, I don’t want this…I don’t! Stop it! Let me go!

Aki placed both hands on his chest and pushed with all her strength to get away. He didn’t move even a millimeter before her feeble strength as a low level Archer.

Tears sprung to her eyes as his lips remained on hers.

Vexed, horrified, mortified, and angry, yet unable to run away, she slammed her eyes shut and hoped it’d be over with fast. Except, she tasted a bitter liquid passing through Sutcliff’s mouth into her own.

After trying to fight against the liquid filling her whole mouth for a minute without success, she gagged and accidentally swallowed it.

He just made me drink something?! Pain oozed through her veins with the burning liquid. I suddenly feel tired…

The liquid was definitely more than spit or water. From the pain and numbness spreading through her, she guessed it was some kind of poison.

Was that what he was after all along? That’s why he kidnapped and forced his lips on me.

I hate this. Why can’t I ever do anything other than drag Elias down? Aki thought learning to use the bow and arrow would make her stronger. Make her someone who could fight alongside her fellow party members.

But they truly were from different worlds, both literally and figuratively. No matter how hard she tried to catch up to her party, she would always be a hundred levels behind.

Did she, a weakling from Earth, deserve to call herself Elias’s girlfriend?

Would there forever be obstacles in their way preventing them from being together?

Mind growing duller from the searing pain, she glared at Sutcliff through blurring vision. Lips raised in an intrepid smirk, he watched her every moment of suffering

Nearing her limits for holding on, she started falling backward. Sutcliff wrapped an arm around her back, his touch as gentle as if she were a precious porcelain doll he didn’t want to fall and shatter before he was finished with her.

“Don’t you…dare…touch me…” she seethed with what little energy she had left. No longer could she physically resist him.

“Aki…! Bastard! Let go of her!”

She heard Elias’s enraged roar and the sound of his boots pounding against the ground as he ran for her.

Elias, I’m sorry. I’m always, always, always being rescued by you.

Am I really capable of supporting him as his girlfriend? Can I protect him and the heavy burden he shoulders when I can’t even protect myself? I’m so pathetic I could cry. But I’m fed up with myself for only ever being able to cry.

I want to become stronger. Strong enough not to be ashamed to stand beside Elias as the Hero’s Right-hand.

With that hope etched into her heart, Aki lost consciousness in Sutcliff’s arms.