An Archer's Promise

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi

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-Unknown area-

His head hurt like hell.

That's what Freed was feeling the moment he regained consciousness. It felt like a horse hit him full force. It was like when Kaur and Ganj took him out to drink with the rest of the boys and they got hammered by consuming half of the tavern's rum stock. Considering Maia would accompany them most of the time, then nothing aside from alcohol would be able to drown his senses to the point of ignoring her existence.

When he tried to rub his face, he found that he couldn't move his hands.

"What?"

He seemed to have trouble standing up, something was holding down his legs!

With great effort, Freed managed to open his eyes and with the sunlight assaulting his pupils, this wasn't an easy task whatsoever.

"Ugh, my head is fucking pounding! Feels like it's going to explode at any moment." He even felt his right eye burn, as if someone had coated it with some sort of chili paste. As his vision slowly came back to him, he noticed the right side of his sight was completely red; as if he was looking through a red haze.

"A ruptured eye vessel?" He groggily wondered out loud.

"Looks like it." An unfamiliar and annoyed voice spoke up.

"—!" Freed's senses came back to him and he forcefully got a hold of himself. "Who the hell are you!?" He tried to grab his sword but was once again reminded of his bound limbs making him fall forward to the ground, face first, getting smeared with dirt and grass.

"I expected more from a former Templar… Can't remember what happened a hours ago?"

A few hours ago? His memories were blurry, he could hardly think let alone remember the past. Taking a deep breath and relaxing his body, the headache slowly went away, and Freed regained the ability to think clearly. It all started coming back to him…

"I remember…" He, Ganj, and Kaur were riding on their horses while following the main group back to the Kingdom of Ken. Maia had been abnormally pissed that morning, apparently, she had a talk that did not go so well with someone. Later in the morning, she tried searching for him but couldn't find that particular person; so she decided to return back to Ken. He remembered following the Kuroinu at the back, making sure to guard the rear till they reached the forest and that is when everything went south.

"We… we got lost, you used some kind of magic to lure us into the deepest corner of the woods and attacked us in surprise." He winced at his throbbing head, his head still pounding, with the fall not helping. "Who… who are you?"

Looking upwards, Freed finally saw the face of his assailant. A man who looked to be in his thirties, with white hair, gray eyes, and tanned skin; he certainly didn't look like a local. If it wasn't for the fact that his ears were human, he would've thought that he was a dark elf. He was sitting near a campfire, with a single piece of black armor on him and an arm-hand sleeve hung on a tree branch.

"For someone who got captured you certainly have a calm disposition. As for my identity… you don't need to know."

Freed looked around.

"Where… What have you done with Ganj and Kaur?" The fact he was alone when the three of them got captured initially did not bode well for him. Something must have happened to the others.

"Oh, you mean the old one and the kid? They certainly tried to act tough and were unafraid at first, threatening with how the Kuroinu would find me and cut me to pieces, feed me to the dogs, and much more morbid unoriginal stuff. You know, I was curious about how long they would go on, so I stayed seated and listened to them for hours. Though I didn't have all the time in the world, so I started my interrogation." Archer got up from his spot and crouched near Freed. "The young one, Ganj was his name I think, was the easiest one to break. He had some interesting information about you and your relationship with Maia. Though not much on the Kuroinu as a whole, aside from the basic stuff."

"Where are they!?" Freed screamed. "What have you done to them!?" He didn't see them nor hear their voices, he was fearing the worst.

"I let them go."

Hope surfaced back in his eyes, if they got freed then that meant help would arrive at some point or that he had a chance to be set free!

"I will do the same with you, if you answer some of my questions, that is…"

Freed could already guess what this stranger wanted from him. "I'm not telling you shit!" He tried to spit on his face but the latter just moved his head away. He gave Freed an unimpressed look, he expected retaliation and some form of resistance from the other side.

"I would expect you to be a bit loyal considering your former career.. You may despise the Princess Knight but your heart remains loyal to Ken."

"..."

"An admirable sentiment, but foolish one nonetheless. Fortunately for you, I'm not after Ken… but the Queen of Mercenaries herself." Archer said, gaining the man's attention.

"What?" Freed couldn't help but grow curious about this stranger's motive. "What do you mean by that? Are you one of the Dark Queen's spies sent here to kill her?" Now he began thinking that this guy might be a Dark Elf in disguise. That would explain the ease with which he managed to dispatch them and the illusion spell that they trapped in from earlier.

Archer just arched his eyebrows at that question. "Would my answer change your opinion in any way? Let's say that I am a spy, sent to assassinate the Princess Knights. Will you be willing to cooperate with me?"

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"I will talk, on one condition." If he got the chance, the opportunity to fulfill his dream, then Freed would even make a deal with the devil.

"Not really in a position to make demands, but sure go ahead."

Taking a deep breath, the former Templar made sure to keep his emotions in check for the topic he was about to talk about next.

"Before I tell you what I want, I need you to understand the reason behind it. There is a noble in Ken, a Marquis named Henry Blueborn. He is one of Maia's main financial advisors and a high-ranking individual in the army, taking the position of lieutenant of the Kingdom's army. The man has a reputation of being fair and just but that is just a sham; a fake persona he created to hide the disgusting person he is behind the mask. A year ago, that bastard raped my wife while I was on my shift outside of Ken! According to the neighbors and my Kuroinu brothers, the carriage that stopped in front of my house belonged to him. And when I went to kill that bastard, that fucking whore, Maia, stopped me before I could get my revenge!" Hot tears began streaming down his face, he felt as if he was going through all the past events once again. "I was locked up without even getting justice for my wife, the only reason I was set free was due to my many years serving the Church."

Yes, Archer knew how this story would end. It wasn't the first time he heard something similar. Freed and his wife faced such bleak circumstances and desperate situations; there was only so much some people could bear. Many would opt for a way out, to escape reality or just end their suffering.

"Let me guess, your wife killed herself."

Sniff

He continued crying, and even without answering, Archer could clearly see that he was right on the mark.

"I… have something to request…" Said the bound former Templar. Archer already guessed what it was.

The guy wanted him to go after the noble as well.

He sighed, scratching the back of his head in contemplation. "Smart choice, I can see what you want... Aside from that, you can certainly try to fulfill your wish to avenge your wife, on your own. But the possibility for you to accomplish it does not exist. You will pursue a fruitless goal, requiring strength and resolve you do not have, and will probably pursue it until the day you die or go insane with hate. You want me to kill the Marquis." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Freed nodded.

How troublesome.

The former Counter Guardian wasn't even shocked or appalled by the fact that someone asked him to kill someone. He had become desensitized to such things, honestly. His past self would have probably gone on a purge of such individuals with nothing but his swords and later would have to face the wrath of the seven alliances without having even completed his main task. Suddenly creating more suffering and deaths than initially required. Archer, unlike his past self, thought about the consequences of his actions.

"Okay, I will keep this person in mind. If I come across him, I'll kill him. So now, are you willing to talk?" He asked, not seeing too much of a problem with the task if he's careful.

Not the first time he made something look like an accident.

Now Freed looked more willing to answer his questions, even though there was no guarantee that Archer would even kill the guy, he was satisfied with what he had gotten. Not to mention, as a magic user, this man had a greater chance to kill Henry than him.

"Thank you… What do you want to know?"

Good, he was finally getting somewhere.

"First of all, does Maia still associate herself heavily with the Kuroinu? Anything in the realm of meeting Vault regularly or being informed of their future battle strategy?" Archer needed to know that if he kept tailing Maia, would it take long for him to come across Vault or would he need to adopt another method in finding the man. And if Vault was on the field, would he regularly send his location to Maia?

"I believe so. Even if Vault and Maia weren't so close, he is required to keep each Princess Knight informed of his whereabouts and plans. We are the alliance's biggest weapon against the Dark Queen and her demonic army of Orcs. Without us, Thorne would have long fallen to the Dark Queen's forces."

"But that doesn't make sense, you are just regular humans compared to the knights under the Churches and Celestine control, I heard that they have been blessed to have strength to out match an Orc, and speed to out pace most warriors. Why are you their strongest army when they literally have stronger people?" Even if regular Knights could match the strength and speed of the strongest and fastest human, Princess Knights had double and even triple that power. Surely this would be a bigger advantage compared to the Kuroinu.

Freed shook his head, not seeming surprised by the question "That is a common question asked by the commonwealth people, but there is an important detail many overlook. There are an extremely low number of Knights in all of the seven kingdoms. Their numbers are so low in fact, that just the Kuroinu mercenaries stationed in Ken alone, outnumber the entirety of Knights in all of Eostia by ten to one."

That big of a difference? No wonder they didn't send their best in the frontlines that much, because they were a scarce resource, to begin with.

"Surely as a literal Goddess, Celestine could increase their numbers by a large margin."

Freed nodded in agreement, "Yes, she can do that. In fact, she could bless a room filled with hundreds of women to gain her blessing in a matter of seconds."

"Then you must understand my confusion," Archer said, wondering where this was going.

"It ain't that simple. During my stay in the Church, I found out how new nuns and Knights come to be chosen. Not anyone could just get either of these positions easily. You need to know that even if a room is filled with a hundred women trainees, only less than a handful retain their blessings; in most cases sometimes there isn't even a single Knight. Those who've failed, can become nuns and devote themselves to the Church or continue serving as regular soldiers. But those who successfully retain their blessings, are in most cases scouted by the noble houses first. So you see, in the end, the alliance is left with barely anyone to fill up the ranks and nobles rarely lend their personal Knights to the Goddess or the Church, even during this war. They come up with the most stupid reasons which somehow the Church is willing to accept. Only Claudia and Alicia have enough power and authority to get more Knights than the other Shields, but even then, there aren't many to send out."

Archer was starting to get the picture. These people focused on quantity more than quality, not realising that a single person could change the outcome of a war all on their own; if it was the other way around.

"So that is why the Kuroinu is the main force of Eostia. Because the group is not mixed up in these political bullshits of the nobles and answer directly to the Goddess Reborn herself and Vault. We are both cannon fodders and numerous enough to overwhelm our enemies."

The more Freed revealed the Kingdom's state, the clearer picture he got of the general politics of this world. And to say that it wasn't pretty would be an understatement…

'This is nothing more than a ticking time bomb. I can already see the extent of corruption running rampant here… And the one who is in the position to gain the most out of it is none other than Vault himself. These people are just handing him all the power without even thinking for a second about the devastating consequences of what would happen when he'll turn on them; which might even be pretty soon.'

This was bad.

This showed just how unstable the authority of the Seven Shields was in reality.

"And Vault, I'm sure your boss has some ideas for the future with all these plots and scheming going on in the background, tell me… " The best moment to strike the alliance would be now. "Tell me what's going to be his next move and where I can find him."

Freed hesitated.

"Tell me and I will let you go and I'll even kill the Marquis slowly."

The former Templar looked at Archer's eyes, trying to find any trace of falsehoods in words. Each passing day he couldn't avenge his wife was no better than living in hell. Each night, whenever he would go to sleep, the images of her torn clothes and seed-covered body would emerge in his nightmares. The final memory of her hanging corpse in the middle of the room when he returned would torment him for every second that fucking bastard continue to draw breath.

He hated Maia for protecting that pig, but he absolutely abhorred that man much more than any of the Princess Knights. As long as he died, even if Maia remained untouched, he was satisfied with that.

Each day, his goal would become bleaker by the moment. The chances to kill Henry became abysmal and the hatred he festered against him would turn into fury and blame against the Shields and their existence.

But if there was a chance, a slim possibility of someone else ending that worthless worm…

"Vault is preparing for a final invasion against the Dark Queen. He's putting together an army by fusing every single rogue adventure or mercenary group to the Kuroinu; creating a single gigantic army. The School of Magicians, the Adventure Guild, the Church, and even Celestine have given him all the resources he'll ever need to complete the task."

So the dawn of the end was sooner than he expected.

"Boss and Kin—the second in command—have set up camp near Feoh and Ur, in the Rib Foul forest, making the final preparations before embarking on the dark lands. Our company was planning to join them after making a quick stop at Geofu and acquire all of the extra equipment and weapons prepared by the Princess Knight, Luu-Luu. There has been word that Claudia has been temporarily stationed in Feoh on Celestine's orders for unknown reasons, but that it was part of the plan. That's all I know, I swear on my wife and my honor!" Freed exclaimed fervently, hoping that he kept his promise.

Archer meanwhile stood still and pondered his next move. He got what he wanted the most; information on Vault and his location. All that remained should be hunting him down and killing the guy.

"How long is the journey from Ken to Feoh?"

"Uuuh, about a week by horse. Vault has given us a month to return, so our group planned to spend some time relaxing in Ken before leaving."

While Archer could move faster than any normal horse, he wouldn't be able to maintain such a speed for an hour; let alone a week. So traveling by foot was a no-go.

'I can follow those ahead to Ken and procure myself a detailed map to the safest route from Ken to Feoh and leave by horse. Since Maia is there, I might need to stay under the radar when I get there. And this would be a perfect opportunity for me to take notes of any Kuroinu agents in the city and remove them after killing Vault.'

With the plan set in stone, Archer got up and loosened up the tie on Freed's hands and legs. Before going back to put out the fire.

"You're letting me go?" Freed was shocked, he still doubted whether the man would truly let him leave or not.

"Yes, I promised the same thing to your companions and kept my word," Archer said as he began walking away, having his back facing Freed.

A myriad of feelings and emotions passed through Freed's head. Confusion, anger, helplessness, and relief. Yes, relief, because after such a long time, he wasn't roaming around blindly but instead, found someone who would be able to enact his revenge. But even so… could he allow this man to endanger his city? Could he condemn millions of people for the fault of a single person?

His Templar teachings kicked back into gear and he remembered that he was potentially dooming the innocents and not just Henry Blueborn. He was willing to become a killer, a criminal and even lick Maia's boots if it brought him closer to his goal, but a monster?

Freed would never know the answer.

Shrk!

"Eurgh!" Air left his lungs, as blood spurted from his mouth. The man looked downwards and saw the tip of a spear blade sticking out of his chest. He watched helplessly as his vision began to deteriorate and turn blurry. His legs became weak and he fell to his knees. "W… Why? Y—You… pro… mised." The more he talked, the more blood started spurting from his mouth, dying the ground below crimson red.

Archer's voice entered his ears.

"I promised to let you go and I kept my word, you are standing and walking away without any restraints. But, I never said that I would let you walk away alive. I'm not sorry, you would have died either way by my hands. Being a member of the Kuroinu, whether your reasons are just or not does not matter to me. At least now, you'll be reunited with your loved one."

'Yes…, I will finally be reunited with you… my dear Evelyn.' Were his final thoughts, glad that the torment is finally over.

As he was saying his last words to Freed, Archer passed by the remains of two other people, hidden behind the bushes. Just like Freed, they had a sword sticking out of their head instead of their chest.

Ganj and Kaur had been killed as well.

Both died after having divulged everything they knew about each other and the Kuroinu. Though, unlike Freed, they mostly did it out of fear and not by striking a deal with Archer.

"To give you some peace of mind, I'll make sure to honor our deal. If I come across Henry Blueborn and have the slightest opportunity to kill him; then I'll take him out of this world as promised." If that man was associated with Vault, then more the reason to eliminate him.

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"Th… ank… you…" And just like that, Freed's head hit the ground. His eyes closed, but a peaceful smile remained on his face.

"Humph, weird for you to thank your killer… farewell." Truly, people could be weird at times, they had nothing to be thankful for when dealing with him. It could be said that the man died happily, but that is false, he just forced himself to believe in the promise of his killer of all people. That created a sense of relief in his final moments, but that wasn't true happiness.

If Freed had learned of Archer's thoughts, he would have disagreed with the man. The thought of his wife being avenged was enough for him to experience joy in his final moment.

His only regret would have been not seeing the bastard scream in agony while bleeding to death—like the pig he was.

After this, Archer took one of the horses left by the three men and made his back to the main road, where he rode towards Ken at full speed. Smoke rose above the trees, fire erupted from the area where he had kept the bodies.

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu and Fate are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.