Transmigration Into The Beginning After The End

CHAPTER 17 - LINGERING THOUGHTS

Being my second time going through a portal, this sensation was unique and felt different than the one from two years ago. I don't think I will miss this sensation. I told myself before hitting the ground, a solid ground. 

I groaned in disbelief. Sylvia was truly gone and there was nothing for me to do? Was that really what I wanted or was there even something for me to do there? 

Cadell. A Scythe. The pinnacle of strength in Alacrya. The right hand of Agrona.

And I thought I could go against that? I was four years old, or five?. My mana core was already one higher than before and closer than ever towards the next stage but what difference would have that done?!. Against a monster who is three or four times stronger than a Lance, the strongest warriors in Dicathen!

Was that the best thing I could do?

But before I could wallow in sentimentality, dry sobs resounded from my left side. Art.

I stood up and walked towards my friend, or at least I thought we were in my mind. As I was already in front of my friend, his attention was somewhere else. 

His blue eyes widened as he let out a voice of relief that was soon gone, "Sylvia! I'm here! Can you hear me…" 

If I was correct he was hearing Sylvia's recording, she imbued it when she gave him the beast will. 

Some time passed by, and I could tell that Arthur was not listening to anything I was talking about. His sole intention now was on Sylvia's message about going past the white core stage: Integration Stage. 

Only a few people have ever achieved that stage, being the Lances—aside from Arthur and what remained of them—and the soul embodiment of the Legacy, Cecilia. 

Yet I wonder if this time things will change for the better good. Or the worst…

I had been looking at the sky for the longest that I haven't seen or noticed when the boy with azure eyes was in front of me holding out a hand. The sad and bitter expression he had earlier had been replaced by resolution and somewhat of excitement, yet, that didn't mean that his feelings of guilt and sorrow were gone. They were instead veiled by his stronger feelings. 

He decided to live a happy life, one that Sylvia would be happy to hear once they meet again. 

"Are you done?" I simply asked, relying on his strength to get me up to my feet. 

He took a while to answer. There was no definitive response from his heart but rather his mind, he thought it was the best for. "Yes…" 

Lingering thoughts…

I let out a sigh. "Listen Art, I won't ask about what you heard or saw earlier that had you sulking for some time, but whatever it is, I'm here for you. I am your friend after all." I said softly with a gentle smile. 

There was no lie in my words, everything was in truth. I wanted to believe that I was brought here to help him and those in and out of this continent, but as I am right now, it wasn't going to be easy to do so.

But before that… "Where are we?" 

I changed topics and tried to scan the surroundings in hopes of getting to know our exact location. Only trees and the sky, along with a loomed thick fog that covered two feet in front of me. 

Was I so caught up with my thoughts that I had forgotten the trees? 

How was I so distracted by my mind that I did not see these trees that were overlapping my head like the ones on Earth in that one specific place.

"Trees and an unnaturally thick fog…" 

I turned to the source of the voice. 

Synchronized with each other, we said out loud, ""The Forest of Elshire!""

Meaning we were nowhere close to Xyrus City. Not only that but the next act or arc is here: "Save the Princess of the Forest."

An odd but reasonable arc for the main protagonist's story and character development. Art's first love if he were to admit it when he goes to Xyrus Academy. 

Well enough about that, what Sylvia had told me before she pushed me away into the portal will be on my mind, what she decided to do there was unthinkable and something she wouldn't have done in the original story. 

"Shall we get going?" Arthur asked, using mana rotation like it was second nature, allowing him to absorb 20% of what he would during meditation. That's another thing, unlike Art, I was able to use mana rotation like him. I still struggled to activate it freely and my ability to perceive the movement while using it was low. 

But aside from that, I had gone one stage up. I could store more mana than before—even though it wasn't enough—it was still something. 

I activated mana reinforcement around my body, and we got going. 

ARTHUR LEYWIN

After ten minutes of searching, jumping from tree to tree, I found what we were looking for. Humans. 

Before, Sylvia had mentioned that when we teleported, we would be next to humans. Lu and I discussed that idea of looking for them instead of leaving the Forest. It was much more likely to find them than to get out of here without much help to get to Xyrus City. 

I hopped a couple of more trees, feeling quite proud of my primate nimbleness, stopping at a branch just a few meters away. Luke—who was behind a couple of branches—noticed my actionable and thoughtful gestures before he too hid. 

There was a group of humans below, he and I observed before I felt something wrong. 

I fully hid myself behind the trunk and closed my eyes, imbuing mana into my ears. 

"NOOO! HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP! MOMMY! DADDY! NOOO I'M SCARED!!!" 

"Someone shut her up! She's going to attrack attention!" 

*THUD*

"Quick. Put her in the back of the carriage. We're only a few days away from the mountain range. We'll be safer then. Don't let your guard down and continue moving."

"Hey, Boss? How much do ya reckon she'll sell for? Elf girls go for a lot, don't they? Hehe, she's a child too, so a virgin at that! I bet she will fetch us a lot of money, huh!" 

Slave traders! 

Carefully, I took a peek to spot the small-sized carriage, enough to hold four to five or maybe even six adults tightly together. I felt a touch on my shoulder, it was Lu pointing behind me at the middle-age man hauling a little girl into the back of the carriage. She was around six or seven, with silvery hue in her hair and the trademark of pointed ears that meant she was an Elf. 

What should I do?

How were they able to kidnap one in the first place? Wasn't the fog from Elshire Forest supposed to keep them away by disorienting the senses of the most capable mages? 

There! I thought after observing for a few more seconds. Showing Lu what I had seen, he already had a plan but didn't share it completely with me. 

Attached to the leashes were mana beasts that looked like a mix between a deer and a dog, with antlers that branched out, looking like a complicated satellite. They were mentioned briefly in the encyclopedia I had always carried with me. The Forest hounds were native to the Forest of Elshire and could navigate even better than the elves could. 

How they acquired one, I have no idea but I had to think of a different plan. 

Option one: Steal two of the forest hounds and have it lead us out of the forest. 

Option two: Kidnap the kidnapped elven girl and have her lead us out the forest. 

Option three: Kill all of the slave traders, free the elven girl, then take one of the forest hounds and leave the forest. 

Pondering over for a couple of minutes, I was faced with a dilemma. Option one would be the easiest, but it didn't sit right with me to just leave the girl. 

But then again, who knows… maybe she'll be sold to an old man with a kind heart and take her home. 

…A fat chance…

Option two had the obvious flaw that, once the elven girl was saved, she would insist on going home instead of leading us outside the forest, but considering how the slave traders would react, they wouldn't be happy about it. Option three on the other hand was the most obvious choice but it would be a pain, after all it was four of them and two of us. Because of the fog, I couldn't sense any of them being a mage but it was safe to assume one or two would be. 

And being able to catch an elf either meant they were very lucky or professionals at this. 

After letting out another deep breath, I couldn't help but to notice how often I sighed these days. "Option three it is." 

Lu, who was observing them while I pondered on the options he had given me, told me it was better if we watched longer. 

He was right, no matter how much we two are as mages, we were still four or five year old children that are going against full developed adults. Cruel and twisted adults no less…

After watching them for hours, we had learned enough, making the judgment to strike at nightfall. Despite their rustic appearances, the slave traders were surprisingly vigilant; they never built a fire and always kept two people on guard at all times. 

After stirring up the forest hounds with a carefully thrown rock, I made my move when one of the two men went around the other side of the carriage to keep them quiet. 

The one that stayed behind was sitting on a fallen log, fidgeting with something in his hands while the other two slept inside the tent. Carefully, jumping to a branch directly above the carriage. I prepared my attack. 

My first target was the one that had gone to quiet down the forest hounds. 

I dropped down with a quiet thud behind one of the slave traders. This man had a very lackey build. While lean muscles were visible, he didn't seem too strong and was only armed with a long knife.

Startled by the soft thud, lanky turned around probably expecting a curious weasel or rat. His face twisted in a mixture of surprise and amazement when he saw me, a four-year-old child in ragged clothes. 

He tried to speak, hoping a sound would leave his mouth, but I lounged upwards towards his neck. I infused mana into the blade of my hand, turning it into a sharp edge.

He flinched back reflexively, his hands trying to reach where his face was to guard against the boy shooting towards him. 

But it was too late. 

I took a quick swipe at the jugular, taking his vocal cord out along with his carotid artery. A stream of blood sprayed out of his neck immediately as I landed behind him, supporting his lifeless body and gently placing him down to avoid making noise. Just as expected, the forest hounds that had just been calmed down by the Lankey jolted back awake at the stench of blood causing them to howl and bark. 

"Ey Pinky! Can't even calm the hounds…What the?!"

With Pinky's knife already at my disposal, the only thing was to wait for him at the back of the carriage. 

While the other slave trader's attention was directed at the corpse of Pinky, currently being eaten by the forest hounds, I jumped out from behind and stabbed the side of his neck with the knife. 

The hounds quieted down while devouring the two corpses. As I headed towards the tent to dispose of the remaining two in their sleep, a shrill cry ruined my plans. 

"HELLLLLP! MOMMY! SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASE!!"

Son of a… why now of all times?

On cue, I heard the rustle of the tent as the two slave traders that were left had come out. "Pinky! Deuce! The kid is awake! What the hell are you guys–" Before he finished his sentence, a rush of blood came from his throat and on the other side of the head was Lu who had stabbed the barking slave trader. "Dan…ton," muttered the already dead man as his body hit the floor with maximum force. 

Luke, who had been wielding a branch from a nearby tree, swung the branch and wiped the blood off of it like a sword. The slave trader–whose name was Danton from what the dead guy said–unsheathed his sword and got into a defensive position. 

"You see all sorts of crazy things these days! Looks like a huge sack of gold just showed itself in front of us. Sorry everyone but it seems that I will take the jackpot!" He let out a crazed chuckle, already seeming to forget about his dead comrades. 

He didn't care that his party members were dead, maybe he was hoping to kill them when they got the money.

Danton's body glowed faintly as he reinforced his body with mana. As he advanced towards me, his lips curled into a confident grin on his square face. 

Lu tried rushing from behind the augmenter but it was futile, as Danton had sensed his mana leaking from his body, dodge the strike from Lu as he let him get in front just to kick him with mana backing up his leg for more power. 

The loud thud made me concerned when I saw Lu's body freely drop to the floor. Was he unconscious? Dammit!

The augmenter named Danton suddenly jumped above me, his right arm poised to throw a punch. I could only guess that his only reason for not using his sword was to not damage his "goods". While I'd normally complain, in this case, overconfidence made it much easier for me so I didn't get offended. 

I jumped back in time to avoid the blow strong enough to leave a small in the ground as I threw my knife at him. I used the same trick as I did with the conjurer I dragged down with me off the cliff but this mage was a more careful one. Disrupting the mana string with his sword and grabbed my knife with his free hand.

Shit!

I was in a bad position right now. Danton wasn't tall but his reach was still a good amount longer than mine. He also had a sword, which he now deemed necessary to use, that further increased his range. 

Wasting no time, Danton dashed towards me and threw back the knife I had just launched at him. I easily dodged, but not in time to react for his next move as he swiped my ankle with his sheathe. I stumbled to regain my balance, and he used that chance to grab ahold of my ankle and flipped me upside down. 

 His confident face crumpled as I punched the hand that was holding onto me as I concentrated mana. I used a fire attribute technique, releasing all of the mana focused on my fist and aimed for the weak joint of his wrist. 

A loud crack, followed by a howl of profanities indicated the attack was enough. 

His broken wrist released my ankle and I landed awkwardly on my back. Quickly jumping up to my feet, at that moment, Lu–who I had thought was unconscious–rushed from behind me towards Danton who started cursing. "You're DEAD now you piece of shit! I don't care if I can't sell you anymore!" 

"You speak too much." Lu spoke in a cold tone while aiming and cutting his left leg leaving Danton vulnerable. Falling on one knee, I took this opportunity to attack him as well. His left wrist and leg were wounded, leaving a gap in his defense. I willed more mana into my feet and arrived in range, about to land a solid hit to his side, when I saw him furiously swinging his sword down. 

He fell for it! 

I quickly pivot with my left foot in place, spinning to my right. Dodging the swing by a hair's breadth, I enter into my knife's range to his right side, open because of his last desperate swing.

He immediately tried to jump back, but with his injured leg, there was nowhere to go, losing his balance. In one quick thrust, I jabbed my knife below his armpit, through the gap between his ribs and into his lungs. 

I heard the noise of his body being stabbed once more, this time through his other lung, again, it was Lu and his face was already covered in blood from the slave traders. 

They were all dead. 

"Take care of the elven girl, yeah? I'm going to find some water and wipe their disgusting blood off of me." 

Next thing we did was to feed them to the hounds like the ones before. While Lu looked for disposable water to wash his face from the blood, I went to rescue the elf little girl. 

It seemed that the elf girl had known there was a fight going on by the eerie quiet. 

I climbed up to the back of the carriage where she was tied up to and I spotted her shivering in the corner with dirty rags minimally covering her privates. She studied me in surprise and doubt, her eyes almost saying, "He can't have been the one who saved me, right?" 

I untied her as she remained silent, her swollen turquoise eyes never leaving my face. 

Tired and feeling gross, I helped her up and simply stated, "You should go back home now." 

"Hic…Hic…" 

She probably didn't know whether I was an enemy or a friend until now, but once she heard the word 'home', a look of relief washed over her tense face and she broke down.

"Hic! I was so scared! They were going to sell me! Hic! I thought I was never going to see my family again! Hic! WAAAAAA"