9 Wayward

Contrasting his fortune in the first three months of his journey, Linneaus soon learned why most vagrants and vagabonds were never seen in the same place twice.

Due to the sheer size of the slums, stretching out far beyond the horizon, it was exceedingly easy to get lost. Thus, after deciding to pass around some of the territories he had crossed when he first set out, Linneaus found himself wandering aimlessly for months. Though he had tried to approximate the location of his former home, heading toward the megacity nearly got him killed as, the closer you were to the colossal gates, the more powerful and influential the local gangs were.

Having earned a bit of a reputation for himself, Linneaus was nearly captured the moment he began to head inward, forcing him to retreat at the cost of his left hand. Fortunately, even crippling injuries would slowly heal over time so, after two months, the stump had regrown into fresh tissue, causing his left hand to be slightly paler than the rest of his body.

With no other options available, Linneaus did his best to find a landmark that would rekindle his memory before tracing his steps back to the territory he once called home. If not for the tireless efforts of the gangs trying to kill him, it might have taken him years just to pick up the trail again.

Fortunately, with the immeasurable size of the slums, it was possible to gain your bearings just by following the rumors back to their source. All he needed to do was wander around a few territories, tracing a zig-zag pattern through the complex network of alleyways until people recognized him. After that, Bounty Hunters would begin to appear once again and, rather than kill them outright, Linneaus gave them a reprieve in exchange for information.

Though he knew this could be used to track his movements, time was running out before his sister's tenth birthday. If he wasn't there to protect her, a tragedy could happen if she hadn't been fortunate enough to venture into the walls of the megacity. Thus, despite falling into several traps along the way, Linneaus continued forward, increasing the total of men and women in his death ledger to a frightening three-hundred-and-nineteen.

Now, just over a year since his departure, marked by the fact he had turned eleven a week prior, Linneaus finally stepped into familiar territory. Unlike in the past, however, people looked at him with wide-eyes and pale complexions, giving him a wide berth despite the fact he walked nowhere near them. This included the Enforcers high atop the roofs, some of which prayed he would follow the rules so they wouldn't have to take action. After all, by walking through the alleyways, it was akin to saying he was just passing through, not seeking trouble.

As his steps brought him closer to home, Linneaus noticed his feet began to feel heavy, not for fear of his life, but trepidation towards reuniting with his sister. He had left a relatively innocent boy who, unless forced, would never bring harm to another person. Now, however, he was a notorious killer. Though he never once sought out the life of another proactively, only killing those who had come after him, it didn't change the fact that he was a murderer.

Imagining the disappointment in Rebecca's face and the frightened expressions of his fellow orphans made it difficult to pass over the small line denoting the Greyhounds' territory. He imagined that she wouldn't even let him into the house, barring passage with her calm, placid, yet unfathomable aura. If that were the case, he could only turn away and hope that Gwen came out to meet him, something that terrified him to the core. If she refused to meet him, Linneaus felt that something inside of him would break, never again to be mended...

While he was lost in thought, a barely audible sound of wind tearing reached Linneaus' ears, causing him to instinctually use his [Barrier Aura] before erecting a meter wide [Barrier] directly behind him. Almost immediately following this, he heard the sound of glass fracturing but, despite this, the pale blue membrane only had a few cracks.

Clicking her tongue, the assailant, none other than Skaadi, jumped to create some distance as she spat, "So it really was you, brat. What, now that you've made a name for yourself, you think you can come back to get revenge!?" With these words leaving her lips, Skaadi bent forward at a steep angle, her thighs and calves flexing before a burst of green Spiritual Power formed around her for a brief moment.

Once again, accompanied by the sound of wind tearing, Skaadi lunged toward him with her dagger, aiming directly for the kill. She had heard about the Golden-Eyed Demon Child and, as might be expected from someone who had tormented another for nearly two years, she quickly recognized the identity of the mysterious killer. Pale-blue hair was very uncommon, especially in the slums, so Linneaus had always stood out, even as a lowly Street Urchin.

What Skaadi could have never expected was, in the year that she hadn't seen him, Linneaus had not only caught up to her Level but exceeded it. His eyes could easily follow her speed and, by making a barrier in line with her shins, she went sent tumbling forward with her unarrested momentum. One of the major weak points of the [Child of Wind] Blessing, at least until it had been trained properly, was that it had incredible forward momentum, but significantly reduced your ability to slow down and change direction.

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After sliding across the ground for a few meters, Skaadi quickly bounded up to her feet, face covered in dirt with a large part of her tattered blouse torn to shreds. Though some might pause at the sight of exposed breasts, Linneaus has spent the last year of his life embroiled in life or death battles. Of his victims, ninety-seven had been female, some of which had tried to seduce or take advantage of him. Thus, without flinching in the slightest at the sight, Linneaus was already hot on Skaadi's trail, causing her face to morph into genuine shock as she turned to meet his gaze.

With her pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes, Skaadi made use of her instincts and flexibility to twist her body back, nearly forming a full arch. At the same time, she kicked upward, attempting to catch Linneaus in the chin, only to find that her leg collided with a solid surface. Immediately after that, her vision was filled with a blue membrane that made it almost impossible to move without rolling to the side.

Before Skaadi was able to fully process what was happening, Linneaus had struck down mercilessly with a baselard that he had pilfered several months prior. It was his strongest piece of equipment and, if fenced, would fetch upwards of five large silver pieces. Now, just as he struck down toward his own barrier, Linneaus allowed it to dissipate at the last moment, giving free passage to the blade while Skaadi continued to look upward with a blank mortified expression on her face.

As he wasn't the type to toy with his prey in the slightest, Linneaus drove his dagger directly into the Vulna woman's heart, piercing just beneath her left breast and sliding the blade through her fourth and fifth rib. This caused her body to tense up as, from Linneaus' perspective, her health immediately fell into a critical level before greying out. After that, she fell limply to the ground, her appearance not all that dissimilar to other women who had lost their lives in the slums.

Due to her pride as a Vulna, Skaadi had foolishly intercepted Linneaus on her own, following his smell from the time he had entered the adjacent territory. Though her fellow Enforcers hadn't been far behind, they arrived only to find her corpse littering the alleyway, a simple cloth covering her previously exposed chest. In the past, their fate had been interconnected over something as simple as a rat and a piece of cloth so, as if coming full circle, Linneaus brought it to an end by returning a cloth and leaving her to the rats...

With Skaadi's death sending ripples through the Greyhounds' territory, Linneaus continued toward the orphanage, his steps even heavier than before. Though he had gotten used to it, the smell of blood was rather potent, even amongst the foul odors of the slums. Even taking a dip in the nearby waterway wouldn't be able to remove it completely, something he had learned long ago while trying to maintain his meager equipment.

Despite his trepidations, Linneaus continued until he was just outside the orphanage, his gold-eyes reflecting the image of an elderly woman. She had come out to either greet him or bar his passage, causing Linneaus to immediately fall to his knees as tears he didn't know he had began to pour out.

He suddenly felt inexplicably tired, as if he hadn't slept since he left the orphanage a year prior while the weight of his sins crushed his heart with even less mercy than he had shown Skaadi.

Throughout his crying session, Rebecca just continued to stare back at him without moving from her spot. Her face was a perfect mask, showing absolutely no expression until, nearly ten minutes later, Linneaus finally ceased crying. It was only when he faced her directly, rather than averting his eyes, that Rebecca finally smiled back at him, saying in the same kind tone that had guided him during his past struggles, "Welcome back, little Lin. I see that your travels have not been kind to you. Come, let me hear all about your journey inside...I'm not the only one who is interested...fufufufu..."

Just as Rebecca stepped aside to allow Linneaus entry, a pale-blue blur emerged from the interior, moving both swiftly yet in slow motion, at least from his perspective. Seeing who it was, Linneaus couldn't muster any strength at all, allowing himself to be tackled as he continued to kneel before Rebecca. As a result, he tumbled backward against the hard stone but, not minding it in the least, Linneaus wrapped his arms around the petite figure, fresh tears flowing from his already sore eyes.

As if she refused to lose out against him, Gwen was also crying as she hugged him with a vice-like grip, her voice a sobbing choke as she stated, "You...you're late...you idiot...bully...jerk..." Since a year was a very long time for children as young as they, Gwen's nights had not been easy. Even as early as the first month of Linneaus' absence, she began fearing the worst, to the point it was hard to focus on her training. Now that she saw he was still alive, her first reaction was overwhelming relief before it immediately evolved into frustration, blame, and sadness.

With less than a month left until her tenth birthday, there was a chance their time together would be cute short, regardless of their wishes. It didn't matter how strong Linneaus has become as, without territory and property of his own, it was impossible to protect anyone but himself. Even if they both wandered as vagrants, it wouldn't be long before they were either captured or killed while he tried his best to protect her. This was especially true since, over the last eight months, her progress had slowed to a crawl due to her worry, making her weaker than eight out of the ten girls residing inside the orphanage.

For now, however, none of that mattered as, after a painful year for them both, the siblings were once again reunited. With Rebecca's reprieve, Linneaus was allowed to stay in the orphanage for the night, so long as he shared his tales and experience with the other orphanages. After all, hearing the stories of someone walking the path ahead of them would be a powerful motivator to those yet to come of age. Since she knew some of what Linneaus had been through, without losing the light in his eyes, Rebecca felt that he was a fine example of survival, even if the path he walked was one of the most difficult...