Chapter 627: Aetherbird and Fury

Chapter 627: Aetherbird and Fury

Where are we? Diroh rose into the air, startled by the change.

My realm, Dallion simply replied. I thought you were used to reality shifting by now.

Shame appeared throughout the furys body like small bubbles. Despite her calm exterior, she still had a number of insecurities, especially when it came to things relating to awakening.

I am! Diroh tried to sound harsh. Why did you pull me in here?

So that we can talk. You have questions, I have questions, and I prefer no one listens in.

Is that what life comes down to? Questions?

The question was understandable. Dallion would have preferred to have a casual conversation, hed have enjoyed mentoring her along the path awakening, maybe even introducing her to a guild so she could develop her skills faster. However, that wasnt in the cards right now. Time was a serious factor. It often was, though now, the Star was the hunted, even if he wouldnt remain so for long.

Youve lived with hunters most of your life. Arent you used to it?

Yeah, but youre not a hunter. The fury floated down. You, Eury, my sister, youre different. You dont belong in this world.

It wasnt much of an insult, though it still made Dallion shake his head. Surprisingly, there werent any blobs of anger in her, just a touch of sadness.

You act as if it isnt real. You try to achieve everything you can, then when you get bored you just leave.

You got all that by serving hunters?

By listening to them. They discuss otherworlders a lot when youre not there. When they get drunk, they dont even care whos listening.

Yes, they do, Dallion said to himself. The higher the body trait, the more difficult it was to get drunk. Spike of the Icepicker guild had that issue. Even after becoming an elite, he couldnt kick the habit, making spend large amounts of money on drinking... and fighting. The hunters who discussed outherworlders in front of Di had done so deliberately, probably to warn her what she could expect. By the looks of things, they had only partially succeeded.

Eurys mentor, Dallion changed the subject. He found you, right?

Everyone knows that, Diroh replied with a mocking snort.

When?

The smirk vanished off the girls face.

When did he find you, Di? Dallion repeated.

A while back...

Over five years?

There was no answer.

Closer to ten?

Im not sure. I dont remember much from back then. It could have been ten. Definitely more than two. He rarely came to visit.

Once per year?

Maybe less at first. It was a lot later that he told me about Ji.

That must have been the time when hed given her the hunters inn. It made sense: keeping her outside of the empire, but close enough to keep an eye on things. That could have been the reason hed told Jiroh about her at all.

Tell them Ive never seen you. The fury looked away.

No. Dont lie. Theyll know if you do.

Youre a bastard! Worse than my sister! At least she didnt give me any expectations! You come to see me after shes gone, you get me when Im in trouble, and after all that, you leave!

Thats what otherlanders do. Dallion forced himself to say. It wasnt pleasant, but any alternatives he could think of would be worse. With luck, shell focus her anger on him and survive all this. His leaving increased the odds. In a moment, well leave our realm. its important that you continue what you were doing before we entered.

You think someones spying on us? Here?

Pretend this never happened for the next half hour. Longer if you can. After that, tell everything to Aspan. Not Hannah. Hell know what to do.

Anger flared up for a moment, then quickly subsided as sadness, and determination formed. The fury could see Dallions reasons even if she didnt like them. She too was in a difficult position, forced to hide her unusual magic ability as well as her cloud pet.

This is it, isnt it? she whispered.

I dont know. Things will be different no matter what happens.

I wish I never met you.

Reality shifted, taking them both back to the real world. Not used to the sudden change, the fury lost balance for a fraction of a second. Dallion tightened his grip until she got used to her surroundings.

Sorry, he said with a fake smile. Its just the trip. I promise to have a chat at dinner.

Liar. There was almost no emotion in the word. Moments later, she was gone, slamming the door behind her.

That went well, Nil said.

Definitely believable, Dallion agreed. More likely than not, it gave him a few hours head start. The bigger question was where to go now. Returning to the general was pointless. Even if he had the artifact, the snob wasnt going to give it out of principle. Walking about the city was risky, except maybe going to an awakening shrine. As much as the Order was annoyed at Dallion, surely they wouldnt allow him to be attacked on their territory. There was only one way to find out.

Dallion reached for his backpack, then suddenly stopped. There was no point in taking it. All he needed was his functional combat gear. The food, the tools, bestiary tome, even the dryad bowl werent going to be of any use at all. The only thing hed achieve by bringing them was to put them at risk.

Nothing but distractions, Dallion whispered as he removed the whip blades sheath. It too was unneeded. Ruby, he said. Its time to go.

Obediently, the shardfly fluttered onto his shoulder, where it closed his wings and froze up like a piece of decoration.

Not the window, I hope, dear boy? Nil asked.

Without answering, Dallion left the room. Calmly, he made his way down the stairs. The crowd had all but gone, leaving Di and Hannah some time to prepare for the dinner rush. Dallion barely glanced at either of them as he left.

Theyre still watching, Ruby said.

Where? Dallion had glanced over the area upon leaving the inn, but he hadnt noticed any guards.

The chimneys across. They arent chimneys.

Illusions? Thinking back, the rooftops did seem somewhat different from how Dallion remembered them.

How are you able to see through illusions? he asked.

I can only spot them, Ruby replied. Gleam taught me.

Thats a good start. Well need a lot more to avenge her, though. Always be ready, and never show any mercy.