Chapter 81: Birkaz - Tension

To say that everything happened in a single instant would be a gross understatement. Once the dust cleared out and the tangled mess human bodies got to see who caused this outburst, nearly all of them freed themselves from the pit where they were all pushed to, only to kneel down on the ground in the sign of absolute subservience. 

Nearly all of them.

Still holding to the enemy he has caught a moment ago, Fen didn't dare to let him go. Faced with such overwhelming power, only a hostage could save him.

Forcing his battered body to move, the young man slowly stood up, forcing one of the local guards to stand between him and the powerhouse that just arrived.

Looking forth, Fen almost couldn't believe his eyes. A man maybe just a few years older than him was holding to an enormous bastard sword, swinging it without any effort as he turned around to assess the entire situation. At first, his figure betrayed how rilled up he was, but once his eyes landed on Fen's defensive position…

It was as if a spark appeared in the eyes of someone who has given up on something long ago.

"What's going on here."

Just the tone of the voice of this man was enough to nearly bend Fen's knees. It felt as if his words commanded over an extreme authority, nearly forcing the young man's will to completely surrender to him.

But even this effect disappeared as quickly as it appeared, allowing the young man to regain his footing and keep his vigilance. Given the situation he was in, Fen knew that even the slightest lapse of concentration would most likely result in his death, be it from the hands of the young man in front, or the mercenaries that were chasing him.

"We were on the patrol when we saw him refusing to pay the toll. After the mob was chased away, he still refused to budge and continued to resist."

Quickly reporting the recent events, the leader of the group that made life so hard for Fen spoke up, still motionless on one knee of his.

"Are you really that dense, or are you intentionally trying to irk my anger?"

The state of Fen's mind as he heard those words was so tangled and confused that even the young man himself had troubles finding out what did he really feel right now. Contrary to apparently the other side, he wasn't dense enough to ignore what did such a scolding meant.

At this point, the young arcanist came to yet another realisation. Used to the presence of people bringing their Draconis power forth, he learned how to ignore a small tingle he felt whenever it happened nearby. But on the other hand, as obvious as it was that human power was not even close to being enough for such an entrance, instead of the prickling and annoying feeling, for some reason Fen felt familiar!

While it would be a long shot to say he was now sure that the local powerhouse wielded Phoenixian bloodline as well, at least he wasn't the member of the group that set hunting Fen down as its priority.

"Anyway, ignore them. Seeing how desperate you are I can only assume that the recent spike in guards' activity in the city can be attributed to you. Would you like to clarify whether I'm wrong?"

With all the hints of a threat now gone from his voice, the young powerhouse turned his eyes towards Fen's face. Instead of killing intent, his pupils were filled with curiosity, as if the young man was some kind of a rare species.

"You wouldn't be that far from the truth by assuming that."

As compelled as the young arcanist felt to speak the truth and only truth, Fen somehow managed to retain his energy and keep his words ambiguous. By doing so, he could at least pretend to be on the same level as the man in front of him, preventing the local powerhouse from instantly taking advantage of Fen's weakness.

"I understand. Given how we are directly on the border and how both yours and my actions are bound to cause some reaction from the city, how about we change locations? I think we have a lot to talk about."

It was hard to pin out what was the case with this young man. While he commanded over an immense power, something completely out of Fen's league even when taking his strange memory-abilities into account, he didn't act like a person of his power. It was only a slight feeling, but Fen somehow could guess that there was something deeper going on here, deeply involving both his real past and his current situation.

Back in the reality, just the slight suggestion of the young man managed to stir the local group into action. Rushing towards the rubble created both by their fight with Fen and by the young man's descending, they somehow managed to clear most of the area. They nearly finished it even before the two men disappeared in one of the small alleys by the side of the main road!

"I know what you want to ask, so I will make it short instead of going for an extensive lecture. While we should not get desperate yet, the time is not playing in our favour."

Just a single look at the face of the young man who somehow managed to reach such a high level of personal power was enough for Fen to understand how dire the situation was. While his escape from the queue might or might not be the reason behind the sudden alert in the city, the fight right at the entrance of the Thief's gate district was bound to attract a lot of attention. But even as Fen wanted to learn about what the young man had to say, he already realised what would most likely happen.

"As impossible as it might sound, we are officially recognised remnants of the old kingdom. Given how exhausted the royals and their allies were after the conquest, they decided its better to grant us some autonomy and space rather than killing us all out. And let's be honest, our sin played a major role in this decision…"

Suddenly stopping in the middle of the street, the young man shook his head, as if just the sheer thought of what happened was enough to bend his knees under the burden those memories carried. 

"I promised to keep it short so I will. Right now, I can offer you shelter and some basic help to develop your abilities, if that's not something you want, then I can arrange…"

Right in the middle of the young man's sentence, a man burst into the street they were in, rushing towards the two of them. Falling down on his right knee even before he managed to lose his momentum, the man lowered his head and shouted.

"Sir, the inquisition is here!"

In one instant, the relatively relaxed situation turned tense again. Looking up from the man back on the face of the local powerhouse, Fen could see how the young man's face darkened. 

"So that's the case."

Just like previously a single, ambiguous remark was enough to give Fen some hope about the nearest future, the remark of a man in front of him managed to push him into the deepest depression just the same.

If such a powerhouse based all of its kind words on nothing but a misunderstanding, then Fen could be rather certain about what his future would look like. 

"Nevermind. If I'm right about you, you can't stay in the city any longer. Even our influence has its limits."

Shaking his head as if to push all the spare thought aside, the young man reached forth and caught Fen's hand. Rising it nearly as high as to match his eye level, the local powerhouse directed his pupils towards Fen's eyes.

"The help that I am offering you right now, will be our retribution for what our ancestors did in the past. Use this chance well, as you are the seed that will regrow the glory of our kind."

As the local powerhouse spoke those words, a strange light started to shine in his eyes, only to disappear as soon as the last note left the young man's mouth.

'What the fuck?'

To say that Fen was confused would be akin to calling a cow a fat pig. Although one could try to milk it, the results would be rather not on the point!

"I don't understand a thing of what's going on, but let's go with you offering me your help. Given the situation, I think the best for me would be to leave this place as soon as reality allows, am I right?"

With how the young man's expression darkened with just a single mention of the inquisition, it was clear for everyone that Fen's situation was way worse than anyone could except. Since it was so troublesome to keep the hot potato that the young arcanist was, the best thing for everyone was for the young man to just leave!

"Yeah, but we won't be using our gate. With how they are even willing to cause a civil war, they surely already closed it all down. While I will lead the attack to recover our land, you will cross the east gate along with one of our caravans. Also…"

Momentarily turning himself around to the young man, the local powerhouse gazed at him with eyes filled to the brim with pity.

"I know how much you would like to just take your time to understand what happens. You can trust me that I know what you are going through right now… But you will need to reach Kinar, or the capital city of Nuzah first. Only there you will find some answers to the questions bugging you."