The angel carried the boy as she flew back towards the valley.
"This is too embarrassing," said Connor, as he was being carried like a child.
"So should I just drop you?"
"Wait, no!"
"Just kidding! You are quite heavy, though," laughed the angel.
She landed on the forest ground and dropped Connor.
"Owwww....so, have you regained your powers?"
"No, I just used your mana to recover my wings. But, more importantly, are you okay? What happened back there? Your body burst into armour, like you were taken over-"
"I'm fine. Apparently, some parasite took over my body in the Void," said Connor distractedly as he got up and started walking tiredly.
The protrusions from his arms had lessened, they were almost gone.
"A parasite? Why are you acting so nonchalant? We have to-"
"It's fine for now...I'll deal with it later. And he reason you haven't left me behind is because you can't exactly fly to Norva, right? I'll help you get to Norva, then we part ways."
"I thought you trusted me more? And didn't I just save you?" sighed Lumi.
"I do. And, thank you for saving me back there. But for now, I'll just concentrate on the mission...."
What even is the mission? We track down some elves and demons so we could kill them?.....Something's wrong....I won't let that happen.
Light flashed as an electric net was shot from his right.
Connor couldn't dodge in time, but Lumi stepped in and swatted it away with a wing.
Pierre approached with his Arcane Armament. "I knew there was something off about you, Connor. And...is that some sort of humanoid beast? Your bond?"
"Is having a bond a crime? We're still in the same regiment. And I've done nothing wrong. Why should we even fight?"
"The others were away....but I saw you. I saw how you became that thing after you died."
Then, Connor noticed some sort of energy surrounding Pierre's head. He couldn't see it before, but now he could; maybe because of the entity. It was as if the Lieutenant Colonel was being influenced, almost mind-controlled by a cloud of mana. That would explain his weird behaviour from a few hours ago; when he had went out of control and killed a soldier.
I'll just knock him unconscious...but I'm lacking strength right now....
Need help?
Shut up. You're gonna make me kill him. And the side effects of the previous transformation....I'll lose my humanity.
You killed that man in the Void.
Shut up.
Are you just gonna rely on that angel? Do you trust her?
Connor shut out his thoughts. Next to him, Lumi tried to channel an attack spell...it didn't work, her power was still sealed.
The boy had no mana left and he was barely standing. He only had one option....and it was straight up stupid.
As soon as Pierre launched another net, Connor dashed into it. Wrapped with the net, he tackled into Pierre. They both fell to the ground, getting electrocuted. The pain wasn't as bad as the side effects of the transformation.
With his last bit of strength, Connor tore through the net with a dagger, before staggering away and falling to the ground. He struggled to get up and leaned against a tree.
"Why do you keep getting yours- ugh, I'll heal you one last time today," said Lumi as she channeled selfless healing on the boy.
Pierre tried to get up, before getting hit by a mana-generated sledgehammer, knocking him out.
Connor carried the Lieutenant while heading towards his teammates.
"It's already so late....don't mind me, I'll just sleep in the woods or something, or just not sleep," said Lumi, before stopping.
Pierre's unconscious form jolted awake and turned to look at them with empty eyes. The cloud of mana around his head amplified in power, strengthening its control.
"So, this is what you've been hiding...you have an angel as a bond," said the puppet master's voice that was being transmitted through Pierre's mouth.
"Interesting. So many interesting developments. Well, I have to go now," he continued with his gruff voice.
Lumi's golden brown eyes glowed.
"Oh? I see that you're trying to trace my spell's mana back to me. Can't let you find me."
A light emanated from Pierre's chest. The puppet master was gonna overload his core to detonate him like a bomb.
"Get down!"
Lumi rushed to stand in front of Connor, using her wings to shield against the blast. The air crackled as they were both pushed back. The mist of snow and wood debris cleared to reveal a pile of ash.
"What's even happening here...."
"The power to mind control...that was definitely an Evil. The one from the town."
"Are you sure?" asked Connor.
They stood in silence for a while.
***
When Connor rejoined the soldiers, he saw that most of the terrain's snow had been melted. Corpses lay on the ground and, in the distance, a group of fifteen soldiers remained. The horses that they had ridden to escape were all dead. They set up a tent and had a fire was going. Most were asleep.
"Connor! You're okay." exclaimed Sacha, forcing out with his tired voice, "Maëlys, we have another survivor."
Maëlys, which Connor recognized as the group's healer, approached to cast a spell. He told everyone about Pierre's death, but omitted the fact that he was mind-controlled and the details of how he actually died.
In the large tent, a multitude of injured were resting. He recognized Noémie and Luka. Outside, he saw that Hugo, who recovered from his injuries, was taking charge.
Connor went in the tent, found a bedroll and crashed on it, falling asleep.
***
The next day, the group of twenty soldiers were walking on a mountain path, overlooking the snowy valley. The orange light of the rising sun contrasted with the blue sky as it shined over grey mountains covered in white.
Most of them complained about the futility of continuing their search.
"We'll cover a few more kilometers. Then, we'll head back to town and rejoin the main unit," said Hugo.
The search was facilitated thanks to a few soldiers who had eagles as bonds. They shared their vision with them as they flew overhead.
Connor brought a protein bar to his mouth. Rations were running low.
Their path was blocked by some large boulders.
A soldier took out an explosive.
"Destroying those rocks will cause an avalanche. We'll just have to take a detour," said Connor.
They looked at Connor as if just realizing that he existed. Everyone forgot about his little confrontation against the demon and he didn't really stand out either.
It's better this way, thought Connor with relief.
"Yeah. And Luka's the only one with geo mana here, but he's too injured to move those boulders," said Hugo, pulling out a map.
Suddenly, Wassim jumped on top of the boulders in one powerful leap. "I'll take this route. Hugo, you coming? Or maybe you can't make this jump?"
The leader gestured towards the group, indicating that he needed to take care of them.
"Um, I'd also go take a look there," mumbled Sacha.
"How? Can you really jump with those skinny ass legs?" a soldier laughed.
Sacha pointed his rifle to the ground and, powering it with spatial mana, used its recoil to propel himself to the other side of the boulders.
"Alright, Sacha and Wassim will scout from that route. We'll meet them at the detour," declared Hugo.
"Connor, you coming?" asked Noémie.
"I just have to take a piss."
Once they were away, Connor turned towards the invisible Lumikki. "Okay, now's the time. Take me over those-"
She quickly grabbed Connor and threw him to the other side.
"OWWW! You fucking-"
Sacha turned around to look. "Connor? How did you get here?"
Catching up with his two teammates, Connor lied about being powerful enough to jump over the blockade.
The three of them walked aimlessly on the mountain path. Their uniforms consisted of light, metal armour that covered black winter jackets. Ice covered stone to the right and a view down the valley to the left.
They didn't talk as they approached an area filled with pine trees.
Wassim tried to fill in the silence. "Why did you join? I heard that you're doing it for family and you're doing it for transport."
"Some stuff happened and I ended up out here...I just want to reunite with my family and friends back in Norva. We're heading there this evening, right?"
"I'm also doing it for my loved ones. My pay's getting sent to my family," added Sacha.
"I'm just doing this, cuz I like fighting. I'll start a career as an adventurer and start dungeon delving one day."
A wolf stood in front of them.
"Oh, food's here," said Connor, attempting a lame joke.
Wassim sighed. "I ain't eating that, it's haram."
"Wait, maybe it's friendly!" exclaimed Sacha.
The boy approached the wolf slowly with an outstretched hand.
"It's gonna bite you," said Connor worriedly.
The wolf backed away and ran off.
"Well, there it goes. It's small anyways. I think it's a juvenile."
Just then, Connor turned to look at the wolf with mana in his eyes. It had an injury and...a faint, ominous energy poured out of it. The person who had attacked it had the same mana as the spell that was controlling Pierre. Could it be that the puppet master went through here?
"Wait, I have to go somewhere."
Leaving the two behind, Connor scanned the area.
"I saw footprints over there," said Lumi from above, momentarily becoming visible again to point out the direction.
After following the foot marks...that seemed to belong to boots similar to those of the regiment, Connor stood in front of.....
The two corpses were rotting in the snow. One was a woman, the other, a male elf.
"Who did this....do you think a soldier-"
"Why would they have killed a human too?" questioned Lumi.
"I don't know...maybe they were teaming up with an elf? But this...."
The bodies were badly mangled...it reminded Connor of that day in Centuria. The humanoid shadows. The deaths of Anthony and numerous others. It felt like ages ago, but it was only a few days...
"There's some mana traces...the same from that wolf and from that mind-control spell...."
"How can you- wait, it's that parasite. Are you sure you're just gonna put that aside?"
Connor looked around and found a piece of cloth, stained with blood. It matched with his uniform jacket. There was also an earpiece, some kind of advanced artifact used for communication. Arcane tech had improved significantly over nine years. He remembered that, including the Colonel, only ten or so people in the regiment had access to it. He tried to activate it, but it was broken.
"T'es sûr que ma tante et mon oncle sont vraiment morts...?"
"Oui, je les ai vue ce matin....excuse me, but my french isn't really good since I migrated from the south."
Two small figures were approaching. Children who looked eleven at most. The boy was a demon, judging from his blue hair. And the girl was an elf, pointed ears and shiny grey hair.
"Draco, sorry about making you sneak out with me...I know it's dangerous, but...if Aunt and Uncle are really dead...I at least need to go get them."
"It's okay, Arila. I'm-"
They stopped short when they saw the bodies.
Connor turned to walk away, before stepping on a twig, making a cracking sound.
The boy's eyes widened as he stepped back in fear, looking at the teen's rifle.
"Stay behind," said the elf as she quickly stood to protect the boy and raised a wand, summoning wind.
Connor stood there, confused and unsure. He wasn't gonna harm them.
"Uh...wait, I just want to ask some questions. What's really going on in this war?! I-"
Wind shot into him. He fell to the ground. He got up to see that the children were running away. He stepped forward, before stopping.
They don't trust me...no use in chasing them, it'll just make them panic.
Wassim was approaching; Sacha too.
Connor rushed over. "Wait!"
Luckily, Wassim didn't take the two kids seriously enough to use weapons, he just held a branch.
"What do you even want!? If you want to fight, then use your weapons!"
"Draco, stop! They'll kill us!" exclaimed the elf.
"Woah, calm down. Just come with us. We won't kill kids."
"I don't understand this....we've lived on this continent for centuries...the elf king has nothing to do with us....you chase us away, but you also prevent us from leaving....you shoot down our boats..."
"What're you talking about? If you want to leave, then, let us deport you."
"Lies, you kill us instead of sending us back."
Wassim and Sacha looked confused. Wassim shrugged it off.
"Maybe we could talk this out," said Sacha anxiously.
Wassim sighed, and had a pained expression. He didn't want to do this.
He raised the branch. "I'll just have to do this."
"Wait, Wassim! Don't-"
"Stop!"
Connor and Sacha started approaching to intervene.
He swung it down, but then-
The demon boy caught it and kicked him in the crotch. Wassim crouched in pain, surprised.
Then, the boy quickly grabbed the teen's rifle and shot him in the foot.
The elven girl pointed her wand to the snow around Sacha, freezing his legs to the ground. Hydro and anemo....she had dual affinity.
I guess they won't listen...but I'll have to try.
Connor dropped his rifle and his knives, raising his hands. "We're not your enemies! I'll hear you out, I'm really confused about this."
The demon, still holding Wassim's rifle, pointed it to its owner, who was crouching on the ground in frustration. Then, towards Sacha, stuck standing on the ground and to Connor.
The elf gestured at the boy to lower the gun.
"But-"
"They don't seem dangerous...we would've already died if they actually wanted it."
She turned towards them, and had a look of silent sadness. Connor noticed it was mixed with hatred, although it wasn't that noticeable at first. "Just one thing, did you kill my aunt and uncle?"
Sacha and Wassim turned and noticed the bodies for the first time.
Wassim looked shocked. "No."
"I didn't even see them...."
Connor shook his head.
The elf nodded, trusting them.
"Arila! They're l-"
"They're not lying. And when you.....wh-when you found my- when you....you didn't see who murdered them, right?"
"I didn't."
Connor, Wassim and Sacha had looks of sympathy as the little girl finally broke down crying, dropping her mask of maturity.
Wassim had gotten up, and reached for his pocket....to pull out an earpiece. "Colonel we found an elf and a demon. We're gonna capture and quest-"
Sacha and Connor turned at Wassim.
"What the- Wassim, what're you doing!"
"Something's wrong with this whole mission! We shouldn't trust the reg-"
Too late. The trust was broken. Connor ran to grab the earpiece and Sacha tried to explain that Wassim's action was unexpected and that they were going to stop him-
The demon shot at Wassim. An energized bullet, wrapped in dense mana, powered by fear and rage. The soldier dodged.
BOOM
The energy bullet hit a large chunk of snow above a hill. A small avalanche was triggered.
The demon quickly grabbed the elf's arm and, suddenly, they teleported away. It was an unintended use of spatial mana.
Connor rushed to stand in front of his teammates, generating a golden shield of mana. Lumi, invisible, did the same next to him.
The mass of snow and ice slammed into him like a charging bull. Connor got knocked back as the three boys and the angel were sent tumbling down the hill.