The Rules of Blood

Volume Two ; Chapter 109 (325) - Velakia, The King's Steel

For the rest of the day, Tahreni and Lendros kept switching places.

From riding on Silvia to being carried on Blanc’s back.

Lendros argued at first and complained even more after, but in the end he gave up, too spent to deny that he still could not run properly.

The good part was that an entire day of running made for extraordinary progress toward the boat. The bad part was that not an hour passed without one of them catching sight of a Blood Seraph soldier.

Those who wandered too close soon found themselves struck down by Blanc’s arrows, with seven soldiers and four of their mounts falling before him over the entirety of the day.

Tempting as it was, Blanc never stopped to harvest the Raw Vita from man or beast. There was no time for such luxuries.

Still, Blanc's words had proven true.

This was no true pursuit. It was Aidan's attempts at a cruel game meant to break their spirits.

But if the enemy intended to wear them down mentally, they had failed.

At least, they failed with Blanc.

He turned every obstacle they placed at his front into resolve, seeing not oppression but opportunity.

Each mile covered was a victory, each heartbeat spent running a step closer to the boat.

Even the scenery became greener, as the land turned to its natural colors, and the sky cleared of the smoke coming from the Dragon Manors of Blood Seraph.

At this pace, what should have been a six-day walk had shrunk to three days.

And if they pushed through the night, by the afternoon of the next day, they would be aboard the boat.

Velakia found it bittersweet to see their long journey so hastily rushed to its end.

But necessity allowed for nothing else.

As night fell, even Blanc, Velakia, and the mare, Silvia, began to falter.

Breath came heavier, legs slowed against their will.

Velakia started feeling sick again, the pregnancy now a constant presence in her mind. Yet the stress of their situation overwhelmed that sickness, keeping it at bay for now.

As for Blanc, he still had the stamina to push onward, but Velakia already knew how his thoughts worked.

To keep running through the night was just as dangerous as stopping.

If battle came, they would need the strength to fight.

As soon as darkness fell over the rural lands of Blood Xeladar, they found a low hill to shelter behind.

“We rest here for ten, fifteen minutes,” Blanc said, gently lowering Tahreni onto the grass before turning to Sera. “Then we move again, walking quietly at first, before we run again. Until then, rest.”

"Let’s give Silvia something to eat and water to drink; she needs the energy to continue," Sera muttered, helping Lendros to the ground before slipping down from Silvia’s back and reaching into her bag for the waterskin.

"A good idea," Blanc went towards Sera and Silvia.

“But you need food and water too, little brother. Let’s change places for a while,” Sera added while Blanc approached her.

“I have the stamina to continue. You do not,” Blanc replied with a shake of his head, pulling out a wide wooden bowl. “I’ll be fine.”

“Then at least while we walk,” Sera countered, filling the bowl with water. “Don’t act too cocky, or it will bite you later.”

Blanc sighed but accepted the bowl, placing it before Silvia along with a small mix of nuts and raisins.

“Fine,” he muttered, before leaving Sera's side and letting his body drop onto the grass beside Velakia and Tahreni. “I’ll do as you say.”

Velakia slid her hand through his hair, smiling down at him.

“You’re far too confident in yourself,” she whispered. “And far too doubtful of others. Did you know that?”

Blanc’s lips curved faintly, looking into her different-colored eyes, but he could give only a shake of his head as an answer.

Velakia did not push further now, letting him rest for a bit before choosing when to torment him again.

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So she closed her eyes, letting her back touch and allowing her body to relax for a bit.

But she soon got up, regretting lying down as the sickness that she had managed to hold back until then was planning to resurface the moment she dared relax.

Luckily for her, the only one who noticed it was Tahreni, who soon got on her feet and pointed with her head to follow her before Blanc could notice.

“If you have to do your business, make sure not to go too far,” Blanc muttered, looking at the stars in the sky, “Who knows where the bastards are.”

“Okay,” Velakia replied as she rushed off with Tahreni following shortly behind her.

A Tahreni who now seemed able to walk just fine.

But now wasn’t the time for questioning either; she dashed toward the first larger boulder she found and started puking.

[Translated from Iskahese.]

“Better?” Tahreni asked once Velakia stopped puking.

“A lot better,” Velakia inhaled deeply, trying to clear her throat of the acidic aftertaste. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” Tahreni smiled, letting go of her hair. “Still, let’s sit here for a bit, to make sure you really are fine.”

“Good idea,” Velakia moved away from the place she puked, placing her back against the boulder, sighing. “Are you rested now?”

“A lot more,” Tahreni nodded, joining Velakia’s side. “But I still feel like I would need a week to get as strong as I was.”

“At least you seemed to enjoy it,” Velakia muttered, looking at her fingernails.

“Velakia…” Tahreni sighed.

“What? It’s just a thing I’ve noticed,” Velakia replied the next moment. “But you saw how you did not deny it?”

“I refuse to have this conversation with you, and especially now,” Tahreni shook her head, moving to ger to her feet.

Until Velakia’s hand stopped her, “Shhhh.”

On their left, in the darkness, three people crept in, slowly walking towards the hill where Blanc and the others were.

One of them had a javelin, while the others were with bows in their hands and arrows on their strings.

Luckily for Velakia and Tahreni, the three people did not notice them.

Unlucky, however, was that the people approaching Blanc and the others moved in complete silence. Something impossible for common soldiers to achieve.

And from the looks of it, impossible for Blanc to notice.

She quietly pulled the daggers hidden at her back and moved to give one to Tahreni before the thought of summoning her weapon could cross her mind.

Tahreni nodded, accepting it.

And slowly, they moved around the boulder, slowly placing themselves behind the three people’s backs.

Velakia’s heart was pounding in her brain. At that very moment, she felt immense fear.

But not for herself, but the man she loved, the man who still sat, looking unaware at the sky.

Please look up, Blanc, she thought to herself, hoping that he could somehow hear her.

But if he were not to hear her, she had to take matters into her own hands.

However, before Velakia could even dash forward and engage the enemy by surprise, the one holding a javelin quickly pulled his weapon back above his head, ready to throw it.

Before she could even open her mouth to scream, the javelin-thrower loosed the eight-foot weapon towards Blanc, Lendros, and Sera.

Velakia froze, her eyes wide.

But by the Grace of the Vita, as if Blanc heard her earlier thoughts, he looked to his left and, with his eyes adjusted to the darkness, saw the three just as the javelin was coming his way.

Yet, there was nothing he could do to stop that monster of a weapon.

And both Velakia and Blanc knew that, as in a last attempt to protect himself, instincts took over Blanc, and he placed both his hands in front of him.

Velakia closed her eyes, the beating of her heart now a full-on war drum as it pounded quicker and quicker.

Memories they shared together flashed across her eyes.

Then, as if the sun descended from the sky, the back of her eyes lightened up.

She saw the birth of her child.

A girl.

How she looked, how she smiled, how she laughed.

It was almost like her father.

But only one of her eyes was gray. The other… the other was pink, like hers was.

Then, in that light, she saw an entire future together with Blanc; she saw children, laughter, peace, happiness, the slow passing of time, and at the end of all roads, as her eyes closed for the last time, death.

She lived an entire life in that light.

Centuries, millennia.

But when she opened her eyes, she was still behind the boulder.

And the light that showed her a lifetime was not coming from a deity, but from Blanc.

Not Blanc himself, but the golden bracelet on his hand that stopped the javelin from piercing him.

A golden white barrier was protecting Blanc.

That was the moment she needed. The promise of a chance at a life like that.

She dashed forward, silently.

Or that should have been the plan, for a loud cracking noise resounded from the golden bracelet, making her turn her eyes towards it.

The javelin hadn’t lost its momentum, pressing onto the barrier continuously. Cracks in the light of the barrier appeared.

It started to shake wildly, as if Blanc was losing control over it.

She focused all her might on her vision, seeing Blanc holding the golden bracelet together with his free hand, his eyes wild in a full panic.

But he was failing. The barrier was losing its power.

Everything was happening too fast.

However, for Velakia, time slowed.

Sera barely realized the light that came from behind her.

Only Lendros was now rushing towards Blanc, all the while summoning his polearm.

But Blanc was unaware of his approach, and in a last attempt to at least deflect the attack, he moved out of the way of the weapon’s path, just as the barrier was about to vanish.

The javelin carried on, pushed by its momentum.

It passed Blanc as he threw himself belly-first toward the ground, and Velakia could only watch... almost feeling it pierce her own skin, as the javelin missed Blanc entirely and struck Lendros instead.

The Boyard Killer. The Heir to the Island of Lepnos. The Mighty Lendros. The King’s Steel.

Now stood impaled to the earth.