The back Amelia was looking at was nothing like the one she followed yesterday. Even still, she felt they belonged to the same person. Shame burned on her face for not only following him but also getting captured in the process. She was not only a sneaky rat but a very dumb one that would bring plague with it.
"Ugh," The man groaned and clutched his chest. Amelia looked at him worryingly and saw him wipe the blood off the corner of his mouth. It was then that Amelia realized he was getting slower.
"Are you okay?"
"Shut up." The man snapped back at her, and Amelia flinched slightly. He seemed to realize his mistake as he apologized. "Sorry, just be quiet lest they find us."
As he asked, Amelia said no further words. She could also feel their pursuers getting closer to their position. The scenery around them was one of trees, groves, and more trees. They kept zigzagging through them hoping for their pursuers to lose their tail.
"This way," The man whispered as quietly as the hissing trees around them.
She then saw him run toward the village he's been at earlier today. Without looking behind, the man opened one of the huts and darted inside. Amelia followed after him and the two closed the door.
"They'll find us here." Amelia couldn't help but say. They only needed to look inside the village before they would find the two holed up like cornered rats in this house.
"No, they won't," The man seemed to lose strength as his knees buckled and fell to the ground. It was then that Amelia saw his appearance change from the silver masked bulky stature to a thinner, iron-masked, Arthur. He was breathing heavily as if there was fire eating him inside, and he tried to breathe it out.
"Are you okay?"
"Come here."
Amelia walked up to him as he asked, and the golden-eyes young man looked at her in the eyes before he took off his ring. He then extended his palm face upward in her direction.
"I- I- I- don't think this is the best timing for this." Amelia stuttered with a reddened face unlike her usual face and Arthur felt like slapping this woman right here and then.
"I'm not proposing! Just give me your hand. Use this artifact to hide this house. Only hide this house. Okay?" Arthur pushed the ring into her finger. Amelia nodded her head as she sent her mana into the artifact and the whole house was enveloped by light for a brief moment.
"Why is the royal family here?" Amelia turned to face Arthur afterward and proceeded to ask. However, Arthur started vomiting blood before collapsing.
'Why so mad?'
***
When Arthur opened his eyes again, his body ached so much that he wished he didn't. It was better to sleep through this pain than to endure it, but the enemies wouldn't allow him. That's why as soon as his eyes saw the light, he already sprung up enduring the unbearable pain.
However, his body was more 'regenerative' than most awakeners. His high stamina ensured that he was able to heal faster than normal. There weren't many people with such a well-rounded stat, explaining the reason Arthur was able to come out from battles even if he was weaker.
His eyes showed nothing but a blur as if someone has cast a transparent, yet thick, vile on his view. When his eyes readjusted, he was still in the house that they hid in. Arthur needed a moment to find Amelia sleeping while leaning on the wall.
'Sleeping while enemies are trying to kill us? This girl got guts.' Arthur inwardly grumbled but he was no better. He stood up and walked over toward her. He stood a few steps away from her as he contemplated what an excellent opportunity this was.
His hand reached out to his dagger, that was sheathed in the sheath he bought and hanged in his belt, bespeaking of his intentions of killing her there and then. His thoughts swirled in his mind as logic clashed with morals, but there was no obvious winner.
'She's a threat…' A voice whispered in his mind.
'But does she deserve to die?' Another answered.
'It doesn't matter what she deserves, she needs to die.'
'Is there another way around it?'
As these voices wrestled each other, making entanglements upon entanglements, Arthur stood there torn between the two. It was a few minutes later that Amelia opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her holding his dagger.
Reflexively, she reached out to her sword but it wasn't there. It was then that she remembered it has been taken from her. She started using her mana as she looked at Arthur in the eyes.
"What are you trying to do?"
Her question intensified the dilemma Arthur felt. He sighed and placed away from his dagger as he extended his hand to pick her up.
"Sorry, I'm on the edge too, and didn't mean to scare you." Amelia looked at him with doubt and nodded her head. She took Arthur's hand and stood up.
"I'll take this back." Arthur placed his hand on the ring and injected with his mana and took it out. This way, the illusion around the house would still be there. Amelia's eyes followed the ring wistfully as she has also realized how practical it was.
Before she could say anything, a big hand seized by the throat and pushed her against the wall. She felt the cold edge of the dagger on her neck before she could even let out a whimper. Her eyes shook as she looked at Arthur whose face was cold.
"It was your fault for following me." His eyes radiated dangerous light as he pushed the dagger against her skin. Her skin broke apart as droplets of tears slid on the dagger's surface.
"P…lease…" Her voice was weak as she tried to speak while being chocked. Arthur's perception picked out the slight change of mana as he felt like he was holding an electrizing high-voltage wire. It was then that he remembered her ability forcing him to let go before she used it.
Without another word, Arthur slashed at her. He was stronger than her and he also had many artifacts strengthening him. Even if she had a stronger ability, she would still die.
"Wait!" Amelia shouted urgently while rolling to the side. Arthur continued his slashing but Amelia blocked it with a wrist-protector.
"Just hear me out! You don't need to kill me!"
Arthur paused his attacks at those words as he hesitated. He looked at her in the eyes in a way that told her to continue.
"I have Sealing Runic Card!" She shouted and Arthur looked at her, flummoxed, making Amelia obliged to explain further. "It works to silence anyone from revealing information. If he did, all of the relevant memories would be erased. It's mainly used in the army."
"Why do you have such a thing?"
"Because…" Amelia's face flushed slightly, making Arthur irritated for some reason. "I wanted to ask you how you got stronger with this…"
"Then… how do you specify what information is sealed?"
"You would activate the card and use it on me. The information specified would be according to your will. If I ever try to reveal information about you, all of my memories about you would be lost." Amelia said as she extended the card. Even though the runes were too complex for Arthur's current ability, he could still feel their general function.
He sheathed his dagger and took the card. He looked at it suspiciously and then eyed Amelia.
"You're weirdly cooperative."
"I know that I can't beat you if we fought. Plus… I still wish you'd help me get stronger." Amelia's head lowered when she said this. She fidgeted in her place making Arthur simply sigh.
"Okay," Arthur activated the card. "If you ever manage to betray me," He placed the runic card as he chose the sealed information to be himself. "I'll hunt you down and kill you." Amelia's body trembled as the runes dissolved into her brain.
She screamed in agony, but Arthur knew the illusion was soundproof. After a few moments, Amelia stopped screaming and started taking deep breaths.
"This never gets easy."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, will you help me?"
"Hm, we'll see." Arthur smiled mischievously. He then rampaged through his back and took out his phone. After checking the time, he found out that it has been a day since he collapsed.
"We need to find a way to escape."
"Shouldn't they be gone by now?"
"You think the royal family would be 'oh too bad we couldn't find them, time to go home'?"
"No need for mockery."
"No need for stupidity."
The two glared at each other before turning away from each other angrily. Arthur took out some food that he had saved in his bag and started eating while pondering their issue.
Amelia took out a lunchbox from somewhere and started eating as well. Arthur looked at her with an impressed stare as he realized she had a storage artifact.
"I didn't know you were so rich."
"It's a memento, I'm not rich."
"It's rich to have a memento like that."
Amelia ignored him and started eating. Arthur also went back to eating his food and the two spent an hour trying to find a way out of their situation.