One Year later, Year X779
The train ride to Dresco Town so far has been uneventful for Kagura, if she were to excuse Rades's strange request of knocking him out with a solid punch to the torso strong enough to leave him gasping for air. He did train her beforehand on how to throw a quick and powerful punch to throw your enemies off guard and knock them out effortlessly.
Seated next to a window, the eleven-year old stared at her co-passenger and travelling companion, the latter comfortably knocked out. He looked so peaceful that, if she hadn't been the one to knock him out, she would have assumed he was simply taking a nap . She was still going to ask him why he wanted to be out cold before the train left the station.
As she rested her chin on her arm, looking out of the window at the scenery that passed by, her mind reeled back to when she met Rades for the first time and they started travelling together. They weren't exactly friends but more like two people who were going after the same objective. At least that's what Kagura believed they were. She did not even bother to care about what Rades thought of their partnership as long as she got what she was looking for.
He came to her village almost a year ago, looking to find out about some woman and being more knowledgeable about one of the villagers, Erza. She did not remember much about Erza except that she was also taken by the cultists alongside her brother Simon.
From Rades's talk with the father, the conversation that she eavesdropped on, she learned, or perhaps simply felt in her gut, that he was going to hunt down these cultists to find more information about a certain woman. That's when she made up her mind to join him, in hopes of finding more about these cultists. She believed this could lead her to finding her brother, wherever he was.
The church priest was not exactly thrilled with the notion of Kagura willingly jumping into danger by going after the cultists to find her brother. By some miracle, and thanks to someone's quick thinking of hiding Kagura inside a trashcan, she had escaped from being taken away by them once before.
And now she wished to undo all of it by walking straight into the lion's den.
It took a bit of persuasion and assurance from Rades, with him promising to keep her safe and out of harm's way with the best of his abilities, that the priest was able to reluctantly bid her farewell and wished her luck on finding her brother.
Kagura never truly understood why Rades had agreed to let her accompany him. Maybe he might have taken pity on her. Or perhaps it may have been due to the similarity in their situations, in that they were searching for someone. In the end, she hadn't bothered asking him about it.
During the months she travelled alongside him, they went to the villages and towns that were attacked by the cult of Zeref. One important pattern that the two noticed was that all these villages or towns were mostly away from the jurisdiction of the Magic Council and were not part of any of the major kingdoms. In short, the cultists were targeting places where there would be no one capable of interrupting them from carrying out their deeds. Another thing they learned was that the frequency of their raids had reduced over the last five years, but never stopped entirely.
It was from one of their visits that they learned that the small port town of Dresco was actually used as a checkpoint for the cultists to gather after they filled their collection quota, and then they would use ships to transport the captured slaves to the end destination.
Retrieving that piece of crucial information did involve a whole lot of screaming.
Kagura had heard the cries from outside while Rades did the interrogation. He did not let her partake in it despite her insistence and desire to know where her brother was. Rades did not even bother asking about him specifically because he was confident that wherever they were taking the kidnapped children, her brother would also be there.
That was how the two ended up here, boarded on a train to Dresco Town.
When the train approached Dresco station, Kagura got off from her seat and vigorously shook her companion to wake him up. "Hey! Wake up! We have arrived!"
Groaning in annoyance, Rades opened his eyes and immediately his face paled, like he was very close to throwing up. But he somehow managed to suppress the urge with sheer willpower. When the train finally stopped at the station and both of them deboarded it, Rades's expressions returned to normal and he was feeling refreshed.
"What was that about?"
"... I have motion sickness." Rades admitted as the two exited the station and stepped into the quaint-looking town.
The station was located in the heart of the town and the size of it was much smaller than the one they had boarded their train from. It was surrounded by numerous shops and cafes. The buildings in the town were mostly made of stone and brick, giving the town a medieval feel that almost reminded Rades of his home from years ago. The streets were cobbled and the town was lined with trees that were in full bloom.
"Is that why we mostly walked and never took vehicles?" Kagura inquired to which Rades shamelessly nodded.
He had no hesitation in admitting that he made her walk for most parts of their travel just because he has a natural disadvantage against vehicles.
"And because you haven't developed your magic yet, and your reserves are far too low to operate one, taking a magic vehicle was out of the question." Rades further added.
Magic Vehicles were a means of transportation, engineered solely for the mages and helped them in travelling faster than on foot or carriage. The most crucial part of the magic vehicles was that they ran on the magic power of the wizard that drove it. A mechanism wraps itself around the driver's wrist and converts their magic power as a fuel.
"So if we were to take that ship which the cultists use, you are going to be useless there." The purple-haired girl remarked.
"I will be, but that is a problem for the future." Rades admitted without the slightest hint of embarrassment before walking up to an old man who was leaning against the walls of a store, taking note of everyone that passed the streets. "Hey, old man. Do you know of any decent inns in this town?"
The old man looked at the teen in front of him, momentarily distracted from his surveillance. His eyes then drifted past Rades and settled on the girl standing behind him, his gaze lingering on her a bit longer than it should have.
The old man suddenly felt his whole body going rigid, as if invisible hands had clamped around his limbs. A cold, coiling pressure slid up his spine keeping him frozen in place and any words or attempts to scream for help died in his throat. He could not move, could not look away and could barely even breathe.
'The boy is dangerous!' The old man was unable to make eye contact with the brunette standing right in front of him. One careless breath, one wrong movement, and he feared his head would just roll over his shoulders.
"What's the name of the inn?" Suddenly all the pressure he was feeling just disappeared and he could finally breathe again. When he cautiously raised his head, he found the boy staring back at him. A faint, knowing smirk rested on his lips as he waited for the man to give them an answer.
The brat was very well aware of what he just did!
'I need to alert them!' Wiping the sweat off his forehead, the man pointed down the street. "Straight down that road, you will find Rockbell Inn. It has decent rooms and prices."
Giving him a slight nod of thanks, Rades and Kagura resumed their walk down the street. Once they moved a considerable distance and away from the earshot of that man, Kagura's lips curled into a scowl.
"That man was a sick pervert.."
"I won't disagree with you there," Rades replied, keeping a vigilant eye on the street and taking note of every alley that they crossed on the path to their destination. "But he wasn't just a pervert. He was a scout."
"A scout? For the cultists?" Kagura asked, a curious raise of eyebrow replaced her initial scowl. "How can you tell that?"
"Because of where he positioned himself and what he was doing." Rades answered before clearing his throat and elaborated further. "He was stationed along the most obvious route people arriving by train would take. From there, he could watch every newcomer entering town without drawing much attention to himself."
"He picked the least susceptible position to keep an eye out for potential 'slaves'" Rades continued, distaste creeping into his voice at the final word. "Or whatever those bastards like to call them."
"Then why didn't you do anything? And what if this inn is a trap too?" Kagura voiced her concern.
"The inn is not a trap and I plan to do something after dropping you at the inn." The brunette gave a reassuring grin to the girl. Soon enough the inn was in view.
Having intimidated the old man to a considerable degree with his oppressive aura, Rades had made one thing perfectly clear to him: giving him false directions would be a bad idea, if he valued his life at all.
He also had a fairly good guess of what the man would do next.
He knew Rades was dangerous. He also knew, or at the very least suspected, that Rades had seen through him. Which meant there was only one sensible thing for a scout to do - To run back to his allies and alert them.
And that was precisely what Rades was counting on.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Having scurried off to the forested area outside the town, the man pulled out a communication lacrima that was clipped under his shirt, and the crystalline surface glowed to life after he tapped it a few times.
"What is it Mikael?" The silhouette of a man appeared on the crystal.
"A wizard has shown up." Mikael quickly replied, appearing a little out of breath from all the running he did before making this call. "And he's dangerous."
"Wizards are always dangerous. So are we."
"No! No! You don't get it!" Mikael blurted out. "I think he knows what we are doing here!"
The other end went silent, as if they were mulling over what their scout just revealed to them. They had been carrying out this operation for years and there had been no trouble except for the slave rebellion a few years back which resulted in a single slave escaping and many of them perishing. That was why they were in need of more manpower and had resumed their activities in the mainland continent of Ishgar.
This time they were more discreet than before. With a new leader in the chain of command, they were managing things perfectly well. They kept their raids to a minimum, and targeting places that were outside the jurisdiction of the Magic Council and the major guilds. They also grew their manpower steadily, recruiting more and more people to their cause.
Having their operations discovered at this point would put all the work and progress at jeopardy.
"Return to the base right now. I will assign some of our wizards and assassins to you." The man on the other hand commanded. "Take them to this wizard and kill him. We can't let anyone discover what we are doing here."
"Yes, sir." The communication lacrima dimmed, and Mikael breathed in relief. After the short and brief confrontation with Rades, he did not want to be anywhere near him, at least not alone. He was no wizard nor a fighter of any kind.
The last thing he wanted was to die a meaningless death. He would just lead his allies to the brunette, have them deal with him and then take the girl with themselves to send her to the tower. That seemed like the safest bet for him.
He was about to resume walking down the direction of their base when he suddenly felt a cold, pointed object pressed on his back. Mikael did not need to turn around to know that it was a blade.
"I really appreciate it when people live up to my expectations." Rades said in a concerningly cheerful voice that sent a chill running down Mikael's spine.
"H-how did you find me?" He nervously asked.
"I have my ways." Rades replied, pressing the curved blade a little harder on Mikael's back. "Now then how about you help me one more time and take me to your base?"
"You will die." Mikael said with a nervous laugh, not daring to make any movement. He knew he was completely at the wizard's mercy.
"I will take my chances." The brunette replied with a dry chuckle before shoving Mikael ahead. "Now start walking."
Swallowing hard, Mikael obeyed.If he led him to the base, there was still a chance that he'd survive. Maybe his allies could kill the wizard if they attacked him together .It wasn't a good plan, but it was the only one he had.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After an hour or two of walking, the two reached an abandoned mansion. Based on its looks, the structure was old and worn, with moss creeping up its walls from every angle.
"Here we are." Mikael said weakly.
"Good work. Now as common courtesy, I should repay you for your services."
Without a single wasted moment, Rades drove his sword through Mikael's neck from behind, letting the latter's lifeless body fall on the forested floor. He then walked over it and stood right in front of the double doors of the mansion. He pressed his left hand on the door.
[Body Enchant: Triple Accel]
His heartbeat tripled in speed. Blood surged through his veins like a raging river, every muscle in his body pushed beyond its normal limits.
Kicking the doors open, Rades sped inside like a blur.The guards stationed near the entrance barely had time to register the intruder before they were made quick work of, as bodies collapsed one after another. To him, they were just cannon fodder. He figured the leader figures or figureheads of this group would be inside. He had no intention of wasting too much time with the useless ones.
There were a few who managed to sense him and perceive his movements but that was of little use, since they were all stabbed or sliced to death nonetheless. To make sure they met a quick but bloody end, Rades struck their necks, hearts, and sometimes their skulls to make sure they never got up again.
These people dealt in human trafficking, they treated children like slaves, like products. Their actions resulted in many children becoming orphans and many parents losing their young ones. They did not deserve any mercy of any kind.
Having sent all the foot soldiers of this group to the afterlife, Rades dispelled his enchantment, taking a deep breath as his bloodflow and heartbeat returned to normal. Without even sparing a glance at the massacre, he walked into the deeper parts of the mansion. The bloodied blade that he was carrying disappeared into thin air.
He entered the last room that was in the deepest corner of the mansion and was met not only with the two leader figures of this group but also a few more cultists, all dressed for the occasion. He took note of the cultist insignia on their clothes and deduced that compared to the corpses outside, these people were part of the inner circle of the Cult of Zeref.
Behind the cultists, atop a raised platform, stood a bulky man with wavy brown hair and dark ink markings around his eyes, face and arms. He wore ripped rags as if to show off his muscles.
Seated beside him on a makeshift throne was an old man with the most sinister aura in the room. He had a gnarled frame and his skin was the color of an aged parchment. His attire consisted of a dark foreboding robe and his fingers clutched tightly around a twisted staff.
"So, the magic council finally figured out what we were doing and sent just a single wizard to deal with it? That's insulting." The old man snarled. Judging from the blood splatters on Rades's clothes, he knew this brat killed all the cult soldiers he had stationed in the mansion on his way here.
"Actually they still haven't, I figured it out on my own and made a choice to ruin your day." Rades quipped in response.
"So it's revenge then? You have suffered in the name of the Cult of Zeref and wish to enact vengeance upon us." The leader grumbled as his underlings took their fighting stances, with some of them readying their spells.
"No, it is just simple curiosity." The brunette mockingly shrugged.
"Well your curiosity has dug your own grave. Finish him!" The old man hollered and all his underlings, except for the one standing beside him charged at Rades.
[Berserker!]
Those who charged at him suddenly stopped in their tracks, all of them feeling an excruciating pain from their bodies. They all fell on their knees as black flames started to pour forth from atop their heads, their teeth became akin to fangs, and their muscles abnormally started developing. Their faces swallowed out and their eyes glowed. Then, at a snap of Rades's fingers, every one of them turned toward their own leaders.
Before the maddened cultists could reach them, the bulky man let out a howl as dark fur-like hair started appearing on his skin, his teeth developing fangs and his hands morphed into claws. A tail emerged from his lower back as he grew taller and darker. Letting out another howl after his full transformation, he stood right in between their leader and the now-mindless cultists.
'A werewolf. Interesting...' Rades noted as the berserk soldiers still charged forward. The werewolf jumped down and started to strike down the incoming soldiers with his claws and fists.
Unfortunately for him, those under the Berserker spell lose their sentience and their sense of pain. They neither flinched nor hesitated no matter how much they were struck. They would get up no matter how many times they were brought down.
"Keep him alive. I will need him." He instructed before jumping above the mindless soldiers and landing down in front of the old wizard who had finally gotten up from his throne, his expression less than pleased at the turn of events.
Mikael was right about the wizard being dangerous. He needed to be taken down for good no matter what.
The man raised his staff to shoot multiple magic bullets at Rades, who effortlessly dodged them, ducking beneath one volley and leaping over another. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and landed a fist on the man's abdomen, sending him crashing on his makeshift throne, destroying it.
Grunting in annoyance, the man tapped his staff on the floor, as Jagged stone spikes erupted from the ground around him before launching toward Rades. The latter snapped his fingers and some of the berserk soldiers just jumped in between and were impaled by the spikes.
"How about we make things simple with you answering some of my questions?" Rades spoke, taking a step towards the man, while the latter backed off a little. "Like where the children you kidnap are taken to?"
"No way in hell am I telling you that!" The leader hollered back.
"Does the mutt know where you take them to?" Rades inquired, pointing behind him where the werewolf was getting overwhelmed by the berserk cultists.
"He knows but he won't tell you either. Not that you will be alive to ask him." The leader declared as a complex, purple sequence of lines began forming on his chest. "I am going to take you down with me!"
"Square of Self-Destruction, not bad." Rades whistled at the sight of the purple magic lines forming a complex magic circuit on the leader's torso. In order to protect their operations, he was ready to give up his own life. That level of fanaticism was almost admirable.
Almost.
"Too bad, you are going to die alone." He said nonchalantly as a crimson aura started gathering in his right arm.
[Meteor Franma]
He threw his right fist forward.
The charged magic power from his arm erupted and struck the old man like a meteor, sending him blasting through the walls of the mansions. The old man was still hurtling through the air when his self-destruction spell completed. The combined power of Rades's Meteor Franma and the Square of Self-Destruction blasted him to nothingness, leaving not even ashes behind.
"That's one thing taken care of." Rades mumbled before turning around and deactivated the Berserker spell. The surviving cultists immediately collapsed, their bodies finally registering every injury they'd sustained while under the spell's influence. Those impaled by the earth spikes died almost instantly, while the rest writhed on the floor in agony before slipping into unconsciousness.
Leaving them as it is, Rades walked and crouched in front of the werewolf who had turned back into human, after having taken quite the one-sided beating. Still he was alive and breathing and that was all Rades needed.
"What's your name?" The brunette demanded, grabbing him by his hair.
"Ja–Jafka.."
"You see Jafka. Now that the old man is dead, you are the leader of whatever and whoever remains here." Rades said, taking a look around. "And you will be following my orders."
"Screw you.." Jafka managed to mutter out, despite his injuries.
Without warning, Rades slammed his head on the floor. The impact was more than enough to make a small crater on the floor, shaped almost like the werewolf's head. Rades casually shook his hand afterward as though dusting off dirt.
"Why do you people always insist on making this harder than it needs to be? " Rolling his eyes, he pressed a finger on Jafka's head as if keeping him pinned on the floor. "Now then where was I?"
"Oh, right. You will be following my orders and my order is simple. You will lead this group for now and when the next shipment of slaves arrive, and I am certain one will, you will contact me." Rades said, before fishing out a communication lacrima from his pockets and placing it beside the werewolf-human. "And then, you will personally take me to wherever the kids are being dropped off to. Are we clear on that?"
After an excruciating silence between the two of them, a low whisper escaped Jafka's lips.
"...Yes …sir"
The answer was quiet. But it was more than satisfactory for Rades.