"Hmpf!" With a solid smack, I felt something ram into the side of whatever I was in. From within the darkness, I felt my body rotate to the side with a heavy thud that shook my body. A bright light shone from above my head, a large opening that revealed a rounded lid rolling away. Next was a boot slamming the ground.
A pale hand reached within, grabbing me by the neck and forcefully pulling me out. Korne looked at me with a face of both surprise and annoyance. The tightness of his grip betrayed the welcoming smile that began to form on his lips. He reached down into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial filled with a clear liquid and poured it down my throat.
"Wow, you creatures are quite resilient to the effects of alcohol, ain'tcha? You weren't supposed to be awake yet." He lowered me to the ground. Once my feet touched the ground, my legs gave out. The numbness in my limbs had persisted. I turned to face Krone, who was holding back a giggle, with eyes that saw me as nothing more than an animal. He bent over, reaching out a hand.
I slapped away his outstretched hand with my head. "Just who are you?" I demanded, squirming around, trying to make as much distance as I could with my numb limbs.
With a sadistic glint in his eyes, he spoke, "Relax." He approached me and placed a hand on my head. I tried to yank it out, but his grip was stronger than I had thought. "O spirits that serve the Forgotten One of the trees. Carry my words to his ears and grant me this wish. May those whose bodies betray their will be restored."
Warmth filled my body from the markings on my back like a drug injected into my veins. I could feel the blood rushing within the once numb limbs, an unpleasant yet welcome feeling. The pain that ached on the back of my neck dissipated along with the churning of my stomach.
What did he do? The feeling from my markings was similar to what Velantra had done to me yesterday.
"You look like you have never seen a prayer before in your life, lad." Korne's twisted look vanished, leaving behind the face of the man I had met yesterday. "Judging by that dumbfounded look, I suppose you haven't. Though that would be a lie—I know you have."
Even if that was what Velantra had done yesterday, how would Korne know? Even if he is supposed to be an information broker at a low-end bar, how would he be able to figure that out? Had he been watching me in the forest yesterday, or could there be something more to his trick?
"Honestly," he continued while taking a seat at his bar, keeping his eyes trained on me, "just who are you? What kind of wanted man just waltzes straight into enemy territory like that? You got a death wish?" He motioned for me to sit in the seat next to him.
I eyed him and the door. He was not showing any signs of hostility, yet his gaze threatened to rip me apart had I attempted to move away. Attacking him is not an option. My body was still not at 100% and this Elven man has proven to me that elves are much quicker than humans. His smile was betrayed by his battle-ready posture as he was ready to strike at a moment's notice.
I reluctantly sat down on the edge of the seat away from him. I watched as his long, pointed ears twitched. His expression changed to disappointment as he let a sigh escape his lips. "That fairy of yours has been quiet. Once Poppy had pointed out that she heard something so faint that even her ears had trouble hearing it, I knew I was not going crazy."
I felt a slight chill as his gaze scanned over my body until stopping at the implant embedded in my ear.
"Who is helping you? A fairy? A demon? Or perhaps an angel?" His mouth straightened out, and he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. "Whoever they are, abandon them. They will not aid you in your quest."
"I'm not receiving help from anyone but myself." All I could do was bluff with a confident tone. Lying to him would not be a great move, yet even I do not know if that was truly a lie or not. Velantra said herself that she would only aid me, so I cannot say for certain if she is actually helping me. Korne looked at me unfazed and somewhat disappointed in my choice of words.
"O spirits, guide this prayer to the Forgotten One. Bless us with the wind of the truth. Shall the winds wake, thy shall skin will char." As Korne spoke, I noticed that the black markings around his ears seemed to ripple and twist, like a holographic projection receiving interference.
A hum of air coiled around us as the room felt cooler. Small green specks that flickered in and out danced in the wind like fireflies on a summer night. The sight was mystical, daring to rob me of my breath. But Korne's deadly gaze kept the pressure within the lungs.
His eyes dared me not to look away. He reached out his hand towards a green speck. Like a moth to a flame, it left the wall of wind and landed on his arm. It was small and looked like even a simple whisper would be enough to blow it away with great force.
"My birth name," he spoke in a clear voice towards the speck. "Is Korne."
There was a violent buzzing in the wall of wind as several specks flew out and landed on a small spot on his arm where the original speck had been. A familiar stench filled my nostrils, one that I could never forget. The specks flew off, revealing a small chunk of charred skin on his arm.
I swallowed hard. This has to be a lie detector where, instead of a buzzer, the response would be severe burns. I wish this were some kind of theatrics, like a hidden audience was hidden away somewhere. But the smell was real. Never in a thousand years could I forget the smell of my parents burning, nor the corpses I've torched on the battlefield.
"The smell invokes something in you, doesn't Lucan?" Korne spoke using my real name, a name that should have died within that nuclear blast. He read my expression with ease and said in a mocking tone. "The grim look of death. Burning flesh. That smell has been seared into your mind since before you became a soldier, hasn't it? Perhaps that little incident that wiped the outskirts of your little kingdom drove you to become the monster that you've become."
"That, and the guilt of killing innocent lives, then burning their corpses." There was no reaction from the green specks. Korne's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. The world refers to me as a monster. Velantra is enough proof of that to me, but even I, a monster, can feel remorse for the lives unjustly snuffed out.
"Fine, I will not beat around the bush. Are the angels helping you? Or are you working for them as their apostle of the end?" Korne said in a low tone.
"No, I don't even know who the angels are," I said calmly after watching his ears flick. "What is this 'apostle of the end'?" He demonstrated he is not immune to the effects of this prayer, so there should be no reason why I should not be able to ask him questions, either.
His immediate response was a click of the tongue, yet his face seemed as if he were amused by my action. "The forgotten deities of each race foretold a prophecy: a creature of unknown origin will become an apostle of the end." He tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically, as if sending a message. I looked at him with a slightly alert look, but he brushed it off and continued. "We, the happy few who remain, are searching for the one who bears this title. Truthfully, I had not made much progress as the war efforts seemed to have stalemated, but your stunt the other day changed my mind. Our time is running out faster than we could have imagined. Now, lad, why are you running from your kind?"
The event was still fresh in everyone's minds, but the decimation of the noble beastmen was not my fault. I was against that heartless plan to plant the device in the heart of their kingdom, yet I paid the price. "I learned something our command kept under lock and key. A small fragment that I believe could lead to the war's end."
Korne looked at me with great interest, with his ear bouncing up and down. Despite his intimidating position, his ears lighten the mood by revealing his thoughts.
"Humans were the ones who started this war in their search for a place to call their own."
I felt my heart drop the moment those words left my lips. A chill ran down my spine as Korne's gaze turned hostile. "Tell me something that no one on this planet knows." He demanded, his tone sharp, cutting deep into my mind.
"There…there isn't." It was obvious. I had just told a victim of our unjust two-century assault that we were to blame for everything. It was foolish of me to think that would have been a suitable answer to his question, but I knew nothing more. Was there something more obvious that I missed before I defected? Maybe that's why the others readily attacked me that day. My evidence was too half-assed.
"You are wanted by all the world and your own people. Once a faceless ghost, respected by noble warriors of the world, yet feared by the weak. Every well-off being that walks this world knows your face now. Yet you still have the balls to walk around, posing as a noble demon of significant heritage. Why? If you 'humans' are the aggressors, who are they working for and how did they gain access to our technology?"
Technology? What was he talking about? "How should I know?" I spoke with an accidental grin. I was playing with fire, but it was necessary. He was revealing more information than I had dug up during my time as the squad captain. "Maybe they sold my information after I was killed by them, rather, nearly killed. Talking to me will not help you solve that mystery."
A vicious grin lined Korne's lips as the wall of wind buzzed. The green specks flew out and landed on my hand. A severe burning sensation took over my mind. Korne showed no reaction to being burned, so why? Why does it hurt so much?
"Lies are unbecoming of a member that worships Dazkareth. Even their softhearted method of deception carries more depth than that shallow lie you just spoke." Korne points to my throat. "Those words that dared to leave that retched tube of yours—that is my proof. The proof of your lie, and your engagement with a third party."
"W—"
I choked on my words. If I said anything careless, I would be burned again by those green specks. What was the lie? What was he implying by saying that the very words that left my throat were proof of my lie?
That's when I was reminded. A grim reminder that my fate had been set since yesterday. Once I had reached the gate of the slum town, the guards spoke in an unfamiliar tongue. But as I ran for my life, Velantra spoke a prayer—one that allowed me to communicate with the people of this world.
Before I was knocked out, Korne had said, before the war started, that we humans sent messages to this world. The nobles of the world who could speak all languages but were unable to understand our language. But here I am, having a whole conversation with Korne.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face. I took the bait and backed myself into a corner. This was no normal interrogation; his aim was to crush me with pressure. Everything I said only solidified my guilt, with nothing but small straws to grasp at. Yet no matter how small those straws were, as long as they existed—
"Oh, by the way," reading me like an open book, Korne spoke, destroying all hope I had left to cling to, "earlier today, I mentioned that all the nobles of the world were unable to understand your language. That part was true; no noble of the 'world' could. But I said nothing about the races that do not live in the world, such as angels or demons. They have existed since the dawn of creation, so they have knowledge of many lost tongues that existed throughout time. Seeing as prayers can affect you, it is safe to assume someone blessed you with the common tongue. So. Who. Do. You. Work. For?"
"I have already answered that question. I work for myself and myself alone."
Korne smiled, and with a snap of his fingers, the wind disappeared, and the green specks vanished into the air. His abrupt end to the integration left me confused. The air felt lighter, allowing me to breathe more easily. Looking down, I noticed my clothes were moist with sweat.
"From what I gathered," he stood up and pointed at me with a wide grin, "you have no association with the angels. You also seem oblivious to the true motive of your race. Lastly, you refuse to sell out your demon buddy. But even with your strong sense of loyalty, there is only one demon that exists that can be your partner in crime. But I knew all of that already."
Korne gave me a wink as his ears bounced happily. A wink. After all the stress he subjected me to, he winked at me. I hastily stood up and grabbed him by the collar.
"What in the F—"
He stopped me mid-sentence with a hand. He pushed me off and continued talking. "You do not know who is orchestrating behind the scenes and most certainly don't possess the mind of a person who would bear the title of 'apostle of the end'. However, even if I know the truth of your innocence, the world doesn't. Your blood cannot be easily washed away just like that."
"What are you saying…?" The words I spoke were meaningless as he continued rambling like a madman.
"That's it! If you could get through to Adrian, you might be able to prove to the world that you are on our side. If that idiot of a prince could open his eyes and trust you, then maybe we could force the humans to play their hand."
As he spoke, my head throbbed. His rapid-fire of ideas overloaded my stressed mind, forcing me to rest my head at the bar. The only thing I could gather from his strange one-sided speech was that I was about to be used as a tool once again.
Korne danced around the bar to the beat of his tune and snapped his fingers with swift, deliberate repetition. After a short wait, the door to the bar opened and a young woman in a maid's dress walked in.
"Yes, Mast…er?" Even Poppy was thrown off by Korne's actions. "Sir, are you ill or drunk?"
"Neither, lass. Take Judas back to his room, give him a warm meal, and attend to him as he is feeling rather ill.
"Ill?" That was when I felt a vicious wave of nausea overcome me. Everything that was once inside my stomach was now on the floor, and I fell out of the seat I was sitting in. "Wh…what?" I weakly turned to Korne, who looked at me with a sinister grin behind Poppy's back as she rushed towards me. He held up a small, empty vial.
"Young Master!" Poppy lifted me up and placed me on her back. She hurriedly carried me back to the motel, where she took care of me until the next morning.