Some time later…
Tae, Zetto, and Alice decided to stay in the grove to avoid other people and, if needed, have a natural hiding spot among the trees in addition to the magical spell.
Tae climbed one of the nearby trees to watch from a distance. Alice stood close by, looking up at her.
The tiger girl gave a signal. The zombie maid repeated it for Zetto.
The Messenger stepped forward just enough to see what was happening, but still stayed hidden.
Looks like these will be the first victims of my revenge, he thought, then let out a deep sigh. He stretched his hands forward, ready to cast a spell that would quickly and painlessly wipe out the nobles and all the guards. But just before he did, he stopped and lowered his arms. His face froze in shock as something hit him like lightning, something he hadn't realized until now.
I can't kill innocent people for no reason. Those knights and mages did nothing wrong. This is just another day at work for them. It's different with that group in the carriage, the ones who led Tiriga's purges. And those five heroes in front, teaming up with that high-level rogue… I don't even remember their names. Compared to Hiro or Makoto, their guilt is small. They laughed along when Hiro mocked me in class, but they didn't really make my life hell. For now… I'll let them live. I need to stay focused on my real goal.
I don't want to bring more suffering into this world. Even if revenge is my priority, the path to it can't be paved with the bodies of people who never hurt me.
I need to think of the best solution.
At the same time Tae climb down from the tree.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked the maid.
"I don't know," Alice admitted, clearly puzzled. "I think… he's looking for another way."
"Another way? So he's switching to plan B just like that?! He should just take them all out. There's no time to waste. If he doesn't move, all our preparations will be ruined, even for the second option! Zetto, psst! Zetto!"
But the Messenger didn't hear her, lost in thought.
Got it.
He stretched his hands forward again. From his right hand shot a beam of purple energy that paralyzed the soldiers, the mages, the heroes, and even the horses pulling the carriage. The animals neighed in panic, looking like they wanted to kick, but they couldn't.
"What the hell is going on?!" shouted one of the knights.
"One of the mages, do something!" added one of the five heroes.
"They can't, they're paralyzed too!"
At the same time, a gray beam of energy shot from Zetto's left hand straight at the carriage. The blast was so strong it snapped the reins. Before the nobles inside even realized why they had stopped, the ground beneath them gave way. One of them tried to climb out, but it was too late. The carriage disappeared under a pile of rubble, burying all five alive.
Zetto stepped deeper into the forest, and moments later the paralysis wore off. A few knights immediately rushed to calm the panicked horses before they could trample anyone.
"Quick, dig out the dirt! Maybe they're still alive!"
The mages, one after another, began channeling their magic to hollow out the ground where the carriage had been buried.
"And now," said Zetto, "it's our turn. Alice, how are our props holding up?"
"In perfect condition," she answered proudly. "Here." She handed him something that looked like a torn piece of clothing with an occult, demonic symbol stitched into it, along with a very thin yellow strand that looked like a hair.
"Your move, Tae," said Zetto
"Are you sure you want this?" the tigress asked suspiciously. "You know wounds from tiger claws take much longer to heal, and the scars will stay with you. And if I make it look like it wasn't a tiger, it might turn out even worse."
"Do whatever you want to me," he replied with a smile. Tae's face flushed bright red.
"Don't say it like that!" she protested indignantly. "Alright, get ready for some pain."
"No worries, I'll handle it."
While Zetto's team talked, the soldiers assigned to guard the transport finally dug out the nobles - crushed into a bloody pulp. There was nothing left to save.
"Gather whatever's left of the bodies," ordered one of the soldiers. "We'll give them a symbolic burial."
"Even if we scrape together what's left of this mess," one of the mages said, "there's no point staying here. We need to return to the palace."
"Look, someone's coming from the other side!"
"It's the Messenger and Alice!"
The five classmates, whose names Zetto could barely remember, stared at him in disbelief.
"What are you doing here, Zetto?" asked the group's leader, an average-looking guy with medium-length black hair.
"Can't you see?! He's hurt!" Alice snapped. "He fought a demon that killed the nobles under your protection."
"Forgive me for not taking him down sooner," Zetto replied, "but I barely managed. As you can see, my right arm is badly damaged. These wounds… I don't know if they can even be healed."
"How do we know you're not lying?" asked the same average-looking classmate.
Pretending to be gravely injured, Zetto shakily pulled the symbol and the fake hair Alice had made from behind his belt.
"The demon I fought had hair brighter than the sun. Its power… I don't know what it even was, but my healing magic became useless. If not for the Transgression Suit I'm wearing, I wouldn't have beaten it."
"Impossible! Such a powerful demon can't exist!" some of the knights said in disbelief, filled with awe and respect.
"Let one of the mages come here," called the black-haired leader. From the back of the crowd, a thin, stick-like man in his middle years approached.
"I'm Lenroy. At your service, hero. I'm level 75."
"You know what to do."
"Yes." Lenroy stepped up to Zetto and examined the piece of fabric. "This symbol…" he started, horrified, "is a banner I don't recognize. It may belong to ancient demons said to sleep near the northern volcanoes. If they awaken… even the Messenger won't save us."
"That sounds like nonsense! Check his wounds!" the leader of the five heroes insisted.
"How can you accuse me of something like that?" Zetto said, pretending to upset. His acting was surprisingly convincing. The Messenger cast a cold, hate-filled glance at his classmate. This shitshow is partly to test you, insignificant mediocrities. Next time, I'll seriously consider whether to let you live. I thought you were slightly better than that bunch of inhuman beasts.
At the same time, Lenroy stretched both hands forward.
"Eyes of Truth," he intoned. From his hands, purple glows shot out for a moment, revealing the seals above Zetto's wounds to everyone. Both the badly injured arm and the slightly scratched right cheek had purple diamonds above them, each side inscribed with magical runes. "These healing-blocking seals are very advanced, ancient runes."
"I knew it! Honorable Zetto wasn't lying! If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead!" shouted one of the knights, raising a cheer for the messenger. A few of the more suspicious onlookers didn't join in.
Good thing I figured this out in time, Zetto thought with satisfaction. I reversed a high-level healer spell that blocks physical damage. The Transgression Suit followed my suggestion, and that gave me the effect I wanted. Heh, this little act we're putting on isn't bad either. Maybe I should have joined a drama club earlier.
"Can you decipher these runes? My master has lost a lot of blood," said a worried Alice.
"Unfortunately… that's the work of royal mages who've reached level 100 and above. We need to get the Messenger to the royal palace as fast as possible," he shouted, turning around.
Some of the more devoted soldiers helped Alice and Zetto onto one of the carriage horses.
"Don't worry," Alice winked at Zetto, "I'm quite good at riding. Even if I hated it, I'd eventually have to learn. The princess had always loved horses, hehe".
"Thanks," Zetto replied, sharing a smile with her. "I couldn't have done it without you," he said, lowering his voice.
Flattered by the compliment, Alice glowed with pride and joy.
The knight who had raised a cheer for Zetto mounted another horse.
"I'll ride with Sir Zetto to the palace as a witness. Foot soldiers would only slow us down. Stay here a bit longer, you might find a clue about where that mysterious demon came from."
"Go ahead," Lenroy said. "May the gods watch over you."
"Follow me, Sir Zetto. I know a shortcut," he said, flicking the reins. Alice followed his lead, keeping pace with the skilled ride.
Tae watched the whole scene from a distance, hidden in the bushes.
Looks like our little show worked. Well, I'll go to dad and tell him everything, she tought, putting her hood back on. Tomorrow we meet at the exact same place and time as a few days ago.
The tiger woman walked off in her direction.
*
After one of the royal mages struggled but eventually deciphered the runes, and Zetto got a few hours to rest after healing his own wounds, the young hero received an invitation to an audience with the king.
Zetto arrived without delay. The throne room was almost empty. Besides him and the king's royal guards in golden armor and the king himself, there was no one else present.
"Zetto, I've heard you faced a truly terrifying monster," said the elderly king, genuinely concerned. "The evidence we've gathered from you is quite intriguing."
Apparently, the trick worked well enough. The only question is how long it will be before they realize it's fake. For now, the most important thing is that my good reputation has reached the people. I'll have to make use of it, thought Zetto.
"Yes. As one of your mages probably already informed you, he placed complex seals on me that blocked my healing magic. As described earlier by the knight who escorted me, my opponent had hair brighter than the sun…"
"Light Demon?" asked one of the attendants in disbelief. "But they've long been extinct. If our enemies are trying to play god and resurrect long-dead, ancient races, it means they are either desperate or planning something bigger. My lord, I would advise caution in any actions you take."
"I'll relay this to my advisors. Zetto, do you remember any other details?"
Zetto's thoughts returned to Tae, who a few hours before the attack had lectured him on types of demons and instructed him on what to say if asked for details.
"The enemy wore silver armor, though it wasn't pure silver. The metal was streaked with snow that refused to melt".
"What an unpleasant hybrid," one of the attendants commented. "Thank you for this information, messenger."
"Before I go," Zetto continued, "at my request, Your Majesty, please honor the man who escorted me. He volunteered first, and his sense of duty and willingness to act are commendable. On the way back, I learned his name: Rai Etten, a level forty knight."
"I will remember the name and grant him an appropriate reward," the king replied solemnly. "One last question: what were you doing in the area when the attack occurred?"
"Oh, almost forgot. A trivial matter. You see, Your Majesty, sooner or later, I plan to build a house in a quiet, peaceful village. Alice told me she knows a very skilled carpenter nearby. We were visiting him. It was supposed to be a short trip, after which we would quickly return near the capital, as per your instructions."
The king laughed heartily:
"Such down-to-earth dreams for someone of your nature, Zetto. You seem like someone who aspires to higher, more elusive goals."
"Thank you for the kind words," Zetto said, bowing to the monarch.
They exchanged formal farewells, and Zetto was finally free to continue on his journey.
*
Alice and Rai waited in the corridor outside the throne room. The knight who had escorted him removed his helmet inside the room. The man had long, brown, wavy hair. The first, delicate wrinkles on his face suggested he was in his mid-thirties.
When the huge doors decorated with floral ornaments opened, both of them looked at Zetto with excitement.
"So, how was it?" asked Alice, full of hope.
"Relatively well" he said, smiling. Zombie nodded in understanding.
"I hope you are feeling better now" Rai said with genuine concern in his voice.
"Thank you for taking the time to make sure I got here safely" Zetto said sincerely.
"It's really nothing, after all, it's my duty as a knight."
"Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"No, it's not necessary…" he said, fixing a sad look on the ground. After a moment of thought, he changed his mind. "Actually, there is one thing I wouldn't dare ask of you under other circumstances. My seven-year-old daughter suffers from an unknown illness. We spent a fortune on doctors, healers, and mages, but none of them could handle her condition. I had a quiet hope that maybe someone like you could be our last resort."
"Lead the way. I have a moment before the planned meeting, and besides, for such a serious matter, I would make an exception."
"Thank you so much, sir! Truly, from the bottom of my heart!" Rai bowed deeply to Zetto. Tears of hope and emotion filled his eyes, some falling to the floor.
*
When Zetto and Alice crossed into Rai's house, his wife immediately ran to him, throwing herself into the knight's arms and dabbing her tears with a tissue.
"Darling, you're back! Her condition is getting worse and worse!" she said between sobs. "I tried giving her herbal decoctions, but she refuses to eat or drink. I fear the worst. Sorry I didn't greet our guests, it's just… emotions."
"There's still hope, sweetheart," Rai said, hugging his wife tightly. "During the last mission, I helped Sir Zetto get to the palace. Sir Zetto wants to repay me, so I asked if he could take a look at our daughter. After all, he's a messenger-class healer."
"Where is your child?" the young hero asked, keeping his composure.
"Upstairs, the second door on the right."
Zetto nodded and headed in the indicated direction. Alice stayed behind.
"Sorry to intrude," she said in a quiet, calm voice, slightly bowing to the hosts. Then she quickly padded after Zetto. The maid looked around for the correct room; the door remained slightly open. Alice stepped inside on tiptoe, afraid of interrupting the girl's treatment.
The Messenger stood over the child's bed. His eyes lost their shine, while he was sinking deeper into the abyss of dark thoughts. Zetto's face showed deep sorrow, horrified at the sight before his very eyes as he looked at the body of the seven-year-old girl, wracked by a horde of black, pus- and blood-filled growths, and listened to her weakening, trembling breaths in the air.
If I had acted on impulse then, without thinking, following the original plan, and cast a spell that would immediately kill everyone there, that poor girl would have died in agony, as a half-orphan, and her mother would have lost both her child and her husband on the same day. Because I restrained myself, I have a chance to save her.
I made the right decision. It seems that only one wrong step keeps me from being worse than the people I hate.
I hope my magic will be useful. I'm not even sure I can heal diseases at all.
Only now did Alice approach the bed, previously unsure of what to do.
"My God, what a poor girl! How much must she be suffering!" she said, deeply moved, covering her mouth with her hands.
I need to think; I don't have much time.
A healer's spell, surpassed only by the gods themselves. Even the king said that's what marks The Messenger class. Time to put it to proper use.
Zetto took a deep, long breath to calm himself. He closed his eyes to focus more easily, then stretched his right hand forward.
A golden-green aura surrounded the girl's bed. Under the bed appeared a very intricate, magical, two-colored circle. Several golden healing sparks danced above the child. Alice watched the spell with fascination.
"Wow. I've never seen anything like this," said the amazed zombie, just moments before the display of magical power ended in a single burst of energy. The magic was strong enough to make all the furniture in the house shake. The spell worked better than Zetto had expected. It not only healed the girl but also cleansed her bed of dirty secretions and eliminated the chance of reinfection.
Rai and his wife entered the room.
"Sir Zetto, is she…" the knight said, deeply moved.
"…doing as well as possible," Zetto finished for him.
Joy mixed with disbelief appeared on the faces of the sick child's parents. In an instant, both were at her bedside.
"Ellie! Can you hear us, Ellie?" they called to her one after the other.
The girl slowly opened her big blue eyes.
"Mom… Dad… did I sleep that long? I'm so thirsty and hungry," she said, sitting up. The parents began kissing and hugging her, breaking into tears of happiness. The confused child didn't quite understand what was happening, as if she had completely forgotten about her illness.
A moment after this sudden outburst of joy, Rai, still wiping his tears of happiness, approached Zetto. He bowed as low as he could.
"Thank you so much, Sir Zetto! I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life! I really don't know if my humble escort was enough for such a noble deed! I should repay you a hundredfold! If there's anything I can do, I-"
"Just don't think too highly of me," replied Zetto, absent, lost in his own thoughts. "One day it might turn out that I am not the man you met today," he added in a somewhat somber, yet still calm tone. Alice cast him a look full of thought and sympathy.
Surprised by this mysterious remark, the knight didn't really know what to say. He simply began to thank him once again
"Really, there's no need to thank me. I hope she grows up to be as talented a knight as her father," Zetto added, then said goodbye to Rai and his family. He and Alice left their house amidst heartfelt farewells, heading straight to the planned meeting with Tae.