"What happened!?". Aki shouted as he awoke.
"Thank the LIGHT!". Awia exclaimed as she ran towards the struggling Aki.
Aki staggered as he got up, he raised his head and realised he was in a wooden shed.
He rubbed his eyes.
"Argh!". Aki screamed as he blocked his left eye with his right palm.
A streak of blood began to flow from it.
"Let me see it." Awia said to him.
Aki removed his hand, revealing his left eye.
"What the…". Awia snapped as she took off the bandage covering his eye.
"Is it bad?". Aki asked.
Lee got up from a chair and offered Aki a mirror.
His sclera was completely black. A sharp red X had replaced his pupil, it's ends were extended to Aki's now golden iris.
"What is this?". Aki muttered.
"WHAT IS THIS!!!". He shouted as he threw the mirror into a wall.
"Argh!!!".
He fell to the floor screaming in pain as the eye continued to bleed.
"Where is it?". Aki yelled out.
"Where is what?". A frightened Awia asked.
Aki tore open the gown he wore across his chest revealing the last of the burns. The wounds and the heat moved under his skin like a worm under the soil as it found it's way into his left eye. The eye shimmered with a crimson glow and dimmed immediately.
"Those bastards, they did something to me."
"To my eye". Aki exclaimed in frustration as he sat atop the bed in which he woke from.
"How are you feeling?". Awia asked.
"I tried to heal you but nothing was working. You just started healing on your own or rather the eye absorbed the wounds." Awia explained to Aki.
"I'm oka.. I'm fine". A frustrated Aki replied her as he got up and walked to a sink.
"I really need to brush". Aki said to himself.
"Wait. Where's Merlin?". Aki exclaimed as he looked at his two guild members.
A door to another room was opened revealing Merlin.
He layed on a bed, covered in some of light.
"I placed a blessing on him. I healed him earlier but he hasn't woken up since so i decided to increase his chances". Awia said as her legs gave up on her.
"Hey.. are you okay?". Aki asked with concern.
"I'm alright". Awia said as he touched the side of her head and slowly breathed out.
"How long have you been doing this?".
Aki asked.
"You were asleep for two weeks". Lee told him.
"She's been doing everything she can". He added.
"I'm sorry i did this to you, to all of you."
"If we didn't go after Faust, none of this would've happened." a guilt ridden Aki says as walks out the door making his way out of the shed.
Aki found his way to a large rock and sat upon it as he watched the waves of the sea.
"Beautiful isn't it?". A voice said out loud as Aki looked to his left.
Sophia and Byomkesh approached him.
"My mother used to bring me here, mostly to buy from the fish market but i really loved the water you know". Sophia added as she tapped Aki on the shoulder.
"What do you want?". Aki asked the two.
"One, i have to apologise for arriving late to the fight and two i am sorry for what your guild went through." Sophia continued as she pulled out several bottles of portion from her bag.
"Got them from a good source, the wizard knows his stuff." Byomkesh chimed in.
"Healing potions, your healer really needs them she has done a lot. It's taking a toll on her body." he carried on.
Aki starred at them and quickly swiped the potions and walked into the shed.
He made his way into Awia's room.
She was nearly asleep.
He knelt down to her as she sat on a wooden chair.
"Take this. It'll help your body recover since you haven't had time to rest." Aki muttered in her ear.
She rubbed her eyes and looked at, a smile shinned on her face.
"Thanks". She said as she took a potion and began drinking.
Aki kept the remaining on the table and walked out of the room.
Sophia and Byomkesh walked into the shed.
"Here take this?". Byomkesh said as he threw something in Aki's direction.
Aki caught it with his left hand and proceeded to open his fist.
A black eye patch was visible.
"You can't be moving around with an eye like that, it will attract attention." He added as he leaned on the wall.
"Thanks." Aki grumpily said as he wore it over his left eye.
"One of you have a manaphone?".
"Yeah." Aki said as he threw the small flat sphere at Byomkesh.
"I'll connect this to mine, so if you guys encounter those cloaked guys again you can contact us". Byomkesh elaborated as he returned the manaphone.
"Till we meet again then." Sophia said as she and Byomkesh walked out of shed and went down the hill.
Noon had come.
Lee approached his leader as he stood outside the shed.
"What if Merlin doesn't.." he muttered.
"We're not even going there." Aki cut him off.
"I'm just considering every viable opt…". Aki cut him off again.
"NO!!!". Aki yelled out as he walked away from the shed and down the hill.
He walked by the fist market looking at the sellers still going at it and the people buying what they needed.
He wondered how different his life would have been if his father wasn't an adventurer or his mother a councilwoman.
He wondered how different his life would have been if he didn't start a guild and take other humans with him on deadly missions.
He wondered for a while and finally returned to the shed.
Aki opened the door and walked into the shed.
"He's up". Lee screamed out.
Aki ran into the room and there say Merlin as he struggled to sit upright.
The scar on his abdomen was visible.
"How are you feeling". Aki said as he gave him a glass of water.
Merlin drank and dropped the glass.
"Well, I'm alive for a start." He shared a laugh a laugh with his team.
"Argh". He expressed as he tried to get up from the bed.
"Woah, calm down." Lee said as he helped him back on the bed.
"It's just that i ain't used to being on the bed for long, thing is that i don't think i have such a worse state in my life". Merlin said as he lowered his head in shame.
"I have disappointed you and i noticed your efforts to fight off the attackers and what are we if not your sword and shield". Merlin added as he bit his lip, a streak of blood began to flow.
He quickly wiped it off and struggled to get off his bed again, the others attempted to help him but he shrugged them off.
Merlin grabbed his sword, stabbing into the floor. He bent his knee.
"It has been a great time since i have been devoted to something greater than myself, a great reason for that is the hauntings from my failure but i vow that here and now i swear my loyalty to you Aki Alvaro and your guild El Diablo to give my strength in service to you and your mission." Merlin proclaimed.
"This.. this is too much, you're not even healed yet." Aki blurted.
"You're not going to change his mind." Lee said to Aki with a grin on his face.
"Okay Merlin. I accept your oath but please get back to bed." Aki told the kneeling knight.
Merlin nodded and sat upon his bed.
Aki rubbed his hair and walked out of the room.
"That was good."
"That was better than good". Aki said to himself.
His manaphone began to ping.
Aki flipped it and the words displayed above the sphere.
"A family of barons haven't been heard from or seen attending meetings in months, i suspect nefarious acts have taken place."
"What?". Aki said out loud as he looked for the name of the sender.
Councilwoman Akili Alvaro appeared below the message.
"Mother?". Aki whispered to himself.