The carriage came to a stop as they approached the ledge of the cliff. Their pursuers had long been lost through the winding roads leading back to the safe house, and if it wasn’t for Blaire sniping their horses in the split second they were distracted, then the mages would still be hot on their tail. But for now, it was enough to buy time and create distance between the two groups.

  Tucker pulled out his dagger and wedged it between the bolt and the carriage. Prying the bolt out of the floor and setting the chest free. They were short on time and needed to get off the ride before heading into the dense forest. With the thick foliage obstructing their path, it was impossible to bring it with them, but it could still serve its purpose as a distraction.

  But before they abandoned their stolen ride, there was one thing Tucker needed to check. He kicked the wooden door open with a loud bang as it slammed against the body of the carriage before hopping off. The mages would soon catch on to his little trick and continued after them. His hand reached for the sealed chest and pulled it out. Scraping the bottom of the container against the hardwood floor. The deep creaking noise followed by a groaning drag brought Alex and Blaire’s attention to Tucker’s action and soon, the two were beside him.

  “Is that what they were after?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, they took the diversion I made pretty well, so whatever is in this chest has to be worth all that hassle,” Tucker replied.

  “Hm, I’m doubtful, but we’ll have to see what’s inside,” said Blaire.

  Alex grabbed onto the other side of the chest and slowly lowered it onto the ground with Tucker. The chest itself weighed around seventy kilograms and the contents another sixty, give or take. The old veteran scanned the crate and signaled for Blaire to take over. Whatever magic seal was locking this crate would be left to Owl and his devices.

  While Blaire worked on undoing the lock restraining the chest, Tucker stood aside and watched. In their hands were several threads of spirit essence that were connected, forming a hexagonal shape, slowly spinning in the air. Soon, a series of similar shapes formed toward the chest, interacting with the flow of mana with a series of clicks that continuously undid the bindings on the container.

  The spell was slowly being unraveled, with the circles of mana crumbling one after another, and as the last azure light faded into the night, the lock sealing the chest gave way. Its hook slid open as the brass trinket fell to the ground, hitting the cold dirt. Their eyes fell upon the container. Each one of them moved up as the lid gradually flung back.

  The first thing they saw was the hardened interior. Unlike the wooden planks on the outside, the container instead had numerous metal sheets welded to the inside with engravings of scriptures and words that they had never seen before. Words that didn’t belong to this continent and were incomprehensible to their feeble minds. Then, the next thing that came into sight was something none of them had expected.

  Not a barrier artifact with a glowing translucent purple stone, secured with golden rings that suspended it in place once activated, but instead a delicate figure of a young girl with light skin and curly amber hair. Her white dress was simple in design, with red marks that seemed to look like flowers along the end of the seams. From a glance, she didn’t seem to be more than fifteen years old. Alex and Blaire both stared at each other with bitter expressions. Unsure what to make of the situation.

  “This isn’t what we came for.” Blaire angrily grabbed the lid, but before he could shut it. Alex pulled him aside.

  “It isn’t, but the problem right now is what are we going to do with her?” Alex asked.

  “What else? We fucking leave her here and return. We’re not a daycare for crying out loud.” Blaire pushed Alex’s hand off his shoulder and walked back towards Tucker. “Let’s go. We failed our mission. There’s no point in wasting anymore time here.”

  “No.” Tucker ignored Blaire and focused on the engravings. “These aren’t runes made by those from the Earthen race. If the mages went through all the hassle to try to reclaim this chest, there must be a reason. A pretty damn good one too.”

  “The rookie’s right, you know,” Alex added his two cents and said, “those mages… they’ve always been a dastardly bunch, especially those from the Emerald tower.”

  Blaire glared at Tucker and sighed. “Fine, but don’t expect me to deal with the aftermath.”

  The rookie nodded and gently held onto the girl’s wrist. Looking at the bloodied nails on his fingers and torn skin on her hands. He felt a sense of pity for the child, who desperately fought to escape from the mages. Her spirit was commendable, and she was safe. At least for now, until they figured out what orphanage to send her to. Yet, once his hand made contact with her skin, a fierce shock ran through his body and shot into his mana circle. A scream escaped his lips, and the pain caused him to groan for a split second before he released her arm.

  “What the fuck?” Tucker clenched his left hand and stared at his partially charred leather glove. The burning sensation persisted and after closely examining the girl’s wrist. He saw something unbelievable. “What… what the fuck did those bastards do?”

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  Alex and Blaire inched closer with their hands on the hilt of their weapons. The watchmen cautiously approached the container, only a few steps behind Tucker, but upon seeing the rookie hold out his hand to stop them. They both halted in their tracks and glanced at each other.

  “Tucker, are you alright?” Alex asked, dropping his hand from his weapon.

  “Yeah, yeah I’m good. I just got burned or something just now,” Tucker replied.

  “Burned?” Blaire asked.

  “I’m… I’m not exactly sure.” Tucker shook his hand and stared at the girl who was asleep. “But it seems like there’s a protective spell or something still on the chest.”

  “That’s impossible, I disarmed the entire fucking contraption,” Blaire protested, checking the metal sheets on the sides of the chest. “There’s not a chance in hell that it’s working.”

  “Doubtful, considering how our rookie here got injured.” Alex lightly tapped his spine while moving beside Blaire.

  “Salamander, with all due respect. I’m certain it has been disabled.”

  “Then what exactly happened?” Alex shot back, but upon hearing nothing he shook his head.

  Blaire inspected the chest once more and examined the engravings. There wasn’t a speck of mana lingering within the characters and nothing that could have burned Tucker’s hand. Yet as he drew closer, the mana in his body fluctuated. Stirring for a moment as if it was being pulled by something. As Blaire reached into the crate, a spark flew out from his fingertips and stung his hand, causing him to instinctively take a step back.

  The old man raised a brow upon seeing Blaire’s expression twist in pain. He then stared at the little girl sleeping within the confinements of the chest. His eyes fell onto a small circular tattoo on the girl’s wrist.

  “That’s…” Alex took a step closer as Tucker moved beside him. The old man’s gaze fell onto the girl with pity. He had prayed that he would have never seen such a tragedy again in his life, but once more the Avalon Empire had overstepped their boundaries.

  “We need to kill her,” Blaire’s voice cut through the air like a sharp knife, causing Alex to turn a blind eye while Tucker froze in place.

  “W-what? You’re joking right?” Tucker stood between the chest and Blaire. Watching as his comrade pulled out his sword.

  “Step aside rookie, you don’t understand what you’re trying to protect.” Blaire glared at Tucker, yet once their gazes met. Tucker saw the weak light in their eyes.

  “Then explain it to so me I understand!” Tucker held out his hands. “Sure I got a bit burnt, but it’s like Alex said! You just made a small mistake and didn’t disarm the trap. There’s no need to go so far!”

  “It’s not the trap that did that to you.” Blaire’s words were laced with anger. “It was her. That child isn’t a child anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s been turned into a fucking mana capsule. A living container used to forcefully store mana.”

  Tucker glanced behind him, noticing the magic circles tattooed onto her wrists and the back of her heels. “But that doesn’t mean we need to kill her. Can’t we do something to help her?”

  “I’m afraid not, Tucker. This isn’t a simple matter.” Alex cut into the conversation with a grim look on his face. “She’s dangerous, far more dangerous than you think.”

  “Do you hear yourself? You’re not talking about killing soldiers or criminals. You’re talking about killing a little girl that they forcefully made to hold mana! Someone who didn’t make this decision on their own…”

  “We know!” Blaire furiously gritted his teeth and tightly clenched onto his dagger. “But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s now a weapon. A living bomb that could detonate any second now.”

  Tucker kept his gaze on Blaire and took a step back. “Isn’t there something we could do to disarm it? To dispel the magic circles carved on her body?”

  “It’s possible… but…” Alex’s words trailed off as he glanced at the magic chest.

  “Then—”

  “No.” Blaire coldly interrupted Tucker while taking a step forward. “The risk is too great.”

  “But what if it happened to someone who know! What if it happened to—” Tucker held his head down and shut his mouth. He desperately closed his eyes and stomached the guilt in his heart. Yet the other two already knew what he was going to say and the anger boiling in Blaire nearly erupted as the blades of grass beneath his feet froze.

  What if it happened to May?

  The question caused Blaire to nearly lose himself in rage. The mere thought of something like that happening to his own daughter made him beyond furious, but the one thing that angered him the most was the fact that Tucker brought it up. If it was his daughter, he would kill whoever would have dared to harm her, but this wasn’t the same situation.

  That girl was a stranger. A person who wasn’t even one of their own. A citizen of the Empire.

  That child meant nothing to him and with it, no remorse. The entire situation was fucked beyond belief, but that didn’t justify what Tucker was trying to prove. Blaire knew that if the situation was reversed. If it was May that had been turned into a living bomb, then he would spare no effort in saving her, but this wasn’t the case. They were in a state of war and didn’t have the luxury to spare the lives of those against them.

  Blaire stepped onto the frozen blades of grass, crushing them beneath his boot as the frost spread through the surroundings. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Salamander standing still and he knew from a glance that the old man wouldn’t move a muscle.

  The only obstacle in his way was Tucker. The rookie whose heart was far too na?ve, like a rabbit grazing in a wolf’s den. Blaire knew that the rookie’s heart was in the right place, and this was why he hated working with those new to the Order. They weren’t accustomed to what was needed.

  “Step aside,” said Blaire, with words as sharp as a blade.

  Tucker shot a glance at the girl’s scarred hands. Closely examining the torn skin on the little girl’s fingers. It was clear that she wanted live. That she had fought all by herself against the mage’s cruel experiments just to live another day. But for her to die just like this… was beyond unfair.

  It was unjust.

  How could he stand aside and do nothing? How could he turn a blind eye toward her suffering and let Blaire kill her?

  No matter how many times Tucker asked himself this. No matter how many times he tried to justify it. The thought fell apart.

  Tucker took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. He knew that he was overstepping his boundaries, but how could he just stand aside and watch as Blaire killed the little girl? How could he do nothing and watch as someone who did nothing wrong die even though they struggled so much?

  Was it so wrong just to want to live?

  He held onto his wits and stared at Blaire. The discussion was over and they couldn’t reach an agreement. Nothing could be done to resolve this, and knowing that his comrade wouldn’t back down, Tucker placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.