The Beginning After The End (New Heights Book 2) (17 page)

“Oh do you now?
 
Then would you kindly inform me the
current location of Lucas so that I may properly respond to his actions against
our party?”
 
I say through gritted teeth.
 
My fists were clenched by the tone
Kaspian was talking in because I knew he came here for the purpose of warning
me to stay away from him.

“I must advise you Mr. Note that you should not
take action against Mr. Wykes…right now.”
 
He shakes his head, confirming my assumption.

“And why not ‘right now’?
 
My identity is a secret and I have the
capability to easily erase that bug’s existence.
 
Do you think you have the power to
protect him from me?”
 
My eyes
coldly stare straight into the thin man.

“Of course I know I don’t possess the power to
fight against you when you’re at your full strength Mr. Note but I assure you
that I can pose a threat to you now.”
 
He straightens his glasses.
 
“But even if I could, I wouldn’t need to.
 
Mr. Note, I am warning you because
believe it or not, I do carry the obligation to care for you since you are
affiliated with Mrs. Flamesworth, even if she is the estranged daughter of the
house.
 
The Wykes are the type of
people that will carry out revenge in the most extreme manner.
 
Assuming that you do kill their precious
Lucas Wykes, I know right now, you do not possess the power to kill the whole
Wykes house.
 
Even if they don’t
know your identity, that won’t stop them from killing anyone that had anything
to do with you.
 
This includes Mrs.
Flamesworth and the people who she’s affiliated with, the Twin Horns.
 
Going further than that, I believe the
Wykes will further their revenge against you by going against all of the people
close to the Twin Horns party, which includes Reynolds Leywin and his family.”
 

At that, I knew Kaspian at least had a
suspicion of who I was.
 
I don’t
know how he managed to figure it out, but from his gaze, I knew that he was on
to something.
 

“Like I said Mr. Note.
 
I wish to be on your side.
 
What I said about the Wykes family is
all from previous events in the past so I can assure you that they will stop at
nothing from wiping out anyone that had to do with you, even if it they aren’t
directly related.
 
Until the day you
hold the power and authority to protect the people you care for from them, I
must advise you from acting against them for now.
 
With that, I will now take my
leave.
 
The Adventurer, Samantha,
must be taken back to a facility to be properly cared for.”
 
Giving me a curt bow, we walks away
towards Samantha, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I could only laugh at the pitiful state I was
in.
 
He was right.
 
Until I could wipe away the whole Wykes
house, it would be dangerous for my family and friends if I act against
them.
 
No matter how much of an
asshole he was, it wasn’t worth risking my loved ones.
 

Through clenched fists, I swore to myself that
Lucas would regret this day.
 

Elijah and Jasmine both put a sympathetic hand
on my shoulder and I just nodded back at them.
 

We arrived in the Guild Hall located on the
outskirts of the Beast Glades a couple hours later.
 
Samantha was now resting in the recovery
facility and Jasmine, Elijah and I were resting on couches in a back room.
  
Kaspian was moved from his office
in Xyrus to this place and was seated behind his desk when the door opens.

“You guys managed to make it out alive!” Behind
a group of what looked like guards was Lucas.

Kaspian literally face-palms at Lucas’ audacity
and eyes me to remember what we talked about.

Elijah and Jasmine both get up from their seat
and stare daggers at him, unsheathing their weapons while I remain seated.
 
It took all that I had in me to rush in
and kill the brat who betrayed us and was stupid enough to come here and mock
us further.

I don’t know if it was because he was stupid or
confident that he dared show himself in front of us, but I knew he was somewhat
weary since he had a group of pretty powerful mages as guards who also had
their weapons unsheathed in defense against my two companions.

“I wonder how you managed to escape from the
beast.
 
Did you have to sacrifice
someone else to save yourselves?
 
Samantha is a cripple now and I don’t see Brald… don’t tell me you sacrificed
hi…”

A high-pitched screech was emitted from the tip
of my index and middle fingers as a thin beam of condensed lightning shot out
at Lucas.
 

I got the idea for this technique from my
previous world.
 
Using
electromagnetism to create a condensed laser, it was a deadly attack but it did
leave my hand numb for a couple of minutes because my own body wasn’t able to
handle to force needed to create it.
 

Before anyone could even react, the thin beam
pierced through Lucas’ left ear, erasing his left earlobe completely.
 

Holding in the urge to groan from the shock my
own body felt from even the tiny beam, I face Lucas whose smug face was nowhere
to be seen.
 
“Before I make a hole
in somewhere more important, you should leave and realize that your family
can’t protect you for long.”

The guards realized after seeing Lucas’ ear
that I somehow attacked him and instantly had their weapons against me when I
got up and stared at them.

The elite guards that were protecting Lucas
instinctively took a step back as their hands started shaking from fear.
 
They were trained veterans that have
killed and knew that, right now, their lives were in danger.

“Now now!
 
Mr. Lucas, it wasn’t wise for you to show yourself like this.
 
Let us leave it at this.”
 
Kaspian ushered the group out the door,
heaving a big sigh before facing me.
 

“You’ve controlled yourself the best you could
today but I’m afraid you’ve made enemies with one of the strongest houses in
the Kingdom of Sapin.” He shakes his head.

“That’s fine.
 
He won’t take action from what happened
today.
 
Despite his conceited
attitude, Lucas is cautious. He knows that, right now, if he doesn’t go against
me, I won’t do anything.”

I get up, Sylvie, who was next to me, stirs
awake and Samantha and Elijah follow behind me.
 
It was time to go home.

Today’s silence isn’t my weakness.
 
It was just the beginning for my
revenge.

KASPIAN
BLADEHEART’S POV:

After getting back to my seat to sort out the
paperwork piled up, I look up to see that the masked Adventurer, Note, has come
back by himself.
 
Closing the door
behind him, his baritone voice whispers in a barely audible voice.

“Mr. Bladeheart…. I remember you saying that
you would truly like to help me?”

The faint voice I hear through his mask sends a
chill down my spine, as if every fiber of my body is screaming at me ‘danger’.

Ignoring my body’s protest, I put on stoic
face, straightening my glasses before responding.
 
“Yes.
 
Your close connection to Mrs.
Flamesworth as well as your own personal potential has been viewed favorably
upon by the Guild.

“…I see.”

The Adventurer, who’s identity, or even age, I
could not guess, was pondering before he looked back up.
 
I know he was somehow connected to the
Leywin household but even thorough background searches have turned out fruitless.

“I plan to take a very extensive break from
being an Adventurer Kaspian, so I would like to ask you for a favor.”

“Please continue…” I respond after his slight
pause, my curiosity aroused.

ARTHUR
LEYWIN’S POV:

There were some things to get settled before we
were allowed to leave the Guild Hall.
 
For one, Lucas was to be stripped of his Adventurer’s license and all of
its benefits.
 
That was the reason
we saw him today; he had to be fully denounced of his position and stature as
an A class Adventurer in front of a couple high-rank guild workers.

“…I hereby declare Conjurer Adventurer, Lucas
Wykes, stripped of his A-class ranking for indirectly causing the death and
almost fatal injury of his party members during a dungeon excursion.
 
Intentional betrayal of fellow party
members will, furthermore, prohibit him from becoming an Adventurer until
otherwise stated by the Guild.
 
You
may now hand in your card.”
 
The
stern, elderly judge bangs the gavel, creating a loud echo too long to be
natural.

This whole time, the noble half-elf brat had a
look stitched on his face as if he’s swallowed a live frog, his eyes jutting
back and forth between the judge and I, confused why I was with him in trial.

I could tell he was shocked by the direct
retaliation from me, one that he couldn’t even react to.
 
When he heard that we were alive, he was
under the assumption that we somehow escaped from the Elderwood Guardian, not
kill it.
 
Now, his once confident
gaze was filled with doubt as he’s obviously pondering what really happened
down there.
 

That seed of doubt I just planted was something
I meant to do, one that would make him more cautious.
 
The skill “Railgun” I used on him was
instant and tore a hole through his earlobe.
 
After experiencing such a fast defeat,
it would lead to thoughts of whether he could defend himself against me in the
future.

The skill I used was rather just a flashy one,
one that served its purpose.
 
The
Railgun generated between my fingertips seemed to be deadly and casted
instantly, but that wasn’t the truth.
 
In order to generate enough power to essentially shoot a laserbeam like
that would take time and also create
a much
stronger
recoil.
 
The flashy beam I casted
instantly was more of a condensed beam of light.
 
The real reason I was able to tear a
hole through him, and why I chose his earlobe was because I just threw a sharp
fragment of my metal button at him, hidden by the harmless light beam.

While even the harmless condensed light that
probably had enough power to only partially numb his ear did actually have a
backlash on me, the high-pitched sound and the lightning aftereffect were an
act that hopefully instilled a deep enough fear into the boy.

“Next to be put on trial is Augmenter
Adventurer, Note.
 
Faced with the
clear enmity with Lucas Wykes and possibly the whole Wykes household displayed
by the act of aggression against Lucas Wykes, I hearby declare temporary ban
from Xyrus City during the whole duration of Lucas Wykes’ attendance at Xyrus
Academy.”
 
The gavel once again
boomed throughout the small room, while the various shadows of Guild workers
nodded in agreement and murmured amongst themselves.

Putting on my best angry voice, I lean forward
on the podium.
 
“Sir!
 
I object to this punishment!
 
Why am I to be reprimanded for Lucas’
betrayal at the dungeon?”
 
I slam my
fists down to further my point.
 
All
the while, Lucas’s cautious face turns smug and I could see the slight smirk on
his face as he looks away from the judge.
 

I knew revoking his license didn’t mean much to
him and with me “out of the way”, he didn’t have to worry about anything.

“Enough!
 
We are aware of the circumstances, which is why we chose not to revoke
your license, when normally, using spells inside the Guild Hall would be more
than enough reason to.
 
You will be
allowed to continue being an Adventurer, as long as we do not catch you near
Mr. Wykes or his family.”
 
The
judge’s stern face becomes even sharper as his gaze pierces through my mask.

“Wait!
 
What about his identity sir?
 
Wouldn’t he be able to easily take his mask off and slip through inside
the city and potentially harm me or my family?”
 
Lucas shoots his hand up and eyes me
victoriously.

“We have already decided to have his identity
recorded once this sentencing is over Mr. Wykes.
 
You will not be allowed to know of Mr.
Note’s identity for obvious reasons while select Guild Hall members will keep
tabs on Mr. Note’s whereabouts, masked or not.
 
This is not up for debate.
 
This sentencing is over.”
 
The judge declares and walks out before
either of us have the chance to refute.

“Tch!”
 
Lucas just walks out, escorted by his guards after he hands back his
Adventurer card and gives me one last glance.
 
“I hope you know what’s good for you and
stay away from me.”
 

Ignoring the threat of the prepubescent
Conjurer, I am escorted into the back room by several guards, following behind
the judge and Guild workers.

Once the door closes behind me, the guards
release their grip on my arms and the stern judge lets out a sigh.

“I trust that this little charade was to your
satisfaction Mr. Note?”
 
His sharp
white eyebrows twitch a little.

“Thank you Judge for your participation in
this.”
 
I give a slight bow.

Shaking his head, giving me a helpless
look.
 
“No need.
 
It is not on your behalf that I did
this.
 
I sincerely hope that I could
trust that you will not cause any trouble after this.
 
We will not be able to hide the truth
from the Wykes family forever but as long as you do not go against them, they
will not bother with you.”
 

“I understand.
 
Kaspian mentioned to me a passageway
where I can safely remove my “identity”, is that correct?”
 
I look around the dim room.

“Yes, your acquaintances are waiting for you on
the other side.”
 
The judge fumbles
around with a couple of the books on the shelf and suddenly a passage opens up
from the ground.
 

“I bid you farewell Mr. Note and I do hope that
you won’t cause us further trouble with the Wykes house.”
 
Giving a curt nod, I exaggerate a salute
to the guards and the judge, as well as the other Guild workers before entering
the passageway.

Opening the door on the other side, I’m greeted
by a head-butt from Sylv.

“Kyu!”
 
‘How did everything go Papa?
 
Is it over now?
 
Can we go
home?’

The only other people that greeted me were
Jasmine and Elijah.
 
“Everything is
over.
 
Let’s go back home
guys.”
 
Sylv hops onto my head.

After taking a couple of steps, Elijah asks,
“Did you not want to visit Samantha?”
 

“I think it’ll be better I don’t visit
her.
 
Jasmine, maybe you should stop
by the hospital next time to check up on her?”
 
Jasmine was silent the whole time but
she looks at me and nods.

During the discussion of future plans, Elijah
looked a little disheartened, not saying much throughout the way.

We were still on the border of The Beast Glades
so getting access to the teleportation portal to Xyrus would be the next order
of things.
 

“Well, I guess we should split ways here
right?” Scratching his untidy black hair, he looks at Jasmine and I with a weak
smile.

“Huh?
 
You’re not going to come with us, Elijah?
 
Did you have something you needed to
do?” I assumed he would be coming with us to Xyrus but thinking through, I
should’ve realized he might have his own plans.

“W-what?
 
I didn’t really have anything planned but is it really okay to come
along with you?” He straightens his glasses and coughs, trying to cover his
embarrassed face.

“Well you and Jasmine should go separately
through the portal from me in case anyone suspects something but I thought it’
be good for you to stay with us for a bit before we go to school.” I shoot him
a grin.

“W-we?
 
I don’t understand.
 
I never
had plans to go to school.”
 
He
looks lost now so I stop teasing and go straight for the point.

“I’ve been thinking a lot after the
dungeon.
 
You said your goal is to
make a name for yourself in this kingdom… right?”
 
I put my arm over his neck.

Elijah just silently nods, still pondering what
I’ve been planning.

“…Well!
 
What better way to make yourself known by graduating from the most
prestigious school in Sapin!”
 
I
exclaim.

Elijah’s bespectacled eyes widen and even
Jasmine looks surprised by my idea.
 
“But… how would I even get into the school?
 
I mean… I might have the qualifications
but not the background.
 
Even the
fact that I’m from Darv doesn’t give me any leeway into the school.”
 

“Lucky for you, I think I can give you that
background.
 
This big brother here
can give you the opportunity to get you into the school.
 
So how ‘bout it?”
 
I chuckle while I still have my arm
around his neck.

“Pfft!
 
What big brother.
 
You do
realize I’m older than you right?
 
Anyway… I’m still not sure about this.”
 
Elijah just throws a light jab to my
ribs.