Read Fate's Worst Children: Destruction :: Episode 4

Lily had been pulling up her sword for an hour. She is a strong woman and yet she can only pull two inches. It seems to be worse than the training she experienced when she was a squire.

"I can do it. I'm one of the prodigies in our area." She wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"LILY!"

She turned behind her and saw the knight commander. She was furious and she already knew what he would say and do.

"Sir." She saluted.

"No one reached us or alerted us that someone destroyed the market! This will make our lord punish the other captains!"

She stood up properly, ".... I tried to catch the culprits, sir but they just gave me a bag of gold —"

Her knight commander kicked her in the shin. Even though it hurt, she tried to stand up straight and endured the pain.

"WHEN IS THE DIGNITY OF A KNIGHT BOUGHT?!"

"That's what I said, sir, but they gave it as compensation for the damages they did —"

The knight commander continued kicking. She dug her nails into her palms. She reminded herself that it was the leader in front of her. She has to endure her punishment because she failed to do her duties.

"What did you learn from being a squire, Lily?! Lords and citizens expect us to be responsible, fight with courage and honesty, and be professional even when targeting our weaknesses. What did you do? You accepted the money, the bribe! And you still have a face to show me!"

"I showed it to you, sir, because I didn't know what to do with it. I'm returning it to them and going through a good conversation so they won't damage other establishments. They suddenly left and ignored me —"

The knight commander blows a punch at her stomach and she kneels in pain, "YOU FAILED AS A KNIGHT, LILY! YOU WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR A MONTH!"

She could not speak because of the pain. She just heard the footsteps of the knight commander leaving.

'Why am I weak... Why am I not improving?'

She crawled over to her buried sword. That's what she made a foothold to stand on. Then, she started pulling again.

'I have reached this position. I said my vows at the ceremony. I will protect this city and the lord.'

She lifted her foot and placed it on top of the stone. With her remaining strength, she took a deep breath and pulled it with all her might. She doesn't let go of the sword like her previous tries. She could feel her muscles stretching throughout her body.

'You can handle this, Lily. You are a knight. You worked hard to reach this position. You fought it out with your parents.'

She screamed to release her annoyance and pain. Then, she heard a crack, she immediately bent down to see that the stone and the blade were split in half and destroyed. The handle was the only thing left that she was holding.

She dug into the ground. She saw something light up under the blade. She thought it was an explosive but it was a ball of light. She was touching and warm, "... What is this?"

It floats closer to her. She didn't stop it and she just saw it enter her body. She slapped her chest and stomach, hoping to get it out as well but the ball of light stayed inside.

"What am I going to do?! I don't even know what it is! Is it one of the magician's tricks earlier?!"

Suddenly, she felt her body heat up. Its temperature rises. Her head, back and throat hurt. She was unable to speak. She watched her hands light up until the rest of her body also lit up. It was like she was being punished because the pain in her body doubled until she lost consciousness.

Not far away, Han and Arete are watching what happened to Lily below.

"Shall we not help her?" Arete asked.

"That's exactly the first side effect of the medicine I made."

"... Won't she die from the side effects? She'll just fall again."

"No. The side effects only relive the trauma your body has experienced. That's the only way to heal forever."

"... So... It's like… The medicine brings back the old human body’s… What’s the word… texture. Nah. That will be about food. I mean, The patient's?"

"Yeah."

"Won't the build up of muscles disappear?"

"No."

"The short answer. As expected."

"It's tiring to explain."

"Let's leave Dame Lily alone." Arete looked one last time, "Where does Ridav city belong, Han?"

Han patted the cloth and it started moving away from the location, "Sera has eight continents. Ridav city is inside the continent of Yaxor. The continent is known for its mysterious, grand, breathtaking, and inviting nature among the continents."

"Can we go to the scenery? I want to see the lake, trees and animals again."

"It depends on the time we have. And then Nesserja, the country where Ridav city belongs to is also famous because it is a destination for travelers who want to find different types of food. They also find expensive materials here."

"But you said the nature of Yaxor is breathtaking. Aren't they running out of resources?"

"No. They have a location where they keep them and grow them there."

"....."

"Too much information?"

"Not really. I'm just thinking about what will happen to us now that we're here in Sera."

"Hmm... You will experience trials. It's always like that. For development."

"....."

They found an inn where they could stay. They were given two rooms because even though their relationship was teacher and apprentice, Han could see that Arete was shaking when he got a little closer.

"Don't look for me when you have nightmares." He winked at Arete before entering his room.

"I will kill you as soon as I see you when I wake up."

"How scary." He laughed.

Sunset arrives and Han is writing for the document about Iryankka. He smiled as he wrote the beautiful things created by the people in his world. He also does not hide the fact that there are scoundrels who destroy the development of civilization. When he writes that on the next page, the mood inside his room changes.

"I need to distribute it to the libraries of every world." He sighs, "if I wasn't so lazy, I would have finished it a long time ago."

"Good sir, are you planning to order food and liquor?" One of the owners of the inn knocked on his door.

"Oh, okay. Bring me five bottles of liquor and prepare your sweet and spicy dishes."

"At once, good sir."

He stretched and stood up from his seat. He walked to the window and opened it. The inn is two stories and Arete and his room is on the second floor. He sat in the little space on the window and watched the vendors and people talking. According to his observation, the lives of civilians in the city of Ridav are peaceful.

"Han!" Arete kicked the door open.

"I know you miss your teacher but I'm enjoying my time alone." He rests his chin on the palm of his hand.

"Ugh. I hear something. Soft music."

"Hmm?" He closed his eyes and felt the wind brush his face.

"That's unlikely to happen, right? I mean, we're on the second floor of this inn."

"Hmm.."

"Han, are you listening?!"

"There might be an entertainer downstairs. Ask at the owners' counter."

"I already checked it, there's no one singing or making noise downstairs. Since it's late, you should expect that to happen, but the first floor of the inn is empty."

Han raised his index finger and it lit up. Eventually he formed a rope, "Hold it, Arete."

"Huh?"

"Find a bucket. It doesn't matter if it's small or big."

Arete gave him a glare before leaving the room. Because he saw someone selling noodles. When they were still in the Palace of Wisdom, Arete was always looking for kitchen supplies. She wanted Han to taste the dishes of the earth because the girl found out that he had never visited there.

"Han, the bucket is here." Arete raised the bucket in her hand.

"I've changed my mind. I ordered something from the co-owner of the inn. Put the food there."

"Eh? Are you hungry now?" She mumbled the words, 'I put effort to find this.' He laughs and looks away.

"Yes." He slowly lifted himself up to move his feet outside the window, "I'll buy you a food too. Besides, let's talk about what you heard."

Arete nodded and sat at the table where Han wrote. She read several positive pages about the management of the head magicians in Iryankka.

Han smiled and jumped from the window. It created a crack in the ground and he fixed it right away. He went around to buy ingredients. At first people didn't want to buy from him because he was paying too much and he said to take the change. Han explained that he sees the effort to earn money every day. He also witnessed that they endure different seasons just to feed their family. After the vendors heard that, they accepted the extra money that Han was giving.

He looked for a small restaurant to cook the ingredients he bought. He remembered the process Arete did while he was cooking it when they were in the Palace of Wisdom. He paid the owner of the restaurant as a thank you for giving permission to use their kitchen.

He put a lid on the bowl of noodles he had cooked and used his ability and flew into the air. There, he made an invisible platform to walk on.

"I hope Arete likes what I did. A lot happened on our first day here at Sera."

He kept walking and turned to the illuminated signs at every inn and shop below. Ridav's people are lively and understanding. Maybe he and Arete won't face anything in this city.

There is no point in changing what will happen,

I should have expected this but it hurts,

Was there really peace then?

No one brings justice to the oppressed.

Han's eyes widened at the music he heard. That was the song written by his best friend, Jayen, when they were still students. He immediately went down to the roof of the inns to locate where the source of the music was closer.

He still seems to be flying with the lightness of his feet. He didn't even break the roofs when he ran.

There is no point in changing what will happen,

I should have expected this but it hurts,

Was there really peace then?

No one brings justice to the oppressed.

"Jayen? Jayen!" He called. He turned left because the music got louder, "Jayen?!"

Is there no hope of communication?

Can't love do anything?

Where are the principles we were taught?

Iryankka, my beloved world.

"JAYEN!" With Han's last shout, it sent shockwaves throughout his surroundings. Other roofs of the inns had cracks. Han knelt down and looked up at the moon shining its light. He wanted to be emotional but no voice and words came out of his mouth.

He looked at the noodles he prepared for Arete. He tried to smile but he was overwhelmed by his emotions.

".... I thought I would never feel negative emotions like this anymore. I was wrong."

Arete fell asleep while waiting for Han at the window. She put away the scratch papers that surrounded his working table. She also fixed the man's bed. The co-owner also came and asked for Han. Arete avoided answering that and accepted the dishes and liquor. She wrapped it properly and put it in the bucket that Han requested.

Being tired, she just sat on the edge of Han's bed and started to sleep. She didn't realize the time but her consciousness woke up when she felt a warm cloth surrounding her.

"... Huh?"

"Hey." Han greeted her.

"... I fell asleep while waiting."

"I cooked you Tonkotsu. You said it was one of your favorite dishes in one of the countries you visited on earth." Han slowly put the dish on Arete's lap.

"You don't have to do this, Han… It's a —."

"On my way back, I heard music."

"Did you hear that too?! Before I fell asleep from exhaustion, I heard music. The lyrics were sad... Your world was mentioned, Han."

".... Let's investigate why someone knows that song."

"That's significant to you, am I right?"

"Yes." He sat next to Arete and took the blank book and he wrote, "One of my dearest friends, Jayen, composed that song. Before we met our other friends, Jayen and I were the first to study at the Iryankka's academy. He likes to make music about life. I'm the one who writes the lyrics to spread his new music to our fellow students."

"Wow... You have a friend? Really? That’s impressive!"

"Can I punch you? Like seriously?"

"I'm just kidding!" Arete immediately blocked her face with her arms.

"Well, except for being the top students at the academy... We spend more of our time making music and creating a form where your life force doesn't run out easily."

"Wait... So your fire form doesn't waste your energy?"

"No. When I use up too much magic in my original form, I will immediately turn into a fireball to reserve the remaining energy and wait to replenish."

"It's... It's great, you're amazing, Han!"

He smiled, "Thank you. Back to my story, we need to investigate if Jayen is really singing that song. According to what you heard, what kind of sound?"

"A tune coming from the flute. That was the first one before I entered your room. When you left me alone here, the flute started and then the lyrics about Iryankka followed."

".... I know my comrades should be here but that pattern is suspicious. Simple yet suspicious. Didn't you feel a different kind of energy?"

"There is." Arete took a scratch paper and grabbed the pen from Han's hand, she began to illustrate, "What you taught me is that the totality of energy moves in the same direction and because it is divided into different categories, the direction becomes a circular motion to cover all parts of the human body even the other species."

"You're right. It's good that you remember what I taught you."

She nodded, "The energy I detected earlier is scattered and unorganized. Unorganized meaning if you run out of sources to cast magic and you meditate, you won't be able to absorb it because it's like a fish's thorn stuck in your throat. It will clot in your meridian and make you sick."

"How did you conclude that this is suspicious? You know there are cases of that nature. Their purpose is different."

"The flow of energy in the inn became more unorganized when the flute played. I was meditating at that time to absorb and maintain a calm flow but it was blocked."

"Oh... I thought the city of Ridav was fine. The people are nice to be with, their goods are fresh, the buildings are sturdy... After all, all things have a secret source."

"What are we going to do, Han?"

"What else? Let's investigate."

"It was midnight when you arrived! Meaning it is morning right now. It is early morning!"

"It's good to start an adventure when there's no sun left. Let's go."

"This bucket?"

"The food is over there, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"That's where we put our food."

"This makes us look poor!"

"That's the point. So if we meet someone related to the music we heard, we can ambush."

".... Sometimes I wonder why you are a top student."

"Oi. Whatever you're thinking is nonsense. I already have everything."