Chapter 4

Chapter 4

«We need to move before dusk».

«How…?»

The man uttered those words as he walked away from the remains of the armored riders scattered on the ground. Hearing him, little Yufi felt a lump in her throat and held her breath.

«Considering the design of their armor, they were no ordinary combatants. Even if they were simple scouts, their detachment will deploy a tracking party immediately upon noticing the interruption in communications».

«This cannot be happening…».

She managed to articulate with a thread of a voice as she took in her surroundings. The devastated hamlet, the lifeless remains of the villagers, the abrupt destruction of her everyday reality… Suddenly, the stark cruelty of the situation hit her completely.

«Mother, father…».

Scarcely moments before, her parents and siblings were sharing warm laughter. In that instant, their bodies lay shattered and unrecognizable, causing Yufi to break into uncontrollable sobbing.

The sovereign’s faction or the side of the revolt.

The responsibility fell upon her. The mistake of her own actions had condemned her loved ones and her entire community to death.

«Tell me the moment you are ready».

The man spoke with unshakeable serenity, contemplating the girl’s grief.

«It is all my fault».

«You bear no responsibility for this, Yufi».

The individual calmly shook his head in denial at the self-reproaches she was making.

«They are the ones responsible».

His tone possessed a cold firmness, devoid of the slightest warmth.

Thus began the journey of a man and a little girl stripped of a home to return to.

«Long live the revolt!»

«Down with the old structures!»

Before the sunlight vanished completely, the man and the little girl managed to descend the mountainous slope without incident, entering the city. Despite the arrival of night, the settlement overflowed with activity and an extremely effusive atmosphere of celebration, resembling midday.

Revolt. The term caused Yufi to press her lips tightly together.

The man wrapped in the cloak walked unnoticed through the crowd and commented:

«You likely need food. Let us find a place to eat».

«Understood, sir».

Yufi nodded submissively. She had no inkling of which direction to take or what actions to perform. She could not even discern the reasons why this man, who had always acted as a stranger in her community, was escorting her at this moment.

Above all, it was impossible for her to erase from her mind the fate he had dealt to the self-proclaimed «insurgents». Despite Yufi’s innocence regarding the ways of the world, she perceived that her companion’s capabilities exceeded the limits of conventional sorcery.

A gloom from ancient times combined with an absolute winter chill. Yufi glanced sideways at the man’s features, discerning the intense and impenetrable darkness that formed under the cover of his head, choosing to remain silent.

The establishment to which the man led Yufi was far from a seedy tavern. For a little girl accustomed only to dark, hardened bread alongside crudely made sausages, such a setting was inconceivable.

«What place is this?».

«Select the dish of your liking».

They were in the finest dining room in town. Noticing that the staff looked suspiciously at the man’s clothes, he extracted an object from his belongings. Minted gold pieces. Yufi caught her breath upon spotting that shiny metal, which she had never had the opportunity to see in her life.

«Please forgive my lack of attention, distinguished gentleman!».

«Also, provide the young lady with garments of fine linen».

The individual extended an additional gold piece, prompting the employee to bow deeply with a submissive gesture.

She recalled the moment that mysterious man arrived in her community. The environment was not usually hospitable enough to harbor a stranger without suspicion. Despite this, the inhabitants provided him shelter, and he repaid them by helping with communal chores.

Her parents called him a «monster hunter», a description Yufi accepted unquestioningly.

However, the dishes laid out before her far exceeded the financial resources of a simple tracker of creatures.

Soft white rolls prepared from choice milling, clear and comforting beef broths, along with select smoked sausages were displayed before the girl, evoking a fantasy.

«Extremely expensive dishes…».

«Do not fret over it, eat as much as you wish».

Yufi understood that this feast was the man’s way of showing his consideration toward her.

«I am grateful to you, sir…».

In her modest community, securing daily sustenance represented an enormous challenge. After witnessing the recent fateful events, she completely lacked an appetite. Nevertheless, Yufi timidly reached out her hand toward the roll. It had an extremely fluffy texture, far from the dark, compact bread she knew.

Gently, she pulled apart a portion and tasted it. To her amazement, she discovered a sweet hint. It was the first time Yufi experienced that such food possessed such sweetness.

«It tastes excellent».

«It comforts me to hear that».

«Truly… it tastes excellent».

After tasting the food, Yufi uttered those words in a low voice and then used the utensil to try the broth. Her dry throat experienced a warm relief.

However, at the precise moment she was about to take another piece of bread, she burst into tears, overcome by the desolation swelling from her chest.

During that dawn, she fell prey to a nightmare.

However, likely due to the remarkable softness of the mattress, the bad dream was short-lived. After the nightmare concluded, an extremely pleasant dream presented itself.

She envisioned that she was tasting sweet, fluffy rolls alongside a highly flavorful, crystal-clear broth. Once dinner was over, she lay down on a bed as soft as the cloud formations in the sky.

It represented an existence fit for royalty, filled with so much happiness and contentment that Yufi could express her joy without restraint.

The moment Yufi regained consciousness, pulling away from that lethargy, she noticed she was immersed in a painful reality from which she had no escape.

«……!»

The bed maintained the same soft, cloud-like texture. The man had told her it was a chamber intended for members of the aristocracy or high-ranking clergy during their stays in the city. The means by which he obtained that space escaped Yufi’s understanding.

She recalled the food consumed the previous evening. It faithfully corresponded to that of her dream. The finely milled bread and the broth. Despite this, Yufi felt unable to find solace in such attentiveness.

On the other side of the room’s opening, the darkness before dawn was beginning to dissipate. Hiding her face in the soft blanket made of wool, Yufi wept silently.

«Leader García along with his entire iron cavalry squadron have been wiped out».

Simultaneously, in the mountain village where Yufi first saw the light and spent her childhood years.

A contingent of combatants was gathering. They likewise self-proclaimed as the defenders of the insurgent cause.

«Was it perhaps an offensive perpetrated by the imperial militias?».

«We lack absolute certainty yet! However, evaluating the damage to the remains, everything indicates that they succumbed to the intervention of a sorcerer».

«……»

It was incomprehensible. Setting aside the aggressor’s degree of mastery, the fact that the mystical protections of the iron cavalry remained intact instilled even greater bewilderment.

Those mystical breastplates used by the iron cavalry constituted newly manufactured weaponry of the rebel factions, a highly valuable spoils of war after overpowering them. Despite this, those responsible for the squadron’s defeat completely ignored that equipment, abandoning it on the site.

—Colonel! We have detected tracks in this sector!

Fortunately, the clues to hunt down the detractors of the insurgent cause presented no major complication to be located.

By the following midday, Yufi finally broke her rest due to the dense environmental warmth covering the city completely.

«You are awake».

«…».

As she sat up, a phrase suddenly resonated. It belonged to the tone of the man waiting outside the room.

«Y-Yes!».

Yufi stood up quickly and left the room, encountering the individual wearing his usual attire while waiting for her. The shadow cast by his headwear appeared as dense as usual.

«You have changed your clothes».

The man pointed out. It was the white garment made of linen that he had purchased using the gold piece the previous evening. Experiencing a feeling similar to wearing divine attire, Yufi’s cheeks took on a slight reddish hue.

«Do I look strange?».

«Not at all».

The individual shook his head negatively and walked in the opposite direction. At that very instant, a thunderous clamor of clapping was heard from a distance.

«It is imperative that we hurry».

The man uttered in a muted tone.

Having awaited Yufi’s awakening until the moment the sun reached its highest point, the margin of maneuver had been drastically reduced.

«The paladins of the revolt!»

«The iron cavalry! The deployment of the iron cavalry!»

The moment they left the stately residence they had rented for their rest, the public streets were overflowing with citizens.

«Revolt! Revolt!».

The term that evoked an authentic misfortune for Yufi was repeated uninterruptedly, while the man calmly contemplated the course of events, camouflaged among those present.

«…!»

The equestrian contingent, referred to as the iron cavalry, advanced through the streets wearing identical protections to those used during the assault on Yufi’s hamlet.

And leading the procession marched an individual dragging himself in a humiliating manner, stripped of all respect. Yufi lacked this information, but that man corresponded to the civil ruler of the locality.

«I beg of you, distinguished sirs! I guarantee that I know absolutely nothing!».

In the final stretch of the march, the ruler, moving at ground level, desperately implored for clemency.

«I have no intention of sabotaging the movement! I do not provide refuge to any detractor of the cause!».

«By what logic did those who destroyed our brave iron cavalry corps manage to escape all of a sudden?».

«Under oath, I maintain that I do not know…!».

For the members of the uprising, such a deduction was entirely valid.

«Collaborator of the old structures! End his life!».

«Exterminate the detractors of the cause! Sentence them!».

The crowd cheered, showing contempt and throwing spoiled food. Yufi held her breath, gripped by panic, and the man whispered in her ear in a muted tone:

«Prevent this from disturbing your judgment».

«However…».

«Is there any desire you harbor inside?».

At that precise moment, the individual questioned her.

«If you possessed the necessary means, Miss Yupi, would there be any purpose you wished to realize through them?».

Yupi’s breath caught. The man’s words manifested an overwhelming intensity, emulating the insinuation of a malignant entity that promised to materialize her deepest longings.

«……»

Yupi represented only a child. The motivations and goals of the insurgents lacked relevance to her.

«Those people…».

The self-proclaimed rebels had stripped her of her entire environment all of a sudden. The only feeling Yupi managed to harbor corresponded to a clear and steady hatred.

«It is impossible for me to show them clemency».

«……»

Yupi spoke in a whisper, and the man maintained absolute composure without emitting a word. She had not stated that harboring any concrete hope.

At least, by that logic, events should have unfolded.

«Under that premise, let us proceed accordingly».

At that exact moment, the individual advanced decisively toward the roadway, which began to clear before his stride, emulating the parting of the Red Sea, without exhibiting the slightest hesitation.

«…!»

There he positioned himself.

A silhouette in complete solitude obstructing the advance of the marching insurgent militias, directly facing the Iron Brigade.

«It catches my attention».

Colonel Bourbon, exercising the leadership of the Iron Brigade, made a curious grimace upon contemplating the situation. A dense stillness covered the environment, saturated with a latent tension that threatened to unleash chaos at any moment. The officer finally broke the silence.

«Reveal your identity».

«The detractor of the cause», the man replied.