Chương 67: Winning the gamble

Despite lowering his weapon, Ethan kept on guard. Leah was just beginning to turn around but paused, likely noticing the three men running up the dunes. One of them had a bow. Ethan could sense he had it drawn, though he hadn't fired yet. The other two carried weapons, both of them drawn. Immediately Ethan assessed the situation, and it didn't look too good. If it came to a fight, that was. He had high hopes it wouldn't come to that.

"Care to point those daggers elsewhere?" he asked, raising a brow, even as he prepared both his mana and aura to be used at a moment's notice. Bella looked down at the two daggers pointing at his chest. She sighed before dropping them to her side.

"I thought you might've been dead by now." Ethan scrunched up his brows.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, as he noticed the three men arrive. Bella sheathed her daggers at her sides.

"After interrogating the necromancer, I came to the quick realization that his whole operation was part of something far larger."

"Everything alright, Bell?" The man with the bow asked.

"All good." Ethan stepped closer to Leah as the three men came to a stop, weapons still out. He tried to keep his calm, but on the inside he was assessing his chances against them. Bella was the only one he was really worried about. He could feel she had awakened her core and likely gained even more levels since he had seen her. Which immediately made him hesitate. After all, they hadn't seen each other for only a month or so, reminding him that he wasn't the only one gaining power, and he wasn't anything special.

Especially against the prodigies of the trials. The other three, however, didn't seem as strong. So if worst came to worst, Ethan would have to take her out fast, before anyone could react or she could slip into the shadow realm.

"I'm aware. We managed to discover some stuff as well," he stated, then continued, asking the question that had plagued him since he left her back in the gorge settlement.

"Did you do it?" Bella looked to the side where the three men had come to a stop and were watching the interaction. Ethan followed her gaze, taking in the arrivals. One of them stood a head over Ethan. He had wavy blonde hair and a lean build. If Ethan had seen him on Earth, he would have assumed the man was a surfer. However, here he looked nothing like that anymore. Instead, he held a simple bastard sword. His blue eyes were watching Ethan intently, looking for any signs of danger.

Ethan watched the way the man held his blade and instantly realized that he was of a decent level, likely with [Sword Mastery] at a solid stage as well. The other two were identical in appearance. They both stood at Ethan's height and had purposely dressed the same, making it impossible to tell them apart—aside from the fact that one held a bow and the other had two short swords. All three of them hadn't lowered their weapons and looked, quite frankly, ready to attack.

"I did," she stated.

"The necromancer is dead. Though not before healing my teammates." She gestured to the three men.

"Perhaps it's best if you come down to our camp and I can tell you everything." He felt Leah grab his side. She was positioned so she was furthest away from everyone, Ethan standing between her and the group, but he could feel her nerves bleeding through.

"I don't think it's a good idea," she whispered under her breath. Aware she hardly had to say the words out loud when Ethan had [Keen Sense] active. Still, he wouldn't be surprised if Bella heard her, evident by the fact she looked past Ethan and at Leah. Ethan gave her a slight nod, trying to tell her everything would be fine, even if he was also feeling on edge. But at the end of the day, he needed to know what happened. Her tale would seal her fate, one way or another.

"Lead the way then," he said, stepping out of the way and shielding Leah. Bella nodded and walked past him, turning to the three men as they continued to watch him, likely unsure of what was happening and fully aware that he was powerful.

"Come on, boys. Stop trying to intimidate the poor lady and your savior." The blonde scoffed and walked past Ethan, following Bella. But the twins lingered, though they had lowered their weapons. Then, as if they both confirmed something, they nodded and followed along. The twin with the bow paused as he reached Ethan.

"Come on then. We won't bite." Ethan snorted and looked back to Leah.

"Let's go hear what they have to say." The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She nodded, so he turned and followed the group down to where the three men had been sitting. When they reached the bottom of the dune, Ethan was able to take in much more of his surroundings. It was clear they had been camping here. They even had some low-profile tents placed at the foot of the dune.

Ethan looked around, trying to see if there was evidence of anyone else staying here and for places he could move to if a fight broke out. He was under no illusion that he would be able to escape, especially with Leah. Not that Bella had ever really given him a reason to feel unsafe around her—apart from his regressor knowledge. Still, with her, he felt it was better to be safe than sorry. Bella sat down around a small fireplace they had set up.

It wasn't on at the moment, but he could see the embers of old burnt kindling. The three men followed her lead, though the blonde stayed standing. They left space for Ethan and Leah to sit with them. Ethan unclipped his sheath before taking a seat on the sand, laying the blade over his thighs.

"Where do I start…" Bella mumbled. Ethan looked across at her.

"Maybe pick up from where you lied and used me." Bella looked up at him, a complicated expression covering her face. Finally, she let out a sigh.

"Look, I am sorry for that. I was desperate. I needed to make sure I got the necromancer and left with him alive. It was the only way to ensure these three survived."

"I understand that. But you could have just told me that from the beginning. Instead you lied, manipulated, and betrayed me. If you'd just told the truth, I would have likely helped you anyway."

"Would you have though?" she questioned, her voice raising.

"From what I remember, you were pretty set on killing me from the moment you saw me. From where I'm standing, it was the only option. I had to play your heartstrings." She looked at Leah.

"I'm sorry it came to that, but it needed to happen." Ethan sighed. She had a point. He wasn't sure if he would have acted differently when they had met if he knew she wanted to keep the person who had captured his sister alive, but he liked to think he would have given her the benefit of the doubt.

"Look. I don't even care about that. All I want to know is if you really kept your word."

"She already told you," the blonde cut in from behind her. Ethan looked up. The man was brooding, trying his best to look intimidating.

"He's dead. It wasn't pretty though."

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, ignoring the man.

"He tried to play me and things went south. Long story short, the curses got removed and the necromancer met his end. He won't be hurting anybody else."

"I'm sure you can understand that I can't just take your word for it?" Ethan questioned, ignoring, once again, the look the blonde was giving. Bella nodded.

"Jace, if you'd be so kind?" The archer smiled before standing up and placing a device by the fire pit.

"All righty, let me see here." He fiddled with the object for a moment. Ethan watched him in mild curiosity. He knew what the device was—it was basically a camera, though you could only store one video on it. They were commonly used on the second level to teach people new tricks or techniques. However, they were a bit rarer on the first level. Not that people didn't have them—they were easily purchasable in the store. It's just there wasn't as large a demand for them. Everything was too hectic.

When the square device lit up, Ethan already had a feeling he knew what would be shown. And he was right. An image appeared in the air, formed like a hologram. In it, Bella looked down at the necromancer. His face was bruised, blood was dripping from his nose.

"You said I'd be spared!" he shouted. Bella looked down at him, both her daggers in her hands.

"Perhaps I would have. All you had to do was remove the curse. Instead, you had to try and find an advantage."

"I—I'm sorry." Bella's face scrunched up before resolve hardened in her eyes. Her daggers descended. Ethan made sure not to look away. He watched as the light left the necromancer's eyes, until finally the projection faded, leaving the device sitting in the sand. Ethan looked over to Leah, making sure she was fine. After all, the hologram had made it look like they were right there, at full size and detail. When he noticed Leah was okay, he turned back to Bella.

"Okay. Fair enough. Thanks. It would have been a horrible outcome if the necromancer had lived. They are just too dangerous." Bella nodded.

"I know all about that. Trust me," she said, looking between her three companions, eyes lingering on the twins.

"So you got the curses removed, killed the necromancer—then what? What are you doing out here?" he questioned.

"What's it to you?" the blonde asked.

"Oh, chill out, Roy," Bella said. The blonde looked down at her, then at Ethan and crinkled his nose.

"He doesn't need to know our business."

"You're right. I don't. All I needed to know was if the necromancer is dead. You've upheld your word. We have more to do, so I'll see you around," Ethan answered, standing up. Jace, the archer, finished grabbing the device.

"Why don't you stay? It's getting late, and I'd like to talk more about how you helped us and how you met Bell."

"I told you not to call me that." Jace waved her off, looking at Ethan.

"I don't want to overstay my welcome," Ethan said, before looking at Bella.

"But I do have more I wanted to discuss with you." He looked at Roy.

"In private, if we could?" Bella sighed and looked between everyone.

"Okay." Ethan smiled and gestured for her to lead the way. In truth, he didn't need to speak with her in private and could have quite easily said what he needed to say in front of everyone, but that blonde had been getting on his nerves. He'd been hovering behind everyone and putting Ethan on edge. So he decided to be a little petty. And it had obviously worked. The man watched Bella get up and walk away before looking back at Ethan with a range of emotions. Ethan ignored it and turned to follow Bella.

She was heading over to the tents, which only made Ethan's plan work even better.

"So. I heard you were kidnapped?" Jace asked, clearly meant for Leah. But before she could respond, he continued.

"Kidnapped. That's such a strange word. You're not really a kid. I guess it's more like stolen? No, maybe captured. Yeah, that's it. So, I heard you were captured and held prisoner? That must have sucked."