Soulless Swordsman-Chapter 55: Hyenas

CRASH!

The wooden shutters shattered as a heavy force collided with them from the outside.

Penelope scrambled to her feet.

Moments before, she had seen a silhouette of a person scurry past.

She had sought to wake Kion, but her hesitation only made it impossible to reach him in time.

And now she stood horrified in her master’s room as three hooded figures made their way in, each of them bearing hatchets.

Penelope’s heart hammered so fast she could hear it echo from her ears. The prince was simply a magnet for trouble, as it had seemed since they had embarked on this mission.

But the strangest thing about this all wasn’t his affinity for attracting unwanted attention.

It was that somehow, through all the sudden noise and chaos, Kion remained fast asleep.

"On the ground, now!" The hooded figure in the middle barked orders at her, which she followed.

Penelope didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t much of a fighter, so there was no way she could defend herself or Kion. She had no soul, neither did she have any useful survival skills; only the bundles of information that sat trapped within her skull from her years of reading.

And in a situation like this, that was hardly useful.

"Hands on your head! Now!"

Penelope did as she was told, not wanting to give the man in the middle, who seemed to be their leader, reason enough to cut through her with his hatchet.

The leader cocked his head to the bedside. It was as if he had finally noticed that Kion was still sleeping.

He poked the princems bare back with the other end of his weapon.

"Is he dead?" He asked. Penelope shook her head.

The leader put his two fingers on Kion’s neck. A gesture to which Penelope had winced at, not bearing the possibility of them harming.

Although, it seemed the leader just wanted to check his pulse.

"Very weak pulse. He’s out cold." He turned to stare pointedly at Penelope, who managed a glimpse at his pale blue skin and teal-coloured eyes.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" He asked. "I know that maids nowadays are awefully traitorous."

Penelope wore a confused look as her eyes flit between the image of the hooded man and the seemingly lifeless body of her master. It was only a while before she caught up with what he was insinuating.

"Oh no I would never—" she began to protest.

"Zip it." The leader commanded. "I care not much for your political conflicts or agenda. Just show me where the valuables are."

"Valuables?" Penelope gasped. They were asking for royal treasure. Precious items that could be found in no other place than the castle itself.

There was no way dear old Pen would give away the position of such so easily, especially not Kion’s

For that, she was willing to put her life on the line, as was expected of someone of her status.

"There are not valuables here. We’ve lost everything on this mission. If you came here for treasure, you wouldn’t find any. You might as well just be on your way."

There was a deafening silence in the room.

The hooded leader stepped forward, menacingly close to Penelope, who still knelt with her hands on her head.

THWACK!

An aggressive slap sent the poor maid straight to the ground.

The leader grabbed her chin and positioned his face in front of hers.

"Lying to me would only delay your take-over operation that you’ve already kickstarted here. Just tell me where his valuables are. After all, we both know that you do not like him. What’s the point of playing hero now? Did you somehow get a sudden change of heart?"

Penelope only glared and clutched her left cheek, which was as red as a ripe peach.

"Let’s do this again," the hooded leader said, crouching low, "where is the royal treasury that belongs to this half-dead prince?"

Penelope glared for what seemed to be forever.

SPIT!

A gob of slimy saliva sailed straight for the hooded figure’s face, slapping him right between the eyes.

He retreated in disgust, a moment of rage taking over him as he, not slapped, but punched her straight in the nose this time.

Penelope crashed back down, her nose dripping blood.

In his frenzy, his hood had adjusted away from his head for a moment, and Penelope caught glimpses of a face she immediately recognised.

She quickly remembered Trinket’s words back at the market.

They are hyenas. Give them once, and they’ll only take and take till there’s nothing left.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged elf they had all met earlier, the one whom Kion had gifted a whole silver coin,began to bark orders to his men.

"Search the area. Smash and collect everything you can. Search for the royal treasure; the signet rings, the sigils, the clothes, anything you can find!" He yelled, then turned to Penelope, a menacingly fierce stare that made her insides sink.

"And then when we’re done," he pointed at Penelope, "we’ll kill this one."

Please Kion, come back to me.

Penelope pleaded within herself as the band of rogues began to search and smash through the room.

***

Kion never wanted to go back.

He had been incredibly lucky to see someone, the one person who’s presence he had dearly missed.

He was back in his dreamscape, and standing in front of him, was his elf ancestor Tyril.

He was lucky to have got a moment with the warrior elf, and while Penelope prayed for her life back in the room, Kion listened to the few things Tyril had to say about his special system.

"I had it back in my day. I have no knowledge of where it came from, or from whom, but I did a bit of research on it and found out that it belonged to a primal ancient power."

"So, a god?" Kion asked with curiousity.

"No." Tyril stated. "Something more powerful. A being that transcends all of the universe. One that is heavily linked to its beginning."

Kion thought for a moment. He had never heard or read of such a thing, but maybe that would explain why he had never heard or read about his system either.

"So can you at least tell me how to use it?" He asked after deciding within himself that it was best to leave his earlier pondering for another time when he could get some answers.

"You must have been feeling the urge for bloodlust by now." Tyril replied.

"That has been you talking in my head." Kion complained. "For some reason you want me to kill every enemy I come across. What is up with that?"

"Pay attention, Youngblood." Tyril began, "that voice has been the system all along. I had a feeling that it would choose one of my progeny after my death and it chose you, apparently. Don’t you see? This system has been with you since the day you began to walk this earth, even back in your first life."

"So those voices of murder and bloodlust..." Kion began to understand.

"They’re not my voice." Tyril explained.

"It’s the system." Kion concluded. He gad always heard the voices somehow. Even back in his first life. He had always thought them a figment of his imagination until they began to scream tales of murder and death into his ears, so much that he had no choice but to kill.

It seemed that there was even more mystery surrounding this mysterious anomaly.

"Can you help me with some more info on its progression. What are the stats about? How do I progress? Must I kill people recklessly, or only the evil ones who deserve death?"

Tyril looked at Kion with a blank expression.

"It seems you have gone up to fifth resonance I already. I commend that, but it’s not enough. I still haven’t unlocked my memories to my days of war and triumph. I wouldn’t know anything of what you’re asking until you climb up significantly."

Kion had almost forgotten the sacred rule. That a spirit’s guide’s memories will only be unlocked by his/her mentee’s progression through the grades. A measly resonance progression would not be enough.

"Anyway. It seems you’re struggling with something else. Your sub-domain. Here’s some advice: "

Tyril crouched down to Kion’s eye-level.

"The idea that only a tempered body can harness the wild energy of lightning is only half the story. While your current physique is not bad, you should not focus on it too much. The trick..." Tyril tapped the side of his head with his finger, "is your mind."

"What do you mean?" Kion requested.

"A caged mind that tries to command lightning would only fry itself, as the energy would not even escape the metal bars, but only get conducted back to its starting point."

"Huh?" Kion seemed confused, and Tyril placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You must let loose. Free your mind from all impediments you have placed upon it. Let emotions flow through you, unhindered and undenied." Tyril stood back u, his body beginning to fade.

Kion knew what part of the script that this was, and he hated it: watching his own spirit guide leave his dreamscape without his permission.

Just when he was about to try and interfere with Tyril’s get away, the elf pointed at him.

"You better wake up before they kill both you and your maid."

Back in the physical world, Kion felt someone grab his wrist.