839 Zonas Mantra

“About that…” hesitated Arthur when she asked him about the rest of the members. “I had a falling out with Sier, and we parted ways. There was a big fight, too. Sier… he killed someone innocent that I knew.”

“That doesn’t sound like something Si would do,” Ivy said. “Are you sure it was him? Maybe someone is trying to sow the seeds of hatred between the two of you.”

“I suspected as much too, but the murder was done by no other than Sier. Does this mean you have yet to hear from them?” asked Arthur with surprise. He expected Mistletoe to make a move already.

“No one came to visit me before you did. Everyone I met was either a guard or a punisher and the occasional servant who brought us food. There is also….”

“…also?” probed Arthur with interest, and Ivy looked at the ground with a blank expression before she shook her head. “Are you okay?”

“I am. There was also one time when Erin Voldor came to visit me after realizing that you are still alive.”

“And what did he want?” asked Arthur with a frown, his heart starting to beat rapidly. “Did he do…”

“He was asking about you since he connected the dots of your ‘death’ with our appearance. He knew I was a part of Mistletoe, so he came here for information but realized I wouldn’t give him any.”

“Did he do something to you, Ivy?” asked Arthur with a clenched fist as he stared at her. Ivy raised her eyes to stare at him without saying anything, and Arthur almost lost it. “I’m going to castrate that f.u.c.king pig before I kill him, the most terrible of deaths!”

Arthur accidentally allowed his wrath to explode around them, tearing down the cloak of silence he cast on the room. Ivy was pushed against the wall as her magic restraints broke apart and fell to the ground. She stared at Arthur with confusion and fear as he was replaced by a man covered in black lighting.

“Arthur!”

Her shout made him snap out of his rage, and he retracted his wrath before it was too late. Arthur raised his hand to reseal Eragon, who used his emotions as a chance to break off the seal and emerge to the surface.

“Do not deny your desires, Arthur Silvera,” said a voice within him, so hoa.r.s.e that it sounded like metals sc.r.a.ping each other. “I will kill who you want me to kill.”

“You will kill every last one you see,” said Arthur as he slammed the rune to his stomach, sealing Eragon back. Although the seal was not broken, it was damaged by his lack of control. Ivy stared at him with fear until he was back to normal. “Everything is alright now.”

“Is it?” asked Ivy with fear as she stared at her wrists and legs. “A mere shout broke these chains, which have been draining my life for the past few months. Furthermore, you looked like an asura from h.e.l.l.”

“A lot has happened since we last met, and I might not be the person you once knew,” said Arthur as he held his forearm and cast another silencing rune. “We need to get out of here, but there are still three days until the execution. We’ll escape at that time.”

“Wouldn’t it be hard to do so at that time? However, I heard that most prison guards and punishers will join the execution to ensure a smooth process.”

“We are not alone, Ivy,” said Arthur as he walked toward her and waved his hand. A table appeared in front of her, with a chair Arthur pulled for her to sit down. “I need to take care of a few matters, so let me give you a proper meal before I leave.”

Ivy smiled and nodded before sitting down. Arthur started lining the table with various dishes, which made the woman audibly gulp. Arthur smiled as he handed her the silverware, and she started eating as if it was her first time.

Arthur was sad to see her this way and that she had to go through all of that. His rage against Erin and what he has done is immeasurable. Arthur vowed that the next time he saw the man, he would rip him apart.

After Ivy was done, Arthur created fake chains for her, which could be torn easily. It was to ensure that the guards wouldn’t realize a thing before it was time. Then, he left the cell and headed toward the fifth floor, where Zonas Mantra was imprisoned.

This floor was different, and Arthur could tell. It was fortified using runes, and whoever was inside was treated differently because all of them stared at Arthur with fearless eyes. As he walked down the wooden-laid hallway, he could feel their stares on his back.

“Another visitor?” asked Zonas Mantra, with his back facing Arthur, as soon as the latter walked into the cell. “It seems life is going to be hectic from now on. What do you want, child?”

Arthur stared at the giant man sitting in the middle of the cell. His aura was overwhelming as if a dormant beast resided between his shoulder blades. His hair was tied into a ponytail, and it was as gray as the moonlight coming through his window.

“Are you the previous Knights Commander, Zonas Mantra?” asked Arthur as he walked a few steps toward him. The cell was better than the one Ivy was placed inside. There was a bed and a table. However, the food was left untouched.

“A guard wouldn’t ask such a question,” said Zonas Mantra as he turned around to glance at Arthur, and his white-colored eyes examined his visitor. “Are you a real guard, child?”

“I would hate to be such a man,” said Arthur before he cast a silencing rune and restored his face. Zonas Mantra stared at him with wide eyes as he slowly turned his head toward him. “My name is Arthur Silvera.”

“…I know who you are,” said Zonas Mantra as he turned around to sit before Arthur. “I was tasked with murdering you, but I refused. So then, I was imprisoned here. Therefore, you can understand my shock when the being himself comes to visit this lowly human.”

“Being? Lowly human?” repeated Arthur with a frown. “What do you take me for, exactly?”

pAn,Da n<0,>v,e1 “You are the child of the prophecy,” said Zonas Mantra as he placed his hands over his knees and bowed. “I had waited for you since my father pa.s.sed when he told me about the legend of the outsider.”

“And yet, you treat me as an ally,” Arthur said with interest as he walked down opposite the old man. “This is the first time that the legend of the outsider made someone amiable toward me.”

“Because the Mantra Family suffered a different fate, we are no descendants of guardians. Although we swore loyalty to the Guardian of Elements, he never planned to take us with him.”

“Take you where?”

“To the world that he wanted to create before you intervened. Mantra understood this, but he was loyal. If not for the outsider, Mantra would have never had descendants, and I would have never existed.”

“Then, the Mantra Family inhabited Helios until the current emperor arrived and seized your home. That makes things easier, then. However, I don’t understand why your father was still loyal to Osian even after he realized their real ident.i.ty.”

“I didn’t understand that, too, until I fought against Joseph, the Strategist. He told me the truth about what happened between his father and mine and why Morgan Mantra died for this country.”

“The two made a deal, but what are its terms?”

“The survival of our lineage and the emperor would bear no ill grudge against us. I understood later that father was afraid the emperor would hunt us down if he escaped. In the end, his head rolled as my mother, and I watched.”

“I met Grandma Mo today,” said Arthur with a smile. “She is alive and well, still making the slums a better place for the citizens. Thanks to her, I managed to infiltrate this prison and meet the man I heard so much about.”

“So, she lives,” said Zonas Mantra with a smile as he stared at the ground. “Mother was a strong woman. If not for her, then I would have risen against the emperor the moment my father was executed.”

“Instead, you waited until Lyle also wanted revenge for the loss he suffered. You couldn’t let him march to battle alone, right? But, in the end, you didn’t sacrifice your principles to gain the emperor’s approval.”

“…have you met him?” asked Zonas Mantra with surprise before a weak smile appeared on his face. “And you know the truth about his desires. You are right, Arthur Silvera. I had to choose between killing you or losing my position as a commander, and I made my choice.”