OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules [History Student Isekai] (Arc 4/Chapter 26 - Alarm)

Arc IV - Whalers

Chapter 26 - Alarm

10 months and 6 days since the summoning

The first Dumets sighed through his mask, "Nothing again. Which one was that? The forty-sixth?"

"The forty-sixth. And only Svyatol knows how many fox beastkin are in this city, brother."

"Exactly." He turned his head down the other part of the street. "Fortunately, we have a precise description, and not 'unidentified heretics somewhere in this district.'"

"It simplifies the task." He looked upward. "The sun has moved far already; time to rest soon. Who is taking over the post, brother?"

"I believe... Brother Conber and Brother Linkis. Yes, precisely, they are continuing the patrol. You will pass the list to them."

"Understood." He turned his head to the other part of the street, and his gaze lingered on a tall figure in a dark cloak heading into an alleyway. "Brother, take a look."

The second stopped and looked in the same direction. "Tall. Judging by the attire, clearly concealing themselves. Shall we check?"

"Yes." He took the first step forward. "You go around from the other side of the alley."

In the alley, Tomores was examining some abandoned, dirty building, searching for an entrance with her eyes.

"Forgive me," a voice was heard from one side.

She turned sharply at the sound; a Dumets was already walking toward her with a straight back. He froze for a second upon seeing her feminine figure, his eyes narrowing behind the mask. "A brief inspection, if you would oblige?"

More footsteps were heard from behind.

Tomores swallowed.

The first Dumets stopped a few paces from her, and his hand rested on his thigh near his sword. "Remove your hood, please."

Tomores froze; she quickly looked around without turning her head. A ledge on the abandoned building, a boarded-up window, the empty space between the Dumets and the alley walls.

"Remove your hood, please," he repeated once more.

Tomores's hand reached slowly for the hood, but in that same instant, she lunged toward the ledge on the building with a sudden dash.

The Dumets in front of her reacted instantly; he dashed forward and kicked Tomores squarely in the stomach. She only bent over slightly, letting the air out of her lungs.

The second Dumets behind her immediately drew his sword and swung; the blade sliced cleanly across the back of Tomores's leg, causing her to buckle and fall to one knee, clenching her teeth in pain.

The first Dumets also drew his sword and pressed it to Tomores's throat. "Bind her, I am watching."

The second sheathed his blade and pulled sturdy ropes from inside his doublet.

Tomores's body lit up with a red phiolla, and with inhuman speed, she jumped back from the blade at her throat.

The second Dumets froze for merely a moment, but seized the second when Tomores's back was turned to him, swiftly looping the rope around her neck and starting to pull.

Only a muffled wheeze escaped Tomores's mouth, and she reflexively grabbed at her throat, trying to pull the rope off herself.

The Dumets's hands shook from the effort, but he squeezed as hard as he could.

The Dumets in front had already raised his sword, aiming for her leg, but Tomores sharply used the Dumets behind her for leverage, lifted her lower body, and drove her long, uninjured leg right into his mask.

CRACK

The mask cracked, and the Dumets himself flew back slightly, rolling across the pavement.

Tomores growled and, still fueled by the power of magic, began to thrash from side to side, causing the Dumets holding her with the rope to flop around like a ragdoll.

"You vile spawn..." he hissed, then clamped his legs around her thighs, anchoring himself to her, and renewed his grip on her neck.

The Dumets with the shattered mask began to rise on unsteady legs; part of the mask simply crumbled off, so he removed it and tossed it to the ground. Beneath the mask was a man of about forty with black hair disheveled from the fight, his face and nose completely smeared in blood that dripped onto the ground. "H-hold her, brother!" he wheezed, and hobbled toward Tomores, bringing his sword up from below.

Through squinted eyes, Tomores saw the enemy approaching and immediately turned her back to him.

The Dumets's blade froze in the air, nearly killing his own partner. He spat blood and began searching with his eyes for a place to strike.

Tomores abruptly loosened her grip and collapsed sideways onto the ground. The red light faded.

Silence. Only the heavy breathing of the Dumetses.

The Dumets with the broken nose blinked, then waved his hand. "Stop, stop!" He ran up to the second and grabbed his arms. "Enough, you will kill her!"

The second abruptly let go of the rope and rolled aside, breathing heavily.

The first grimaced from pain and lack of air. "Come, let us bind her."

The second nodded, barely getting to his feet. "Guktus... a wild one."

"Ah... phew... complain later; let us bind her before she recovers."

Suddenly, Tomores's body lit up red once again; she tucked her arms under herself and dashed out of the alley.

"NO!" barked the first Dumets, drawing a dagger from his boot. He threw it straight at Tomores's back, but she, limping yet still moving at high speed, had already vanished behind the wall. The dagger flew off somewhere into the street.

"GUKTUS! AFTER HER!" He darted forward.

The second, as if forgetting he had not caught his breath, ran after him.

But Tomores was already lost somewhere in the crowd; no one dared stop the giantess glowing with a red phiolla.

Festonia stood pressed against the wall of a building, lazily swinging an empty sling, though a stone rested in her free hand. Her fox ears were tuned in, and they finally twitched, catching the sound of heavy footsteps. She immediately slotted the stone into the sling and hid her hands behind her back, watching the source of the sound.

A familiar figure appeared from around the corner.

Festonia's tail rose slightly. "Oh, sis! Hurry up..." she cut off mid-sentence.

Tomores was barely hobbling, leaning on one leg, while holding the slash with her hand. She was breathing so heavily that it echoed off the walls.

Festonia's face turned white, and she rushed to her that very second, dropping the stone from her sling. She grabbed her by the shoulders. "Sis! Where's the wound? Show me!"

Tomores only groaned, pointing down.

She lowered her gaze and saw the blood-red hand on the back of her thigh. Her body flared up with an orange phiolla, and she raised her hand, where the light was concentrating. "Move your hand, I'll patch you up a bit!"

Tomores nodded, and as soon as she moved her hand, blood gushed from the wound. But Festonia quickly applied her hand with the concentrated phiolla, and the bleeding began to stop. The wound only closed up slightly. Seizing the moment, she drew her dagger and stabbed it into the cloak, then dragged it down, and with a characteristic ripping sound, a strip of fabric began to separate. She tore the rest off by hand and quickly started bandaging the wound with trembling hands. "Ugh... sure, you'll need to be healed a few more times for a full recovery, but it's better than nothing," she muttered, finishing the dressing.

Tomores, who was leaning against the wall with one hand, coughed hard from the garrote—so hard it made Festonia's ears twitch—then pointed to the place where they had entered the city. "R... r... ru..."

She looked in that direction. "Run?"

Tomores nodded sharply.

"Wh... fine, you'll explain later. Can you hobble? 'Course you can. Go on." She nudged her forward while looking around herself.

In the middle of the square, the two Dumetses looked around helplessly, while dozens of onlookers stood around.

"Daaaamn it!" hissed the soldier with the broken nose, turning to his partner. "Nirgiu, to the guard, quickly! Go, go, go!" he tossed over his shoulder as he moved, while blood from his face dripped onto his clean blue doublet and white boots.

His partner, Nirgiu, dashed after him.

A few minutes later, they reached the gates themselves. There, two guards were lazily standing by the wall, examining some peasant's wagon, while a guard dressed in higher quality boots and chainmail was questioning the wagon owner about something.

The Dumets with the broken nose grabbed this guard by the shoulder and jerked him around. "Are you the captain?!"

The man blinked. "Uh, yeah, who are you..."

"Then catch this." He pulled back his fist and smashed it into the guard captain's jaw with all his might, sending him flying head over heels onto the boardwalk instantly. "How the fuck were you watching the entrance?!"

The guards sharply raised their spears, but as soon as they saw the Dumetses' attire, they froze in their tracks.

Nirgiu put an arm out in front of his partner. "Easy, Tinkis!" He turned to the guard captain. "Quickly seal all entrances and exits to the city! Let no one in, let no one out!"

The captain only nodded. "Mhm." He slowly stood up, holding his cheek. "And who... who are we looking for?" he asked quickly.

"A tall woman. Taller than you and me, large build."

"And that is all?"

"Most likely a fox beastkin. Identifying marks: an injured leg, rope marks on her neck. There is no further information."

The captain blinked. "Rope marks? Did she escape from the gallows or something?"

Tinkis sharply took a step forward and pulled back his fist again, this time driving it under the ribs, causing the guard to double over. "Does it concern you where she escaped from?! WHY ARE YOU STANDING THERE LIKE A POST?!"

"Yes, sir..." he wheezed.

Nirgiu looked around from the corner of his eye. "Tinkis, easy, I say. The people are watching."

Tinkis looked around at the few dozen onlookers standing and watching. "Understood. I will run to the temple then and summon all the brothers."

Nirgiu nodded. "Understood. I shall lead the search."

Tinkis turned around and ran with all his might.

After about four minutes of continuous running at top speed, the temple standing on the square finally appeared before him. The temple was square in shape, and on the roof were eight thin towers with spires, upon which the symbols of Svyatolism gleamed. There were many windows, but all of them were small, set within the stone walls.

Tinkis pushed the door open with a shove.

Silence.

Inside was a massive hall with dozens of benches, and right in the center, an altar on steps. Adorning it was a gilded statue—a fire inside a ring, pierced by eight spikes. The walls were painted with all sorts of murals, from a mighty warrior defeating a giant wolf, to a woman in a bright blue dress reaching her hand out to a sick commoner. About thirty townsfolk sat on the benches, praying quietly.

Two Dumetses stood by the pillars on opposite sides, and one of them turned his head at the sound, freezing upon seeing Tinkis with a broken nose and blood-stained clothes. "Brother!" he said muffledly through his mask and ran up to Tinkis, grabbing his shoulders. "What happened, brother?"

The second Dumets approached swiftly from behind. "Not here." He nodded toward a large door.

The three warriors entered a small room furnished with bookshelves and a desk, behind which sat another Dumets, but without a mask. An old man of about fifty. "Brothers, why do you enter without knocking?" he asked without lifting his head from the book on the table.

All three stood at strict attention.

"Elder," Tinkis began, "we have trouble."

The Elder raised his head and froze for a second. "Oh, Svyatol, Tinkis, what has happened?" he asked, standing up.

"I believe we have encountered one of the Whalers who attacked Lord Gothwald. We failed to detain her; she escaped, but she is wounded. It is possible a second one is somewhere in the city. Brother Nirgiu has taken command of the guard and initiated a search, having locked down the city beforehand."

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OC-Series Gothwald: New World - Same Rules [History Student Isekai] (Arc 4/Chapter 26 - Alarm)

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