Chapter 5, Part 9

Climb rushed forward, eager to get to Renner’s room. Yet, even though he was worried sick about Renner, he couldn’t help feeling that something was off. About half-way through the castle, he finally realized what it was – too few people.

He had yet to see a single noble and had only come across a few servants and just a handful of guards. And their behavior seems odd too. Some of them acted as if they were caught in the middle of doing something inappropriate, they averted their eyes, while trying their best to pretend they were preoccupied with something else. It looked very similar to the way thieves behaved at the market when they were about to steal something. The others seemed to be surprised at seeing Climb and looked at him with fearful yet pitying eyes.

Climb had gotten many kinds of looks while serving Renner. Usually, they were looks filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. Though recently, some fearful looks had begun to make an appearance. But, the looks of pity were completely new. Whatever one’s opinion of Climb was, there was little to pity him for, given his position. That he was getting them now only added to Climb’s concerns.

He continued to run toward Renner’s room, soon he was able to hear a strange noise – it sounded like chopping wood. It was strange to hear it inside the castle. Yet as he got closer to his destination, the sound of metal smashing into wood became clearer.

After turning a corner, Climb passed a group of female servants. The women were originally looking in the opposite direction but turned around to look at Climb after hearing his footsteps. Several of them screamed while the others held a hand over their mouths, upon seeing him. Climb ran by them without giving them so much as a look, convinced that their reaction was due to whatever was happening with Renner.

Now he could hear angry shouting, in addition to the wood chopping noise. Finally, Climb reached his destination: a corridor, some twelve feet wide, which led to Renner’s room, in front of which he could see some half a dozen guards. One of these men was enthusiastically taking an axe to the door, making the noise Climb heard earlier.

“What… what are you doing?” Climb yelled as he slowed his advance.

“Oh, if it isn’t the traitor’s dog. Where did he come from?” One of the guards asked the others, as they all turned to look at Climb.

“Just what do you think you are doing?” Climb asked again, his shoulders moving up and down from his heavy breathing.

“We are following His Majesty’s orders. And you better not get in our way,” one of the men said, before motioning for the guard holding the axe to continue.

This guy, Climb swore in his mind as he took a step back. The man, nicknamed Innocent Sam, was someone Climb would normally avoid at all costs, but the current circumstances made avoiding a clash impossible.

“You dare to intrude on Princess Renner’s privacy in my presence?” Climb shouted, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. “You are courting death!” He added as he drew his sword.

“So you want to defend the traitor?” One of the guards asked, drawing his sword.

“Where did he come from anyway? We haven’t seen him in over a week.” Another guard asked looking at Climb curiously.

“Whatever. I always hated this bastard. Looking down on us, normal guards, despite being a low-born nobody. I won’t let this chance get away,” Sam spat, after saying this. “Come, dog, I’ll send your soul to your mistress.” He added as he pulled out a set of stilettos.

“Send my soul to my…” Climb repeated in shock. “What did you do to Princess Renner?!” He screamed as his eyes widened.

“Hehehe,” the man laughed and smirked. “There is no Princess Renner anymore,” he added as he began to advance toward Climb.

As the men approached him, Climb lifted his sword and began to back away. Granted, Climb wore a plate mail, while the guards wore leather armor, but, fighting alone against six was going to be extremely dangerous. Even more so since one of them was the infamous Innocent Sam.

“You, continue breaking down the door. I am not chasing this stray dog, let him come to us,” Sam told the guard armed with the axe.

The six stopped their advance, one of them returning to chopping the door. Meanwhile, Sam, who was the leader of this group, strode forward, smirking at Climb.

“What ya gonna do now?” He mocked as he advanced, twirling the daggers in his hands.

Climb swallowed hard, as his mind raced. Princess Renner must still be alive, otherwise, why are they trying to break into her room? I don’t know what’s going on here, but I have to defeat them and rescue the Princess. He drew a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves down. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and lifted his sword. For a moment he stared at Sam, recalling what he knew of the man.

Sam’s story was quite typical for palace guards – the second son of some noble family, whose name he had cast aside long ago, the family estate went to his older brother, leaving him to fend for himself. Thanks to his talent for combat he managed to secure a place among the castle guards. Yet he felt no love for the nobles and saw no reason to seek a patron. Smart, cunning, and an excellent fighter he should have quickly risen in rank, but without a powerful backer, others were favored over him. As a result, Sam had only achieved a position of a guard squad leader after years of service.

It was frustrating, but Sam understood that that was just how things worked. The nobles would only offer a powerful position to one of theirs. Still, it left him feeling frustrated. Unable to do anything to the nobles, Sam had chosen to take out his frustration on the commoners. Every weekend he would go to a tavern and pick a fight. However, he would do it in such a way that he was always the innocent party, forced to defend himself against the unruly tavern patrons. A frustrated city guard once called him Innocent Sam, after being called over to yet another fight Sam was involved in. The name stuck.

Over the years Sam’s cruelty for commoners grew evermore. Especially for those who were able to get ahead despite their low birth. The most prominent examples of such commoners were the Warrior Captain and Climb. Gazef was far too strong, but Climb was a different story, and the man would always look for an opportunity to bait the young man. Of course, Climb was aware of this, and would always make sure to be extra careful when talking to Sam and to avoid giving him any reason to start a fight. Until now.

[Ability Boost], [Evasion] [Greater Evasion] Climb activated several of his martial arts, his opponents also activated their abilities. Climb cleared his mind of all the worries and focused on the men in front of him, then, with an anger-filled shout, he rushed forward.

“Yes, that’s it, dog, come at me,” Sam mumbled as he bent his knees and leaned forward. Despite his entire body being ready to explode, his arms were fully relaxed, hanging by his sides.

Just as Climb was about to enter melee range, Sam lifted his left arm and threw the dagger. He didn’t wait to see Climb’s reaction, instead diving forward, following the dagger’s path.

Damn it, Climb swore in his mind. The dagger was thrown toward his right side and he easily avoided it by leaning left. However, by doing so he also shifted his body weight, which made it impossible for him to take a good swing at Sam, who was rushing forward on Climb’s right. There was no time to adjust, and the best Climb could manage was to stab awkwardly at the incoming foe.

Sam ducked under the oncoming sword and circled behind Climb. He delivered a kick with his left foot to the back of Climb’s right knee. He then grabbed the side of Climb’s head with his left hand and yanked it to the right, pushing Climb even more out of balance. At the same time, he stabbed at the side of Climb’s skull with the dagger in his right hand.

Knocked out of balance, Climb fell on his right knee and also placed his right hand on the floor, in order to avoid falling down completely. Sam was behind him, yet sensing extreme danger, Climb lifted his left hand to protect the right side of his head. The dagger’s point stabbed into the palm of his gauntlet and slid to the side. However, Climb failed to grab the arm holding the dagger and Sam quickly pulled it back, ready to attack again.

Meanwhile, Climb found himself in a terrible position. Half kneeling, his right hand, which held the sword, was on the ground, bearing most of his weight, while his left hand was raised to protect the right side of his face. On top of that, Sam was still holding Climb’s head with his left hand. There was simply no way for Climb to turn around to face Sam. The chances of him stopping the next attack were also slim.

There was only one thing Climb could do – he rolled forward in an attempt to both avoid the next attack and create some distance between himself and Sam. As soon as he got back to his knees, Climb executed a blind horizontal slash to keep Sam from following after him. He then fully stood up and moved so his back was against the wall, luckily the other guards didn’t advance and weren’t in range to immediately attack.

He had escaped death, but his circumstances had gotten worse. He had lost what little advantage his position provided before, now his back was against the wall, on his left was Sam, while on his right were the other five guards. Even the one with the axe stopped swinging at the door and instead looked on at the unfolding show with interest.

The guards on his right began to move forward, while Sam remained a few steps outside of melee range. Twelve feet wide, the corridors of the castle were wide enough that if Climb stood against the wall, someone could stand against the opposite wall and still be out of his reach. In other words, his enemies could surround him on three sides, not just two.

I can’t let that happen, Climb thought as the four guards approached from his right. But, if I attack them, Sam will strike at my back. If only I knew more Martial Arts, Climb sighed at his lack of talent.

[Strengthen Perception], Climb activated a skill that boosted his perception. His body jerked to the left, before darting to the right. A few quick steps and he was in range of the four advancing guards.

[High Vertical Strike] Climb activated his Martial Art as he leaped forward.

The target of his attack managed to lift his sword to intercept the strike but to little avail. The power of the Martial Art, combined with the momentum from his leap, produced too much power. The attempted parry was rendered ineffective and Climb’s sword fell on the guard’s shoulder, crushing the man’s collar bone and sending him to the ground.

The curses of the other three guards assailed Climb even as their sword followed suit. However, Climb never planned to fight them, he had already retreated several steps. His senses sharpened to the utmost, Climb flipped the sword in his hand and stabbed behind himself, as he took another step back.

The move was supposed to catch Sam, who was about to attack from behind, by surprise. Yet all Climb got was a mocking laugh – his attack was seen through, and Sam was able to leap away. Climb turned around to face Sam, only to see the man advancing toward him. Swinging his sword wildly Climb moved so his back was pressed against the opposite wall from before.

“Don’t just stand there, come here and help,” one of the three guards shouted at the guard with the axe, who was still standing by the door, watching the fight.

“Alright, alright, I am coming,” the man replied while moving forward.

This small break gave Climb a moment to catch his breath, yet the situation remained as bad as before. Sam on his right, four guards on his left. Looking like a cornered animal, Climb’s gaze shifted from side to side, as did the sword in his hand.

This is my only chance, if it fails, I will die, Climb thought as his left hand reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small pocket watch. With the item in hand, Climb activated his most powerful Martial Art.

[Limit Breaker – Mind]

Then, he waited for the guards to attack him. Two from the left, two from the front, and Sam from the right. There was no way he could defend against five simultaneous attacks, but. [Activate Item: Pocket Watch] Climb used the magic item in his left hand and suddenly the movements of the five attackers slowed to a crawl.

The pocket watch didn’t stop time, rather it boosted the perception and thought process of the user to the limit. With his senses amplified hundreds of times beyond normal, Climb could fully analyze the attackers’ patterns and determine the best counter. A moment later he settled on a counter-move. Climb’s sword looped to the left before turning into a slash to the right, while he himself began to sidestep to the right, along the wall. Of course, his movements were no faster than the attackers’, since the pocket watch only amplified his senses.

The moment the effect wore off Climb made a side-step to the right and activated [Slash] as his sword slashed horizontally. The four guards hit nothing but air. Sam proved to have a superior reaction, as he was able to stop his attack and even raised his left arm to protect himself. However, it wasn’t enough. Climb’s sword swooshed through the air as it sliced through Sam’s arm before beheading the man. Blood sprouted in the air, even as Climb moved further to his right before turning around to face the four remaining guards. The men stopped their attack as they began to express their shock.

“He… he killed Sam!” One of the guards shouted in shock.

“That’s right… only you four remain… come and get it, you bastards.” Climb shouted in between quick breaths.

Sweat was pouring all over him, and he had trouble seeing things clearly, as his vision was filled with bright and black circles. Yet, Climb tried his best to look imposing as he threatened the guards.

“Damn it, I can’t believe he actually killed Sam.”

“What do we do now?”

“We should kill him!”

“Yea? You think you’ll do better than Innocent Sam? Please.”

“But His Majesty’s orders…”

“Are you a moron or what? Don’t you know what’s going on?”

“Then what? Do we just leave?”

“Well, I ain’t dying here.”

“Yea, you’re right. Things have changed, it’s not worth it now.”

Having come to a conclusion, one of the guards stepped forward and shouted: “You are in luck, we decided your life isn’t worth taking.”

Climb scowled at the men, no longer having the energy to speak, as he leaned against a wall. The guards moved along the opposite wall while keeping an eye on him. Once the guards were out of view, Climb collapsed on the ground, his whole body trembling as he tried not to heave. His vision blurred and he lumped on the ground, his whole body trembling from overexertion. The after-effect of using the pocket watch was rather severe.

Climb wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but looking around the corridor seemed no different from how it was before his vision went blurry. Forcing himself to stand up, Climb wobbled toward the door to Renner’s room. His movements became more coordinated as the fog filling his head began to disperse. By the time he had reached the door, he was back to normal.

“Princess Renner, it’s me Climb!” He shouted as he pounded on the door. “Those men are gone now. Do you hear me? It’s safe now!” He continued to shout.

Climb pressed his ear to the door, he could hear someone crying.

“Renner-sama, it’s me, Climb! You are safe now!” He shouted once more.

The sound of someone crying became louder in response to his words. Just what in the world is going on? Climb wondered as he pulled on the door’s handle. Mm, it’s locked. In that case, he thought as he pulled out another magic item.

[Activate Item: Bell of Open Lock], Climb activated the magical bell he held next to the door’s lock. The lock glowed purple before Climb heard the click of it opening. However, when he tried pushing the door open it didn’t budge. After making several more attempts, Climb came to the conclusion that the door had been barricaded on the other side.

Climb scratched his head in thought, before moving some ten yards away from the door. Then he rushed at the door before kicking it with his armored boot. The door creaked and opened slightly. Climb repeated the action, again and again. He felt rather weird doing so, but there was no choice. Finally, after the sixth try, the door opened up enough for him to squeeze through.

Once inside the room, Climb’s eyes widened when he saw that the door had a rather heavy bookcase backed against it. However, he didn’t have time to wonder how Renner was able to move such a heavy object as his eyes were drawn to a figure crying behind a table.

It was a woman, but it was also a monster. She had long silver hair, and two black horns protruded from her head. Behind her back was a pair of black, leathery wings. There were more details, but Climb had seen enough.

“Where is Princess Renner, monster?!” He shouted as he stepped forward and readied his sword.

Suddenly, the woman lifted her head and looked at Climb.

“P-Princess Renner?!” Climb shouted as he looked into the woman’s tear-stained face.

“Oh, Climb,” Renner cried out, new tears streaming down her face. She reached out toward him as if wishing to grab him.

Climb dropped his sword and rushed forward. He came to a stop directly in front of Renner, who wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his blood-splattered metal armor.

“It’s alright, I am here, you are safe now,” Climb said as he wrapped his arms around Renner, carefully avoiding her wings.

For a while, they just stood like that, with their arms wrapped around each other. Being so close, Climb’s eyes were drawn to the two horns protruding from Renner’s head. About ten inches long, smooth and black in color, they looked somewhat exquisite against the silver hair. Climb seemed to be mesmerized, as he stared at the horns for a while before regaining his senses.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat as he let go of his embrace. “Just what had actually happened? Who did this to you?!” He asked feeling his anger rising.

“Oh, Climb. It was terrible.” Renner lifted her now blood-covered face to look at Climb. “They tried to kill me…” She added as she began to sob again.

“Who did? Please, tell me everything,” Climb implored.

Renner drew a long breath and rubbed her eyes, as she tried to focus.

“The messengers of the Sorcerer King came to me. They, they said you were captured and of-offered me a deal,” she began while trying to contain her sobbing. “They would release you unharmed if I worked for the Sorcerer Kingdom. B-But, in order to work for them I would first need to be turned into a mo-monster,” she finished before covering her face with her hands as she began to sob again.

“I knew it! The Sorcerer King couldn’t be trusted. He will pay for what he did to you!” Climb exclaimed as he clenched his fists.

“No, no, Climb. I knew the price, and I gladly paid it to see you safe. It was my m-mistake, I underestimated the p-power of the Sorcerer King. I-It was foolish to oppose him fro-from the start.” Renner said while sobbing.

“How can you say that?” Climb shouted, but Renner waved her hand dismissively as she continued.

“They also gave me a message for King Zanac. He was to abdicate the throne, and Marquis Raeven and I would jointly rule the Kingdom on behalf of the Sorcerer King.” Renner stopped speaking and rubbed her eyes, before continuing: “When word of my… transformation got out, King Zanac came to me. But, h-he got mad when I told him. He left in anger, and then he… he… he called me a monster and ordered them to kill me…”

Renner leaned against Climb’s chest and wrapped her arms around him while her body trembled as she began to cry loudly.

“It’s alright, you are safe now. No one will hurt you now that I am here,” Climb tried to calm her down, even as he raged inside. How could His Majesty do it? To order the guards to kill his own sister… Unforgivable! Climb thought, his blood boiling. But, I’ll deal with that later, right now I must ensure Renner’s well being.

“B-But Climb, look at me, I, I am a m-monster now. Who will protect a mo-monster?” Renner squeezed out in between her sobs, lifting her head to look at Climb.

“You are no monster. To me, you are just as beautiful as you have always been,” Climb stated with unshakable conviction, even as he stared at Renner’s bloodied face. “And I, Climb, hereby swear that I will always be by your side, serving and protecting you, until my dying breath.”

“Oh, th-thank you, Climb,” Renner cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks. “But, I, I have a limitless life span now… in the end… you will still… leave me.”

Climb bit his lip. It’s true, my own limited lifespan is a problem, he thought.

“Please, don’t worry, Renner-sama. I, I could ask Sebas-sama for help. Surely there is a way, even if I have to turn into a monster myself,” Climb said as he looked into Renner’s eyes.

“Then, then, you and I can be together forever?” Renner asked while trying to stifle her sobs.

“That’s right. No matter what happens, I will always be by your side,” Climb nodded energetically.

“Oh, Climb!” Renner cried out as she once again embraced Climb, placing her head on his chest.

Unbeknownst to Climb, a smile crept onto Renner’s face.

A mistress and her loyal dog, together, forever.

*****

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