The Lord Of Ourbhium

Sener

In the midst of his increasingly faint murmuring, the long, furry hands of that creature began to break through the window frames.

One by one, its extremely sharp fingers slipped inside, trying to reach Jacker’s body that was still trapped behind the rubble.

Seeing that sight, Jacker could only smile faintly before lifting the thick shield he had been gripping all this time once more.

Without wasting time, he forced himself to stand up.

His eyes immediately swept every corner of the room, searching for a glimmer of hope amid the oppressive situation.

Not long after, his gaze fixed on a large window on the left side of the room that was open fairly wide.

With ragged breaths, Jacker immediately ran, breaking through the scattered rubble toward that window.

Haah... haah... it seems luck is still on my side.

If I manage to get through that window, maybe I can ask for help from Uncle Ramires who lives right next to this building.

But... what worries me the most is whether he is at home right now.

I still remember Uncle Heinrich once telling me that Uncle Ramires now works as a notary at the central government office.

Damn... if that’s the case, it seems I have to prepare another plan.

In that run, Jacker kept turning over ideas in his mind, thinking of various ways to get out of that cursed place.

However, before he could reach the handle of that large window, a far more tremendous vibration than before suddenly shook the entire building.

KRAAAKKK!!

In an instant, the floor and walls around him split into two, creating a giant hole in the middle of the house.

That tremendous shaking once again made Jacker lose his balance.

His body was thrown several meters before finally collapsing in a corner of the room, farther away from the window pane he had nearly managed to reach.

“Argggh... that bastard... don’t tell me he knows I intended to escape through that window?”

In the middle of that chaos, without thinking long, Jacker immediately braced his right hand on a wooden cabinet that was still stuck between the collapsed walls.

His fingers tightly gripped the wooden surface, while his body struggled to maintain balance so as not to fall into the large gaping hole beneath him, filled with sharp glass shards.

If his grip slipped even a little, his body would be flung to the bottom of the rubble and torn by the scattered glass pieces there.

However, the danger was not yet over.

Amid the continuous echoing sound of cracks, the terrifying hands of that monster once again crawled throughout every corner of the room, tearing apart whatever stood before them.

Jacker could only grit his teeth while trying to reach a piece of wood nearby so he could jump to another side of the wall that looked relatively safe.

“Erghhh... if only my arms were a little longer, I wouldn’t have to struggle like this.”

In a hurry, his left hand finally managed to grip the end of that wood, allowing him to breathe a little easier.

Even so, he realized that he could not stay like this for long.

Without wasting time, Jacker immediately used the end of that wood as a foothold, then swung his body to jump toward the wall in front of him.

In the middle of his attempt to jump, the terrifying fingers of the furry creature suddenly lunged toward Jacker, trying to seize him before he managed to land.

Jacker suddenly panicked.

His body swayed until he nearly slipped from his foothold.

Right when he thought he had managed to escape—

KRAAKK...!

The wooden floor that served as his footing suddenly cracked.

In an instant, his balance vanished, causing him to fall straight down.

“Damn... damn... damn... you’re kidding me?!”

His heart now pounded harder and harder, while his breathing became extremely constricted.

The shadow of death instantly filled his mind.

With an empty gaze, he could only watch those two terrifying hands slowly approaching, ready to seize his helpless body.

In the end, whatever he did felt futile.

The destiny he had thought could be changed turned out to be nothing more than an empty delusion.

Now he began to understand that there are things in this world that cannot be changed, no matter how hard he tries.

At that very moment, Jacker felt as if destiny was toying with him in the cruelest way possible.

However, amid such a desperate situation, a glimmer of hope gradually began to shine again in Jacker’s eyes that had been gray.

A flash of lightning suddenly split the sky.

BZZZZTTTTTZZZZTTTT...!!

That bluish-white light struck the long fingers of the creature precisely, severing them in an instant.

“GROOOOOOAAARRRGGHHHHHHH!!”

Suddenly, the terrifying roar of the creature shook the entire house.

Its voice was so tremendous that Jacker, who had been sunk in his reverie all this time, was jolted awake.

“Jacker Morentte, correct?”

Not long after, an unfamiliar man appeared from behind the rubble and slowly stepped toward Jacker.

His body was tall and sturdy, with black hair and a thick beard that was neatly trimmed.

The clothes he wore looked so luxurious, decorated with rows of golden lace hanging on every side.

Meanwhile, in his right hand he gripped an old book of deep black color, with a series of strange writings carved on its cover.

“Sorry... sorry. Are you injured? It seems I shouldn’t have allowed a savage creature like this to search for you.”

“W-who are you...?”

A faint voice came from Jacker’s lips as he now lay helpless atop the pile of building debris.

His spine felt crushed, while both of his arms were numb.

His entire body seemed to go limp all at once, making him unable even to move a single finger.

“Liam Caven, a mid-level Sener as well as a former direct guard of the Emperor.”

“Hah... a former guard? What is someone like you doing in a place like this?”

“Of course to look for you, Jacker. You know, it took quite a long time to find your whereabouts.”

“What do you mean by that...?”

“Well... I can’t explain everything here, because this concerns my life. You have to come with me if you want to know.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Well... I guess there’s no other choice but to take you by force.”

The cold words of the unfamiliar man instantly ignited Jacker’s anger.

His jaw clenched tightly, while his gaze turned sharp.

However, the moment his eyes fixed on the emblem of a Biereth carved on the sleeve of the man’s robe, both of his eyes widened.

“That emblem on your sleeve... are you from the Sibera Faction?”

Jacker’s words instantly made the unfamiliar man freeze in place.

His thick eyebrows rose high, while his expression was filled with surprise.

“Hm... so you know our group. Is something like that taught at the academy?”

“Of course not. But how could I not know one of the largest factions that ever existed in the empire, as well as the main mastermind behind the great rebellion ten years ago? Sibera Aureon... isn’t that the name of your leader?”

“You even know information like that. Actually, who told you? Was it your uncle?”

“Who knows... Besides, does it matter?”

“Ck... you’re really hard to talk to!”

The corner of Liam’s lips twitched slightly, accompanied by a sour expression.

He clearly did not like the annoying attitude Jacker had been showing all this time.

Takk... takk... takk...

In the middle of the tension between Jacker and the unfamiliar man earlier, the sound of footsteps could be heard faintly from behind the shadows of the rubble.

That sound was accompanied by the clinking of metal that vibrated every time those feet stepped on the ground.

“How is it, Lord Gouras? Have you found him?”

Not long after, a young woman appeared from behind the rubble.

She wore a thick leather coat, while a lantern with a bright blue light was tightly gripped in her right hand.

Her green eyes shone like jade stones. Her light brown hair was neatly tied on both sides of her head, making her appearance briefly resemble a noble princess lost in the silence of the city.

“Yes, I think I’ve found him. Black hair and pale skin... Isn’t he Jacker Morentte?”

“Wow, you’re right. His appearance is exactly as Eva described. In fact, he looks younger. How old is he now? Sixteen?”

“Who knows. Since he’s now in his final year at the academy, it seems he’s eighteen.”

“Is that so...”

“By the way, Nomi, can you heal him first? He looks like he’s in so much pain.”

“Really? But what if he runs away after I heal him? Wouldn’t that become a problem for us?”

“Hmm... true. In that case, it’s better if we heal him after meeting Eva. That woman can surely control this man, right?”

“I think so. But won’t he die during the journey later? Can’t you just call Eva here?”

“I can’t. That woman is busy with other matters. Besides, the journey there won’t take too long. I think he’ll still be fine until we arrive.”

“Thank goodness then...”

Jacker could only stare at the two of them with a confused look.

The words they uttered one after another could not be digested by his mind at all.

His body felt so exhausted. Even just lifting his head felt almost impossible.

Hah... great. Now those two are just chatting away and leaving me lying weakly all alone.

Moreover, what exactly is the reason they’re looking for me?

Have I ever done something wrong to one of their comrades? No, right?

Damn... it feels like confusing things just keep coming at me.

While Jacker was still sunk in his thoughts, the unfamiliar woman slowly stepped toward him with a warm smile radiating from her face.

“Are you alright, Lord Jacker?”

“Who are you...? Are you a companion of that old man?”

“Well... you could say so.”

“Hah...? Do you also intend to take me away like that guy?”

“Of course. After all, that’s the purpose of us coming here. So, if you end up refusing—”

“Ah, fine... fine. I understand.”

Jacker let out a long breath before finally being forced to agree to the invitation.

“I’ll go with you. So just stop all this nonsense.”

With a feeling of annoyance, Jacker poured out all his complaints in front of the woman.

“Woah... it seems you’re quite a short-tempered person, huh?”

“Whatever. However, before you take me away, I have one condition that you must fulfill.”

Jacker then presented a requirement to her, which suddenly made the woman a little surprised.

“Alright. As long as it doesn’t burden us.”

“Thank goodness. My condition is only one.”

Jacker stared at the two of them with a serious look.

“If all the chaos you’ve created so far turns out to be nothing but empty talk, let me go home right then. If not, then I’ll stay here. How about it?”

“Hm... that’s quite heavy.”

The woman fell silent for a moment before finally nodding slowly.

“Alright. Besides, there’s no loss for us.”

She then looked back at Jacker with a sharp gaze.

“However, since we have agreed to your condition, you also have to obey us during the journey later. Do you understand, Lord Jacker?”

“Fine. I understand.”

The two of them then looked at each other, as if they had reached an agreement.

Meanwhile, Liam Caven only watched them with a thin smile while beginning to open the pages of the old book in his grip one by one.

Until finally, when the last page stopped being opened—

Wuuunggg...!

An extremely powerful energy instantly radiated from the book.

The air around them trembled violently, as if the space in that place was beginning to distort.

“Alright. Since this matter has been settled, how about we leave right now?”

A soft embroidery was now beginning to weave the path of Jacker’s destiny without him realizing it.

He could now only let out a long breath, while waiting for whatever would await him later.