THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 204: 204. THINGS ESCALATE I

”Fire the red flare and take N’varu to the healers’ wing. I have someone to kill.” Sagiri said, standing to his feet.

”Can someone answer me? What the hell is going on?” Kiuga said, holding onto Sagiri’s hand. He was good at strategy, but even he would not plan a strategy without knowing what was happening.

Sagiri snapped back his hand and went to rid himself of all the tags on his upper hand. He slapped them on Kiuga’s chest.

”Kiuga, I trust you will get N’varu to the healing wing and the team back safely,” Sagiri said in a serious tone. ”I’m sure you have always known I am different. Whatever I have to deal with now, none of you can stop it. You can do one last thing for me as a team. Make sure N’varu doesn’t die.”

There was silence, and no one dared speak.

”What do you mean by the last thing?” Kaka said. It was clear he did not know how to react to the situation.

”Sagiri, please don’t go. Let me come with you.” N’varu pleaded. He had now let his guard down, and Sagiri could perceive his feelings. The boy was in agony. So much against it was overpowered by the fear he was feeling.

Kiuga had withdrawn the flare, and he was holding it in his right hand, but it was clear he was hesitating to leave.

”Kiuga, you promise now,” Sagiri said, and kiuga finally snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He knew better than to try to reason with Sagiri when his mind was made up. As the squad leader, he had to think about the lives of everyone in the squad, too. Sagiri grabbed the flare from Kiuga’s hand and fired.

”The test is over. Now go!” Sagiri said before he turned around and fell to a crouch. In that moment, he pushed out his senses like wildfire. He was not holding back anymore. Poison be damned. He could move anywhere within the archives’ reach now. It all needed but a thought.

Before anyone could move, Sagiri was no longer there in front of them. Where he had been a second before, now there was nothing. Sagiri was in the place where the voice had been talking to him from.

The man was no longer there, however, and he had moved to another direction just as quickly.

”Do you plan to kill me?” The voice was altered now.

”Why don’t you stop running, and perhaps you will find out,” Sagiri said, rage rolling off him. ”How did you even get inside the watcher’s eye?” Sagiri had been wondering about that.

”Machines are prone to fail. Don’t tell me you are thinking that someone has seen an intruder in this place?” Sagiri remained silent, trying to pinpoint the source of the man’s voice. It was as if it was coming from two places now. He had indeed come prepared.

”Have they not?” Sagiri asked, trying to find the real voice. However, he was doing it, which was throwing him off.

”Let me see. That Asakana captain is busy right now with a little treat I left him with in his prison. Well, and your principal is busy watching the exam.”

”What did you do to Salka?” Sagiri asked. He was not worried at all about Salka, but it seemed like the man knew well the ins and outs of the academy. Even more, he knew which people were on his side. It was only natural for someone who had him admitted to the number one academy of Tagayia to have eyes everywhere. This was within Sagiri’s expectations.

”Don’t worry, it will take more than a few hundred prisoners to take out that beast.” The voice said what Sagiri already knew. ”However, I think he should be the least of your concerns. Haven’t you wondered whether your parents made it to the academy or not?” The man said with a small laugh. Sagiri’s blood ran cold at the statement. If anyone touched a hair on their head...

He would burn the entire Tagayia to ashes.

”If you touch them...”

”If you come willingly, I would not have to resort to this. Look at what you made me do...”

”... I will kill you.” Sagiri continued, not caring what the man had to say.

”Don’t be too hasty, southerner. If you kill me, you will never see them.” The voice said, and Sagiri trembled with rage. How dare he? How dare he? At that moment, Sagiri found him. He moved to the place within the archives, but again, when he got there, he was already gone. The man was somehow outside the wall now. Sagiri had come so close to the wall without noticing. He pushed the achievement out and moved. His feet touched the outside of the wall, and he broke into a run. He was already hungry throughout the day, and now he had used the archives’ teleportation ability thrice in a row.

He did not have the time to catch his breath, however, with his parents’ lives at stake. He moved quickly in the direction he thought the man he was searching for had gone. The archive crackled with the killing intent running through his veins. He was a dark blur in the night as he went. He had probably never moved that first. All he cared about was the desire to destroy. No matter how fast he moved, he had long lost the man, as if he had disappeared completely.

The only direction the person could have gone was to Galka City. sagiri should have taken a few hours to reach the city, but he was there in less than two hours. The city was mostly asleep. Sagiri passed through the gates in a blur. The wardens there must have heard someone pass by, by how fast they turned, but he was already gone. He moved from roof to roof, avoiding any place that was still awake. He found the tallest building and perched. Most of the population would be asleep or be at the arena in Galka watching the exam.

Sagiri perched on the tallest roof at the centre of the city and pushed his senses out. Steady hearts met his ears as far as he could reach. Not one panicked heartbeat. He remained there for a few minutes before moving to another, then another. He could not perceive his parents at all. He had been with them his whole life, and he could smell them like a hound. He could perceive them even in a crowd of thousands. After going around the city for a few hours, he was sure they were not there.

Only one thing was left to do. He was exhausted, but he was not going to stop. With that thought, he started his journey back to Galka War Academy.