THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 316: 316. KILL OR BURGAIN WITH?

That stupid child. Wasn’t he there when the general said not to step out of the fortress until the council sat down? Even more so, who could dare to be audacious enough to hurt the city lord?

Sagiri remained crouched at the entrance with both trinkets in his hands. For a second, nothing happened. Then something inside him went quiet. The silence that could only hold the storm that had started brewing deep inside him. His fingers closed around the small crossed blades, and he slowly stood. The warmth that had been on his face since he entered the Thazir Capital City disappeared completely. His eyes lifted toward the darkness ahead, and the city seemed to grow still around him.

Then his senses pushed out. His awareness spread violently through the underground passage and into the homes carved into the canyon. The darkness unfolded in his mind. Stone. Air movement. Distances. Footprints. Heat. Smells. Even the tiny shifts in pressure. His attention moved through corridors and walls with practiced precision until the space ahead stopped being unknown. He could feel even the little rats crawling by.

The blood smell became clear in a few seconds. Sagiri’s expression didn’t change. But something cold had settled over him. In that moment, he realized something irritating. At some point, without noticing, he had become protective of the boy. Not because he had called him big brother, but the peaceful innocence hanging around the boy, perhaps it was the tours he gave him and the endless chatter that made his ears bleed. The boy even gave him a useless trinket to ward off his nightmares as if he were six or something.

Somewhere between all of that, Sagiri had unconsciously placed Azir somewhere his mind considered him as his possession. No one was allowed to harm the little brat until he became a man worthy of his title and landed a blow on Sagiri. They were yet to have their sparring match.

Sagiri finally understood why Zaira had woken up. The little beast must have gotten attached to the boy, too. Sagiri moved with urgency this time. If he had known sooner, he could not have taken his time getting here. His cloak shifted once as he stepped forward into the underground passage. His movements became silent again.

Sagiri pushed the archive out, ready to move within it after a while of him internalizing the trail. The smell of blood followed. He moved one and landed deeper into the place. He wondered what the purpose of the underground tunnels was. He did not have time to waste before he moved again and again and again until he finally stopped.

He could actually feel Azir’s presence now. They were not too far into the place yet, but the place was still hidden.

”...That is not true.” Azir’s voice was the first thing Sagiri could hear when he finally landed.

”It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.” A foreign voice said.

”That is not good. You people told me there were children hidden here who were suffering, and I came to take care of them,” Azir said. Even Sagiri had to fight the urge to groan as he closed in slowly on the position. From where he had landed, he could tell Azir was on a level below. Perhaps the place was built long ago, in case a war were to take place, for civilians to hide away.

From where Sagiri stood. It was thirty feet to the place on the ground where Azir was sitting. He was dressed in a low-ranking warrior’s attire.

Don’t tell me he actually snuck away from the fortress with such an obvious disguise and managed to get caught or fooled? Sagiri shook his head.

Azir was clutching Wibo, who was leaning on him. It was clear he was bleeding badly. Not just from how he was leaning but from the nauseating smell that reached Sagiri’s nose.

So the blood belonged to Wibo?

When had Wibo realized his master had made a stupid decision and decided to fight?

”Are you stupid or something?” One of the two dozen men surrounding Azir said. The men were scattered all around the place. Some did not even look concerned.

”No. I care about people, unlike you, who lie. You are evil.” Azir said, and laughter filled the place.

”You are even more stupid than I thought. I am disappointed.” Another said. ”You serve the purpose anyway, all we have to do is keep you here and use you to control the chief, or just kill you and blame the N’folu rogue. Perhaps then the general will tear him to shreds, and we can win.

”You can’t accuse big brother like that. He won’t kill me. Uncle won’t believe you!” Azir said with restlessness in his voice.

”He even calls him big brother now?” One chuckled under his breath.

”What the Kai believes is not important. What matters is what everyone in the Thazir capital believes. You fired a cannonball at him. Who would have more motive to kill you than him?” The man with an ugly scar marring his jaw said. He seemed to be the one in charge.

So this was what this was all about?

”Big brother is not that petty. He is kind and awesome. Why are you all planning to do bad things to him?” Azir defended again, and if Sagiri was not trying to keep his presence hidden, he would have groaned. He wanted to hear more and watch how far they were willing to go.

Wibo was bleeding, but he was not going to die soon. His heartbeat was still steady. In another hour or two, however, he would be dead for sure.

”Your big brother should have stayed dead. His coming to the south is a problem for some people.” The man with a crooked tooth beside scar face said. He twisted his voice to a sarcastic one when he said Big brother.

”Big brother has not done anything to you. Why are you saying such cruel...”

Shut up!” Scarface said. ”Big brother, big brother, if you say big brother one more time, I will kill you right now!” Scarface snapped.

”Why do you have to hurt Wibo? Let him go, and you can do whatever you want to do with me. He is bleeding badly.” Azir said after a while.

Did the boy want to die sooner?

Sagiri could have been more surprised if he had actually shut his mug.

”You should blame yourself. That wound is your fault and more so his fault for having a slightly bigger brain than yours. If he hadn’t noticed something was wrong, he wouldn’t have been hurt,” Crooked teeth said.

”Do you still think you are in a position to bargain? The only reason you are not dead is that we still don’t know whether holding your life over the general will be more beneficial or killing you will be even more beneficial.” Scarface added.

”Whatever you do, you will not win against Big Brother. He did not die even with my fireball, and his blade is awesome.” Azir said after a while, and Sagiri breathed in disappointment and defeat. Just what did the boy wish to achieve by adding fuel to the fire?

”Are you threatening us?” Crooked face said with a sneer.

”It is the truth. Big brother...”

”What did I say about saying that name again?” Scarface’s eyes flashed with rage. Wibo groaned, getting ready to protect Azir, but he had grown weak.

”Wibo hung in there. Please let Wibo go, or let me stop his bleeding.” Azir begged now with his eyes wide.

”This kid is so annoying.” Scarface seethed. ”I will just kill your friend to shut you up.”

With that, he drew his blade and drew it back.

”No!”