Azel stood on the wall the next afternoon with his arms crossed as the cold wind brushed through his silver hair.
From up here, he could see the long, empty road leading toward the main gate from the slums.
Below him, the ground soldiers were already awake and moving around.
And at the center of the wall stood a stake, and on that stake rested a severed head... the werewolf’s head.
The soldiers had celebrated all night after mounting it there, and even now, a few of them were still cheering over mugs of ale.
Captain Rhun was among them, sitting near a crate, drinking his tenth bottle like it was water.
Azel sighed, shaking his head.
"They’re still celebrating that fake corpse..." he muttered to himself.
He leaned against the wall’s cold stone and looked beyond the wall again.
’Where’s Ravik?’ He thought.
He was already done with his mission here... the werewolf had been handled, the garrison was completely pacified, and the town was safe for now.
All that remained was to check on Naelia and Ira before heading to Lycas.
But that damn werewolf was late.
He tapped his fingers against his chin, watching the horizon for any sign of movent.
Minutes passed.
Then finally... a shadow appeared in the distance.
A tall figure walked along the road leading toward the gate.
Azel narrowed his eyes.
’There you are.’
It was Ravik.
He was dressed neatly in the sa clothes Azel had given him last night... a dark coat, polished boots, and a plain white shirt.
The outfit while simple gave him the air of a young noble from the Empire, refined and well-kept... except for one thing.
His hair was now a dusty blond instead of brown.
Azel blinked.
’Do they have the ability to change hair color?’
Maybe it was part of his werewolf bloodline... a simple illusion to blend in.
Whatever it was, it worked.
The human soldiers below wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
They were all mundanes after all, and easy to fool.
Mages would be trickier, but the inner town had most of them stationed inside according to Rhun and they were far from this section of the wall.
Everything would go smoothly as long as Ravik didn’t do anything stupid.
...
Ravik walked up to the gate.
The two guards stood at the entrance and raised their guns at him.
He could literally see them eyeing him with suspicion as he approached.
The urge to tear them apart stirred in his chest but the mory of Azel’s sword stopped him cold.
He could feel those crimson eyes watching him from above.
Then his gaze drifted upward.
There, on top of the wall, was his own head impaled on a stake.
The sight sent a chill through his bones.
It was so lifelike... the sa expression frozen in shock, the sa fur and the sa face.
The illusion Azel had created was perfect.
For a mont, Ravik almost believed it was real.
He swallowed hard.
’If he can fake my corpse that easily, I better not ss this up.’
Taking a deep breath, he straightened his coat and put on what he assud was an imperial tone.
"Good morning, fellow chaps," he said, forcing a grin. "Jolly good weather we have outside, don’t we?"
Up above, Azel’s eyes twitched.
’What the hell is he saying?’
The guards looked at Ravik blankly.
One squinted.
The other raised his gun, clearly not amused.
"Identification?" the first guard asked, unimpressed.
Ravik froze, unsure what that even ant.
He cleared his throat awkwardly... and, for reasons known only to him, howled.
The sound echoed down the road.
Both guards flinched, frowning deeply.
"Eh? Do you think you’re a wolf or sothing?" one said. "We asked for identification, not a circus trick."
"I— uh— right, right," Ravik stamred. "I’m my boss’s assistant! He has silver hair and he’s about ye high." He held his hand above his head, roughly matching Azel’s height. "He’s really strong too. I was sent to help him while he’s here."
The two guards exchanged skeptical glances.
"You have a boss?" the first asked. "And this boss of yours... does he have a na?"
Ravik coughed.
He hadn’t asked for Azel’s na yesterday.
Panic flashed across his face.
Before he could embarrass himself further, a voice called from above.
"He’s with ."
The guards imdiately looked up.
Azel stood at the edge of the wall, looking down at them. "Ravik, over here."
Relief flooded Ravik’s face.
Without hesitation, he jumped soaring several ters into the air and landing neatly beside Azel.
The soldiers below dropped their weapons in disbelief.
One of them groaned.
"If you don’t want to use the gate, just say so..." He lowered his gun and rubbed his forehead.
...
Azel crossed his arms, staring at Ravik. "Do you need to talk like that?"
Ravik looked confused. "Like what?"
"’Jolly good weather’? Really?"
"I thought that’s how people from the Empire spoke," Ravik whispered sheepishly.
Azel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t even talk like that with him yesterday...
Before he could say anything else, Captain Rhun approached from behind, waving a hand.
He looked as though he hadn’t slept, but at least he was sober enough to walk straight.
"Captain," Azel greeted, gesturing toward Ravik. "This is the assistant I told you about."
Rhun nodded and extended his hand. "Good to et you, son. I’m Captain Rhun."
Ravik hesitated for a mont, then shook his hand though the motion was awkward, like soone trying to rember how humans interacted.
Rhun studied him briefly.
Sothing about the young man’s face tickled at the back of his mory.
Those eyes... he could swear he’d seen them before.
But before the thought could form, he dismissed it.
He turned to Azel instead.
"I see," Rhun said, releasing Ravik’s hand. "So, are you planning to head into the town now?"
"Yes," Azel replied simply.
"Good," the captain said, exhaling. "Because soone’s waiting for you."
Azel frowned slightly. "Waiting?"
Rhun pointed toward the far end of the wall, where a figure was running toward them.
Azel squinted.
The morning light made it hard to see, but the glow of her golden hair was unmistakable.
’Naelia,’ he thought.
She was running fast, her boots barely touching the stone floor as she sprinted across the bridge.
Her hair caught the wind, glowing like strands of sunlight.
Behind her, a few soldiers were watching in surprise, murmuring quietly.
Her face lit up as soon as she saw him standing there.
"Azel!"
She didn’t slow down but instead, she flung herself forward.
Before he could react, she was already in his arms.
Naelia hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his chest.
Her breathing was soft, but her grip was firm.
"I missed you," she said quietly.
Her voice trembled, muffled by his coat.
He had been reunited with his Heroine once again.
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