NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74: Assailants at the tavern
"The moment I saw your face, Brother," Astraya said, her eyes narrowing. "I knew something was wrong." Did Astraya just react to a spell cast behind her? Her reaction speed was unbelievable.
Through the swirling haze, the female attacker pulled back her hood, revealing a shock of red hair and white glowing eyes blazing with Mana.
The other two cloaked figures stayed completely still—neither attacking nor moving—while the redhead stepped forward, ready to strike.
A smooth, mocking voice cut through the smoke. "Nice reaction," the redheaded woman said, her tone almost playful. "But that won't help you against me, child."
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Everything about this town had been one big trouble after the other. Why would this group of people attack in an open place like this? Looking around, all I could see were terrified customers. Moving my eyes back to the crazy redheaded woman.
Her eyes again held a white glow as though charging up—with wind flowing around her and in her direction—I could feel her Mana building like a storm in the tavern.
I wasn't about to just sit there. I also needed to act fast. Father also immediately reached for his pockets as all his attention was focused on the attackers. My own Mana energy rose instinctively. They were going to pay for attacking my family.
But before I could move or channel my Mana…
Whoosh!
The two cloaked men beside her raised their hands, pointing directly at us so quickly, as if they sensed our intention. In an instant, glowing spheres of compressed air shot out, even faster than the redheaded woman's attack. All I could hear was the sound; even my eyes couldn't properly get a look for me to evade.
Gushhh!
I staggered back, clutching my head. A whirling sphere had formed around it, trapping me. I could breathe but my head was just caged. Beside me, Father's head was encased too, the wind roaring and swirling.
"If you interfere," the redhead warned, voice slicing through the clashing voices of panicked customers, "you two will die."
Father remained calm.
Father's hand found mine.
holding my hand and giving me a look that reassured me.
"What?!" I hissed, anger bubbling up. "We're literally being held captive, Father!"
"We can't do anything right now, Astraga. You heard her. The moment we interfere, this sphere of wind caging our head would most likely suffocate us to death, or worse, compress our heads till they explode in front of your sister," Father spoke coolly. " The last thing your sister needs is seeing that happen. Therefore, The best thing we can do for her now is let her know we are calm, and she also should be, and deal with them quickly."
How could he even think that was possible?
Astraya, alone, against them?
Father's hand tightened on my shoulder firm but gentle,
"No need to worry, Astraya," he said. "Focus on the bad people in front of you. Defeat them, and we'll be free."
Father was too calm. Way too calmfor this kind of situation.
Astraya nodded, now turning to the assailants. "I will protect you two. I promise I won't lose."
The redhead woman chuckled.
And then it clicked,
Wait…? I turned to Father as he gave a big wink at me. Sigh. I swear this old man would give us a panic attack one day.
I could feel the anger brewing in her, even from behind her. She clearly wasn't thinking straight, fear and shock had most likely captured her thoughts.
Astraya stepped forward, a thin lining of white Mana glow covering her body, just like in our practice match.
"Good, Astraya! Protect us!" Father encouraged her.
Astraya's eyes flicked from side to side, assessing, then locked onto the redhead.
"Then let's take this outside," she said. "Since it's me you want, we'll finish this without destroying the tavern."
The redhead's smirk stretched into a grin. "Not bad, child. Fine, we'll do it your way. But your brother and father stay with my men until it's over."
"Fine by me," Astraya said, voice sharp with resolve.
We all moved out into the open street. The tension and fear in the customers' eyes inside faded away; some were even smirking and going back to drinking.
Huh? They also were in on this?
But Astraya couldn't see all this. She was already outside, and so were we, as each cloaked man who stood at the redhead's side escorted us out.
The moment my boots hit the ground in the open space outside, I realized it. Holy fuck I thought.
This wasn't some small planned scuffle or pretend random attack. It was a setup, of course that was now obvious but the whole outside felt like Astraya and the redheaded woman were part of one big entertainment show or something. What my eyes saw was unbelievable!
A cloaked party?
At least fifteen more figures in wine-colored cloaks surrounded the area some stylishly perched on rooftops, others standing in the alleys, their faces hidden. But all had their attention focused in one direction: Astraya and the redheaded woman, who stood ready for battle at opposite ends of the street.
Windows were closed, doors were shut, and the street was cleared. It was as though the streets themselves knew this would happen.
I turned to look at Father; he had the biggest grin amongst everyone.
This crazy old man, sigh.
To my surprise, the tension that had once filled the air that suffocating fear built up to make Astraya feel some level of pressure all vanished, as if it had never existed. The subtle pretense was entirely gone. The street had turned into a coliseum of cloaked supporters.
The silent, watching cloaked figures were now animated in their biased support, yet none revealed their faces only the redhead woman. But this time, I knew her name, as it was immediately given away by the cheers:
"Rose! Rose! Rose!" they shouted, their voices rising in unison. "Rose, show her!" some shouted. "You better not lose, Rose!" as others replied, "She won't! It's just a kid!" They obviously overlooked my sister. An adult mage would win this situation this whole setup wasn't fair.
Come on, Astraya, you can do it, I thought, staring at her from the sidelines.
Astraya froze for a second, startled. But from where I stood, it looked like she was gradually understanding the situation. Good, just do your best, sister.
ROSE. Was that the redheaded woman's name? Or a title? The woman herself grinned, basking in their cheers as her fiery hair danced in the wind.
"Let's see how much of a prodigy you really are, hmph." Rose's tone was condescending. "Don't look so lost, little one. If I walk the floor with you," Rose called, her tone dripping mockery. "You wanted outside, didn't you? Well, here we are. I heard you're a wind specialist. Let's see who the wind decides to side with."
She stretched out her hand. Air rippled around her fingers, threads of Mana weaving into form. Her voice rang clear, words flowing like a chant:
"O tempest untamed, O sharpened sky—pierce the foolish who defy!"
Dozens of glowing wind arrows began to materialize each humming with violent pressure, their tips shimmering. The arrows hovered, each vibrating with deadly intent, aimed directly at Astraya.
"Scared now, child? This is the power of an Aeromancer!" Rose smirked. Was she seriously smug just because she made some few arrows?
But Astraya didn't flinch. She still remained silent, not even a single word had come out from her mouth until she wanted to cast her spell. She stood her ground, her white-glowing eyes locked on the enemy.
Her lips moved calmly:
"O flowing winds, circle and conceal—Gale Shroud!"