Prisoner of War Chapter 5: END

Chapter 5: END

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: UA

After Duke Sean’s army invaded the city, the surrounding landscape changed again.

There are no horses, no soldiers, no enemy. Sean and Felix are standing in the late-night manor inside the Acropolis. The banquet lights are bright and the long tables full of food and wine, but the manor is empty.

Deep in the garden came a heavy black crossbow. Due to Felix’s early defense, the crossbow failed to perform its sneak attack. It hit the invisible shield, lost strength, and landed on the ground.

“Ian Rand.” Felix looked in the direction of the crossbow. “You can’t guess what a mage can do, probably because I’ve never gone against you?”

Lord Rand chuckled in the trees, “Yes, my dear Felix, your spells are still so timely and effective.”

When they got closer, they found that Rand had caught Jerlin. The Lord put his boots on the man’s chest, and a sword pointed to his throat.

Rand was wearing the uniform of a territorial officer from two years ago, and Jerlin was in a prison uniform. Felix hasn’t seen Jerlin since he was arrested. Although in the conscious world, Jerlin was in a terrible condition. His clothes are shabby, his body is injured, and his face had many terrible cuts.

“Ian Rand, let him go!” Felix said, “Otherwise, I could easily kill you just standing here.”

Sean was a little surprised. He had never heard Felix speak in that tone.

“Hah, I don’t believe it.” Lord Rand grinned cruelly. With more strength at his feet, Jerlin seemed to be dying.

Felix’s attention was focused on Jerlin, so he didn’t notice the changes in the manor in time. The parapet began to crumble and crack, and the rocks trembled in all directions. Felix and Sean watched as identical lord Rands began climbing out of the collapsed walls.

The many Lord Rands spoke together, their voices overlapping, “You are still alive, and I am dead. Even in the conscious world, the dead can do many things that the living cannot do. Felix, do you know what risk I took to start this war? Yes, I failed, but I was prepared in advance. To be honest, I wanted to take your body, because I know you better, and you are the person I would like to trust. Now, it’s too bad. Lord Duke’s body and status are more suitable for me. Felix, I’m willing to let you go. After I destroy the Duke’s soul, you can return to the real world. At that time, I will become Duke Sean, and I will cherish my new life. Of course, I will protect you, just as I promised.”

Sean was not afraid of these twisted and evil statements. Felix could feel his back shaking.

The dead continued, “How about it? Don’t you miss our old days? In the future, nothing can separate us, Anya is no longer my wife! You once said you wanted to be the best mage, to protect me, and to stay with me forever…”

“You’re disgusting. Shut your mouth!” Felix really began to retch, and with every word Rand said, he found it harder to breathe.

The dead surrounded them and approached. Felix reaches back and touches Sean’s wrist.

“Sean, do you trust me?”

“I trust you.”

“Don’t let them get close to me. Give me casting time.”

When the dead came up, Sean protected Felix  from behind and waved his sword. Sean was not so easy to defeat, but there were too many dead souls. To ensure that the mage’s casting was not interrupted, he had to gamble on his own safety.

Felix was receding. Sean was in the middle of combat and couldn’t look back. He could only feel the more and more intense power flowing from behind him. Sean has worked with other mages in his previous combat career, and he remembered that normal damage spells don’t usually take this long to cast.

Finally, the spell lashed out against the dead and burst into a dark red flame. It was not a common fire. It ignited one body after another like life. The tongue of the fire entangled the dead and burned it into dust from the inside-out.

When he heard the end of the mantra, Sean had already rolled over and left the spell range. Actually, he hasn’t worked with Felix, but they seem to have a magical understanding.

Some of the flames were on his cloak and hair, but he didn’t care. He sprang up like a hunting beast and rushed to a few dead souls who did not enter the magic range. Before long, the last ‘Rand’ also fell, his head was cut off by Sean’s sword, his body struggled several times, and disappeared from its original place.

Sean shook off the blood stains on his sword and lifted up the kidnapped Jerlin. Jerlin says he’s okay and tells Sean to let go, and points to Felix, who had fallen to the ground after casting. He lifted the mage up and held him in his arms. Felix was short of breath but still conscious even though he could not speak. Sean breathed a sigh of relief.

Standing not far from them, Jerin said, “Wait a moment, and the spell will be over. Lord Duke, I’ll let go of my control over your body so that both of you can come back to reality. “

“What’s wrong with him?” Sean stroked Felix’s forehead.

“He’s okay. If I’m not mistaken, he used a very difficult spell just now. It’s more powerful than a fireball or lightning spell and has a wider range than the mortal attack. This spell takes a long time to cast, so it is usually difficult for us to complete it in battle. The mage who focuses on chanting will become the primary target of the enemy. After a successful spell, the mage will also suffer some damage, but please rest assured that as long as he is in good health, it will not be fatal.”

Sean felt better when he heard this. This also meant that if the caster was in poor health, he may die, right? Fortunately, Felix was okay, and another mage could provide an explanation in time, otherwise, he would have been at a loss.

“Lord Duke, and my friend Felix,” the mage Jelin bowed to the two men in front of him. “We will never see each other again. I want to ask you to promise me something.”

“What’s the matter?” Sean asked, “Wait a minute, sir. What do you mean by ‘never?’ If you want to come to Acropolis, Felix and I will welcome you. I believe Ms. Anya would like to see you again.”

“No, what I want to ask for is exactly this. Please don’t tell Anya that you saw me, say that I died in prison.”

Felix leaned on Sean’s chest and was too weak to speak. He looked at Jerlin and had guessed the answer. The surrounding scenery began to dim, and the body of mage Jerlin became more and more transparent.

“In fact, I am already dead,” Jerlin said with a smile. “Lord Rand intimidated me with Anya and asked me to cast a spell for him, and then he killed me. Now I can show up just because of the magic… “

Before he could say goodbye, his body completely disappeared.

After a brief absence of consciousness, Sean looked up and saw his sword. The blade had gone through Felix’s palm and was plunged into the ground. Sean’s face turned white. He wasn’t even this frightened when he saw the countless souls of Rand. After checking the shape of the wound and the way he stabbed, he pressed Felix’s hand and quickly pulled the sword out.

The pain wakes Felix. He looked left and right in a panic, and his breath was broken. Sean simply bandaged him with the silk scarf he was carrying with him, and quickly picked him up and walked to the crowded area of the manor.

“Wait! Sean, put me down…”

“No, the spell made you weak.”

“But in reality, I didn’t do it at all!” In fact, it was Felix’s first successful spell, though in the conscious world.

“But in the real world, you are hurt. My God, it was my sword…”

“It’s a hand injury, not a foot!”

At Felix’s insistence, Sean finally put him down and helped him to the front yard. Seeing these two people’s embarrassed appearance, people quickly called the medical officer and asked for the reason. Some did not hear the conclusion and were afraid there was a gangster invasion, some people whispered with abnormal eyes staring at the two people.

The envelope and letter paper had been burned by magic, and they had to hide their farewell to Jerlin from Anya. After a private discussion, they decided to hide the “soul stabbing wedge” incident. Sean is Duke, the head of the King’s Knight regiment and the Queen’s half brother. He can always find a reasonable excuse to muddle through.

Lord Rand has died and his soul has been completely destroyed. The cloud he once brought to countless people will gradually disappear. There was a bit of a thrilling episode at the party, but it didn’t affect normal business. Soon, the poets played the lute and flute again. The girls sang songs praising peace and love. People from different regions and in different positions held hands and danced. They laughed all the time from the evening to the night.

After the doctor’s treatment, Felix’s wound no longer seeped blood. After returning to the Duke’s house, he will need long-term follow-up treatment. Fortunately, the sword was sharp enough, so the wound was smooth and easy to handle, and no important muscles and bones were injured. If he recovered well, his hand would still be as flexible as before.

Before midnight, Ms. Anya spoke on the small stage. Felix sat by the bay window of the third-floor room, looking out through the glass. He took the hot medicine in one hand and drank it little by little. The medicine was very hard to drink, and the bitterness was second to none, mainly pungent. However, he can only endure it, since it could help him relieve the pain of the wound.

Sean came and sat with him. Now Sean has taken off his noble coat covered with metallic silk thread, unbuttoned his scarf, and only wore trousers and a shirt. His body heat was more obvious than usual. As soon as he approached, Felix shrunk back subconsciously.

“Felix, I’m sorry.” He said in the mage’s ear.

“What?”

“You’ve gone through the dungeon memory again.” Sean could feel Felix’s body become stiff again, but now he could speak normally instead of being silent. It’s good progress.

“I may not be able to make you forget those nightmares in a short time,” Sean said.

Felix shook his head. “Lord Duke, please don’t mind. I have repeatedly stated that I do not resent you, and should even thank you for not only the care you have given me before, but also for what we have just experienced.”

Sean asked dejectedly, “What did you call me?”

Felix thought about it. Just now, in the conscious world, he didn’t use honorific terms to call Sean. But now he can’t open his mouth if he is asked to continue to speak like that.

“Felix, please answer my question without concealment,” Sean asked. “Do you really hate me like this?”

“What?”

“You do. Like now, when I get close to you or touch you.”

“No,” Felix replied cheerfully, “I’m telling the truth. I don’t hate your approach, I’m just… A little instinctively afraid.” Seeing Sean’s puzzled expression, Felix added, “I can overcome it. As you said before, I am your friend and your mage. From now on, I will only fight by your side.”

Sean looked at him in surprise, and Felix had to look away.

“But you said… you’re instinctively afraid…”

“As you said before, can a man have no faults at all? As far as you are concerned, this is probably my current weakness?”

Felix’s face was held as soon as the end of his sentence fell, and Sean leaned down, and for the first time, they were so close. Sean’s kiss was sudden, and Felix froze again. For Sean, it was not sudden at all. He had wanted to do it a year ago and was afraid that it would disgust the mage.

As his lips parted, Felix whispered, “You don’t you think it… happened too fast?”

The mage’s voice trembled with embarrassment and a little fright. There was no strong rejection in his voice. So Sean kissed him again, deeper than before, and seemed to want to make up for his share in the past year. Felix’s robe and shirt slipped off his shoulders, his skin exposed to the cold air, and he took a breath and pursed his newly liberated lips.

Sean’s nose rubbed against his ear, “Felix, you’re hurt, if you don’t want to…”

Felix certainly knows what kind of consent Sean was asking for. He replied, “The medicine the doctor ordered is very easy to use, and I’m not too sick. It may still hurt when I touch the wound, so don’t touch my right hand… “

There was a flash of excitement in Sean’s eyes. He lowered his head and kissed the mage’s shoulder like he was a treasure. Felix still trembled when he touched the whip scars on his skin, but he will learn to move past it. Instinctive fear is not so easy to eliminate, it takes time. Sean doesn’t worry. They have plenty of time.

Looking far, they still have tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and more time in the future; even if they only look at the near future, from now on, they still have the whole night, every night.

END