Okumura Syndicate Ending 2

Chapter 168: Stubborn And Alone

Concurrently, in Tiliac. Enzo continued to drag Aster along those final troublesome yards to base, where things began for the boy in the first place. As the cyan haired man looked on at Aster, he could see nothing but miserable dread on his otherwise blank face. "I can't even look, it's far too jarring...", thought the male in his grip. More tears fell from his eyes, and Enzo heard him, so he stopped for a moment.

"Aster, are you sure you want to go on?, asked Enzo, but before Aster could answer, a small explosion shifted the air around them, shattering the scenery in the distance. "Aim!" screamed someone a few hundred metres away. Enzo pulled Aster toward him and spoke quietly to him, "I'm sorry I put you in this situation, but there's no turning back now.", he muttered. "Seems there's going to be some turbulence on our route...", he added.

Eventually, they were met with a stone barrier. "It's just as menacing as I remember it...", shuddered Aster. "Only clan members can get in, meaning I'll have to hide you in some way." informed Enzo, pulling out a black cloak from his bag. "You're shorter than me, so I'd certainly hide you.", he remarked. Aster took Enzo's gift and put it on, and just like Enzo said, it completely covered him. "This way you can simply tell the guards that you're someone going to be initiated and that I'm escorting you.", Enzo reflected.

"You're so kind...but I don't need this...", responded Aster flatly. Enzo was at a loss for words as Aster turned away and walked toward the entrance. He could see Enzo's frustrated face, but he couldn't bring himself to move, even as the cloak fell off him in his haste. He tapped on the stones of the wall until he found a loose one and took it out without any movement from the other rocks. He gestured goodbye to Enzo and headed inside undetected.

Base was vast, yet bustling, and Aster knew most good hiding spots. He changed his dagger to a sword for good measure, as being caught would mean imprisonment, separation, being an outcast once more. He came to a small hole among the many buildings and slid himself behind. It smelled like pure sewage, almost penetrating his nose as he entered, but it was very effective as these holes were completely abandoned.

As his chance of getting caught here diminished, Aster was finally able to breathe. In the darkness, he could hear people talking, many of them were asking where they would stay, and Aster looked on in pity. He knew the people here were poor, mistreated soldiers. "I'll take care of it, I'll come back for them.", he mumbled to himself. After all, this used to be his home, and some of the people, he recognised from before his was banished, but they didn't live in squalor. Clearly something had happened.

As the sun got higher in the sky, he looked out of the small hole and saw light within the dripping crevice. As he reached out, that wobbling happened again. "There is definitely a serious earthquake problem here!", he thought. A few seconds later, the shaking passed, and Aster eased himself out of a hole into a relatively safe corner. He had to be hasty at finding another hiding spot, as most areas were patrolled.

"That was close...", he muttered, thinking that the guards would definitely be checking around the area. He came to a door and opened it slightly. "If I can get inside, I can keep a low profile and I can buy some time to figure out what's going on." He opened the door and walked inside. However, the first thing he saw was a trio of soldiers, armed and ready. "You're that banished boy with a weapon manipulation ability!", one of them yelled. Each of them drew their swords and prepared to capture him, eventually grabbing him tightly. This mission was not a success.