The Heritor of Illipia

Chapter 23

I promise I won't ruin anyone's tea this time, I swear.
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        "Hey, wait, I can't let you do that!" (y/n) yelped as he quickly stepped in front of Raven effectively stopping him in his tracks. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill her right now? She killed Elsword without hesitation based on what you told us, yet she's still alive," Raven growled as he stared past (y/n) and looked right at the now concious blonde. She looked Raven right in the eyes and smirked knowing that he couldn't do anything to her.

        The trio that left to help Lanox with local repairs had returned soon after Chung completed kitchen duty with minor help from Elsword and (y/n)'s outdoor experience. Chung hadn't stopped asking questions about Elsword's claim to have died, so it was the very first thing that had to be explained when everyone was brought to the main lobby for a team meeting. Dinner was postponed and Elsword explained his side of things before (y/n) explained what happened. That was when the entire team, aside from Ara, Elsword, and (y/n) himself, were suddenly in favor of having the blond get a taste of payback.

        Things had been fine until she woke up just as (y/n) got everyone to calm down. "She has information that we need. We can't kill her," (y/n) spoke hoping that would be enough to satisfy Raven's request. He had been the first on to get up from his seat when the blonde said something that she knew would provoke them. She was acting quite villain-like for her to have claimed to be an ally. "She doesn't have to die. We might need to torture the information out of her anyway, so a few cuts here and there won't do any harm," Lu stated.

        "You aren't helping..." Elsword muttered to the former demon lord. "How can you be okay with having your murderer in the same room?" Lu questioned. Elsword didn't answer although he shot her a glare of warning. "Come on guys. Calm down. Everything is fine for now. No one is dead and our team is all healed up. I'd say this is good progress compared to where we were last time," (y/n) reasoned. He still stood in front of Raven who was still considering putting an end to the blonde shooter's life.

         "Looks like you guys have your own problems. What the heck happened to me? Anyone know why I was knocked out?" a familar voice said. The sinister intent that came with that voice silenced everyone, but (y/n) knew it well enough now. "Ykuei, you're awake," he spoke. The hybrid child, if he could even be called a child anymore, walked towards the rest of the team. (Y/n) seemed to be the only one that remained calm in the face of Ykuei's ominous aura.

        "You're all afraid of me aren't you. I can sense it. I'd tell you all everything I know and explain why I had been acting like such a coward, but there isn't much time. I'm putting everyone in danger just by being here, but I didn't want to leave without helping (y/n) out first. I owe his family," Ykuei said. His aura disappeared and he seemed like the same scared individual he was when they'd first met him. "Save your sentiments for later, halfling. You should leave and talk later. Your very presence in this place is causing a lot of people harm," the blonde shooter spoke.

        "I know that, Rose! You don't have to tell me! I get it. Just shut up already. I'm doing my best here. These people came here to stop this, and I escaped to help. I'm not leaving until I at least try to fix things," Ykuei snapped. (Y/n) stared at him. Of course Ykuei knew her. He had been afraid of her when she'd first shown up to take him. Of course, (y/n) had no idea about her identity then, nor had he known she would return to cause such a mess.

        Rose, the name she had been called, was glaring at Ykuei as if she would shoot him right then and there. The only things keeping her from doing so were her missing weapons and her current state of imprisonment. She was still attached to Zhu who had been silently observing the commotion. He was highly ammused and his merciless comments were constantly being blocked out of (y/n)'s head.

        "Hold on. You aren't making sense. You said you owe (y/n)'s family. Does that mean you know of our village?" Ara inquired. Her question sparked curiousity in both herself and (y/n). "Yes, I do. I once lived there a short time before the two of you even existed. That isn't important right now. I need to tell you all what took place prior to me meeting up with you. It was no mistake that General Zhen helped me escape," Ykuei spoke.

        He now had everyone's attention proving to ne of great relief to (y/n) who no longer had to worry about figjting Raven off. "We've got the rest of the night. Tell us everything we need to know," Elsword said, but Rose spoke up. "Don't bother listening to him just yet. You'll just be wasting time." She really seemed to hate Ykuei for whatever reason she had.

        "Ignore her. Just ignore her. The food is getting cold and we all just need to calm down. Why don't you talk to us while we all eat," Rena said. For once, (y/n) was actually grateful that she stepped in. Usually she would be scolding him for something, but she had proven to ne quite helpful this time around. "Okay. Um...thank you," Ykuei said. With that, everyone was finally able to sit down without and conflicts arising.

        "You're still too trusting, (y/n). Lucky for you, that one called Ykuei really wants what's in your best interest. This girl here. She simply wants to leave this place and use Ykuei to do it. Look at her soul. She isn't from here," Zhu spoke in his mind. (Y/n) temporarily shut out the conversation around him to focus on the fox. "You know I can't do that right now. My healing just kicked back in and I'm still gaining my senses back. If I were to suddenly use my power, it would cause chaos," (y/n) reasoned.

        Zhu gave a huff of annoyance. "It is merely a warning. I'm in no mood to have you killed before I myself can kill you." Of course he would say something like that. (Y/n) sighed and began listening to his allies again. Ykuei had only been talking about how kind Rena was being despite her being a full-blooded elf. Apparently, he really had been leading a tough life of unacceptance.

        (Y/n)'s appetite still hadn't returned yet he forced himself to eat. Some part of him feared that he would turn into something far worse than what he already was. The other part of him craved more souls. (Y/n) wasn't sure how to react to such polar opposite desires. He could only hope that things would turn out fine once things were all over. For now, he began to listen to Ykuei as he told the El Search Party of something that none of them expected to hear.
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Okay so this may have been a filler chapter...but it was still important to include. Until next time you excellent readers!