Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Marastruck [2]

Chapter 13: Marastruck [2]

Moonlight gleaming overhead, Yuri gracefully closes the library doors behind her as she takes her leave.

This would be the first time she’s left the library in a few days. Normally, she’d spend all day chronically reading and researching something of interest, whether it be an obscure topic or an idea to revolutionize life in Redville. After that meeting with Maru and the others a few days ago, however, Yuri realized it would be beneficial for her to get out more and start addressing issues herself.

Especially since she knew who was at the bottom of all of this.

“And I thought I was crazy, Reoh…” she thought to herself, “but you must’ve lost your mind if you think working with the Marastruck is a good idea.”

Rummaging through her pockets, she pulls out a key and locks the library doors before she looks up at the chieftain’s hut in the distance. The lights inside were still on – meaning he was home.

“But I’m not just going to stand aside and let you do that. I want answers.”

Squinting her eyes, she watches as the door to Reoh’s home opens. The silhouette of two tall figures leave the home, quickly disappearing into the surrounding darkness of the night.

“Gotcha,” she muttered, pocketing her keys as she started running towards the Chieftain’s abode.

She arrived in under a minute. Despite the short distance, Yuri was panting and wheezing, taking a moment to catch her breath. “...I should’ve just walked,” she whispered, realizing that sprinting wasn’t worth the effort at all. “I need to invest in cardio…”

Yuri takes a deep breath, standing up straight as she reaches out and knocks gently on Reoh’s door. There was silence for a few seconds before footsteps approached the door. Yuri backed up as the door swung open. Reoh greeted her with a smile.

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite little doctor! What troubles you at this hour, Yuri?”

“You,” she said bluntly, “remember when you told me a few weeks ago about how you were making trades with this ‘young man’ named Gon?”

Reoh nods. “I remember. Our last trade was a few days ago. He-”

“Describe him to me.”

“Alright. He’s a tall fellow – eh, actually I’d say he’s about moderate height. Long brown hair, raspy voice –”

“I thought it was mere coincidence.”

“Hm?”

“Tall, muscular, long brown hair, raspy voice, battle scarred like a war veteran – do you think I’m stupid?”

Reoh suddenly falls silent.

“You’re a shit liar. You couldn’t even lie about his name. Did you think I wouldn’t know who he was? You know who they are, right Reoh?”

“I do.”

“You-” Yuri stops herself, taking another deep breath while thinking of something nicer to say. “You must not. Gon is part of the Marastruck, a group -- a coalition of the most wanted and dangerous war criminals on the planet. They are wanted dead in every nation, by every faction, and you’re here ‘trading’ with them?!”

Reoh sighs and crosses his arms. “Yes. Yes I’m trading with them, it’s not like I have a choice.”

“What do you mean you don’t have a choice? How long have you been doing this?”

“Since Redville was founded. Yuri, they’ve been here before any of us were. When they discovered me, I was ordered to either abide by their commands, or they will destroy everything I have worked to create.”

Yuri sighs, remaining silent for a moment to collect her thoughts. “Do you know how many there are?”

“Two, Gon and Manho. The rest are their subordinates that come and go quite often.”

“...If word gets out about this, our reputation and chances of trade are completely ruined. You realize that, right? Redville will be wiped off the map.”

“What do you suppose we do then? If I cut them off, they will just kill me. If we side with them, then other nations will kill us. I’d rather keep their existence a secret.”

“...Hmmm.”

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“Something is missing,” Yuri thought to herself. There is no doubt that Gon and Manho are incredibly powerful if they’re part of the Marastruck. If Gon was capable of taking on both Tianyu and Francis in battle, simultaneously, without much effort; then he is clearly no pushover. With so much power, they could easily take over Redville. They’re clearly using the island for some reason, so why haven’t they conquered it?

“They’re collecting Arcanium. What could they do with an abundance of Arcanium..?”

Yuri recalls what Gon said to Maru and her friends. “Fuel for the flame.”

“Fuel…”

A realization suddenly hits her. “Reoh,” she called out, “do they know the location of the Aurem?”

“No,” he whispered.

“So that’s why he’s been avoiding it…”

“Please come inside, Yuri. I would prefer to chat behind closed doors.” Reoh politely gestures for Yuri to come inside. As she steps inside, he closes the door behind her.

“I’m not sure if the Aurem is what they’re after, but it’s more than capable of helping them achieve their goal. Even if they aren’t after it, we are both aware of the destructive nature of Aurems, so it’s important I remain wary.”

The two of them walk together towards a table by the window, taking a seat across from each other.

“The presence of an Aurem is practically undeniable to any experienced Mage,” Yuri said, “I imagine they are Mages, right? Surely they have a hunch.”

“I’m sure they suspect something too, but if I keep denying its existence and not mentioning it, they should stop inquiring about it.”

Yuri decided she needed to be more direct with her questions.

“What is their goal anyway, Reoh? Is it power?”

“In the short-term, yes. I don’t know what their goals are beyond obtaining power, but they’ve given me vague details. You know who Gon is already – he’s a renowned criminal across the Seven Seas.”

Yuri nods. “Yes, the bounty set by the Magic Council is astronomical – one million Lumens.”

“From what I know, Gon is obsessed with fueling the ‘Flame.’ I don’t actually know what it is but he talks about it all the time, like it’s some sort of sentient being or a deity.”

“That explains why they’re stockpiling Arcanium. It’s capable of holding large amounts of energy, and that energy can probably be used as fuel.”

“Precisely, but the supply for Arcanium in the mountains is being exhausted, so they are turning to other sources of energy.”

“So how does Manho play into this, if you know anything about him?”

Reoh pauses, articulating his thoughts. “Manho is the leader of the group. His knowledge is expansive and his power is even more intimidating. He was sealed for a long time before being reawakened recently. I think the ‘Flame’ Gon talks about is connected to him, because he implies that feeding the Flame would help Manho acquire power.”

“So that’s what they’re after then – power. Fairly predictable.”

“Yes, but they clearly have ulterior motives. What they plan to do with that power… I don’t know.”

“We know what they want, and we know how they plan to get it, but how do we deal with them?”

“Why do you think I’ve been so submissive to them? If I oppose them, they will simply kill me and take what they want by force. I’m thankful they’re even being considerate enough to spare me.”

Yuri leans back in her chair, starting to connect the dots in her head. Manho is the leader, and he just reawakened recently. That means that the Marastruck as a whole is likely scattered across the world – which explains their inactivity over the recent decades despite their infamy. Manho needs power, likely because that power is required to bring his group back together. They’re lacking in power, so they’re desperate to acquire it from any source.

How does keeping Reoh alive benefit them?

“It’s the Aurem,” she blurts out, “they’re keeping you alive because you’re the only one capable of accessing the Aurem.”

Reoh’s eyes widened briefly. “Really now…”

“You’re the only one that knows precisely where it’s at and how to get to it. Like I said before, I’m sure they have a hunch that it exists somewhere on this island, because you haven’t done a very good job of suppressing its power, they just don’t know where it is.”

“...But I do. They’re waiting for me to slip up.”

“That’s why you’ve been avoiding it, right? Or is it just serendipity that you’ve been ignoring it?”

“I will admit, I’ve forgotten about it over the past few days.” Reoh chuckles nervously.

Yuri pouts with a disapproving gaze. “It’s fine I guess. Since you genuinely forgot, it might be more believable that you don’t know anything about it. That might make them end up killing you though…”

“That leads us back to the same issue then. No matter what I do, I’ll end up dead unless I cooperate with them.”

“I think we’ll have to just give into that. We don’t have the power to stop them, at least right now, so keep playing their little game and gather information until we can find an opportunity.”

“So just keep pretending like I don’t know what or where the Aurem is – dance around it, yeah?”

“Keep doing that until they are really about to kill you, then you can cave and tell them.”

“And what will you do?”

“I’ll be getting reinforcements. Tianyu and I are the most capable of going up against either Gon or Manho, but even then I think we’re outclassed. Francis and Sora are close seconds, with Yulianna and Maru being the weakest links. The Marastruck likely won’t expect us to stand a chance against them, but I have an ace up my sleeve.”

“That being?”

“The Adventurer’s Guild.”