Normally, his method of taking a target was different. The snake would rampage, and while that was happening, he'd use the cloak it gave him to grab a target and steal them away during the chaos.
Afterwards, he'd arrive to 'heroically' fight off the snake and send it running. Once it was gone, he'd then take the person he grabbed, whom he'd keep hidden away, and bring them to the snake. The deal they had was pretty simple. He got to be viewed as a hero by his town for always fighting it off, and once he brought it ten girls, it would finally give him the potion that he needed.
Then that Arcane Knight showed up and ruined everything. So, Garon found himself having to improvise this time and take someone he normally wouldn't bother with.
"So, you have blood magic?" Garon asked quietly as the two of them walked. Well, he walked, and Olivia was dragged behind him, face down in the snow, still unable to move her body. "That must suck, huh?"
The girl didn't fight or move. Even when the flaming snake vanished and the fire faded away, she remained utterly frozen. She simply couldn't move. The knife he had was coated in the snake's venom.
One graze and a target would have their entire body freeze up, their muscles ceasing to function, and they'd go stiff as a board for a full day. They were still aware, able to see and hear everything, but no matter how much they would struggle, they simply couldn't move.
Garon tightened his arms around Olivia's wrist and lifted her up. He had to move slowly, ensuring neither of them stepped out of the range of his cloak or that he accidentally bumped into someone. Once he did make it to the town gates, he let out the breath he was holding.
"You and that Knight never should have come here." He began to walk through the forest, heading for the dungeon. "You almost ruined everything." Once he was sure no one was around, he lowered his hood, the invisibility effect shutting off.
Olivia tried to move, but she couldn't. Her body wasn't working. She couldn't twitch her fingers or even blink. It was terrifying. Maybe one of the scariest things that happened to her. She was at this guy's mercy, and Davi wasn't here to save her like every other time she had been in danger.
Garon wasn't gentle with her either. He was casually swinging her around, and she kept smacking into trees and other things as he dragged her through the snowy forest until eventually stopping at a large hill.
She was totally helpless.
Again…
How many times did that make now? How many times would she endanger herself and have to be saved? She felt frustrated. Still, if it was venom that was inside of her doing that, then there was at least one thing she could do…
When he reached the dungeon's entrance, Garon harshly dropped her, and she crashed face-first into the snow just outside the dungeon. "The tenth," Garon stated. "You'll be the tenth and final sacrifice." He brought his foot back and placed it on her stomach. "I swear I'm not a bad guy. I've just tried everything, and you and that brat have really screwed up the only plan that was working."
Olivia stayed in place, staring up at the roof above, not making a sound, even as Garon's foot began to painfully push down into her gut.
"Sorry." Garon eased up suddenly. "I'm a good person, though. I once tried out to become an Arcane Knight, but I didn't get the part. It was so humiliating for me. I was born with fire magic. Sure, it's not rare, but it's a staple. Fire can do a lot of things and is useful, yet even being born with such a strong type, I wasn't able to pass any of the exams, and they failed me three different times. It made me so mad." Garon crouched down, and he gently stroked Olivia's face almost tenderly. "So, I became stuck in this dead-end job serving as the town guard. Gone were my dreams of being a Knight. I'm a nobody now. No one appreciates me or knows my name. I might as well not even exist. I was born lucky, yet it didn't matter."
Olivia rested there, still not moving, but her mind was a whirlwind. Plenty of mages cursed the magic they were born with, herself included. Garon was a lucky one, though, born with a solid magic type and decent schools of magic, yet he had also failed.
It made her feel sick at her stomach. If someone like him wasn't able to make it into the Knights, then did she stand a chance?
Garon took her by the hair and forced her head up, looking down into her eyes. "I knew a guy who had blood magic." The man said quietly, and Olivia found herself fully focused on his words now. "He was one of the people who took the exam with me." Garon patted her cheek and gave a fake smile. "He didn't make it either. Of course. If someone like me couldn't do it, then someone like him sure as hell couldn't either. I was born special, and like that man, you weren't. I felt a little bad at first for setting up this plan. After all, I'm either going to feed you to the snake or use you as a tool to force the Knight to listen to me, but after seeing that you have blood magic, I feel less bad. Your kind shouldn't exist. You're all blights on the world. Most people with blood magic turn into Magical Mutants, and I'm sure you'll be no different. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."
Olivia felt tears prick in her eyes. Growing up, she was constantly yelled at and called names, but somehow it felt different coming from a guy who walked the path of the Knights but failed. Everything Garon was saying was true in a way.
People feared what they didn't understand, and for some reason, blood magic was always linked back to dark mages or people who would become Mutants.
Was she just fated to fail?
No.
Olivia suddenly recalled something someone had said to her once. A beautiful woman with stunning silver hair and eyes that looked like the moon. That woman had seen her blood magic, yet still hadn't told her to give up. That woman had encouraged her, and so had Davi. Her own father had told her to quit, but if she refused to listen to him, then why should she even consider Garon's words?
She was going to become an Arcane Knight.
She made a promise.
"I shouldn't talk your ear off." Garon let out a weak sigh. "I just get so mad sometimes. I know I'm special. I should be at the top. I'm handsome and was born with a strong type of magic, yet just because I have a bit of emotional issues, I wasn't fit to be a Knight. It's utter bullshit." He grunted and reached down, grabbing her by the back of the neck, and pulled her face out of the snow. "Anyway, we should get you into the dungeon—"
There was a terribly loud bang, and the entire forest went silent. The gunshot echoed out, and Garon dropped Olivia, and he screamed almost as loudly as the gun had. He dropped onto his ass and grabbed at his thigh, which was now gushing out a wave of red due to the bullet hole that had appeared in his leg.
Garon's eyes filled with pain and rage as he glared down at the smoking gun Olivia held, which was halfway pointed out of her cloak. Olivia's arm shook as she lifted it, about to fire again, but Garon lunged for it.
Another gunshot echoed through the forest, and this time the bullet rammed into a tree, sending a shower of wood. Garon let out a second howl of pain as his hand gripped the barrel, which had become red hot, and forced the gun to point away from him. He twisted his arm as much as he could, tearing the weapon out of Olivia's hands, who let out a gasp.
Garon tossed the weapon away as far as he could and turned to grab at the white-haired girl, but before he could make contact, Olivia kicked out and rammed her foot directly into the wound Garon had in his leg, downing him.
He yelled and dropped her, and as soon as he did, she jabbed out with her fist, punching him and breaking his nose. He was shoved down as she jumped forward across the snow, stumbled into the entrance of the dungeon, and crashed down onto the step below. Pain flooded her body, but she fought through it and rolled down to the next step.
"You bitch!" Garon roared out in rage, and he cupped his wound. "Row Flame Feel!" Fire gushed out of his hand, and his flesh began to mend. As soon as it was done, he jumped down after Olivia, but she was already on her fourth step, literally tossing herself off of each one, not caring how much damage she took. She just needed to get away. "How the hell can you even still move?" Garon glared down at the dagger he held. "I stabbed you! I'm sure I did!"
Olivia felt a smug grin cross onto her face as she heard the man's annoyance and rage. The truth was she had gotten lucky. For once, having blood magic paid off. Even without being able to cast a spell, mages had certain benefits that set them apart from normal humans.
For example, a mage like Nev or Garon, who could use fire, was typically way more fire-resistant than normal people, and it would require high temperatures to burn them. An ice mage like her friend Bruno was basically immune to the cold and wouldn't need to worry about frostbite.
Since her body was used to using up so much blood, she tended to heal faster than normal people would, and her blood would go out of its way to purify itself.
She discovered this when she was a kid and ate a bunch of poisonous berries during one of her many escape attempts from the village. She had eaten enough to kill a full-grown elephant a hundred times over, but for her, it had just upset her stomach for a few days, and she had been able to recover from it.
In other words, she was basically immune to any poison that wasn't of the highest quality or the most potent dose. It had taken a bit, but she had managed to move all the snake's venom into a specific part of her body, freeing the rest of it by closing that vessel off.
Olivia tumbled down the final step and heard a click. A second later, she was forced to drop to the floor, letting out a loud squeak as a rain of arrows began to blast directly above her from all sides.
Garon reached the bottom step but didn't jump down. Instead, he looked down at the floor, scanning it with his eyes. The arrows were explicitly made to miss a particular path so that a person could travel through the room without triggering the trap. Only a fool would simply rush in without a care. Forcing some mana into his legs to strengthen his body, Garon leapt through the air and crashed down on a tile, avoiding all of the arrows. He was now in the front and turned back to face Olivia.
"End of the line," Garon called out. "Stay where you are, and I'll come get you when this damn trap you set off stops."
"Yeah, right! As if I'm going to let that happen." Olivia winced and debated standing up, but the traps weren't letting up anytime soon. She glared up at Garon and only saw a cold look in his eyes. "Why didn't you just get the help of Davi from the start! Whatever was in here, he could have gotten it for you if you just asked him."
Garon let out a harsh laugh and glared at her. "Yeah, right! It doesn't work like that. Those bastards may claim they're for the people, but I know the truth. They take all the monsters they kill and sell them off so they can turn a profit. They do the same with places like this. They enter dungeons and take all the valuables for themselves! They'd simply take what I want and not give it to me! Then everything I did would be for nothing! Don't even get me started on hiring them for a quest! Those bastards are all greedy! Besides! Even if one were willing to help me, why would I let them steal my chance at glory? I deserve to be the one who saves the day! I'm a good person!"
"Someone who is a good person doesn't have to keep saying it," Olivia growled. "Have you ever gone out of your way to help someone even when it inconveniences you? Have you ever tried your best to make others happy, even when the people around you are put off by you because of how your mana feels? Have you ever taken the time to make sure a person is not only doing better but can continue to help themselves in the future? A good person isn't whatever you are. A good person is someone who would take me on the adventure of a lifetime, all because I asked, and help me every step of the way!"
"Shut up," Garon yelled. "Things are only wrong because you and that boy screwed it all up! I would have saved all the girls, you know!" Garon punched at his chest and gritted his teeth. "The snake let it slip that it was saving the girls for when it would hibernate."
"Brumate." Olivia corrected.
"Whatever!" Garon growled. "It wasn't going to instantly eat the girls. I was going to give it the ten it needed and get the potion I wanted. After that, I would have found a way to get hold of the Knights once I got what I wanted!"
"How were you going to get the Knights to show up after you were done, though? The barrier isn't going down? Also, what was stopping the snake from betraying you and killing you when it got what it wanted? Would it really just let you guys all live?" Olivia questioned.
Garon shook his head, refusing to consider what she was saying. "Shut it! You people are the bad guys! You've made things worse just by showing up! As soon as this trap ends, I'm going to make you pay!"
She was a little shocked at the way Garon was acting now. It was almost like a switch had been flipped, or as if he had taken off his mask. Gone was the calm, collected guard that was willing to protect his city. This was the real Garon. A desperate man who just wanted to do what he thought was the right thing. She had fallen for his false looks just as everyone else did.
People were never as they seemed, and something was never so simple.
"You want to make me pay?" Olivia announced. "You'll have to catch me first! Row Blood Cloak!" She had rested enough to regain some of her blood since she healed so quickly, so this no longer counted as her third spell. The blood flowed out of the tip of her wand and formed into a blanket, which wrapped itself around her. She didn't have the amount of mana or control Davi did to make a full suit, but her blood was still able to harden and defend. Keeping herself cloaked, she jumped to her feet and launched herself at Garon.
Garon's eyes went wide, and he raised his dagger up, ready to counter her with a spell. He waited for her to cast, but it never came since she wasn't casting another spell. Instead, she shoulder-rammed him and knocked him off the platform he was on. Several of the arrows dug past his armor, and he howled in pain, attempting to blanket himself in mana, but that was only able to block a few of the arrows. He crashed to the ground, with one sticking out of his back.
Olivia ran forward, holding her cloak tighter against herself. The arrows weren't able to puncture through it, but it still stung as they rammed into her multiple times. She almost lost her footing but forced herself to keep going. There was another click, and this time, the entire dungeon room shook as a large boulder dropped from the sky.
Olivia stared in shock as it began to roll toward her, about to crush her to death. On the bright side, the rain of arrows had finally come to an end.
"Row Flame Wheel!" Garon screamed the spell and sent a wave of fire flying past her, which began to slice into the boulder, but it wasn't enough. She flicked her own wand out, casting another spell.
"Row Blood Wheel!" She mimicked Garon's spell, her blood flowing out into a bladed-wheel shape, and together with the fire, it began to dig into the stone. The two of them gave it their all and let out a yell as they split the boulder directly in two. She breathed heavily once it was done, the two halves falling down. How had Davi done all of this by himself? She was starting to get exhausted from the loss of blood and mana, but she had a slight advantage since Garon couldn't let her die. Garon yelled something at her, but her senses were all over the place, and she couldn't process what he said.
Olivia ignored his screaming and forced herself forward. Her back was killing her, her side burned, her legs were aching from the running and the drops, and her shoulder had an arrow that was poking out of it, which she hadn't even noticed made it past her cloak. She had never felt more alive. This was just like the Salamander. She was living life on the edge. One mistake could get her killed, yet she was strangely happy.
"Get back here!" Garon ordered.
"No!"
Garon gritted his teeth and yelled in anger. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you slowed! Blood magic is useless! That guy I mentioned earlier could only manage four spells. I bet you're even less since you're smaller. You're as pathetic as he was, thinking you can get away!"
"Your words mean nothing to me!" Olivia shouted back.
"Oh, really?"
"I'm going to become an Arcane Knight!" She declared loudly. "Just like my father, just like the silver-haired woman who saved me, and just like Davi, who took me on this adventure in the first place!" She had more hope now than she ever did. "I'm going to do it for myself!" Up ahead was a massive set of double doors. They were sealed shut and fixed from Davi's earlier rampage. "So this is nothing! Because if he can go through this dungeon, then so can I—"
Pain.
Pain unlike any other.
Olivia suddenly froze and felt her back tear, followed by her stomach, as Garon rammed his knife through her back.
He might not be anywhere near as strong or durable as Davi, but he, too, had once attempted to walk the path of the Arcane Knights, and so, just like Davi, he was far stronger and faster than a normal human.
She never had a chance to escape from the start. As a sea of red gushed from her wound, Olivia's thoughts suddenly went to the silver-haired beauty who had saved her and set her on this path. She had desperately wanted to thank the woman for giving her the motivation she needed. Her thoughts then went to Davi, who was actively helping and had gone out of his way to guide her.
She had failed them both. In the end, she still didn't have what it took.
Life just wasn't fair.