Chapter 683: Ties That Bind
To Rachel Cassowar, the boy named ’Arthur’ was one of her very few friends.
After being adopted into the Cassowar Family, Rachel was put through various forms of training. Combat, Etiquette and pretty much everything the child of a Military Noble Family would be put through.
As for why she was adopted, it was due to her identity as the biological daughter of two deceased Divine Human Generals who had saved the Cassowar Family Head in the past.
This adoption was kind of their way of repaying her parents.
But Rachel would have honestly preferred to remain in the Orphanage that she was in than to become a Cassowar and go through all the bullshit she went through.
As an adopted child, it was only natural that the actual Cassowar children didn’t like her; no surprise there.
There was her rigorous training too, so in the end, the girl grew up without any friends or people she could confide in.
Applying to join the army was seen as her taking the path of a Cassowar, but in reality, Rachel just wanted to get out of that messed up family.
Coming to the Army, she had half-given up on her desire to find friends. Military training or not, Rachel was still just a teenager who wanted to socialise with people her age who weren’t hating on her for silly reasons.
It was during the recruitment process that she met Arthur. The random guy who just happened to sit beside her during the screening that day.
She thought she probably wouldn’t see him again after the screening given that the Duskhand Bastille was a large place, but they ended up in the same platoon.
When the day came for their combat ability tests, she was surprised to discover how strong he was, as well as the fact that he was a divinity wielder.
Honestly, Rachel was envious.
She was the child of two Divine Humans but did not possess enough Divine factors to become one. There was also the fact that all Cassowar family members were Divine Humans as well.
Having grown up in such circumstances where people always pointed that out to her, Rachel naturally had festering negative emotions.
But something about Arthur’s casual demeanour with her after their battle washed away those feelings of envy and that budding inferiority complex.
The time they spent in Duskhand was short, just a little over a week.
Being the social butterfly that he was, naturally caused people to flock to them, and Rachel was able to finally properly socialise like she’d always wanted.
Things got even better when she reunited with her ’older brothers and sisters’ from the Orphanage. Namely Ger and three others.
Rachel was happy.
But that happiness didn’t last long.
The Duskhand Bastille’s Inner City was destroyed. The Culprit was a newly appearing Demon called the ’Silver Summoner’.
No one knew where he came from. He was first spotted in Embermaw, together with the ’Demon of Light’.
Together with the man Rachel hated from the bottom of her heart. The man who killed her parents.
The initial Consensus was that he was a subordinate of the Demon of Light, but it later changed after reports showed his interactions with the Four-Star Generals were not like ’Superior-Subordinate’ interactions, but more like ’Equals’.
Regardless of what he was considered, it didn’t change the fact that he destroyed Duskhand’s Inner City.
Rachel was greatly saddened.
Her first actual friend was lost. Along with her ’older brothers and sisters’ from the Orphanage. All gone without even bodies left to bury.
To begin with, she already had a vendetta against the Demon of Light, and now his associate, the Silver Summoner showed up and killed people she cared about.
Rachel’s anger was naturally directed towards him, but she knew that there was nothing she could do against them as she was.
Her only option was to grow her strength until she could take them on.
With Duskhand’s plans for reconstruction, Rachel, along with many others, was transferred out of Duskhand to other Military Cities.
She and everyone else in the platoon she and Arthur were in, were transferred to the Starlight Fortress in Sloklens.
Life went on, and one fateful day in December, she had a reunion she never expected.
She discovered Arthur was still alive.
It turned out Arthur had been sent out by Ger sometime before Duskhand had been destroyed.
When he finished his assignment and heard the city had been destroyed, he didn’t return and joined the Mercenary Guild instead.
Reuniting with Arthur lifted a weight off Rachel’s chest. Even if it was only for a short time, he was her first friend in a long while, so she was overjoyed that he wasn’t dead.
◇ ◇ ◇
Arthur moved around a LOT.
He also had a way to somehow easily go to other continents despite there being strict rules on Intercontinental Travel during the war.
After leaving the Army, Arthur had grown stronger as well. Though Rachel noticed this, she wasn’t bothered as that was never her focus.
She was just happy her friend was alive.
From their reunion, they became even closer than some people who’d known themselves for years.
In the months that followed that day, they found out more about themselves, hung out a lot and their friendship reached the stage where Arthur was even coming over to her house.
When she had been tempted by the Military’s offer to become an Artificial Divine Human, it was Arthur who noticed it and dissuaded her. She could see his genuine concern and worry for her.
But, if there was one thing Rachel didn’t like, however, it was Arthur’s nasty habit of being late for things.
During her free time—which wasn’t much considering she was in the army—they usually planned to hang out. But once every three times, he was always late.
Not by minutes or hours, but entire days!
When he finally showed up, he’d just laugh it off with a smile, saying he was busy with something or was on another continent.
Soon, his reasons for being late got progressively weirder. There was one time he had said he was in space.
The next time she saw him after that, was in Plomux.
Arthur had grown far stronger than before, to the point where merely standing before him filled her with an instinctive desire to run away.
The boy had crushed a Grandmaster Realm monster with nought but a gesture, and from what she heard when he spoke with that strange man who showed up out of nowhere, he seemed to be on the verge of breaking through to the next Realm.
She wondered how strong he was, as in the past few months, it got progressively harder to tell his level.
When she had to return from Plomux on account of the Silver Summoner attacking their hidden base, she and Arthur went out pretty much every day.
Sometimes, it was him dragging her and sometimes it was her dragging him.
When she returned to the Starlight Fortress during that week, she encountered some of her colleagues who were also with her in the Duskhand Bastille. They were roommates in the Barracks.
When they asked where she’d been all week, she told them she was hanging out with Arthur. No point lying.
In making small talk with them, she ended up revealing more about her and Arthur’s outing that day and one of them had a response that stunned her.
"Isn’t that practically a date?"
Rachel blinked in confusion. Then she laughed and shook her head.
"Nah, it’s not."
"No, no, no. Everything you just told me was basically a date plan."
It took Rachel a moment to think about things before realising they were right.
"It might have actually been..."
""You’re just realising this?!""
Their incredulous expressions were a sight to behold and Rachel laughed as she responded.
"You can’t blame us for not thinking about it that way."
To that response, one of them shot back, asking.
"Us? What if you’re the one who isn’t thinking about it like a date? What if he had every intention to ask you out?"
Hearing that, Rachel shook her head and laughed the loudest she had in days.
"Definitely not. I’m 100% certain that he doesn’t see me that way."
Spending time with Arthur over the past few months, she came to know that while Arthur did have eyes for someone who wasn’t around for a reason he didn’t elaborate, she knew it certainly wasn’t her.
Their conversation that day was cut short as it was soon time for evening drills. But the realisation she had that day did start to make her conscious of Arthur, though she did not recognise this herself.
Their daily outings continued, and one the last one, Arthur told her he was going to be travelling for a while, saying that their next outing should be at least 3 weeks later.
He didn’t know how long he was going to take, he said.
◇ ◇ ◇
A month passed and a rare day off was given to Rachel on account of her newest promotion, and her roommates told her about a certain place, with one of them suggesting she invite Arthur.
Not seeing a problem, she headed over to Tolgue, straight to the Hotel Arthur was practically living in and asked for him.
Recognizing her as a friend of their valued guest, the receptionists attended to her quickly, but the response she received was negative.
Arthur was not around.
She asked whether he gave an estimated time of return, and according to the receptionist, he had said at least 3 or 4 weeks.
Time passed and Rachel, having business in Tolgue City decided to drop by the Noble Baron Hotel and ask if Arthur had returned.
She received another negative response.
Over the next few weeks, she came twice again and received negative responses, with the last time having her getting a bit annoyed.
But calming down, she thought that he was probably busy where he was. Then that thought changed to worry for his safety.
She could vividly remember being told he had died after Duskhand, and for a moment, fear crept into her heart.
Getting back to Sloklens, she encountered her roommates in their dorm common room. When they saw her, they exchanged a glance and asked.
"You went to check on him again, didn’t you?"
Rachel nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and responded honestly.
"Yeah, but no luck this time either. It’s been weeks, and he’s still not back."
"Wow, Rachel. You’ve been over there how many times now? Three? Four?"
When the other young woman spoke, Rachel held up four fingers to correct her and seeing this, her roommate teased her with a sly grin.
"That eager to hang out with him, huh?"
Rachel shot her a sharp look in response.
"It’s not about eagerness. I’m worried about him, okay? You remember what happened after Duskhand. For a moment, I thought he was dead. Do you know how terrifying that was?"
Her voice softened as she continued.
"He said he’d be back in four weeks. It’s been eight. I’m just concerned something’s happened to him."
Hearing Rachel’s response, her roommate tilted her head, her grin still present but gentler now.
"So, it’s just worry, huh? Nothing more than that?"
"Yes. Are you insinuating something else?"
Rachel shot back, but the other young woman just shrugged, her expression completely innocent save for the knowing glint in her eyes.
"Who knows?"
Just as Rachel was about to tell her to stop beating around the bush, a voice called from the hallway.
The three turned to see a fellow soldier hurrying toward them, his expression a mix of urgency and confusion.
"You three didn’t get the memo? The Generals summoned you. Conference room 5. Now."
"What? Why? Did they say what it’s about?"
Rachel stood, alarm sparking in her chest as she asked, but the other soldier only shook his head.
"No clue. But you’re not the only one. A bunch of others were summoned too."
Exchanging uneasy glances, the trio quickly followed him out, heading toward the conference hall. As they moved through the corridors, more soldiers joined the flow, all heading in the same direction.
Rachel’s gaze flicked to the growing group, her brow furrowing. She recognized every face—they were all her platoon members who had been transferred to Starlight from Duskhand.
"What’s this about?"
When she asked, one of the soldiers ahead suggested.
"Maybe they’re transferring us out of Starlight."
That response made Rachel furrow her brows as she spoke.
"They’d better not. I still have three months left on my house rent."
The group burst into laughter, the brief levity cutting through the tension as they approached the large double doors of the conference room.
But as they stepped inside, the mood shifted again, each one instantly slipping into serious mode as they saluted the generals.
