The Hero of Vengeance

Chapter 25: The Search For Mizik Iratus

Isabella slept well that night.

After departing with her beloved and promising to meet him early the next day, she retired to her chambers. She laid down in her bed as thoughts of Mizik raced through her mind.

Truthfully, she had to hold herself back quite a bit due to her position.

On top of the deal made with her father.

She would have to wait until Mizik turned fifteen, and then she could finally become his bride.

Isabella buried her face in her pillow as she recalled the first time she kissed him

"I should have kissed him again..." She thought to herself.

She was so deeply in love with Mizik Iratus that he was almost all she could think about.

There was only one small problem.

Mizik felt very uncomfortable being in the castle due to Isabella's sister, Cassandra.

Isabella loved her sister. From the time they were children, they had been great friends. Always looking out for one another. The issue of the throne never came up.

Over time, it was discovered that Isabella had many more necessary talents for ruling a country than Cassandra.

Cassandra's abilities paled by comparison and she was left behind...

Eventually, Isabella could no longer make time for Cassandra.

Over time, the constant stress and belittling by her peers got to her.

She became bitter and hateful.

She was left all alone...denied the simple comforts that family and friends would bring because of constantly living in Isabella's shadow.

Because of this, she coveted the throne. Believing that ruling over everyone would give her the attention she desperately wanted. And that she would no longer be looked down on.

But due to being second in line, she was pushed further towards the edge. Cassandra began to take her frustrations out on others below her.

It didn't help that their mother was obsessed with social status and constantly tried to force these beliefs on her daughters.

Isabella rejected them, but Cassandra began to accept them.

Whether it was because she felt overlooked or lonely, no one knows... But the case was just that Cassandra's personality had begun to rot as a result.

It began with simple insults to any others below her standing. She started to view commoners as mere insects.

Eventually, she found that she enjoyed harming others to ease her bitterness... But it only caused her more pain and anger.

She started with prisoners. Men and women destined for execution. Cassandra would torture them to death in an unknown location.

After that, regular people who had offended her in some way would disappear.

Isabella had long known of the harm her sister would inflict on others and even became worried when Cassandra gained strength as a result.

Cassandra had executed a very large number of people. Although she was only sixteen, she had been doing this for over six years.

She discovered how much more exp humans were worth compared to monsters...

And Cassandra became one herself.

Using illusions to lure and trap her prey, then torturing them for days on end until she became bored and murdered them.

Isabella still loved her sister, but tried her best to ensure that none would know of her crimes. She didn't want her childhood best friend to be imprisoned or worse...executed...

But now, Isabella had an even bigger worry. The first person to ever join her adventurer company...the first person to learn of her identity and not be bothered by it...

...May have been in danger.

Isabella had only planned to watch him train from a distance. She'd fallen in love with him shortly before meeting the Oracle. But then she saw her sister hurting him.

Since she couldn't hide her identity forever, she took a chance.

For Isabella, Mizik was more precious than all the riches in the world. A man of noble descent who had not been corrupted by their spoiled upbringing. Not that his status mattered, of course. It was just so much easier to marry someone of noble descent than a commoner due to her status.

Mizik had unfortunately mistaken Cassandra for Isabella. He gave her a simple hug.

That was enough to offend her greatly.

Isabella did everything in her power to ensure his safety, but she couldn't be everywhere at once.

She slowly pulled the pillow down as she stared at the wall.

"Walter," Isabella said quietly.

Immediately, a large older man in a beautiful suit appeared in the center of her room.

Walter had been a dear friend for many years to Isabella. He was like an uncle to her and Walter viewed Isabella as his niece.

"I am eager to serve, my lady," Walter said as he gave a swift bow.

"Did Mizik make it home safely?" She asked him.

"He did. He is anxious to see you once again, early tomorrow."

It warmed Isabella's heart to hear those words. She wanted nothing more than to hold him close and never let go.

"Please make sure he gets to me safely, tomorrow," she said.

"I will endeavor to make your wishes come true. Although, not at the cost to your own safety."

"That's fine. I'm plenty safe as is. I just want to protect him..." She thought to herself.

Slowly, Isabella drifted off into sleep.

* * *

After getting ready the next morning, Isabella made her way to the usual meeting place.

She noticed it had been raining quite hard as she passed several windows.

Meaning, the training grounds were out of the question.

"Walter," Isabella said.

He appeared beside her and gave a bow.

"I am here," he said calmly.

"Has Mizik arrived at the castle, yet?" She asked.

"I am not currently aware of his location. I can check to see if you'd like, my lady."

"Please see to it," Isabella said firmly.

Walter gave another bow of his head and disappeared.

Isabella waited in one of the castle's lounges and lovingly thought of Mizik. He seemed a bit awkward sometimes, but she found it incredibly cute.

And he was all hers.

An hour went by with no sign of him.

"Where is he?" She thought to herself.

Walter appeared once more and bowed.

"Walter, where is my beloved?" She asked as she began to grow increasingly impatient.

"I have information that he was seen in the castle. Currently, no one knows where he is. I have come to retrieve you."

Isabella frowned.

If he was here, why had he not come directly to her? They had specified this meeting spot in case of foul weather.

* * *

As she walked through the halls of the castle calling for Mizik, Isabella only began to grow more nervous.

She walked down several hallways calling out to him and got no response.

She made doubly sure to walk past Cassandra's room in case he had somehow found his way in there, but nothing was heard within.

Although, Isabella did find it somewhat unusual that a guard had been posted outside of Cassandra's room. She did not normally keep guards so close to her.

For the rest of the day, no one saw any sign of Mizik.

The sun began to set and with it, Isabella's heart sank.

She laid down in bed that night with teary eyes.

"There's no way he could have been avoiding me... Where did he go!?" She thought to herself.

"....Walter..." She said anxiously.

At once, he appeared. However, he had a grim expression on his face instead of his usual demeanor.

"Where do you think he could be?" She asked as she tried to hold back tears.

"I do not know, my lady. I can only hope your witch of a sister has not gotten ahold of him..."

It was too terrifying to think about.

Anyone caught by Cassandra was never seen again.

They would just disappear. No body, no sign of a struggle or anything. Isabella had no idea where she even went to perform these foul deeds.

"Tomorrow, we'll pay a visit to Jorgan's Diner to see if he has returned there," Isabella said as she regained her composure.

"I must have just missed him... Yes... Maybe he had something important to do and went back home. If only he could just live here! I would protect him!!!" Isabella thought anxiously to herself.

Slowly, she allowed herself to fall asleep.

* * *

The next day, Isabella and Walter made their way swiftly to the Diner as early as possible.

Upon reaching it, she scrambled inside and ran into the kitchen.

The kitchen crew were all stunned and surprised to see the First Princess acting in such a way.

"P-princess Isabella!? What are you doing here?" Jorgan said suddenly.

Isabella panted and tried to speak clearly.

"Mizik was...nowhere to be seen yesterday... Is he in today...?"

The others looked somewhat confused.

"We assumed he had stayed the night at the castle. He never came home last night and always lets us know when he gets back," Jorgan said. After speaking, he waved one of the cooks to fetch Talia, who was in charge of sleeping arrangements.

After Talia came down she bowed to Isabella.

"Stop that! I don't care about your respect right now!" She thought to herself annoyingly.

"Please, did Mizik come home here last night?"

Talia gave Isabella a concerned look as she shook her head.

"I'm always on top of these things, but Mizik never arrived. I checked his room earlier to be sure and found it empty..." She said.

Isabella felt her heart sink deeply. Panic and fear began to wash over her.

Immediately, she turned and ran as hard as she could back to the castle.

* * *

When Isabella and Walter arrived, they demanded to speak with Cassandra immediately.

After an hour of searching, they found an unusually chipper Cassandra calmly strolling the hallways.

"Sister!!!" Isabella shouted angrily.

Cassandra slowly turned and smiled at Isabella.

"Greetings, to what do I owe the-"

"Shut up! Where is Mizik!? Tell me this instant!!!" Isabella said, interrupting Cassandra's banter.

Cassandra simply responded by tilting her head and placing her finger in her chin.

"Stop trying to act cute, you witch!" Isabella thought as she glared at her sister.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen the little roach since a couple of days ago, sister. Why in the world would you think I knew of his whereabouts?" Cassandra said calmly.

"Liar! Where is my Fiance!?" Isabella said as she began to grow increasingly angry.

"I am not his keeper or anything close to it, you know? Why should I care where that trash goes? Maybe he finally came to his senses and left. He didn't seem so stupid as to believe he could truly marry a Princess."

This was getting nowhere. Either she was lying...or Mizik had truly left...

Isabella hoped with all her heart that wasn't the case.

"I'll use all my resources. I'll travel to the ends of Avernia to find him!" She thought.

"This isn't over, Cassandra. We will find him."

"Of course you will. Good luck with that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm feeling rather annoyed since you've gone and soured my mood. I think I'll retire to my chambers," Cassandra said.

And with that, she vanished.

Immediately, Isabella called as many guards together as she could and ordered a thorough search of the castle.

She needed to find Mizik. She couldn't let the only man she ever truly loved disappear.

"I'm not being obsessive, am I? I'm not crazy...I just really love him... I need to make sure he's safe!"

The guards searched every accessible part of the castle to no avail. After that, Isabella gave the order to scour the entire city.

Lastly, she went to go see her father, The King.

As Isabella anxiously approached her father on his throne, she decided not to bow like she normally did.

Because of this, the King could see something was very wrong.

"My sweet Isabella. Is everything alright?" He asked.

"It's Mizik...he's gone missing!" She said aloud to him. And as she spoke the words, she felt the tears welling in her eyes.

Once they were released, she collapsed to her knees and began wailing in despair.

King Ronald rushed over to her to console his beloved daughter.

"Have you not heard from him recently?" He asked.

"N-not since t-two days ago... I'm worried for his safety!" Isabella cried.

"Are you sure he hasn't simply abandoned you?" A familiar voice said.

It was Arvild Darius. The nobleman she was previously engaged to.

"He would never! And why are you here!?" Isabella said as the King glared at the man.

"I merely heard the news and wanted to comfort you, my dear," Arvild said.

At once the King stood up and motioned for Walter to move into position.

"Walter! Get this scoundrel out of my castle! He will not stand anywhere near my daughter!"

"With pleasure, sire," Walter said as he unsheathed Honor.

Arvild raised a hand to stop him and spoke again.

"I also come bearing a message, you see. I might be able to help you find your beloved garbage if you agree to marry me instead of that filth. He is unfit to hold the hand of such a pure maiden as yourself, my dear Isabella. And even more unfit to rule," Arvild said with a sly smile.

"I will never marry you! Not even if you were the last man in the world! I'd rather kill myself a thousand times over than share one romantic moment with such a revolting man!" Isabella shouted through her tears in anger.

Arvild twisted his normally charming smile into a disgusted frown.

"You wound me, Isabella! What does he have that I don't? I'm everything a woman like you could ever want!" He shouted.

"You will leave the castle right now!" Walter shouted. "You only love her for her body and her position! You care nothing for Isabella, you scoundrel! Leave this place at once or I will execute you on the spot!!!"

As he spoke, the golden runes on Honor began to glow end the sword began to pulse with power.

"Very well, but I shall be in touch. If you ever desire a real man, you know where to find me..." Arvild said as he turned to leave.

After that, Isabella made her way back to her chambers. She was approached by one of the knight captains. They had concluded their search of the surrounding area between Jorgan's diner and Albatross Castle.

Only a few people had noticed Mizik walking around town that day. He had apparently been escorted by a castle knight, and the general consensus was that he had been on his way to the castle. No one had seen him since.

After that, Isabella found it hard to sleep at night.

What terrible things could be happening to her beloved? Where was Mizik!?

Isabella quietly cried herself to sleep in anguish.

* * *

When she awoke, she had a new strategy for attack.

She wanted to find out what Mizik's steps were from the knights and guards in the castle.

She called everyone in the castle who was working that day and spent many hours questioning them.

All she learned was that Mizik had been following one knight in particular, but no one seemed to know who that particular knight was.

Furthermore, no one had paid enough attention to see where Mizik was headed.

Which left only one option...

It may have been someone working for Cassandra.

Now, Cassandra had no retainers. The King and Queen deemed it unnecessary to waste the manpower protecting her when she rarely left the castle.

However, Cassandra did have a handful of guards that served under her for general purposes. And all of them were handpicked.

Still, all of these men still served the crown. They were all present for the summons and none of them had anything to do with Cassandra for a while.

Which meant only one thing...

The knight in front of her room wasn't working for the crown.

With that in mind, Isabella went with Walter to Cassandra's room.

As the day drew to an end, Isabella arrived at Cassandra's room and pounded loudly on the door.

"Give me a moment!" A voice said on the other side of the door.

Isabella nodded to Walter and he held his hand over the lock.

"Release lock," he said.

There was a click and Isabella swung the door wide open and stormed in.

"Kyaaaa!!!" Cassandra shouted as she covered herself with a sheet. She looked at Isabella and scowled. "Oh, it's you. Can't you see I'm changing!?" Cassandra shouted.

"Where is Mizik!?" Isabella shouted.

Cassandra turned away and slipped on a robe before turning back to her sister.

"I already told you! I'm not his keeper! Why would I know anything about where that trash has gone off to!?" Cassandra said angrily.

"We've searched high and low for him. Everything points back to you! He never returned home! People saw him heading towards the castle, but never again!" Isabella shouted.

"Well, maybe the fool got lost and fell off a tower or something? I don't know! Maybe you'll find him splattered over the ground out back!? Stop bothering me about your garbage heap, sister!" Cassandra shouted.

"Then what about the knight standing guard outside your room a few days ago? The day Mizik went missing. That man wasn't present for the summons I sent out. Who is he!?" Isabella demanded.

Cassandra paused for a moment and looked around.

"Ugh...why do you assume my handful of guards are all loyal to you!? Maybe one of them lied or something. Do you think I keep track of who I station outside of my room? They're all the same to me! I couldn't even tell who it was because he wore a full set of armor! Now LEAVE ME ALONE!!! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!"

Isabella gritted her teeth and stormed out of the room immediately.

After Isabella and Walter arrived back at her chambers, she looked at Walter.

"You saw it too, right, Walter?" Isabella asked.

"Yes, my lady. She seemed to lose her composure. The floor was stained with a red liquid as well," Walter said.

"What do you think it could be?" Isabella said.

"Perhaps she was drinking with someone and there was a spill? Other than that...I fear to think. But why would Cassandra need someone guarding her room on that particular day? Was she worried about someone entering or...escaping, perhaps?" He said.

Isabella placed her hand on her chin in deep thought and looked back at Walter.

"Do you think she could have tricked Mizik?" She said.

"It is entirely possible."

"Dammit! That witch! That filthy lying witch!!!" Isabella screamed internally.

"My lady, I can try and conduct a full investigation. Cassandra is rather intelligent, unfortunately, so it may take some time..." Walter said.

"Do it. We don't have any other options right now..." Isabella said.

But Isabella had no further words to speak.

All she wished for was just to see Mizik safe again.

She wanted to hold him and never let him out of her sight ever again.

Isabella went to sleep that night with a heart full of grief.

* * *

A week passed after that with no sign of Mizik.

Walter had been hard at work trying to find out what happened to him.

Isabella began growing more and more desperate. Arvild had also arrived to propose to Isabella but was repeatedly chased away.

All the while the search for Mizik continued.

So far, the only possible conclusion was that Mizik had been deceived by Cassandra and dragged somewhere.

Unfortunately, with no sign of him anywhere, and with no one ever seeing him since his disappearance, Isabella was beginning to lose hope.

He had been missing for a week and a half.

The longer she went without him, the deeper Isabella went into despair.

All the while Cassandra seemed much happier than normal.

It was truly bizarre.

Normally, Cassandra was full of hatred and only wanted to be admired. She would go around the castle looking down on the guards and insulting them.

But lately, she had done none of that.

In fact, she was hardly seen at all. The times when she was in full view, she seemed genuinely happy. And that terrified Isabella to her very core.

Isabella anxiously paced her room as she thought about what could have happened. Walter was excellent at remaining hidden and had several skills that could erase his presence.

Cassandra, however, was an Illusion Master. A class that specialized in these very things.

She was usually aware of Walter's presence and as a result, he could only get so close. One might think that Cassandra could simply have Isabella killed, right? Potentially even accomplishing the deed herself.

This was true, but Cassandra had no hope of defeating Walter on her own. He presented an extreme threat to her in a straightforward conflict.

This was their stalemate.

Neither side could advance. They could only withdraw.

Additionally, with the possibility of Cassandra holding a precious hostage, they would be unable to advance too far.

It had taken Walter some time, but he had discovered something fairly interesting.

The room next to Cassandra's chambers had been boarded up. It hadn't been used in over thirty years and had fallen into disrepair.

Walter had been looking for a way into this room without alerting Cassandra, to listen in on her while she remained unaware of his presence.

He appealed to the King for the use of a magical artifact known as 'The Specter's Cloak'. An item that would allow him to pass through thin walls or doors at the cost of most of his mp.

The plan was simple: he would enter the abandoned room during the day and wait until late at night to leave. That way, he could listen in on Cassandra.

Walter approached Isabella during the early morning hours.

"My lady, I believe I am finally ready to begin," he simply said.

Since Walter would be leaving Isabella unprotected, she needed to stay hidden.

Isabella dawned her adamantine armor and assumed the identity of the adventurer Rose. She left the castle quietly and unmolested as she made her way to the diner where Mizik was currently supposed to be living.

Talia had been informed of her identity and allowed Isabella to stay in Mizik's room for the day.

Isabella was not to take her armor off under any circumstances.

She sat down on his bed and waited patiently.

"Please be alive... Please! Don't die on me!" She thought hopelessly.

* * *

Walter approached Cassandra's room quietly while in stealth.

He passed the room and cloaked himself in the special item.

It allowed him to pass through the door seamlessly at the cost of 60% of his mp.

Walter took off the specter cloak and remained invisible. He sat close to the wall and listened quietly.

After a few minutes of waiting, he heard a familiar voice speaking to Cassandra.

"Your sister is unbelievably persistent. She won't let go of that fool no matter what. Why can't you just kill him and-"

"Shut up!" Cassandra said in a hurried whisper as she interrupted Arvild. "Are you trying to alert the entire castle!?" Cassandra said.

"My apologies, Princess Cassandra. I grow tired of waiting for you to finish this fool off and help me be married to Isabella."

"I'm having far too much fun to simply let him go. I would rather not kill my pet so soon. You'll have to be patient, Arvild. You'll get his sword and I'll make sure that you have my sister as well," she said.

"You know...I would gladly take you instead, Cassandra. It doesn't have to be her..." Arvild said gently.

"Get your filthy hands off of me! If you keep it up, you'll join that trash in my cell."

"Noted. I'm sorry I mentioned it. Just don't forget who helped you lure that garbage here. Now, I suppose I'll go find Isabella and try my hand again. Ugh...even after years she still resists... Where would I find her at this hour?" Arvild said.

"Probably in her room pacing like usual. She's still so anxious for...Mizik..." She whispered quietly. "She's hardly left the castle all week. Go and have your fun. Just be careful of Walter."

"That old fool couldn't defeat me if he tried."

"You're an idiot if you think his age slows him down! Now go!" Cassandra said angrily.

Walter allowed himself a smile as he heard Cassandra's door open and shut. He continued to listen in on Cassandra. Maybe he would learn something else.

"Now that I'm alone...I can finally have some more fun..." Cassandra said.

Walter heard the creak of a small door opening and another sound of something being opened.

Moments later everything clicked back into place and he sat in complete silence.

Walter's eyes widened slightly at the thought of a secret passage being within Cassandra's room.

Half an hour passed and Walter heard something that made even his blood run cold.

He heard the faint sound of someone screaming. Of laughing. And finally, loud wailing and begging to make the pain stop.

"Found you..." Walter said as a dark hatred began to erupt within him.

He would absolutely not stand for this. His dear Isabella, whom he saw as his own niece, was beside herself with grief and despair.

The wonderful young man that he'd grown to greatly respect had been taken hostage by Isabella's spiteful, black-hearted sister.

Eventually, the sounds of torture ceased after several hours and Cassandra returned to her room. Walter could hear the sounds of very faint whimpering as he listened to the floor.

A thought then crossed his mind...

He had long wished to be rid of Cassandra but held himself back for the sake of Isabella.

Mizik wielded the Sword of Vengeance.

Only the people of the higher societies knew that the blade really did exist. And the current wielders had all heard stories from their swords about Vengeance.

That sword was spiteful and bore a bloodthirsty grudge against all who harmed its wielder.

Despite Walter's hatred of Cassandra, it would be important for Mizik to never touch Vengeance in her presence.

Doing so would result in a horrible fate for the woman that wronged him...

Walter waited until he could hear Cassandra getting ready to sleep later that night and made his escape.

"Hold on for just one more day, Mizik. We're coming for you!" He thought to himself as he made his way back to the meeting place designated by Isabella.

It was a small alleyway near the castle tucked just out of view. He made his way into the alley and walked up to the familiar adamantine female knight while remaining invisible.

He tapped the wall to alert her to his presence.

She lowered her head in response and Walter leaned in to whisper everything he had learned to the knight.

After he finished, he could tell she was overwhelmed with searing rage. She was shaking so hard that she had to sit down. She held her head in her hands and began crying.

"Tomorrow, a new day will dawn for our friend," Walter said.

"Tomorrow, someone will pay dearly for what they've done," the female knight said.

They made their way back to the Castle to come up with a plan of rescue.