Machinist of Mana Chapter 110 Turncoats

I moved along the rooftops, something normally quite frowned upon. There were many people who could've done it but running along the tops of people's houses didn't make you many friends. However now was an emergency, so rules were quite a bit looser.

We were together in the quiet for moments, letting them slip past before Kaylee spoke.

“Is he going to be okay?” she asked innocently, hopefully.

“I...” There was a roar of fury that echoed behind us.

Before I could come up with an answer I saw them joining us up here, several roofs ahead of me and in my path. Instantly I recognized the goggles, and the same outfit the other one also wore. The two goblin girls I'd met so long ago had shown up here.

“I need to put you down, we've got company,” I informed my sister.

“No.”

“What?”

“No, whatever it is we'll go together. You're not leaving me behind again.”

I thought about fighting her as she tightened her arms around my neck. It would be simplicity itself to pry her off, but could I? Could I put her to the side and tell her to run while I knew I was going to a fight I couldn't possibly win? No, that was impossible.

“Fine, but follow my orders, these two don't play games.”

I still hated doing this, but I could see they'd already spotted me, with both letting their eyes lock upon me. Neither had attacked yet though, so perhaps there was some hope of them at least letting her go.

“Ladies,” I said as I landed on their roof, putting Kaylee down beside me.

“Hello Percival, we've come to talk,” said Sasha, hand out.

“Forgive me if I have my doubts, but your people don't seem to be doing so.”

They looked at each other, and there was a whole conversation there.

“We know,” said Greta. “At least most of them don't. However there are a few of us, that have decided that this...”

“It's too much, fighting enemies is one thing, but this is wholesale slaughter. It's wrong,” Sasha spat.

“You're turning on him?”

“He turned on us,” Greta corrected. “He's leaving, leaving us here with what is going to be a slaughter of our people. Yours aren't going to let this go, they're going to scour the tunnels as much as they can, killing everything when this is over, and we all know it. More than that though, he broke his promise, this isn't a better world at all, it's so much worse.”

“Wait, leaving?” I asked, shocked.

“He found some other city, Lithere. From what I hear the tunnels there are too extensive, enough that he'll be impossible to dig out.”

Lithere was the capital of our country, and while I'd never seen it I'd heard stories. It had an underground that was legend, a city built upon city, upon city a hundred times over. Personally if half the stories were true magic had to be involved, as the whole place was described as basically Swiss cheese. If he made it there he would be entrenched in a way that wouldn't be possible here.

“That's not possible, he'd either have to take a boat, which he'd never manage without people noticing, or...”

“Or he'd take a portal, there's one directly near the duke's palace is there not?” Sasha pointed out. “It's public knowledge.”

“I need to go, now.”

“Wait, I know you're rushed, but our people need help too.” The priestess pointed out. “Sure, some of them are guilty, but some aren't, we need a way to keep the innocent safe.”

I hesitated, unsure of what I could do here. Honestly I had no real power on that end on my own, but I could make introductions.

“That's beyond my reach,” I admitted, and they seemed to shrink visibly. “But I know someone. I can't guarantee that he won't kill or maybe even experiment on you, but he works for the duke, and I can put in a good word. Trying to speak with him might be the best you can manage.”

They exchanged glances, seemingly bothered by what I said.

“I'll go,” the priestess said. “You know where to take our people, if I succeed I'll come for you.”

The other girl gave me a long look through her many lenses glasses. “Take care of her as best you can.”

“I will,” I promised, but that didn't mean much.

The wizard girl left us, her sister reaching out a hand and touching my shoulder. There was a pop and a slamming wave of agony, then everything felt right once more. Experimentally I opened and closed my hand, moving the arm up and down a bit.

“Thanks.”

“Of course, now if you don't mind.”

“Right, let's go.”

She moved to run herself but I picked both her and Kaylee up, it would be much faster this way. The two girls seemed to look across at each other, but said nothing, whether because they didn't know what to say or had some form of enmity I didn't know and didn't need to. That done I rushed along, for there really was no time to waste.

Thne I had to stop, as behind us there was a lurching in the air. Turning I saw it happen, a whole block of the city sucked in, seeming to collapse upon itself before exploding like a bomb. My heart sank as it struck me where that had been. My father must have been there, and there was no way he survived. Even blocks away bits of masonry and flaming rubble began to rain down from the sky. Kaylee made a shield, holding out her bracelet that blocked most of it, and I wanted to stop and stare.

I couldn't though, there was still too much to do, and if I let his sacrifice go to waste what sort of son would I be? No, I needed to get Kaylee to safety, and to stop this monster that had called this death upon us, once and for all.