MLII C5, P2- "Traitor"

"Traitor" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's fifth Chapter. It was released on 03.04.2021.
== Plot ==
Jared invades the southernmost fort, hoping that he can find a boat and continue his mission. This time, his visit will be more perilous than the one when he invaded the small fort to the west.
Among the army of powerful Slithzerikai, he will find a rare occurence. A young warrior who was cast out by his kind and is locked up in a small prison below the fort. An interesting individual, who has the potential to be an invaluable ally in a time like this.
After his hunt is over, he will also reunite with a person that he spared not too long ago. Maybe he will be more considerate this time?
== Story ==
Once the Slithzerikai warriors at the gate notice Jared approaching the fort, they draw their weapons. However, instead of running outside and fighting him, they patiently wait for him to make the first move.
They also seem to be worried. Jared, on the other hand, is completely calm and collected.
He is also very cautious. He tries to reason with the savages, but his right hand is never too far away from his weapon. He knows what they are capable of and he does not want to show a sign of weakness, not when he is so outnumbered.
However, his plan to peacefully settle this dispute proves to be unsuccessful. When the warriors find out that he is an ally of Avernum, they immediately fly into an incoherent rage. They draw their weapons, scream wildly and attack.
Jared is forced to defend himself against this sizable force. Meanwhile, more warriors join the battle and try to kill the boy.
"Well, that didn't work."- Seiko says- "What now?"
Jared does not say anything. Instead, he lets Demonslayer do the speaking. With a remarkable combination of speed and strength, he stabs three Slithzerikai at once and continues to attack their confused comrades, intending to make them pay for their crimes at all costs.
Soon, the mighty force of barbaric warriors is reduced to pitiful remnants. Some of them decide that this is not the right time for them to die and try to run away.
Seiko seems to be angry. Ignoring her son's warnings, she swoops towards the unsuspecting warriors, draws her ghostly sword and swings it at them...
In a timespan of only three minutes, she manages to take care of the cowards who try to flee, while Jared slays those who are still foolish enough to fight.
Mother and son stare at the carnage that they have created in horror. It is truly painful to watch.
"I... I... "- Jared stutters and sighs- "Let us just go in there. Let us finish what we started."
Seiko nods. She seems to agree with Jared's plan, but her rage still hasn't subsided. She still wants to cause pain to those who hurt her friends and family and her body is unable to control the anger that is slowly rising within her very being.
When Jared enters the fort, he sees the few Slithzerikai that are left. It seems like this fort is only used as a boatworks and is not as useful as he thought that it would be, at first.
The remaining warriors watch Jared, scared. They noted the amount of power that he showed during the fight outside. However, they do not want to take an action. Such foolishness will only lead to an inevitable demise at the hands of this young warrior.
Most of the warriors seem to be content with just letting Jared explore. One of them, however, does not want to let a human scare them. He steps forward and points his two-tined spear at him.
"You think that you would get away with thisss, Avernite hero?"- He says- "I am the commander of this fort and you have just stepped into our trap."
Jared raises his eyebrow and draws his weapon.
"How come?"- He asks him- "Most of your warriors died outside. Whatever is left of your army is scared of me. How do you plan to fight back against someone who has cornered you like this?"
The Slithzerikai grins. He points his spear at the sky above him.
That is when Jared notices that the skin on his muscles is pulsating. There is even a faint glow.
Strange.
"Looksss can be deceiving, young one."- The Slithzerikai continues- "As you can see, I have been blessed by Sss-Thsss himself. The great leader's spirit came to me and granted me untold power. Until now, I was hoping that you would come here, that you would attack usss and show heroism, like you always have. My plan worked."
He looks at the corpses of his warriors outside and then looks at Jared. His eyes start to glow red.
"You may have defeated them, but they were just a decoy for the real threat. I am the threat and I am... invincible!"- He says- "I hope that you're ready, because you... are going down."
Then, he attacks our hero. Before he has the chance to draw his weapon, he slams his spear into him and forces him to stumble back.
Jared tries to recover, but he is too disoriented to act fast. Meanwhile, the commander charges and slams the unsuspecting boy into a wall.
The impact is strong enough to break it and send Jared flying outside.
As he stands up, the Slithzerikai warrior prepares for another attack. This time, the young hero is prepared.
He swiftly avoids the attack and stabs him in the back before he can turn around.
However, this fatal blow is unsuccessful in killing him. Jared watches as the warrior simply shrugs it off and smiles.
"Such tricks do not work on me."- He says and pushes Jared towards a nearby wall.
As the boy tries to recover, the warrior notices the spirit of his mother fly towards him. He tries to swing his weapon at her, but to no avail.
"What the... "- He screams in disbelief- "... How?!"
Seiko shakes her head.
"You've never heard of a spirit, dear?"- She says- "An attack like this cannot hurt me. You're just wasting your time."
The warrior tries to attack her, for a second time. He swings again and again, thinking that he may succeed. Meanwhile, Seiko simply stands in one place, watching the foolish creature try to kill her.
He is too distracted to see that Jared has moved away and is recovering without being bothered. A minute later, he stands up and runs towards the unsuspecting creature.
Infuriated by his attempts to kill his mother, he grabs him by the head, throws his spear away and charges towards a nearby wall.
Once he is there, he slams his head into the wall without a second thought. He silently watches him as he tries to stand up and try to attack him.
He grabs his head again. This time, he slams his head into the wall repeatedly, without stopping to catch his breath.
"Invincible, you say?!"- He yells- "Nobody is invincible. Nobody!"
With a final slam into the wall, he throws his body on the grass.
Of course, the creature has died long before Jared finished performing this bold deed. His skull has caved in and he was unable to recover from this series of vicious attacks.
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"It seems like this mighty Slithzerikai was not invincible, after all."- He mutters- "What a shame. He could have been a worthy adversary, were he less foolish and arrogant."
Seiko takes a step closer and looks at her son.
"Jared, I... I didn't know that you cared about me so much."- She says- "Thank you. You're so sweet."
Jared smiles.
"I am ready to do whatever I can to protect you, mom."- He responds- "No matter if you are dead or alive, your presence is important to me. You are the sun in my life and I will not let you be separated from me. Never again!"
Having said that, he inspects the corpse of this fort's commander and notices a glint in his left pocket.
"Could it be... ?"- Seiko wonders.
Jared pulls out the item and nods.
"Yes. Yes, it is."- He says- "It is a key to a prison below the fort."
He and his mother enter the fort, once again. This time, the warriors were wise enough to run away during the confrontation between Jared and their commander.
"Clever reptiles."- Jared mutters as he approaches a small building.
He unlocks the door with his key and goes inside. He discovers that there is only one thing of interest- a stairway down.
"What could they be hiding in there?"- Seiko mutters.
Jared sighs.
"There is only one way to find that out... "
As they enter the small prison below, they stare at the cells in horror.
Each one of them contains a prisoner. Or a pile of bones that used to belong to each one, at the very least.
Either way, it is a gruesome sight. It is as it they captured the prisoners, threw them in the cells and starve them to death.
"This is why I do not trust those creatures."- Jared says- "They do not show any mercy towards anyone."
Somewhere to the right, he notices the telltale glint of a pair of green, reptilian eyes staring at him from the shadows. He looks closer and sees a lone Slithzerikai, locked up in a cell.
"He is still alive!"- Jared says to his mother- "We must help him!"
Seiko nods and touches the lock with her ghostly finger. 
Suddenly, it melts and allows our hero to open the door and help the prisoner.
The Slithzerikai does not react to them. He simply sits in a corner and looks down.
"So, you've come to save me?"- He mutters- "Do not bother. You will only get yourselves in trouble."
The creature seems to be smart. He lacks the crude dialect and arrogance of most Slithzerikai at his age.
"Are you saying that you gave up?"- Jared asks him.
Finally, the Slithzerikai decides to respond to his questions. He looks up and sighs.
"What's the point of running away?"- He mutters- "I will die either way. Whether it is in here or out there, it does not matter."
Seiko shakes her head.
"But you're just wasting your life, sitting in this miserable cell!"- She says- "You're so young! So powerful! Letting yourself rot in silence like this will not help you at all!"
Jared nods.
"My mother is right."- He says- "I do not know what you did, but I can see the determination in your eyes. You are a warrior and you secretly wish to fight for the good of everyone. You regret the decision that you made, to stay in this cell for the rest of your life and you want to change. You want to meet the humans who are fighting against your kind and help them turn the tables of this pointless war. Am I right?"
The Slithzerikai nods.
Jared smiles.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"- He continues- "Do what your heart tells you to do! Do not let yourself become like them! Fight back and show them that you are not afraid!"
The Slithzerikai stands up and looks at Jared. After hearing what he just said to him, he seems to trust him much more than he did when he unlocked the door leading out of his cell. He looks at the exit and sighs.
"Hey kid. I've got a question."- He mutters- "What would you do if a rebel warrior is standing in front of you? Would you trust him, even when he has done bad deeds in the past? Would you give him a second chance? Would you respect him when he doesn't do the same?"
Jared realizes that the Slithzerikai is talking about himself. He nods and smiles.
"Every person who fight for the good of everyone is a trusted ally and friend of mine, not matter if they used to be good... or evil."- He says, quietly reminiscing the time when he spared Farrar from an inevitable demise- "As long as they contribute towards the bright future of this world, I will respect them. Even when they are unable to respect me back."
The Slithzerikai smiles and shakes his hand.
"Then we are brothers-in-arms. I used to fight on the good side, too... before I made a horrible mistake."
He shakes his head.
"But that does not matter."- He hastens to add- "What is your name, boy with a noble heart?"
Jared nods and shakes his hand.
"My name is Jared."- He says- "Jared Kaos."
The Slithzerikai smiles.
"It is an honor, Jared."- He responds- "Today is quite an eventful day for both of us."
He picks up his two-tined spear from the cell and watches as four barbaric Slithzerikai enter the prison and draw their weapons.
"It is time for me to prove myself to them."- The Slithzerikai youth says to himself and charges towards the attacking Slithzerikai.
Jared is amazed to see this rare sight. A Slithzerikai warrior is fighting his own kind!
Meanwhile, the youth wastes no time and kills two of the barbarians with stabs in the chest.
Jared realizes that his new friend may need help. He draws his sword and helps him finish off the remaining Slithzerikai.
Once all of the attackers are dead, the three of them leave the prison and stare at the gates.
The Slithzerikai warrior smiles.
"At last."- He mutters- "At last, I can see the sun. Once again, I can feel its warmth and feel happy."
He, Jared and Seiko walk away from the fort just as a human warrior approaches them.
On closer inspection, he turns out to be very familiar.
As he sheathes his weapon and smiles, the Slithzerikai warrior points his spear at him.
"It's okay, kiddo."- Seiko says to him- "He isn't a threat, I think."
The Slithzerikai sighs and pulls his spear away from the human.
"It is good to see you again, Tholmen."- Jared says.
Dervish Tholmen nods.
"It's the same for me, young savior. But... "
He turns and looks at the Slithzerikai with them. For some reason, he seems to recognize him.
"Why do you trust this insolent brat?"- He asks Jared- "He betrayed the Slithzerikai in Gnass. He turned away from his father to fight alongside the barbaric Slithzerikai. He is a threat to the safety of those who are around him. And you still trust him?"
Jared stares at him coldly.
"I can see that you do not trust this young warrior. Well, I do. With all my heart, I trust him."- He says stoically- "No matter what he has done in the past, one thing is clear. He wants to change and we are denying him the chance to do so. He wants to be a good warrior and fight alongside us. Don't creatures like him deserve a second chance? Because I, unlike the Darkside Loyalists, think that they do! And I will not let you treat him like that!"
Tholmen tries to say something, but quickly decides that it is not wise to anger Jared. It has been a long time ever since he abandoned the Darkside Loyalists and it would be foolish to defend them, in a time after they failed to defend themselves.
"I understand. If you think that you can trust this reptile, I will do the same."- He says.
He looks around and sees a large force of barbaric Slithzerikai approaching them.
"There's no time for small talk. Not anymore."- He continues- "We must go."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"But... there could be a boat in the fort!"- He says- "We cannot leave it in the hands of those brutes!"
Tholmen shakes his head.
"We can always return to retrieve it. Not yet, though."- He says- "Now, we must run!"
Having said that, he runs forward, into a nearby forest.
Seeing that they have no other choice, Jared and his allies join him and hide in the nearby bushes as the barbaric Slithzerikai wonder where they went.
Unable to locate them, they sigh and return to the fort from whence they came, the one near the western side of the river.
Meanwhile, Jared and his allies travel deeper into the forest. Soon, they see Tholmen who is sitting next to a small campfire.
"My friends."- He says and smiles- "Welcome... to my home."
== Trivia ==
* The title ("Traitor") describes two characters who appear in this Chapter. Characters who are, technically, traitors in their own ways.The first one is Treviass, the young Slithzerikai warrior (Later revealed to be the son of Gnass's chief- Gless-Thsss), who betrays the friendly Slithzerikai and joins his barbaric brothers and sisters, but later has a change of heart and begins to fight on the good side once again. The second one is Tholmen- one of Dorikas' most trusted men and former enemy of Jared and his allies who betrayed the hostile group, in exchange for freedom and soon reunites with Jared- one of his former enemies, now a good friend of his and becomes one of his most trusted allies.