Ascension: Online

The three of us returned to Tianyin City triumphantly, ready to accept our rewards of 75,000 gold each. Then, when Furuwa came back online the next day, we would host the four-way battle we had scheduled within the Vault of Corruption. That was the plan, anyway. The three of us were all excited for what was to come. The hard part, getting out of the Vault, was over. All that was left was to reap our rewards.

At least, that's what we all thought.

Unfortunately… what greeted us when we arrived at the destroyed western gates of the city couldn't be called a 'warm welcome', even as an overstatement.

"There they are!" Captain Ling Ye's familiar voice shouted. "Hero Qin's prediction had been correct! Arrest them!"

"H-Huh? Arrest?" Ichigo froze in confusion, as the soldiers of Tianyin rushed out of the city and surrounded us immediately. We now had nowhere to run.

"Well. This is quite the… bloody welcome," Jim muttered, shooting Ling Ye a glare filled with hatred. He was unfazed by this, however, and merely continued to walk towards us, blade drawn.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ichigo demanded, looking around at the armed soldiers that had surrounded us.

It's clear what the meaning of this is, Ichigo. The city we just saved by defeating that Vault is now turning on us. Ling Ye mentioned Qin Yao's title just now… he must be the one who orchestrated this. How despicable.

Realizing that talking wasn't going to get us out of this situation, I sighed and took advantage of this time to equip my own weapon - the new dagger I had obtained, Dokujin; not the old one Ming Ye the blacksmith had crafted for me. Jim also realized this already, and did the same. However, Ichigo, on the other hand, seemed to be completely oblivious to the circumstances. In fact, he seemed like he still didn't know what was going on.

That wouldn't be the case for long, though, as Captain Ling Ye approached us. The soldiers around him made way for him to pass, and about five feet away from us, he stopped, before raising the sword he was holding in his right hand and pointing it at us.

"Traitors… truly despicable, you are. You still have the face to return to this city?"

"H-Huh? Traitors? The hell are you talking about, old man?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow in utter bewilderment.

"Hmph. Playing dumb will not do you any good - Hero Qin has already told us everything… the downright evil acts you three heretics have committed."

"You're kidding, right?" Ichigo laughed. "Us, evil? I could call him the same thing!"

"You dare sully Hero Qin's good name?!" Ling Ye stepped forward and, in an instant, thrust his blade towards Ichigo's throat, stopping millimeters before cutting it open.

And it was at that moment that Ichigo finally realized what was going on, with his life on the line. However, there was not much he could do in this shameful position. Neither Jim and I made a move to help him, since the moment we did, the horde of soldiers surrounding us would attack as well. If that happened, we were dead meat. That said, it's not like we were just going to abandon our companion. If Ling Ye truly tried to kill Ichigo, we would fight with no turning back.

"You… just what the hell did that bastard tell you guys?!" Ichigo spat in frustration, but didn't dare to move. After all, the tip of Ling Ye's blade was a mere few millimeters away from his throat.

Hearing this, Ling Ye's face contorted in rage. "Damned snake, you still dare to insult Tianyin City's hero?!"

"Stop," a voice interrupted. It was a voice we all knew and hated - none other than Mr. Pissypants 'Hero Qin' himself.

"H-Hero Qin," Ling Ye, spotting his false lord and savior, backed down, sheathing his blade. "I apologize for my loss of temper… I just could not stand hearing these mongrels slander you."

Qin Yao smiled, and nodded gently. "It's alright, Captain Ling Ye. Allow me to speak with these… traitors."

He turned away from Ling Ye and eyed us with a sneer. At this, Ichigo couldn't contain his anger anymore. Completely disregarding the fact that he had no weapon equipped, he jumped towards Qin Yao and unleashed a punch. However, Ling Ye stepped forward and intercepted it with ease.

"You… utterly despicable rat," Ling Ye spat.

"It's fine," Qin Yao hurriedly said. "Just… detain them, please. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold a conversation with these guys peacefully."

It seemed that Qin Yao's hero farce was up and running at 100% capacity once more. It made me want to vomit, but I held it in. Had Furuwa been here, she probably would've slaughtered everyone present already… or at least died trying.

Immediately, several guards moved in and grabbed Ichigo, pushing him downwards. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, forced to kneel before Qin Yao. He attemped to struggle, but the trained soldiers kept a firm grip on his shoulders and arms.

"L-Let me go!"

"Shut it," Ling Ye ordered, and Ichigo fell silent from the pressure.

"Much better," Qin Yao snickered, bending down to face his prey. "Oh, what was your name again?Ah, right… Ichigo, was it? You laughed especially hard when you trapped me inside that cave, didn't you? Never thought I would escape that dark, lonely place, did you? Never thought that the truth would come to light so quickly, did you? How sad. Unfortunately for you, I am far stronger than you can even imagine."

"W-What?! Trap you inside that cave?! You were the one who trapped us, asshole! Do you have any idea what we had to fucking go through in there?!" Ichigo yelled in anger, not caring about the use of profanity anymore.

"Are you seriously trying to confound white and black, right and wrong, and saying I trapped the four of you inside that cave? Shameless."

"Oh yeah? That's exactly what you fahkin' did, bloody bastard," Jim, who couldn't take it anymore, spat in Ichigo's place. He was wielding the new weapon he obtained from the Vault of Corruption as well - a sword of corruption - and looked ready to fight a moment's notice.

"Fitzroy… if I remember correctly, aren't you over thirty? I expected you to be more mature than this," Qin Yao said, letting out an overdramatic sigh. "But I guess, in the end, all humans are made of greed, regardless of age. I trusted you a lot too… to think you would band together with these two."

Ichigo looked ready to kill Qin Yao with those two blazing eyes of his, and Jim was no different. I, on the other hand, remained fairly calm, and instead attempted to find the best solution to this dilemma.

"Captain Ling Ye," I interrupted amidst all the tension in the air. "Would you listen to me for a brief moment?"

"… Do not think I will believe a word of what you say," he replied, shooting me a look of disgust.

I shrugged. "Fine by me. But… all criminals have the right to defend themselves, correct?"

Qin Yao immediately turned to Ling Ye in an attempt to thwart my plans. "Don't listen to him, Captain Ling Ye. He will poison your mind with lies. That's what he did to me back in the forest, and ended up leading me into their well-crafted trap."

"Worry not, Hero Qin. I will not fall for his tricks," Ling Ye replied reassuringly, and Qin Yao sighed in relief.

"However… what he said is true," he continued, looking at me. "All criminals have the right to defend themselves. Therefore, I shall hear you talk. Speak, traitor."

Qin Yao's eyes widened in a panic. "W-Wait, Capt-"

My lips curved upwards into a grin as I cut Qin Yao's words short.

"Thank you, Captain Ling Ye. But before that… just to clarify things, what did 'Hero Qin' tell you, exactly, that made you arrest us like so? I believe I at least have the right to know what I am being convicted of."

Captain Ling Ye paused for a moment as he looked into my eyes, then sighed, loosening up a bit. "I suppose that is true. What Hero Qin told us was like this…"

And so, we began to hear the expertly woven lies that Qin Yao had composed into one massive story of deception.