"There. Now, if you remove your bandages again, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. Understood?" Solis backed off, fixing his gloves.
"Sure..." Julian glanced around. "So why exactly am I being kept alive?"
Solis turned back to him with an oblivious look.
"Beats me. They didn't tell me anything. My instructions are just to heal you and keep you from escaping."
"Is that so." Julian mused, and while bearing through the pain, he rose from the bed, shocking Solis.
"Hey!" Solis ran up to him. "Just what do you think you're doing, huh? Prisoner or not, are you suicidal?"
Julian ignored him, which led to Solis trying to pin him down. However, despite his attempts, he wasn't able to move Julian even a single inch. So just like that, Julian reached the flaps of the tent, and as he was about to walk out, the chain stopped him.
"Alright, you maniac." Solis huffed. "I'll tell the generals that you're awake. Just wait here for a bit and lie back down, for god's sake."
With those words, he pushed past Julian and left the tent, pouting.
However, when Solis raised the tent's flap, Julian managed to get a good look at just what he was dealing with.
And as expected, it wasn't good at all.
'I'm in their main camp. If I wasn't able to escape that earlier camp, then there's no way I can get out of here either. At least not until I'm fully healed.'
He would love nothing more than to sever his body in two and let the other half regenerate, but there was far too little miasma for him to do that.
So with a glare, Julian got back to bed and decided to get some shut-eye.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye until eventually, someone entered his tent again.
"I was going to bring someone, but no one really wanted to see you," Solis said, scratching the back of his head. "They told me to keep you well fed, and after you're good enough to walk, they want me to take you to the training grounds."
'The what now...?' Julian's brows twitched.
"I should've asked this earlier, but how long was I out for? When did I arrive here?"
Solis sighed.
"Around twelve hours ago. It sure was a real spectacle, the way you were brought in, I mean."
Julian ignored him.
"Then what became of the Saharan Empire?"
"That place? It's fine for now." Solis smiled. "Can't tell you much, though, in case you have some way of magically reporting back to them. I hope you can understand."
After that, Solis approached the steel pole and suddenly unlocked his chains.
"As much as I'd love to keep you here so you could rest, your earlier walk didn't go unnoticed by the higher-ups. So let's just say your training is being brought ahead of schedule. Sorry about this."
Julian stared at him speechlessly. By no means was he in a condition to fight, but it seemed like Solis wasn't planning on listening to his complaints.
Instead, he signaled for Julian to follow as the two finally left the tent. Their pace was slow because of Julian's injuries, but still, that gave ample time for Julian to take in his surroundings.
This was like a fortress, and it was at least ten times larger than the encampment he was in the other day. There were soldiers training, eating, and having fun. There were even brick wooden houses scattered around, likely belonging to the higher-ups.
Julian coughed once.
"Say, when exactly can I meet the higher-ups?"
Solis turned his head slightly, a faint smile on his face.
"The general told me you'd ask that. He also told me that you'll only be able to meet them when you can hold your ground against the trained soldiers."
'Just what is his goal...?' Julian frowned. 'One moment I'm being killed, the other I'm being trained. On the other hand, what am I supposed to do about the Saharan Empire?'
He was in the enemy camp, and that was his goal from the start. However, he was sure that by the end of the week, the Saharan Empire would fall.
Could he get strong enough in a week to thwart their plans?
...Should he just grab Aliyah and run away?
"Snap out of it," Solis interjected, flicking his forehead. "We're here."
As he moved aside, Julian spotted a training ground. There were weapon racks to the side, and in the very center, gym equipment as well as an elevated cobblestone platform meant for sparring.
"Your body's pretty sturdy already, so there's no need for any weight training. You'll start off with sparring." Solis pointed at a weapon rack. "Get yourself something simple, and I'll call you in a bit."
'He wants me to spar in this condition?' Julian's frown deepened. 'Just how much do these people want to make fun of me? I need to heal myself faster.'
Still, he went ahead and picked out a simple sword, and then approached the platform. Just then, Solis walked over with a bulky man nearly twice Julian's size.
"This here is Hector," Solis introduced him. "Despite his tough disposition, he's a softball. Isn't that right, Hector?"
Hector smiled, then nodded.
But Julian wasn't feeling any more confident.
And when they got onto the platform and stood opposite each other, his confidence only dipped further.
Solis did a quick countdown, and when it reached zero, Hector kicked off the ground and sent a punch.
Julian raised his sword to block, but all that managed to do was dislocate his shoulder and reopen his wounds.
So, as expected, when the attack made full contact, Julian went flying off the platform and crashed into a nearby weapon rack before slowly bleeding out to death.
Right before his vision faded, he saw Solis running up to him with a flustered look, and then it all went dark.
But unlike the previous times, he felt strangely awake, so much so that he soon reopened his eyes, finding himself standing in an endless crimson flower field.
As his confusion began to overtake him, Julian saw a golden-haired figure standing not too far away, looking up at the empty sky and muttering unintelligible words.
And before Julian could call out, the figure turned toward him, its eyes pitch black, resembling those of a newly born evil spirit.
More importantly, the figure looked identical to him.
It stopped muttering nonsense, and after a moment, flashed him a smile.
"You shouldn't be here."