Charles felt the Custodian's grip tightening on his arm, the cold ground beneath his back, and the weight of the situation pressing on his chest.

The blue system arrow still floated in his vision, taunting him with the promise of a powerful artifact in the Stormy Forest cave, but now he was trapped, accused of being a spy by a paranoid Custodian.

His energy was at 34%, according to the system tab, giving him some leeway to defend himself if things got ugly.

But Lira's words echoed in his head:

'Keep a low profile.'

A fight here, in a restricted zone, would be a disaster.

'Damn it,' he thought, eyeing the Custodian, Rorik, who held him tightly. 'Fight back or let them drag me to the council? Neither sounds good.'

Before he could decide, the sound of rapid footsteps broke the silence.

Two more figures emerged from the trees, both in gray Custodian tunics, their faces hardened with suspicion.

One was a lean man with short hair; the other, younger, had a trimmed beard and an arrogant smirk.

"What've you got there, Rorik?" the lean one asked, approaching with his hands on his hips. "This the spy you're talking about?"

Rorik, still gripping Charles, smirked with satisfaction.

"You bet," he said, yanking Charles's arm to pull him up from the ground. "Caught him sneaking around the restricted zone. This guy was strolling down a path no one uses, and when I asked what he was doing, he had the nerve to say he was just 'taking a walk.' And get this—he doesn't even know what the clan's main area is! Suspicious, right?"

The other two Custodians exchanged a glance, and the bearded one let out a short laugh.

"Nice catch, Rorik," he said, stepping forward to inspect Charles. "Look at this idiot in his Warrior tunic. You think he stole that to pass as one of us? Pathetic."

Charles clenched his teeth, irritation surging.

'These jerks,' he thought, struggling to keep his cool.

"I'm not a spy," he said, his voice firm but controlled. "I'm Rian Cole, a Warrior. Fought in the arena yesterday. Ask Lira if you don't believe me."

The lean Custodian raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"Lira? Really?" he said, his tone mocking. "You think we're gonna bother someone like her with a story like that? You're a lousy liar."

He turned to his companions.

"Come on, guys, let's tie him up and haul him to the council. Let them sort out this 'Warrior.'"

The bearded Custodian stepped closer, eyeing Charles with disdain.

"I don't like that look you've got," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Not the attitude of a caught spy. You should be begging, not acting like you're hot stuff."

Charles let out a long, exasperated sigh.

'This is stupid,' he thought.

He was about to respond, trying to clear up the misunderstanding, when he sensed quick movement behind him.

The bearded Custodian raised a fist, clearly aiming to strike.

On pure instinct, Charles shoved back hard, using Rorik's weight to throw him off balance, and ducked just in time to dodge the punch.

The fist whistled over his head, missing by inches.

The move caught the Custodians off guard, and they snapped into alert.

"The spy's resisting!" the lean one shouted, dropping into a combat stance, a swirl of air starting to spin around his hands.

The bearded one prepped himself too, while Rorik, still behind Charles, growled and tightened his grip.

"Hey, calm down!" Charles said, raising his hands. "That was a reflex! I'm not trying to fight, just clear up this damn misunderstanding!"

But before he could say more, the bearded Custodian raised a hand, and a fist-sized fireball formed in front of him.

It shot toward Charles's face.

On instinct, Charles ducked, feeling the heat graze over his head.

The fireball hit Rorik instead, who let out a yelp of pain and loosened his grip, stumbling back.

"Damn idiot!" Rorik roared, clutching his scorched shoulder. "That hit me!"

Charles clicked his tongue, adrenaline surging through him.

"Shit, guess there's no choice," he muttered, cursing under his breath.

'This is the last thing I needed,' he thought, eyeing the three Custodians now circling him, all in combat stances.

He tried to talk again.

"Listen, I don't want to fight," he said, his tone firm. "I'm just here for… personal reasons. I'm not a spy."

The lean Custodian laughed, his tone dripping with contempt.

"Personal reasons?" he repeated. "You think we're buying that? You're a spy, and you're resisting! Grab him!"

His hands moved fast, sending a jet of water toward Charles.

The attack hit him from the side, soaking him, but Charles moved quickly, rolling across the ground to dodge a second attack—a chunk of earth launched by the bearded Custodian.

The earth slammed into the spot where Charles had been a second ago.

"Damn it, stop attacking me!" Charles shouted, scrambling to his feet.

But the Custodians weren't listening. Rorik, still fuming over his burn, charged at him, trying to grab him again.

Charles, using all his strength, shoved back, breaking free with a sharp motion.

The sound of his hands slipping free echoed in the air.

"I don't want to fight, you idiots," he said, backing up. "Just let me explain!"

"We don't trust a spy's words!" the bearded Custodian yelled, launching another attack.

This time, a gust of air sharp as a blade sliced toward Charles.

It grazed his arm, cutting through the bandage and drawing blood.

Charles grunted, pain shooting through him.

'This is ridiculous,' he thought, clenching his fists as blood dripped down his arm. His patience was wearing thin.

"You're pissing me off!" Charles snapped, his voice thick with frustration.

"System, use 30% of my energy for a burst. Now!"

The blue tab flickered, and he felt a surge of energy course through him. He aimed at the lean Custodian, who seemed the most aggressive, and unleashed the attack.

A burst of electric energy shot from his hands, hitting the Custodian square in the chest.

The man screamed, collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud, unconscious.

The other two Custodians froze, eyes wide.

"What the hell was that?" Rorik shouted, stepping back.

The bearded Custodian drew a dagger from his belt, while Rorik unsheathed a short sword, its blade glinting in the moonlight.

"Don't expect us to go easy on you now!" Rorik growled.

"That wasn't a normal attack! You're a spy with dirty tricks!"

Charles let out a humorless laugh.

"Go easy? Seriously?" he said, his tone sarcastic. "You've been attacking me from the start, you idiots! What did you expect, me to just stand there and take it?"

He dropped into a stance, feeling the remaining energy in his body.

'This wasn't supposed to go this far,' he thought, glancing at the blue arrow still pointing toward the cave.

He was so close, but now he had to deal with two armed, pissed-off Custodians.

Rorik raised his sword, clearly ready to strike again.

"Surrender now, or I'll cut you to pieces!" he shouted.

The bearded Custodian, dagger in hand, started circling to flank him.

Charles knew he couldn't use more energy without risking running dry for the cave.

'Shit, Lira's gonna kill me if she hears about this,' he thought, feeling the weight of the situation.

But he also knew surrendering wasn't an option.

"Last warning," Charles said, his tone dead serious. "Let me go, and we forget this. I don't want to hurt anyone."

But the Custodians just laughed, readying their next attacks.

Charles sighed, clenching his fists.

'This is gonna be a mess,' he thought, bracing for what was coming.

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