<<--Anna's perspective-->>
"Anna, where are the others!?"
"I don't know, they should be here!"
What are they wasting time for!? We're facing most of the guards on our own!
We can't get distracted with so many guards here. I had to move as fast as I could to stop a dagger that was headed for Claire's head.
"Thank you so much!"
Seriously, how can she be so talented and so stupid at the same time!? It's not the first time I've had to cover for her when she misses an obvious attack.
To calm myself down, I gave her a slap on the head.
"Focus, or go help the others with their injuries!"
Seeing that Claire seemed more serious, I decided to move away from her, throwing myself at a guard who had his back turned and pushing him to receive a stone bolt that pierced his head.
I have to go join the others; we can't wait any longer. The worst part is that Ghislaine seems to have taken a mage with him, knowing that we barely have three.
I ran through the garden, looking for Ghislaine while helping other groups defend themselves from the guards. Luckily, the kids who learned to use Qi fought as equals against the adults.
Thanks to this, we were able to reduce their numbers little by little. Our advantage was so great that the few who remained decided to flee the scene.
Good! Now we have time to check on the others, most of whom are still weak from opening their mana channels. I think one of the magicians could use healing magic, so we'll be able to recover.
"Jumyeong, help me look for the others, they can't be far!"
"I remember seeing them on the other side of the garden, let's go there first."
Following the instructions, I ran all over the place with Jumyeong until we were exhausted. But after a few minutes of searching, we found them on the ground surrounded by blood.
Worst of all, the woman was a few meters away from them, clutching her stomach. She seemed to be wounded, judging by the blood dripping from her. "Jumyeong!"
"Let's go."
We quickly approached them. I made a cut toward her neck, which the woman blocked before falling to the ground from the force.
Jumyeong appeared behind her, cutting the arm that held her sword. Then he kicked her, knocking her to the ground.
"Don't you remember? I told you I would kill you."
I stabbed my sword near her face, making a small cut from which a drop of blood emerged.
"You're right, well done, my girl~"
Her disgusting voice had a mocking tone to it. "Darling?" How disgusting.
"My mother is the only one who can talk to me like that,"
I said, pulling my sword out of the ground and then bringing it down with all my strength toward her neck. His head rolled across the floor, falling at Jumyeong's feet.
"That's disgusting."
"I know."
I supported Jumyeong, patting her sword while she covered her mouth, trying not to vomit.
"Let's help them. Maybe Della can help them."
"Yes, let's do it."
Following Jumyeong's instructions, I carried Conan, who seemed to be in the worst condition, on my shoulder.
It didn't take us long to meet up with the others, escaping with them, leaving behind the few guards who were still chasing us.
<<<<>>>>
"Uff... Let's rest, we've run too far..."
How did they still have the strength to chase them...? The two magicians who were with us used what little strength they had left to help us lose them.
"They must have already passed the wall of smoke and come here, let's go deeper into the forest."
We had to follow the words of Della, the magician who had fired the smoke ball at the guards.
Entering the forest was not something we wanted to do, but we had to. This was because of the magical creatures. We had already found many of them on the farm's land, and there would be many more if we went deeper.
After going deeper, we decided to hide in one of the giant trees there. Luckily for us, it was hollow and there weren't many insects.
"Let's cover their wounds, then we'll think about what to do,"
I said to the others, tearing off pieces of my pants to cover the cut on Conan's hand.
The others followed my lead, cutting pieces of their clothes to cover the larger wounds on the boys' bodies.
--Conan's perspective--
"AHH, WHAT HAPPENED!?"
I woke up screaming and coughing after someone threw water in my face. I instantly stood up and was on alert.
"Calm down, it was just me."
I heard a voice behind me. When I turned around, I saw that it was Ghilaine. Near me, I saw the other boys sitting around a campfire.
How long had I been sleeping...? Ah, my head hurts.
Maybe it's because I woke up suddenly, but my head started to throb. Also, my 'eye' was covered with a cloth.
"Anna, did you put this on me?"
"Yes, it's scary to see you with a hole in your face."
It seems that the others thought the same thing, as they nodded at the same time.
"...Where are we?"
I asked, after looking around, paying attention to the wall that surrounded us.
"We're in the woods, we fled here, watch out for insects."
For some reason, Anna had her eyes fixed on my leg. I didn't want to look, especially when I felt little legs crawling on me.
"Don't move, I'll get that off you."
Ghislaine, who is a good person, removed the insect from my leg. It was a centipede that moved in a disgusting way. I didn't hesitate to slap the hand that was holding the bug, throwing it far away.
"By the way, where are the wizard boy and the one who helped you, Ghislaine?"
I want to forget the feeling of the insect on my leg, so I'd better ask about the others.
"The wizard, Oswin, is fine. He was pierced by a sword, but Della was able to heal him. And Cyril only has a cut. We covered it and it stopped bleeding."
So they're not badly hurt. That's good...
Near us, I saw a campfire, and as I approached, I saw Cyril and Oswin sitting there, eating some... Fruit, maybe? I don't know what they are, I've never seen fruit like that before.
"Hey, Conan, want to try some?"
"What is it, Oswin?"
"I don't know, we found it around here."
Oswin's hand reached out to me, holding the 'fruit'. I didn't really want to try it, especially seeing its shape. It was purple, with little hairs and... Was it moving?
That's not a fruit... Could it be a creature? Or an insect?
Even though that thing disgusted me, I was starving, so I closed my eyes and took a bite. Surprisingly, it was sweet.
"It's not so bad,"
I said, watching as the insect stopped moving.
"I know, and it's sweet too!"
<<>>
"Blargh!"
"Blargh!"
...Oswin and Cyril are vomiting. It seems that 'that thing' made them sick. They already looked ill, but I didn't think it would be that bad.
I had to pat them on the back several times to help them vomit.
"Why didn't Conan get sick?"
I heard the voice from behind me, followed by several pokes in my side. When I turned around, I saw Anna looking at the two who were vomiting and at me.
"In my village, they used to hunt poisonous creatures. After eating them several times, I got used to it."
"...They ate poisonous things?"
She asked me, her eyes narrowed. To which I nodded.
<<<<>>>>
After Oswin and Cyril rested for a few more minutes, we left where we were, which I discovered was a huge hollow tree.
We started walking until several of the boys stopped behind us.
"What's going on?"
I asked them, stopping like the others.
"We're splitting up here,"
said a boy with purple hair, a smile on his face. I think his name was Chujeok. Not only did he have a name as strange as Jumyeong, but he also had long ears.
"Where are you going?"
"Our families are still alive, we're going to our villages."
I didn't like the way he said it. Still, if that's true, I can't help it.
"Be careful, let's meet again,"
said a girl with green hair. It was Della, the magician who healed us all. She approached and hugged each of the groups.
We decided to do the same, hugging them, and then after a few seconds we watched as they turned around and took another path.
"Let's keep going, we have to find another place to sleep. Preferably not under the trees."
Jumyeong told us, turning around and walking in a different direction.