The harpy fluttered high in the air, releasing an overwhelming intent to kill. Our bodies grew heavier the moment we looked at her — the level gap was massive.
'She's on the same level as Silas, the one two hundred students couldn't hit or make sweat. But the question is why are so many powerful creatures at the Stage Nine gate? They're supposed to be at least Stage Six.'
I thought quickly as I watched the harpy, trying to guess her next move.
The harpy didn't wait long. She slowly raised her right wing; the feathers aligned to form a sharp edge. She smiled terrifyingly, sending chills through me.
"Everyone dodge!"
I shouted while summoning layers of darkness along the harpy's path. Elena, who reacted faster than me, directed an attack at the harpy's wing.
But before their attack reached her, the harpy slammed her wing down with destructive force toward the ground. A shockwave blasted and destroyed Elena's attack. The invisible strike continued toward the ground, shattering all the walls of darkness like glass.
SHHHHHHkk!
A deep, long crack appeared in the ground suddenly. I thought we had avoided it since no one was cut, but a wave of destructive force that shattered the earth hit us hard. It was like colliding with a train. I felt my bones break and my flesh tear; my vision turned red from blood, but Khulood had already begun to heal me.
I used the dust cloud to treat myself, but I ordered the shard not to heal external wounds so no one would suspect.
Once the dust cleared, I looked around in shock. Klaus was buried under dirt with a gash in his chest, bleeding heavily and not going to survive long. Luke's leg had been cut; he lay on the ground.
I turned my gaze to Ronan, whose body was covered in wounds. He held his disfigured face with his hands and screamed in pain.
"Where's Elena?!"
I searched around in panic and soon found her; she was already treating her body. It seemed she hadn't taken the attack as hard since she was farther away, but she still had deep wounds in her leg and abdomen.
'This is impossible. One attack left us like this. Everyone will die. What should I do? Think, Nox — didn't you brag about your intelligence?'
I covered my ears to block outside noise and thought in a panic about the situation. I had already given up on fighting—Khulood wouldn't allow me to kill the harpy.
'Damn, if only I hadn't rushed to take the key. If I had waited and observed the situation better, this wouldn't have happened.'
While cursing and regretting, I slammed the ground. The crystal in my pocket fell and rolled to a stop in front of me.
'Wait—why didn't she attack me directly? Why did she avoid killing us as if she was afraid of something? What if...'
New thoughts appeared as I picked up the orb and looked at it. I still felt energy pouring strongly from it.
'What if she didn't want to destroy the key? Why are the keys that lead to the floating island still intact? Wouldn't it have been better to destroy the keys and prevent others from reaching you? If the gate opened, humanity couldn't survive the cursed Flower unless...'
I stood slowly, gripping the crystal tightly. I looked at the harpy with renewed determination and released my aura to announce myself.
The harpy looked at me as if I were an insect, then shifted her gaze to the crystal in my hand. I noticed a faint tremor in the white rose.
I raised the crystal high; the harpy readied herself to attack, but then froze in astonishment at what happened.
Darkness slowly wrapped around the crystal as if about to devour it.
"Flower, I know you can understand me, so stop — let's talk."
Elena looked at me with concern but chose to trust me and went to heal the others before they died.
"I'm wondering why you didn't kill us. You could have killed us all from the first moment if you had ordered it. You could have trapped all the creatures and we'd have died quickly. But that didn't happen, so I wonder if it was deliberate."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to read her expression. I felt a worry coming from her, so I was sure I was on the right track.
"What if you forced everyone down a certain path? You wanted to steer us toward the temples to take the keys so the barrier would fall. But the real question is why you want the crystal instead of destroying it — that way no one could reach you."
Before anyone could respond, I had already answered.
"The reason is you can't destroy it. Why? Maybe it doesn't break. I can sense tremendous energy from it, and it's a key to Adam's great Castle; it isn't supposed to be destroyed easily. Or if you destroy it, the lock would be destroyed too, making destroying keys meaningless."
The Flower shook more, which made me smile madly. I covered my mouth to hide the smile — I didn't want to look insane, especially in my miserable, blood-covered state.
"But Flower, you know well that I can Devouring things. What if I devoured the key? Maybe that'll destroy the lock too, or at least I could use that vast energy to strike you with a powerful attack. You know my ability to do that. Am I right?"
The harpy's eyes widened in panic, which made me lose control and laugh loudly, crazily.
"Hahahaha — I'm right, aren't I? So the decision is yours, cursed Flower: either attack me,then I Devouring the key, and then we fight and maybe everyone dies because of that, or leave us and go. Do you dare provoke me? You might be stronger, but I'm the winner here in any case."
Everyone had finished healing and stood looking at Nox as if he were insane — everyone except Elena, who was worried about Nox's state.
"Nox, you're not serious, are you? The key is our way out,"
Klaus said in panic and great fear
"And you want to eat it without confirming your assumptions."
"Maybe if you kill it you might live, but what about us?"
Ronan and Luke followed, trying to change my mind.
'Those damners — are they with me or against me? In either case, I won't listen to them. I care only about Elena, and I'm confident she'll survive if I fight the harpy.'
I thought coldly and prepared to act based on the Flower's choice.
The harpy looked at me angrily, then fluttered her wings and flew away until she disappeared from our sight. But I was sure she was watching us from afar.
"Ah — I succeeded."
I sighed in relief and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Talking to the Flower was like walking a tightrope with nothing but an abyss below.
'I acted madly, but it was kind of thrilling. Now I understand why protagonists in novels act like lunatics.'
I thought sarcastically, then felt Elena approaching. She knelt beside me and healed my wounds. A sad expression appeared on her face.
"What's wrong?"
I asked calmly, wondering why she looked sad. She lifted her head and looked into my eyes.
"Nox, don't you care if I die?"
I looked at her silently; seeing that sad expression hurt.
"Don't be silly. I'll make sure you will survive. Maybe I acted like I didn't care, but I do care. I was confident I'd keep you alive at least. And you're not a weak girl who needs rescuing."
Elena was surprised by my words, then smiled happily and blushed.
She spoke quietly; the others were still frozen, struggling to understand the situation, so no one heard anything.
Once I finished healing, I stood and looked at them.
"Now I don't think this fight tired you, so let's continue."
I said as I began walking with Elena, but Luke shouted at me angrily.
"Stop, you bastard! Do you expect us to follow you after you almost sacrificed us for your damn gamble?"
I turned at his shouting and saw the others shared his view.
"Oh wow, even you, Ronan? You don't treat me like a leader. I must say I feel a little betrayed."
Ronan awkwardly smiled at my words.
"Forgive me, Nox, but he's right. You didn't care about our lives a moment ago."
"Oh really? But Ronan, you're alive now — why worry about the past? Didn't you survive because of my actions?"
Klaus intervened, trying to calm the parties.
"Calm down, everyone. We shouldn't fight among ourselves."
He turned to me with a serious expression.
"Nox, they're right, but we can resolve this easily."
"Oh? And how's that?"
He smiled happily, thinking I would cooperate.
"Just give me the key. I'll keep it myself so we don't worry about your crazy behavior. If you refuse, then...!!!"
Klaus couldn't finish when two auras descended upon him and the other two — one from darkness and the other from light.
The light aura was sacred, making opposition blasphemous, while the dark aura was evil and suffocating.
"Tell me, what will you do?"
I said coldly, increasing my murderous intent. Elena had become serious and cold too; she released her aura, which surpassed mine . She sensed a threat to Nox that he refused to tolerate.
The three of them struggled to stand under the terrifying pressure of the two. Klaus breathed hard as he tried to continue.
"Calm down. All I mean is we won't trust you again, and that will make the journey difficult."
"What a funny thing. Tell me, since when did I need your trust? I give orders because you're weaker than me. We're in a system ruled by the strong people, so don't blame me for using my authority over you. I'm a decent person; I haven't oppressed you. But now you try to bite the hand that fed you — you miserable pests."
Klaus trembled at my words, looking into my dark eyes.
"You're not the strongest — Elena's stronger than you."
This time Elena spoke.
"That's true, but I will follow every decision Nox makes. Actually, I am like the shield that prevents others from harming him. Don't think for a moment that my kindness toward you means I'll allow you to cross boundaries."
My words shattered the three's hope of resolving the situation.
I sighed and removed my aura. Elena looked at me curiously and removed hers as well, but it was clear she would attack at any moment.
"I will keep the key and any other keys we obtain. Try to take them and we'll kill you from now on. You won't follow my orders, but I'll allow you to accompany us. You must take care of yourselves — we won't help you in any way. That means you will never have Elena's healing or her preparing food for you. Of course you can do that for a price."
The three were shocked by my proposal; they felt the suggestion was extremely cruel.
I looked at Luke coldly.
"Give me the bow back — it's mine."
Ronan intervened, anger overtaking him.
"What do you mean it's yours? It was Riana's bow and you took it after promising to return it."
"That's true. I'm keeping my promise. I have a higher survival rate than Luke, so it's better to give me the bow. Also, don't argue with me anymore — I no longer have the patience of the past."
I said, placing my hand on the hilt, causing Luke to panic before he approached and handed me the bow quickly.
"It's great you understand the situation quickly. Now let's continue. I want you to travel ahead of us; we'll carry the rear ourselves."
I motioned for them to walk. They looked at each other tensely until Klaus decided to lead the way. Elena and I moved as well, leaving a twenty-meter distance between us and the others.
"Nox, wasn't that the better solution?"
Elena said beside me with obvious worry.
"I know, but harsh decisions must be made in cases like this. They are like parasites — they rely on us to survive, and I refuse that. Anyway, you should stay away from them; they might try to steal the crystal, especially Luke with his annoying ability."
Elena nodded in understanding, then we continued the rest of the path quietly But beneath the calm was a deep tension and fear.