Gelly strapped her two short poles, each sharpened to a drill like point, and wore the face of a fighter.
"Gelly, stop this nonsense. Do you really think you can just leave like that?" Shuri spoke, half angry, half worried.
"What's left to fear?" Gelly hissed, her words cutting deep. "Just two hours ago you saw Portos rise from the dead. And whatever was in him was as evil and twisted as what possessed the king." She spoke loudly, not mincing a single word.
Shuri, Fabien, and Ulon all shivered at the thought of the king overhearing this, quickly gesturing for her to lower her voice.
She walked over to Rios, sliding her hand into his. "I'll get them. They'll both pay." Tears fell from her eyes, dripping onto Rios's body.
"Okay, even if you were going," Shuri argued, "do you know where they went? Or even how powerful they must be to have beaten Rios?"
Gelly slipped her hand from Rios's. "The guards in the watchtower near the gate already pointed out their direction. And the boy with Soren was injured, and he still carried Soren out, who was unconscious by the way. It all happened this afternoon. There's no way they've gone far. They'll be weak. If I start tracking them tonight, I'll catch up and kill them by tomorrow evening. Even if I have to do it alone."
She turned and walked out of the room.
"Aren't you two going to say something?" Shuri asked.
Ulon only shrugged.
"You need to go with her, Shuri!" Fabien finally snapped. "You know she's at a disadvantage fighting alone."
"I'll stay here and manage affairs, try to bring the castle back to some normalcy. Ulon will watch over the commander," Fabien added.
"Tsk, fine." Shuri folded her arms beneath her chest, then hurried to catch up with Gelly.
Gelly was waiting at the castle doors.
"Ohh, who might you be waiting for?" Shuri teased, smirking at Gelly's reluctance to go alone after all her boasting.
Gelly ran straight into her arms, hugging her tightly. In a soft, trembling voice she whispered, "I knew you wouldn't let me go by myself." She buried her face between Shuri's chest, locking her arms around her waist.
Shuri flushed red for a moment before regaining composure. She placed a hand under Gelly's chin, tilting her face upward. "Now… don't we have a prince to catch?"
Gelly let go and put on her usual hardened expression. "Right. Let's go."
As they pushed through the castle gates, Serus was waiting. At his side stood a monster.
Shuri bowed respectfully, though her heart pounded. Gelly, on the other hand, stood firm. Serus's murderous aura wasn't present, and that gave her a sliver of confidence, but even without it, his presence was still suffocating.
Gelly locked eyes with him, summoning every ounce of courage into her legs just to stand her ground.
"No matter what, I'm going," she declared. "If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me." Her hand slid onto her short pole, hinting at an attack.
Shuri rose back up, hesitantly standing behind Gelly's resolve.
"If you must go, take this." Serus pointed toward the monster.
Shuri and Gelly froze.
"The creature is called a Dreknar, you might have seen one before."
Seven feet tall, with limbs too long, skin pale as death, and most terrifying of all, no eyes. Its long, slender body radiated horror.
Gelly wanted to protest, but Shuri covered her mouth quickly.
"Thank you very much," Shuri said firmly.
"In battle it will serve you well, or so I'm told," Serus muttered, his mind drifting to Vox, who had handed him the Dreknar.
Shuri and Gelly bolted from the castle, the Dreknar trailing behind. Shuri cloaked it in invisibility, it was far too disturbing to look at.
"Argh, we've been walking for a whole day. I'm tired. Aren't we there yet?" Soren groaned.
Nox, already fed up with his endless complaints, snapped back. "Well, Your Majesty, when we get there you'll know. Just like I said the last thousand times!"
He sighed. He's a prince. Probably never walked this much in his life. Nox shook his head. If I had a carriage taking me everywhere, I wouldn't either.
The sun was setting when Nox looked ahead. A clearing opened beyond the forest, a field of green. Further still, a giant brown tree towered over everything.
"Hey, Soren! I think we're there!"
Soren dragged his feet, barely noticing.
"Huh? You mean… finally?" he asked, exhausted.
Nox smiled faintly. He was just as tired of endless trees.
Then Soren stopped.
Aaaaaaah!
His scream cut through the forest. He clutched his shoulder, blood pouring from a fresh wound.
"Soren!" Nox rushed forward. But before he could reach him, a bare leg materialized from thin air, slamming into Nox's chest.
"What?!" He had no time to defend himself. He crashed through the trees, splintering trunks as he tumbled to the ground. His lungs burned, breath caught in his throat. Fear and confusion surged, but he forced them down, leaving only anger. Whoever hit him was going to pay.
He staggered to his feet, clutching his chest.
From the leg upward, a blonde haired woman appeared, her beauty sharp and lethal.
And beside her, Soren screamed again as a pole materialized, piercing through his shoulder. In the hands of another girl, barely their age, another pole appeared, driving into his other shoulder.
Soren collapsed to his knees, hands flailing uselessly, blood dripping down his arms.
"Grrr!" He gritted his teeth, a faint smile cracked through his lips as he fought through the pain.
"These are two more members from Ten thousand." Soren slid out through clutched teeth, holding back pain.
"Shuri… and Gelly."
Nox's eyes widened.