"How did you get that?" Freya asked the man.
Tigreal stopped, unable to recognize the man that is hanging from the tree. "A thief?"
He heard what Tigreal said. "Me, a thief?" He quickly gets up to sit on the branch for a while and eventually jumped from above, landing in front of Freya. "No, no, no.... I'm only borrowing this."
"Claude?"
"Oh, hey there Tigreal! Who's this girl you're hanging out with? Anyway, here's the clutch." He said and handed the clutch to Tigreal. "Dexter thought we can find bunch of gold and stuff in there but what would I do with a scroll?" Claude smirked.
"You haven't changed. Reckless as you are before." Freya said
"Huh?" Claude wondered why Freya seemed to know him. He gazes at her face, trying to recall a name. "Come to think of it, you're familiar. Have we met before?"
"The name is Freya, it's nice to see you again, Claude."
"I'm not quite sure why are you dressed like a normal maiden, where'd you're armor go?" Claude asked, not wanting to believe that Freya is the one who's in front of him. "Besides, I've heard you've been seeking for something so why are you unarmed?"
"It may be odd, even for me to wear clothes like this."
"You're not afraid of alerting the dark forces of your presence in this land, are you?" He intently looked at her eyes, displaying a stare that warns her for what the dark forces are capable of.
"Wait---- what was that?" Tigreal felt someone dashed in their back. The wind strummed the leaves as it shed them over, in a harmonious rhythm that adds up to the negativity of the surroundings. Claude's partner starts to make indistinct noises.
Their eyes widened. The monkey lumbered as he takes the west direction while constantly looking everywhere.
"Dexter? What are you doing, bud?" Claude was about to pick him up, thinking he could lessen the tense within them. They heard him shrieked and sprinted, unsure if he's chasing someone or avoiding it.
"DEXTER!" Claude rushed to follow Dexter, Freya and the others decide to do the same thing. They are curious of Dexter's troubling behavior. Indistinct noises by the monkey can still be heard from afar, as well as the sound that comes from the fallen leaves as they trample upon them.
"Such speed, we're not able to reach them with this pace." said Tigreal. Claudehad memorized the place all too well, unlike them, who just happened to walk by.
They had lost sight of him. Now, they are unsure of what path they should follow to check out on Claude and Dexter.
"Oh no--- R-retreat !!" Freya wailed. They have turned their backs and darted forward. Too bad, Irithel conjured another strafe technique in front of them. They froze.
Trapped, their bodies trembled to what Irithel wants with them.
"I don't mean any harm for now... but what brought you in our fortress last night?"
"We were just resting and--"
"With a fire lit up unattended. I'm sure you're all aware of its capability to burn the forest."
"Look, we came from Nost Gal and experienced a strong blizzard on our way here. The coldness made our bodies numb and unable to continue navigating the road. We lit up a fire to keep ourselves warm. We don't intend to burn down the forest" Hylos stood up for them.
"Still, the fire could harm us!" Irithel argued. "We won't chase you to death if we don't sense danger. I can't simply trust your reasons."
"We don't want to do any harm to the nature, Centaurs are guardians of forest, I suppose you know that as well." Irithel threw a stare at them, reading their actions, trying to listen to them.
"I know how hard it is to trust people. Out of nowhere they'll betray you and trample upon your existence." said Freya, directly looking at Irithel's eyes.
"You don't know anything." Irithel turned away.
"We need to reach the Elven Kingdom before the full moon. There's no time left, Irithel please, listen." She pleaded.
"Elven Kingdom? You took the wrong path." Irithel aimed her crossbow at them, thinking they are just making excuses. "There's no path to Elven Kingdom in here."
"There is, the shortest path was said to be the most dangerous one. It is in the Eastern Land, where you chased us! Now we're trying to navigate the path to get there." Irithel put down her crossbow arrow after hearing Chiron's explanation.
"Please, Irithel.. let us go." By then Irithel rests her case and rides on Leo's back. "I'll let you go, but I refuse to redirect you to your destination." She said as she turned her back.
"Remember that I'll be watching and observing from the shadows. One wrong move, I'll serve you as their dinner." said Irithel before she faded out of their sight.
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Northern Kingdom, Castle Grounds.
"I haven't heard from Freya since they left." Aurora whimpered.
"Well, Your Highness, there have no means to communicate with us. I'm afraid that hunger and sleep bugs them now."
"How many days left before the full moon?"
"2 days and 16 hours, I presume."
"They don't have much time Bane. If only I have the portal."
"Portal?" asked Bane.
"Yes, but no one knows what Kingdom owns the portal in the present."
Aurora glanced through the porch of the castle, gazing in the sky as it begins to be painted in orange hue. "I'm hoping that the heavens is still guiding the Goddess."
"Well they must be. No one can forget how heroic that legend is."
"Bane, how did you get back to life? Is it really possible for someone to be resurrected?"
Bane sighed before answering Aurora's question. He arrayed his hat while trying to form a good answer to the queen's question.
"I was under the curse of Black Pearl, and there are lots of spells available to resurrect people but mostly involve dark magic, evil incantations, and dangerous process." He paused for a while and looks up, remembering Zilong who's concealed in the top most part of the castle, invisible in the naked eye. "I haven't heard a magic that can bring back memories and can bring back the life of the dead for almost 3 years."
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The sky starts to get darker; they sauntered in the woods heading to the nearest path to the clearing. They make advantage of the little amount of light from the skies to navigate the trails, adding up a small progress to their journey.
"We have to reach the clearing and the village before darkness engulfs the place. We'll seek help at the village. The people of Iga can be of help, and of course be wary of your own behavior as well as theirs." Hylos explained. He paused to look at them for a second, making sure that they are clear with that decision. "If we managed to escape and bargain a feral woman with a smilodon, well, I guess that doesn't work on spiritualists and ninjas."
Even walking, all of them start to be relieved from exhaustion. Tigreal stood straight at his current position. Narrowing his eyes made him concentrate to calculate their distance from Iga.
"Can we reach King Estes' Kingdom by tomorrow?" Tigreal yawned. Sleep starts to attack on his senses, as if the absence of it shuts down their system, causing it to malfunction.
"If we're lucky, we'll reach it before the noon." Hylos declared.
"And what if you're not?" The team quickly turned to the direction where they heard the deep, eerie voice.
They continue to walk, not letting off their guard. "Is someone there?" No one answered Freya's question. Instead, the woods fell in silence. Only the sound of their footsteps can be heard as they trample upon the fallen leaves.
Wind gusts through the branches of tree, shedding them with leaves in slow, harmonious rhythm, adding up to the eerie atmosphere. Suddenly, the ground grumbles, letting out gigantic spikes in blood red color. Tigreal vaulted using his sword while Freya springs to the air to dodge the spikes, landing in each side of the spikes makes them to succeed in avoiding it.
Freya and Tigreal look at each other, congratulating themselves with a smile. However, Freya smile soon faded when she saw traces of blood in the ground. She shifted her eyes to the site where the spikes are located, and Freya felt a devastating blow of pain struck her.
"Hylos!!" before she reached the Illuminating Elder, they heard someone stumbled in the ground which turned out to be Chiron, with his hind leg impaled by the spike. Tigreal quickly aided Chiron; he desperately tried to remove the spike then ruined his cape to prevent blood loss.
Meanwhile, Freya can't do anything but to cry for help. The direct hit of the gigantic spikes incapacitated Hylos. Blood gushed out of his wounds, making him more weak and unable to even scream in pain.
"S-save y-your--- yourselves." He used his remaining strength to look at Freya and let out a weak voice to warn them. Freya shook her head, an indication that she refuses to be selfish and left them in the midst of the woods to die. She's tired of seeing how mighty warriors and heroes die for someone's sake.
Darkness descends; it envelops the place and forbid the moonlight to provide a luminescent light in the area. A ninja sprung out of nowhere and exhibits exemplary strength as he wavered his sword. He performed basic attacks slashing Freya's body, making her weaker than she is. Tigreal's eyes burned with hatred, he raised his sword about to initiate a fight. Yet, due to his surprise, the ninja made his sword fly in the air, throwing it at Freya's direction, nearly heading her off.
Fist clenched--- Tigreal threw a death glare; one that delivers invisible daggers but that failed to cower the ninja. Instead, he let out an sarcastic laugh and prepares to wave his sword. Tigreal straightened his body--- waits for his fate.
"Interesting" his lips formed into a devilish smirk, then dashed to the other direction. "Hanekage.. " he whispered.
Tigreal's eyes widened. The demon was summoned and is now feasting upon Chiron's flesh. They heard a savoring sound as the demon seize its sharp fangs to its helpless prey.
Eyes fixated on the monster that devours Chiron, they didn't noticed how the ninja sprinted on the darker part of the woods, concealing him in a bush.
That sword. Monstrous, powerful, and bounded with abyssal energy. It's not normal-- Freya thought
"H-hanzo...." Freya gritted her teeth. Tears start to race down her cheeks, blurring her visions as the ninja whom she referred to as 'Hanzo' enraged her. She tried to stand in her feet, but her wounds gets in her way. It weakens her, making her kneel on the ground filled with leaves that are stained by their bloods.
"What do you need?!" Tigreal wailed. The question is left unanswered. Hanzo is nowhere to be seen, but his presence can still be felt as well as the dark, concentrated energy that belongs to his sword.
"Kai Jin.. " he transposed from one direction to another for every syllable he chanted with power. "Retsu, Zai, Zen"
"K-kuji-kiri?"
Then, a lucent, blood-like thread traces around them. Demonic laughter echoed around the place, implying that Hanzo is still ready to attack and extinguish them at once.
"Ame no Habakiri, will devour you..." he said in his remarkable eerie voice, as deep as the depths of hell.
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