— Shit…
Atela was slumped against a tree, coughing up blood.
— The poison has almost reached my vital organs…
In front of her, Kay approached proudly, a metallic melody ringing out as he slid his sword through his hand before stopping.
— Good. Now you're coming with me.
Maelle's voice echoed inside Atela's head like a distant reverberation.
— Princess, your chances of survival are 3%. If you wish, I can—
Atela cut her off sharply.
— Absolutely not !
Kay raised an eyebrow beneath the raging storm.
— Who are you talking to ?
— Mind your own business.
Zep, Rod, and their leader, Leon, stepped out of the shadows and walked toward them.
— Ah, there you are. Where did you disappear to ?
— We have to go make a report to headquarters. We'll leave her to you.
Those were Leon's words.
Kay didn't seem to understand right away.
— Wait a minute. Why not settle everything now? We can just take her with us and be done with it.
Leon gestured for him to look behind him.
The moment Kay turned his head… she was already gone.
— That brat is really starting to piss me off!
Leon turned around, extended his hand forward, and a black portal opened.
— Make sure you bring her back alive.
Leon, Rod, and Zep stepped into the portal, which closed immediately behind them.
Kay clenched his teeth as flames engulfed his sword.
Leon and the others emerged from the portal somewhere else: a wheat field bathed in the golden light of the setting sun.
As they walked forward, Rod stopped.
— I don't understand why we didn't take her with us when we had the chance. On top of that, we left Kay to deal with her. There's no way he won't fail. If our mission was to bring her back, why didn't we do it ourselves?
Leon stopped as well and turned toward him.
— Your reasoning is correct. We could have done it ourselves. But the truth is, bringing her back was never really our plan.
— Excuse me?
Leon pulled out a small transparent bag.
Inside it was a lock of blue hair.
— We already have what we were looking for. As for Kay… he was starting to become a real burden. Might as well get rid of him when we had the chance.
Leon resumed walking through the field.
In the forest, Atela was running with all her strength through the storm.
The greenish cracks on her body were gradually fading.
— The poison that affected your body has just been neutralized by your antibodies. I readjusted them so they would perfectly eliminate this toxin.
Atela was surprised by Maelle's announcement.
— Seriously…! Well, then all I have left to do now is get rid of that guy.
— Response: not exactly. I drew upon 50% of the energy you had left to perform this procedure. You will not have enough energy to face him head-on.
— What ?!
But before she could think any further, she instinctively dodged a thorny chain that sliced through the air toward her from behind.
— You're really starting to wear me out…
Kay, perched on a branch, noticed something.
— Huh? The cracks on her body have almost all disappeared… She managed to get rid of the poison. Tch. Whatever.
He extended his hand, and his aura transformed into a sword of white metal.
Atela watched him closely, a bead of sweat running down her face.
— A creation technique… I'm really in trouble.
Atela transformed her energy into flames that coiled around her right arm.
Kay lunged at her.
But the moment he left his branch, time seemed to slow down.
Above him, another person was already there, ready to strike him with a kick charged with chaotic energy.
Kay didn't even have time to see who it was.
The blow sent him violently crashing into the surroundings.
Atela stared at the scene, stunned, as the silhouette landed in front of her.
Kay pulled himself out of the debris, his nose bleeding, beside himself with rage.
— ARE YOU ALL SERIOUSLY CONSPIRING TO SCREW WITH ME OR WHAT?!
Atela straightened up, looking at the person in front of her, hesitant.
— Um… who are you…?
The young boy turned his gaze toward her, wearing an almost casual expression.
— You can call me Noa, if you want.
Which Chapter : Revenge