"How confident! Do you sincerely believe that you can protect this group alone?" The taunt was filled with confidence as the woman who had spoken this let out a small grunt.
Her blond hair was being stretched by the tentacle along with her limbs being crushed by it… not exactly ideal.
"Yes, I do," Dawn's voice was like a sweet melody a demon would sing before going on a bloody rampage; however, Flieday wholeheartedly believed that Dawn only wanted to protect the group. "I am confident in protecting the tribe from you."
What a show off
"Well then, how about I leave the group for the cloud period? You can relax and I will hunt around here." Flieday's voice was not strained or rushed; instead, it had an aura of utter confidence. She knew that her death or even any permanent harm to her body or mind could lead to hundreds of deaths in the group of lost tribes she had.
And Dawn knew this too, having no choice but to release her; thus she looked at the dark cloud and rubbed her face.
"Sure… go hunt whatever you want outside here, but the moment Inky figures out you are harming someone, you are dead."
So, this is my last chance to give the voice a Chinen heart. If I do not do that, I will die here, but if I kill anyone, Dawn will kill me.
"How bothersome"
All this to get enough time to find a goal for myself.
…
Dawn sighed as she started walking back to her tent. She knew that unless she had hard proof that Flieday had evil intentions for the group she cannot kill her. Flieday was essential for the group's survival as a single tamer would not be enough for their safety.
Huh
What?
Dawn's steps got faster, turning into a sprint. She ran towards the middle of the maze of tents before turning left.
After a few moments of running, she found an anomaly.
In the row of tents, a single tent was ripped apart. Its leaves had flown and vines were snapped, However in the middle there was… nothing.
No blood or signs of a fight.
It is not the work of a beast… Flieday!
How could I have forgotten that she is not alone; she must have used that ape! But how did she hide from Inky?
…
Flieday was sitting on her golden ape, her feet covered in the weird black covering dangling as she sat on its neck.
Hmmm hm hm hmmm hm hm hmmm...
She hummed leisurely, making sure not to think anything more than necessary. It was more like an involuntary action at this point, after all, she would have never been able to stay calm if she kept thinking and thinking.
The great cloud had long usurped the sky; small holes in it gave a faint light. This light was too dim for one to see clearly, thus Flieday relied on the ape.
Even when she was humming and doing her best to not think about anything, thoughts kept creeping up into her mind.
Even if the path I think I should walk requires sacrifice, should I really throw my morals away like this? Even if I don't really care about what's right or wrong, how would I stop it from haunting me.
Flieday could not help but be scared by the prospect of killing and getting blood on her hands.
…what
A tentacle rose from the ground, aiming toward the ape. Flieday skillfully dodged as another one emerged… and another one, soon tens of tentacles were wrapping the ape.
The only reason the ape could run was because of its power to nullify magical abilities near it. Soon Flieday felt herself walking on a smooth field as the tentacles crumbled.
I have no choice now; Fuck, I hate this… I want to be in control of my own damn life
The golden ape grunted as it ran towards a lone tree.
It was so high as if it touched the sky with its leaves, so huge as if beasts resided in it.
[You seem to have made your choice.]
***
Dawn carefully inspected the crime scene, if it could be called one. It has no traces of blood — just torn leaves and grass.
She had concluded that it was a kidnapping; however, one thing was still bothering her.
How did Flieday's ape hide from Inky?
She had never said it outright, but Inky was a grade three beast — far superior to most, if not every grade 2 breast.
She could still sense the connection to her squid so inky was not harmed.
Her deep black eyes opened as she came to a sudden realization.
She is not alone; there is one more demon among us
She was stalling me so someone must be ordering that ape!