Chương 36: Luck

Three more dead bodies lay on the ground ahead of them. Two further away, face down with bare backs. Their clothes had been burnt off, and their skin soon followed. And the body closer was that of a short girl, with long green hair. Withered vines lay weakly by her feet. A similar gash ripped through her chest. Her cheeks were filled with a familiar pattern of freckles. Evel instantly recognized her. Fern. He crouched down and placed his hands on her cheek. Warm.

When he initially began building up his physical strength, she had helped him multiple times. She gave him guidance, motivation and company when he needed it the most. They hadn't been the closest, but Evel truly felt immense gratitude for what she had done for him. His throat felt dry as he attempted to swallow. Thank you for training me. It was unrealistic to expect all of his friends to survive, but the cold logic of it didn't quell the aching in his heart.

He slid his trembling hands down her face, closing her eyes, then got up. His eyes remained fixed on the gaping wound on her body. He wasn't sure for how long. Soon, with clenched jaws, he forced himself to look away. Bremin and Diana had been watching him. Bremin kept his familiar, unreadable face, and Diana looked at him with pity in her eyes.

"Se–" Evel's voice cracked. After taking a deep breath, he continued.

"Seven people all at once, they likely got ambushed after a long battle with the snake. There's no utility in staying."

"Or betrayed."

"What?" Diana pointed at Fern's face; her mouth was agape, and a weapon was on the ground.

"If I were ambushed after a long fight, I'd probably be frustrated or angry, but many of the dead bodies had eyes wide open and mouths agape, as if they couldn't believe what had happened. Unless their attacker really is just that terrifying." A deeply rooted anger rose within Evel, but he worked hard to kill it faster than it came.

"That… shouldn't change our decision; we should still leave." Evel thought back to the bodies once again. If it had truly been a betrayal, it was likely done by at least two people. One with immense strength, and another with fire abilities. Fern had trusted these people, and they had stabbed her in the back.

"Either way, it doesn't matter." He repeated under his breath. As Evel turned to leave back in the direction from which he came, a small click from his pockets caught his attention. He instantly recognized the sound. The needle of the compass had been redirected. Evel's body froze as he looked at the needle's direction.

"Evel!" Diana's words broke through his daze, and his head flicked to Diana.

"Focus!"

"Sorry, like we discussed." With the urgent command, he ran a few meters away from the duo. Bremin ran in the opposite direction, and Diana raised her right hand, pointing in the direction of the needle. After moving about ten meters away, Evel stopped and pointed, having carefully looked at where the needle was pointing. Further, Bremin did the same. Using their positions and the direction their arms pointed, they quickly noticed something.

They weren't pointing in parallel despite standing relatively close to each other. The specifics were unclear due to the inherent inaccuracies of pointing with a hand, but with three people and three approximations, one thing became clear. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The other group was close. Really close. Evel dropped his hand. Diana and Bremin already knew what to do. They exploded in speed towards Evel, quickly catching up to him.

He was the slowest, so giving him a head start allowed them to get further than they normally would have. The first priority was relocating from their original spot as fast as humanly possible, the spot where the opponent's red compass was fixed. The other party was likely doing the same thing. Evel ran hard as the trees blurred past him, his loaded crossbow in hand. By now, Diana and Bremin had caught up to him and slowed to match his pace.

Evel's heart sped up as blood rushed to the muscles in his legs as he pushed off the ground hard with each step. Bremin and Diana observed the surroundings carefully, and Evel simply focused on running. Evel's lungs burned with every breath, a reminder of how frail his body still was despite the recent improvements.

"Stop." Bremin's coarse voice rang out, and without hesitation, both Evel and Diana skidded to a stop. They jerked to Bremin, then traced his eyes. As they turned their heads, they noticed two individuals watching them, standing across an open stretch of grass. To the left stood a blonde man, a giant battle-ax resting over his shoulders. An unsteady aura radiated from his body. His deep sapphire eye pierced through Evel as if looking directly into his soul, and a confident smile revealed his total lack of fear.

To his right was a shorter black-haired man with sharp, glaring eyes. A dangerous heat emanated from the ball of flames that hovered slightly above him. Yet compared to the confident blonde man beside him, his threat felt far lower. Diana tossed Evel a bolt she had been holding onto as she prepared her bow. Eth floated gently around Evel. Bremin took a slight step forward with his sword already drawn, as Diana and Evel took a step back.

The intense silence continued as both sides waited for the other to make a move. Evel's eyes shifted between the two men in front of him as he assessed the situation. Eth zipped through the air. In the complete standstill, in everybody else's eyes, there was no movement. Lucien's smile turned fierce as he leaned forward, preparing to strike, but just as his feet were about to push off the ground, Evel spoke.

"Fern… Was Fern with you?" Lucien studied Evel for a few moments before his smile faded into a face of indifference.

"Yes, she was very helpful to us." Evel narrowed his eyes.

"Did you kill her?" Lucien gave a curt nod.

"Yes, will you avenge her?" A harsh whisper came from Evel's right before he could reply.

"He's strong," Diana warned.

"Don't let him get in your head." Evel turned to meet her amber eyes. The two held gazes for less than a second, but after seeing the expression on Evel's face, Diana turned back to face their foes. Evel shouted back, across the empty space.

"You could have just killed her, so why go through the trouble of making her trust you first?" Lucien's smile slowly returned, and he opened his mouth to speak. Then, as if changing his mind, he shut his mouth once more. Bremin leaned forward. With a burst of acceleration, Lucien kicked off the ground and went flying at the trio, but at the exact same moment, Bremin rushed forward.

As the two were about to clash head-on, Diana released her bow, and the arrow sliced through the air, forcing Lucien to dodge awkwardly. Bremin didn't let that opportunity go, unleashing an onslaught of attacks as Lucien continuously dodged and retreated, occasionally blocking with his battleaxe. Igneos, seeing Diana prepare another shot, extended his hands towards her. Evel wasn't going to let that happen.

Before the hovering ball of flame could shoot out at Diana, a large hollow bark of a dead tree suddenly flew directly into the flame. BOOOM! Igneos went flying from the gust of wind, quickly catching himself and preparing another fireball. However, by then, Diana had already taken aim with an empowered arrow. Diana's ability didn't allow her to increase her physical capabilities, and the clashes continued increasing and increasing. It was almost impossible for Diana to keep track of their movements. Almost.

She let go of the string, and the arrow sang through the air. The shot didn't hit Lucien, but instead hit the ground by his foot. The earth ruptured. The explosion rang out as the shockwaves sent Lucien flying into a tree. Bremin got pushed back as well, but having not been the target, it was simple for him to recover. He blitzed toward the recovering Lucien, who was just getting to his feet.

"IGNEOS!" Lucien's voice thundered across the forest as Bremin approached step by step. Before he could get within range to finish off Lucien, a volatile ball of flame flew into his path. BOOOOOOM! The third deafening explosion went off, forcing Bremin to stop his advance in a skid. He jumped back to avoid any serious burns, but the impact still reached him. Evel, who still had Diana's shot, raised his crossbow and fired at the distracted Igneos, who had been forced to divert his attention to his teammate.

The bolt cleaved through the air before piercing his thigh. A thick black smog began rising from Ingeos's legs, covering him up in a suffocating smokescreen. It had been Evel's idea for Diana to give him a smokescreen shot. He still wasn't fully confident in his own aim and figured it would be the safer option, giving him an opportunity to retreat should the need arise. His heart ached with a pang of regret. Had that shot been followed by an explosion, it may have taken him out in one go.

At the very least, his leg would be destroyed. Still. He's injured.

"Careful." Bremin's hoarse voice rang out. His voice was even, but Evel thought he heard a sense of urgency. From the smoke, Lucien walked out with a crooked grin. He wiped the blood off a light scar Bremin had given him on his cheek with his hand and sprayed it on the floor. Evel stared in mute disbelief at the sight in front of him. What the hell… The intensity of Lucien's aura had more than tripled the initial clash. His smile turned into a chuckle, then a laugh.

Diana threw Evel another arrow as the three waited in a tense silence for the blonde-haired threat to make a move. Something had changed. What exactly, they had no clue. Lucien wiped the tears which had begun forming from laughter from his eyes and spoke with a tone of someone who genuinely was trying to comfort them.

"You have no idea how unlucky you guys just got."