Like the stars that spin throughout the night, Rael's 'stars' still lay unconscious on the ground.
In the depths of the forest, vague sounds of wailing rats, unaware of their unfortunate end, could be heard.
Squeak! Squaack!
Quinn made a massacre of the 'rodents' through swift assassination using her dagger. All of them were novices that were rank A at the highest, so it did not take her long to wrap things up.
"You just have to endure the dirty work sometimes; this will lead to something great Quinn, something great." Quinn consoled herself as she took out a white cloth to clean her dagger from the bloodstains of the sneaky backup rodents of Doctor Andras.
As she careful wipe off and sanitize her dagger, undiluted disgust plastered her face. One thing she hated the most is blood, especially those from virus-carrying animals.
"I hope I don't get any diseases out of this!" Quinn said to herself.
Quinn is quite the germaphobe. Every day she will supervise her and Sarane's cleanliness chart. She would ask all the helpers in the royal palace to disinfect all possible spots that dirt could reside. After that, she will do her rounds of cleaning, ensuring a germ-free environment.
"There we go." As she wipes off the last stain, Quinn heaved a sigh of relief.
A clean dagger is a sharp dagger!
Quinn sheathed her dagger, then she made haste to the battle and position herself in a good hiding spot. She saw Sarane, still struggled to retrieve her weapon back.
...
Sarane thought to herself that this battle is getting annoying.
She had been in the defensive-evasive position for a long time while Doctor Andras toy with her like a puppet in a string!
No matter what opening she sees, it seems like her opponent is always one step ahead of her. As a result, not only did she not retrieve her rapier, she even became the recipient of the hook's drilling bit.
"My dear princess, I will just cut to the chase alright? I only want that thing." Doctor Andras then points his index finger into the boulder where the crimson amulet used to be. Seeing that it wasn't there, he became visibly irritated.
Arteries in his head started to show.
"It's not yours to take, is it? You can't have it." Sarane said, eyeing the rapier once more, searching for any possible openings that weren't obvious enough to be exploited.
"Well, it's not yours too, is it? Also, forget about your rapier. It just won't happen! You will just dance along with my hook, and when you realize that you're in by the crook," Doctor Andras stroke his weapon lightly as if flirting with it.
"It will be too late!" Then he maniacally laughed as he grips the chains and pitches the hook like a baseball in perfect alignment to Sarane's position.
The chain-hook discharge was as quick as a lightning bolt, in just split seconds the chain-hook clock in within Sarane's vicinity. Her eyes widened with shock. He's going to rip out her heart like what he did before with One Seven One.
She froze on her spot. Fear took over her mind, and her body automatically shut down.
It's over!
"You idiot! Crouch on the ground!" When the hook was about to meet Sarane's chest, five darts swooped in from the right side. The darts were not that powerful; however, it revised the incoming attack's original path to another trajectory.
As the darts hit the chain-hook, it produces a sizzling sound.
Tzz! Tzz! Tzz! Tzz! Tzz!
The next thing that they saw was a pool of metallic chemicals dissolved to a liquid that instantly evaporated out of their sight.
"Kids these days just keeps getting weirder and weirder! I have had just enough of you! Rats, seize her!" Doctor Andras bellowed furiously as his forehead gleamed wildly.
Nothing happened.
"Forget about your rats. It just won't happen! You will just sit quietly, or else you will be the one in by the crook!" Quinn precariously remarked.
Do you think you can kill the princess right before my eyes?
Sit down and humble yourself instead!
"Was that gallium? To melt my jagdkommando within seconds, the solubility of those darts are forbidden for researches! For a brat like you to possess them, truly daunting!" Doctor Andras thirst for knowledge cropped up through his wide smile.
"Classified." Quinn impassively said as she strolls sedately toward Doctor Andras, darts at hand.
The wind blew in a calm but a comminatory manner, as if a storm's admonitory. Quinn's talent seed illuminated the night, shrouding her with pure blue light.
"Her life force. . ." Sarane exclaimed.
Quinn unsheathed her dagger and acuminated it right in Doctor Andras' neck. "Sarane, tend to Rael. I will keep this lunatic in check." Quinn beckoned.
After saying those words, she places the dart's tip above her dagger, then lightly squeezes the dart's stem. "You're a doctor, correct? You know this substance well I suppose. If this drip down my dagger and rolls down for your neck, it would not be rocket science to figure out the consequence." Quinn whispered through Doctor Andras' ear. She teases him by squeezing the substance out by a droplet, then quickly letting it go before it drops.
Doctor Andras was surprised; he felt goosebumps!
He got threatened by Quinn! What a full circle of events!
"My, my, aren't you a little lunatic yourself." Doctor Andras shake his head, thrilled by the unexpected twist from the young lady.
"Don't you dare compare my wiring to yours."
"Its unfortunate for you darling, there's a bigger rat you forgot to catch!"
As if some uttered magic words, the surroundings were cast by a mist of gold dust in the blink of an eye. Then, Quinn's senses were gradually shut off.
"Your remarks are shallow! How dare you cast gold dust!? Your senses will shut off as well!" Quinn shouted on the top of her lungs.
"Mutually assured destruction, my dear." Doctor Andras laughed as his voice faded in the night. Then, a red light burst forth from the darkness. It slowly forms different characters in the air.
Combatant light signal!
Unique to combatants, not only they could control their weapons into their liking. Even their talent seed's emanated aura could be commanded in their desires as well, which could be used for survival and might if materialized!
The floating characters coalesced in front of Quinn which read:
"Before any of our senses blackout, have you heard of my trusted friend?" Quinn read the letters, and when she reached the end, she became disgruntled.
"Regards to Prince Lock and Veteran Lieutenant Pol."