"Hey!"
Lyrica's powerful shout distracted Agatha, saving Kael from being assassinated.
"Y-You...!"
Lyrica and Agatha's eyes crossed one another. A perfect chance to blind the assassin with her light magic.
"T-That face, that scarf...!"
Right before Lyrica's light magic struck Agatha, impairing her vision, the assassin shockingly uttered:
"...Agna!?"
Hearing the assassin utter that name in the last second, Lyrica's light magic exploded like a stun grenade in her world.
"Aaagh!"
Agatha flailed about before eventually falling to the ground while shouting the name of her daughter. Lyrica, having used up the strength she mustered just to get in position, finally fall on her knees.
"Kuh..." Lyrica tried to press her hand onto her wound, trying to stop the bleeding but it wouldn't. "My HP... It's less than 30%... How troublesome."
"My vision's back to normal," Kael uttered while carefully looking around him, and that's where he saw Lyrica slowly losing consciousness. "Lady Lyrica!"
Kael puts his rapier onto its sheath as he rushed onto the girl. He gently rolled her body, as well as rolling up her uniform to see the wound.
"Her wound needs serious treatment... Hm?"
On quick notice, Kael turned his attention to the male assassin who stood up all of a sudden. He had his hand on his rapier's grip.
"Don't worry, I won't attack you." He spoke in an earnest voice. "I'll make sure Agatha won't follow you, go."
Kael relaxed, following the assassin's comment.
"You're one good soldier," Kael worded as she gently and carefully lifted the unconscious Lyrica. "This proves that not everyone in Kruule is following Uruk's new rule, but I must warn you."
"..."
"Sooner or later, Reilaea will use everything we have to retrieve the heroes," Kael said in a serious tone. "If you're going to stop us, even if it's against your will, then you better be ready to die."
With that, Kael turned around and started walking towards the north, leaving behind a warning for the soldiers who could do nothing but follow Uruk.
...
Clip-clop! Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
"Too shaky..." Lyrica muttered in a weak voice.
Fast forward in the evening, with a similar time of 9:10 PM to Earth, the unrelenting shaky feeling woke up Lyrica from slumber. A fire torch on one's grasp, definitely that of a young man's, caught her eyes. Lyrica lifted her head away from the warm back of Kael.
Clippity-clop clip-clop!
"Thank goodness, you're awake." Kael's voice resonated ahead of Lyrica. "Pardon the uncomfortable ride, but we'll be at our destination soon."
"Are we... On a horse?" Lyrica asked out of curiosity.
"Yes," Kael replied in an instant. "Please hold tight, I'm going to speed up."
"Y-Yeah..."
Though a little embarrassed, Lyrica slowly wrapped her arms around Kael's waist. The horse neighed, and the sound of its hooves like thunder, intensified. Lyrica could see the trees crossing her vision fast by the second.
"Hey, aren't monsters in this world are usually more active during the night?"
"So you've noticed it..." Kael answered. "...About how we were able to go fast with this single light and not even a single monster is attacking nor stalking us. It's almost as if..."
"They suddenly went into hiding." Lyrica finished Kael's sentence, followed by the guy's reply with a resounding yes. "But what are they hiding from? Is this behavior related to the reason why Reilaea summoned the four heroes?"
"It could be," Kael replied uncertainly. "Whatever it is they're hiding from, or if it's simply just a work of a sudden migration, we only need to worry about something if the Guardian Snake itself senses it and started screaming."
"Guardian Snake? Can that thing's scream be heard even this far?"
"That's right. However, the Guardian Snake isn't the only guardian in this world. Therefore, if something threatening makes its presence known to the world, you'd be hearing loud cries all over Alteria."
"Oh..."
Lyrica just obtained a piece of valuable information—so long as it is quiet, there's no need for her to worry. At least for now.
'I wonder how much HP I have left?'
Out of curiosity, she decided to open her character.
Listener: Lyrica Ley Rael
Lv. 27
HP: 9%
MP: 8
'9 percent?!'
Following her internal shock, Lyrica's face fell onto Kael's back once more.
"Hm? Lady Lyrica?"
From the corner of his eyes, he could see the unconscious girl having her face buried behind him.
"She must be really tired... But worry not..."
Right as he said that, the seemingly endless silhouette of trees has finally come to an end. Atop his caramel-like hair, the glittering stars permeating the ever-so-dark skies greeted him good evening. And right in front of him, in a not-so-far distance, a tall wall can be seen.
"I can see it, the town of Eisvel." The horse neighed, following Kael's command to go even faster. "Hang in there, Lady Lyrica. We're almost there!"
...
During that time, Agatha and her men have also returned to the capital city of Kruule. They immediately went to get a doctor for the one who got stabbed by Kael's rapier. On the other hand, the other assassin with broken backbones due to Lyrica's Heavy Metal are also being treated at the same time.
Fortunately for them, the doctors informed that the two assassins are still under intense care but they're going to be all right. However, as for Agatha and the others, they all went straight to the royal castle to report what happened to Uruk. This is how it all went afterward:
"You failed to assassinate a single girl?!" Uruk uttered in a cold-blooded tone.
Before they arrived in the capital, they made a choice, to either find a girl the same age as Lyrica and take her head in front of Uruk, or to tell the Hari the truth.
"Yes, Mahal na Hari. However, although she's powerful on her own, she was not alone during the fight."
Agatha chose to tell the truth.
"A young Malaya from Reilaea came to help the girl."
But not entirely.
"The knight was quite capable himself, and with the two working together against me, I wasn't able to finish them off with my magic."
Uruk stood up out of rage, and it got the others around Agatha trembling in fear. And then, he started walking.
"Out of all the missions that you have to mess up..."
"Ugh..."
Agatha nonchalantly let Uruk grab her by her neck and lifted her effortlessly in the air.
"Why does it have to be a very important one?!"
"B-Boss!"
The assassins all looked at Uruk and Agatha in concern to their boss.
Glare!
"A-Ah!"
But the Hari's glare that's flaring with intimidation quickly shut them all down into a standstill.
"Are you finally going to kill me?" Agatha faced the angry Hari in a way as if his hard grip on her throat doesn't even bother her one bit. "You don't have to hesitate, Uruk, or whoever the hell you are inside him."
"Do you want to die instantly or do you want to suffer until your last breath?"
"Your pick, Mahal na Hari."
Agatha's men and the guards surrounding the throne room have never felt such an overwhelming tension before. It's almost as if they are all in one tiny room and they could barely breathe because the room is fully crowded. Nevertheless, the silence went on for a short while.
"Nngrrah!!"
Until Uruk himself broke that quietness by throwing Agatha violently across the room, following his furious roar.
Crash! Roll!
"Boss!"
"Boss!"
Out of sheer worry, Agatha's men tried to get to her.
Stomp!!
"Ah–!"
Until the throne guards stood in their way with their spears. The throne guards shoved their spears forward, making Agatha's men take a step back.
"You no longer have any use for me other than that hatred swelling inside you," Uruk stated as he went back to his throne. "Take them to the prison chamber. That's where they'll spend their time from now on."
"Just do you want..." Agatha spoke while seemingly struggling to get herself back up. "The people's hatred gives you power, right? Just what do you need that power for? Why do the people of Kruule have to suffer for your crap?"
At that moment, Agatha draw out her dagger and locked her gaze towards Uruk.
"Why... Why did I have to kill my daughter for a piece of sh*t like you?!"
No holding back, Agatha charges. The throne guards stood in her way and tried to attack her with their spears, only to fall prey to her dagger.
Slash!
"Wack!"
Swoosh!
"Guha!"
Fwip! Slash!
"Urgh!"
"If only I can kill you, peace would return to our kingdom!"
In a matter of seconds, the assassin managed to get closer. Only a couple of meters are what's standing between Agatha's dagger and Uruk's head. But just as she already got closer...
Ddoom!
"...!"
Fwoooh!
Dark flames spurted all over Agatha's body. It was the effect of the sumpa Uruk placed on her after it was triggered. Agatha's vengeance and killing intent towards the Hari is what triggered the curse.
"Boss!!"