Byron's one wide window in front of his table shined through the darkness inside the temple. The bandits, who were working under orders, were strewn around Wasakona's capital, looking for Tim and his pals, the intruders who were roaming the alleyways.
"We received word that one of our squad troops had fallen. We were alerted to the fact that three strangers had assaulted and defeated the group. We received information about questionable activities. Two of the intruders are said to be unfamiliar with our kingdom's reputation. A female with mauve hair and a boy with white hair are the two. They displayed some unusual abilities. The girl's power has yet to be identified, unlike the boy's skill which appears to be some form of "Fire Release," that might be the same as yours, lord. We weren't sure if the boy has the same type of skill as you because there were no indicators of it showing, but based on the girl's sudden entrance and saving the boy from the bullets, it's safe to believe he doesn't."
"Have there been more sightings of other people acting out of the usual?"
"Lord, thank you for reminding me. Kou, a civilian from the Town of Hatly was mentioned by the fallen squad. They informed us of his perplexing behavior. According to what the squad saw, Kou defended the boy by attacking them and appearing to be capable of easily defeating them. The information is still limited, and we don't fully comprehend the motivations for his conduct. It could indicate that the boy we thought was innocent wasn't so innocent after all, and that he had formed a substantial alliance with them in the past or present. We'll find out more about him."
"Kou... I'd thought I'd never hear his name again. What about Marienne and Joseph?"
"Josepth and Marienne were sent into hunt as a result of their own choices. They told us before they left that they were looking for other foreigners who might be with Kou and the other two characters. I'd be delighted to reunite them inside this room if you so choose."
"Not necessary. Their choices are understandable, and I'll accept them; after all, if there are more people scattered across Wasakona's city, it's lucky that they found them. It'll make our problems go away."
"I understand, sir. May I speak again?"
"Go ahead."
"I'd like to alert you about the presence of a few people ascending the stairs approaching our resident. There appear to be seven of them based on the number of persons, five of them are immediately identified as the Sand Shark Surfers you launched to hunt down the rule breakers. Because of their face-covering apparel, the two people have yet to be identified."
"I see. We already know who the two hooded persons are based on the numbers. Our only guess as to who they are is that one of them is princess Ireene. She is the only one who genuinely knows the way through the temple. I'm not sure, but it's probable that they've come to look for the king. For the time being, Ira proceed to the temple's basement, where the jail cell is located, and transport the king to the temple's top, where the clock is located."
"I understand lord, Kou. Right away."
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Marienne, bouncing in the air with a smile and a tranquil countenance, glanced down at the chaos. She discovered that the kingdom will soon be encircled by bandits from Byron's forces, who would hunt down the intruders, who had begun to flee their tasks.
"We'll divide into four groups, each of which will have twenty people. Your job is to track down and exterminate the intruders. Lord Byron's terrible judgement must not befall us!"
"Understood!"
"Squad A, your mission is to scout the city's eastern side. Squads B and C are in charge of the Northern and Eastern sides, respectively, while Squad D is in charge of the Western side. The rest of our crew, as well as me, shall scout the very center! Now hurry up and apprehend the intruders!"
"Yes, sir!"
The four squads split up quickly and began searching for the invaders in different directions. Marienne was genuinely engaged in the chaos before the Central Squad arrived. "Oh dear, what happened?" She descended from the sky in front of the commander, and he paused in Marienne tracks before he could proceed.
"Hmm, Commander. Is something the matter? You've been quite scary giving such serious orders."
The squad, including the commander, froze in place when they were surprised. They promptly bowed in front of Marienne and explained the situation as well as the reason for the uproar.
"Oh, madam Marienne, I apologize for not seeing you, please forgive us."
"No need to apologize. I would just like to know what's going on."
Marienne appeared innocent, friendly, and well-known to the commander and the bandits behind him, and she never stopped smiling at them, as if she was unconcerned. The commander promptly explained himself.
"I'm guessing you haven't heard about a group of intruders who have invaded Wasakona's capital. Miss. Ira was informed that several of our bandits had already been beaten. We assumed you were inside the temple and were already aware of the disturbance."
"I learned that there was a bunch of intruders, but why have so many troops deployed? There are only three of them, right? I believe scrubs like you should have been able to exterminate them by now."
"I'm afraid, madam Marienne, it's not as simple as you think. Our troops were ambushed by a group of supernaturally gifted individuals, two of whom had some form of "Release." The forces we dispatched earlier were insufficient, and even after we organized another attack, more and more men began to fall victim to them. Despite our large number of troops, our abilities are far inferior to theirs. They are regarded as a menace, according to our lord and Ira, his receptionist."
"I was hoping that cuties like you would save me the trouble of eliminating our adversary. I had planned to keep my hands clean of blood today, but that is no longer an option. Being showered with blood is tough for a lady. Oh dear, I've been yapping on for too long, I guess there's no way around that. I'll go look right away."
"We are truly sorry, Madam Marienne. Their ultimate position was visible someplace on Wasakona's capitail's eastern side. If you want to reach there, you should choose the shortest way possible."
"No, need. I think I'll go look in a different area. Farewell dear cuties!"
"Uh! Yes, whatever you desire, madam Marienne!"
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Tim was rushing across the floor, Kou and Tomomi clutching his sleeves. They were continually being dragged and shaken, unable to stand. They were powerless to prevent Tim from continuing in the wrong route.
"What on earth are you doing?! That is the exit from town! Turn right! Right turn!" As he tried to pull him back, Kou screamed. Tim, however, made a mockery of himself by turning left. "Turn RIGHT, I said! What made you turn LEFT?!"
"You said right, so I took the right path!"
"How stupid can you possibly be?! If I tell you to turn right, take the right road, not the one you believe is right! Turn around and retrace your steps!"
"Oh, that's what you meant. Sorry, my bad."
Tim shifted his weight to the side and slipped his right leg over the ground. He began to slow down, and when he was able to turn around, he dashed back the way he had come. He turned right as he approached the curves, which upset Kou.
"THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT PATH!"
Tim quickly looked back at Kou with confusion and screamed with anger. "You told me to turn right! Make up your damn mind!"
"Do you know where you're going?! You were running straight when you decided to turn left instead of right. Then you turned around, took the LEFT way, and turned RIGHT instead of straight! You're returning the way we came from at the very beginning, you moron!"
"FINE! Straight it is then!"
Tim once again regained his footing after sliding on the ground and ran straight up ahead, completely ignoring the two paths he earlier ran past and began to run toward the town's exit.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me?! I even gave you an explanation on how the directions works! You ran straight the right route! TURN BACK!"
"WILL YOU JUST GIVE ME THE RIGHT, GOD DAMN DIRECTIONS?!"
"I am! But a fool like you doesn't have a clue about navigating through shallow streets!"
"Well, you're being bad at explaining stuff!"
"It's not hard to understand, left, right, straight and back!"
Tomomi clung to Tim's arm and nodded off, the letters 'Z' shooting from her mouth as they continued to dispute. They were both upset and screamed angrily at the same time as they glanced at her.
"HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"
Tim's mouth rapidly spat out the words of protest, and he felt somewhat perplexed when he turned right instead of left after turning back in his tracks. "I'm never being a father..."
"You idiot! If you don't know where you're going stop in the middle of the crossroad and don't move, so that I can give you directions!"
Tim began to be hit on the top of the head by Kou, and the two began to argue. It began to awaken Tomomi, whose eyes were unimpressed when she opened them. She overheard her companions arguing ineffectively and decided to put an end to it. She was able to put one foot on the ground, rotated them around and wrap her arms over Tim's hips. They were taken aback when she lifted them off the ground and hurled them forward, over her shoulder, in the blink of an eye. They screamed and piled into the middle of the crossing. Their eyes were both spinning, as were the stars above them.
She took a step closer to them and stared down at them, silently and calmly. She could hear them groaning in pain. Tim noticed Tomomi point her finger at the temple's window, which was extremely far away, as they regained concentration after a few seconds.
"Go that way."
After being tossed to the floor, Kou sat up and turned to face the window. He immediately recognized it as impossible and asked how it could be possible. "You're not telling him to jump through that window, are you, Tomomi?!"
Tomomi nodded sweetly and cast a sidelong glance at Kou. When Kou heard Tim come up and issue his command, he was taken aback.
"All right! Tomomi, Kou, grab onto me tightly! We're going straight through the window!"
"YOU'RE CRAZY!"
Before Kou could escape out of the way, Tim grabbed his sleeve and forced him to tighten his grasp around his stomach and waist. "We're leaving right now! Hold on tight because this is going to be a ride you'll never forget!"
He crouched and began to discharge fire from beneath his feet when they were both ready, grasping his body tightly. He fixed his gaze on the temple's largest window and smiled, releasing the tremendous pressure.
"Here we go! Burning Boost!"
Under his feet, orange flames swirled and expanded outward. After accumulating enough pressure, a tremendous and expanding explosion happened beneath his feet, propelling them into the air at great speeds like a rocket. Kou screamed, unable to let go no matter what. "You people are psychos!"
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Byron stood in the middle of his room, looking through his window and suddenly noticed a massive explosion in the distance, with the flames zooming through the air, straight toward his window. He ended up astonished and out of nowhere, the massive window before him shattered into pieces and scattered on the ground as Tim, Kou and Tomomi came flying through it.
Tim's loud shout reverberated throughout Byron's room and spread through the hallways as he called out Byron's name.
"There you are! BYRON!"
To be continued...