As the orc charged after them in blind rage, he discovered that his speed could not keep up with that of the humans. The more he tried to charge after them with his previous pace, the more he saw them disappearing fast in the distance. Through his blood red vision that had been tainted by his anger and prejudice, he watched as his prey vanished into thin air. Unable to keep up with them, the chief orc lost them in the distance.
Xzavier's plan had worked beautifully! The way he had merged both of his tactics to produce one brilliant result was commendable! This was military grade tactics. At the time, it had seemed like a long shot, but somehow, Xzavier had made it happen! The nightmare that looked like it was going to consume them was finally over!
But Xzavier knew better than to rejoice yet. He could feel Adalia's grip loosening on his chest, this simply meant that even the blond beauty was heaving a sigh of relief. She was so overjoyed that her heavy breathing turned into soft sobs. Xzavier couldn't blame her. The young woman had endured and survived in one night what several hunters hadn't even been through in all their lifetimes. Her courage was worthy of commendation. She never broke down, neither did she ever attempt to flee on her own when it seeemed like things wouldn't pan out.
Long after the gigantic firm of the chief orc receded in the background, Xzavier still refused to stop. He kept blasting off the engine tirelessly, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and the orc behind him. It was while he was speeding through the forest on his armor motorcycle that fate guided his steps towards the souls who had been longing to see him.
It was almost dawn. So, the lighting still wasn't that clear, so Xzavier almost knocked down a human figure that came rushing out of the woods. Xzavier expertly swerved at the last minute and diverted the armor motorcycle into a clearing close by. The sound of a human girls scream came from behind him. That was when Xzavier realized that he had almost just rammed his motorcycle into a little girl.
Much to Adalia's chagrin, Xzavier instantly pulled his motorcycle to a halt and hopped off hurriedly to check on the girl he had almost killed. Adalia wasn't too pleased about his detour.
"Xzavier! Xzavier!!" she called as softly as she could, not wanting to draw any attention to herself.
"Please don't wander off!"
But Xzavier was already jogging towards the scream he had just heard. As he rushed, he wondered:
"What exactly would a young girl be doing in the woods at this ungodly hour?!"
Xzavier remembered the speed and manner with which she had breezed past him and froze.
"Could someone have been after her? Are there any more orcs chasing her?"
Xzavier sighed in disgust. If there were any more low level orcs in the environment, he swore to himself to kill all of them in the most brutal manner. He had already had it up to his neck with orcs and their vices.
But fortunately, it was neither. As he came up on the figure of a young girl clutching her knee on the floor from behind, Xzavier announced his presence.
"Are you hurt? Is anyone after you?"
Still dazed from what had just happened, Tacy's heart skipped she heard Xzavier's voice. She couldn't believe it. She cocked her head in Xzavier's direction and called out to him excitedly:
"Xzavier?! Xzavier is that truly you?! Oh thank heavens you're safe!!! It is I Tacy!!"
Xzavier was taken aback. Surely this was a mistake.
"Tacy? What are you doing out here by yourself?!!!" he asked in disbelief.
Xzavier was confused. His confusion warped even more as someone else rushed out at a blinding speed, startling Xzavier completely. Instinctively, he reached for his pistol to waste the intruder when the intruder abruptly stopped just a few feet from where Xzavier and Tacy were. Facing themselves, the two regarded each other for a while before the other man called out:
"Who are you?! What have you done with Tacy?"
Xzavier was taken away by the familiar voice. He was so surprised that he literally found no words to answer his colleague from the underground exchange. Tacy was the one who answered old man Kadin:
"Master! It's Xzavier! He's alive!!?"
Apprehensive, and still yet unsure, the old man approached cautiously.
"Xzavier? Is this true? Are you he?"
"Indeed old man. It is I Xzavier in the flesh."
Kadin immediately approached the both of them with suppressed joy.
"I see you are still in one piece…" the old man said to Xzavier sarcastically.
"…one would have thought that you would have been devoured whole by the chief orc!"
Xzavier sneered. He could tell that the old man was glad to see him. But his ego was actively preventing him from showing his true feelings. It was a gambit that was common amongst males. So, Xzavier replied in the same vein:
"Back at you old man. With the way you were running, anyone who saw you wouldn't believe you were the proprietor of the underground exchange."
Kadin smiled at the soft jab. It was good to have Xzavier back. As Kadin helped Tacy up to her feet, Xzavier asked them the question baffling him at the moment:
"Old man you are not supposed to be here, this is a dangerous place to be, what brings you here at a time like this?"
Kadin chuckled slightly.
"Do not flatter yourself Xzavier. Tacy my ward was extremely worried when you disappeared. She decided to come after you and I followed her to protect her."
Xzavier saw the truth deep behind the old man's veiled corny words. He truly was touched by both their concern, so he expressed his gratitude accordingly:
"I am thankful to the both of you for deeming me worthy of your concern. You honor me. Thank you."
Kadin nodded.
At this point, dawn had saturated the horizon, filling the woods with a faint refulgence. So, visibility was far better now. So, Xzavier could see better. But it wasn't just him who had taken advantage of the clearer visibility.
Xzavier looked at Tacy but saw that her gaze was on the beautiful blonde woman who was reclining on his motorcycle a few feet away. Before Xzavier could make the necessary introductions, Tacy jumped in with a presumptuous statement:
"Wow Xzavier, your girlfriend is really pretty! Why don't you introduce us?"
Xzavier's face flushed with embarrassment. He looked at Adalia and then looked back at Tacy.
"Don't be silly Tacy. I only just met her."
"Oh…" Tacy's voice trailed off in a high note.
With her eyes still fixated on Adalia, she answered Xzavier:
"I am sorry for hums to conclusions Xzavier."
"It's alrig-"
Tacy cut him off before he could finish his sentence.
"But surely you can understand why I said that. I mean, you claim to have just met her, and yet, there is reclining on your iron steed in such a flagrant manner."
Xzavier opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.
Kadin who had been watching the whole scene unfold with curiosity, decided to step in at that moment to save Xzavier.