''Let me see… '' Nyx said, walking to where Shane stood, ''Descendants have fast healing abilities, but in minutes, that is supernatural… '' she said as she pushed his shirt to the side to inspect the wound. Shane's heart skipped a beat as her tiny hands felt around the injured spot on his chest.
''Let me see your wrist.'' Shane showed her his mana, and she shook her head;
''Wow. That's quite a lot. Do you know how many beasts you needed to kill to get to this mana level? ''
''In their dozens. '' Sky remarked. ''Dozens that could tear you apart, but you get it by simply sucking off one beast.''
''The fck, sucking… what the fck Sky!'' Everyone burst out laughing at Sky's joke, as they forgot for a second that they could have all been swimming in a beast's stomach that morning.
''We have Shane to thank for being alive. Shane, the council would reward you for this act of bravery. ''
Nyx said, and Shane shook his head;
''It's nothing. I did not like the food, anyway. I'm just grateful that we are all alive and well.''
Nyx smiled at his humbleness. ''Alright, get your things ready. We are leaving this cursed village now. ''
In about thirty minutes, they had packed their bags and were untying their horses. The woman and her daughter stood by the door as they watched them.
''You better shut those eyes of yours if you don't want them plucked and fed to you. '' Yuri yelled at the duo angrily when she noticed they were looking at them. The woman and her kid glanced down at the ground, their face sullen.
''Yuri, it's okay. At least we are alive and the monster is dead. No humans would die because of it anymore. So let it be.'' Dai said, patting her back. Yuri eyed the duo as she mounted her horse.
''It doesn't matter, doesn't change the fact that they are murderers. Everyone in this accursed village! No matter what, you don't sacrifice people to save yourself. That's evil.''
''I hope we don't get put in a position where the only way to save ourselves is to sacrifice our own.''
Dai said and Yuri looked at him; ''you don't say! Is that even an option? ''
''Just die it, Yuri. We have a bigger demon to kill. This right now is the least of our problems.''
Dai said, and Yuri scoffed, ''you are incredible!'' she said and galloped ahead, leaving the rest.
''It's alright now. Let's end this matter. We are alive. That's the most important part. ''
Nyx turned to the woman and said; ''if a beast attacks your village, you send someone to report to the Academy, no matter what it is. That is what we are here for. We give our lives for you. How do you think we would feel when we realize those we let down our lives for turn their backs on us and offer us on a platter to a monster?''
The woman lowered her head in shame; ''we are so sorry. We would do the right thing next time. ''
Nyx sighed and mounted her horse; ''pray to your maker. I'm in no place to forgive you. ''
With that, she pulled her reins and rode away. The rest followed her as they caught up with Yuri.
As they passed by the villagers, the villagers stared at them in shock, some running back into their homes and peeking at them through their windows in surprise. Shane resisted the urge to yell; 'surprised we are alive?!', it would have been epic, but he surely would get a deathly glare from Nyx.
He looked back and saw some of them running towards the inn, and he smiled. They were weak people in the end, who couldn't fight for themselves. At least he had saved them from a demon that had been tormenting them.
They rode for hours. Nyx stopped just once for the horses to rest and replenish. She was determined to get to Azman that day. And soon before dusk came, they could see the forest from up a mountain.
A dark matter that looked like black ashes covered the sky that overlooked the forest, and it was eerily quiet. Up from the mountain, they could see the nearby villages that surrounded the forest, and they appeared deserted.
''I highly doubt we have one demon to contend with.''
Dai noted as they took in the spooky view of the forest.
''What if this is a demon from another portal?'' Yuri questioned. In all their fighting, they had seen nothing that looked like this.
''You mean another portal has been opened?'' Dai asked, and they all kept quiet. Afraid of what that thought would mean.
Shane looked at his wrist, and indeed he was right; his mana was reducing even when he was not using it.
''Nyx, can your mana deplete even when you did not use it?''
Everyone turned to look at Shane in confusion; ''No, why do you ask?'' Nyx frowned, looking at his right hand.
''I guess the mana I steal is not permanent. They will go away if I don't make use of them in time. ''
He said, showing them his wrist.
It was 3121 in the morning, now it was 3100. He had lost 20 mana energies.
''That's a lot to lose in a really short time.'' Nyx noted. ''it means that you cannot keep others' mana for a long time. This is not good. '' she said;
Shane looked at his wrist; ''Well, since it was never mine, to begin with, it's only fair that I can't keep it for long. I have to work to build my own mana then. '' he said.
Sky sighed; ''well, your self-destructing mana should wait for a little while. Let's defeat this demon first before it can disappear. ''
''Right, we should get going before it gets too dark. '' Nyx said,
''I hope this is something we can defeat. If we cannot, we should leave immediately and report to the council. It's better than one of us going back dead.'' Yuri commented;
''Yuri, you're forgetting too soon. A descendant battles till death. Sadly, we are not leaving this forest unless we defeat whatever lurks in there.''