The sun had gone down, and the darkness was almost total. Brian was whipping his head from side to side, trying to find the shooters, when Nicolas's voice was heard from the trees.
"You heard the bell for the second round, Brian."
Armin raised his voice as he grabbed Brian by the shirt, pulling him to the ground, "Get down!!"
Kneeling on the ground with his shield raised, Armin looked up at the trees. Trying to see where the shots came from, Brian ducking.
Holding with his left hand pulling out one of the guns from him while raising his voice, he shouted, "Nefy!! Are you okay!?"
From the ground, after letting out a moan. Neferet, with a choked and pained voice, "You kicked me in the stomach. How do you think I am?"
Armin looked at a small lump on the ground at the side of the road while saying with concern and trying to control the tone of his voice, "But did he shoot you?"
Neferet raised her head a little, looking at Armin's reddish eyes and Brian's burgundy eyes as they stared at her, while she said between a pained sigh, "No…."
The boys saw each other in the dark, and both nodded while saying almost in unison.
"Then she is okay."
In that instant, Neferet cursed the instant she used her bandages to calm the fight between the boys, who were now kneeling together on the ground.
Looking at the grove. For a few moments, as she curled into a fetal position, she wished they had both pierced each other's faces with their spears.
Trying to compose herself, Neferet heard footsteps approaching her quickly, and, raising her voice, and she shouted loudly, "No Sophia!!"
Neferet's voice came out loud, pushing the scream out of her throat as she clutched her stomach.
Lightly illuminated by the light of the moon that filtered through the treetops, Sofia had stopped in front of Neferet, and with a weak smile, she looked at her, holding out her hand.
But a blue arrow streaked across the darkness, lighting up the floor with a hiss, piercing through the girl's back and out through her chest diagonally up into the sky as she dissipated.
Again, there was a shot followed by a green flash that crashed into a tree, followed by silence.
For then the sound of a body collapsing on the ground, Neferet felt a few light drops of blood falling on her cheek while Sofia knelt in front of her, even with her slight and nervous smile.
As the glow left Sofia's eyes, Neferet slowly sat up. Time seemed to stop for a few seconds when Brian's voice brought her to reality.
The boy was yelling loudly from the other side of the road, covered behind Armin, who raised his shield, "Neferet!! Run to the trees!!"
Feeling the night breeze hit her back, Neferet quickly turned and jumped until she fell behind some trees.
Hiding behind the trees, she wrapped one of her hands in one of her bandages.
Her mind drew a line around her heart as she recited in her mind.
"The flames of the father sun take care of your feelings, enclose my fear and mummify my concerns."
Neferet's hand illuminated her in the forest with a faint yellowish glow. As her fingernails and pupils bounced off her, she shone.
Feeling her fear contained as her breathing calmed, she turned to Brian and Armin, who was kneeling on the road.
Her mind was clear, about twenty-four hours had passed, and little by little, the fact of seeing her companions die filled her with anxiety, but her survival instinct was faster this time.
Brian quickly, after yelling at Neferet, aimed over Armin's shoulder and fired a shot into the darkness, lighting the way with a burgundy flash.
After a bigger crash, Brian gently kicked Armin saying, "Quick to the trees."
After Brian's shot, a green flash ran through the darkness and was followed by a shriek.
Brian and Armin ran behind the trees. Both lying behind a tree, they heard footsteps near them. They quickly aimed their spears at the approaching figure.
Brian looked up into coppery red eyes staring at him from the tip of his spear. Armin gasped.
"Shane, is that you?" Armin pointed his spear with a trembling hand and, lowering his hand, slowly said, "Brian, this is Shane, the hunter who went with me."
Brian nodded slowly, saying, after releasing a sigh, "A pleasure." After lowering his spear, Brian began to look at the forest, saying, "I can't see them. Does anyone see them?"
The copper-eyed hunter swung his rifle from his shoulder and dove to the ground.
Near a tree, pointing his rifle into the darkness as he said, "I can't see in the dark." Shane looked into the darkness as he said, "Sharon and Eric joined Nicolas. They threatened me not to move, but since you started fighting, they were planning to shoot you in the back."
Brian, drawing a smile that showed a little his fangs said, "I told you." Brian glanced at Armin as he kept one of his pistols on his waist and slowly knelt down.
Armin looked at the back of Brian's head, making an angry face.
But then he let out a sigh kneeling down with his back to Brian, and he said starting to wipe the sweat from his forehead, "I already apologized once."
Armin looked into the darkness and could see a small cloud of smoke coming from behind a tree. Lowering his voice a little more, he said, "Shane, the third tree from my right, do you see it?"
Shane looked into the darkness and said slowly, "Yes, I see it. But I can't aim correctly, and it can be a dangerous shot."
Brian looked at Shane and said with a tone of doubt while raising his voice a little, "Dangerous for whom?" Brian turned to look at the small smoke while he said, "I can't take the shot. It's behind a tree."
Armin looked over at Shane and then said quietly, "You come with someone, right?"
Armin turned his eyes to look at Brian, who was still with his eyes planted on the tree that released the smoke.
Brian turned his gaze and said slowly, "Yes, a hunter, but I have no idea where she is. Maybe she has a clean shot." Brian took out his second pistol and said- "I've got another shot before I reload."
Brian stretched out his hand in the dark, pointing at the tree that was giving off the smoke.
He fired a burgundy flash into the darkness again after the shot. There was a few seconds of silence, and then a green flash ran through the air, followed by another scream. Silence reigned for a few seconds until Nicolas's voice cut the silence saying.
"What's up, Brian?" Nicolas's voice resounded through the trees, like a cry in a childish and mocking tone, "You're not in your element. Now it's my turn to make you cry, damn nameless."
Feeling a chill run down his back. Brian looked into the darkness looking for where Nicolas's voice came from. And anger that grew in his chest and ran through his chest, lighting his eyes was beginning to dominate him when Armin's voice echoed next to him.
"Bend down. They will see you," Armin launched a soft blow with the base of his spear, which Brian held with his free hand with force, diverting his gaze towards him.
Both returned to exchange a look full of aggressiveness, but Brian heaved a sigh saying, "For this, I hate all those with a pretty last name."
Letting himself fall slowly into the tree. Brian looked at the sky, saying, "Everything, it has to do with the fucking name when someone who was born with a silver spoon is mixed."
Armin clenched his shield hand into a fist, opening his mouth to say something.
He felt a tingle entering his tongue, a faint aftertaste of rust combined with a sour and bitter taste filling his entire mouth, which he closed on impulse.
Armin looked down as Shane began to cough softly.
Brian turned his head as he stood up, Brian's eyes turning glassy and filled with a light sheen of tears as he said, "What's wrong with you?"
There was a new silence, cut by the sound of the tops of the trees swaying. A strong odor wafted through the nostrils of the aspirants.
When Neferet looked down the path, from where she was lost intertwining with the great stones marked by the runes.
She gasped for air and yelled at the top of her lungs from the tree where she was covered.
"It's coming!!"