Kian was sitting far from the campfire. It was a dimly lit area on where he was, not minding the talks of the Heroes near the flames.
He felt like he didn't belong to the group, especially after all the battles they encountered and he couldn't contribute anything.
His pride and ego couldn't handle even looking at the other heroes, especially after his big talk to Joseph in the meeting. What Mira told him was right, this place is fucked. He should've prepared something for the journey and not just his words.
"You are awfully quiet these days."
Franco walked up to him and sat beside the young man. "Why is that?"
Kian could not reply and say that it was because he felt useless. It would just shatter him even more. Instead, he looked away and not speak anything, hoping that the old man would leave him alone.
"Oh," Franco just laughed lightly. "You shouldn't feel that way. You greatly help in analyzing the bosses' weaknesses. If not for you, Mira or even I could not figure it out."
"But combat wise, I have no shit," Kian sighed. "It's frustrating. What would I do if I get separated? I would die instantly. I made a deal with Brent's mother that I would protect him, but he's the one who's always there for me. I can't even beat one monster alone. Not one."
Franco was silent. He hummed and then laughed. "That's because you're not letting yourself defeat one. These monsters are oddly weak. Even the bosses are not that strong. You just limited yourself in where you are just because you don't have a proper Soul."
Kian looked at his hands. "You're right. Maybe I should–"
Flap. Flap. Flap.
They all looked at the direction of the sound, it was Bianca. She was flying sloppily and crashed right beside the campfire, all wounded up.
"What in the hell happened?" Franco yelled and ran up to her. "Mark, heal her."
"I will do whatever I can," Mark, Hero of Aquarius, said. He kneeled beside Bianca and poured water all over her body. He then placed his hand above the woman and chanted something under her breath. This made the water flow back to Bianca, healing all of her wounds.
"Bianca, are you alright now?" Franco gently shook the woman. "What happened there? Why are you all wounded up like this?"
"Castle…" Bianca grunted, clearly still in pain. "The Nightmare Castle. There are bosses everywhere, there were too many of them. I escaped but the others… help them!"
"Franco, she's infected with deadly poison," Mark informed him. "The wounds I can easily heal, but the poison, I can't."
"Fuck," Franco cursed. He placed Bianca back safely and took out his weapon, which was a circular metal attached to a metal string. He was about to move when a small laughter erupted from the side of the group.
Everyone glanced to look at a small young man. He had long black hair and a shining pair of gray eyes. "When it comes to poison, why didn't you come directly to me?"
He sat beside Bianca and conjured his weapon. It was a chain that was attached from his lower back which traveled to his wrist where he spun it around. The tip of the spain had a long silver blade that he attached to his middle finger using a ring.
This man was Yuki, Hero of Scorpio. He could manipulate poison and store it in his body. He easily took out all of the poison inside Bianca, making the woman feel much better.
"What are you still waiting for?" Yuki looked up at Franco. "They need our help. Bianca is one of the best fighters that we have, for her to be in this state would only mean that the castle they went to is much more dangerous than we thought."
Franco nodded. "Everyone, pack up. We will got to that castle and rescue our folks."
All the other Heroes agreed. They killed the fire and headed to where the castle was. Time was of the essence and all they can hope for was for the Heroes inside the castle to be okay.
Back at the Nightmare Castle, Mira was panting heavily. She was sitting on her throne, holding her right arm which had a large wound in it. "There are so many of them. A boss is weak, but with this number, how could we possibly defeat them?"
"Mira, Dexter is slowing down," Sebastian said. "Even Brent and I are. We're not going to last long."
"Bianca already fled and escaped through the window," Mira looked up. "But right after that, they blocked all of the exits. These monsters are smart. We underestimated our enemies."
"Do not lose hope just yet, Mira," Brent pierced his sword through the floor to hold onto while he panted. His body felt weak and heavy, but he still kept going. "We are the Heroes. We are Earth's last hope. If we die here, then everyone will die too."
"I could only care less about everyone outside," Mira chuckled. "I only care about me. Queen's Ring!"
A spinning whirl of wind erupted from Mira's hand and grew into a large ring above them. All allies under the ring would receive massive increase in both damage and speed.
"Now this is a power up," Brent took out his sword and growled. "Now, let us fight once again, bosses. Lion's Den!"
Several lions that were made out of orange light appeared behind Brent. The lions growled before turning into a glowing orange mist which entered his sword, turning it into an orange crystal sword. He raised his head and slashed forward. "Prideful Annihilation!"
With a single slash from his sword, a large crescent-shaped attack burst out. It struck a huge number of the bosses, defeating them in an instant. Brent grinned, but the attack took its toll on his body instantly.
"What fool," Mira rolled her eyes. "You just caused another burden by doing that Brent. You should've saved your energy since you know that these monsters are endless. There's too many of them."
"Fucking shit," Mira cursed and raised her hand. "Palace of Thorns."
Mira grunted and opened her hand, a spiraling whirl of wind burst from it and created a ring of thorns around them. "This can only hold them for a little while. We just have to trust that Bianca made it there safely."
"They're coming for us, right?" Joseph asked. "I have been fighting for so long, my body is so tired."
"You fought two monsters before you hid behind your lackeys. How are you tired?"
"I'm a prince," Joseph rolled his eyes. "Whatever, commoner. You just can't understand what royals are."
Shriek! Tear.
Their eyes widened as they saw the side of the thorns getting ripped by the monsters. Mira shook her head, almost in hopelessness. "I don't know what to do anymore. There are just too many of them."
The monsters started running inside the ring that Mira created. The group felt helpless and they could only prepare another wave of fight, even with their drained out bodies.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Mira looked around as she heard water flowing. She tried to narrow her eyes to look better, grinning after seeing a familiar figure running towards her.
"Flowing River!" Mark raised his vase and let water flow from it. It was like a river was leading towards the trapped Heroes. He let the aquatic Heroes dash through it since they gain ten times agility and speed in the wayer
Eric, Hero of Dorado led the group. He took Mira and Brent and the rest took the others. They were now running towards the larger number of Heroes, closing in.
As they did, Kian looked at Franco. The older man sighed and nodded. "I guess we have no other choice. There are too many monsters here, we can't easily control them."
"No other choice, huh?" Kian chuckled. "You just wanted to get rid of me."
"What they'll know is that it was all an accident," Franco said. "You have my word."
"Joseph?" Kian asked. "Was this his plan?"
"Young master Joseph would not wish for anyone to die," Franco said, grinning at Kian with a menacing look. "Until he met you, young man."
This made Kian laugh. He glanced at the passed out Brent who was being carried by Eric. "Goodbye, brother."
"We can lock the doors from outside too," Mark said. "Why do you have to stay?"
Franco glared at him but instantly changed his look when Mark faced him. "Young Mark, the door opens inward and the lock is right inside. We cannot afford to let these monsters escape from this castle. They are endless!"
"And you're okay with this?!" Mark growled at Kian. "We need the eighty-eight Heroes to live. Why would you stay?"
"You don't need me," Kian said.
Franco used his weapon. It looked like a pendulum, swinging both ways as he cast a skill. "Endless Shield. Young man, this shield will only last for ten minutes. Lock the door up securely. You will be remembered by the people."
Kian rolled his eyes. When the rest of them had exited the castle, he lifted the beam and placed it on the lock. He heard a click, which mean that the castle was opened from the inside all along.
"I underestimated you, Joseph," Kian laughed at himself. "You have searched for a way to kill me and now you have."
Without even after ten minutes, the shield of Franco shattered into pieces. Kian sat in front of the door as the flood of monsters approached him.