C193 - Bridges
The relationship between Liiza and Yeza was far from good, but the latter still loved her greatly. She had been on the balcony of the palace's central building when the chaos had unfolded, and she had immediately noticed the dark-green lightning bolt hitting Liiza.
Yeza was incredibly strong. Her position had requirements that went beyond simple political skills, and she met all of them perfectly. However, her power was useless in that situation. Liiza was too far away.
Despair had started to spread in Yeza's mind when she realized how powerless she was in that situation. Still, a peculiar scene unfolded in her vision before she could lose herself to grief. She saw Khan unleashing an unfathomable speed and jumping after her daughter while everyone had yet to realize what was happening.
Something strange happened in Yeza's mind. She wasn't thinking clearly, but she still felt confident that Khan would succeed in saving her daughter's life.
That confidence made her jump from the balcony, step on the ground, and run toward the valley's left side. Khan had reached Liiza by then, so Yeza already knew where he would land.
A mutated Lysixi came out of the ground in front of her, but Yeza barely looked at it. She softly pressed her palm on the scaled chest, and the creature spat a torrent of blood before collapsing on its back. Part of its dark insides fell on her hair and dress, but she didn't care about her appearance when she had yet to confirm the state of her daughter.
A smile appeared on Yeza's face when she saw Khan jumping on the surface while carrying Liiza in his arms. She felt even happier when she noticed that her daughter was alive, but the sobbed screams that called the Aduns' name turned her expression dark.
Yeza knew that she couldn't offer Liiza any emotional support. Their relationship was too bad, and she suffered when she realized that Liiza would have to go through that pain on her own. Her daughter was all alone in the world now.
However, something even stranger happened while she continued to run forward. Liiza abandoned herself to Khan's hug with ease that Yeza had never seen in her daughter. Moreover, Khan appeared truly in pain and worried about her situation.
Yeza was an expert in manipulating mana and political interactions, but her true mastery was in the study of people. She could understand secrets from hidden glances and uncover relationships from vague gestures. Liiza was her weak point in that ability, but she couldn't fail to sense the deep feelings that the couple was sharing now.
Everything became more evident when Yeza reached the duo. Khan raised his knife in an instinctive attempt to protect Liiza from an unknown threat, and his desire had been so strong that he couldn't lower his weapon even after recognizing Yeza.
Moreover, his expression carried the same determination that Yeza had seen during the meeting. She couldn't fail to connect that secret Niqols' partner with the girl in his arms.
Khan managed to lower his knife after a few seconds, but the coldness in his eyes didn't disappear. Still, Liiza was in pain, and she needed medical attention, so he didn't hesitate to consider her health a priority.
"She is injured," Khan limited himself to say while using the human language on purpose.
Yeza snapped back to reality and hurried toward the couple before placing a hand on Liiza's head. Her mana flowed inside the girl and fixed her injuries in a matter of seconds, but the latter only held Khan tightly as strength returned inside her body.
Instead, Khan glanced at Yeza and met her cold gaze. He immediately realized that she had understood everything, so he waited for her judgment.
"[Since when]?" Yeza eventually asked, and hearing that voice made Liiza raise her head in surprise.
Liiza's grief had made her fail to realize that someone had healed her, but hearing that voice forced her senses to focus on her surroundings again. Yeza's stern face appeared in her teary eyes, and she instinctively glanced at Khan to understand what they had to do.
Liiza immediately understood that her gesture had been a mistake, so her eyes darted back on Yeza. Still, her attempt to hide how deeply she cared about Khan's opinion only made the situation more obvious.
A wave of panic swept Liiza's mind. Her thoughts were still a mess due to Zama's death, and the fear that her actions had uncovered her relationship with Khan only worsened her mental state.
Her breath became irregular, but a familiar warmth spread from the back of her head and calmed her down. Liiza turned again toward Khan and relaxed when she saw his loving smile. Another sob inevitably escaped her mouth as she made their foreheads touch and took his face in her hands.
Yeza struggled to maintain a cold expression. She saw the love in Khan's caresses and smiles. She noticed the affection in her daughter's reactions. Her position had forced her to consider the political implications and dangers that the relationship could cause, but those worries vanished in front of the couple's feelings. They even felt offensive in front of their intense emotions.
"[Right after my arrival on Nitis]," Khan revealed when he and Liiza turned to show their firm gazes to Yeza.
"[It was my fault]," Liiza quickly added. "[He would have neve-]."
"[It was only a matter of time before we ended up together]," Khan interrupted her, and the two exchanged meaningful glances.
Yeza could almost read their intentions in those gazes. Liiza wanted to take the blame for the relationship, but Khan didn't let her. She then questioned him with her eyes, and he made her understand that they were in that mess together.
The two seemed on the verge of kissing after that silent exchange of gazes. Yeza had to clear her throat to claim their attention.
Khan and Liiza snapped back to reality and fixed their eyes back on Yeza. The situation around them had only grown more chaotic, but they only cared about her judgment.
"[You have no idea what I can do with my mana]," Yeza threatened while bending toward Khan. "[I hope you don't force me to review the Niqols' long history in torture techniques]."
Yeza then turned toward Liiza to continue. "[You have seen how men are. Don't give yourself away easily even if our species finds it hard to hold back]."
Liiza sniffed before performing a weak nod, but something in her gesture made Yeza frown and question the couple. "[Did you two have sex already]?"
"[I won't accept your opinion on the topic]," Liiza stated while showing a firm expression.
Yeza's frown deepened and forced Khan to add something to defuse the fight. "[We have been careful. We have used protections]."
Liiza and Yeza turned toward Khan, and he obviously chose to look at his girlfriend. Both women appeared angry about something, and Khan guessed that they didn't want him to step between them.
"[You have gone through a lot]," Khan explained while pulling Liiza closer to his chest. "[This isn't the time to argue with your mother]."
Khan's words reminded Liiza about Zama, and a sob accompanied the nod that she used to answer him. Yeza's eyes widened in astonishment. Khan had actually managed to stop Liiza's angry outburst.
"[Your father would like him]," Yeza commented, and Liiza turned to show an angry expression toward her mother.
Khan managed to stop the second outburst by calling her name with the Niqols' accent, but he also turned to say something to Yeza once Liiza calmed down. "[With all due respect, you aren't helping]."
Yeza ended up smiling at that remark, but she quickly covered her mouth. She couldn't appear happy when the crisis had reached such a critical point. Still, she had been unable to hide her feelings after confirming that her daughter had someone worthy of her trust during that problematic situation.
"[We'll talk properly after everything is over]," Yeza eventually sighed before turning her gaze on the valley. "[Make sure to be there for her. Zama was a good Aduns]."
Khan nodded even if Yeza wasn't looking at them. Liiza's grasp on his neck tightened as she realized what had just happened. That announcement wasn't a proper approval of their relationship, but it was something that went in the right direction.
The valley had fallen deeper into chaos during those minutes. The Niqols and humans in the palace had chased after Yeza, but mutated Lysixi had blocked their path. The students and recruits on the other side of the crack had tried to reach their higher-ups, but monsters had eventually stopped their advance.
Both Niqols and humans needed to regroup and create proper battle formations to get out of that situation. The pack of Lysixi wasn't too numerous, but all of its members were monsters that had developed abilities. Yeza, Captain Erbair, and soldiers at a similar level wouldn't have problems against them, but the same didn't apply to the others.
"[Khan, help the other students]," Yeza ordered. "[Bring Liiza with you. I will make the higher-ups regroup and join you before leading everyone to another safe location]."
"[How should I reach th-]?" Khan began to ask, but Yeza suddenly tapped the ground to activate one of the functions that the Niqols had set there beforehand.
The entire valley was full of monsters, and the students were on the other side of the gorge, so Khan didn't know how to reach them. Yet, many openings appeared on the rocky walls of the canyon after Yeza's gesture. Large bridges full of cracks came out of the holes and stretched toward the other sides.
Azure symbols filled the bridges and increased their stability. Khan saw some Lysixi attacking them only to have a shining membrane blocking their abilities. That protection even deflected the fuming claws of the giant lizard near the spot where he had landed.
"[Can I trust you with this task and my daughter]?" Yeza asked without turning.
Yeza appeared in a hurry to leave, but she didn't move. She wanted to hear that Khan had understood how important those things were for her.
"[Of course]," Khan confirmed in a calm voice that made Yeza smile in satisfaction.
Yeza didn't want loud or arrogant announcements. She had already seen how Khan had been ready to risk his life to save Liiza. Still, she needed to hear how he felt about the task, and his calm comment expressed his confidence perfectly.
Yeza shot forward at that point. Khan took that as the signal that the mission had started. He stood up while lifting Liiza with him, and she didn't hesitate to complain. "[You can't fight like this. Put me down]."
"[I'm not going to fight until I reach the other side]," Khan commented, and Liiza immediately understood what he wanted to do.
Liiza hid her face and hands inside Khan's robe before covering the bare skin that she couldn't protect naturally with her ice. Khan waited for the process to be over and shot ahead when Liiza pinched his side.
The bridges were still stretching forward. They would reach their counterparts on the other side soon, and the Lysixi had given up on stopping the process.
The lizard on the bridge near Khan had also stopped attacking and had turned toward him, but it stretched its long body on the structure when it lost track of his figure. Khan would need to pass over its body to go on the other side of the gorge, but that wasn't a problem for him.
The Lysixi didn't even notice when Khan crossed it. He had only needed to perform steps too faint for the creature's senses. The monster in front of him also was quite similar to the lizard seen in the tunnel, so he didn't need to perform long jumps that would have made him slow down.
Still, Khan didn't feel satisfied with a simple sprint. The first-grade knife was already in his left hand, and testing a technique at that speed wouldn't even slow him down. Moreover, lowering the number of monsters sounded like a good idea.
Khan reached the end of the bridge and jumped on the structure stretching from the other side. The action inevitably slowed him down and forced him to release some sound, so the Lysixi turned. Yet, a long wound that went from its neck to the base of its tail opened during the process.
"[You have said no fights]," Liiza complained once Khan stepped on the other side and stopped running.
"[Technically, it was training]," Khan justified. "[I'm not used to deploying my full power]."
"[I'll forgive you if you kiss me and hold me tightly afterward]," Liiza whispered.
"[Now]?" Khan asked as he glanced at the students who had noticed their arrival.
"[Yes, now]," Liiza repeated, and Khan gave in to her request.
To be continued