"Thank you, you saved our lives! We are so grateful to you!" The three ladies said to Immortal Jasmin with teary eyes.
Their faces were sour, although that moment was almost the happiest day in their lives.
Truth be told, Immortal Jasmin did a reading on them as the hotel owner demanded.
However, he lied about what he had seen, and as a result, the ladies were kicked out of the hotel because of the misfortune he said they would cause.
What surprised him most was how the ladies had known he lied. Besides, the last time he checked, people he did a reading for were not able to go into the reading as well.
He asked, slightly cunning, "Why are you thanking me? I did what I was asked to do after all."
One of the ladies said, "I noticed your reaction when you did a reading for me; it was..."
Just at that moment, a flash of scene ran across Jasmin's mind. He was bewildered.
He just gained a vision of a bad incidence that might happen very soon.
Meanwhile, the lady was still talking and disrupted his thinking. He didn't realize it when he shouted, "hush!" with his index finger pointed at her.
The ladies were surprised by the change of reaction, unaware of what the matter was.
Meanwhile, Liora had gone into the forest as well, searching for Arion. She went here and there in the dark place whereas it was filled with mist.
She was a bit scared of the darkness that enveloped the place, as well as the seemingly approaching roar. But she made up her mind not to leave until she found Arion.
"Where did he go now? Perhaps, he left the demon realm?" She mumbled to herself.
Instantly, she remembered the usefulness of the soul jade necklace.
She would be able to find Arion's location with that thing.
However, she couldn't find it on her anymore. Then she realized she lost it when fighting against the demon troop recently. She fretted, "How could I have lost that? Aargh!"
....
"She's about to meet her doom. I must save her!" Immortal Jasmin said, and in a flash, he disappeared from the front of the ladies.
One of the hotel guards went out and saw the three ladies. Then he shouted fiercely, "What're you still doing here when you have been kicked out?! Do you want me to show you the way to your non-existent homes?! Uh?!"
The ladies got nervous, and they ran away from immediately.
Arion gripped his sword tightly as he walked in the forest. His eyeballs were buried in black fumes revolving in his eyes. His face was inhumane; unwavering and like that of a controlled humanoid.
Consequently, a man with long hair, wearing black baggy armor-like cloth, appeared out of the blue. He was holding a characteristic green-sheathed sword and had a badge attached to his dress by the lower abdomen — NIGHT WATCHMAN 003.
It was clear he was the night watchman of the forest area.
He grew suspicious of Arion on setting eyes on him and was curious about what he was doing there at that hour.
"Who are you? What are you doing here at this hour?" He queried him, however, no response.
Arion's eyes were so mild and distant, that his entire corneas had lost their white colour.
He moved swiftly by the night watchman's side and didn't utter a response to his query. It was at that time the man sheathed his sword, pointing at Arion's back.
"Freeze! You make me feel suspicious of you. I may let you go if and only if you state your business here by this time," ordered the night watchman.
Arion continued walking, as his mind contained nothing but the last order he was given. He didn't hear any of the tiny sounds made by the trees nor those by birds, talk less of hearing what the night watchman had ordered.
'Kill Lysander, after which you'll end your life too.' That was the only thing echoing in his mind.
Finally, the man descended upon him with his sword targeted at incapacitating him alone. The man had to take such a drastic measure to make the Arion stop.
The man got closer to him, and when he was about to knock him down with his sword's handle, Arion widened his palm, and an invisible force manifested, tossing the man into the air.
The man crashed on the ground about ten meters away from Arion. Blood sprouted from his mouth, and he grimaced in pain.
He limped from the ground, gasping, "There is someone that can use psychokinesis?" Then he activated green fumes on his sword, "He is more dangerous than expected," and threw his sword towards Arion through the mean distance between them.
The sword rolled horizontally in thin air, aiming for his arm.
Nonchalantly, Arion sheathed his own dangerous weapon and threw it in the opposite direction to the approaching sword.
The two swords met; however, the night watchman's sword was shattered into pieces by Arion's. After all, a dragon-forged sword was the most powerful in the world.
Then Arion's sword continued to roll fast towards the man, enveloped with flames.
Just at that moment, another figure got in the sword's way and was hit by it immediately. The stab made a loud sound, and the flames set off afterward.
"No!" shouted the night watchman, who thought he would be dead a while ago. He had thought that day was the last for him, not knowing someone else was going to bear his fate.
Arion, without a flicker of emotion, widened his palm again and forced the sword from the figure's abdomen.
"Huffff!"
The gray-haired man fell to his knees, blood settling on the sandy surface.
Suddenly, a persistent eerie cry began to scream in Arion's head.
He hurriedly held his head tightly and shook profusely, closing his eyes.
"AHH!" He cried. The eerie cry continued for about one minute.
Later on, Arion felt something strange; he felt as though he just woke up from a dream.
It was as if he dreamt of not being able to hear anything nor feel anything, although he knew he still felt something in the dream. A force making him to act out of his own will.
Everything began to sound unreal to him, and he got worked up by multiple thoughts at the moment.
How come he could be dreaming while still standing? How did he end up in the forest? He was so much curious....
"A monster! He's a monster! Help!"
He heard a masculine voice shout in awe, and then he looked up to see a man wearing blue dress point at him.
"He is a monster! He has killed someone!" The night watchman screamed.
Arion nodded his head, saying, "No, I am not a monster. I am not a monster!"
The man ran away immediately.
Upon looking at the front, Arion saw Master Chen lying lifeless on the ground. He was in a pool of blood.
"Ma-master Chen?! Wha-what's happening?!" Arion stuttered as tears rolled down his face.
He got agitated on sighting blood on the sword he was holding.
"It can't be true," he nodded his head as he walked towards Master Chen's body, " not even a chance! I didn't do this to him! It isn't possible I did this! I am not the one...that killed him!"
He fell to his knees, and his hands quickened to Master Chen's back. "Master Chen, please wake up. I am not the one who did this, right?! Just wake up and tell it to my face. Everything is unreal to me, so I must still be dreaming! Master Chen!"
Liora was still looking for Arion. Little did she know he killed her uncle.
All of a sudden, she noticed suspicious movements behind her, and immediately, she summoned her sword and shot some water arrows to the back.
Looking back, she saw a man wearing a red dress and covering his nose with a mask. She knew already that he was an assassin and a skilled one at that, judging from how well he dodged the arrows.
The assassin descended with his sword, and Liora shielded with her own too, causing the two swords to clatter. Then the man rolled flashily again but got thrown back by Liora's water spell.
"Who are you?" She panted hard.
The red-clothed assassin didn't reply but instead took advantage of her distraction and slashed her right shoulder. Pain ran through her body, and she held tightly onto her shoulder with her left palm.
"I am an unidentified killer so I have so many personalities. For this moment, I am just someone sent to kill you," said the man.
It was then Liora felt there might have been a connection between Arion's disappearance and her own situation.
There was a possibility that the person who sent the assassin after her had their way in causing Arion's disappearance, knowing it won't be easy to eliminate either of them when they're together.
Who could the person be?
Just at that moment, she began to lose her balance and feel dizzy. She tried to control her mind, but she couldn't. Everything was blurry in her eyes, and she fretted about the consequence. Her body received countless slashes, and she grimaced in pain.
"Aargh, I can't see anything clearly!" She said in pain.
Even now, everything was more blurry than before.
The assassin landed about five metres away from her.
"The more I get hurt with his sword, I become weaker. Could it be....?"
She paused when the man was no more in her front and looking back, he slashed her arm again.
"Aargh!" She fell to her knees and held her arm tightly as blood rushed out from it.
When the assassin was about to give her a final blow, Immortal Jasmin appeared and stamped his chest with his palm, which sent him flying in thin air.
"I should have arrived earlier than now," he said.
The assassin grabbed his sword, vanishing into the air. Jasmin went to Liora quickly as she had fainted and teleported away with her.
***
"Rowan!" Arion summoned the dragon to the forest.
The dragon stooped, allowing Arion to climb his back with Master Chen.
"Please get us to my mountain. I should find a way to cure him..." Arion said.
"Your great power has temporarily halted the demonic possession, but its resurgence is unpredictable," said the dragon through thought. "Moreover, there is no remedy for a wound inflicted by a dragon-forged weapon. Are you certain you wish to prioritize the safety of a dead man over your own?"
"Let's go to the cave; I am a god so I can do the impossible. If he dies, I won't ever forgive myself."
"Yes, young warlock!"
With a powerful beat of its wings, the dragon spread its majestic wings wide before soaring gracefully into the sky.