I watched as the bugs flew further and further away from me as seconds passed. I turned my gaze towards Violet, who had her mouth agape at what had just happened. Even she was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Only the sound of Zen's voice, seemingly talking to someone, could be heard. Is he— talking to his blades? Wrong time to succumb to your curse, Zen.
"What should we do now? Ma'am? We can't just stay here and do nothing," I asked Violet.
"R— right. Just needed to catch my breath. We should hurry back and help the others. If we're lucky, we might meet some friendly animals that might be willing to allow us to mount them. C'mon, let's go," ordered Violet.
"Wait!" shouted a familiar voice.
All of us turned towards Zen, who was holding both of his weapons. I wanted to question his reasoning for wanting us to wait when time is of the essence, but he started talking to his weapons again. Wait a minute, his pin had changed back to normal. Is the demon gone?
"Stop arguing and come out. We don't have time. No, I'm not looking for an opportunity to ride Byakko. You're the one who kept the wagon. Just— come out, both of you, before I start looking like some lunatic," he sighed. You're already giving off that impression, Zen.
With a flick of his two blades, two spectral animals appeared in front of him. A horsette with a horn and another who looked like some large white kette. Are these— the Celestial Beings residing in his weapons? I don't even have one, and he has two!
"Alright, all of you, get on the wagon and Kirin will bring you back. With luck, we might make it before those bugs. Be warned though, hang on to the wagon like your life depends on it. I'll take Byakko and rush ahead first. Hop on— What? Kirin, stop sulking and summon the wagon that you took previously. I know you still have it with you. Byakko can't carry the wagon like you can. Help me out here," he spoke to the horsette.
With a loud "Hmph!", he summoned the wagon but refused to look at his direction. This "Kirin" seems to have an attitude with his host.
"Get on board, everyone. And remember, hang on for dear life. I'm not joking when I say this. The speed of these two is completely out of this world. I'll head ahead first," he hopped on top of Byakko.
"Zen, can you bring me along? I need to get back quickly too," said Violet as she tugged on his cloak.
He turned his gaze towards Byakko, who shook his head sideways. Is his kette trying to stop her from flirting with Zen any further?
"Sorry, Violet. For Byakko to move at top speed, the fewer people he brings, the faster he can move. Kirin can move as fast, if not faster. You don't have to worry. Let's not waste time and go with what I proposed," he told her, and Byakko sped off without waiting for an answer from her.
"Ojou-sama, stop flirting with my host and move it. We are burning sunlight," said the horsette as he jerked his head to tell Violet to get on board.
"I— I'm not flirting with him! And I'm not an ojou-sama either. I genuinely need to get back quickly. Please, gallop as quickly as you can," said Violet as she hopped onto the wagon.
"I won't lose to that second-rate Celestial Being. Grab onto the wagon tightly, and never let go," said the horsette as he carried the wagon and placed it on his back with his teeth, flinging all of us onboard.
The last thing I remember was grabbing onto the side of the wagon when a sudden gust of wind started hitting my face as the horsette started galloping at full speed.
***
"Faster than me? Are you trying to piss me off?" grumbled Byakko as he ran.
"I was just trying to assure her that Kirin can move fast. I understand her need to rush back quickly, but it would be better if I reached first. I don't like what that giant bug is about to do if my hunch is right," I explained to him.
"In case you didn't notice, your pin had returned to normal after it left. I thought your pin only detects demons? Perhaps it detects something else too?" asked Byakko.
"Doubt it, my best guess? This pin actually detects demonic presence rather than just purely demons. That bug might be some Champion or Vessel. Only time will tell, I suppose," I answered.
Byakko's ears perked up as though he had heard something. Perhaps Kirin was coming in close. Would he pick up the pace?
"Grab on tight. I will not let him win," growled Byakko.
"Wait, let me— okay, full speed ahead!" I grabbed my goggles from my back pouch and wore them quickly. And I made sure to grab onto Byakko's furs as much as I could.
Upon hearing my confirmation, Byakko roared loudly as he increased his speed. The surrounding trees started to turn blurry as my vision struggled to focus due to the speed that Byakko was running. All I knew was that I needed all of my strength to ensure I didn't fall off.
"Woo hoo!!!" I screamed out loud.
"Damn horse, what's he trying to do? Kill those elves? They must be struggling to keep themselves on board!" said Byakko.
I had to turn my head backwards to see what he was talking about, as all I could hear was the sound of the wind in my ears. Kirin could be seen in the distance trying to catch up, and it was clear that all of his passengers were clinging on for dear life despite the ride looking relatively stable. Kirin's teeth sure are something else to hold onto those metal bars so tightly that they don't even sway at that speed.
"Are you— still planning to pick up the pace?" I asked jokingly.
"Damn right I am!" roared Byakko as he started running even faster.
I stopped talking entirely as I hung onto Byakko's furs even tighter than before and I didn't want to accidentally bite my tongue. The whole journey back took a couple of minutes before Byakko skidded to a halt when we reached the elven city, passing through the sentries protecting the entrance before they could even react. Such was Byakko's speed that no other being could react in time. Should had rode him in the first place as it took us a whole day to find the bug's hiding place!
Murmur of whispers could be heard all around as I dismounted Byakko with my shaky legs and removed my goggles. It was certainly a struggle to maintain my balance after such a speedy ride. "Is that a kette? Why's it so big and white? It looks so fluffy," was what I kept hearing all around me. They had never heard of a tiger before? Odd, I thought it was a common animal. The sentries on duty leapt their way towards my location to inspect the commotion. Before they could even ask me anything, I spoke to them quickly about the approaching danger.
"Sound the alarm. Get everyone ready for war. The bugs will be attacking here any minute. Go, now!" I ushered one of the sentries away.
"Have the main forces returned? We need them," I asked another one of the sentries.
"They had just gotten back moments ago. Perhaps you might want to—" he stopped as I had to cut him short.
"No time. Make sure the Commander hears about this and get everyone ready. We need to—" I was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing throughout the city. That sentry worked fast indeed. I hope we're able to get things going before the bugs reaches. Who knows how much time we have left before they—
The sound of loud buzzing approaches along with the sound of galloping. Seems like they'll reach the city before the bugs. Nice, at least all of us will make it in time to protect the city. Guess I should look for Noah and warn him about the impending war.
As I headed towards the opposite direction, I crashed headfirst onto something solid, which hurt my nose. Someone was kind enough to grab my arm before I fell on my back.
"In a hurry somewhere? Seems like you brought back the whole army of bugs with you. Mind telling me where my wife is?" he asked.
"She'll be here in a short while. I'm sure you can hear the sound of galloping over the loud buzzing. That's just the sound of one massive bug, by the way. Command your forces and get them ready for war. And— I have a request, if you don't mind. Do allow me free rein of my actions throughout this war. I wish to help out using my specialty where it's needed. I only require the help of the Viking Lord and the Elementalist. Do I have your approval, Supreme Commander?" I bowed to him.
"You need not bow to me, Zen. As my future son-in-law, you're second in command of this army. Should anything happen to me, you'll be the one leading this army. Your achievements say it all, and I have no reason to doubt your judgments. I believe you heard his request, Elementalist? What say you?" he glanced towards his back.
"It would be my honour, Commander. I would rather trust Zen's judgment over my own. He is extremely capable despite being human. I shall serve your son-in-law," he bowed to Noah.
Gee, all these talk about son-in-law when I have not even married his daughter. Elves sure love to jump the gun, don't they? The sound of Kirin skidding to a halt could be heard nearby. Violet leapt off the wagon and immediately approached Noah. They had a brief hug and started speaking in elvish tongue.
Their conversation matters little to me as I have an objective of my own. Now that I have permission to do whatever I want, I can start thinking outside the box. I have my suspicions on what the main objective of the massive bug is, but it remains an assumption for now. I walked up to Kirin and gave him my thanks, to which he "hmph" me again before dissipating into thin air. Byakko had already left the moment I got off him. He never liked attention in the first place.
John was still clutching onto the wagon tightly as he tried to disembark with his wobbly legs. Seems like Kirin is abandoning the wagon this time. Aww, it was so useful in a pinch. It was not until I inspected it that I realised why he decided to leave it behind. It was in shambles, as though someone had gripped it so tightly that a portion of the side had ripped off, and I know full well who was the one who did it since he was still gripping onto the ripped portion.
"You good, John? How's the trip? You're with me, by the way. Let's go," I told him.
"Give— Give me a moment. I had never sat in something that moved this fast before. My hands and legs are literally still shaking right now," he stuttered as he spoke.
"I noticed. You're still clutching onto a part of the wagon. C'mon, here's some water; we don't have much time to waste," I passed him my bottle.
"R— right. Where are we heading, boss?" he chuckled after taking a sip of water.
"Elementalist, how far is the Cosmic Tree from here?" I asked.
"Cosmic Tree? It's not a place that we can just stroll around without permission. It is being protected by the Watchers. Why do you ask?" he gave a puzzled look.
"I have a feeling that it will be the target of the massive bug. If my hunch is true, we might need to defend the tree," I answered.
"I— see. The Watchers will be the first to protect the tree if that happens. They are— powerful beings, so we need not worry. As to your previous question, it's about a couple of kilometres away from here. Not a short distance if we require to reach it. But we won't be able to gain entry even if we tried, unless the threat is imminent. Not by choice, mind you," he explained.
"We'll stay close then. I'm still hoping for my hunch to be wrong and they will just target the city instead. Let us stay in the shadows. We won't be engaging in the initial stage of the war until I know their true objective," I explained to them.
"Not— something that I wished to hear, but I guess you have your reasons. Can't believe there will come a day where my city will be under attack by bugs. And I'll just be standing aside watching it," he sighed.
"Aw c'mon, don't try to guilt-trip me. You agreed to follow me, so I hope you understand. I need you, Elementalist. Have no fear though, we'll be engaging in the heart of this battle, just not its initial stages," I tapped his shoulder.
"As you wish, Master Zen," he chuckled.
"Don't call me that. Sheesh. You two are the best companions I can hope for," I sighed.
"Really? Don't you prefer Rose or Lily instead?" squinted John.
"Well, I don't have that choice right now, so— yeah," I laughed.
Both of them shook their heads, and our conversation came to an end when loud screams could be heard in the distance, along with sounds that signify the start of a war. So it begins.