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Olivia's mind flashed back to the death scene. "R-Ryo," she whispered, clenching her fist. Memories of the dark figure with a horn flooded back. "Ryo is dead," she said, tears streaming down her face.
"What did you say?" Louis shouted. "What are you saying?"
"Ryo is dead," Olivia repeated, her voice breaking.
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Louis stared at Olivia, disbelief and anger etched across his face. "Ryo is dead? How? Who did this?" His voice trembled with a mixture of fear and fury.
Tears streamed down Olivia's face as she recounted Ryo's final words. "He told me to tell you that the Sinners have attacked. He was in so much pain. I swear, I wanted to save him, but he was too persistent, stopping me from helping him. Just to get the message to you. I'm sorry I couldn't save him," she cried, and Natalia hugged her tightly.
"I thought our location was secret. How did they find us?" Natalia asked Louis.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Someone might have leaked our position," Louis replied, suspicion in his voice.
"A spy?" Natalia was taken aback, dreading the possibility.
Louis clenched his fists. "I don't care about that right now. Why do I feel like I'm being swallowed by my past? Why can't I save the people around me? Ryo didn't sacrifice himself for nothing," he said, his eyes burning with rage. "What should we do?" Natalia asked, her voice filled with urgency.
"We need to tell the others about the situation so they can prepare for any attack," Louis suggested.
"But that's too slow," Natalia replied. "The forest is vast, and it will be hard to find everyone."
Olivia's face showed distress as their ideas seemed hopeless.
"I can use telepathy," Louis said, his voice filled with newfound confidence.
"You have telepathy?" Natalia asked, surprised.
"Yes, it's one of my senses I haven't practiced much because it doesn't have strong signals due to my rank," Louis explained.
Louis closed his eyes, breathing gently in and out. He placed both hands on the sides of his head, trying to concentrate. It felt like he was passing through numerous channels, hearing everything around him.
"Louis, is it working?" Olivia asked, her voice a little distressed.
"I'm trying... I'm trying," he said, groaning in pain.
Louis's telepathy worked as he shouted happily, "It worked!" He and Natalia exchanged smiles, feeling a glimmer of hope. The signal was weak but not as bad as he had expected.
"Can you communicate with them?" Natalia asked.
"Yes, I can," Louis replied. "Just give me a second."
Natalia and Olivia covered their eyes as a sharp pain pierced inside their heads. "Sorry about the frequency," Louis told them. Finally, the pain settled. Natalia and Olivia looked at each other, feeling a strange connection. It seemed their brains were linked, allowing them to read each other's thoughts.
Louis focused, sending a mental message to his mates. "This is Louis. We've been attacked."
"What the hell is that?" he heard Ivan shouting. His other mates continued talking through the signal like a group call.
"This is Louis. We've been attacked by the Sinners."
"What the hell are you saying? Mr. Lyrius told us our location is confidential, so it cannot be attacked," one of them argued.
"Yes, I know, but I don't know how they found us."
"Oh, you pity Louis, your stupid trick won't work. You want us to fall back so you and your partner can get there first and earn the big points, right?" Ivan mocked.
"Why the hell would I do that? That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard."
"Shut up, said Olivia!"
"Enough, Ivan!" Olivia's mental voice cracked with emotion, her cries echoing through the telepathic link. "This isn't the time for your petty insults and accusations. Ryo is dead, right in front of my eyes... and I couldn't do anything to save him. I could have helped him, but he insisted that I tell you guys to be safe... and this is what you're concerned about? Points?! If points matter to you, then I will give all of mine to you, but please don't die."
Everyone was dumbfounded and fell silent.
"What? Ryo is dead? How? What happened?" Everyone started to pour out curious questions.
"We can talk about this later. We need to act now. We are wasting time," Aaron interjected. "What do we do now? I think we should fight them."
[Senses: Clairvoyance]
Louis closed his eyes and focused his mind, visualizing the forest. It was like standing above a map; he could see where all his mates were standing and the Sinners running from the north towards the west, back to the camp. Louis became terrified as he saw the exact number of their enemies.
"What the heck!" he shouted through the signal.
Everyone was worried. "What's going on?" Olivia asked, her voice tinged with concern.
"We can't fight them. What we need to do is protect ourselves," Louis replied.
"How many are there?" Theo asked through the telepathy link.
"There are over 80 Sinners heading towards us now from the north, 30 from the east attacking our camp, and our communication has been cut off. They have destroyed the forest communication pole, so we can't make calls to the outside for help."
Natalia covered her mouth in dismay. "What should we do now?"
Louis clenched his fist in frustration, knowing he needed a master plan to solve this problem.
"Where are you going?" shouted Nora, Ivan's partner, as she saw him running towards the north where the Sinners were coming from.
"I'm tired of this damn E-rank loser giving commands. If you want to die, you can follow him. But I'm going to face them on my own. Even if there are a million Sinners, I'll roast them alive," he shouted through the telepathy signal as he ran off.
"Ivan, no! It's risky! You are going to die," Louis said.
"Shut up! I never asked for your opinion," Ivan replied. "Don't you dare try to give me orders. You think you can act like a real Guardian, like back in high school? Just wait and see me burn the Sinners with my flames." The signal with Louis cut off as Ivan moved further away.
"I can fix the communication pole," said Blake, his voice firm. "I just need an escort there."
His mates started volunteering. "I'm going," said Jasper, Theo, Ivy, Aurora, Lucy, and Aaron.
"Okay, you guys will be Group A. Remember, if Blake fixes it, try to make the call for help," Louis instructed as they all started moving.
Louis turned to Natalia,Olivia and the rest. "You guys should go and warn Mr. Lyrius and Mrs. Maria about the situation before the Sinners reach them."
"What about you?" Olivia asked, distressed. "Don't tell me you are going to stop Ivan from facing the Sinners all by yourself." Her eyes were watery. "I don't want to lose another friend after seeing what they did to Ryo."
"Please let me go with you," she pleaded, her head down, tears streaming down her face and dropping to the floor.
"I'm sorry, Olivia. You're exhausted and could faint again. Please, listen to me. I can't afford to lose another friend. Louis said as he dashed back into the forest.