Edsel turned around after skillfully evading the last throw. He saw a ball filled with lightning rushing toward him.
He gulped as panic consumed him, tightly gritting his teeth as he scanned the surroundings, seemingly trying to find something.
Suddenly, his gaze stopped at the open door. At that moment, an idea burst into his mind — to flee!
"Although I don't have much confidence in my running skills, but still!" Having a plan in mind, Edsel retracted his gaze, focusing on the upcoming ball, while counting inwardly.
"One, two, three!" Edsel jumped and rushed towards the door.
"Brother, chase him!" As they saw Edsel escaping.
"Shoot, these kids are persistently chasing me. Did they think I'm playing with them?" He asked inwardly before adding, "No, I don't think that's the case. Those two are really angry. Sigh." He continued to run rapidly, afraid that he might suddenly get struck by the lightning from before.
Roaming through the long hallway, Edsel suddenly bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry," he said as he looked up.
In his astonishment, he glanced in front of him. Before his gaze was a woman with white silky hair, her elegant maturity harmonizing with her blue oceanic eyes that exuded gentleness and elegance. She slowly moved towards Edsel. "Oh, I'm sorry too... Wait, are you new here?" Her voice was soft.
"What a soft voice... Looking at her, I can infer that she's around 30 years old... Yet, despite that, her beauty is much more striking than many young women."
Around her, the air gave off a gentle and comforting atmosphere, leaving Edsel in a flabbergasted state. Seeing such a stunning woman for the first time literally made Edsel dazed. "Is this the Medusa effect?" he inwardly thought with a bit of humor.
As he was about to reply, a sudden voice cut through, interrupting him. "Mom, don't talk to her!" A young boy's voice resounded through the hallway.
On the other end of the hallway, Edsel ran at high speed, gasping non-stop. Due to tiredness occupying his body, however, despite his fatigue, he had no means to stop.
"Who knows? A thunderbolt might chase him or strike."
Confused by what was happening, the woman grabbed her young son and eldest daughter by the hand. "Tell me what's happening?" In the concerned gaze of their mother's eyes, the two eased up, calmly moving to their mother's side like obedient pups.
After confirming that he was no longer being chased, Edsel slowly slowed down his pace, shifting from running to walking.
Strolling through the long wooden hallway, "Wow, this house is so beautiful!!" he paused before grimacing, "If not for those crazy kids, this could be like a vacation. Sigh."
Pacing through the long wooden hallway, he passed by many locked wooden doors, continuing to pass another after another while his eyes focused on the path ahead. All of a sudden, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of something, causing him to instinctively turn his head.
It was a half-opened door!
Squinting his eyes, he noticed a man sitting on the sofa, his back facing him, with long black hair cascading over the red sofa.
"Zephyr!"
Seeing Zephyr in front of his eyes made Edsel infer that Mr. Clay was with him. But to his surprise, it was only Zephyr. "Where did Mr. Clay go?" he asked inwardly.
Although he was a bit curious about Clay's absence, he couldn't let himself dig deeper. Trying to know things he shouldn't know would lead him to experience things he didn't want to.
As he gasped, he slowly turned his body, attempting to leave. However, in a sudden moment, a voice resounded through his ears, making him halt.
"Edsel, right?" Zephyr asked with a cold tone.
"Y-yes," Edsel, who was indifferent to Zephyr, replied shyly.
"Listen," Zephyr said, as if he was declaring something really serious. But who knows, maybe it could be really serious.
Meanwhile, a long silence filled the entire room, making the situation seem awkward. "Oh, come on, you're making me nervous, please!" he inwardly shouted impatiently.
"A strong man with sheep against a weak man filled with wolf-like companions. Who do you think will win?"
As Edsel heard this, he was taken aback. Before he could even reply, Zephyr added, "No one desires to have a weakling around them... If you're weak, know your place. But," he paused then continued, "you'll end up dying or dragging your own protector that might put them in danger. So, don't show your face here if you're that weak," he said with a cold but calm manner.
Edsel then slowly left. This time, no voice tried to stop him.
Meanwhile, in the long wooden hallway, Edsel roamed silently as a drop of tears flowed down his cheek.