The jinn writhed in chains, his shape-shifting power stifled by the very stone that had once pulsed with his freedom. Breathing heavily, his eyes narrowed with bitter disdain as he glared at Speira's bracelet.
"You wear it like a prize," he spat through clenched teeth, his voice a low hiss.
"That stone… it's no ordinary gem. It's ripped from our brains, harvested from our dying kind. It is the core of our power—the essence of our shifting nature." His voice grew darker, tinged with rage.
"Each bracelet you Seiken wear is a piece of us, torn by force, twisted into chains to bind us. And you wonder why we hunt you?"
The group stood silent for a moment, tension thick in the air, as the weight of the jinn's revelation sank in.
The jinn barely stood. Before he could utter another word, Speira's eyes hardened, and in a single fluid motion, she swung one of her short swords. The blade sliced cleanly through the air, and the jinn's head fell to the ground, his eyes still locked on hers, as if pleading for something beyond revenge.
For a moment, silence settled over the forest, broken only by the sound of his lifeless body collapsing at her feet, his final truth drowned in the weight of violence. As Ursang broke the heavy silence with his concerns about the fleeing jinns, Eline swiftly moved to Speira's side.
She carefully examined the wound where Speira's ear had been cut, her expression a mix of concentration and compassion. With practiced hands, Eline applied a salve infused with water magic, soothing the raw edges of the injury and stemming the blood flow.
Speira winced slightly but remained stoic, her gaze fixed on the forest around them, scanning for any sign of returning danger. Ursang's voice was laced with urgency as he urged them to stay vigilant, his grip tightening on his swords, ready to defend once more if needed.
Yacha stood resolute, his cold gaze piercing the shadows of the Hallerbos forest, an unwavering sentinel amidst the turmoil.
"They're not near," he assured Ursang,
His voice steady, carrying an edge of tension, his connection to the mana around them granting him insight into the Jinns' retreat. As he spoke, his thoughts drifted back to the jinn's haunting words, each syllable echoing in his mind like a distant, ominous chime.
The implications of a spy within the Seiken Army weighed heavily on him, twisting his stomach with unease. Despite the calm façade he projected, a storm of dread brewed beneath, whispering dark possibilities that gnawed at his resolve, urging him to act before the shadow of betrayal deepened.
Speira staggered suddenly, her strength faltering as a bright green aura surrounded her physical body, shimmering with a soothing light that gently caressed her injured ear. The warmth radiating from her body intensified, feverish and intense, as if her very core was awakening to a newfound power. With a soft gasp, she collapsed, her breath shallow yet steady, caught in the throes of transformation, her essence merging with the healing energies surrounding her in the quiet depths of Hallerbos forest.
For the next three days, Speira lay unconscious, her body still as the green aura pulsed faintly around her, steadily healing the deep wound on her ear. The others kept watch, taking turns guarding her and waiting for her to wake. On the morning of the third day, her eyes fluttered open, the faint scars of her injury barely visible.
Sitting up slowly, she looked at her companions and, with a calm yet awe-struck voice, revealed.
"I've unlocked healing attributes guys."
The weight of her words settled over the group, happily they shouted for her. However the process of healing a limb is not that simple, she proceeded to explain "But guys, it's give and take in serious injuries."
Eline curious look on her face asked her, what she meant by that, " it takes life force not just magic, my magical core isn't that big, I don't have the magic pool to only use magic ".
they froze for a moment, Yacha smiled a warm gentle smile patting on her head " this time is going to be different speira, we will protect you, next time you will not be in need to use your life force".
The other two assured her, what yacha said is not just words, but a promise. As they put their fists together making an oath to protect each other lives, despite the code of the seiken army.
They decided to rest, though their minds were far from at ease. The dense silence of Hallerbos was unsettling, and the shadow of the jinns' potential return hung over them like a storm waiting to break.
They gathered around a small fire, the flickering flames casting sharp shadows on their faces, each of them weary but unwilling to show it. Speira, still recovering from her transformation, leaned against a tree, her thoughts distant but her resolve firm.
Ursang, always the strategist, began laying out possible routes, trying to map their way out of the forest and into the lands beyond.
"We have no clue where the jinns are," he muttered, his brow furrowed as he stared into the fire.
"But they know we're here, and they'll be coming back."
Yacha nodded, his hand resting on the hilt of his spear. "Then we'll be ready," he said, his voice cold.
"Next time, we'll be the ones hunting.", confident in his radar-like abilities.
Eline, ever observant, kept watch on the edges of the camp, her eyes scanning the forest. The jinns were elusive, dangerous, and filled with a hatred none of them fully understood. But one thing was certain—they wouldn't hesitate to kill if it came to that. They were now caught in a deadly mission.
After four days of organizing, the high-stress situation they've been through while they are resting, fighting abnormal beasts, next to normal ones, their magical skills evolved.
For two grueling weeks, they pressed forward through the dense and twisted paths of Hallerbos, their bodies weary but their spirits unyielding. The forest itself seemed alive with hostility, abnormal creatures with grotesque forms and twisted magic lunged from the shadows, while even the familiar beasts of the wild attacked with ferocity beyond their nature.
Each day was a test of their endurance, their weapons coated with the blood of monstrous foes, their magical abilities stretched to their limits.
Speira, fully recovered from her awakening, pushed through alongside them, her newfound healing powers slowly mending her wounds, though she was yet to master them fully.
Yacha's sharp spear cut through enemies like lightning, his fire and thunder magic a devastating force, while Ursang's dual swords cleaved the earth, sending shockwaves through the terrain. Eline's water magic formed barriers and swept away the beasts in powerful torrents, her sword dancing with precision alongside Speira's wind-powered strikes.
Just when they thought they had reached the edge of the cursed forest, the jinns struck without warning. These were the same jinns who had escaped before, but now they attacked with more desperation and cunning, shape-shifting into nightmarish forms.
But the Seiken soldiers had grown too strong. Their time in Hallerbos had forged them into something more, their powers having evolved.
Yacha's flames roared brighter, Speira's wind howled with deadly precision, Ursang's earth magic rippled like an unstoppable force, and Eline's water flowed with newfound intensity.
The jinns, though fearsome, stood no chance. One by one, the Seiken soldiers cut them down, their combined magic and swordsmanship far superior to what the jinns could muster.
With a final clash, Yacha's spear pierced through the last jinn's heart, ending the battle. The forest was behind them now, and as they stepped into the light beyond, they knew they had survived the trials of Hallerbos, but at a great cost, both in blood and in the mystery they had uncovered,-the spy within the seikens-. Yacha in a wonderful caring tone made sure speira hadn't used her life force, she assured him she didn't
" too stupid to remember, healing limbs yacha cutted ones." She said.
"Uh… well too many things to focus on."
All of them laughed, they carried on to the next step in their mission, making their way to the land of Gaul, their way to sail to Skara Brae village.
Back at the headquarters of the seikens, Ardran informed Hadleigh about the mission, the newbies got, Hadleigh showed no emotion, a calm facade, completely dry, yet inside he was burning with anger, he intentionally let his aura wander scaring those who were weaker than himself, the mysterious young woman suddenly appeared, squatting on his desk, blank face with an empty smirk, Hadleigh raised his head.
"Oh, it's you, what do you want, I have important things on my mind " waved to her to leave.
"Come on now Leigh. You can't fool me ."
She paused jumping from the desk, sitting on a chair nearby crossing her legs, and relaxing on the chair. "Tell me this look of worry on your face? Orionis test of competence, right?".
Hadleigh raises his head, his expression full of anger and dissatisfaction. " it was pushed sooner than expected."
"How soon ?" The woman replied.
"One mission after instead of ten, soon type pushed ."
The woman stood leaving the desk "Well then they are weak, the weakest the Orionis ever offered"
"No, I raised them myself…" before he finishes, the mysterious woman interrupted.
" then stop being a crybaby about them, have faith, if you truly believe they live up to your words stop whining and cheer up, you big drama queen of mankind" leaving Hadleigh with a half-shocked face, but yet wondering why the test of competence was pushed earlier than usual.
Peeking again from the corner "Oh I forgot to tell you, the old gramps council wants a word with you, I came to give you a heads up before he sent any of his servants.''
Hadleigh now even more curious than he was, wondering what's all this is about.