"What are you doing here?" Zion asked, his voice cold. He already hated the members of the beast slayer organization and didn't want anything to do with them. Just as Mr. Tony said, they were now enemies so everyone should go their own way.
Elina tried coming close but Zion stopped her.
"Don't come any closer to us!" He yelled. "We don't want to see any member of that dirty organization."
Elina wanted to say something but she could not. She frowned sadly but refused to leave. She only hoped that Zion would give her his listening ears, hear why she had to leave the organization and come after them, throwing away all her years of hard work just for a boy that she knows nothing about.
Seeing that she wasn't willing to leave, Zion decided to do the leaving but as he was about to go, Aria stopped him.
"If you are trying to beg for her, I won't listen," Zion said to her.
"Please big brother, let us listen to her and know what wants to say," Aria pleaded.
"No, she is not important. I need to take you out of this place, to somewhere safe. We also need to take you for treatment," Zion said with a frown on his face.
"I know but let us listen to her first," Aria persuaded him. "Please."
Zion gazed at Aria, the look in her eyes as she pleaded with him. It wasn't something he could ignore.
"Fine," he muttered reluctantly. "I'll listen you this once."
Aria smiled faintly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Zion nodded and then carried her down. He helped her sit down on a stone and then faced Elina.
"You are lucky she pleaded on your behalf," he said to her. He still couldn't forget what happened between him, she, and Kelvin.
Elina lowered her gaze. She also didn't forget about what happened between them and she had always wanted to apologize but she just didn't have the courage to do so.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Zion asked her. "We don't have the whole day here."
He was right. They had to leave the organization's premises as fast as possible so there was no time to waste.
Knowing this, Elina walked up to them and then dropped some things on the ground before Zion and Aria. It was their bags and swords.
Seeing them, Zion's eyes widened but he quickly pulled himself together. To him, Elina was just pretending to be nice but while he was still staring at the things she brought along, he saw her bring out a paper from her pouch and handed to him. Reluctantly, he collected it from her and began to read it.
"Zion, first of all, I am sorry for everything that happened between us. It was not my intention to play with your feelings and I never wanted anything to spoil the relationship between us. I just couldn't help seeing Kelvin angry because of you. He was the one that saved me from my father, he helped me escape and then bring me with him to the organization to become a beast slayer and I've always felt indebted to him, also taking him as my big brother, that is why I could not go against his wish..."
Zion halted and glanced at Elina before continuing.
"But I talked with him, I told him what I really wanted and he finally agreed. He also said I should apologize to you on his behalf, he said he's sorry for how he has treated you over the past month and promised to make it up to you some day. I was hoping that we will be together during our stay in the beast slayer organization but unexpectedly many things happened which led to this result, still... I am willing to follow you. I want to go with you guys and be with you, please let me."
The note ended and Zion raised his head to gaze at her. The message in her eyes were clear as they stared back at him.
"What about your years of training in the beast slayer organization?" He asked her. "Are you going to throw them away because of me?"
Elina nodded without hesitation. The expression on her face told him that she was willing to throw everything away, that she was ready to go with him.
He sighed as he ruffled his silky black hair. He had never seen someone as foolish as her who could forfeit everything just to be with a man... though it made him feel proud inwardly. He could not explain how joyous he was inside.
"What do you think of this, Aria?" He turned and asked Aria. Yeah... He had ask her, her opinion mattered a lot to him.
Aria nodded her head. Although she didn't like Elina that much, she had to agree. Zion was still very weak and his wounds have all reopened, she didn't know how he was managing to cope with it but he needed assistance and the only person available was Elina... It was no time to feel inferior or jealous at all. She had to prioritize Zion's matters above hers so the best choice was to agree and let Elina join them. They could need her strength.
Sighing, Zion continued. "Alright, since you've agreed to let her join us, I will no longer object." Facing Elina once more, he continued. "You are free to join us but that doesn't mean I've forgiven you."
Elina was pleased with Zion's reply, therefore, she smiled. No one knew how much her decision to follow him meant to her.
After some while, Zion spoke up.
"We should continue the journey," he said and Elina nodded. Zion carried Aria once again while Elina carried their stuffs.
The trio continued their journey to the outside world. Zion didn't know what awaited him, he didn't know what his future would look like but he was determined to create a good one for not just him but for those around him as well. He had once stayed away from the world but now, he was going to live in it.
Since the beast slayer organization has rejected him, he was going to make a name for himself and also get strong. He was going to become the strongest beast slayer.
>>>>
Finally, after journeying for some days, the trio soon arrived at Nanka, a city distanced away from Sash. It was the most populated and developed city Zion had seen with many buildings standing tall.
"We need to find somewhere to stay," Zion said to Elina. Aria had fallen asleep while on Zion's back. He could not imagine the kind of torture she had gone through while he was still unconscious. The mere thought of it made him boil with anger.
"The houses here are very expensive. I do have some money with me but we can't just it to purchase a house. If we do that, we won't be able to feed properly," Elina said.
"I am aware," Zion replied. He also had some money left from the fruits he sold some months back but he wasn't going to use it on buying an apartment. "Come with me," he said and walked over to a narrow lane. He gently placed Aria down and made her sit with her back against the wall. "Stay with her while I go look around."
Elina nodded, gesturing him to be careful and he nodded and left immediately. Watching him fade away, she became sad. She wished she could help him but there was nothing she could do at the meantime. Some seconds later, she shook her head... It wasn't time to start regretting or feeling sad. Her job now was to take care of Aria sl she had to stop worrying about other things and focus on carrying out her duty properly. Hopefully, Zion would find a place for them to settle in.
After what seemed like an hour or two, Zion finally returned. His breathing was ragged and his steps had slowed down.
Seeing him in that state, Elina rushed and helped him. After he had sat down and rested for a minute or two, he told her everything that happened.
"I couldn't find any cheaper house inside the city but I was lucky to meet an elderly lady who offered to give me her old house. The only problem is that the house is small."
Elina nodded and gestured for them to go ahead and take the house.
"Yeah, I agree. We will take the house and make it living place for us three. A forest wasn't made in a day so we will start slowly and hopefully, we will succeed."