"Hah… Hah…" Augustus panted, glancing from left to right, but all he could see were the raks. He heaved, sweat blurring his vision as he led them away from the village, a cold gleam in his eyes, "I can't feel my legs… I can't… I…"
His burst potential was great and all, but his stamina remained pathetic. Augustus ran with all his might, but the raks chased furiously, refusing to back down, 'My energy would get drained sooner or later. Fuck, I can't die like this…'
That would be too embarrassing. He needed to led the raks to the riverside, then finish them off there with what little strength he could summon. He cleared his throat, glancing from one tree to another, 'The silver flame effect would wear off soon…'
Once dragged away from those flames, the enhancement effects from the silver flames would naturally weaken— the speed boost, strength boost, and gradual growth. Once they lost that, Augustus was sure he could take them on by himself.
——
"You really believed that guy?" A thin woman with high cheekbones, short brown hair and piercing amber eyes, turned to Melissa as she walked forward, "He'd get killed by the raks before he could do anything. You're be—"
"Shut up, Aurora." Melissa groaned, pushing open the doors to the treasury. As soon as the door opened, she turned to the crowd behind her, gesturing for them to enter, "I didn't make the choice. I can't stop him even if I wanted."
"You were too hard on Ralph, he was just trying to help." Aurora sighed, walking into the building while Melissa slalomed the gate shut behind her, "You know that everyone is trying their best, don't act like you carry everything on your shoulders."
"I don't care. He should not have done that." Melissa grumbled as she walked to a wall, dropping down to the ground and laying her back on it. Aurora grabbed a chair and sat by her side, and she sighed, "We can't hide here forever, Aurora."
"You shouldn't talk as if we're going to be staying here forever." Arlene approached, a cold gleam in her eye as she clung on to her son tight. She turned to Aurora, "We have the exit out the back of treasury don't we? If anything goes wrong—"
"That's clearly a trap!" Melissa shouted, then quickly cleared her throat. She cast her glance to the massive double doors at the end of the spacious hall, "Everything we hid in our treasury will be vulnerable! Was this his plan all along?"
While Arlene and Melissa argued on that issue, a cloaked figure silently approached the doors. Seeing that they were getting too close, Ralph approached the stranger with a cold gleam in his eyes, reaching out a hand to grab them by the shoulder.
"I'm sorry, but that place is off-limits." Ralph tried to get a good look at the person in the cloak, but they spun around and grabbed his arm. Ralph, as big as he was, got thrown into the air, his head crashing into the ceiling and all he could see was black.
Melissa turned from Arlene, watching the crowd scatter as a body landed to the floor and a cloaked figure ran for the double doors. Her pupils narrowed to needle points, and she dashed forward, leaving Arlene and Aurora to stare blankly.
"Hey, bastard!" Melissa grabbed the cloaked figure at the back of his head, dragging him back and off his feet. She smashed his head down, pinning it to the floor, "You have three seconds to defend yourself before I fry your brains. One… Tw— Three!"
The man exploded with strength, rising to his feet and pulling Melisa's hand off his head. She aimed her second hand at him, and blazing golden lines appeared across her arm, forcing him to dash to the side as a bright reddish-gold flame spewed out.
She quickly spun around as he turned to run, performing a quick leg sweep. Seeing him stumbled over, she dashed forward and grabbed his cloak, setting it on fire without hesitating, then watching as the criminal tore off the robes, revealing his face.
"Silver eyes? These bastards!" Melissa connected the dots in an instant, then snapped her fingers, causing flaming chains to wrap around the man. His eyes widened as he fell over, unable to break free from the flaming chains, "I understand now!"
Melissa kicked the man in his guts, sending him skidding across the ground until his back crashed into the wall right by Aurora's side, "Look at his silver hair, those eyes and his pointed ears! He's one of the Moon God's puppets… disgusting!"
This continent, Verxon, had four main kingdoms. Each kingdom worshipped a certain god, dedicating palaces to them— the Sun and the Moon, the Light and the Dark. Of eighty princes and princess, a palace was worshipped by twenty each, maintaining a balance.
For three generations, the Moon God and the Sun God had been at war— creating what was known as the corruption. Al' Rak and his minions, and countless demons. Even in this situation, the two gods and their minions continued to skirmish, piling bodies.
Iona was under the Sun God and were sworn enemies with the Moon God and his slave army. Melissa, a fervent sun worshipper, was disgusted with the moon and its princes, "I'd never thought they'd have the guts to invade our iterator this boldly!"
"No wonder a prince was sent here!" Aurora shouted out loud, causing Melissa to give her a hard glare. She shrugged, pointing to the struggling man, "You can't kill god's slave, can you? It's best to let the gods and their princes handle their issues!"
The moon slave struggled fiercely, but the chains — made specifically to capture slaves like him — was unbreakable. Only those with an immunity skill could deal with «Burning Apprehension», and his weak flame resistance made things worse.
"Are you really buying that crap?" Melissa groaned, waddling over to the bound man, then crouching beside him as she narrowed her eyes, "there is no way that a prince would want to come to a lost village like ours… is there?"