Chapter 12: A Hunting Spree
The dimensional doors continued to spread across Aernas. Dio continued his dirty work in destroying them... this time he isn't alone. The knights and magicians from the two kingdoms, Serdin and Kanavan, along with the Silver Knights, are deployed. Edel Frost, a knight from Serdin, led her troops as they spread out. On the other side, Harpe, the royal guard master's loyal servant, led the Kanavan knights on behalf of his master. The dimension doors opened wider, gaining entrance for the demons.
The ultimate siege has just begun.
The war went on for days. The stores have been ransacked. While the house they've stayed in remained safe from the eyes of the intruders, Ryan made sure that the prick who's been hitting on his archer won't see them...ever. He was able to provide loose hooded garments which will help cover their identities. Ryan stayed in bed after his body screamed for rest. After carrying Lire on his back for an almost long period of time, fighting monsters and running away with her, he knew that he needed rest so badly. Only half of his body is covered by the blanket, not giving a damn even when Lire sees him half naked.
On the other hand, Lire went upstairs and crouched down below the window frame. She poked her head up just a little and could see harpies flooding the skies. She is certain that they came from the forests and evil forces lured them to many places. Lire clutched her bow and fired an arrow. It flew when she heard a screech. She peeked and saw that she had hit a harpy by its chest, causing it to fall freely down to the ground. Lire kept herself hidden as she nocked more. The screeches rang in her ears as her gaze thickened upon seeing the air smeared in blood. Lire gasped softly and crouched. The harpies must not see her.
If only I could grab one of them... She returned her gaze down below, looking at the bloodied corpses of the harpies that she killed. She is planning to make a stew with harpy meat since the wet markets have been destroyed... and the village is crowded with demons. She couldn't even get Ryan to do that for her, considering how tired he was.
Lire went into the bathroom and grabbed her set of new clothes. She discarded her wrecked old ones, figured out that she can use them as dust cloth. She kept the door locked and quickly put her new clothes on. She looked in the old dusty mirror to see the outfit. She wore a green strapless top with a black streak at the center. Her neck has a dark green choker which was included in the set. The black streak is decorated with white laces identical to the ones seen in sneakers. Her arms wore a pair of dark green fabric which is worn from the bicep to the wrist. Her hands wore a pair of cream-colored gloves. She has a black skater skirt which had green streaks at the hem. Her legs wore a pair of black thigh-high tights. Lastly, she wore a pair of boots light enough for her to run while attacking evasively. She decided to keep her golden hair down, letting it fall beyond her shoulders.
Lire exited the bathroom and jumped out of the window, carrying her weapons as she prepared to attack. She ran and hid behind the barrels, shooting a volley of arrows rapidly to eliminate the airborne beasts. She looked around for safe hiding places when her eyes went towards a ransacked kiosk. Lire headed towards that place and raided the boxes. She then hid under the tables as she saw a small group of demonic wolves. She noticed their bipedal stature as a blue one held a staff. The other ones have brown and black fur and muscular bodies. Lire felt a little spark of relief because her hiding spot happened to be desolated. The wolves glanced at each other and left. As their footsteps faded, Lire leaped out and grabbed as many goodies she could find. She stuffed them in a brown bag and made a run for it. She carried the bag over her shoulder and aimed towards their house. Lire hid once more behind the barrels, sneakily shooting more arrows. When the area is slightly cleared from monsters, she was able to make it to the house. Upon entering, she took soft and light steps, careful not wake Ryan. She took off her shoes and quietly dashed to the small backyard where she found some wood.
Lire rummaged through the bag. She felt something cold as she inspected it. To her surprise, the kiosk that she looted from serve seafood. She sighed and dismissed the harpy stew.
"We'll go for crabs next time." She found four fresh crabs stuffed inside the freezer bag. She readied the clay pot filled with water and lit up a fire. She tossed the crabs into the boiling water and let it cook. Lire stood up and quietly approached the sleeping viken.
"Ryan," She knelt on the floor next to the bed and gently nudged him. Ryan let out a groan as he squeezed his eyes shut. He gave her a half-lidded glance.
"...what?"
"I thought you might be hungry so I..." Lire averted her glance from his with her cheeks flaming red. "...I got some crabs. You said you wanted one."
"Where did you get those?" Ryan asked as the archer told him about her raiding and her attempt to make a harpy stew. Ryan sat up and looked towards the window.
"Perhaps we can take just one," he suggested. "It looks like you've killed a lot."
Lire nodded when she said. "Umm.. would you also like some fish?"
"Sure." As soon as Lire returned to the backyard, Ryan put his clothes back on without wearing the green head accessory which possessed a pair of crooked scaled horns. He kept his hair down, leaving it wild and messy. He used to have it pulled back into a ponytail - as several of the Druids mistook him for a girl. He headed towards the door as the harpies' corpses were the first things that he saw.
She's good. He felt proud of himself that he had Lire. He had seen her fight and observed her graceful movements that left him dazed. That was the time that they had an actual conversation... in the small garden that the Grand Chase castle took care of. He heard from them that it was Lire who does most of the gardening despite Arme helping her out. He kept on noticing her until she caught him. Soon, he found himself helping as well. Lire was surprised when he was able to silence the strange noisy venus flytraps that, according to Lire, Elesis bought from a bizarre plant store. Lire was afraid of them that she couldn't even approach and feed them. She told him that her arm was almost chomped by that plant, explaining the whole story.
"I told Elesis to get rid of it..." she said. "It almost ate Arme's arm that she cried. Good thing Lass is with her otherwise..."
Ryan shook that memory off and went to the open grounds. He grabbed a dead harpy by the leg and dragged it along with him. He brought it in the backyard where he smelled the aroma of the crabs. He felt hungry all of a sudden.
"Wait!" Lire cried. "What are you going to do with that?"
"I'll cut it limb from limb," he replied. "It takes a lot of effort to butcher this one."
"Are you sure? I don't think the knives in here are sharp enough."
"My axe." he told her as the blonde-haired archer fell silent. She scooped the crabs and placed them on a platter.
"They're hard shells, Ryan. Is it... okay for you?" The viken gave a silent nod. He took his scythe and placed the curved blade; the sharp side just beside the harpy's neck and let the pointed tip pierce through its skin.
"Ryan!" Lire's eyes widened when she gasped. To her shock, the harpy that she shot an arrow on is still alive. She swore that she fired straight on the chest not until she looked closer. Ryan bent down and pulled the arrow out of its belly.
"You didn't hit the vital spot." he said, holding the blood-stained arrow on his hand as he glanced down at the struggling harpy. "I'm going to do this the hard way. Give me one more arrow."
Lire obeyed his order and rushed back inside. She took few arrows from her stock and returned to the backyard where she handed one to Ryan. The two of them used the arrows to pin the harpy on the ground like dissecting a frog. Ryan instructed that the arrow should be pierced the wings deeply to keep it captivated. As for the talons...
"Step aside." Ryan returned holding his axe. It had been a while since he used that weapon in battle. It had been his weapon when he met the Chase and joined them. Lire stepped back as the viken raised his axe. The harpy let out a violent screech when the blade made contact with its hard talons. Blood splattered on the ground as scarlet droplets stained the axe and Ryan's clothes. Lire faltered while seeing his expression: a dark leer full of hatred. It could be that his wrath is gradually getting worse. She understood that. Because Nature is getting destroyed, the Druids are in danger in facing extinction, it's greatly affecting him. If he'll be the last Druid...
SPLAT!
The ground is smeared with blood. Lire felt numb. She didn't falter while watching him butcher the harpy's talons from it's body or even hearing its bloodcurdling screeches. Ryan took the bloodied talons and had them disposed of. When the harpy is completely pinned, he continued his butchering. Before he could do so, he glanced at Lire.
"Hit the throat." he ordered. Lire nodded and wielded her crossbow. She aimed it at the harpy and pulled the trigger. The arrow landed and pierced through the soft skin of the harpy, impaling it until its loud screeches died down.
"Should I cook the fish?" Lire changed the topic. She went back to the clay pot to resume her cooking. Ryan shook his head and took the raw tuna fish, telling her to save it for tomorrow. Lire have to agree. The crabs seemed large enough for both of them. They sat on the carpet and ate in silence.
They stayed in that house for several days. To Ryan's relief, the prick, Teppei, didn't bother to show up not even once. He must have gone to the Elven Forest to pester the Elven Corps... and Ladmir. After all, Ryan knew about the forced marriage... years ago.
He became pissed when the young Teppei told Ladmir that he fell smitten on Lire simply because of her beauty. When he discovered her skills in archery and combat, he fell in love. Ryan had sensed negative vibrations from this prick. Upon seeing Ladmir's face, there were traces of hurt and displeasure. Ladmir extremely refused because Lire is too young... and she barely even knew that man...
"Who is that man?!" the young boy demanded as soon as Ladmir saw him standing on the doorway. He was supposed to see Lire and play with her. Ladmir stared at him in shock before he realized that the boy heard everything and saw the man. The Elf sighed in defeat and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Ryan.. that was..." Ladmir couldn't think of the right words to say especially that the boy is too young. "...Teppei. He-"
"What is he going to do to Lire?" the young Ryan asked eagerly. "What does he want from her?!"
"Ryan, I -"
He was too late. The boy broke down into tears. "Why? Why did you let him do what he asked for? Do you even know him?!"
"Yes.. he.. he's very manipulative. I don't want to give Lire to him because.." he sighed. "...you.. you value her so much."
Ryan sobbed. "She's my friend, no! I-I love her! Now she's avoiding me... and it's all my fault!"
Ladmir wiped the boy's tears from his eyes. "...no, you didn't do anything. Do you remember? Lire always tells me about you.. and when you carried her all the way up here because she suffered a bad wound? You took care of her for me."
The young boy sniffed. "...I don't want to lose her, Ladmir."
Ladmir could clearly read his expression. He can see it in his eyes. The Elf smiled and pulled him in his arms.
"Don't worry, I found a perfect place where you two can start over."
Ryan grimaced when he felt his body aching. All that running and fighting caused his body to adjust. He ignored the pain and let it pass. Outside, the demons have colonized the village. If they return to the Elven Forest, things will only get worse. He wanted to know where those beings are coming from. He heard a loud screech behind him and jerked towards that direction. Lire is shooting some of them.
"You'll get a lot of attention!" he said.
"They're attacking the villagers," the archer retorted when she faced him. "C'mon, let's go help them!"
"Thanks for everything," Ronan told the maiden Elves who have provided them clothes and food. They found shelter in the havens and the maidens welcomed them. When they got in, they were among the lucky ones who occupied the vacant rooms. As Ronan walked passed a group of young female Elves, they were gawking at him and whispering to one another.
"Wow~" Arme looked around and found herself laughing merrily, simply enjoying the environment: the fresh air, the delicious food, the friendly people and the clean water. "No wonder Lire always stays beautiful and young. The secret behind beauty had been vegetables all along." She glanced to her left and saw Lass eating some sort of red fruit. He had taken two bites of it. "Whatcha eating, Lass?"
"I dunno," the assassin said with his mouth full. "Want some?"
"Yay~!" the mage cried joyfully and took a bite. She chewed when she felt something hot in her mouth. She eventually stopped chewing as her face turned red.
"Are you sure that the forest is safe?" Jin asked one of the Elves. She had long emerald locks and golden-colored eyes.
"I don't think it is since many residents have been evacuated." she answered. The red-haired fighter's brows narrowed.
"What? Why?"
"The Dark Queen has returned.. this time she is targetting the Elven Forest and the Elves, well... since she knew that the Elves were out of her target during the five-year war." the woman explained. "The Elven civilization is in danger."
If the Elves are in danger then... the fighter then realized. Lire... Ryan... It was then he realized that he had stated those names out loud, catching the attention of the woman.
"You... you know them?" Jin eyed her in surprise.
"U-Uhh... I was just talking to myself!" he lied while rubbing his head sheepishly. But the woman is now staring at him intently.
"I heard you. Lire.. and Ryan.." she repeated, making the fighter gasp. Then he remembered about Ronan and his obsession on finding them. He sighed.
"Yes, we know them. They're our friends and.. we're the Grand Chase." he confessed as the woman in front of him stared wide-eyed.
"Grand... Chase?" she mumbled as she faced him again. "They already left... days ago."
"They what?" Jin jerked behind him as he saw Sieghart, who had eavesdropped. "Ronan had been dead worried about them. That's the reason why we're here!" He put a hand on his forehead and sighed. "Why the hell would they leave if their people needed them?"
The Elven woman felt overwhelmed. She sat on the couch and put her hand on her forehead this time. Marina knew that she has to tell them because... they're the Chase. The druid and the archer are members of that group. Ronan returned despite the young women giving out dreamy sighs behind him. Lass handed Arme a tall glass of cold water after the mage cursed at him for not warning her about the fruit being spicy. Ronan soon heard the whole story as Marina told them. Some Elven maidens came to listen and bustled. After that, he requested his comrades to go look for the missing Elves. After all, he had grown worried. And Elesis is also one of his concerns. He couldn't bear to wait any longer. But then...
"Can I speak to Ladmir, please?" he pleaded.
UPDATE: 05.22.14
Guess this is happy birthday to me then~ please review!