Chapter 13: Reunited

"Where do you think they are?" Sieghart hollered when he and Lass argued about the whereabouts of the two Elves. While Ronan is leading the way, Arme summoned her spirits to cooperate with them. They spread on other places as the mage whispered her gratitudes. Lass, on the other hand, fell silent. He couldn't seem to answer the gladiator's question.

"They could be in a village," Jin covered for him. "As far as I could remember, there's a village in the outskirts of this forest." He glanced at Marina who decided to come with them. "Is that where the demons are?"

"Well... I suppose," the female Elf nodded. "There hasn't been a demon here. Only the undead army have made it so far."

"That's so strange," Arme said. "The war has been going on for days. Maybe the Elves put a magic resistant force field to keep them from coming in."

"That's not true." Marina replied. "It may be true that the Elves specialize magic besides close combat. But one does not simply cast a protective shield around a very large field. It requires vast amounts of mana to do so to make it resist diabolical forces." Her ears twitched as she jerked to her left. "Something's going on over there."

Just as they suspected, they heard the sound of the bushes rattling. Marina approached and made light steps. She carefully pried through each bush to confirm her suspicions. The rest of them did the same when Arme let out a scream.

"HELP! HEEEELP!" she struggled and flailed her arms. A figure pounced on her and landed on her belly. Arme fell on the ground with the tall figure keeping her pinned.

"Arme!" Lass swooped in when he glared at the figure covered in dead leaves and thorns. "Hey, pick on someone your own size." He abruptly pushed the figure off of the mage as it landed on its buttocks.

"...that hurts. You didn't have to-" When the figure opened its eyes, her jaw hung open. "Y-You're not Lire! I-I thought-"

Marina breathed a sigh. "Don't scare people like that, Myrielle."

Myrielle dusted the leaves off of her dress and hair. She stood up and laughed sheepishly. "Whoops~ I got the wrong person. Ahahahahaha~"

Jin arched his eyebrow. "Uhh... and who are you?"

Myrielle glanced at him and gave her distinct grin. "The name's Myrielle! You see, Lire's my best friend. So I thought this girl was her," she said, jabbing a thumb at Arme. She then glanced at Marina. "Where are you guys going?"

"Looking for them," Marina responded, accentuating the word 'them'. Myrielle looked at her in shock.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Well, I..." she rubbed her head when she continued. "These people are their fellow comrades. The Grand Chase. Did Lire tell you about that?"

"Grand...Chase..?" Myrielle put a finger on her chin when she gasped. "Ah! Of course!" She stared at the humans looking at her strangely. "I can't believe it! You're the Grand Chase!"

Ronan stepped forward and coughed lightly. "Miss Myrielle, were you with Lire before or.. Ryan?"

Myrielle nodded. "Mhm. I was with them not too long ago. But they disappeared when the Elves started evacuating from their homes. And now I don't know where they are. I tried asking Ladmir but he wouldn't answer me. So right now I'm looking for them myself." she explained as she sighed. "I'm worried. Where could they be?"

"What coincidence. We happened to be looking for them, too." Sieghart chimed in. "Do you want to come with us then?"

"Sure..." Myrielle replied as she pointed a finger towards the north. "They went that way... well, as far as I remembered. I've done many attempts to get there on my own. But those wolves are keeping me from entering!"

The warlord gave an abrupt sigh. "Really... what's he up to?" Everyone in the Chase knew about Ryan's ability to summon wolves to aid him in battle. But Myrielle eyed him in surprise.

"What are you saying?"

"Something's coming!" Lass interrupted the conversation. He unsheathed his nodachi and his eyes stared warily. The rest of them stood on their guard. Lass sensed movements coming from the north. The rustling from the distance was heard along with series of footsteps. Lass looked closer as a shadowy figure caught his sight. The shadow showed itself between the trees and disappeared behind one of the barks. He could see a tail swaying idly before he lost sight of the shadow.

"...that..." Myrielle staggered backwards. "...it's the wolf. It attacked me..."

Sieghart grimaced. "It looks like he wants to play dirty."

"Ah... hey, Lass... where are you going?" Arme said when Lass wordlessly approached the trees. The striker didn't respond. He decided to confirm his suspicions by pressing on. He fumbled on his pants and took a kunai. With a swift movement of his arm, he threw the kunai as it jet through the air, its sharp end stabbing the tree's bark. There was a startled growl.

"I know you're in there," the striker said. "Show yourself."

The shadowy figure fumed. It looked over its shoulder and revealed its eyes. Lass stared daggers with it as he stepped closer.

"You want another one?" he took another kunai. The wolf curled its jaw, revealing his sharp teeth. Looking at its eyes, its pupils slowly dilated. Before Lass could throw his kunai, the wolf jumped out of its hiding spot, landing in all fours. The striker flinched, taking few steps backward.

The wolf had a black fur and a pair of red eyes. As for its body, its shoulders were broad, resembling that of a male human being.

You're not Ryan.

"Lass!" the mage's voice interrupted his thoughts. The striker jerked.

"Arme, stay back!"

Ronan suddenly cursed. "There's another one..." He glared at another wolf. It stood in its bipedal posture and its big hand holding a staff. The wolf walked towards them... followed by an army of brown... blue... and black wolves.

"Those wolves..." Arme trembled at the sight of them.

Sieghart then took back what he said. Those wolves were not the ones summoned by Ryan. He wouldn't summon wolves wielding battle staffs.

This is bad. Ronan looked around. Sweat trickled down his hairline. He haven't seen these kinds of wolves before. He sensed dark energy from them... and so did Arme. Ronan quickly glanced at the mage.

"Arme, shock them!" he yelled.

"H-Huh?" the mage jerked.

"Just do it! We're gonna get past those demons!"

Arme agreed reluctantly as she held her staff. She raised it up as the large gem which served as the catalyst emanated a faint glow. While she's at it, Ronan contributed his magic defense shield for himself and the rest.

"Electric Spark!" Arme jabbed her staff downward. Golden electrical bolts fell from the skies as they touched the earth. Ronan urged everyone to make a run for it. The sparks continued to electrocute the wolves as the Chase fled. Myrielle looked behind her and took out her bow, shooting some wolves pursuing them from behind. She kept firing until there are no more in sight.

"We did it!" she cried in joy as they see a bright light approaching them. They made it to the village.

"AAAHHHH!" Arme's scream silenced the air. A battered black wolf dragged her by the ankle. She cried as her face is dragged onto the dirt, her hands clawing on the ground for dear life. She faltered when the black wolf growled. As she looked up behind, her attacker is covered in chains - wrapped all around its muscular body as the wolf struggled from the grapples. Lass held the end of the chain, pulling it tighter. Arme got back to her feet and dragged herself away from them.

"C'mon, we have to find shelter!" Jin urged, leading the way. Lass carried Arme in his arms after lacerating the black wolf that attacked her. The mage was pretty beat and had a scraped wound on her knee caused by the assault.

Considering the atmosphere, there is no way for them to find shelter. The houses have been ransacked and the villagers are being attacked. This was the same village they stopped by... and now it didn't look like a village anymore.

"This is bad..." Jin looked around the area. "They couldn't be here anymore, could they?"

None of them couldn't answer his question. The skies have been flooded by flocks of harpies. Ronan looked over his shoulder when his eyes caught sight of a young boy pumping water on a bucket. He couldn't pull the lever very well because of his small and thin stature. Ronan approached the boy before he could strain himself.

"Let me do that for you." he offered as he did the pumping. The boy smiled sheepishly.

"Gee... thanks!" he said gratefully. When the bucket was full, Ronan carried it on one hand.

"Where will I bring this?" he asked, not minding the rest of his companions staring at them.

"That house over there." the boy pointed his finger towards a house which stood isolated in the corner. No one seemed to notice it. Ronan almost mistook it as an abandoned alley. "Quick before their wounds bleed again!" The lass ran, signaling them to follow. Ronan glanced at Sieghart and nodded. As the boy made it to the secluded area, he opened the door and faced them.

"Come inside." he motioned them to proceed. Arme sighed in relief.

"Oh, finally..." she said as she smiled at Lass. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty beat!"

Ronan is the first to come inside. It was dark but the windows gave little light to the room. He followed the boy when he stopped in front of a bed. On it sat two people.

"Ronan...?" said a soft female voice. Ronan didn't have to ask who she was.

Myrielle let out a loud gasp. "Lire! Darling!" She leaped at them and gave them a tight hug. Lire blushed awkwardly, avoiding Ryan's glance.

"Tch.." Ryan grimaced. Myrielle accidentally touched his wounds as the female Elf backed off.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried.

Jin breathed a sigh as he put his hands on his hips. "You shouldn't bail on us like that!"

Marina rushed towards them and glanced at the little boy. "What happened to them?"

"I was attacked by those mean wolves," he said. "...while I was trying to find my mom in the wet market. Now I can't find her. Those monsters must have... killed her." His eyes suddenly started to leak tears. Marina took his shoulders.

"I was separated from my mom when the people started running all over the place. And then those wolves appeared. There's blood...' the boy's irises shrank in fear. "...bodies everywhere. And then I see red eyes..." his voice trembled as he spoke. "...Mom is gone. I can't find her...so I ran. Away from the market. More wolves came after me..." Tears trickled down his cheeks as he wiped them with his wrist. "...then these two saved me. They killed the wolves... and I still couldn't find my mom."

Marina fell silent. She lowered her head and glanced at the group.

"Go get some more water."

"I got us some food right here!" Jin yelled loud enough to get their attention. He carried a large bag of goodies that he had looted from the ransacked markets. Sieghart and Myrielle sat cross-legged on the ground of the small backyard with Myrielle covering the pot with its lid. She blew the flames fiercely.

"What do you got?" Sieghart asked.

"Processed meat and bread crumbs. And there are tons of meat fillet."

"Good, good..." the warlord nodded. "We got some crabs here."

"Sweet!" the shisa grinned as he sat with them. "I haven't tasted seafood for weeks now."

Myrielle chuckled. "Those two lovebirds got them and there are a few of them left." She sniffed the air and smiled. "Ahh~ feels just like home."

Sieghart crossed his arms under his head. "There's gotta be a hot spring in here. My back is killing me."

"Speaking of which, where did that little guy go?" Jin asked.

"Lass offered to help him find his mom. He said they'll be fine." Ronan answered his question as he stood behind them. "I'm surprised, though. This place is kept unnoticed for days. It could have been destroyed by now."

"The lucky ones," The black-haired warlord mumbled as he heaved a sigh. "Alright, I don't trust this place any longer. Those demons will find us in any time."

The spell knight nodded. "We'll leave a little later."

UPDATED: 06/25/14

Late update *orz*

I'll update Serdin University: 2nd term next.