Chapter 16: Betrayal 1

“So what? I said over a hundred, there might be a thousand or a million for all I know.”

“…”

“…”

“That shouldn’t be a problem though.” Damon continued . “Our goal is to leave the Ashen Deadlands, not to eliminate all undeads.”

“If I get you right, you’re saying we make a run for it?” Ms present spoke as she cut a down an undead.

“You’re quite right.” Damon agreed as he tilted his head to dodge a bone projectile.

“But even then, we’d have to find a way to throw these bastards off, or at least stall them.” Ms present muttered grimly. The undeads were still increasing at a faster pace than in which they were cut down.

“I’ll find a way!” Damon nodded mirroring her grim expression.

“By the gods,” she suddenly gasped which threw Damon off.

“What is is?!” he tensed.

“Nothing.” she purred. “it’s just that I never took you for the cowardly type little brother. I figured you’d be more of the brave type.”

“Tch, really?” Damon rolled his eyes. “As if you weren’t ahead of us everytime we were running from one abomination or the other.”

“Hehehe, I digress.” Ms present chuckled as she thrust her blade through an undead’s throat, before taking it’s head off.

“Besides,” Damon continued. “What good will bravery do you once you’re dead?” But Ms present didn’t hear him because she jumped backwards to avoid a pack that clustered towards her.

“It’ll be an achievement to your legacy.” Mira who heard, turned to him almost offended.

’Oh, forgot she’s a knight.’ Damon thought as he twisted his hips and sidestepped an undead’s sword. Knights were all about bravery, valor and whatnot.

But hell be damned if he let her have it.

“What legacy? who the hell is going to talk about our legacy if we die here?” Damon inquired mockingly.

“The undeads?” he continued. “Oh I know, they’ll be like, oh there were these glorious brave three who fought us and died a glorious death!” He said with mock grandeur.

“You…” Mira seethed, but had to duck as a bone projectile flew through the space her head had been.

Damon ignored Mira’s short fuse, and turned his focus back to looking for an opening they could use to charge out of the undead encirclement.

After a while, he figured out a way, but unfortunately, it had to do with Mira, or more specifically, her ice.

Right now, the way Mira was fighting, she wasn’t fighting with her full power so as to conserve aether. She was barely using her ice, mainly in the form of projectiles.

But what if she made a wide array of ice that’ll instantly freeze a chunk of the undeads? That’ll give them enough time to make a break for it.

Damon fought his way to Ms present.

“I think…”

“BAM!”

“I have a solution.” he said as his first almost punched off an undead’s head.

“What solution?” Ms present raised a brow.

After Damon told her the solution he thought of, “That could work.” she muttered after a moment.

“Of course it’ll work, I came up with it after all.” Damon smiled smugly as he stomped down on an undead’s knee.

Ms present shook her head with a smile.

“I didn’t know you were this insufferable little brother.”

“I’m not being insufferable if it’s the truth.” Damon retorted. “Now can you tell it to the ice queen? We’re not exactly on good terms.” he gestured at Mira.

“Sure.” Ms present agreed.

She weaved through the fiends like a specter, and Damon followed right behind, until they reached Mira, then Ms present told her the specifics of the plan.

After Mira was briefed, the trio stood back to back.

“On my signal.” Ms present spoke as the undeads began closing in on them.

“Now!” she yelled.

A torrent of ice exploded from Mira in successive waves, freezing everything they touched, be it the undeads, or the environment.

For a moment everything seemed still, almost mystical, before Damon yelled. “Run!”

The three charged through the path Mira had deliberately left open for their escape. There were a few undeads that were in the way, but the group easily dispatch them.

The three lost count of how long they ran, and how many more undeads they had to evade or dispatch, before the fog chocking the air started thinning again.

The surroundings started becoming clearer, even the undeads thinned to a small number, and they finally saw the patch of green in the distance.

Even when they were brutally exhausted and running on fumes, even after the fog disappeared and they stopped seeing any undead, the group didn’t stop running, until they reached a tall tree with green leaves.

“Hold up!” Damon called to the two still running ahead.

His body couldn’t go on any longer.

“I’m completely spent.” he dropped at the base of the tree. It was then that the two women finally skidded to a stop.

Truth be told, they both were far faster than Damon, especially Ms present who for some reason was faster than even Mira despite being a rank lower. But they probably didn’t want to leave Damon behind. That and they didn’t want to risk aether exhaustion like Damon currently was.

Aether exhaustion was a state where an aetherial has used up all of his aether, or has less than a percent of his aether.

And it’s usually accompanied by physical fatigue, and mental strain.

“You look like shit.” Ms present as she walked back to the tree Damon lay sprawled.

“Uuugh, give some water.” Damon let out a weary groan. She was right. He felt like a wreck, his muscles were spasming, and so was his mind.

’Shit, so this is what aether exhaustion feels like.’

Mira stepped forward, she was the one that made the water from her ice.

She retrieved a bottle filled with crystal clear water from her storage ring, and threw it at him.

“Thwack!” the bottle hit his head. He couldn’t even grab it.

’Tch, she did that on purpose.’ Damon inwardly clicked his tongue as he reached for the bottle near him.

The water felt like the sweetest nectar Damon had ever tasted.

“Hah, how refreshing!” he hummed.

“Since your back to the world of the living, mind telling us where this is?” Damon heard Mira asking.

He turned to her with a clueless look.

“How am I supposed to know?”

It was the dark haired woman that answered.

“You seemed to know many things you shouldn’t on our way here.”

“Fair enough.” he shrugged. “But I have a question though, Why are you asking me where this is?”

From what he knew, every noble house in Vorde would have educated their scions on every city, every noble houses, and every deadland in the continent.

Not unless…

“Well you see little brother, we aren’t exactly Vordeians.” Ms present replied matter of factly.

’Ah so that’s why.’ Damon thought realization dawning on him.

“And where are you guys from?!” Damon inquired.

“We’re Remeaians.” Ms present answered.

“I see.” Damon muttered and didn’t push further. Everyone had their secrets.

“Well, if I remember correctly, this forest before us should be Nirvana jungle, which means nirvana city is pretty close.”

“Thank you for your help little brother.” Ms present smiled. “But, how unfortunate, it seems we will be parting at this Nirvana city.”

’Is she just stupid or is she deliberately acting clueless.’ Damon looked at her incredulously.

“Uhmm, aren’t you forgetting something?” Damon asked.

“And what might that be little brother? Ms asked- curious.

“The riches and resources you promised to give….” Damon suddenly stopped.

Something was wrong with his body, he could feel his body slowly go numb.

“W…what is happening?” Damon muttered.

“What is it? Ms present’s brows furrowed. “Why did you….” Ms present also suddenly felt her body going numb. She became frozen in a matter of seconds.

Both Damon and Ms present’s eyes instinctively went to the third person that was with them.

’Oh shit! it’s this crazy bitch!’ Damon felt a chill run down his spine.

Ms present frowned.

“And what is this supposed to be Mira?”

Mira didn’t answer, an ice sword slowly formed in her hand before she finally spoke.

“I’m sorry my lady, , I only put a paralytic inside the water, you can punish me however you want after this but…” she paused and glared at Damon.

’Oooooh boy.’ Damon froze.

“But I must kill this bastard. If not for him, my Enzo wouldn’t have died. It’s all because of this insufferable bastard.” Mira’s pitch rose higher and higher.

“I’m screwed.” Damon muttered under his breath, he could more or less guess what was happening. Mira’s lover or whoever this Enzo was to her had kicked the bucket when they got kamikaze ’ed by that blue tiger beast clan.

So to take revenge, Mira put a paralytic inside their drinking water to poison him, and to stop Ms present from interfering, she also poisoned her.

“Mira stop this right now! I command it!” Ms present entire aura changed.

“I’m sorry my lady, I have to do this.” Mira said and began walking towards Damon.

“Hey hey hey, wait a second, how was I supposed to know you guys would suddenly show up on the island not long after I had…”

Mira didn’t let him finish, her boot brutally struck the side of his head, and his body that was leaned sitting on the tree shifted to the side.

“This bitch.” Damon muttered under the agonizing pain assaulting his ear.

*******

A/N: What do you guys think about the fight scenes in the last Chapter? I’m not really great at writing fight scenes, but I’m trying to improve.

If you like my story, support it with power stones, and leave a review. I’m open to suggestions.

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