The Gorvak let out a piercing, guttural shriek, its clawed fingers wrapping tightly around the ice sword embedded deep in its chest, its reptilian body trembling violently as it tried to endure the numbing pain spreading through its veins. Alice, standing just a few feet away, her breath steady and controlled, watched with an icy gaze as the creature struggled to pull the blade free, its thick, blackened blood dripping onto the forest floor. Without hesitation, she released her grip on the weapon, her fingers already moving to summon another blade of pure ice, its jagged form materializing in her grasp with a sharp crackle as the air around it turned frigid. She took a step forward, her body low, her muscles taut, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
Her next strike was aid directly at the creature's head, her sharp ice sword gleaming under the dim light, but just as she was about to swing, a hand shot out, catching her wrist.
"Wait."
Bella's voice was firm yet calm, her grip on Alice's arm unwavering as she held her back from finishing the job. Alice's eyes flickered with slight irritation as she turned to Bella, her breath forming small, misty clouds in the cold air.
"Why?" Alice asked, her tone lacking patience. "This thing was watching us. It's a threat."
Bella, however, shook her head slightly before gesturing towards the wounded Gorvak, whose entire body tensed as it shuffled backward in pain, dragging itself across the ground, its trembling claws leaving deep grooves in the dirt.
"Not yet," Bella responded, her expression thoughtful. "It might be more useful to us alive than dead."
Alice exhaled sharply but relented, stepping back as Madison ca closer, her eyes locked onto the creature that now lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in pain yet still inching away as though expecting death at any mont. The Gorvak's labored breaths ca out in rapid, uneven bursts, its muscular fra shuddering under the weight of its agony.
Then, suddenly, a voice pierced through the tension—a voice that shouldn't have been possible.
"Get away! Get away!"
The three girls froze in place.
Madison, Bella, and Alice all exchanged quick, wide-eyed glances, their expressions shifting from disbelief to shock as they registered what had just happened. The Gorvak—this monstrous, brutal creature that had hunted them, that had attacked their people—had just spoken.
In perfect human language.
A stunned silence hung in the air for a mont, the only sound being the creature's pained gasps.
Alice, however, was the first to recover from the shock, a small, almost predatory smile curling at the corners of her lips.
"Well," she mused, her tone laced with amusent, "this should make things a lot easier, then."
Without hesitation, she began to move, her ice sword still clenched in one hand, while her other hand lifted slightly, her fingers spreading as frost crackled and extended outward from her fingertips, morphing into elongated, razor-sharp ice claws. As she walked forward, her clawed hand casually scraped against the trunk of a tree, and the mont her frozen talons made contact, the bark and branches froze solid in an instant, ice spreading from the base to the highest leaves, transforming the entire tree into a glacial monunt.
Even Madison and Bella, despite knowing Alice's abilities, were montarily taken aback by the sheer destructive power she wielded with such ease.
The Gorvak, now clearly terrified, pressed itself further into the dirt, its crimson eyes darting between the three girls before it stamred out desperately, "P-please… I was sent. I was only sent to watch."
Alice's steps remained steady as she moved closer.
"Who sent you?" she demanded, her ice claws glinting ominously.
The Gorvak let out a low whimper as it recoiled, its breathing ragged, before it finally uttered a na.
"T-They call him Zoro."
The mont that na left its lips, Madison's expression darkened, her gaze hardening as she took a step forward.
"Zoro?" she echoed, her eyes narrowing as she confird her suspicion.
The Gorvak frantically nodded, clearly desperate to explain itself.
"He ca to our world," it began, its voice trembling, "he captured my people, placed his seal upon them, and bent them to his will."
Madison's eyes flickered with realization as she took in the creature's words, her gaze instinctively drifting toward its forehead.
Unlike the previous Gorvaks they had encountered—the ones with Zoro's sigil burned into their flesh, forcing them into servitude—this one had no such mark. Its forehead was bare.
The Gorvak imdiately understood what she was looking for, and without hesitation, it pleaded again.
"I am telling the truth," it insisted, its voice desperate. "We were once a peaceful race. We never wanted war. We never wanted bloodshed. But Zoro… he forced us into it. He turned us into this."
"Then why don't you have anything on your forehead?" Madison asked.
"Zoro's power only work on the weaker ones, but he threatened to kill all of us if we don't do what he says"
Alice and Madison exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of skepticism and curiosity, but Bella had already begun pondering sothing else entirely.
Stepping forward, she tilted her head slightly, her arms crossed as she spoke.
"The number of tails you have… they show how strong you are, right?"
The Gorvak hesitated for a brief mont before nodding weakly.
"Yes," it confird.
Bella's expression sharpened as she narrowed her gaze.
"Then tell ," she said, her voice cool and calculating, "what's the highest level?"
The creature's chest rose in a slow breath before it exhaled, its eye eting hers as it rasped out the answer.
"Five."
Bella's gaze sharpened, her thoughts racing at the implication. The one-tailed Gorvaks had been a threat but manageable. The two-tailed one had proven significantly stronger, tougher, more resistant to their attacks. But five?
"Then… how strong does that make him?" Bella pressed further, a small frown forming on her face.
The Gorvak let out a faint, wheezing sound—almost like a bitter chuckle—as it shook its head weakly. "I… I do not know," it admitted, its voice hollow. "He has never… used his full power."
Madison's arms crossed tightly over her chest, her brows furrowed in thought. Alice remained still, her gaze unreadable, though a flicker of concern passed through her icy-blue eyes.
Bella exhaled through her nose, barely suppressing the unease creeping into her chest. "And where is this… strongest One?"
A shadow crossed over the creature's expression. It hesitated for a brief mont before answering, its voice quieter this ti.
"He was the first to go to Zoro's side."
Bella's stomach twisted slightly at that revelation, but she kept her expression steady. "You're saying he joined him willingly?"
The Gorvak gave a small, slow nod. "I do not know… what Zoro promised him… but he did not hesitate."
A heavy silence followed its words. The weight of the revelation pressed down on them like a suffocating force, an invisible tension that none of them wanted to acknowledge. If a Gorvak that powerful had willingly allied with Zoro, what did that an for them? Had Zoro offered him sothing more valuable than power? More tempting than control? Or had the Gorvak seen sothing in Zoro that made him believe there was no point in resisting?
Bella opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could, the Gorvak let out a strangled cough, its body jerking slightly as it reached for its wounded chest with a trembling hand. A deep, guttural sound escaped its throat, and then, with a slow exhale, its head slumped forward, its eye dulling as the last remnants of life drained from its body.
It was dead.
A beat of silence passed before Madison turned sharply toward Alice, suspicion flashing across her face. "What the hell, Alice? We could've gotten more out of it!"
Alice barely moved, her expression impassive as she t Madison's glare. "I didn't do anything," she replied flatly. "Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted this long after I stabbed it. It should've died a while ago."
Madison pressed her lips into a thin line, exhaling through her nose as she ran a hand through her hair. "Damn it… it would've been a huge advantage if we could've convinced it to switch sides."
Bella's expression remained grim as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. She turned toward the other two, her normally confident deanor replaced by sothing heavier—sothing darker.
"Guys," she said, her voice low. "We're in trouble."
Madison and Alice both looked at her, their expressions shifting from frustration to concern.
"What do you an?" Madison asked, narrowing her eyes.
Bella's jaw tightened as she crossed her arms, her fingers pressing lightly into her skin as if grounding herself. "The one-tailed Gorvaks were easy to kill," she started, her voice slow and deliberate. "But we just saw how tough a two-tailed one was. It took everything we had to bring it down, and even then, it nearly killed us. What if Zoro has an army of two-tailed, three-tailed, even four-tailed Gorvaks?"
A tense silence fell over them. The thought was horrifying.
No escape. No chance of survival.
Madison's hands clenched into fists, her jaw tightening as she processed Bella's words. They had spent so much ti preparing for the worst, but if Bella was right—if Zoro had gathered an entire force of high-tier Gorvaks—then no amount of preparation would save them.
Alice exhaled slowly, her arms still crossed as she tilted her head slightly. "And doesn't it seem weird to you?" she asked, her voice calr than before.
Madison and Bella glanced at her.
Alice t their eyes, her gaze sharp. "Zoro went to a planet and conquered the species there—alone. He didn't bring an army; he didn't need one. So just think about how strong he had to be to do that by himself."
Neither of them spoke, but Alice wasn't done.
"If he's that powerful," she continued, her voice unwavering, "then why hasn't he just attacked us directly? Why go through all this effort? Why manipulate things from the shadows instead of crushing us the mont he had the chance?"
That question hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
Madison shook her head, frustration flickering in her eyes. "We're missing sothing," she muttered. "There's sothing we don't know—sothing big. And whatever it is, we need to figure it out fast."
Bella exhaled sharply. "No. We need to leave. Now."
Both Madison and Alice looked at her.
"This island—this place—it's a death trap," Bella said, her voice cold and absolute. "We've already lost too much ti, and now that we know what Zoro is capable of… staying here any longer isn't an option. If we don't leave soon, this place will be our burial ground."
Madison's gaze darkened, but she didn't argue. Alice, for once, remained silent.
Because deep down, they both knew Bella was right. The only problem was - How do they leave?.
****
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