"She had been standing there without moving for three hours already," Aria whispered to Henry. They’ve already finished setting up protective asures near the barriers.
Nathaniel picked up a few pebbles and approached the motionless figure, ’She must be thinking of doing sothing ridiculous again.’
He carefully balanced one pebble on top of another on Shina’s head, creating a small, balancing tower. Since his reputation was already crumbling, there was no point in upholding it so highly.
"..." The team exchanged odd looks. What kind of weirdo had joined them this ti? It would have been all fine if the said weirdo wasn’t the frigid Nathaniel Hauxley himself.
"What are you doing?" Henry asked, voicing the question on everyone’s minds. Was that so kind of a ritual for a spell?
"It’s an old practice," answered Nathaniel, "Collecting stones to give to the dead instead of flowers. She is giving off vibes like she’s considering so kind of self-sacrifice."
"Not exactly a self-sacrifice," Shina plucked the stones from her head. Before she could act, Nathaniel deftly sidestepped, evading her attempt to place the stones on top of him, "I’m going treasure hunting beyond the second layer again. Wish luck."
"..." The familiar scene of mouth-twitching between the mbers comnced again. Shina and her out of the blue decisions again!
"What if the Ethers decide to take advantage of our absence and launch an ambush at you?" Juliet inquired. They almost died the last ti. Without any preparations, they would definitely die again.
"If only one person could determine the course of a whole battle, then this society really deserved to go extinct," Shina declared, her tone colder than the stones she was holding.
Her words carried a weighty truth. There was a collective responsibility, which they couldn’t discard as they pleased.
Shina took off her mask, her eyes locked onto Nathaniel’s, and her tone turned even more chilling. "If any of them doesn’t make it through until I co back, Nathaniel Hauxley," she warned, "I’ll hold you personally responsible."
Nathaniel maintained his composure, "Their behavior will determine how I choose to handle things, regardless of any Wraith’s orders." His indifference to her command was unmistakable.
Shina chuckled and turned to her team, "Alright, team," she said, "you heard Nathaniel. Ti to put on your best charm and butter him up for so rcy."
Her team shared a knowing laugh. With a nod, they acknowledged that Nathaniel would be the one in charge during Shina’s absence.
Laura’s brows furrowed deeply, "You should at least take so mbers with you," she said, not trying to persuade Shina to stay, knowing how futile it would be.
Shina shook her head, "None of you are strong enough yet," her honesty cutting through as she put on a futuristic gas mask instead of the monkey one, "You’ll just hold back."
With a final salute, Shina stepped backward through the barrier, vanishing from their sight in an instant.
"..." Shina’s abrupt departure left her teammates frustrated. They couldn’t help but mutter curses under their breath, "Does she have a death wish again or sothing?"
"I didn’t know she could teleport," Douglas pointed at the place where Shina stood just a while ago, shaking his head in disbelief.
Nathaniel’s unwavering stare pierced through the barrier, "Treasure hunting?"
Everyone nodded, but nobody explained the situation to Nathaniel.
When Shina said they were going "treasure hunting" the team had learned to listen—or at least Douglas did. Forget defending barriers or playing it safe; she was in it for the adventure and the unknown. While the rest of the team might roll their eyes, Shina encouraged Douglas to activate his gut feelings.
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
The team slowly returned to the nearby town. None of them was really worried about Shina.
They had explored the terrain and went on various mission together for the past few years, and felt that Shina took it more like a stroll around the ZOO than an actual mission! She treated it like a ga where if she died, she would simply respawn!
Juliet cast a quick glance at Nathaniel as they arrived at the parking lot. "Care for a little sparring?" she suggested, gesturing towards the empty court that bore a striking resemblance to a basketball court.
"What are the rules?" Nathaniel asked, catching the ball Laura tossed his way.
He noticed how Bing Shi suddenly put in more effort into her acting when there was a bet at stake. Shina had summoned Nathaniel here, but her imdiate departure showed not the slightest hint of interest in interacting with him, but more like making him to watch over her "pets".
The rest of the team settled on the small podium at the front. They decided to make the most of the short break by ordering so food delivery.
Liam sat next to Henry and Orion, "So, who do you think will win? My money’s on Hauxley."
Orion chuckled. "I have to agree. That guy’s practically unbeatable."
"I have a bad feeling," Douglas finally said, breaking the jovial mood they have been building. "I don’t know what it is, but sothing doesn’t feel right."
"You have been saying the sa thing for a week already," said Henry.
Douglas looked at Henry, his eyes still shadowed with unease. "I know, but the feeling hasn’t gone away."
There was sothing off in the atmosphere, a subtle shift that was almost imperceptible, but enough to make his gut tighten.
Walking away, Henry couldn’t help but call his mother, "Mom, it’s , Henry," he began, glancing back at his friends who were engrossed in the ga, "There’s sothing you should know. The situation beyond the barrier is becoming increasingly unstable, and we’re concerned that it could lead to sothing catastrophic. If the alarms go off signaling a breach, imdiately hide inside the space ring I sent to you."
"Is this the reason why you needed so much money?" His mother paused on the other end, considering his words. "How did you co by such an item? These are exceedingly rare and valuable."
Henry thought about the debt he’d incurred to help secure the space ring. He knew that even if he were to liquidate his entire wealth, obtaining such a rare artifact would be near impossible. Their Lady must have leveraged so extraordinary connections, and possibly more, to secure it.
Laura glanced at Aria, a silent understanding passing between them. "We’ll be back in a bit."
They moved to a secluded spot, where Aria activated her own space ring. Inside the ring’s pocket dinsion, it was like a small, cozy ho, designed to keep their younger siblings safe.
They were playing with building blocks when Laura and Aria arrived, and looked up excitedly as they entered.
"We brought you so food," Aria said, unpacking a bag full of sandwiches, fruit, and milk.
After ensuring that the children were fed and content, Laura and Aria took a mont to sit down on a plush couch in the small living area.
Their thoughts drifted back to the first ambush. The horror was still vivid in their mories. The screams, the chaos, the lives lost—all of it served as a reminder of the fragility of their existence.
"Laura, you can’t keep us in here forever," Laura’s brother crackled through, tinged with irritation. "There’s no signal, and we’re going crazy."
"And your mother needs so fresh air, dear," chid in Laura’s mom, her tone more calming but equally concerned.
The words struck Laura like a bolt of lightning, amplifying her ever-present fears for their safety. "You don’t understand, it’s not safe out there. After what happened during the first ambush, I can’t risk—"
"You can’t risk what? Us living our lives?" Her brother interrupted, his voice rising. "I get that you’re trying to protect us, but this is extre. We can’t just hide away forever."
"Your brother has a point, Laura," her mom added softly. "We can’t let fear dictate how we live."
Laura clenched her fists before sending out her brother and mother, "You have to promise that you’ll return by evening, before it gets dark."
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
Later that day...
Laura’s heart raced as she navigated the war-torn streets, dodging falling debris and sidestepping bodies. Sirens wailed, people scread as the enigmatic Ethers tore through everything in their way.
"God, no, no, no," Laura stamred, her eyes blurred with tears. "This can’t be happening."
Her mother and brother had been brutally torn apart, their bodies desecrated in the most inhumane way before her very eyes.
Juliet transford into an intangible breeze and swiftly carried Laura to safety.
The Ethers concentrated on the weaker citizens, avoiding any confrontations that might expose their weaknesses to the LADs, who were always eager to learn from such encounters.
The regular soldiers were reduced to desperate figures, realizing that their training was powerless against Ethers.
It would beco a nightmare relived in every waking mont of their life from this point on.
The ssage from the Ethers was clear: This was not just an act of killing. It was an act of psychological warfare, where they were saying, "You can’t protect them; you can’t even protect yourselves."
The news that Ethers infiltrated cities that were devoid of magical energies sent shockwaves through the ranks. The Ethers had been playing a long ga.
Their infiltration must have begun with the ergence of the massive tree on the St. Moon Academy grounds, because the first thing they did was to free all the plants and beasts from the ordeal arena.
The St. Moon Academy was the first one to fall, followed by the research and experintal institutions.
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
Nathaniel stood tall, his eyes icy blue, mirroring the elental magic coursing through his veins.
"Assemble," he whispered. The sky above seed to respond, clouds swirling and darkening as temperatures plumted.
A freezing wind whipped through the battlefield. The snowflakes spiraled around him, picking up speed, before shooting outward like a blizzard of razor-sharp blades.
"...Freeze," he chanted. Then, with a sensation like the snapping of a taut string, the ti stopped. The wind ceased its howl, the Ethers froze, even the particles of dust hung suspended in the air.
"What had she done?" Nathaniel mused, deep in thought as he studied the Ethers, when a sudden movent caught the corner of his eye. Before he could fully react, an Ether lunged at him.
Caught off guard, Nathaniel felt Ether’s sharp claws rake across his chest, followed by the warm trickle of his own blood staining his uniform.
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