Chapter 519: The Nightmare That Wears A Crown [Part 3]
An hour after leaving the cave, the group was forced to seek shelter. dina had detected demons in their surroundings, and they didn’t want to risk it.
The gaze that had locked itself on Alex’s body had disappeared so ti ago, but the teenage boy could sense that the creature was sowhere nearby and had rely concealed its presence.
"I have sothing important to say," Sean said to get everyone’s attention. "Truth be told, an oracle told
that there’s a high chance that I will lose my life in the Shadow Forest."
"What?!" Ron looked at the Hero in shock. "Then why did you still co here?!"
"Because there’s always a chance that it won’t co true," Sean replied. "Also, she said one more thing that made
reconsider taking this trip here."
"And what is that?" dina asked. "Although not all prophecies from oracles co true, what can possibly convince you to go to a place where you might die?"
Sean took out the ornate box that Ron had given him before they parted in Arian City.
He opened the box and showed the Dawnseeker Party the two silver rings placed inside of it.
"She said that if I co here with these two rings, the human race will win in the war against the Demon Lord," Sean stated. "As you may already know, if a Hero dies, another one will take his place.
"They call us humanity’s greatest Champions, but in reality, we’re expendable. Just like how a powerful Demon Lord appears from ti to ti, so do we. That has always been the case since the ancient era."
Everyone listened to his revelation without interrupting his speech. Clearly, he had more to say to everyone after he showed them the ring.
"Rember this—no matter what happens, even if I die today, these rings must not fall into the enemy’s hands," Sean declared. "If it does, the Demons will win this war."
"What can those rings do exactly?" Fran asked. "Do they hold so kind of power?"
Sean nodded. "They do. These rings are the Gaia Rings."
"What?!" dina gasped in shock. "Those are the legendary Gaia Rings?!"
Sean took out the two rings from the ornate box and pressed them against each other.
Everyone then heard a faint click, which made them realize that the two rings were actually ant to combine into one.
A silver ring with a golden amber at its center. And if one looked closely, they would see a pattern within the amber that looked like the roman symbol "XXI".
"The one who can wield the power of this ring will help us win this war," Sean explained. "Unfortunately, the ring doesn’t react to , which ans that I’m not its destined owner.
"If even one of these rings falls into the hands of our enemies, they can use it to find the other half. I asked Ron to get the first half of the ring so I can look for the second half hidden here in the Shadow Forest.
"We found it, but before we could leave safely, the enemy also found us, leading to this situation."
There was a hint of bitterness in his tone. If only Sean could activate the power of the ring, none of his party mbers would have died in battle.
"So you went to this forest to retrieve the other half of the ring that I handed to you." Ron nodded in understanding. "Couldn’t you have asked a Rank S Adventurer Party to search for the missing half instead?"
"If you were in my place, would you have done such a thing?" Sean asked. "Can you put the fate of humanity in so random Adventurers and Sellswords? I can’t do that. The lives of many people are at stake.
"I only have one reason for telling you all these things. To those who can escape among us, protect these rings at all costs."
Having learned the gravity of the situation, everyone understood what they needed to do in case of ergencies.
"I will keep the rings in my pocket for now," Sean stated. "But if I were to fall, rember, take the rings and escape the forest no matter what the cost."
The Hero’s words and gaze were so serious that it reflected his resolve. In the end, Ron and the other mbers of Dawnseekers promised to heed his request.
After resting for a bit, the party once again resud their escape.
The demons were still at large, but they also didn’t want to remain inside the forest until nightfall.
The Shades would be active by then, and the last thing they wanted was to be found by the Shade Reaper King. If that being were to co, they’d undoubtedly be stuck in a very dire situation.
Suddenly, dina’s sharp hearing heard a whistling sound, prompting her to grab Alex and push him down on the ground.
"Everyone, duck!" dina shouted
The mbers of the Dawnseekers didn’t hesitate to heed her warning and crouched low on the ground.
Unfortunately, the mbers of the Hero Party were slower in this regard, and one of them was hit by the arrow.
A cry of pain escaped the Sorceress’ lips as an arrow hit her arm.
More arrows ca their way, but Ron was already on the move and deflected it with his sword.
"They found us!" Carlo clenched his fists tightly. "How many are they, dina?!"
"Thirty," dina answered before nocking an arrow on her bow. "Brace yourselves, Orcs are coming!"
Without a mont of hesitation, the elf fired a barrage of arrows at the nearest Orc charging in their direction.
"Ack!" As multiple arrows hit their mark on its chest, the Orc stopped in its tracks and soon collapsed on the ground.
Just as everyone thought that things couldn’t get any worse, the sound of horns spread in the surroundings.
"Damn it!" Carlo cursed as he smashed the head of another Orc using his fist. "They’re calling for backup!"
"Run!" Ron ordered. "We can’t stay here! dina, lead the way. Carlo and I will cover our retreat!"
The beautiful elf grabbed Alex’s shirt and pulled him as she made her escape.
"Rhea, take Carla and follow dina," Sean ordered. "Take this with you!"
Sean tossed the ornate box to the Cleric, Rhea, who nodded in understanding.
She had already used her healing magic to treat Carla’s injury, but the tip of the arrow was soaked in poison.
Although she successfully detoxified her friend, the Sorceress was in no condition to join the battle, so they ran away with the ornate box entrusted to them.
The sound of weapons clashing against each other echoed in the forest as the ladies made their escape.
Suddenly, Alex once again sensed the gaze locked on his body, which made him shudder uncontrollably.
"It’s back!" Alex said to the elf that was carrying him like a sack of rice. "The gaze is back!"
"Hang on tight!" dina replied. "Wind Walk!"
A gust of wind wrapped itself in dina’s and Alex’s body, making them lighter and increasing their movent speed.
The Sorceress and the Cleric used similar skills to boost their mobility, increasing their chances of escape.
Unfortunately, a powerful presence stopped them in their tracks.
"No way!" Rhea’s face paled when she saw the creature blocking their path.
A three-ter tall Shadow Creature erged in their path. It hovered in the air, wielding a death scythe.
Although the Shadow Creature looked like a congregation of black mists, there was a vague yet distinguishable shadow crown on top of its head.
Sean had ntioned that the Shadow Reaper King was like a Nightmare wearing a crown, and seeing it in the flesh made Alex realize that he didn’t exaggerate in his description.
"Shade Reaper King!" the Sorceress scread in fright after seeing the monster that killed her friends.
dina gritted her teeth as she put down Alex on the ground. Running away from such a powerful Shadow Creature was suicide, but fighting it was akin to suicide as well.
"Pull yourselves together, Carla, Rhea!" dina shouted. "We have to fight this thing if we want to live!"
Her shout made the two mbers of the Hero Party realize that she was right.
They really had no other options but to fight for their survival.
"Here. Please take this and keep it safe." Rhea handed the ornate box to Alex, whom she deed was a non-combatant due to his age.
dina smiled and lightly patted the teenage boy’s head before whispering sothing in his ear.
"If you see an opportunity to escape, just run," dina whispered. "I know you have a general idea where the military camp is, so head there as fast as you can. Don’t worry, we will follow behind you once Ron, Carlo, and Sean catch up and support us."
Alex nodded in understanding. He had absolute faith in his party mbers, and once they fought together, he believed that they would be able to defeat even a Shade Reaper King.
"On my signal," dina said as she took out two elental short swords from her storage ring.
Since they had no vanguard, she would play that role and allow the Sorceress and Cleric to support her from behind.
Alex really had no intention of leaving so soon, so he tightly held the dagger dina had given him earlier.
Fran was also chanting Fae Magic, ready to assist her friends in battle.
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