'There's no other way... he's a danger to us all.' The elf thought with a look of anger mixed with terror on her face as Lady Rose got close to her.
Suddenly golden lines began to form all over her body and took the shape of runes. This drastic change caused Lady Rose to come to a stop and furrow her brows.
"What's wron-! Those runes..." Aron noticed Lady Rose had gone quiet and so he turned to ask what was the matter but his gaze instead widened as he saw the familiar runes appearing on the elven woman's body. "You recognize them?" Lady Rose inquired as she began to step back and assumed a defensive posture with a scouter hovering near.
Aron didn't answer and instead glanced at Evanora in the corner of his eye to see her reaction but found it was blank as always. As for the elven woman, she showed a sinister smile towards the trio and began to cackle. "We truly underestimated the changes the world had undergone in our time away, however we will not allow such humiliation to go unpunished!"
The woman's runes began to glow brighter which caused both Aron and Lady Rose to assume a great attack was coming but they quickly dimmed with no such thing occurring.
*Hisss!*
p
The hiss alone caused violent winds to travel in the direction it was facing and hit numerous islands that laid in its path. This led to the islands all experiencing tropical storm-like characteristics.
This on its own wasn't dangerous at all to anyone with above average physical capability, but for those without such ability such as children and the elderly, they quickly met their ends as blown trees crushed them and debris impaled them.
Lady Rose had already formed a barrier by the time the winds struck the island they were on. She knew in itself the winds wouldn't harm them but she still chose to be cautious incase of any surprises.
"Did she just order that thing to attack?" Lady Rose, although still calm, looked mildly irritated at where the situation was going. "No, she would have done so earlier. I think she just caught its attention." Aron's nerves were yet to calm down and the intent to kill could still be seen in his eyes as he told Lady Rose his take on the matter with which she agreed.
"It's coming." Once the dust, debris and leaves that had blocked their vision outside the barrier cleared Evanora pointed in the direction of the serpent that was now slowly but surely making its way towards them. "That's the least of our problems..." Lady Rose turned back and muttered while sighing. Aron followed her gaze and saw the elven woman was nowhere to be seen.
....
Meanwhile Jagu and his people were in a state of panic. Although he single handedly saved the lives of the weakened individuals he was currently with in the clearing, a bigger worry arose in his mind. "The village..."
When he muttered this everyone present showed a look of great concern as they understood what he must've been thinking.
Without saying anything more he rushed in the direction of his village and the others followed as best they could. Only Kaira and his mother were able to maneuver slightly faster than the others but were still far behind him.
By the time they arrived they found him looking at the now damaged village with a look of fury. Numerous homes were destroyed as they weren't made of strong materials in the first place and many Komi were injured with some casualties present.
"This..." Aella and Kaira looked at the poor state of their village with a complex gaze before looking in the direction of the gigantic serpent with pure hatred.
"This is the wrath of our forefathers! This is all because of Jagu who left his people to live with humans and as if that weren't disrespectful enough he even brought them to our land! You see the results of your treacherous ways Jagu?! Do you see!" Hakku, one of Jagu's biggest rivals had remained in the village and had visible mild injuries as he approached Jagu to accuse him for the disaster.
Jagu had always been at odds with Hakku but this time he felt great guilt from his words after noticing two bloody children in his hands. "Why did my family have to suffer for your transgressions?! Answer me Jagu!" Hakku asked as his eyes grew watery and his tone more viscous.
"Hakku, I understand your pain and I agree that Jagu has brought great shame upon us... but now isn't the time to discuss this. We must gather what few belongings we can and retreat to the outer islands before that monster takes any more of our lives..." Aella was the voice of reason as she reminded everyone the disaster that befell them was still ongoing.
Everyone took a moment to observe the slowly approaching monster with all sorts of emotions within their hearts. The creature had casually taken away the lives of their kin and didn't care at all, this feeling of inferiority was truly hard to accept for this proud race.
"I understand I've committed many wrongs but please believe I did this with the village's interests in mind. I'll accept whatever punishment you deem fit but for now please allow me to keep you all safe..." Jagu pleaded without the usual arrogance in his voice, it was like his spirit was slowly breaking apart from everything he was experiencing.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"That is the least you can do..." Aella muttered before quickly starting to organize everyone.
....
Many kilometers away from the Komi Islands, the atmosphere was more calm and serene as the La Belle made its way above the skies of the Opal Ocean.
"It seems we're lucky, normally the weather in these parts is beyond ferocious. That Juliet sure has a firm pair." Scarlett as she stood on the deck and observed the skies with other members of the crew.
"Must you be so vulgar with your words?" Sharla who was beside Scarlett commented with furrowed brows as she displayed a look of disgust but Scarlett only shrugged uncaringly. "Just being honest, even the guys in our crew lack manliness when compared to her" Scarlett laughed out while the males present felt a sharp blow to their pride.
Lucas, who was among them, also lowered his head for a moment but maintained a smile on his face. "You're right... before leaving my village I had always thought men were always better warriors than women and that their role was to raise children. But ever since I left I've been proven wrong numerous times, it's ok to not be the strongest so long as you strive to be better." Lucas's statement caused the other guys present to nod their heads in agreement, they could only work harder and become stronger if they wanted recognition.
Even Scarlett gave Lucas a thumbs up but her words weren't so pleasant to hear. "You're right, I mean just look at the monster that is Aron. Even nobles in the same generation as us can't match him, a true manly Enigma."
Lucas furrowed his brows slightly upon hearing this and was about to comment when suddenly they observed something in the far distance.
"What is that?..."