King Of Limbo

When Mikaa arrived, all attention turned to him.

His was already wearing a worried expression when he arrived but it became far more intense when he found the state Rorguvv was in.

As if that wasn't shocking enough, his eyes wandered on the scene, expecting to see a torn-up corpse belonging to the tulsa Rorguvv fought, but it was nowhere in sight…

He froze for a moment upon realizing that Rorguvv had actually failed to win, thereby cementing the legitimacy of Osar's report.

"Mikaa? You look troubled." Lorserv broke Mikaa out of his daze, making him realize that all eyes were now on him.

He kept his personal thoughts to himself and put on the most confident face he could, not wanting to show weakness to the others as he began to narrate Osar's story to them, although he didn't make it sound as dangerous as Osar did.

His reason for this? To cause the others to panic.

This wasn't done because he cared for them, no. Rather it was because he wanted use that knowledge to his own advantage.

If the others became as wary as him over the situation, then none would act, he knew this all to well. However, if they still held even some slim thoughts of hope, then they would surely fight the tulsa.

In that situation, he could see for himself whether the tulsa were an opponent he could handle. If not, then he could retreat while the others were engrossed in battle.

Oblivious to his schemes, the others took what he said seriously but since he had toned it out, Amarr and Lorserv didn't look all that concerned.

As for Rorguvv, he only had a look of anger. In his mind the tulsa wasn't an enemy he couldn't beat. Rather, he felt he was the victim of never-before-seen tricks.

Since he didn't suffer a hopeless defeat, his pride, although shaken, remained strong.

In fact, he was more motivated than anyone present, not just to get his revenge but to regain the image his lost among his fellow olden ones.

"So more tulsa like the one I just fought exist, I don't see the problem. It just means they'll give us better offspring."

Rorguvv showed a bloody grin that didn't suit his wounded state. His haughtiness after suffering a loss especially irritated Amarr, who frowned with every word that escaped his mouth.

"Us? You almost lost your pathetic life. Were it not for us appearing, you'd be a corpse we fed to our future young." Amarr showed a mocking grin and purposefully agitated the sour Rorguvv.

The Drakar and all other races in the territory revered them as untouchable. That state ended today with Rorguvv's pathetic performance, of course she wasn't going to let him live it down.

"Why you bony little-."

Rorguvv was ready to fire back at the annoying woman, when Lorserv intervened. "Enough! Rorguvv has a point." He said, causing Amarr to show great skepticism of his words.

"You can't be serious." She mocked and laughed more at the expense of Rorguvv.

However, she soon quickly stopped when Lorserv gave her a frightening glance with his bright blood red eyes before expanding on his previous statement.

"As I was saying, he's indeed right that stronger tulsa will mean stronger children. However…Rorguvv's loss and Mikaa's report tells us that they aren't simple to deal with. Without knowing just how strong some of them are or even how many, we cannot act, lest we all end up like him."

Although he didn't say it outright, the others could tell that Lorserv was disgusted by Rorguvv's performance. His judgmental look said more than any words could.

Mikaa didn't like this. It contradicted his plan of them attacking first. Because if they just remained and waited for the tulsa to attack, the others would soon find out just how terrifying they actually were.

At that time, not only would his twisting of the truth come to light, but his life would also be in very grave danger. He couldn't allow that to happen.

"So what? We just wait? What if they gather and come in number? I think it would be better if we all go and hunt them one by one. The tulsa Rorguvv faced ran when you came, that means they'll be helpless to numbers."

He tried to put across the most sensible reason he could muster up in that moment, but Lorserv only gave him a suspecting glance, before replying. "I didn't ask what you think. Why put ourselves at risk when we have followers to do so for us? Unless… you actually want us at risk Mikaa."

Lorserv flew closer to Mikaa and met his gaze, putting forth a very intimidating presence that caused Mikaa to grow nervous.

Because the olden ones didn't interact much with each other to begin with, Mikaa underestimated the intelligence of the others, thinking it were close to the common Drakar.

However Lorserv not only made his suggestion seem brash and nonsensical, but also presented a near spot on accusation about the scheme he was planning.

After mere moments of having those scary red eyes glued to him, Mikaa turned away without saying a word. But before he could, Lorserv gave a warning. "Tread very carefully. Next time, there will be consequences."

With that said, Lorserv also left the scene and returned to his den. Amarr huffed and soon left as well, leaving both Rorguvv and Mikaa to ponder on their thoughts.

…

At around the same time, the frantic trio of Sebastian, Brutas and Ezmarelda finally made it out of the Drakarian mountains.

To their surprise, even after they did so, the many Drakar roaming the skies did not pursue. Instead, they only glanced and sometimes growled in their direction, this made the trio all the more determined to escape.

It wasn't long before their figures completely vanished into the woodlands.

Little did they know, that around the same time, Victoria was doing the same. However, because the paths within the mountain were many, she didn't exit the mountain range at the same place as them.

She escaped north whilst they had gone north west, a small margin but very apparent in such a sparse land that was still largely foreign to them.

Because of the state she was in, Victoria could employ any techniques to help her track Brutas and the others, she was far too weak. She instead followed what few traces they left on the muddy paths, however that was soon ineffective because the growing rains washed away what little traces were present.

She had no choice but to just ran and rely on instinct, especially with so many Drakar looming in the skies. The only reason they didn't attack to her, was because she was dangerous, that's the only plausible reason.

Despite being so tired that manipulating mana actually cause her pain, Victoria was still moving at a much faster rate than the healthy others. Because of this, she expected to catch up to them soon but… they were nowhere in sight.

With so many Drakar around, she began to imagine the worst.

"Brutas! Anyone! Can you hear me?!" She yelled and yelled at the top of her lungs, but answer came.

Her heart felt heavy and her mind grew fuzzy, only one reasonable conclusion could be made by her under such circumstances. However, she didn't stop moving…

Despite the helpless feeling, she was someone who had grown used to loss. She wouldn't allow herself to just fall because those she cared for were lost, her principles wouldn't allow it.

So, she bit her lip hard to snap herself awake before focusing on running.

She ran and ran for a time unknown to even her, her only thoughts being. 'I need to get away! Further!'

Without a general sense of direction or distance, she felt that as long as her legs could move, she needed to get as far away from the Drakarian mountains as possible.

However, despite this unwavering tenacity, she was only human.

Pa!~

After running nonstop in a wretched state, her body finally gave way and she fell to the ground.

'Further… further.' Her mind was no longer in the right state. It was like her mind was in a set loop where the only action she could do was run.

Even as she feel to the ground, she used what little strength she had to crawl inch by inch forward. In a state where most would have long given up, she remained pushing, dragging her heavy and numb body through the mud… until eventually, even her arms lost feeling.

Now unable to move, her eyes slowly began to close on their own, but her expression remained unwilling.

Because just as she was slipping away, the sound of heavy footsteps reached her ears.

She was alarmed, but couldn't show it. Her instincts urged her body to move, but it remained numb.

Helpless, she was now so very helpless.

So even as the steps drew closer and closer, she just smiled pitifully. For the first time in her life… she felt death was her only option.

"How unfair…" She muttered, before darkness took her away.