Time passed slowly and the silence returned as if nothing happened. The group stayed silent and tense for almost two minutes after that, but, when they realized it might’ve truly been nothing to worry about, they finally calmed down.
“Fuuh, that was a little worrying. Maybe it was just some animal.” Finlay whispered in a low tone, just to make sure that whatever was outside couldn’t hear them.
“Yeah…” Serko nodded. “You didn’t feel anything, did you, Sora?” He turned to the girl.
“… No, nothing…” She shook her head.
“…”
The group went silent for a few seconds before they looked down at their bowls of soup. “Well… We should continue eating… probably.”
“Yeah…”
With the still lingering tense feeling, the trio started eating again slowly, this time not as enthusiastic as before. They didn’t know why, but they felt off after that noise as if it wasn’t truly anything to worry about. However, every sign was telling them nothing happened so they couldn’t justify this worry.
With that, the rest of the dinner passed quietly and quickly. Then, with all the exhaustion they were feeling, they decided to end the day and go to sleep. Each one took multiple blankets and laid down on their soft mattresses.
“Well, goodnight, Sora, Finlay.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight…”
Slowly, everyone closed their eyes as the darkness of the night engulfed them. It didn’t take long for the entire group to drift to sleep. Even with all their worries, they weren’t able to fight back the exhaustion from working hard.
With that, the night went completely quiet again except for the occasional snowy wind outside. The weather was very cold but the place they built was able to completely protect them from the harsh conditions.
Time passed slowly as the trio slept soundly and the world was as quiet as it could be. It was an hour, then two hours.
“Hnng… Hnng…”
Sora slowly opened her eyes at some point, still very drowsy. Licking her lips, she realized that she was very thirsty and she couldn’t continue sleeping in that state. So, she rose up and stared around her.
Then, she slowly looked at the flask of water on the other side of the room. She blinked slowly before she slowly left her warm bed. The cold temperature immediately hit her and she shuddered.
But, she still walked toward the flask slowly and picked it up. The bottle was almost frozen with some water left inside that didn’t turn into ice. So, she opened it and decided to just empty whatever liquid water was left in there.
After quenching her thirst, she wiped her mouth and closed the bottle before she turned around to walk back… Only to walk into something robust.
“Hm?” She was confused for a moment as there should’ve not been anything in her path. Then, she looked up slowly only for her eyes to meet two other eyes, towering over her. Two big, wide eyes that stared at her with a menacing glare.
Sora’s first reaction was confusion. She didn’t understand what she was looking at. But, before she could even take in the sight, a hand emerged from the darkness and roughly held her mouth. That was when fear kicked in and her eyes widened.
“Mmmm!!!” Her first thought was to move her arms and fight off whoever was trying to suffocate her.
However, the one standing in front of her quickly grabbed her arms. Then, he whispered. “Don’t you dare move. We have finally found you, broken vessel.”
Those words were akin to a bomb dropped on Sora’s mind as she felt her heart almost stop at that moment.
‘No!!!’
The girl tried to struggle through her pain. Her mind was in shambles. But, at that moment, she remembered something she had. Looking down while the two tried to capture her, she felt the amulet on her neck.
‘The amulet! I can use it!’ She thought to herself. So, without hesitation, she quickly channeled mana through her body while still struggling. The two had pinned her down and they started tying her arms with rope.
“Don’t resist. You aren’t going anywhere and those friends of yours… We will kill them.” The man said.
However, at that moment, they noticed something weird. Sora’s chest started shining out of nowhere. Then, out of nowhere, an explosion of energy erupted everywhere, sending the two men flying back with a bright flash.
“Hng!”
“What the hell?!”
The energy expanded till it wrapped around Sora’s body before it turned into a green, transparent barrier of energy. The girl didn’t even hesitate for a second as she called for the two boys at the top of her lungs.
“Finlay!! Serko!!”
At this point, Finlay and Serko were shaking awake from all the noise.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Because of the grogginess, they took a few seconds to understand the situation. They saw Sora inside the barrier and then their eyes fell on the two men clad in black. Although the two were confused, they instantly understood that they were being ambushed.
So, they quickly sprung into action. Grabbing their daggers, they rushed toward the two men at horrifying speeds. In the darkness, they almost appeared untraceable.
*Swish*
With horrifying accuracy, they attacked the two men, aiming to kill them instantly. All their innocence was thrown out of the window. The situation was simply too serious.
“AGH!”
Instinctively, both men jumped back, barely dodging the quick attacks with small cuts to their necks.
“These rats!”
“Take one! I will deal with the other!”
Immediately, the two men sprung into action quickly separating and attacking both dwarves at the same time.
‘They’re so fast!’ The two kids were surprised by their agility.
*Cling*
The daggers clashed with the swords in the darkness as the two kids jumped back, trying to defend.
“Don’t test your luck, bastards! You’re as good as dead!”
*Cling* *Cling*
‘Strong!!’
Each hit they deflected shook their tiny arms. Although Finlay and Serko were quick, they weren’t that strong and that was perhaps their biggest weakness. They cannot win in a battle of strength.
But, they never really needed that strength to begin with. After all, the abilities of a dwarf were far more than just building.
*Swish*
“Huh?”
As the two men tried to overwhelm their tiny enemies, they realized that the two had suddenly shifted their approach. At the same time, the dwarves ducked the swinging swords and ambushed the two men from beneath.
Their small stature and the darkness around them made the attack far more effective than it could’ve ever been.
*Swish*
With a precise thrust, both kids plunged their daggers into the men’s thighs, making them screech in pain.
‘We got them!’ The two rejoiced as they saw the two men fall to the ground. But, they didn’t celebrate too soon as they quickly lunged at them, aiming to finish the job quickly before they could regain their composure.
However…
“Behind you!!!” Sora screamed at the top of her lungs as she watched the scene.
“Hu-“
*Bang* *Bang*
The two kids felt a strong, sharp pain assault the backs of their heads. Then, before they could even register what happened, they fell to the ground unconscious… Blood slowly seeping out of their heads.
“That was enough.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3