"We're close," Rethrus said, running through the crowded streets.
As he spotted their room, he smirked, gently put Xiaolan down, and immediately headed toward Sir Takashi's door.
He knocked, but no one answered. He knocked louder, but still no response.
"Where is he?" he muttered, starting to panic.
Next, he rushed to Taiju's room.
"No luck here either. Where the heck is that guy?" he wondered anxiously.
Meanwhile, Taiju was busy assisting the Avalorians at their headquarters.
With no other options, Rethrus hurried to Kaede's room and knocked loudly—again, no answer.
"Damn it, him too? Where are they?" he thought, frustration mounting.
Unbeknownst to Rethrus, Kaede was inside his room, protected by an advanced magical earth barrier that canceled noise so he could practice spells peacefully. However, he had fallen asleep.
"Rethrus, is everything okay?" Xiaolan asked, holding his hand tightly.
Rethrus looked at her young, innocent, and worried face.
He smiled reassuringly. "Everything's fine. I promise."
"Come on," he said as he tried to open Kaede's door.
Suddenly, several members of Lord Frings appeared and spotted him. Without hesitation, Rethrus summoned a shadowy hand, scooped Xiaolan up, and dashed away.
They gave chase, stomping loudly and shaking the floor, which woke Kaede.
"Ha ha, who's there?" Kaede called out, opening his door to find no one.
"Tsk. Probably some annoying brat," he muttered, then went back to sleep.
Rethrus's feet glowed faintly with mana as he skipped swiftly toward the road.They're still on his tail.
"Damnit, that kid is so fast," another grumbled.
"That kid is the Chosen One—what did you expect?" a mage replied.
"Well, you're right. Shoot him!" another ordered, already beginning to cast a spell.
"Wait, we can't hurt the girl, you know," one cautioned.
"Yeah, and the king would be furious if anything happened to Rethrus," another added.
"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" someone snapped.
They continued chasing Rethrus relentlessly.
"Fine. Shoot him!" the leader barked again.
But before the spell could be unleashed, Rethrus suddenly stopped, turned sharply, and already conjured a massive dark blast.
Caught off guard and still running at full speed, the pursuers were hit squarely by the dark energy. The blast knocked them unconscious and left them physically battered.
"Hoo, that was easy. But where do we go now?" Rethrus thought, glancing around nervously. The sun was already high in the sky.
He looked over his shoulder and saw Xiaolan clutching him tightly, her face pale and filled with fear.
Rethrus smiled gently at her and promised, "It's going to be fine."
'Should I continue to the forest? he wondered. Wait, they'll corner me there. In the crowd? No, they're there too.'
He crouched behind some bushes, quickly hiding the bodies of his pursuers.
'Tsk, where do we go?'
In the middle of the crowd, Dante stood rigid, his teeth clenched in anger over what had just transpired.
'I knew it!' he thought, scanning the sea of faces. 'He's right in front of me—why shouldn't I just grab him?'
Meanwhile, other members of the Frings family were still hunting Rethrus through every district and alley, careful not to alarm the public.
Some bystanders whispered among themselves, wondering why the powerful Frings family was prowling the crowded streets and what they were searching for—but fear kept them silent.
The matter even reached the city watch and the highest orders of the city government, but all chose to turn a blind eye, intimidated by the Frings family's influence. Other noble families followed suit, unwilling to interfere.
Back with Dante, he turned sharply to his subordinate.
"Do it!" he ordered sharply.
"Yes, Knight Commander, but may I remind you—it's only surface level," the subordinate cautioned.
"I don't care. Just do it already," Dante snapped.
The mage knelt and pressed his staff firmly to the ground.
"What exactly are we looking for, sir?" he asked quietly.
"A guy with low average height for a teen, with a girl behind him or with him," Dante replied, his voice tense.
The mage closed his eyes and began to concentrate. People nearby glanced over, but none seemed shocked—perhaps they were used to the Frings family's displays of power.
'Wind magic: Whispering Zephyr!' the mage intoned in his mind.
The caster summons a magical breeze that acts like a sensitive sensor, flowing through the environment to detect subtle traces left by the target, such as scent particles, sound vibrations, or magical auras carried on the air. It encircles the whole city and the crowd feel a little chilly because of the wind.
Even Rethrus felt it but dismissed the sensation. 'It's just the wind,' he thought.
"Found them!"
"Where?"
"Uhm, they're at different locations, sir. That means there are many others in the city with those characters," the subordinate reported.
"Huh, that figures," Dante muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"Okay, track the locations and send our men to those areas directly. Tsk, it's already afternoon," Dante ordered sharply.
Rethrus was already running toward the forest, but uncertainty gnawed at him. If he sought refuge with the nobles, they might betray him. The city watch had already been paid for sure.
'Taiju, Takashi, and Kaede—where were they now?' The questions swirled in his mind like a storm.
'Tsk, where do I go?' he thought, muscles burning as he pushed forward, Xiaolan clinging tightly to his back, her small hands gripping his cloak.
The afternoon sun hung low but bright in the sky, casting a warm golden light that stretched long shadows across the city's rooftops. Rethrus's eyes flicked upward, scanning the horizon. Then, a sudden realization struck him.
'There's no barrier yet.'
His breath caught, and he skidded to a halt on the forest's edge, heart pounding in his chest.
"Hmmm? What's wrong?" Xiaolan's voice was soft, almost a whisper against the rustling leaves.
Without turning, Rethrus twisted his head to gaze back at the sprawling capital behind them. Smoke still curled faintly from chimneys, and the distant sounds of the city—bells, chatter, the clatter of hooves—drifted faintly on the breeze.
'That's too far,' he thought, eyes narrowing with grim resolve.
The forest around them was alive with the scent of pine and damp earth, a stark contrast to the cold stone and political webs of the city. The warm afternoon breeze whispered through the branches, carrying with it a promise of both danger and sanctuary.
"Let's get out of here!"
'I don't care if they think I'm lost or anything,' Rethrus thought fiercely. 'I don't care about my things. I don't care about the monsters outside—I can fight them.'
He looked at Xiaolan one last time.
'I won't let them have her.'