Oliver moved from the gate to a dark cave.
"What is this? The last thing I remember was being with my comrades after our battle with the ghouls. Then suddenly, a gate opened, and I was transported to this cave. It's dark, too. I wonder… did my comrades get transported as well?"
In the midst of the silence and darkness of the place, Oliver was wounded in his shoulder.
"What was that? Whatever it was, it's fast and takes advantage of the darkness of the night."
Oliver was attacked again, this time in his leg.
"If I stay still, I'll be killed. I must teleport now."
Oliver teleported—but found himself in another spot inside the cave.
"I returned to the same point... It seems there's magic in this place that prevents me from leaving. And that thing… it can see in the dark. That's not good at all."
The ghoul, in the middle of the darkness, was preparing its weapon to strike. Suddenly, Oliver disappeared.
"If I can't see it, then I won't let it see me either. I need to find a plan—quickly. This can't last long… I don't even know exactly where I'm standing."
"I can only teleport to places I know, but I keep returning to this one… at different spots. That means there's a sorcerer among the ghouls. But actually, that's good. The ghouls don't know my exact location."
Oliver was suddenly wounded in the back.
"No, I was wrong… I have to find a solution."
He then heard a laugh.
"You're laughing now? Is this fun to you? Unfortunately, I don't have time for this. There's a musclehead out there who doesn't think, another who can't use his powers, and a meeting with the leader. So shall we begin? Because right now, I'm at my peak of excitement."
Oliver picked up some pebbles and vanished.
The ghoul heard a sound and moved toward it—but found nothing.
He heard it again, moved toward it—again, nothing.
The third time, he turned toward the sound, but before he could react, a sword pierced his skull.
Someone looked at him coldly.
"So you're the one causing me all this headache. Do you really think preventing my teleportation and taking away my sight will be enough to defeat me, fool? You should know who you're dealing with first. I am the death lover—Oliver Dragon Hawk. And as a mark of your defeat…"
Oliver grabbed the sword impaled in the ghoul's head and drove it deeper, pinning the head to the cave wall.
"Now, let's see how I'll get out of here and find my comrades."
---
At Henry's side:
"Huh? This is strange… Where am I? What—a lake? I'm in the middle of a lake? What's going on? I wonder if everyone's okay."
An arrow almost hit Henry, but thanks to his reflexes, he avoided it.
"What?! Are you targeting me? Come on, fight me, you cowards!"
Silence filled the area. No arrows were fired. It was as if Henry was surrounded—and the ghouls were waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Suddenly, chains emerged from the water and bound him.
"Chains? So that's your plan? I'll teleport—wait, my power... It's fading? Interesting. Is this your trick? To trap me? Too bad—it won't work for long. Huh, these chains won't break… and my magic feels almost gone."
"So, I'm standing on a rock, tied up with chains, surrounded by idiots who think they've caught me… But they don't know—I've got muscles."
Henry roared, trying to break the restraints—but nothing happened.
"Well, muscles don't break everything."
He faced the attackers. "So, you're trying to hunt me, huh? How about you come here and try for real? No? Not worth it, huh?"
Another arrow flew by—then a blast of water.
"Oh, using elemental attacks now? Fine! If you want the hard way—come at me with all your strength! I'll endure it all! Well, except the arrows; I'd rather not ruin my face before finding my love."
An arrow grazed his arm. Henry stared at the wound angrily.
"Wow… ugly face. You and I won't get along, will we? Why don't you come here and show me what you can do?"
A ghoul hurled a water projectile, but Henry didn't dodge—he blocked it.
Arrows and water attacks kept coming. Henry didn't move. Some arrows pierced his arms and legs, but he stayed still.
The ghouls approached him, thinking he was finished.
"Finally, you came, you bastards. It took some patience to catch the prey, huh?"
Henry suddenly broke the chains—it turned out he had already cracked them earlier. All the injuries on his body were fake; he had stopped them before they reached his skin using sand.
He had used the little magic he had to weaken the chains, and once they loosened, his muscles did the rest.
"So, the one who scratched me—does he realize that when I look in the mirror, I'll see an unbalanced muscle shape? No worries. Don't panic—you'll all die soon."
Henry charged forward and wiped them out.
"Now… time to find my friends."
---
At Deputy Commander Julian's side:
"I've been teleporting around this cave for hours, but nothing. I wonder how the others are doing. I'm responsible for finding them, after all."
"Where are you going? I was ordered to fight you until you die!" a ghoul's voice shouted.
"Who are you?" Julian asked.
"I'm the deputy leader of the ghouls—and I'll be the one to kill you!"
"Kill me? Are you delirious?"
"You think I'm delirious? We'll see."
The ghoul hurled his battle axe at Julian with great force. Julian dodged it easily.
"Is that all you've got?"
Suddenly, the axe returned, slashing into Julian's body.
"Understand now? You're dead."
"Not a bad strike… but you don't know that this place will soon be filled with blood."
"What…?"
"The power of blood—Blood Pool!"
The ground turned into a pool of blood. When the ghoul tried to move, he couldn't.
"What's happening?!"
"I told you, you were delirious if you thought you could kill me."
The ghoul suddenly vanished, trying to teleport—but spikes of blood shot up and pierced through his body.
"Now we'll talk. Tell me—where are my teammates? Their lives are worth your entire tribe. Speak."
The ghoul laughed mockingly.
"And who are you to demand answers, human?"
"Then you won't talk? Fine. Power of Blood—Crimson Death!"
The ghoul looked in terror as a monstrous creature made of blood rose before him.
"What the hell is this?! What are you, human?!"
"I am Julian, deputy commander of the Ice Eagles team. And as for my secret… I'll bury it with you. Better that only two know it than three, right?"
"No! Please! I'll talk!"
"Then speak."
"The gate—it was created by someone close to the king!"
"Do you know who?"
"No… Only our leader has seen him and knows who he is."
"Then where can I find my friends?"
"After the leader finishes with that human possessed by the demon—"
"You mean André?"
"I don't know his name, but that's why we attacked the village."
"André… looks like your secret will be revealed sooner than expected."
"Now, let's bury mine first. Beast—devour him."
"No! Please, don't!"
The blood monster lunged and devoured the ghoul in one bite.
Julian turned and walked away.
"Now… to find André."
...
New chapter!
I know I'm late, but if I ask for your support… will you give it to me?