From the thinning smoke, three shadowy figures strode forward, arms folded in silent defiance. Aletha clung to Asahi's hand, whispering anxiously.
"Who are they?" she asked. "Is that… Akwan?!"
As the wanderers crawled, a spiral of emerald earth enveloped them. In an instant, every wound sealed, every bruise faded, and even the dust in their hair disappeared.
"Who's that?" I feel healed." Aletha commented as she and Asahi pushed themselves back up. "Asahi, did yours vanish, too?"
Asahi nodded and turned to watch the audience fleeing back to their carriages.
(SWING)
Narcissa's eyes burned with rage as she tightened her hold on the glowing brown blade. She stalked after the wanderers, venomous threats hissing between her clenched teeth.
Narcissa changed her mind, lowered her sword, and yelled at them in anger. "That boy will not be with me, and that girl will be gone from my sight." Her feelings went from liking to complete hate.
Unable to fight back, Asahi and Aletha were left trembling in silence. Narcissa's mocha eyes blazed as she raised her glowing blade in preparation for attack. Suddenly, a massive blue shockwave knocked Narcissa backward, her hair streaming wildly.
Then, a serene voice drifted over the crowd, soothing as a gentle breeze.
"I am not happy or proud. Neither should you nor the crowd." Standing on what looked like snow, a tall woman with white hair spread the essence into the air. Her pink eyes stared at Narcissa.
Despite all the memory loss, Asahi and Aletha had remembered her presentation of powers.
They remembered the fountain and geysers clearly.
As blue blasts rained down on Narcissa, her eyes widened in terror, shrinking with each strike.
"I recognize that voice," she said. "Is that... the Four Knights? Why didn't you slay those pests? I command you to atta--"
All four voices, with their pitches, tone, and inventions, interrupted the Queen without hesitation.
"No."
Narcissa backed up from the Fountain in disbelief, whispering.
"What? That can't be. Why won't you listen to me? Why won't you do what I say?"
Quickly, she sprinted to the group of guards standing at the forest's outskirts, ordering all of them.
"Slay those wanderers immediately."
A deep feminine voice resounded over the carved cliffs.
"Don't you dare give orders to us again. We know what you did. Back in the meeting, remember?" The woman continued. "You didn't make us look like knights, not even heroes. You made us look like fools before the world."
Her dark black hair gently swayed with the wind, kneeling over a cliff. An intense magenta luminance resonated over her hands, illuminating her face. She wore a mask and had glistening amethyst eyes. After a few moments, the woman clenched her fists and yelled at Narcissa.
"If you truly cared about others instead of yourself, you wouldn't have ordered your guards to attack the new king. Were you not interested in him ago? What happened? Huh? Answer!"
Narcissa couldn't help but chuckle. This wicked woman was far worse than a blurry eye.
The light faded from Narcissa's eyes. Her sword fell away as she gasped, shaking her head in shock and fear.
As she approached the forest, Narcissa fearfully muttered.
"But… it… It was just a misunderstanding. I-It was all a joke. You are true heroes and you are knights and--"
Narcissa was interrupted yet again by another familiar-sounding voice.
"Don't tell such an obvious lie. Even the strong won't believe you. You know what you did and should feel bad about it. You don't want Asahi—you just want his power."
He clenched his fists and raised his voice, peering with his blue daggering eyes at them.
"I know the capabilities of what she and Asahi have. You shall never capture them. They are special… unlike you." As he continued to smote Narcissa's false words into oblivion, the others watched in awe at the young man's presentation.
"You, Narcissa, are a truly narcissistic, selfish, and unforgiving shrew. You should be cast aside for the birds and left to ponder your actions. Don't you dare call this the nation of Disgust."
He had long dark hair, wearing a collar, eyepiece, and a robe. It was no other than….
"Akwan?" Asahi and Aletha said in unison. Now it explains his disappearance back when the crowd was there. He was allied with the group, the "Four Knights".
As Asahi and Aletha rose from the ground, secured by the grasp of the Four Knights, a group from the absent crowd shouted.
"You're no heroes! All you care about is your image and the lies you tell Pladtioa. You should kneel to the Queen, not her."
Belial softly chuckled and shook his head,
"And what kind of moron told you such a lie?" He said. "It seems all of the people here are under the influence of the corruption of Narcissa's deceptive ways."
Narcissa harshly bit her lip and stomped on the ground furiously, trying to resonate with them.
"You'd better get down and capture those two filthy wanderers. We have worked together for fifty years, and we have had no problems until now. Get down here and listen to my orders.
Drimi lightly giggled and covered her mask.
"You didn't even notice what we said," she mumbled, hoisting her arm to reveal herself. "You ignored us to lure us back to your selfish desires. If you hurt the wanderers again, you will lose that malicious smile."
Narcissa's eyes narrowed, her heart thundering like a war drum. Fury contorted her face as she tore a sword from a fallen guard and hurtled toward Asahi with unstoppable wrath.
"You think you're so special with that otherworldly attire. Foolish. You are the one who corrupted my devoted four knights."
"I wouldn't say corrupt, but saved," Asahi said without remorse. "Unlike them, you need something beyond saving."
This caused her to summon a brown luminance on her palm. Then, the luminance transmutated into a magenta, paralyzing Asahi, his feet rooted to the ground.
Paralyzed and stuck in place by Narcissa's spell, Asahi could only watch as Narcissa dragged her long, brown blade along the ground, drawing closer to him.
Just as she stabbed Asahi, Aletha swiftly jumped in front of him and slammed her eyes. The silver tip nearly hovered over Asahi's eye, spilling out words as she spoke.
"I don't mind stabbing this filth's eye--
As soon as she leaned over and stabbed Aletha's eye, suddenly, a bright cyan luminance encircled and coiled around the Queen's figure.
Narcissa then dragged her fingers against the dirt and swung her claw at the silhouette.
As soon as they got away, she clenched her fists and stared at The Four with pure anger. "Guards, attack The Four, and kill the two putrid white-haired outlanders immediately."
Suddenly, a large number of guards sprinted behind Narcissa, charging towards the wanderers, but as soon as they pierced their spears through their backs, a dark-haired, hooded boy slammed into the ground, forming a trembA vibrant green aura wrapped around the trio, pulsing with life-giving energy that rekindled their spirits and flooded them with newfound strength.d their strength.
"Who was that?" Aletha asked, genuinely clueless.
Soon, a leg came crashing in, with what seemed to be a boy holding a spear straight at them.
"Come, now," He said to the wanderers as magical chaos erupted around them.
Grabbing onto a bottle of green soil, he threw it into the air and watched as the pores of the earth vacuumed the essences fully.
"This should halt them from coming forward." He said.
Asahi and Aletha nodded their heads, seeing a wall of wood appear magically in thin air. Without disturbance, they watched as all three parried off the guards, the fourth person evacuating the two.
"You two should be safe," His voice was alluring and direct, matching his appearance. "Now, grab onto this canister of soil, and whenever you think it's ready, throw it into the air, and a giant wall of wood should appear."
In a heartbeat, the wanderers stared in stunned disbelief at the uncanny magic. Clutching the bottles, they recoiled as the guards' screams sliced through the air.
"You think you can escape and deny the Queen's adoration? Not on our watch!"
Just as one of the arrows hit the two, Asahi threw the canister into the air. All watched as the green soil magically transmutated into a giant tree that popped up like the moon.
"There," The boy said as he ran up the tree and sliced one of the guards. As he sprinted up the wood, the boy launched himself into the air, piercing his hand through the guard's chest.
"Thanks for doing that." He said as he struck four more guards. "The coast is clear. Hmm, the name's Belial, a pleasure to meet with you."
Though Asahi and Aletha remembered meeting Belial in The Forbidden Book's realm, The Ruler of The Forgotten's power had affected him. He seemed to forget everything, but still acted normally. Even a tiny memory returning proved their success.
As the dust of the destroyed Fountain settled and the winds died down, a distant voice shouted to the dark-haired, green-eyed boy.
"Belial, there are hundreds of guards arriving!"
"Hundreds?" He muttered. "Oh well, at least we have a strong team. Even without our weapons, Drimi… show them who's the true knight!"
She tossed another canister of magical soil into the air, forming purple beams of light as she shook her head. "On it!" she called.
Though not directly attacked, Asahi and Aletha were caught off guard as a dagger whistled toward them, then seven more followed. Before they could react or glimpse another canister soaring skyward, darkness swallowed their vision and consciousness.
Seeing this, Belial muttered as he grabbed the two with both his arms.
"I suppose they did attack them," He said as his skin transformed into fur. "Who shall be my next target? What did they do to the two of you?"
After hearing those words in the dark void, their hearing faded to silence.