KINETIC

The butler opened the large double doors and the group followed him into the throne room. General Zogarth wasn't sitting on the throne but was standing at the base of the stairs instead.

His face lit up when he saw Nila approaching him "Nila sweetheart, you're back!" He have her a big hug and looked over her entire body "You don't appear to be injured in any way. I take it you've had some success in your endeavors if you've returned so suddenly?"

"Yes, you could say that. We've actually come back for two reasons, one of them being to give this girl a safe place to stay until we can verify the safety of her family." Nila replied.

"The safety of her family? Has something happened to them?" The General asked and Nila nodded in confirmation.

"While chasing a lead we had on the cult, we encountered a destroyed village. This girl was the only person still in the village and she had been buried under some rubble when we found her. She confirmed that the cult had kidnapped the villagers and taken them to a base they have in the mountain nearby. With there being only one mountain nearby there was no confusion, and so our group split up. The other three are heading to the mountain in an attempt to rescue the villagers, should they be alive."

Nila did her best to summarize all the information as she explained the situation.

As she was explaining the General was looking from Nila to Marie constantly.

"Your friends are either very brave or very stupid to go there alone. Although, if I recall correctly one them was even more powerful than you regarding of his ability so he might actually have a chance at achieving some sort of victory. We can't waste this opportunity then."

The General realized the potential damage they could do to the cult if they combined their forces with that of Leo's group. Leo and Nila were the two strongest ability users, with Cain and Clay being in the top 10 strongest as well.

"Hector." The General called out to the butler "Sir!?" Hector replied.

"Get the carriage ready Immediatly, I'll be heading to the headquarters." The General ordered. Hector swiftly left the room to fulfill his orders.

The general then turned to Nila "We will be departing in the morning at first light. Hopefully we'll be able to arrive in time to assist you friends. As for the little girl, I'm sure you'll be able to find her a room to stay in and alert the staff to her presence." The General left quickly after he finished speaking.

Clay, Nila and Marie were left standing in the throne room completely alone. "So what now?" Clay asked.

"We wait. There's nothing more for us to do today except for that Duel you have with Nathan Zemor at the Battle Arena tonight. Other than that we need to prepare to leave with my father and his troops tomorrow morning." Nila replied.

'Tomorrow is the day that Leo is meant to arrive at the mountain... I wonder if father has a way of getting there in time to help. It took us several days to reach here and he is aware of the distance... How does he plan on getting there in time?' Nila contemplated as she watched the sun setting through the windows of the throne room.

Clay looked down at Marie, her hand still held in his "Let's see what we can do to get you comfortable." He said with a smile. Marie nodded and the three of them walked out of the throne room with Nila in the lead.

***

John had been inside the dark and silent room for quite some time now. His senses had been dulled and he felt as though he would go insane.

'It should almost be time for me to leave this room... I think... It's so hard to keep track of the days passing when you can't see the sun." John thought to himself.

He was currently sitting on the floor in the corner of the room holding his knees against his chest while rocking back and forth.

'What was I thinking, hoping the two weeks would pass quickly. It feels like I've been in here for months!' If his body hadn't been weakened from the lack of food and water then he may have burst into tears.

Just then the sound of water rushing was heard in the room and John Immediatly darted across the room towards the sound in the opposite corner.

There was a bucket that had just had some water poured into it from a pipe. John instantly chugged the miniscule amount of water he was given, with it barely classifying as a glass of water.

'Please let this end already... I can't take this torture any longer...' The silence continued and John was alone with his thoughts once again.

***

Silas and Trent were once again in the same room, with Trent sitting crossed legged with his eyes closed.

"Are you having any luck?" Silas asked. ~Sigh~ "The beasts are chasing after Leofalor, the two he was with aren't with him anymore." Trent replied in an exasperated tone.

"Then they are most likely on their way here. I'll be sure to alert the guards outside to keep an eye out. We barely have any guards left in the first place, I mean seriously!? You and I are the only ones who are capable of fighting an ability user, the few men we were left with are barely trained at all!" Silas continued to rant on about how the base was essentially abandoned and how annoyed he was.

Trent suddenly interrupted Silas "FUCK! He got another one!" He shouted with an annoyed tone.

"Another one? What are you talking about?" Silas asked. "Leofalor the bastard! He's been running just out of reach of the beasts and every few minutes he lifts his hand and one of them dies!" Trent sounded extremely agitated.

"He's already taken out most of the Imps at this point!"

"I know he's killing your beasts but is it really an issue? If we can deal with his friends while they keep him busy then when he finally makes his way here it will be easier to capture him."

Trent was silent for a bit before he replied "You're not wrong. He's only killing the Imps right now so I don't think his ranged attacks are strong enough for the Gargoyles. The issue here is that I can only keep him busy for a few more hours at most. Tomorrow he'll be on his way here."

"Ah yes, the time limit. Well it shouldn't be a problem even if he shows up to help his friends, with the two of us here it shouldn't be too difficult."

"Silas, I'm sure you have other things to do and I need quiet to concentrate on controlling the beasts, so leave me be." Trent snarled.

Silas began walking out the room when he suddenly remembered something "Oh, I forgot to mention that I'll be busy for a while in the altar room tomorrow. That brat is done with his two weeks and I need to perform the ritual." Silas quickly added on before taking his leave.

'That's right.' A smile appeared on Trents face 'I can't wait to see the look on Leofalors face when he sees that John is one of us.'

***

The Battle Arena was an large colloseum type building that was used for shows of strength and various fighting tournaments.

Currently waiting inside one of the rooms within the Battle Arena was Clay and Nila. Clay was holding a wooden longsword in his hand and giving it some practice swings.

"Is he actually any good at fighting?" Clay asked. "He's not the best but he's got some skill. Not that it matters, he's never seen a real battle and we both know that actual combat is nothing like training." Nila replied.

"True, it's completely different when your life is on the line. Here a slip up means losing a point, but out there it means injury or death."

A soldier walked into the room at that moment "The stage is set. Please follow me."

Clay followed the soldier while Nila left to go to a position that would allow her to spectate the duel.

When clay entered the arena he Immediatly noticed that there were easily a few thousand spectators. All around the arena there were seats that had been filled with spectators that were cheering as the fighters entered.

There was a seperate section that looked to have far better quality seats and when looking at that section Clay spotted Nila sitting in one of those seats.

'Must be for the nobles.' Clay thought as he looked at the opposite end of the arena. His opponent was being led out by a soldier as well.

The two of them locked eyes and while Clay maintained a straight face, his opponent had a sadistic grin on his. 'I'll make sure you aren't smiling when this night is done.' Clay silently promised as he stopped at the center of the ring.

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