The Crown's Entrapment

At the Kingdom of Ebodia

"Have you seen him?!" Jayra burst out at the royal guards.

It was chaos. Sephiro was nowhere to be found, and the Magi Tower was in an uproar as everyone searched for the one person where the bloodthread of Helion's Demon King, Devon, was currently residing.

Jayra gritted her teeth as she tried to calm herself down. If she recalled correctly, Sephiro was placed in the most sacred of places within the tower itself. They had even made sure to cast a strong spell to keep the boy in place, but what they didn't expect was for the boy to somehow escape. It should've been theoretically impossible to do so, unless…

"We have a spy in the castle!" she barked out in epiphany as she made long strides on her way outside. Mentally, she quickly communicated with her husband who had been waiting for her outside the tower. [Get ready in your wolf form. We must locate Sephiro this instant. Or else, not only will his life be in danger, but everyone who comes across him might also be affected,] she instructed. [The bloodthread in him is currently running amok, making him erratic and prone to violence…]

[But… you just recovered,] Bartos complained.

Jayra shook her head. [How come you weren't that thoughtful last night in bed then?] she snorted. [Get ready right this instant. And don't you dare complain any further before I decide to fully take my time recovering, and that includes strenuous exercise in bed!]

[I've been ready for a long time,] Bartos groaned.

Jayra let out a sigh as she kept on walking. It had been a few days since they'd arrived at Ebodia, and she had been meditating for an entire day to ensure her complete recovery with the help of the royal mages' energies. And thankfully, she had finally regained her full strength, allowing her to see the Demon King's bloodthread residing within Sephiro's inner core.

Upon this revelation, they then discussed the procedure that had to be done to save his life. It was a rather lengthy discussion, and they all ended up concluding that things wouldn't be easy since the procedure would put Sephiro's life at risk.

Jayra released a deep and heavy sigh. She couldn't even believe that she and Bartos managed to have this kind of telepathic conversation despite what was going on around them. Without wasting any more time, Jayra climbed onto Bartos's wolf form and the two went off to start their search for Sephiro.

[I have a feeling that Sephiro will look for Osman,] Bartos commented through their mindlink while he was running at high speed. He was searching the routes the boy could possibly take by following the traces of Sephiro's faint smell.

Jayra simply nodded. That was what also she believed would happen. Currently, Osman and Bella were together with the rest of the convoy as they went on their journey back to Cordon yesterday early morning. If she remembered correctly, the two had mentioned they planned on traveling by horse so that their journey back would be longer than usual. If so, then by her calculation, the two along with their convoy should probably be by the wilderness between the borders of north Ebodia and South Cordon.

It was a logical deduction. Sephiro had been asking for Osman when he was starting to show symptoms of being enveloped by dark magic, and something felt off from him this morning when he sounded so desperate to see Osman.

She knew they should've increased the surveillance on the boy right then and there, but unfortunately, all available personnel had become busy preparing for the ritual they were about to perform on him. As soon as the full moon rose that night, they would remove the bloodthread in Sephiro's inner core, as doing so was necessary to save his life.

[Something's wrong!] Bartos growled.

[What is it?]

[I smell Bella's scent and blood…] Bartos gravely grumbled. [Hold on as tight as you can, Wife.]

At her husband's instruction, Jayra braced herself and tightened her grip on his fur. She could feel how weary Bartos was, and she could only assume the worst as they zoomed past any and all obstacles in their path.

'Oh please…' she inwardly chanted as she prayed for everyone's safety.

She could only hope that they weren't yet too late… Osman and Bella were both incapable of fighting off Sephiro once Devon's bloodthread fully took over the boy's body. They must reach them this instant.

After a few moments, they finally arrived at where Bartos had tracked down their scents. Surveying the area, Jayra's eyes widened as she felt the hard pounding of her heart against her chest.

"This is…" she gasped as the sight before her made her whole body tremble. "We're too late…"

With a weak murmur, she rushed down and ran towards Bella's side. The woman was currently on the ground near the cliff's edge, bloody and injured.

"Bella!" she called out before quickly pulling her sister-in-law away from the edge.

"He can't be dead right? Osman isn't dead,] Bella sobbed, her chants coming off desperate as she stared out at the cliff. "We have to find him!"

Distressed, Jayra looked around the cliffside, noticing nothing but the blood of all of the former members of the attacked convoy. She then saw Bartos, and she quickly telepathically informed, [Bella's alright. She's wounded, but it's nothing major…] She watched her husband approach them, and she frowned when he stopped before an unconscious Sephiro right beside them… [The Demon's bloodthread is gone from his body.] she informed Bartos as he inspect Sephiro's body.

"He's still breathing," Bartos said. "Let's bring Bella home first. Gideon and the rest are now on their way…"

"No! I won't leave! We must hurry and rescue Osman!" Bella suddenly burst out. "I'm sure he's still alive!"

"What happened, Bella?" Jayra asked.

"Sephiro… he attacked us on our journey. He was fuming and looking for Osman. His eyes are all black, and he killed everyone that came across him," Bella hauntingly recounted. "He was about to kill me too, but Osman… He tried to stop him… They fought here and things happened so fast. I… The next thing I saw was Osman bathed in his own blood and falling-"

Bella froze as her gaze dragged itself back to the edge of the cliff. Limping, she tried to get back on her feet to walk towards the edge.

"You're hurt, Bella. I have to bring you to safety first," Bartos pleadingly remarked as he quickly stopped the distraught woman from moving. "I'll relay what happened to deliver it to our King and the rest. They'll do a thorough search for Osman, alright? Come now, Sister…"

Jayra let out another long deep sigh. Bella was hysterical, and seeing as there was no sign of her stopping any time soon, she decided that what she was about to do was for the best. With a shake of her head, she started chanting and cast a spell on Bella to make her unconscious.

"Bring her home, Husband," Jayra instructed. "I'll stay here and check on Sephiro and others to see who else is alive…"

"But…"

There was hesitation in Bartos's voice, indicating that he didn't want her to be left there alone.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I sense no dark magic around, and you just said that Cordon's support and aide will be here any minute now," she weakly scoffed. "Go and take care of Bella first. I'll see you soon after…"

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