Culling

Part III • Chapter XI

I could always kill him later, if necessary. If something had happened to Sang, well, this arena was small enough, in comparison. There would be no place in the world able to hide the perpetrators from the nine of us - anyone involved would be dead men walking.

I glanced at Kota, and noticed that he was still locked in battle of his own.

However, I wasn't worried. They were almost evenly matched, skill wise, but Kota also had immeasurable motive. Kota wouldn't want me to intervene, not that I could take on someone of his level to begin with.

It seemed as though Conan had attempted to retreat as well, but Kota was holding him to the scene. He was hesitant to kill him, but he also had a feeling that something wasn't right.

Kota was procrastinating, he wanted to keep Conan here and alive. I knew him well enough to be able to tell that. He was trusting me to get to Sang instead. "Kota, I'll be right back."

I met his flashing eyes as he nodded towards me.

I didn't take more time to watch him, I had to get to Sang. She shouldn't have made it too far...

I rushed through the forest where she had disappeared into, as I searched without seeing a sign of her, the tightness in my chest increased until it felt as if it were about to burst.

If she had been hiding nearby, I would have come upon her already. She knew better than to get too far, and her position indicated that she had to have been here.

At this point, I didn't care if I gave away my position. My mind was becoming a frantic mess of frayed nerves and fury, I'd willingly kill anyone who interfered at this point. I just had to find her.

Maybe she was just hiding. Maybe she just didn't know that it was me.

But only silence answered me.

She should be here - I had created these bracelets for this type of situation! It had to be accurate! I couldn't have failed her that badly!

However, I could find only nothing.

"Sang?" My voice broke as numerous, unimaginable scenarios flashed through my mind. Sang broken. A terrifying vision of Sang dead. Another of Sang lost to us forever. The more I searched the area, the more reality ingrained itself into my mind.

I wasn't an idiot. She wasn't here anymore.

"Sang?" I called out again even though my voice was weak.

I was lost - it was as if all that was beautiful had been extinguished from my life.

Without Sang, what else would matter? Certainly not our mission. The only thing any of us would have left to live for would be revenge against those who had been involved.

After that, there would be nothing else.

It was then that I spotted it, the small pile barely discernable in the dark. Sang's bracelet that Gabriel and I had so tediously created for her, the necklace that he and Kota had made, and the ring that Mr Blackbourne had used when proposing.

My heart lurched as I lunged forward, picked up the precious pieces off the ground and held them to my chest. It felt as though my heart was going to explode.

My Princess had been stolen from us. And not only that, but whoever had done it had known enough to take away our only method of finding her.

Panic fought to overtake me, along with a rising sense of fury such that I had never felt before.

Someone was going to pay.

The sound of metal against metal clanged through the area, and I knew that Kota was still holding off Conan. Prolonging the fight.