Two explosions sounded loudly, nothing compared to the explosion from earlier. Everybody was crouched down, their hands covering their heads. But nobody was hurt. Nobody was dead.
It was quiet. Everybody slowly lifted their heads. It was too quiet. They looked at the big silver shields. They were breaking, the shields had cracks in it, the silver wings were crumbling. Black smoke came from the breaking shields. There should have been a two people inside. But no flesh nor any blood came from the breaking shields.
Chills went down everybody's backs at the sight. The bombs were so powerful, nothing was left after it detonated.
Everybody looked down, to the two who had brought up those silver shields with their silver wings. The end of the silver strand of light.
Adara's hands were throbbing, small cuts appeared on them. Her ears were ringing at the loudness of the explosions, now that she heard two of them much closer than before. Her knees gave out, as she fell to the ground. Cale fell down with her, she could feel him closer to her, his warmth reminding her he was alive and well.
"Young Master Cale! Young Mistress Adara!"
Rosalyn tried to help them up, but she was not strong enough to pick up two people who both wanted to stay down. She looked at them anxiously, they were both on their knees, looking blankly at their throbbing hands. They were not moving at all, she could barely hear them breathing.
She looked at the place where the bombs had gone off, not even a single drop of blood, not a piece of flesh could be seen. The Black Dragon's shield had taken the majority of it, but not all of it. And their shields had a recoil, the Black Dragon's did not.
Rosalyn grit her teeth. "Young Master Cale, Young Mistress Adara, are you okay? Can you hear me?"
It was a very distant voice to Adara, she could barely hear it. She did not know who spoke it. She recognised the voice as Rosalyn's after a moment, though it was still far away.
"Cale-nim! Adara-nim!"
"Young Master! Young Mistress!"
"Cale, Adara, are you two okay?"
Adara recognised the last voice. It was Eric's. She felt him near her, she guessed her other senses were more keen since she still could not hear well.
"We're oka—," she tried to say, as did Cale, but both of them stopped short in their sentence. Because they both coughed up blood.
"B—blood!" Eric exclaimed, getting pale. He almost tripped on his own feet to leap back.
She stared at her hand, some of the blood had gotten on her hand, the red liquid as dark as her dress seemed to mock her. I must be losing it, she thought, barely able to hear her own thoughts.
Adara continued staring at the blood. Realising she could hear much better now. And her hands were not throbbing, the small cuts disappeared as well. Ah, the Vitality of the Heart helped me. Is this what it feels like then? Coughing up blood? As Cale would say, how vicious.
She was only slightly alarmed by how quickly she felt fine again, the pain disappearing pretty fast. She felt healthier than ever, actually. As if nothing could ever be wrong with her.
A refreshing feeling washed over, letting her enjoy it. It reminded her of when she was younger, able to sleep peacefully and feel refreshed in the morning. She was happy she did not need to regrow any limbs after all.
She had totally forgotten they were with company, and she started smiling, still looking at her hands. As she smiled, she wiped the blood off of her chin with her bloody hand, sending Cale a look. He was smiling as well.
But at the sight of their smiles, everyone around them started telling them off.
"You two think this is funny right now? Stop laughing!" Taylor demanded, his voice shocked.
Adara looked up at him, she had not realised he was there. But she squinted as she peered up at him, the sun was in her eyes and she could not see properly.
"Stop trying to open your eyes either!"
Adara opened her mouth, but she was interrupted.
"Stop trying to speak as well!"
Adara looked at Taylor, confused. What's wrong with him? She got off her knees, Rosalyn helping her shift her weight. She was sitting down on the ground now, her red dress in a swirl around her, her shoes peeking through. It was not lady-like, not noble-like, but Adara didn't care. It was not noble-like to save everyone with a hidden power. At least her back was straight, they should be happy with that much.
The Black Dragon was talking in her head, the threats flowing out of him like a fountain. 'Weak Human! Weak Half-Not-Human! You two cannot die! You two are too weak! If you die— if even one of you dies— I will destroy everything! I will kill everyone, destroy everything, and once everything is gone— including both of your corpses— I will kill myself as well!'
Adara almost laughed at his words. Who taught him such words? she wondered, amused. It certainly wasn't me.
Amiru felt helpless as she stared at Adara. She still had blood on her chin, the blood blending in with her dark dress. It had given her such a fright when she suddenly coughed up blood. If only there was a—. "Adara! Young Master Cale!" Amiru said, suddenly getting an idea. "We will call a priest over!"
Gilbert nodded at the idea. "I will go with you!"
But before Adara or Cale could protest, they were already rushing towards a Priest. Adara peeked at the Priest they were talking to, he was dressed in a Servant of the Sun God's Priest outfit. Adara cursed. She was sure her disguise was good enough, but if the Priest tried to do anything they would immediately find out her non-human ancestry.
Adara sent a look at Cale, knowing he understood as well. Cale would do everything in his power to not let the Priest get into contact with Adara. From next to them, Eric was glaring at all the other Nobles, the North-Eastern ones as well as the ones from the other Factions. He didn't want any of them approaching.
Adara heard a particular conversation, now that her hearing was the best again. She turned her head, seeing Choi Han talking to the Royal Knight in charge of the Nobles.
"Please get out of my way," Choi Han said in a low voice, his eyes cold.
"No way," the Royal Knight protested. "Civilians are not allowed inside."
Choi Han looked ready to murder the Knight. "Civilian? Who came up with crap like that?"
That's not good, Adara thought. I wonder what made him almost want to murder a Knight? She gave a curt motion with her hand, the action like a flick. Did Cale not tell him to stay back?
Choi Han saw it and clenched his hand. "I apologise," he said, more to them than to the Knight in front of him.
Adara sent Cale a look, he gave her a confused one back. Huh, she thought. So he did order him to stay back. She looked behind Choi Han, saw Lock with On and Hong on his shoulders. She gave them a small nod. But then she looked away, because Rosalyn suddenly caught her attention.
"Young Master Cale, Young Mistress Adara, are you okay?" Rosalyn asked, still looking pretty even with a different hair colour.
Cale and Adara nodded at the same time. "Yes, we are absolutely fine."
But, while Cale had already wiped away all the blood on his chin, Adara had not. It only made her statement that she was fine seem ludicrous. So Cale dealt with that. He grabbed her chin, making her face him, before he wiped all the blood from her chin.
Rosalyn watched with blank eyes. It seemed normal. To be helping your friend wipe away some blood the same colour as her dress away from her chin. But Rosalyn had seen what had led to Adara and Cale having blood on their chin. She doubted she, a princess— not just any princess, but the Crown Princess—, could do the same.
"I really can't figure you two out," she mumbled.
But neither had any time to respond, though they both heard, because they were looking behind her.
The Blood-Drinking Mage. He was floating above them, looking down at them. "I never expected something like this to happen. But this is pretty fun as well," he said, looking at the Royal Family. The Mages started using their levitation magic, and the Royal Knights rushed over to shoot their arrows at Redika.
But Redika did not care for them. He was looking at the Nobles. He made eye contact with the Noble with hair the colour of a bright red, then with the Noble in a dark red dress. Next to those exciting Nobles, was someone he recognised, though her hair was now dyed brown. He had seen her at the Blue Wolf Village.
He grinned, his screeching voice filling the Plaza again. "Wow! So many different colours of blood that I like!"
Many mages started launching their attacks. But Redika simply smiled, his eyes curling like crescent moons. "I want to put them in my display case.
From next to her, Adara heard Cale mutter a few words. "Is he crazy?"
She would have laughed, if she was not hopeful. Hopeful that Choi Han would kill him. It seemed like an ending to her. Like the ending of a chapter, or the ending of an arc. She only wanted him to disappear, so that Choi Han could kill him.
Her head turned to Choi Han, as did Cale's. They were thinking the same thing, and Choi Han understood. In the next instant, he was gone.
He was moving fast— not towards Redika— but towards where Redika would be.
Redika looked at the King as he smiled, the magic attacks about to hit him. "Then, see you next time!"
He then disappeared. But not only him, but the ones he brought with him as well. Except for the two suicide bombers. They were never meant to come back.
The motherfucker's speciality was teleportation magic, thus naturally, none of the mages trying to attack him knew where they had gone. But the novel Kim Rok Soo read mentioned it, it was written in that book where Redika would teleport after the Plaza Incident.
Choi Han, On, Hong, and Lock were headed there.
There won't be a next time, Adara thought, glaring at the place Redika used to be. If Redika and the other members of the Secret Organisation did teleport there, they would die by Choi Han's hands. She was certain he would die. Certain.
While they trusted Choi Han to kill them alone, they did not trust him to not go berserk. So they made sure On, Hong, and Lock went with him. Their mere presence would help him remain rational. He was weak against all those younger and weaker than him after all.
Cale stood up, Rosalyn helping him up. Once he was standing, Rosalyn was next to Adara, helping her up as well. Adara wanted to protest, but Rosalyn's hands were warm, and Adara wished they were around her for a second longer.
The King had walked back to the podium. Everyone in the Plaza was talking, all of them were relieved nothing grave had happened but worried that the terrifying mage might come back and kill them all. The King was walking to the podium to try and calm them down.
"I will do my best to get revenge for this cruel and terrible incident," King Zed spoke, everyone quieting from his voice. "That is why I want all of you to follow the orders of the Crown and focus on calming yourselves and getting rest. We will push this celebration back."
But Adara did not care for what the King had to say. It was simply an attempt to get control of the situation and to give the citizens the idea that the King cared for their well-being. And maybe he did, but Adara did not care.
Instead, she was looking at Rosalyn, wondering for a moment what had compelled her to reveal herself for her and Cale. She was supposed to be hiding her presence, but she had not.
But then she got it. Ah, she stepped in because the Black Dragon cannot reveal himself. Of course.
Rosalyn made eye contact with the two, smiling as she did. She mouthed a word as she looked at them. 'Secret,' she mouthed.
Both Adara and Cale started to smile. Rosalyn understood them perfectly, it was quite nice.
Before Ron had come in, requesting a 'vacation', they had prepared the day of the Plaza Terror Incident. They had assumed Adara would be there to explain the plan to the six people in their room, but she had other things to deal with. So Cale had needed to deal with it alone. But the message had still come across, even without Adara's vicious comments.
The first thing he told them, was that the dragon and the Beast Tribe Trio, On, Hong, and Lock, would— no matter what— never have their identities revealed. There was a heavy emphasis on that.
Second, if Choi Han and (more importantly) Rosalyn get recognised, they will lie and say they were there by coincidence, denying every claim that they did anything. Of course, lying to the Crown was only possible because they had no way of proving who had gotten rid of the bombs, so they had no way of catching them in their lie.
Third, which they did not really need to say but they did anyway, they would not harm each other.
Adara started brushing the dirt off of her beautiful red dress, smoothing out the wrinkles. Cale started brushing the dirt off of his clothes as well, making sure his suit was in order.
"Young Master! Young Mistress!" called the Priest, being dragged over by Amiru and Gilbert. "Are you okay?"
Rosalyn stepped back, but Adara stood to the side of Cale, only slightly behind. As if she were hiding behind him.
Cale pushed his hands out towards the Priest. "It hurts a lot. Please take a look."
From behind the Priest, Adara saw the Crown Prince heading to them. She wanted to narrow her eyes, but then she realised the Crown Prince might be able to distract the Priest from checking her. She knew, for sure, that the Crown Prince had already recognised Rosalyn. And saw her two-layered magic. All that was left for the Crown Prince was for him to wonder what the relationship between the two Trash and the Crown Princess of the Breck Kingdom was.
It was good to be able to leech off of everything they could in a situation like this. That was why, Adara figured, Cale started speaking in a very loud voice.
"It really is hard to protect something."
Since we had to reveal our Ancient Power, I suppose it is only fair we take everything and anything we can take, she thought, a glance at the Crown Prince. His hair like gold.
Why would you ever do anything for fame? Fame cannot feed you. Money can. It was not like Cale and Adara had any money shortage problems. But they still wanted more. It was better to be rich than to be a hero.
The Priest smiled awkwardly. "Ah, yes, yes, indeed. I saw your silver shield, Young Master Cale— Young Mistress Adara—," he added with a nervous nod at her. "You two did something marvellous." The Priest gulped and took Cale's hands to inspect them, done with talking.
Cale Henituse. Adara Thornwin. The two known as Trash. They revealed such a strength. Such a strength protected the Nobles and Royal Family from two very powerful bombs. They had stood there, protecting the people from the explosion, before they fell and spit out blood. And now they were simply standing there, as if nothing had happened.
Nobles and Citizens alike were watching him. The King was gone. There was nobody else to look at except the two Trash with the pretty faces. The two with the silver light.
Cale and Adara watched the Nobles back. Every time they made eye contact with one of the Nobles watching them from afar, they avoided their gazes. Pretending they had never looked in the first place.
Adara thought back on the Crown Prince. She could not see him now, did not know where he went. But she still thought of him. She hesitated. I cannot be sure he is a Dark Elf. It is merely speculation. I... I know his mother looked like a Southerner, but is that really proof that he is a Dark Elf? It is a big deal to accuse one of the Royal Members of having Dark Elf ancestry. But then again, his disguise did not go away while the Mana Disturbance Tool was on, and we know for certain that he does have a disguise. I suppose... I can imagine it true. For now.
Cale's voice broke away her thoughts. "I guess this is your first time looking at an Ancient Power."
Well, Adara thought as the Priest let out a gasp. That is one way of profiting off of it.
"I see," a voice from behind them said. A hand on both of their shoulders.
Adara forced herself not to tense up at the unfamiliar hand on her shoulder. Because she knew who it was. And that person would not hurt her. But that did not mean it was suddenly familiar.
"Your Highness," Adara and Cale both greeted, turning around to face Alberu Crossman. Adara was somewhat grateful to the Crown Prince, his arrival meant that she did not need to get checked by the Priest.
Adara remembered something the Crown Prince had done in the novel Kim Rok Soo read. Something she had thought was quite fitting for the glib-tongued Crown Prince.
The Hero of the Plaza Terror Incident.
Another way to take control of the situation. This one more sly than the King's attempt. To shift the focus of the citizens from the disregard for their safety compared to the Nobles and Crown and the fact that said Nobles and Royal Family were trying to run away, they needed to shift it to something they could believe in, despite the Terror Incident.
In the novel, the Crown Prince turned Choi Han into a Beacon of Hope.
The very same Crown Prince was now in front of them. Hoping to turn them into a Beacon of Hope as well.
But, Adara and Cale would not let themselves believe they have a meaningful friendship with the Crown Prince. No. They would prevent it from even reaching that point. Because the Crown Prince knew Cale was very similar to him, and while the Crown Prince might believe Adara crude and blunt, he'll soon see that a friendship with her would also be unsuccessful.
They did not want to be used to make the Kingdom better. They would rather use the Crown Prince to make their wallets bigger.
"Mister Cale... Miss Adara..." the Crown Prince started, shock and admiration on his face. Before he wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them close. "Thank you. We are so proud of what you did."
It took Adara a second to understand he was hugging them. It was odd. She can't remember the last time she was hugged.
Before Kim Rok Soo was put into her best friend's body. Her Cale.
She pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the Crown Prince who was now hugging her and Cale. And for a second, she actually wondered if the Crown Prince's admiration was genuine.
But then his voice came, low and in their ears. "Mister Cale, you and I share the same style, right?" His voice was tense. "And Miss Adara. You want to get straight to the point, right?"
Adara, with her chin on his shoulder, nodded as discreetly as she could.
"I will make sure there is nothing annoying and reward you handsomely," the Crown Prince continued. "What do you think?"
Adara smiled, lifting her hands to hug Crown Prince Alberu back. Cale, who was hugging him as well, spoke up, a smile in his voice. "Your Highness, it was nothing. I only did what any citizen of the Kingdom would do."
Adara also spoke up, wanting to surprise the Crown Prince with her... ah, bluntness. "Truly, Your Highness, any citizen would have done the same to protect the Rising Sun of our Kingdom, the Star in the Eye of all those around us."
The Crown Prince, in his surprise at hearing such glib words come out of the Young Mistress's mouth, stopped hugging them, separating himself from them. He was expecting it from Cale, but he had at least hoped the Young Mistress would not spout any words of nonsense, it was already bad enough that she slipped around his compliments like they did not mean anything, but now she was proving to him that she too can be similar to the Crown Prince.
He couldn't help but curse.
~~~