章 42: Aftermath

The battle ended quickly due to the appearance of Kayto and the loss of Seun's command. In addition, most of the other attackers, especially the ones at other locations, fled. Similarly the members of the New Sabi Sect had long since scattered. It was only the group that attacked the main entrance that remained.

Amaka and Obi were securing the remaining enemies who had surrendered while Tunde and Nnenna were waking up the groggy Seun to get some answers. As soon as Seun recovered his consciousness and realised what had happened to Lola, he shouted in grief and tried to rush at Nnenna but found himself back at his original position, now lying on the floor with a scaled tiger pressing a massive paw on his back.

Then, Tunde first used his persuasion ability to try to get Seun to calm down but he soon realised that it was not working due to the man's grief and rage. Tunde looked accusingly at Nnenna as if to imply that it was her fault. However, Nnenna did not regret the death of Lola as she could not stand treachery and deceit. But, she acknowledged that it would now be more difficult to get the information they wanted from Seun.

Nevertheless, Tunde's ability was not to be underestimated.

Realising that soothing Seun would not work, Tunde decided to manipulate his grief instead and threatened the life of his surviving men. Normally, Seun as a soul element internal mage with his precognition ability would have resisted, but with his grief still raw and the threat real, he succumbed.

With a defeated sign, Seun asked, "What do you want to know?"

Tunde interrogated while still applying his ability, "Who are you...where are you people from? How did you get to Lola? Why did you attack..."

Tunde asked multiple questions to which Seun responded dejectedly. And as Tunde and the remaining members of the Sabi Sect found out the truth, they were shocked and afraid. They stared at Obi as if he were the plague. But they were also looking at Tunde differently. They had lost confidence in their leader and even Tunde could not find it in him to try and convince them. Therefore, the final few members of the Sabi Sect left, with only Tunde and Amina remaining behind.

Suddenly, Seun looked from the departing figures and Tunde to Nnenna with anger rising in his eyes again. He asked, "So what now?"

At this statement, everyone, including their prisoners, also looked at Nnenna, waiting to know their fate.

...

Nze looked at the lifeless body of Danjuma with a weird expression before standing back up. He could not believe all the losses they had endured during this seemingly easy mission especially with the inside help. He was particularly surprised at how lethal, the head of the Abacha clan was. Buhari was a sound element H'assassin with a peculiar ability. His singing disrupted an individuals balance which was crucial during battle. He definitely lived up to his name as the Voice of Death.

Meanwhile, Hafis was on a tirade.

He was furious that Musa escaped with Turayo and Jide was not even found. What's more, when he found out that Ladidi had choosen death instead of surrendering and there were still regular clansmen resisting, his rage just increased. The situation was even worse because most of his loyalists had been killed my Musa's damned bird so he would not even have a firm hold on his clan and this would affect his standing in the group.

So while he tried to regain control of the clan, he was also enjoying mutilating Niyi's dead body.

"That's enough Hafis!" Nze shouted at him to get his attention and put a stop to his tantrum. "You have control of your clan and we managed to kill the familiar. We will be leaving now but will be in touch when our expansion reaches here or as needed."

Hafis could already tell that he had been sidelined.

His rage seemed to know no bounds now but he knew he could not direct it at Nze. All he could do was channel his energy to hunt down Musa.

...

Ubong was trying to manage her grief and guilt at Chijioke's sacrifice.

She had only joined Nze's group out of self-preservation and had advised Chijioke to follow her when she realised how powerful and ambitious they were. She had insisted on going on this mission to gain a more advantageous position within the group but choose to stay with the other team to reduce the danger. They had only decided to check in on the main group as they felt the battle should be concluding.

But now, Chijioke was dead and the corrosion from the dark fog of Niyi's final attack had left its mark on her, with the most grievous being the loss of her left hand, effectively crippling her.

Now, her only hope for a recovery, as she was told, was the leader of the group, a mysterious scarred old man with strange abilities like that assassin.

...

Even though she was normally a stoic person, Turayo could not help the tears in her eyes as she fled her home and her clan.

She was still in shock.

At the loss. At Hafis betrayal. And most importantly at Musa's current state.

They had already made their way out of the escape tunnel and collapsed the path but Musa was still unconscious.

The escape tunnel was long with multiple sections that could be blocked as you progress. It led to a cave at the outskirts of the mountains with supplies stored there. There were five of Buhari's elite royal guard always station there.

As they heard the sounds from the tunnel they had already prepared for their escape but when they saw Turayo with Musa they were apprehensive for their leader and confronted her.

Turayo just shouted, "He is the new clan head. We must move before the enemy finds us."

The men were distraught but also well trained and immediately assisted her with Musa before departing.

As the dawning broke, the true head of the Abacha clan disappeared into the distance with his remaining protectors not even sure if he will wake again.