章 19: Chapter 19 - She came back for him
Meanwhile, before reaching the place where the sea containing the treasure was, they had to pass through a Magical Forest. Riyugi and Yana arrived at the Magical Forest, and Yana was amazed by the surroundings of the forest. It was full of fireflies, and the giant plants and trees were incredibly beautiful.
"Wow, this place is so beautiful." Yana said happily and in awe as they slowly rode their horse through the middle of the Magical Forest.
"Ssshhh, don't make any noise. Please don't speak or create any kind of sound. Because if you disturb or awaken the monstrous plants, it will be difficult for us to get out of this forest." Riyugi whispered to Yana. Yana, feeling nervous and scared, just nodded. She couldn't believe that the beautiful giant plants in the forest were actually monsters.
They were very careful as they passed through the middle of the forest. But suddenly, Yana felt like she needed to sneeze. She tried to hold back her sneeze but...
"Hachuuu hatchingggg!!!"
She sneezed loudly twice.
As a result, the giant plants that seemed to be sleeping suddenly woke up. The plants moved and changed their appearance. They developed sharp teeth and tentacle-like limbs.
"I told you not to make any noise!" Riyugi said, annoyed.
"Sorry, I couldn't stop myself from sneezing." Yana replied, scared.
"Banki!!! Behind you!!" Yana shouted.
She saw a spiky tentacle of a rose ready to attack Banki from behind. Banki quickly jumped off the horse he was riding. But as he jumped, a plant with a mouth quickly grabbed him, and almost half of his body was engulfed by the plant. Banki couldn't escape from it.
Riyugi and Yana dismounted. Riyugi held Yana with one hand while holding his katana with the other hand. He used the katana to slash at the attacking plants.
"Leader Riyugi, leave me! Let me handle this on my own!!" Banki shouted as the plant slowly swallowed his entire body.
"I can't just leave you here!" Riyugi shouted back.
Riyugi was frustrated because he couldn't use his storm of lightning power on the plant consuming Banki due to the absence of Hinami, one of the Ten Veneras who possessed the magic of barrier power. Without her, there would be no protection for Banki if Riyugi struck the plant with lightning, and Banki might die too.
So, he manually slashed at the plants with his katana. Once he cleared an area of plants, he brought Yana there.
"Stay here, I'll go save Banki." Riyugi said.
Yana, trembling with fear, nodded. She couldn't stop crying as she saw Banki suffering and screaming in pain as the plant consumed his body. She could only blame herself, bowing her head as tears streamed from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me... it's my fault." Yana whispered between sobs.
The plant consuming Banki moved too fast and erratically, making it hard for Riyugi to kill it immediately. He could only hit small parts of the plant's tentacles and body.
"Leader, leave! Don't disappoint the King. Leave me!" Banki shouted.
But Riyugi didn't listen; he continued fighting the plant until one of its sharp tentacles struck him, hitting just above his chest.
He screamed in pain but firmly grabbed the tentacle that pierced him and with all his strength, pulled it out and slashed it with his katana, severing it. Blood flowed heavily from the top of his chest.
Banki and Yana screamed in worry, but Riyugi ignored his wound and immediately returned to attack the plant with his katana.
Eventually, Riyugi found the plant's eye and threw his katana with all his strength, stabbing the plant's eye. The giant plant fell, releasing Banki. Riyugi quickly approached Banki and helped him.
Meanwhile, one of the plant's tentacles was still alive and quickly moved towards Yana, aiming to pierce near her heart.
Yana, freeze in shock and fear, couldn't move, becoming like a statue. She closed her eyes, waiting for her imminent end when suddenly...
She felt someone hug her tightly.
She slowly opened her eyes, and when she looked up, she saw a masked man hugging her.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. I'll protect you. I won't let you get hurt." he said.
Hearing those words, tears quickly fell from her eyes. She couldn't be mistaken, even though he wore a mask; she would never forget that voice...
"Q---qrolo.. You came." Yana said, crying, and hugged Qrolo tightly.
But suddenly, Qrolo collapsed to the ground. Yana was shocked and saw the blood-soaked clothes on his chest.
"Qrolo!" Yana screamed as she tried to stop the bleeding from his chest.
She covered the wound with one hand while holding Qrolo's cheek with the other hand.
Qrolo had blocked the plant's tentacle with his body to protect Yana. He didn't have time to use his power, as the tentacle was about to strike Yana. Riyugi and Banki, upon hearing Yana's scream, turned to see what was happening and saw the scene.
Meanwhile, Kenro, Derum, and Lexa arrived after asking around to find Yana's location. They were shocked to see Yana crying and screaming while Qrolo lay bleeding on the ground.
"S--so Yana is the person important to Qrolo?" Lexa said in shock, looking at Yana and Qrolo.
Lexa couldn't believe what she was seeing now. She never thought that in this situation and in the world of dreams, she would see Yana.
Qrolo had completely lost consciousness, and Yana couldn't stop crying. She didn't even notice that Kenro and Derum, along with Lexa, had arrived.
"Qrolo, please wake up!!" Yana cried, kneeling beside the unconscious Qrolo lying on the ground.
Kenro, Derum, and Lexa immediately approached them. Yana looked up, not expecting their arrival, especially when her eyes met Lexa's.
"L-Lexa?" Yana said in disbelief.
"It's me, I don't know why I'm here either, Yana." Lexa said, bending down to look at Qrolo.
"What will happen to him?" Lexa asked worriedly.
"He needs to be taken to a healer." said the elderly Derum.
"Please, let's hurry. Help me take him to a healer." Yana cried. But Riyugi suddenly spoke up.
"You cannot leave, Yana!" Riyugi said authoritatively, for the first time addressing Yana by her name.
"You all go, I'll take care of these two." Derum told Kenro.
Kenro immediately carried the unconscious Qrolo.
"I won't let you take Yana from me." Riyugi said angrily, gently lowering Banki to the ground.
"Face me!" the elderly Derum challenged Riyugi. Riyugi's eyes burned with anger as he saw Yana getting into a carriage.
"Yana!! You can't leave, stay here!" Riyugi shouted, looking at Yana.
Yana turned to look at Riyugi, but she didn't know what to do. She wanted to ensure Qrolo's safety. So, she avoided his gaze and got into the carriage.
"Yana!!!!!" Riyugi screamed, quickly moving towards the carriage carrying Yana.
But Derum blocked his way. Derum was skilled in martial arts and could match Riyugi's strength even though Riyugi wielded a katana. The old man knew he could win because of Riyugi's wound on his upper chest, which weakened him and prevented him from using his full strength.
"Get out of my way, let me through!" Riyugi shouted, desperately slashing at the old man, but Derum dodged all his attacks.
Riyugi couldn't use his Storm of Lightning power because he had no strength left due to his deep, continuously bleeding wound.
Derum targeted Riyugi's wound, attacking and striking it, causing Riyugi to almost collapse to the ground, his vision blurring.
"Surrender, or I will end your life!" Derum shouted.
"I-I won't surrender, I-I won't fail the k-king." Riyugi said with difficulty, kneeling on the ground, clutching his wound that was bleeding even more due to Derum's attacks.
"Leader, let's go back to the kingdom. We can't fight him in our current state." Banki shouted, also struggling due to his injuries from being swallowed by the monstrous plant earlier.
"As long as I'm breathing, I will not give up." Riyugi insisted, trying to stand up from his kneeling position.
Meanwhile, Yana and her group quickly arrived at the east, taking Qrolo to a healer. The healer immediately attended to him, while Yana, Lexa, and Kenro watched with concern.
Yana worried about Qrolo, but she couldn't shake off Riyugi's earlier shout, telling her not to leave. His pleading eyes made her feel guilty, sensing that Riyugi was good and only wanted to follow the orders of the King of Ronoru.
She also worried because Riyugi, like Qrolo, had a wound, but she still left him for Qrolo. Unable to stay calm, she paced around the healer's room, thinking until she finally ran out of the healer's house.
"Yana, where are you going?" Lexa shouted, following her. Kenro stayed inside, watching over Qrolo.
"Lexa, I need to go back there. We have a lot to talk about, but right now, I really need to go back. Please watch over Qrolo; I'll return." Yana pleaded with Lexa.
"What? You can't go back there; all of this happened to Qrolo because he wanted to save you, Yana, and now you're going back there?" Lexa said, annoyed.
"You don't understand, Lexa, sorry." Yana said and left.
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