Capítulo 22: ► Between Life And Death ◄
TW: Death, Violence, Blood
A few minutes after the argument between Vox and Shoto:
'You know how hard Shoto has worked the past weeks. So why did you say those things to him?' Shu was angry with Vox. He never behaved like this before. 'I know... It must have been from the excessive work I had to do. Arg, who am I kidding? It's because I'm jealous dammit. I was angry that he spends so much time with that fairy. We rarely see him and when we do, he only speaks of her' Vox admitted. 'But, doesn't he talk about her because they work together in this case?' Mysta asked confused. 'Haha. Shoto said the same thing. I mean, it's true... And that's exactly why I need to talk to him. I need to apologize' Vox sighed. 'Don't worry. Luca will bring him back when he's ready. Then you can talk it out' Ike assured. Vox smiled. He was thankful for his friends. Where would he be without them? Now, he just needed to mend his relationship with Shoto. I won't wait anymore. I'm gonna tell him. Vox thought full of conviction.
Suddenly, a guard came rushing in. 'My lords, there's trouble!' he gasped for air. A shiver went down Vox's spine. Was it a premonition? 'What's wrong?' he asked. 'There are potential enemies approaching. Mr. Kaneshiro and the guildmaster went to meet them. They sent me to get you, in case they could be our enemies' the guard reported. 'Alright thank you. Shu, Mysta. Let's go' Vox pressed. The two nodded and rushed out of the kitchen right behind Vox.
As they were rushing to the scene, Mysta noticed something. 'What is that glow in your pocket, Vox? Ah. Shu, your pocket is also glowing' he pointed out. 'Yours too, Mysta' Vox noticed. They reached into their pockets. Each of them now held the charm with Shoto's name on it in their hands. It's left arm was glowing. The moment they saw it, they looked at each other in shock. 'Oh no' Shu voiced. Without another word, they continued running as fast as possible. They knew, every second counted. Shoto was not in a condition to fight.
Not much later, there appeared a little cut on the charm's right leg. The entrance was only about a hundred meters away. They were now able to see the scene. Luca was close to them and a little further away was a group of individuals. A few were laying on the ground and the others were scattered. They seemed to be watching something. As Vox looked into the direction of their gazes, his heart dropped. What he saw came crushing down on him like a tidal wave. He was so in shock that he let go of the charm in his hand. The charm now had a hole in it's stomach. Shoto stood motionless in front of a man with a sword stuck in his abdomen. 'Shoto!!' Vox shouted. No no no. This can't be. He despaired.
The man was about to pull out his sword, but Shoto grabbed the man's hand. With all the strength left in him, Shoto slashed the man's arm with his dagger, cutting his hand off in the process. It was all he could do at that moment. The man's throat was too far to hit in that situation, so he could at least make him unable to fight. 'Aaarg!!' the man screamed. 'You little shit!' he shouted. Shoto answered with a smirk, before collapsing to the ground. The sword was still in place as he lay on his side. He felt a wave of fatigue rushing down on him. Soon, the snow under him was painted in a scarlet red.
'No!' Vox screamed before running towards the motionless body. Shu immediately started attacking the enemy. Thanks to Shoto, he could attack without worrying about hitting Vox who was rushing towards him. Vox would take care of the scarface. His only worry was Shoto's condition. Luca positioned himself next to Shu and started shooting with his crossbow. Mysta carefully followed Vox. He had to get Shoto away from the fight and see if he could apply first aid. 'Vox, watch out!' Mysta shouted. Behind the scarface stood the last mage of the group. He was chanting an attack towards Vox. But the demon wasn't faced by this. As the attack came flying towards him, he just cut through it like butter. It was the first time, he used it in combat. He only practiced a little with Shu's help beforehand. But, compared to Shu's magic, this was child's play. 'Vox Akuma!!' the scarface shouted with disgust. 'Yes. That's my name. Do you have anything else to say, before I end your life? But make it quick, I'm in a hurry' Vox spat. 'Aww. Is he important to you? Then it's even better that he will die today. First, you disfigured my face and then he cut off my arm. That's the price to pay for your insolence' the man cursed. Vox wouldn't hear any more of this. This man was crazy. He was delusional. Even though, he stood there with blood flowing out of his arm, he behaved like he was a god or something. Vox had to end this fight quickly or else he would lose Shoto. So, he stepped forward and raised his katana to cut him down. The scarface raised his stump of an arm as if he still had his sword in his hand, but was shocked to find out that there was nothing to defend himself with. So he got cut in half. Vox was rather disappointed by his easy victory, but it just showed that Shoto was not to be underestimated even in his weakened state.
Now, he had no time to waste. He immediately switched his attention back to Shoto. Mysta managed to drag him a few meters away from the fight, but he seemed helpless. 'Vox. I don't know what to do. If we pull out the sword, he will bleed out even more. We can't heal him with only herbs' he sniffled. Vox's heart sank while watching his orange friend crying next to his purple friend laying in a pool of blood. He was helpless. I can't lose him like this. I still need to apologize and confess. I need him. He despaired. '...ox.' Vox suddenly heard Shoto's voice. It was faint, but he instantly knelt down so that he was able to hear him. 'Vox... To Po...mu. She... can... hea... heal' he barely managed to talk, but it was all the info they needed. Vox picked him up as carefully as possible and started walking while carrying him in his arms. He was very light. Even lighter than a few weeks ago. And there was no warmth coming from his body. The demon knew, he had to hurry. He saw that Shu and Luca were almost done with their fight. 'Mysta, tell everyone that I'm going to the forest. The fairy can help us. I'll make sure to bring him back alive' Vox announced. 'Yes. If it's you then he will be fine. We will prepare his bed and I'll tell Ike to prepare some herbs for him' Mysta answered. Vox nodded and started running towards the forest.
It took him only a few minutes to get to the forest, but it felt like hours. He was full of Shoto's blood and every time he checked on him, he seemed to get paler and paler. As he entered the forest, he immediately started calling for the fairy 'Pomu!! We need your help!' he shouted as loud as possible, but no answer. Was she deeper inside? 'Shoto. Please, hang in there' he pleaded. Shoto's eyes fluttered slightly open and he manged to smile, but soon lost consciousness. Vox felt his hope crumble, but he wouldn't give up. 'Pomu. Please!! We need you. Shoto will die!!' he cried out. 'Shoto?! What's wrong?' he heard a voice behind him ask. As he turned around, he saw a little fairy flying right in front of him. Pomu's eyes widened in shock as she saw the cause of Vox's behaviour. She wasted no time as she grew in size and pointed towards the ground. 'Put him down there. When I tell you to, pull out the sword. I will immediately heal him. Hurry!' she commanded. Vox did as he was told and placed Shoto on the ground. Pomu rushed to his side, knelt down and hovered her hands above the wound. 'Pull it out now' she ordered. Vox pulled as hard as he could. As the sword came out of the wound, blood splashed everywhere. 'Urg' Shoto reacted at the same time. The fairy wasted no time and instantly started healing her friend. Green light came out of her hands that covered all the wounds on Shoto's body. Vox observed as those wounds slowly closed one by one. The worst was the last to close. 'That's all I can do for him. His wounds are closed, but he lost a lot of blood. The rest is up to him. I'm sorry, I couldn't do more' she apologized. 'What are you saying? You did more than any of us could ever do. Thank you so much. I will take him back home now' Vox thanked. 'You must be Vox, right?' Pomu asked. 'Yes. How do you know?' he wondered. 'Shoto talked a lot about you, so I kinda knew. Take good care of him' she replied. So, he talked about me, huh? And I had to be a dick to him. Vox regretted. 'I will. Let's have a chat the next time we meet' Vox offered. 'Sure. I'm always open for visitors' she smiled. With that, Vox carefully lifted Shoto's body and started his way back home after giving him a heartfelt hug. 'Please don't leave me. I know you are strong' he whispered into the unconscious boy's ear.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
ZickNovels
ZickNovels It's called jealousy, Vox
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder