95 Luck

Several hours later, the kutsero's vision finally regained its ability to see around his surroundings. But before he realized it, he was taken in the throne room along with the soldiers whom Lyrica fought and got knocked out one by one.

Grip!

"Ow...! Ama, help me!"

"Anak...!"

The sight of the furious Hari of Kruule cruelly holding up the daughter of the knight who's present in the throne room along with the kutsero and the rest brought them fear.

"How can all of you be easily defeated by a single girl?!" Uruk inquired the soldiers and the kutsero, petrifying them in fear. "Are you sure you all worked together and fought her, or did you let her knock you all out in the face?"

"W-We can never do such a thing!" The girl's father replied with a shaky voice. "Please, mahal na Hari, let my daughter go!"

"We will not fail again! Just give us another chance, mahal na Hari!"

Right as the kutsero interjected between the knight and Uruk, he had a thought.

'Lyrica's plan worked, she managed to get away, while we were able to get to the capital without needing to chase her and kill her.' Said the kutsero in his mind. 'But we're still not safe, if we're not careful, his daughter will be the one paying for our failure with her life.'

"Oh? You will not fail again, you say?"

The kutsero glanced at the soldiers who couldn't even face the Hari before them.

'It's no use to ask them for help, they're afraid just as much as I do. But...' He averted his gaze at the others and courageously faced the Hari once again who's staring daggers at him. '... Although I'm afraid, I'm not showing you any fear anymore, Hari!'

What the kutsero feared more than the Hari is none other than the same girl they were being questioned about. Right now, he's thinking about the fear he felt before and after Lyrica knocked him unconscious.

"How exactly are you going to prove to me that you will not fail again, huh?"

Right as the Hari of Kruule asked him a question, the scene of Lyrica's fist edging closer to his face repeats itself over and over again in his head, until eventually the fear he felt from Uruk turned into nothing compared to it.

"If I fail again... If we fail again, we will kill ourselves and you will never see our faces again!"

For a while that the Hari had been silent, the soldiers in question have been nervously quiet as well. They can't tell what Uruk is thinking, but the way he was glaring down at the kutsero made it seem like his answer to the kutsero will not be pretty.

"That look in your eyes... do you not feel fear?" Asked the Hari of Kruule, making the people beside him shook as if lightning struck them all. "Are you not afraid of death?"

"Of course I am." Replied the kutsero with no hesitation. "But if killing myself only means that I have failed you once again, mahal na Hari, then I will gladly accept death."

"Hmm... I like your resolve..."

Uruk's response brought a smile to the kutsero's face and a sense of relief for the soldiers. However, it all disappeared in a matter of a second following what the Hari said next.

"... But there still needs to be a punishment."

Uruk lifts the girl by the hair.

"Anak!"

"Ama!"

The Hari directed the girl's face right with his other hand. Right then, black flames emerged from the palm of his hand and it immediately swallowed the girl's head whole.

"Ah!"

Kutsero thought he was able to get him and the others out of harm, but he was wrong. There was no way for any of them to get out of the situation they're in without someone getting hurt from the beginning.

The Hari finally let go of the girl's hair, although it was just the unscathed remains of the hair that was burned along with her head and face.

"Anak!"

Right before the helpless girl's head had hit the floor, her father managed to catch her in his embrace. He immediately checked if she's still breathing. Fortunately for him, it seemed like the girl only fell unconscious, however, the damage she received is so devastating that her youthful face could no longer be recognized.

For a father who's seen his daughter cruelly hurt, he could not help but feel a wave of unrelenting anger and hatred towards Uruk.

"I can feel your hatred overflowing, it's almost as if it's spilling all over your body," Uruk commented, followed by a mocking smile.

"Tch...!"

The knight furiously glared at the Hari, but as much as he wanted to pull out his sword and strike Uruk with it, looking at him was all he could do. The knight knew that if he acted recklessly now, he'll just end up losing his life and make things worse for his daughter.

'One day, you...'

"Get them all treated." The Hari issued. "I want able men all around Kruule to be ready for a wide-scale attack against Reilaea. Tell the high commanders dispatched from towns and villages, to gather here in the capital."

A number of soldiers escorted the kutsero and the rest towards the giant door. On the way, one of the escorts asked the man:

"Are you all right?"

The knight replied with a slight nod.

"I'm glad we got through it all alive, but my daughter..."

Another one of the escorts placed his hand on the knight's shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her."

"Thank you," Said the knight in reply with pure sincerity. "And you, too."

"Huh?" The kutsero looked at the knight with baffled eyes. "If you hadn't spoken, the Hari may have done something worse."

Shortly after that, the other knights praised the kutsero for being able to stand up to the Hari of Kruule. Although, in all honesty, if he hadn't done something with the sumpa that was put in them, even the slightest thought of going against the Hari could result in their deaths.

"We got lucky so far, but I'm not so sure about that girl." The kutsero mouthed, causing everyone's expression to gloom. "She sure pulled the short end of the stick."

"To think that the Hari Uruk would send the strongest assassin just to get rid of Lyrica... The only thing we can do is to hope she doesn't encounter her before getting out of Kruule."

Several hours have passed since the battle between Lyrica and Gilberto took place...

"What in the world happened here...?"

The girl found herself dumbfounded as the sight of a ruined town, dyed in a bloody color of the afternoon sun, lay before her eyes.

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