The unknown figure that attacked teri
Mizak suggested that they find an inn nearby to rest for the night. Tomorrow, they would continue their journey to the south province border. He rode his horse with Teri on the pillion, feeling the evening breeze as they traveled along the road.
'I'm in charge. I say we find an inn to rest for the night. The horses are tired too,' Elley declared, riding her own horse a little further from Mizak's.
Mizak scoffed and muttered under his breath, 'Children.'
They had left the capital behind them. There was nothing but grasses, trees, and birds flying and chirping in the countryside.
'Look, an inn!' Elley exclaimed, spotting a building in the distance.
They stopped in front of the inn and dismounted from their horses. They walked through the inn's doorway and saw people drinking and eating. Above them, there were doors to rooms.
The innkeeper, a friendly man, approached them with a welcoming smile. 'Good sirs and young lady, how may I help you?'
Mizak was about to speak, but Elley beat him to it.
'Room for three and also, serve us your best delicacies. This young master with black hair will pay,' Elley said as she walked with Teri to find a spot to sit.
Mizak smiled awkwardly at the innkeeper. "How much?" he asked."
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The three travelers slept in their separate rooms, but they were next to each other.
Teri lay on his bed wearing only his white nightclothes and no blindfold.
He tossed and turned, trying to sleep, but he couldn't.
The window was open, as the room was hot.
Suddenly, he felt an eerie presence. He still lay still on the bed.
"I feel a presence here. Surely, it's not a human. What a murderous aura," Selena whispered to Teri.
He felt it coming closer to him. He leaped out of his bed, as his red silk threads unrolled from his fingers.
The unknown figure, which was invisible, attacked him, but he countered it.
He didn't know what or who it was, but one thing was sure: The unknown figure was not here for good intentions.
He heard a giggle and turned to attack, but the unknown figure flew through the window.
"Your mask and your cloak, immediately!" Selena yelled, and Teri removed his mask and cloak from his traveling bag, which was on the bed.
He wore his mask and cloak, covering his head with the hood.
Teri flew out of the window and floated in the air. His face was hidden by his mask and his head by his hood as the night breeze blew his cloak.
He sensed the ominous aura again and followed its trail. He extended his red silk threads as he felt the hostile presence closing in on him.
The assailant with the aura launched a barrage of attacks from different angles. He was not invisible, but he was faster than Teri could react.
Teri managed to counter some of the strikes. The ones that he couldn't felt like claws that tore his flesh. Though this was strange to Teri, he knew that he was not fighting a demon.
The attacker was made of void. He had something extending from his fingers that looked like Teri's silk thread, except that it was made of void.
The attacker landed on the ground and Teri followed him.
"Black magic", Selena said to Teri, panicking.
"Black magic?", Teri asked and he was attacked immediately.
Teri felt a hand gripping his neck tightly, pushing him to the ground and the attacker straddled him. Teri struggled to breathe, then, he extended his threads into the attacker.
"It didn't do anything to him! It just...., passed through him!", Selena said in fear, terrified of the attacker and fear for her brother's life.
Teri panicked while he gasped for air, lying on the ground.
The attacker laughed at Teri's futile attempts. He leaned to Teri's face, tracing his lips to his ears and whispered, "we...., are not in the same rank".
The whisper sent chills running down Teri's spine. It was deep and eerie.
He moved away from Teri's face while his hand was still on his neck. He traced his index finger of his free hand from Teri's stomach, slowly to his chest and drew a circle with his finger and placed his hand there.
"Do you know....., the red core here is what makes the red silk threads extend", the voice said.
He continued, "And....., do you know it can be taken from you? And I'll do it", he giggled.
Teri gasped as the assailant ripped off his mask and touched his face. "I already know who you are. You were not careful, you should have kept hiding. I've been looking for you for a long time, but you found me first."
He smiled wickedly as he moved his hand closer to Teri's chest. "I'm supposed to take your core and kill you," he said as he lifted his hand slightly.
Teri felt a surge of energy from within him, ready to burst out. His body arched and he whimpered in pain, spitting blood.
"This looks like it will take a long time," the voice said as he let go of Teri's neck and stroked his face.
He gazed at him with a twisted fascination. "So young to die," he murmured and stopped his attack. Teri's body relaxed.
"I'll leave you for tonight. See you next time, Teri Ereen, son of the late great general Ereen and lady Ari."
He ran his fingers through Teri's silver hair. "Aren't you curious why I didn't address your mother as late lady Ari?" he giggled and Teri felt his aura disappearing.
Teri coughed as he tried to stand up.
"It's gone!" Selena said, worried about Teri.
"What... what was that?" Teri asked as he coughed.
"I don't know what that was. This is the first time I've seen something like that," Selena said.
"Let's go back to see if the others are safe," Selena said and Teri nodded.
He picked up his mask, wore it and flew to the inn, entering through his room window.
Mizak and Elley were already in the room, pacing back and forth, waiting for Teri.
"Where were you?" Elley asked as she saw Teri.
Teri covered himself with his blanket. "You can both go back to sleep," Teri said as he sat on his bed.
"Brother, are you sure? I heard noise from your room and it woke me up but when I arrived you were gone. Did someone attack you?
Tell me who and where they are, I'll beat them up," she said confidently and punched her palm.
"I'm fine, Elley. As I said, I just went out for fun," he lied to his sister, hoping she wouldn't notice the tremor in his voice.
"Please go back to sleep, we need strength to continue our journey. Worry not," he urged her gently, but she just stood there, stubbornly.
"I'm not hearing any footsteps," Teri said.
She stomped her foot. "Fine!" she gave in and left the room.
"You too, Mizak," Teri said, trying to hide the pain from the injury on his body.
"Mizak?" Mizak walked to the door and closed it. He walked back to Teri and stood in front of him.
Staring at him, Mizak removed his mask. He gasped as he saw the blood stain on his lips down to his chin.
"I can see the strangle marks on your neck, Teri," Mizak said as he opened Teri's cloak.
He widened his eyes at what he saw. He was wounded, it looked like he was attacked by a beast.
"Tell me... tell me what happened." His voice was filled with concern and anger.