Challenges Ahead

Splack*

Echo took out his sword from the monster's neck after making sure it was dead. He looked at the charred fur and smelled the cooked flesh. Examining the right side of the monster's torso, he found a deep gash with dried blood around it. He looked up and saw Effie taking out her spear. The two locked eyes for a second before Effie turned to look at Nephis, who was already summoning her aspect to heal the kneeling hunter in front of them.

"What are we going to do with this, Neph? We've already got plenty of food stored," Echo asked, unsummoning his sword and kicking the dead body of the abomination.

"We take out the shard and distribute the meat for everyone else to eat," she answered, standing up after healing Ronan.

"Don't forget about me. I should get a huge portion; I helped you kill it," Effie interjected. In turn, Nephis looked at her and said softly,

"Of course, you'll get the largest piece."

By this time, the situation among the inhabitants had already calmed down. They saw that everything was silent and that three figures were standing beside the dead abomination, which had struck fear into all of them. They gathered around in a circle to observe the situation.

"Move." Gunlaug's men arrived, expecting absolute carnage after being alerted that a dormant monster had entered the outskirts. But what they saw was the opposite: people were gathering in a circle, and Gemma was even with them.

They stopped after seeing three people in the middle and the very dead dormant beast beside them. They proceeded to ask those around them what had happened.

"What happened here?" asked one of the hunters.

"A monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere. At first, Ronan and Gigal tried to kill it, but they failed to deliver a killing blow. Gigal died…" he said in almost a whisper as he remembered how Gigal died—decapitated. Despite this, he continued. "Then those three appeared almost in an instant. I just blinked, and the monster was already in flames." He pointed at Echo, Effie, and Nephis.

The hunter deduced the incredulity of the situation. It was almost impossible to kill an Awakened Monster that fast.

'A blink… A second… How is that even possible?' he thought and looked at Gemma, who was also listening. That's when they heard an angelic voice.

"People of the outskirts, I, Nephis of the Immortal Flame Clan, present this as a gift for everyone present. It will be portioned so everyone can get a piece." Nephis' voice was clear among those who had gathered, garnering the attention of everyone present.

Everyone in the outskirts had shining eyes at the idea but were also skeptical. They knew nothing was free in this world, or in both worlds, actually.

One of the greedy hunters from Gunlaug's men met Echo's eyes and grinned.

"Shouldn't you tribute that to Gunlaug, since it died on these grounds? Also, Echo was one of the people who helped you kill it. It's only natural to give him the essence crystal, right? Otherwise, without him, you wouldn't have been able to kill an Awakened Monster at all," he shouted towards Nephis, still grinning.

He waited for Nephis to answer, but to his surprise, Echo was the one who spoke first.

"I resign," Echo said coldly, looking at the hunters with piercing eyes, scanning every one of them to make sure they heard it. Then he settled his eyes on Gemma.

Echo pointed at Nephis and said,

"She was the one who dealt the killing blow, not me nor Effie. It's natural that she gets to decide. Furthermore, she's my employer now."

Everyone present was taken aback, not only because they knew Echo as a famous pathfinder of Gunlaug but because of how brazen he was, declaring it in front of one of Gunlaug's officers—Genma. They felt like a fight might happen, so everyone stepped back little by little between Echo's group and the hunters, afraid to get caught in the crossfire.

"You—" The hunter who had spoken before was ready to summon a memory and lash out when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Let's go," Genma said, eyeing Echo, Nephis, and Effie before turning back. The hunters followed, but not before spitting in front of Echo.

Genma stopped for a brief second before saying,

"You know the consequences. I should have finished you off when I had the chance." The crowd split for them to pass.

Echo's mind began to formulate why Genma said that. He remembered that in the past, there was never really enmity between Genma and him in the past two years and a half until he slowly rose in strength—that was a month before the eventual death of the past Echo, in which he encountered a spire messenger, which in itself was weird since he wasn't even that far from the bright castle when he encountered it.

Echo's eyes grew colder, but he shook his head before turning to Nephis and Effie, who were now cleaning the battlefield. Echo took Ronan to one of the huts to help him recover a bit while Nephis and Effie skinned the charred monster and distributed it to the inhabitants of the outskirts.

"What was that about?" Nephis asked out of nowhere after Echo came back to help them butcher the meat of the abomination.

"What do you mean?" Echo said cluelessly.

"What Genma said, the consequences and the last part, were you two always on bad terms?"

"No, not really, not until last month that is. Even I'm not quite sure." Echo just shook his head.

Effie, who was listening to all of this, said,

"Now every one of Gunlaug's men will be eyeing us, and the consequences he was talking about were probably about this guy betraying Gunlaug and pledging allegiance to someone else. Remember, Gunlaug said to me that if he can't have me, then no one else can—that also applies to this guy." Effie pointed at Echo with her hands full of blood from the monster.

"We'll just get ready for anything they try to pull off," Nephis answered with confidence.

"You seem awfully confident, princess. Okay, I'm in," Effie said suddenly, which surprised not only Echo but Nephis as well. Echo expected this eventually, that Effie would join, but not this fast. Maybe it's Nephis's charisma at work.

"What, do you want me to take back my words? Why aren't you saying anything?" Effie said before Nephis smiled and said,

"Of course, welcome to the party." She was delighted. Of course, pieces are slowly fitting into place. Now they just have to wait for Sunny and Cassie to come back from the bright castle.