Chapter 30 - Attacked

In the Elven palace training grounds,

Ray was being trained in the proper use of a bow. As he had been chosen as Shara's partner for the 'Duo Moon' ceremony, he needed to master archery techniques, as their upcoming attack would involve archery skills.

The person assigned to teach Ray archery techniques was Leonel. Every morning, Ray and his group members would practice together by battling monsters. In the evenings, Ray would practice archery techniques with Leonel and Shara.

The Guardian and Support groups were free to engage in activities in the Elf kingdom, not bound by schedules like the Hero group. However, it wasn't as simple as that because the Guardian group had a leader, Jones, who was disliked by his own members. He directed the group to gather every morning to hunt monsters together as a form of training. Other members might have thought it was just a training exercise, but Jones used this opportunity to ease his own monster-hunting efforts, claiming all the rewards and values for himself.

One month passed, and it was time for Raqnid and his companions to return to the Human kingdom. Since Ray had been selected as Shara's partner, only the Hero group remained in the Elf kingdom. To ensure Ray could continue practicing moon archery and train with his group, Blaise and Carlos also stayed in the Elf kingdom to watch over the Hero group. Meanwhile, Rusk, Monica, and Shino would guide the Guardian and Support groups back to the Human kingdom.

Sadness could be seen on Shara's face. A month had passed, and she hadn't been able to meet Raqnid face to face as they used to. They didn't even exchange greetings anymore. The last time she saw Raqnid was on the night of the Duo Moon ceremony. After that, Raqnid's whereabouts were unknown, too busy with other activities, all thanks to Jones.

"See you later!" Monica said to Blaise and Carlos.

"Yeah, take care!" Blaise replied.

Monica glanced at Sora and winked her left eye. Sora was startled and quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Raqnid and Fat witnessed what was happening. "Hmmm, Fat, do you see what I see?" Raqnid asked.

"Yes, I see it very clearly and vividly!" Fat replied.

The Guardian and Support groups set out from the Elf capital, accompanied by the Elf army up to the city gate.

Raqnid stood there, gazing at Shara with a mixture of emotions. He had always known that this moment would come, but he never expected it to be this difficult.

*Shara, I'll miss you,* Raqnid say in his heart, his voice filled with sincerity.

*Take care, Raqnid. I hope we meet again someday.* ~ her eyes moist with tears.

As Raqnid rejoined his companions, he couldn't help but glance back at Shara one last time. She stood there, watching him go, her figure growing smaller in the distance. Raqnid knew that this farewell marked the end of a significant chapter in his life, and he couldn't help but wonder what the future held for him and Shara.

***

Their journey went smoothly that day, and they camped as usual in an area near the main route.

"Raqnid, where are you going?" ~ Fat

"Nowhere, just patrolling around here!" ~ Raqnid

"Oh, be careful." ~ Fat

"Okay!" ~ Raqnid

Raqnid's words didn't match his actions. He was heading half a kilometer from their campsite towards a high cliff, with the full moon visible nearby.

"Hmm..." Raqnid pondered on all the extraordinary events that had happened to him, from Shara's identity to the Duo Moon ceremony. Everything that had occurred was not to his liking and had caused him a lot of trouble.

'BOOM!!!'

A loud explosion came from their campsite. They saw a bright, large fire engulfing the area.

"EVERYONE... GET ON YOUR HORSES NOW! WE'RE MOVING OUT!" Rusk shouted.

"RUN...!" - the crowd yelled.

"GARGHH!" - a Minotaur roared.

Meanwhile...

Monica was using her magical powers to protect the others from the Minotaurs' attacks. They hurriedly got on their horses, leaving behind all non-essential items.

A group of Minotaurs, of unknown origin, suddenly attacked them.

"Ten... a hundred... a thousand... more!" Nancy counted the number of Minotaurs attacking them.

"What!!!" ~ Doug

"Hurry, Fat, get on!" ~ Kiel

"Raqnid, Raqnid is not here!" ~ Fat

"We can't wait any longer!" ~ Kiel.

"We won't move until Raqnid arrives!" ~ Fat

"Doug, what are we going to do?" ~ Kiel

"Ahh!" Doug jumped out of the horse-drawn carriage and drew his sword. "10 minutes!"

"Huh?" ~ Fat

"10 minutes, if Raqnid doesn't arrive by then, we have to leave! Or we'll all die here." Doug looked at Fat.

"Alright! Thank you, Doug." ~ Fat

"GO!" ~ Doug

Fat went to find his friend, entering a forest filled with Minotaurs.

"RAQNID!... RAQNID!" ~ Fat

Kiel also got off the horse-drawn carriage. He protected their horses from Minotaur attacks.

***

"Oi... oi... what's happening there? I need to get there quickly!" Raqnid ran back to his group.

At first, his keen senses didn't detect anything. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, numerous monsters appeared simultaneously.

"It's like they're being teleported here!" ~Raqnid

"Garggghh!" ~Minotaur

A dozen Minotaurs blocked Raqnid's path to his group.

"Haishh!" ~Raqnid

He drew his bow and easily killed them one by one. However, the number of Minotaurs kept increasing after each one was slain. They seemed to appear endlessly.

"Raqnid, where are you!" ~Fat

Meanwhile, Fat was still searching for Raqnid while surrounded by Minotaurs. The other horse-drawn carriages had already started moving one by one, leaving only one with Goug and his companions who were waiting for Fat and Raqnid's return. Time was running out.

The 10 minutes passed...

"What do we do now, Doug? Fat and Raqnid still haven't arrived!" ~Kiel

"Hiyarghh (killing Minotaurs)... we move!" ~Doug

"What... Geez, alright!" ~Kiel

Disappointment filled their faces as they had to leave their friends behind.

"Alright... Nancy, move now!" ~Doug

Their horse-drawn carriage moved without Fat and Raqnid.

"This is useless!" ~Kiel punches the carriage in anger..

Doug and Nancy also felt disappointed having to leave their friends.

Suddenly, they felt a strong vibration approaching from within the forest. Fear and worry gripped their hearts. They watched in the direction of the approaching tremors.

"What's causing this vibration?" ~Kiel

"Don't tell me it's the Mino..." ~Doug

"ARGHH!" Fat emerged from the forest, running as fast as he could to catch up with the horse-drawn carriage.

"FAT!" ~Doug

A smile appeared on their faces when they saw that Fat was safe.

"But what's making such a loud noise that it's shaking the roads?" ~Kiel

'Zhossh!'

"Wow, Fat brought quite a few passengers with him." ~Doug

"I don't think this carriage can fit them all!" ~Kiel

A group of Minotaurs emerged from the forest, armed with large swords, and chased after Fat.

Doug and Kiel reached out their hands to Fat.

"Just a bit more!" ~Doug

"Hurry, Fat!" ~Kiel

"Hiyarghh!" Fat made one final sprint and leaped towards the horse-drawn carriage, reaching out with his right hand.

"Got it!" Doug and Kiel successfully caught Fat's right hand and pulled him up with them.

"One... two... three... PULL!"

Fat managed to get on the horse-drawn carriage, and the Minotaurs behind him couldn't catch up.

"Raqnid?" ~Kiel

Seeing the expression on Fat's face, they could already guess the answer.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Raqnid is safe!" ~Doug

Hearing those words, Fat started to feel reassured. He believed in his friend's abilities.

"Yeah, you're right, Doug! If it's Raqnid, he's definitely safe." ~Fat

In the midst of the forest...

"Hah! When will this end?" ~Raqnid continued to fight by himself.