Capturing All Priests

"Ugh…what just happened?" Yuddu coughed out blood as he gasped, his vision hazy as everything seemed to be dancing in his perspective. His ribs had cracked from the impact, despite him defending against the slam with his sickle.

It just went to show how powerful a Kjallar was. Yuddu was unable to move, for the time being, exhausted of all his Faith. He would have to recover his Faith and then rebuild his shattered sickle before he could join the fight. That would take hours, so he was down for the count.

"Yuddu! Get up! We need to retreat first. The situation isn't boding well for us." Tebula arrived to his rescue and propped him up, "Farraiha is down. She fainted from whatever hit her."

"Where…is she?" Yuddu asked while gasping a little.

"Nakdu has hidden her. He'll mask our surroundings and create a path for our escape. We cannot afford to fight two Kjallars." Tebula said in a hurry before she slumped him on her shoulder, "Let's leave first."

When he was lifted by Tebula, Yuddu stared at a cracked glass sphere that was on the ground. It had fallen out when he was sent flying. His vision wasn't clear, but he could see the Nasp was…excited?

Moreover, its excitement was growing in magnitude while it stared at a spot right behind Tebula. Realising in alarm, Yuddu shouted, "Look out…"

"Ugh…what the…?" Tebula flinched when something sharp stabbed her neck. Immediately after, gills formed on her neck as she felt suffocated, unable to breathe. She collapsed to the ground and writhed about like a dying fish.

"You…" Yuddu stared at the figure of Iota dressed like a marine creature, standing right before him while covered from head to toe by ants. A syringe stabbed him in the forehead and he fainted, unable to breathe.

Iota stared at the hill and waved his hand once, signalling Royl that was keeping watch stealthily.

Immediately, a string crawled forth like a serpent and coiled around the unconscious figures of Tebula and Yuddu, dragging them away. The moment the string arrived at the scene, the remaining three Priests stared in all seriousness.

"That's Fear! A Shaman is nearby."

"Shit!" Vuruna leaped around and evaded the blade shell Kjallar's attacks as she looked around, noticing the figures of Tebula and Yuddu being dragged away by the string, "Damn Shaman!"

"Argh!" Suddenly, she heard the shout of her brother, Vurunul, turning around in a fluster to see a syringe sticking out on her brother's neck as the fluid within was being injected into his body. He fainted.

The Kjallar with the hammer shell retracted its arm and stared at Vuruna. It was the one that shot that needle, taking Vurunul by surprise.

Now, only two Priests were left. The attacker Vuruna and the hiding expert, Nakdu. Nakdu was taking care of Farraiha, travelling amongst a dense overgrowth of grass that had sprouted mysteriously.

Swoosh!

The Kjallar with a hammer shell targeted Vuruna next, forcing her into a defensive. The Kjallar with a blade shell had slowed down by now, suffering from the effects of the pesticide. But, that didn't better her situation, for she was getting cornered without any support.

Swoosh!

Nakdu rushed through a field of grass that had grown over his head, carrying the figure of Farraiha when he heard the sounds of someone chasing after him. Immediately after, two strings slithered through the large strands of grass and coiled around his legs, tripping him.

Farraiha's eyes shot open as she glared in anger, puffing before spitting out a rice grain, causing blood to spurt, followed by a man's scream, "Argh!"

Canl and Menl were chasing after the two once the Priests had been cornered.

As Farraiha was the first to be injected with fish blood, she managed to recover by now as the gills on her neck vanished. She expended some of the fish blood's power while her Faith worked to counteract the rest, allowing her to wake up on time.

Though, it didn't mean much by this point in time as Iota lured the Kjallar with the blade shell towards the field of overgrown grass, causing it to move through the region. And slithering past its attacks were two strings, accurately targeting Farraiha and Nakdu.

Vuruna had been fighting the longest and had been exhausted. Once her Faith dried up, her sickle was unable to endure the attacks of the Kjallar—with the hammer shell—and ended up shattering. Taking advantage of her weakness, its arm coiled around her and constricted her.

Iota crept up from behind and stabbed a syringe in her neck, incapacitating her. Royl took custody of her as the group's attention fell on the remaining two Priests.

The Priests resisted for another couple of minutes before they were all captured and dragged into the cave where they were bound tightly.

Even after they recovered, they didn't have enough Faith to resist. Moreover, the Kjallar—with the hammer shell—sat before them, observing menacingly with its feline eyes.

From the cave, Iota observed the Kjallar—with the blade shell—clean itself in the river and recuperate its injuries by hunting some fish. 'We can deal with it later.'

He then stared at the bound Priests, smiling brightly, "Well, this is a surprise!"

"Don't be content," Yuddu glared in anger, "More of us will come after you."

"Wow, don't glare at me like that." Iota raised his hands, acting alarmed, "I'm a good friend of Dullip Garobu, you see."

"Tch! Lord Dullip betrayed the faith…" Yuddu snorted when Iota casually slapped him in the face, stunning him.

"Dude, use your brain." Iota knocked his head, "Unless this organ of yours has been leased to someone else, employ it a little, will you?"

"This rude…" Yuddu was about to curse when Royl tightened the noose around his neck, suffocating him.

"You know, even though Dullip is a bit…on the violent side, he's loved by the people." Iota said, "The proof of that is all over your city. If anything, it's that Keyn dude that's kind of creepy."

"Enough!" Vuruna shouted, "Don't you dare badmouth sir Apostle!"

"Well, I don't care." Iota shrugged casually as he told Royl, "Keep them bound until Dullip arrives. I'm still tired, so I'll be resting."

But, that was it, as even after three days, Dullip never returned. Eventually, three days turned into a week. Dullip seemed to have vanished mysteriously.