Chapter 60: The Search

Zentra was once a town full of cheerful tendrins, having fun all day and all night never had any problems of dangers intruding their place. But right now, it became a town of grief. Some cylinder houses may have restored completely, but others weren't finished yet. Small and big decorative trees were burned into cinders during the ambush, and only the great tree in the middle of the town survived.

And yet, they never lost hope. They kept marching on, helping each other in reviving the place they were living in for years.

"Your Highness," A man was called, which made him turn around to see him. Even though he was old, his beauty was still intact, with pale white skin glowing like pearls. His long white silver hair up to his legs swayed along with his actions. His wing ears on both sides were revealed. And his golden eyes shone in the shade like rare gems in an underground cave. He was wearing a golden armor but never the helm.

Encantors were the creature of loyalty, but they were also known for their otherworldly beauty. The features that made them look so young separated them from others and thus made their own place on another small land.

The person that called his name bowed down in his knees, with the same features as him except with a shorter hair that never even reached his shoulders and a less protective armor.

"The residents reported that two dark entities and a Cerberus attacked the town." He explained, still stuck in his position, waiting patiently for his reply. The other one widened his eyes but remained calm at the information. Could it be?

"Dark entities… do they mean…?" The king tried to ask, but he couldn't be able to even tell the word for it. The dark entities, known as the daminons, should be staying at the Devil's Hatch which was completely sealed.

"It seems like, Your Highness." The encantor confirmed, even though he didn't tell the world yet. As followers of rules, they never liked those prisoners who refused to obey. So he was willing to stop this madness. For his family and for the kingdom he was in-charged of.

He sent a group, which consisted of the talented knights of the generation, in search of any signs of the in the land of humans. They were sent out ever since the incident at the Eldon town, one of the remaining towns of the endangered race, scarnets.

"And regarding his whereabouts?" His highness changed the subject with a new question, as the 'he' they were talking about was the top priority of their mission.

While the other army was sent in search of the daminons, he led the group that was in charge of looking for a person, a person that could turn the tables of the conflict. If there will be a future war between the enemies mentioned and the whole of Arcania, then they need to catch him to be in the advantage.

"I'm afraid they had no knowledge about it." The servant answered, now standing up from kneeling down. "But the clairvoyants could sense him kilometers away. There's a possibility he moved towards the Astraen Kingdom."

Hearing the said kingdom made him turned his head around.

"Astraen, you say?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, a human kingdom in the middle east of the land."The encantor confirmed what his master said. His face was twitching as if he didn't want to say that word in front of him.

He had never been at the human kingdoms before since they were known to be full of greed, even Deravon, which was their trading partner regarding magic usage. It was his father who created the business between the two, and he was not sure if he will keep it up. So he refused to meet the other race.

But for the sake of the mission, and for the world he ruled, he must go to Astraen, whether he likes it or not.

"We will travel at an instant before the sun comes down." He announced, which made the other knights turned their head around to see him. They stood straight in front of him, holding helmets on their hands.

As he made this declaration, he jumped on his horse that was white as snow, as well as the others. Finally, they were ready for the fastest travel they will ever execute.

"We must do whatever it takes to catch him."

***

"The first stage of the tournament will be…"

Once all of the contestants were out of the doors which automatically shut down, the announcer went straight for the first stage of the tournament. The tension of waiting for him to finish his sentence made everyone quiet all of a sudden. Cainne and Meria took this chance and started running towards the stage.

"Beanstalk growing!"

But they failed to do so, as the crowds became lively again, yelling out of excitement, while the two weren't happy about the situation at all. Once again, they were forced to get squeezed, getting drowned at the thousands of people. They will surely reach the top of the stage, but it won't be faster than before.

Then, the staff of the tournament started showing up in the arena below. Each of them was carrying a wheeled tray, full of potted plants. The plants were just saplings, small enough to hold on one's palms. They caught the attention of most of the people, even the cursed Meria. If only she could just watch the battle and forget about the mission, but she knew that it would be impossible.

"Magic beanstalks were planted in one of those pots in which can grow by magic or magic orbs." The announcer explained, shouting than ever at his megaphone. Encantors had been experimenting with plants, which led them in gaining magic plants. These are plants that could only grow using magic, but the tendrins still had the ability to talk to their spirits.

"In order to pass this round, one must grow their stalk to 50 meters and sustain it for five seconds!" He added. "And here's the fun part! Other contestants can distract and stop others from growing their beanstalks!"

The excitement increased in the air, which made the space narrower than before. Each person stood and squeezed the others until they could be able to see the full sight of the battle.

Everyone might be enjoying the tournament, but Dalary had been standing in her position, frozen and shivering ever since she heard the announcement. She has never been a fighter or anyone who enjoys beating other people. When she heard that all they had to do was to grow beanstalks, she was relieved, until they permitted that everyone could distract and break others'.

"How the heck should I do that?!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, with twitching face muscles. She gritted her teeth, glaring at the people on the stage with anger. "First stage and I'm already out!"

Pholly didn't do anything but to sigh deeply. She got used to her sister complaining about almost everything that she didn't waste her effort to calm her down. Instead, she decided to walk away from her.

They've been away for years since Dalary left at Zentra, so even though she kept calling her 'sister��, she had never treated her like one. For her, she was just a stranger with memories and a person that she must protect under the order of the Elder.

But the walk-out failed, as her sister turned around to see her taking a step away from her position. And yet, she didn't even care if she got caught or not, as long as she could execute the mission properly.

"P-Pholly, hey!" Dalary pleaded for help from her. Her yell was a mixture of frustration and begging for assistance. Sure, because she trained for 2 days with her friends, she gained combat skills, but she still lacked confidence in herself.

Pholly stopped in her track and sighed once more. Then, she turned her head around, with a face that showed her disinterest in her problems.

"This is an individual competition, sister." She said, with her hands on her waist, never showing any kind of negative or positive emotions on her face. Even though she was years younger, she was still more mature than her sister. "If we work together, then we will both be out."

What she said was true since she was just following the rules of the tournament, but Dalary was still irritated, and that she really didn't want to protect her at all.

Meanwhile, Cainne and Meria were meters away from the top of the stage, and any minutes later reached its peak. They managed to push themselves through to the front and finally had a great view of the dome.

But after hearing the instructions of the first stage of the tournament, Meria couldn't help but be filled with worry for their friends that joined.

Even though Pholly was the second most experienced fighter among them, following Cainne, it was an individual competition, which means, once she will help Dalary, who had less experience than any of the contestants, then they will be disqualified.

And Dalary, despite her talent, couldn't be able to keep up once all participants started sabotaging each other, leading her into losing the tournament.

"Don't worry."

She went back to reality, as her anxious thoughts started to take over her mind. Suddenly, she heard Cainne's voice beside her. At the same time, a warm hand gently touched her shoulder.

She turned around to see him giving his most sincere smile, which started to get rare ever since they stayed in the Astraen Kingdom. It's like he had been thinking about something that brought her grief.

But right now, she was happy that he could see him smile again.

He was right. Dalary had been traveling for about fifteen years and had stayed strong. And she was sure that she will also stay strong at a tournament where she can be easy prey.

Finally, the bell that cries the start of the battle, rang gloriously, like it was calling a god from the clear sky. Nobody might see it, but one was sure that Dystrius was watching the grand game.

And so, they continued their search.