Chapter 58 Two weeks later

Two weeks have passed since the talk between Chrys, Morgan, and Lilly happened.

Chrys and Morgan are now standing right in the middle of the giant hallways before the massive door.

"They still haven't come back." Chrys said.

Morgan looked at him and asked. "Do we wait longer?"

Chrys shook his head and replied. "No. Celine doesn't really follow our directions. But, Set does."

Chrys turned to Morgan and said with a serious face. "Something went wrong. Go gather the others."

Morgan gave him a nod and they then went to gather the others.

After telling them where to meet up. Morgan and Chrys met back up and sat down on the dining room while they waited for the others to arrive.

Miya, Amber, Rose, and Lilly simultainously entered the dining room. They sat down on their seats as Lilly asked. "Is this about Brother Set and Sister Celine?"

Chrys then replied to her. "Yes. Let's wait for the others before we start to discuss."

Lilly swept the table with her gaze and said. "I'll go get Bushhead."

Just as she was about to stand up, Chrys stopped her and said. "No need. I already had Loki and Hela deal with him."

Lilly sat back down and replied. "Okay."

Not long after that, Hela and Loki entered the room, dragging a blanket that is wrapped around V, who is wearing a very displeased face.

Hela placed V in his chair while Loki went to theirs.

After Hela sat down, Chrys said. "Alright, now that we're all here. Let's talk about the other people missing."

Lilly then said to him. "It has been a month since we split up into groups. They should be back by now, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I presume something went wrong." Chrys replied.

"Morgan, do you know the path they took?" Chrys asked.

Morgan pulled out a map and placed it on the table. They then began discussing where Set and Celine should be and also where they might be.

While the conversation is continuing, Miya whispered to Amber, who is next to her. "Why are they making a such a big deal out of the others not returning after two weeks? The people in our village usually disappear for months before coming back."

Amber then whispered back. "Well, this is only my assumtion, but..."

"Since people don't have a way to communicate long-distances, they come up with ways to make sure that their allies didn't die somewhere."

"When they say 'one month', I presume that if they somehow get split up, they should return to a place in a span of one month."

"If they don't return, then something bad happened to them."

"Oh... thank you." Miya thanked Amber for explaining before she returned her attention to the others conversation.

"Okay, so that lowers the places they could be at to only two places." Chrys said.

He pointed at two places on the lower part of the map and said. "The first is Pursen. The city a few kilometers away from the western exit."

Chrys then continued. "The second is... Nyad, the city of the weirdos."

The atmosphere around the table changed. It changed into a very heavy feeling, like everyone just got very insulted.

The only ones not eminating such an aura is Miya, Amber, Rose, and Morgan, who is wearing her signiture blank face.

V slowly slammed his hand onto the table and said. "I'm not going to those freaks."

Hela followed up with. "I don't like them. They spray water into my eyes. It hurts."

Loki let out a growl for his response.

While Lilly let out a sigh while shaking her head.

The three girls looked confused by their reactions, so Rose decided to ask. "Why are you guys acting like this? Are they bad guys?"

Lilly turned to her and said. "No, Rose. They're not bad guys. It's just that the people living in that town are... a bit too entusiastic."

"Huh?" Rose raised an eyebrow and waited for Lilly to continue.

Seeing that Rose wasn't satisfied with the explanation, Lilly continued. "The city of Nyad is sat upon a large oasis. Meaning, they have a lot of water."

"The people that live there see water as a blessing. So, when they get visited by travelers, they share it. They do this by splashing your face with a bucket full of water."

"At first, it's actually quite refresing since it drives the desert heat away. But after awhile, it gets pretty annoying since every local does it and not just once, might I add." Lilly said with an annoyed expression, looking like she was talking from experience.

Chrys chimed in and said. "They also have a cult."

"That too." Lilly said.

"The cult of Nyad's blessing. The way they get people to join them is by dropping a literal bathtub full of water on you."

"If you get hurt, they run. If you emerge without a scratch, they will make you join them by repeatedly asking you politely." Lilly explained.

"Eh?" The three girls looks like they just heard an extremly bizzare set of information, making them look confused and baffled.

V slammed his fist to the table again and said. "Point is, I don't want to go there. I'm going to the group heading for Pursen no matter what."

Chrys then asked. "I guess, no one wants to go to Nyad then?"

Everyone on the table nodded, even Morgan and the three girls. Chrys let out a sigh and said. "Well, we can't have that. A group has to go over there and check."

Lilly turned to him and said. "You can go on your own, can't you, Goldie? It's not like the water will affect you."

Chrys then replied to her. "Last time I was there, a group of children and their parents kept on bugging me."

"The only way I could get away from them without fighting is by sitting at the bottom of the oasis for half the day."

"My point is, I don't want to go there as well. Everyone there is annoying." Chrys added.

"If that's the case, we have to settle this by using 'that' way. To see who would go to Nyad." Lilly said.

After Lilly said that, everyone on the table apart from the three girls, who looks confused and terrified, stood up and approuched each other menacingly.

On one side stood, Lilly, Hela with Loki on her right shoulder, and V, who still has the blanket around him.

On the other side, only Chrys and Morgan stood.

"The groupings will be the usual. The girls will go to the group that's headed for Pursen since no one deserves to have a bathtub dropped on them." Chrys said.

The other side nodded as Hela went forward.

Seeing her approach, Chrys took a step forward.

When they were at arms reach from each other, Chrys and Hela raised their left hands into the air.

The girls watched with terrified and anxious expression since Chrys and Hela wore serious faces, looking like their about to fight each other.

After another second, Chrys and Hela smacked their left fist into their right arm as they chanted. "Rock, paper, scissors..."

But before they could finish the chant, Chrys placed his left fist onto his right palm and opened it, revealing a bar of chocolate.

Chrys then calmly said. "Chocolate?"

"Chocolate." Hela replied as she grabbed the chocolate bar, split it into two, gave half to Loki, and walked away while eating her share.

Chrys revealed an extremely smug expression towards Lilly and V, who watched the exchange from the side.

"That's cheating!!!" They simultainously screamed.

"It's not cheating. She surrendered and took my bribe. And also, only idiots fight fairly." Chrys said while still looking full of himself.

Lilly and V could only grit their teeth as Chrys added with a smile. "The score is 1 to 0, idiots."

The three girls, who were watching from afar, felt relief, shock and confusion as they asked themselves. "What is happening?"

Lilly stood forward while wearing an extremely determined face. Contrasting Chrys' relaxed and arrogant face.

Lilly thought to herself. "This has happened before. Goldie is a very underhanded person. He will use every trick in the book even if it's unnecesary just to be a jerk."

Lilly looked at Chrys' arrogant face as she continued. "You think you know me? You think you know what I'm going to pick? Sorry to say, but I have already beaten you once. I'll never lose to you again!"

Lilly then raised her left fist, causing Chrys to raise his. They then began the chant. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

Before they could reveal what they chose, Chrys said. "You'll pick paper."

Before Lilly could process what he said, she landed her fist onto her arm and revealed paper. While Chrys revealed scissors.

Lilly froze up upon realising what Chrys just did.

She then crumbled to her knees as she thought. "H-he didn't even need to use tricks on me. He just... knew."

Lilly felt the confidence she gained from what she did to Chrys' earlier, disappear completely as Chrys stared down at her with an arrogant smirk.

Morgan pulled the defeated Lilly off to the side and sat down with her on their chairs.

V then took a step forward as Chrys said to him. "It's 2-0. You can tie it up if you can beat me and Morgan. Emphasis on the 'if'."

V took his hands out of the blanket and coldly snorted. "Heh, don't even compare me to these weaklings."

They then began the chant. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

And like before, Chrys said something before they could reveal their pick. Something that shook V to the core.

"How's the shrine in your room going, V?"

V felt his body freeze all over. Leaving the left fist on his right palm closed. Making the one he choose as rock.

Chrys meanwhile has his hand open, symbolising paper. Meaning, he won. A clean sweep of 3-0.

Chrys revealed the same smug expression like before as V closed in on him. He attempted to grab him in the collars, but Chrys' aura protected him.

His aura seemed to have extended further away from his body this time in order to prevent V from grabbing onto him.

Seeing his attempt on grabbing him fail, V poked Chrys in the chest, which was promptly blocked by his aura while he shouted. "You lying bastard!!! I thought you said you'll forget about it?!"

While still wearing the smug expression, Chrys calmly stated. "I never said that. Ask Lilly."

Hearing her name mentioned, Lilly said with a low voice, looking extremely despressed. "He never did say that."

"Shut it!" V shouted. He then angrily tucked back his hands into the blanket around him before he angrily stomped back to his chair while mumbling what could only be described as demonic whispers.

Once everyone went back to their chairs, Chrys said. "That settles it. The losers will go to Wet City. While me, Morgan, and the girls will go to a perfectly normal town."

After saying that, Chrys giggled while wearing an evil smile, rubbing salt to the fresh wound.

"That does it for now. Does anyone have questions?" Chrys asked.

The three girls shook their heads, still trying processing what they just witnesses.

Hela and Loki are busy eating the chocolate bar.

Morgan was gently patting the depressed Lilly.

V meanwhile was violently shaking his entire body.

He then shouted. "My hands are stuck! Someone cut me out!"

Lilly stood up, causing Morgan to back away from her. Lilly then said. "With pleasure."

She then ran towards the kitchen and came back carrying a bunch of knives.

She began throwing the knives at V without saying a word, but one could understand her actions perfectly.

"Woah! Stop, you crazy bitch!" V shouted as he evaded the flying knives while he is still wrapped inside the blanket.

"Hand me some, Lilly." Chrys said with a smile.

Lilly then threw a knife straight for Chrys' face.

Fortunately, Chrys caught the knife between his fingers. He then threw said knife at V.

While Lilly was alternating from throwing knives at V and Chrys, who was catching the knives that are headed towards him before throwing it at V, V shouted. "Don't join in, you golden-eyed asshole!"

While V continued to dodge the knives that Lilly and Chrys threw his way, Morgan said monotonously. "Don't waste your energy. Aren't we leaving immediately?"

Chrys responded to Morgan's question by placing a knife infront of her while saying. "Here you go."

Morgan stared blankly into the knife and blinked at it a couple of times.

After another second, she grabbed the knife with the hand that isn't holding her bow before she threw it at V.

The knife that Morgan threw, went into the blanket on V's body.

Fortunately, it didn't hit any part of V's body and simply went out the other side.

"You damn bitch!" V cursed as he continued to barely dodge the knife that headed his way.

Lilly continued to alternate between throwing knives at V and Chrys. While Chrys catches knives aimed at him. He throws some to V and gives some to Morgan, who is emotionlessly throwing knives with deadly precision at V.

"The blanket is making me miss." Morgan monotonously said.

"Basic anatomy suggest that if you aim just below the chin, you'll hit something unimportant." Chrys replied.

After hearing Chrys' statement, V shouted. "Fuck this!" V then ran out the room, wearing the blanket while still being pelted with knives.

Miya, Rose, and Amber just watched in amazement and shock as the others continued on what they were doing.

Miya then thought. "And, this isn't even all of them?"