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The sky above the Bug River had completely surrendered to a bruised, unnatural darkness.
It wasn't the darkness of a normal night, but a heavy, light-swallowing shroud that seemed to pulse in time with the river's current.
Against this obsidian backdrop, the four Origin Comprehension powerhouses in Vanessa's legion were the only lanterns like hope.
Their auras flared with a rhythmic brilliance, looking like four massive, uncut gemstones set into a piece of jagged jewelry.
The green radiance of the Crane, the earthy brown of the Deer Elder, the shimmering azure of the Water Matriarch, and the pale-golden-white of the Rabbit King illuminated the mist in a chaotic kaleidoscope of power.
In the center of this radiance stood Dreleon.
He was a silhouette of silence, his hand gripped so tightly around his wooden sword that his knuckles were white.
While his eyes scanned the swirling fog for threats, his mind was a storm of a different kind.
He felt a foreign, suffocating pressure—a weight that felt like a mountain had been dropped onto his shoulders.
It was the weight of his own weakness.
Every time he looked at the "Refugee Legion," he saw a reminder that he had failed his primary duty.
He was the Princess's guard, yet she had been forced to negotiate with beasts and bargain with spirits just to ensure her survival.
His "Void" power, which had felt so significant in the training grounds, now felt like a flickering candle in a hurricane.
He was surrounded by the "Masters of the Origin," and he was nothing more than a human boy with a piece of wood.
Why am I so slow? he thought, the frustration burning in his throat like acid.
If I had the power of the Snake Pillar... if I could truly touch the Void... she wouldn't have to sit here and play games with rabbits.
A sudden ripple in the air broke his train of thought.
Swish!
A blur of pink and white burst from the tall, razor-sharp grass.
It was a Royal-Red Horned Rabbit, its movements so fast they left after-images in the mist.
The crimson horn on its forehead glowed with a violent, bloody light.
In a heartbeat, Dreleon was there.
He didn't think; he reacted as he stepped between the creature and Vanessa, his wooden sword pointed directly at the rabbit's throat.
The tip of the wood hummed with a faint spatial vibration.
"Say your business!" Dreleon commanded, his voice cold and sharp as a winter wind.
The rabbit didn't flinch.
It didn't even acknowledge Dreleon's existence.
Its large, obsidian eyes remained fixed on the Princess, who sat behind Dreleon on a makeshift throne.
It was a chair he had fashioned in a desperate hurry from the twisted roots and broad, leathery leaves of the mutated trees.
Even in this hellish swamp, he had tried to give her the dignity of a palace.
"Hah... Say it," Vanessa said.
She leaned back against the leaves, her Cerulean dress fluttering as a gust of wind carried the scent of the river toward them.
She looked down at the rabbit with the regal indifference of a Queen.
"Lion Princess," the rabbit spoke, its voice a high-pitched, frantic trill.
"My scouts have succeeded.
Deep within the 'Cave of Weeping Silt,' just 200 meters from here, we have found a nest where many Shadows are hidden.
They are there not moving in a radius of more than 10 meters, perhaps guarding a treasure or a mutation marrow.
I request that you verify it... and reward my people as promised."
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
Since entering the river, she had established a simple, brutal law for her followers:
Every deed will be rewarded.
Good results bring Good rewards; failure or betrayal brings Death.
It was the only way to keep a legion of "prey" from scattering or turning on her.
She looked at her group.
She needed to verify the claim.
If the rabbits were lying to lure her into an ambush, she needed to know.
If they were telling the truth, she needed to strike.
She looked at the crane.
No—the Crane was her only "true" Origin comprehension realm shield.
If she sent the bird away, she would be defenseless against a sudden strike from the Sky Tigers.
The Deer and Fairy elders were too valuable for their sensory support.
Her eyes drifted toward Dreleon.
Wait... could Dreleon go?
The thought entered her mind like a cold shiver.
In this atmosphere, where even a master of the Origin cannot guarantee safety, Dreleon is... useless here.
He cannot protect me from the things in this mist. If I send him, I am not losing a shield... I am sending a scout.
…
No!
She bit the inside of her cheek, a surge of guilt she didn't know she possessed flaring up.
What am I thinking? How can I even consider throwing him into that cave alone? He is my guard.
He is…
She looked at his back.
He looked so small compared to the glowing giants around him.
She opened her mouth to choose another lion instead, but before she could speak, the "mountain" on Dreleon's back seemed to move.
Dreleon took a single step forward.
He didn't turn around.
He dropped to one knee, his head bowed low, his wooden sword held horizontally across his palms.
"Your Grace," he said.
His voice was no longer frustrated.
It was calm.
It was the voice of a man who had decided to walk into the fire.
"Give me this chance.
I am the only one who can move through the shadows without being felt.
Let me go and confirm this for you.
Let me be your eyes."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Vanessa looked at the back of his neck, realizing that he had sensed her thoughts.
He knew he was the most "expendable" person in the circle, and he was offering to be exactly that—all for the sake of her safety.
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[Author's Note: Strange. I was not supposed to write it but I was unable to stop my hands.
I searched on internet about who an Author is and the internet said 'The author is simply someone who doesn't stop writing ' well that got me fired up but still i don't have much time.
I hope you will like when i write, and sorry 😔
I can't maintain my promise of 2 chapter daily, as i said previously i have to focus on my job too.
But don't worry, I am trying to find another job with more freedom so I can write without much care.
It's fun to write.]