IX. The Bloody Prince Retreats

To read the full version and the latest chapters, visit it on POPINK :)

ARK The Bane Of Spectres

https://popinkapp.com/novel/200001615

You may also like:

ARK Bearer Of Curse

https://popinkapp.com/novel/200001866

***

It was too early to celebrate. Whatever Evangelyn did, it only took her one hit to eliminate the elven Royal Guard. But that didn't put Irina at ease, seeing how the other elves choke the life out of Lucian. She was nervously pulling her hair with her finger but this time, so hard almost clenching it in her hand.

"Just one more minute, hang on please", she uttered under her breath, praying for his safety.

The prince and Evangelyn continued with their clash. It was the prince who took the offensive while the latter meticulously dodged every single one of the former's advances. She wasn't as nimble as Lucian but her movements were graceful. In the process, she saw Evangelyn pull some papers from her pocket with symbols written on it, which she could only describe as runes. The writings started to glow bright blue.

"Irina! Now!", Evangelyn called to her all of a sudden.

She was surprised, she didn't have any idea what Evangelyn meant. But seeing her gripping her locket so hard was long enough for the prince to switch his attention to her, who was just as surprised as her. That was barely two seconds of distraction but that was all the time Evangelyn needed to cast a sealing spell.

"Seigen Suru", as Evangelyn invoked the spell and flung four paper runes, that encircled the prince creating a magic circle under its feet. The paper runes generated an invisible barrier that connected from each corner, which prevented anything from coming in and out, thus sealing the elf prince in so she could freely deal with the remaining Royal Guards. "You, little b***h!", Irina could only make up the words it tried to curse at Evangelyn, as not even sound could escape the barrier.

Irina turned her sight back to Lucian. She realized how skillful he was, fighting bare handed, and disarming the elves. They didn't even have time to pick up their weapons. It was taking all their might to restrict him, but he was nearing his limit.

It must be her instinct that Irina didn't notice she took a kneeling stance. Archery and fencing had been her sports since childhood. Her childhood friend taught her swordsmanship, particularly with the rapier, which suited her physiques and she had great skills. But more than that, she had a natural talent with the bow. Her father used to bring her along to his hunting trips, their only connection as father and daughter, which she both loved and hated.

Two of the Royal Guards let go of Lucian's arms. They picked up their weapons, getting the attention of Evangelyn who quickly turned to face them. They both attacked Evangelyn from opposite sides, but she was able to evade the first swing and parry the next. Their weapons wrestled for a fraction of a second, then she grabbed his wrist, spun her body, and use the momentum to sweep the elf's foot with hers, bringing him to the ground, just enough time for her to duck, avoiding the blow of the other from her behind, and delivered a counter attack of her own with her harisen through a back hand.

Like the first Royal Guard, this one lit up on a magic circle and disappeared almost as soon as getting hit. Everytime Irina saw it, she was fascinated by the aesthetics of Evangelyn's fighting style. It was like a graceful dance. She looked at Lucian, still getting choked by the elf. He looked like he's about to lose consciousness unless she did something to help.

Irina was about to turn around to finish the one on the ground, when it grabbed and pulled her legs, causing her to lose balance. Its grip was so firm, it would leave bruises on her legs.

"Ugh!", she suppressed a moan of pain. Shit, these elves are strong, she thought. That's true, elves were physically superior to humans, and this one's a Royal Guard. Without her mobility, she'd be no match for him. She tried to rotate her upper body to deliver a clean hit with her harisen, but the elf who had a better position mounting her, easily predicted the direction of her attack and easily avoided it.

The elf must have understood that he was at a disadvantage in a swordfight. He didn't grab his weapon for another stand off. He was quick to pin his weight to Evangelyn who had a significantly smaller physique, and grabbed her arms before she could swing that harisen again, putting them in a deadlock. His weight and physical strength almost contused Evangelyn's wrists and legs but she had a bigger problem than that.

"Oh, no!", she exclaimed. "Lucian! You have to hang on tight AF!!", she screamed. Her sealing spell was wearing off and the elf prince would be released. With Lucian and her both pinned, it would be free to attack either of them, and it could be fatal.

As if on cue, the elf prince rushed towards the almost out of breath, Lucian. Its whole left hand had transformed to a sword, and gusts of wind swirled around it. It looked like a sword with chainsaw blades encircling it. Evangelyn gritted her teeth, anticipating the pain Lucian would be in when that hit him.

"You puny humans are harder to deal than I expected. Credits to you man, but you're dead now!", said the angry and half crazy prince as he rushed to Lucian's direction with a stabbing pose. Lucian braced himself for impact. The best he could do was to avoid getting his organs pierced.

*Bsshk!*

Blood. Evangelyn's mouth froze wide-open. She could not believe what she was seeing. There was a lot of blood. She felt the weight shifting away from her back. The Royal Guard unpinned her and sprinted to its prince's direction. She looked at Irina, "Did she do it?", she thought. But Irina was just kneeling from a distance, with nothing but a locket in her hand. She could have sworn she saw a quick flash which she recognized as an arrow that flew straight to the elf prince, piercing its back.

"AAARGH! AAAARGH! You dare spill my blood! The blood of the royal elf prince! You people are doomed! AAAAARRH!", it shrieked in pain, swimming in its own blood. The Royal Guards attended to their prince. Lucian almost fell to the ground as he too was released by the elf choking him, but he supported himself with one arm, the other clenched to his chest while coughing.

One of the Royal Guard pulled out a translucent crystal and whispered a spell. "The next time we meet, we'll have an army swarming your sacred places! And I will kill you three with my own hands. Especially you!", the prince threatened as he coughed on his blood. Irina didn't understand, was that elf prince pointing at her?

A couple of seconds later, a big magic circle appeared around the elves, and all three of them were gone in an instant. After a short moment, the gloomy cold disappeared, too. The Umbra phenomenon ended. People started to walk in to the parking floor.

Irina and Evangelyn ran to Lucian as quickly as they could. Each grabbed his arms, helping him stand. "Lucian..", the teary eyed Irina spoke first. She couldn't utter another word. It would be foolish to even ask how he was. He was obviously out of breath. She was completely useless. Again.

"Is anyone of you hurt? Evangelyn?" he asked. Evangelyn shook her head. "Irina?"

She couldn't control her tears anymore. Even after almost choking to death, he's still thinking about her safety. She knew it was his "duty" but still! The next thing she knew, her head was buried in Lucian's chest, crying. "I'm sorry. I was helpless. I wish I were like you, guys. You got hurt and you could've died protecting me again. I'm so sorry."

Lucian looked at Evangelyn, they knew each other long enough so she knew his eyes were asking her "What's going on". She shrugged her shoulders saying, "Hey, no fair. I could've died too and only he gets a hug?", she jokingly said.

"Huh?", as if regaining her senses, Irina pulled back from Lucian, wiping the tears from her reddening face. "Thank you for helping us, Evangelyn. You too risked your life to help and got hurt. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help you, guys."

"It was just some bruises. Guess I'll be wearing long clothes for a couple of days to hide them.", she jokingly replied. "Hope that makes us even from last night, right?"

"Y-yes! That more than made up for if. Also, Lucian told me what you guys had to do. Nothing personal. I understand."

"Great! Now, call me Eve. We're friends now."

Irina couldn't believe what she just heard. She met enough people in her life. People who tried to befriend her but only for their own gain and interest. She already recognized when the intent was genuine. That's because she never felt it. Until now. There was a feeling of joy in her chest.

"Sure, Eve! Then you can call me, Rin.", she said with the sweetest and truest smile. She would have hugged Eve too, but she was already embarrassed from instinctively hugging Lucian.

"Now we're talking, Rin. Also, you weren't really helpless, you did great at the last moment." Eve acknowledged.

"What do you mean?"

"So you don't know what you did, huh? That's normal."

"Remember what? I don't understand", Irina said, confused. Did it have something to do with why the elf threatened her specifically?

"We could have died if not for YOUR help, Rin.", Eve replied. "Although, I'm not sure how that helps in the bigger picture and the politics of ARK in the shadow world."

"What? What happened, can you just tell me what I did?"

Lucian coughed to clear his throat and spoke to answer her.

"You shot an arrow to that bloody elf prince."