Cody and I took few steps back, carefully on guard.
This was a failure attack, and I was in no shape to fight—nor was Cody.
I signaled. "Cody, run."
Cody's leg was injured and I could tell from his breathing that he was about to collapse any second now.
"I'll distract them, run Cody."
He shoved me aside.
"Fuck off. I'll—I have to rescue her majesty—she's still in there!", Cody limped forward putting his fists high.
The newly officers laughed. Then one of them pointed. "Well well well, isn't that Cody Carman! The queen's bodyguard!"
The guards slowly cornered us.
[This was not looking good.]
"How ridiculous of you to stand against us, Cody. The
"You're wrong. The
"You scums!" Cody launched a few bows, making the officers on our left side take a few steps back.
Smirks on their faces, their hands waving.
The mask man didn't speak but it looked like he was the one in charge of the escorting. He stood at the back watching us from a few distances.
If I remember correctly, the fourth officer said his name was 'Ereck'.
I have never met any guy named Ereck. Just who was he?
[He knew we'll attack that's why he made the illusion and a bait cart to fool us.]
[How does he know…]
I looked at the mask man carefully once again: his atire wasn't anything "flashy", he wore a ragged black cloak over a fitted tunic with a high collar, belted at the waist with a chain.
Black gloves and reinforced boots completed his looks, while matte armor plates guard his limb. A smooth white mask hides his face—blank and unreadable.
[Just who was he?]
If only I could tear open his mask and see his face—just then Cody from my left side disappeared.
"That lunatic…"
One second he was leaning against me, barely keeping weight off his bleeding leg, his breath trembling. The next, he shoved himself forward with a raw, desperate growl and charged straight at the three guards on the left side.
"Cody!" I yelled.
[I could not stop Cody even if I grew ten times in height and carried him by his collar—no one could drag him out.]
He slammed into the first guard with enough force to knock the man back a step. Cody's fist followed, wild and furious, cracking against his cheekbone.
Cody's injured leg buckled mid-swing. His punches begin losing power and force hallway through. The second guard caught him and pulled him by the collar and yanked him back like a child.
The third laughed as Cody stumbled, trying to regain his footing.
"Hahaha! You had better chances in running away than jumping in playing the hero." The guard sneered. "By seven the queen's head will be rolling on the ground. We'll make sure you witness it with your own eyes Carmen!"
Cody threw another punch, but it was slow, shaky. His knuckles barely grazed the man's jaw. The guard exchanged amused glances.
— What do you think Carmen?
— I heard someone has quite the interest in the queen.
Then one of the guard drove his fist into Cody's ribs.
Knocking the air out clean.
The officers giggled in pure amusements. "Carmen, are you curious to know what we did to Mei?"
Cody folded with a choked gasp, but he didn't fall. He forced himself upright again, eyes sharp even as his body trembled.
"We locked Mei in a cold cell and starved her for a few days. Then… then…" the other guard followed in. "then— we forcefully fed her poisoning food. We shoved it down her throat."
"The sight was disgusting! She began foaming from her mouth as her eyes rolled upward, her body began trembling and shaking violently."
"We were so disgusted, but to our sergeant… she was in perfect condition…" he smirked, his crooked teeth visible. "He throw us out and locked himself with the queen then—"
[I was getting sick.]
One swift motion— practiced, precise— and the guard collapsed instantly, his head hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. The other two froze, their amusement evaporating in an instant.
Blood dripped down Cody's mouth, he blinked up at me, dazed, confused even, barely conscious.
Cody's weight sagged against me the moment I hooked his arm over my shoulder. He tried to protest. "Z-Zack—wait—!"
I didn't listen.
I pulled him close, pivoted, and sprinted backward into the forest, boots digging into the dirt as I dragged us away from them. The moment we left the open path, the world exploded into motion.
An arrow hissed past my ear.
Then—another sliced through the leaves above us.
I didn't dare to slow down. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder— just enough to see the officers mounting their horses, hooves pounding as they surged after us.
"Hold tight!" I muttered, tightening my grip on Cody.
Branches whipped at my arms as I ran. The forest blurred into streaks of green and shadow. Behind us, the thunder of hooves grew lounder—too lound.
Too close.
Four officers leapt from the branches overhead, dropping toward us with outstretched hands, trying to tackle us from the canopy.
I twisted sharply, sliding under a fallen trunk. Their boots slammed into the ground where we'd been a heartbeat earlier.
I pushed off the dirt—and the forest pushed harder.
Vines snapped awake beneath my feet, coiling around my boots like living ropes. The ground itself seemed to pulse with life, tightening, dragging me down with all their might.
Cody almost slipped from my shoulder, nearly falling. I adjusted myself quick.
I hauled him onto my back, locking his arms around my neck. My muscles screamed under the weight. Lucky Cody isn't as big, but I forced my stance low and braced myself.
Electricity crackled across my skin.
A sharp, rising hum filled my ears as sparks danced along my arms, my legs, my spine—every nerve firing at once. The vines tightened—
And then snapped apart as the surge burst outward.
I tore free.
The forest floor blurred beneath me as I launched forward, planting my foot on a fallen log and using it as a springboard. I vaulted up, twisting between branches, dodging another volley of arrows that sliced through the air.
Cody groaned weakly against my back, but I couldn't stop.
His head dipped forward, breath shallow, consciousness slipping away. I tightened my hold on him and whispered, steady and low, "I'll save her. I swear. Just hang on for me."
He didn't answer. His body went limp.
I shifted him higher on my back and kept running—until the air beside me split.
A figure burst out of the darkness to my right.
I barely registered the mask before a blow slammed into my ribs, hard enough to rip the air from my lungs. The world spun, and Cody slid from my arms as my back hit a tree with a crack that rattled my teeth.
Hoofbeats thundered behind us.
The officers had stopped a short distance away, watching like spectators. One of them raised a hand, wind swirling around his fingers. A current of air swept Cody's unconscious body upward, lifting him gently but firmly off the forest floor. The officers guided him toward his saddle, holding him.
I pushed myself, coughing, my vision blurring.
The masked man didn't give me time.
He stepped in and drove another punch into my side, pinning me against the tree. Then another. And another.
Each hit forced me lower until I collapsed to the ground, curling instinctively as my breath came in ragged bursts.
Electricity still crackled around my body, flickering weakly, but all my strenght was drained.
I reached out blindly— and my hand closed around the masked man's boot.
He paused to watch me.
I forced my head up, blood dripping from my mouth, vision swimming. "W ho…a re yo u…"
He tilted his head, observing me like I was an insect he hadn't decided wether to crush or ignore.
Then his hand clamed around my throat, lifting me just below his chin.
With his other hand, he reached down, grabbed my sword from me, and drove it forward without any hesitation— pinning me against the tree in a single, brutal motion.