NOVPUBAs the group dispersed for the night, Kael and Laura entered their tent. Laura settled in quickly, laying down with her back to Kael, clearly still annoyed by Shiera’s presence. Kael sighed and lay beside her, staring at the tent’s fabric ceiling.
Outside, Shiera sat by the fire, arms crossed, gazing into the flickering flames.
Tonight was going to be a long night for all of them.
Shiera sighed in defeat. She could tell that arguing further was pointless, especially with both Nadia and her own teammate backing her into a corner. Begrudgingly, she got up and made her way to the tent where Kael and Laura were already settling in.
Laura, who had just started to relax, immediately sat up when she saw Shiera enter. "What are you doing?" she asked with a frown. Earlier, she only agreed because she wanted to cause some trouble for her sister. Seeing her all obedient soured her mood instead of making it better.
Shiera crossed her arms and muttered, "It’s not like I want to be here. But Grandmaster Nadia insisted and so do you."
Laura’s frown deepened. "Since when do you care about other people’s opinions? You are the type who will do whatever you want in the end, anyway."
Kael, who had been lying down, now sat up as well. He glanced at both women before sighing. "Look, let’s just get some sleep. You girls are all strong warriors. I am not, and I need some sleep."
Shiera scoffed, muttering. "Then, why do you want to come along? You might as well go back to the town."
Laura narrowed her eyes. "What did you say?"
Shiera shook her head, "Nothing." She said, before awkwardly settling in beside Kael, opposite side of Laura. The tent wasn’t exactly small, but with three people inside, it felt much more cramped than it should.
Kael lay in the middle, staring at the ceiling, feeling the tension in the air.
This was going to be a long night.
A few hours passed away. Laura was facing the other side, looking like she was in a deep sleep. And so was Kael who was lying on his back. Shiera, on the other hand, couldn’t.
Eventually, her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up, looking at Kael and Laura. Her gaze lingered longer on Kael, and she couldn’t help but think. "Why did my mother have to marry me off to this sorry excuse of a man? A man should be like K, strong and filled with justice, working for the weak even with the threat of a bounty on his head. And this guy, weak, a reckless peacock who depends on his wives for everything… ugh… just comparing them itself gives me shudder… I need to get out now."
She slowly slipped out of the tent.
As she did, Laura’s eyes opened slightly. She saw her sister’s back, and her lips widened into a smile. Once Shiera was gone from her sight, Laura flipped to Kael’s side and cuddled him to go back into real sleep.
Time passed away. Everyone is asleep but Shiera.
She stared into the flickering flames, lost in thought. The warmth of the fire barely reached her as the night air grew colder, but she didn’t mind. Her mind was elsewhere—on K.
She clenched her fists. "I just don’t understand why he saved me. Mother put a bounty on his head, dead or alive. There’s even an entire division created just to investigate his activities and capture him in action. And yet, when I was on the brink of death, he became my savior. But the most pressing matter was why he was here in the first place. What was he doing here in the mountains?"
Assassin K was a man of the Imperial City, deeply embedded in its shadows. He didn’t travel without reason. If he was here, he must have been searching for something.
Maybe, if she can meet him again, she can ask him that. And maybe, just maybe, she could help him in return.
That would be enough to repay the favor… wouldn’t it?
"Hah… if only this sorry excuse of my husband is even as half strong as you, I would have long accepted this marriage…" Shiera curled up her legs and laid her chin on top of her thighs, staring into the flames with a smile on her face. "It’s fine. Once I pass the heir trials and become the next Queen, I’ll get rid of him from my life. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to find… Hmm?"
Shiera’s breath suddenly caught in her throat, sensing something afar. As she turned her head to look in the direction of the source, she frowned. "I can’t see in the dark, but something is happening out there. I feel like space is twisting. A portal?"
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away from the campsite, right in the dark skies, a portal indeed opened up, and a thin and frail old man flew out of it. The old man looked around, scanning the surroundings and then locking onto the campsite in an instant. He turned into a blur.
The old man moved unnaturally fast—one moment he was at a distance, and in the blink of an eye, he stood right before her.
Shiera’s instincts screamed at her to move, to reach for her weapon, but something about the frail figure made her hesitate. His presence was overwhelming, yet there was no killing intent. Instead, his piercing gaze swept over the campsite, sharp and calculating.
She remained still, keeping her breathing controlled as she watched him. "Who… who are you?"
The old man’s eyes settled on her. His expression was unreadable, but the weight of his gaze sent a shiver down her spine. "You are not the one I seek," he murmured, his voice raspy yet clear. "But you are… connected."
Shiera tensed. "Who are you?" she demanded once again, her hand taking out her sword from the storage ring.
The old man tilted his head, ignoring her question. His gaze flickered toward the tent where Kael and Laura slept.
"Perhaps I should confirm for myself."
Before she could react, his figure blurred—vanishing and reappearing right in front of the tent.
Meanwhile, in the tent, Kael’s eyes snapped open. A cold shiver ran down his spine, his instincts screaming at him. "This presence…"
He couldn’t move—not because of danger, but because Laura was latched onto him, her arms wrapped tightly around his torso. Her soft breath brushed against his skin, peaceful and steady.
"Damn it…" Kael exhaled silently, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. A pulse of energy flickered from within him.
Almost in the following second, a shadowy figure materialized inside the tent. It was his energy clone. "Go." Without a sound, it teleported to the nearby forest, taking his twin daggers with it.
At the same time, a metallic ring split through the air.
Shiera was already on her feet. Her sword flashed, slicing through the darkness as she lunged forward without hesitation.
Her target?
The old man.
The moment he had approached the tent, she had moved. No hesitation. No warning. Her blade tried to slice toward his neck. But it never connected. A sharp gust of wind erupted from the old man’s position. In an instant, Shiera’s sword was halted—caught between two frail-looking fingers.
Her eyes widened. "Impossible." She muttered.
The old man, standing eerily still, didn’t even flinch. His grip on her blade was like an iron vice.
Shiera gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might. No use. It wouldn’t budge.
His piercing gaze shifted to her. "Hasty."
Then, with a flick of his wrist, a shockwave exploded from his fingers.
Shiera was sent flying.
Her body crashed into the ground, rolling several times before she slammed against a tree. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as the impact knocked the wind out of her.
She coughed, struggling to push herself up. "What… the hell…?"
It was then the old man’s eyes widened, releasing an invisible pressure onto her.
Shiera’s body hit the ground with a heavy thud. A crushing force pressed down on her, making it impossible to move. Her sword slipped from her grip, clattering uselessly to the side. "Argh…" A sharp scream tore from her lips, jolting the entire camp awake.
Nadia remained inside her tent, her frail body unable to handle direct combat. But Leiza, her teammate, was already moving. She emerged first, hand gripping her weapon in order to confront the enemy.
A second later, Kael and Laura also burst from their tent. Laura’s eyes immediately locked on her sister. "Shiera!"
She took a step forward—
But Kael grabbed her wrist, stopping her in place. "Wait." His voice was calm but firm. His gaze, however, never left the old man standing before them.
"I see," The old man mused, his voice deep and smooth. "You must be Kael Moonstone. You don’t have much resemblance to your mother, though. You must have taken after your father."
Kael didn’t answer, his grip on Laura tightening slightly.
The old man chuckled. "No need to be so tense." His gaze flicked to Shiera, still pinned to the ground, then back to Kael. "Let’s not make this more dramatic than it needs to be."
With a mere flick of his fingers, the pressure on Shiera disappeared.
She gasped, immediately pushing herself up, grabbing her sword, and jumping back to her feet. But she didn’t attack again—her instincts screamed that it would be suicide.
The old man clasped his hands behind his back and spoke. "Anyway, I go by the alias Jagger," he said. "And I belong to the Clowns of Ark organization. More precisely, I am its vice-head."
"Clowns of Ark?" Kael’s face hardened in an instant. Laura’s frown also deepened at the same time.
