Hykings - {Progression Fantasy}

"I sincerely hope you know better than to resist."

The cloak on the elven prince's shoulders swayed behind him as he stepped closer to his tied up sister.

"..."

Feeling his piercing gaze on her, Tilla's eyes fell to the ground. Neither the tightness in her chest, nor her affections for a brother allowed her to meet his eyes.

However, that didn't stop the prince.

"You ran away, leaving everything to be pushed onto me. You must have known very well what I would have to go through after your stunt." Aymeric paused for a moment, pinching the inner corners of his eyes. Then, he opened his eyelids wide enough to meet the furrowed brows coming down to meet them. "You have managed to cause me enough trouble already. Try not to make it any worse."

Beside some elven soldiers standing to the side, the members of the Midnight Mass guild listened attentively.

While they had achieved one of their goals already, their mission had only just begun.

And the guild master had naturally taken measures against whatever obstacles may show themselves.

One of which was…

Boss! Watch out from behind!

"Goba?" Vlad recognized the voice invading his mind and immediately turned to heed the warning.

"?!"

His action spurred the others to do the same, and they all realized why as soon as they had.

"Let her go!!"

Jurgen's demand came with an onslaught of bullets, joining him and Lucine as they both dove head first towards the enemy leaders.

**👑**

The guns that had gone off behind the two came from Rob, the masked gunslinger.

He had spared a few seconds to shoot at the enemy before he turned heel and ran into the forest. The back of the sapphire ship quickly disappeared behind him as he dashed forward.

Shooting those bullets is everything I can do to help now. He thought, passing more trees with every second. I'll bring my family to safety and come back as soon as I can!

As a husband and a father, Rob's first priority was obvious. That's why now, as the lights from the distant town barely blurred under the misty skies, he only had one thing on his mind.

To ensure the safety of his wife and daughter before anything else.

Until then, please stay safe everyone!

Just as he thought that and crossed another tree, the sight in front of him completely changed.

"?!"

The former hitman darted his head left and right, seeing nothing familiar to his surroundings from a moment ago.

"What just happened?! I was relocated somewhere else by some Sign?! How?! They have a teleporter of some kind?!"

Many questions popped into his mind first, then he took action.

"I won't let anything stand between me and my family! Whoever you are, I'll find you!"

**👑**

"Dammit!"

Jurgen's lips were the only thing allowed to move in his current state.

Their charge had been immediately thwarted by the two enemy leaders. In fact, all they had to do was raise a finger, and even the bullets had stopped with the two outcasts.

An ember-colored, semi-translucent bubble had held Jurgen in the air, while beside him, a faded green bubble of the same nature surrounded Lucine.

The half elf's punch was no more, the dark elf's dagger was stuck in place, and the bullets around them hovered beside the bubbles they were now stuck in.

"?!"

Tilla tried to call out to them, but the cover over her lips stole her voice. With the uncomfortable tightness enveloping her chest, her eyes softened into an expression of melancholy and worry.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Who are they?" Albion asked no one in particular, observing things unfold along with his sister, Cecilia and the angel, Nathaniel.

"Did you think that would work?" Vlad wriggled his ember-glowing index finger, adjusting Jurgen's position at will. His face remained the same, except for the intrigue leaking in his eyes. "We're very sorry to disappoint."

"Speak for yourself." The elven prince clicked his tongue beside him. "These two are the very embodiment of disappointment. Your sympathy is lost on them."

"..."

"I was sent here with clear instructions. I am to retrieve my rebellious sister, to capture the criminal who dared to harm the sacred world tree, and to confiscate his ship of Sapphire Wood."

As Jurgen attempted to break free, the previously hovering bullets around him dropped to the floor.

"However, you!" The speaker continued, approaching the bubble with the same color as the light blue around his fingers. Meeting the dark elf's blank stare above her mask, his brows knitted into a fierce frown. "A traitor like you will be dying here in this elder-forsaken continent!"

"..."

Lucine's tense muscles kept a tight hold on her unmoving dagger, her body remaining stuck in its position like a stone statue.

I have to save the princess… She thought, feeling her little world closing in on her. No matter what, I have to ensure her safety! That is my duty… my purpose!

Aymeric's fingers contracted into his palm, condensing Lucine's little prison even more. As the faded green bubble got smaller, the dark elf held back the sounds stuck in the back of her throat.

"Oh, how disappointed your brother must be to have a failure of a sister such as you!"

"..."

Past the elven prince berating her, Lucine met the wavering gaze which betrayed Tilla's unease.

"I… will not… let you interfere… with the princess!" The restrained dark elf muttered through gritted teeth before narrowing her eyes at the royalty in front of her. "After all… I'm still… her guardian!"

"!"

Suddenly, a bullet bathed in a light blue color passed through the guardian's shoulder and went straight to Aymeric's face.

Lucine's movements had been restrained, but she had kept the blue light – the essence of her Sign, flickering slightly in the hand hiding behind her waist.

All for this very moment…

She kept one hidden?! Aymeric thought as the bullet stopped just inches away from his face.

"?!"

The new bubble around it had barely saved him in time, but it couldn't prevent the dark elf's blood carried with it from painting his face red.

"YOUUU!!!!" The previously soft and regal features of the elven prince instantly contorted and twisted with his howling. His eyes widened and the muscles of his face stretched to the point thick veins protruded out the skin's surface, just short of popping.

And yet, Lucine didn't stop. With her recent self-inflicted wound twitching, she forced the same arm to swing down, drawing a line in front of her.

"!" The first to notice was Vlad as his eyes looked to the sky. Then, he immediately dashed to his guild mates. "Watch out!"

Countless sharp daggers came raining down at the enemies without warning, the color of the morning moon covering them almost made them look like pointy icicles ready to skewer whatever stood in their way.

"Protect the prince!" An elf soldier shouted as he and the rest of the elves created a bubble above Aymeric to shield him.

Vlad reached for his sword with one hand, and created another bubble around him and his guild mates, making the daggers bounce right off of it.

Behind him, one of the three present guild members was standing still, her wide open multi-colored eyes fixating on the attacker.

"A bright moonlight color, but filled with determination…" Cecilia said absentmindedly. "How beautiful!"

A second later, the daggers fell down without having injured a single enemy.

"Is everyone safe?" Vlad looked back, ensuring nothing got past him. Having done so, his expression softened into a sigh.

"You… you had all that planned from the beginning?" Jurgen's eyes moved towards his still imprisoned neighbour, finally understanding what had just taken place.

But he hadn't been the only one to realize it.

"YOU LOWLY SCUMM!!" The twisted, bloodied face of the elven prince howled once more as he rushed forward. "A MEASLY LITTLE DARK ELF LIKE YOU!! YOU DARE ATTACK ME?!! THE PRINCE OF THE ELF KINGDOM!!"

"Ugh…" Lucine, still stuck in her pose, lost sight in one eye as the condensing bubble forced one close.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Aymeric stopped in front of the bubble housing the traitor, then wiped her blood off his face. "I WILL MAKE SURE YOU REGRET THAT!"

In his right hand, the same bullet that had flown his way hovered above his palm. The same color as the bubble surrounded it.

"This will show you!" Despite his expression returning to normal, the wide, twisted corners of his mouth stretched into a nasty grin. "Know your place, you traitor! Lowly scum!"

"Mrrrgh!"

"?!"

"Luci!"

Jurgen's shout rang louder than the blood forcing its way out of Lucine's mask.

While the bubble restrained her body, the bullet continuously entered and exited across her limbs and torso. Its relentless speed preceded the blood flying out of the wounds seconds after.

"..."

Even the Midnight Mass members watched with heavy hearts. While Vlad narrowed his eyes at the sight, Nathaniel furrowed his brows and clenched his fists at his sides. And behind them, the two siblings from the Nebulae clan simply turned away, unable to witness the absurd violence taking place.

And yet, the bullet continued. Going in one side, and coming out the other. With every impact, the dark elf's body jerked unnaturally a moment after in a delayed reaction.

Until finally, her eyes rolled back in her head as she began to lose consciousness.

No… The princess… I have… to make sure…

Her thoughts remained unfinished, but she knew what it all meant.

She was unable to save the one she was supposed to protect.

The guardian had failed in her duty.

Failed her purpose.