NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19: Finesse
"How is the princess here?" Lira asked, shocked at the sight of Relia.
"She probably intercepted their mission," Saquin replied, his posture unchanged.
Meanwhile...
"You know that prince?" Prince Jonathan asked Relia, eyeing Saquin. He assumed Saquin was a prince, given his higher human appearance.
"No… I mean, yes, but he isn't a prince—never mind," Relia answered, unsure of Saquin's true identity. He had told her he was a prince during their fight, but she thought he was referring to being a rarely seen primal vampire.
"So, you know him? Which empire is he from, or is he one of the central kingdom princes?" Prince Jonathan pressed.
"I don't know. I just know he's dangerous," Relia replied, her gaze locked on Saquin's figure. Her hand rested on her sword, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Dangerous? Do you mean the strange werecat? She's the one at the same level as us."
"No, him. He's really dangerous," Relia said, her eyes narrowing on Saquin.
"Oh? Is my younger sister finally showing interest in a man?" the purple-haired man teased, suddenly appearing beside Relia. He placed his hands over her shoulders and poked her cheek.
"What?!" Relia flustered at the unexpected remark, while Prince Jonathan facepalmed at his brother's antics.
"Be careful. He acts unpredictably—" Relia began, but before she could finish, Saquin moved.
In a fluid motion, Saquin lunged forward, shoving King Zen's chair with him. As he flipped through the air, he yanked the king toward him and hurled him at Lira.
Lira, moving in sync with Saquin due to his Brimar inhabitants' authority, reached out to catch the king—but then—
Slash!
King Zen, still stunned by Saquin's sudden appearance and deft movements, had only just begun to process the situation when the level 6 higher effortlessly subdued him. Saquin tossed him at Lira, but the king seized the opportunity, summoning two SP blades mid-air. He slashed at Lira's arm, severing it before she could catch him.
Lira, now missing two limbs, fell helplessly toward the king. As Saquin had thrown him, the king's body now collided with Lira's—only a few inches separating them.
At the same moment, Saquin, still mid-flip, kicked the throne toward Prince Jonathan. Just as it shot toward him, a figure appeared.
Bang!
The purple-haired man materialized next to Saquin and fired point-blank. The bullet slammed into Saquin's forehead, but Saquin didn't flinch. He remained eerily calm, as though everything was still under his control. This irked the purple-haired man, a sense of unease creeping in.
Silver of a moment.
In the next instant, everything reversed.
King Zen returned to his original position, in the position where he had been thrown, Lira's severed limbs reattached themselves as she was pulled back a few steps. Saquin's body, frozen in midair, reversed to the moment after he threw the king. The bullet withdrew into the gun as the purple-haired man found himself back at his original position near Relia.
This reset gave Lira the advantage to close the distance. King Zen, still disoriented from the strange rewind, didn't react in time as Lira's claws slashed across his wrists, severing his hands. She struck his neck with her right claw and wrapped her left arm around him, shifting her direction to collide with Saquin.
The purple-haired man, now back in his original position, recovered quickly and teleported to intercept Saquin again. This time, he went for a punch instead of shooting, but—
Time brief.
He felt himself slow as he helplessly watched Saquin, with Lira and King Zen in his arms, slip into the shadows.
Bang! Boom!
Prince Jonathan's SP bullet struck the spot where Saquin had been, while the purple-haired man's fist connected with the floor, shattering it.
"He escaped," the purple-haired man said bitterly, a conflicted look crossing his face.
"What exactly just happened?" Prince Jonathan asked, though he already knew the answer.
"It seems they both have time-related abilities. And that higher… he has a shadow ability too." The purple-haired man replied, his gaze darkening.
"Relia?" Prince Jonathan called to his sister, who was near the gryphon, calming it down.
"Yes?" she answered.
"Why aren't you more concerned about what just happened? A level 6 and a werecat just managed to escape us, and here you are, tending to a gryphon."
"I'm not worried. He'll likely return the king, and if he doesn't, we'll just find him in the forest that borders our kingdom and his," Relia replied, still petting the gryphon.
"And which kingdom is he from?" Jonathan pressed.
"The Eastern Kingdom."
"Impossible. I know every prince and princess of the Eastern Kingdom, and he's definitely not one of them."
"Well, I don't know about his royalty; I just know he claimed to be Eastern when I fought him."
"You fought him directly, and he still lives? A level 6?"
"Hey, not my fault—he's strong and crafty with his powers, plus he was boosted by the red moon."
"Boosted by the red moon? a higher?"
"He's also a va—never mind." She paused. "I'm certain he'll be there."
"And how can you be so sure? He might change course or, worse, align himself with our enemies."
"Trust me, big bro."
"Alright then, let's go." Jonathan concluded. Just as he was about to leave to prepare, he heard Relia call out.
"Let's take my dragon, big bro. It's faster."
----
Meanwhile, Saquin dropped Lira and King Zen onto the forest floor as they arrived at Rigar Forest after a series of swift shadow movements.
"That was intense!" Lira gasped, catching her breath before breaking into a cheer. "I never thought I could pull off something like that! We just escaped from three veteran level 7s! I was like voom, and then—bam!—you were like, 'Catch me if you can!' Shadow take me away!"
"Yeah, yeah, you did great, Lira." Saquin chuckled, patting her with a rare smile.
"And it's all thanks to your instructions," Lira replied, her pride glowing in her smile.
"Still, good work. Now we need to move fast—they've got a dragon." He pulled his hand back, turning his attention to King Zen.
Saquin's smile faded, replaced by a chilling intensity as he knelt beside the shaken king. "Now, little king," he said, voice low and dangerous, "I'd like to know how a supposed advanced human rose to become a higher. Care to explain?"