"What happened here?" Lady Farren asked. The room was in pristine quality, as if it hadn't been ravaged by the fire. But that wasn't the reason for her question. She could feel a palpable, almost hostile tension between Michael and Katarina bubbling under the surface.
Michael sighed and turned away from Katarina. "It's nothing," he said, disgruntled.
With Katarina staying silent, Lady Farren knew that it was not her place to say anything else.
"I just wanted to make sure that both of you were okay. Those damned vandals have made it personal. It's frustrating that no one has even seen a glimpse of them this whole ti."
Lady Farren began to unload all of her frustration at the situation. She was seething in hatred for them.
"Why would they even go this far? Just to sow chaos?!"
At that mont, Katarina raised her head. "It's just a distraction."
Farren turned to her. "What?"
"The fire… everything was done so that they could distract you and all the guards. Their motive must be sothing else, sothing heavily guarded."
It didn't take long before Michael and Lady Farren both looked at each other. "Darkwood."
One of the only extrely valuable items in the Elven village was their collection of Darkwood in the Vault. Combined, there must be billions worth of Sand Dollars in there!
"We don't have to worry," Lady Farren assured. "Our defenses are still in place. They couldn't have infiltrated the Vault."
However, Katarina knew that these were no ordinary vandals. They were extrely powerful and scrupulous in their attacks. They wouldn't have started their siege unless they had a way to access the Vault.
"It's better to check. We may even catch them in the act."
Lady Farren didn't need convincing. The Darkwood collection was far too valuable to be left alone, especially after the disaster that occurred here.
Soon, the three of them travelled to Farren's main estate where there were nurous guards already stationed.
"Are you sure no one ca through here while we were away?" Lady Farren asked.
"Yes, milady! I haven't left my post even after the explosion. I have not seen any signs of those vandals," the guard assured her.
Nodding, Lady Farren briskly walked inside and imdiately headed towards the spiraling staircase that led deeper into the heart of the gargantuan acacia tree.
The guards made way for the three of them to enter, and soon, they found themselves inside the museum of ancient Elven sundry relics, most dating back to the Ancient Era itself.
They headed over to the giant velvet-lined cabinet on the furthest wall, and Lady Farren released a sigh of relief.
The Darkwood laid in their containnt, safe and untouched. Everything was accounted for, including the one Michael gave them.
It seed that the vandals' target wasn't the Darkwood.
But if it wasn't that, then what?
Michael's footfalls rang through the Vault as he slowly approached an empty vitrine.
The glass case was currently open, with the cushion still having the heavy indent of the item.
It was gone.
"The Compound Bow was stolen."
Imdiately, Lady Farren turned to look at the empty display case.
Her face turned aghast. "No… no no," she muttered. The Compound Bow was the most important weapon in the entire Elven Kingdom! It can't be lost!
"This… this is impossible. They couldn't have stolen it from here," she confidently argued.
She then walked over to the Vitrine and touched its glass case. An ethereal mist swirled around her finger, proving that its defense system was still in place. It hadn't been tampered with whatsoever.
"But how could they have stolen it?" Michael's question wasn't really addressed towards Lady Farren, but towards Katarina instead. As he learned recently, it seed that she knew a lot more about them than any of them here.
"Not even Nascent Spirit cultivators could have circumvented our Elven spell without leaving any trace," Lady Farren assuredly declared. This was an indubitable fact.
"No stranger could have gotten the Compound Bow from the Vault—"
Lady Farren stopped in the middle of her sentence, a sense of realization dawning over her.
Her pointy ears began to curl downwards, a sign of harrowing distress for Elves.
"NO NO NO NO NO!" she shouted, her face painted with consternation. She imdiately walked back up the stairs, stomping her feet as she did so.
She stopped in front of the guard, a mixture of hope and hopelessness in her eyes.
"Did she co here? Did she… Did she get the bow?"
The guard noticed the distress in Farren's eyes and swallowed uncomfortably. "...yes, she did milady. Before the explosion, she retrieved the Compound Bow from the vault. She said she wanted to practice with it."
A loud thundering crash echoed out into Farren's abode as she smashed her fist into the dining table. With her knuckles bleeding, Lady Farren kneeled, tears streaming from her face.
"Lyra…. Damn it!"
Michael felt his chest getting hotter. "We can still find her, right? Katarina?"
With her Nascent Spirit cultivation, everything was possible.
But this ti, there was a somber and gloomy expression on Katarina's face. The fact that their presence had disappeared completely from the Elven village ant that they had successfully retrieved their target.
They had the Compound Bow.
And from experience, she knew that they left no survivors or witnesses. The outco was most likely…
"No, I have to find her. She's still alive," declared Lady Farren. "Tell how we can find her."
Katarina nodded. "I have a few acquaintances who can track them down… but they're crafty. Their escape plans are as ticulous as their setups."
For all they knew, they could be halfway across the world right now. But she didn't ntion that.
"There is no hiding place they can hide from. Even if it takes days, months, or years, we will find them. " Katarina declared. "That, you can trust."
But Michael wasn't satisfied. That was too late. He didn't want to give up on Lyra.
He closed his eyes and commanded his Drones to spread out. Even if he had to scour the entire Royal Continent to find her, he would do just that.
DING!
Just then, the phone on his pocket vibrated.
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