"Captain, we need to know what those things are! The Princess, the Archmage, the Alphas, and the Beta are all out there. What if they’re in danger?" the guard pressed. But Lance’s grip only tightened, his fingers digging in hard enough to make the man wince as though his shoulder might be crushed.
"Captain..." the guard groaned, and only then did Lance snap out of it, realizing how hard he’d been holding on.
"We can’t leave the barrier; it was an order from the Archmage," Lance finally said, his voice hoarse and unsteady, so much so that even he could hardly believe the words. No one wanted to cross that barrier more than he did, to run out there and find Addison.
Suddenly, a desperate cry shattered the tense silence. "Help! Help !!!" Addison’s voice rang out from beyond the forest.
Then the shadowy figures vanished instantly, as if they had been lying in wait for that exact call for help. Without thinking, Lance sprang to his feet and bolted toward the fog.
But he had just declared no one was to leave, and it took four guards to wrestle him down, gripping his arms, legs, and torso to keep him from charging headlong into danger.
"Captain, you can’t leave, let us go!" two of the guards urged. "We’ll scout the area and return as soon as possible," they promised.
While Lance remained frozen in place, the two n forgot, just as Lance did in that mont of panic for Addison’s safety, that they were forbidden to step beyond the barrier. Monts later, a scream pierced the air. It ca from one of the guards who had just gone out.
From the dense fog, the second guard erged, sprinting toward the safety of the barrier. "M-Monsters—!" he shouted, but before he could finish, a shadowy figure swept past him.
It didn’t snatch him, but instead, it passed through him, and in that instant, his body collapsed into a husk of skin and bones, as though every drop of fluid, every muscle, even his soul had been drained away.
The sight froze everyone in place. Even Lance forgot to fight back, staring blankly at what remained of the fallen guard.
"C-Captain... I have this bold thought..." one of the guards murmured, his voice trembling as his eyes lingered on his fallen comrade lying lifeless on the ground.
Lance snapped back to his senses. Now, more than ever, fear gnawed at him—he wanted to rush out and find Addison. Yet curiosity kept him rooted in place, wondering what the guard was about to say, his gaze sweeping through the fog in search of those shadowy figures.
"What if... what if the scream that sounded like the Princess calling for help wasn’t her at all? What if so unknown creature, maybe even the sa one that attacked my brothers, was the one screaming, imitating the Princess just to lure us out of the barrier? They can’t co in, so they bait us to step outside... and then kill us." The guard finally voiced his fear.
Hearing it, Lance’s heartbeat stuttered. If his subordinate’s theory was true, then the creature was clever enough to use bait to draw them out. But that only deepened his worry.
What about Addison and the others? He wasn’t her mate, so he couldn’t sense her life through a bond, and that uncertainty gnawed at him more than ever.
Then, without warning, the ghostly, shadow-like figure floating in the air—like a drifting specter—suddenly slamd against the barrier in front of them. It moved as if intending to attack them the sa way it had struck down their fallen comrades, only to be repelled by the barrier’s defense.
The creature hesitated, looking puzzled as it scanned its surroundings. But when its gaze fell on Lance and the others huddled together, it let out another piercing scream.
"Help ! It hurts, it hurts so much! Help!"
The cry ca in the exact voice of the man standing beside Lance. The uncanny mimicry made everyone shudder; the sound was so convincing that, had they heard it from within the forest, they might have rushed straight into danger.
Yet, despite the chill it sent down his spine, Lance felt a flicker of relief. The guard’s speculation was right; these creatures could perfectly imitate any voice they heard.
That ant Addison and the others weren’t necessarily in danger; the monster could have simply overheard her sowhere in the forest and chosen to use her voice as bait.
Lance hurried back to the mages, scanning for anyone who was resting. Spotting one, he asked urgently, "Do you have a way to contact Archmage Elric to check if they’re still safe?"
The exhausted mage cracked his eyes open and t Lance’s gaze before shaking his head. "No. We can’t use any communication device inside this forest, nor can we connect through magic. There’s sothing here blocking us, likely an enchantnt woven into the barrier surrounding this place."
Lance’s frown deepened at the reply, and he pressed again, his voice tight. "Then... do you have a way to know if the Archmage is still alive and safe?"
If Elric is alive, then Addison must be alive too. As a loyal subject of the kingdom, Elric would never allow harm to befall the Princess; he would die before letting that happen. That ant the only way Lance could confirm Addison’s safety was by learning whether Elric is still alive.
The helplessness gnawed at him, the sa crushing powerlessness he had felt six years ago when he saw Addison being abducted and could do nothing. His chest constricted, fear coiling tight inside him. He was terrified—terrified of losing her again.
Without realizing it, he began trembling, shaking so badly that the sight of such a strong-looking man reduced to this pitiful state made even the mage falter in pity, scrambling for any possible answer.
The mage’s eyes suddenly lit up. "I think we have a way..." he said, pulling out his magic pouch and rummaging through it. After a mont, he produced a small stone tablet with Elric’s na engraved on it.
"This is Archmage Elric’s Stone Tablet of Life. As long as he’s alive, the engraving continues to glow. Since it’s still shining and intact, it ans he’s still alive. We carry a tablet for each mage on this mission so we can tell if any of us is in danger. If soone’s life is threatened, we’ll be able to feel it and can figure out how to send help. Master Elric also carries our Stone Tablets of Life, so he’ll know if any of us is in danger as well."
The mage carefully slipped the tablet back into his pouch, making sure it wouldn’t fall to the ground.
Hearing this eased Lance’s earlier fears sowhat, but worry still gnawed at him. Glancing around, he realized they were now surrounded by the sa shadowy figures that had attacked two of his guards. He quickly inford the mages.
"We have a situation outside," he said grimly. "Shadowy specters, things that attacked my n and left them nothing but husks of bone and skin. I think my attacked n are dead. These things can mimic voices to lure people out of the barrier..."
The mage’s face drained of color. He whispered, almost afraid to say the words aloud."Night Walkers..."
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