The Divine Elements

Sela muttered, still staring at the mass of furry soldiers camping in the open.

“If the darklings have gathered that many of their warriors at the same place, they must be planning something. Something big.”

Bren commented, slowly settling himself down on the ground. His brain was working to think about what steps they should take and how to figure out the reason for the darkling army to assemble.

“Should we give up the mission?”

Helly inquired nervously, seeing the drastic reactions from her friends.

“We have to. We cannot pass through his crowd without drawing attention to ourselves, and I doubt Bren’s essence will last us that long to reach the other side of the army.”

Sela sighed.

“The mission is not important anymore. What’s important is finding out why the darklings have gathered and where they intend to strike. If they are heading in Selior city’s direction, we are all doomed as we cannot amass an army of that size in such little time. Moreover, our communication crystals won’t work this far from the city so we cannot even tell the Elders of this situation except for personally going back to them. Hence, this mission is over.”

Bren stated morosely, his mind at unease due to the darkling army.

“Do you think they are aiming for our city, Bren?”

Helly asked softly.

“There is a chance they might be attacking another human city to the north of us, but that place is surrounded by mountains and is a natural fortress, so it will be extremely difficult for them to capture it. However, our city has no such protection, and it’s highly likely that the darklings plan on invading the human kingdom after trespassing Selior City.”

Bren did not look up to answer Helly.

Throughout this whole time, Calron simply remained silent and continued to listen to the discussions.

“If the situation is as dire as you say, then we should hurry up and return. The more time the Elders have to prepare, the quicker we can rally up the soldiers.”

Calron finally spoke, his sharp eyesight fixed between the air cocoon’s gap and inspecting the army before him.

Something is going on there. Most of the darklings are gathered around that spot.

“He’s correct for once. You guys should return back to the city as quick as possible and tell the clans and the King about this. We’ll need to prepare in case the city is attacked.”

Bren stood back up and faced his team members.

“It sounded like you plan on staying here?”

Calron turned around, startled by Bren’s statement. Sela and Helly reacted identically.

“If we want to know what the darklings are planning, then one of us must sneak into the enemy camp and gather as much information as possible. That information could help us better defend the city and could be the just the critical thing we need to win this war.”

Bren responded seriously, his voice unwavering throughout the whole speech.

“You’ll die.”

Calron said icily.

“If you haven’t noticed yet, I have this air cocoon to hide me from the enemies. I can slip through their defenses, find what they are planning and then return back. None of you have any stealth abilities, leaving me the ideal man for this task.”

I thought he was only a snobby brat, but he has this strange sense of honor and pride.

Calron inwardly thought, admiring Bren’s notion of duty and his self-sacrifice to protect his home.

“You’ll still die. You have been maintaining this air cocoon for hours and judging by how much essence you have left, you cannot keep this cocoon for another thirty minutes. Even disregarding your drained essence, what will happen if some darkling accidentally stumbled inside your air cocoon while patrolling their camps? Your ability has worked until now because we were traveling through empty and isolated areas, but the darkling camp will have thousands of beasts bustling around. You will be caught, and then you’ll die.”

Calron outlined his facts and looking at the change in Bren’s face, the others realized that the young man was already aware of them and yet still chose to follow this plan.

“I thought you were dumb.”

Bren smirked at Calron.

“Stop joking, you cannot go in there.”

Calron retorted while his eyes bore into the other youth.

“I have to… if I don’t, then we’ll miss this opportunity to potentially save the city. A single life is worth exchanging for the life of thousands more.”

Bren shook his head, not a trace of fear could be seen on the young man’s face as he talked about his death.

“Courageous… but stupid.”

Calron laughed as he pushed Bren out of the air cocoon, thus disintegrating the wind waves around them. They were out in the open with no camouflage to hide them.

“Idiot, you’ll expose us!”

Bren yelled, furious at Calron for mindlessly breaking the air cocoon.

“No need for it anymore. Instead, focus on recovering your essence so you don’t slow those two down when you rush back to the city. I will be the one to stay and gather the information. Unlike you, I won’t be charging to my death.”

Calron winked at Bren, with a grin on his face.

“What do you mean?”

Bren asked, astonished that Calron decided to take the task into his own hands.

“Calron…”

Sela and Helly whispered, worrying for their new friend.

“The Raizel clan has a secret technique that lets us transform into flying beasts. Only the Patriarch and the high Elders are capable of it, but besides them, I am also able to turn into a flying beast. I’ll gather as much information as I can and make my escape by flying through the sky.”

Calron said with a chuckle, seeing the hesitation and nervousness fading from the three people’s faces

“Wait, you can turn into a flying beast since the beginning and you made us walk this whole time?”

Bren’s expression changed, irritation taking its place.

“Huh? Really? You mean, I could have avoided these blisters on my feet if Calron was not so stingy?”

Sela whined in a teasing tone.

“Shut up! We, the Raizel clan, share the bloodline of a sacred and noble bird, and it is not meant to be used for means of manual labor like transportation. Besides, my wings would break if I carried all three of you.”

Calron coughed and quickly turned away before more complaining began from Bren’s side.

“Take care, Calron, and don’t you dare die here.”

Bren sighed, shaking Calron’s hand as the team prepared to depart.

“Our grandpas hate each other, but I really like your guts. Let’s hang out again once you come back to the city.”

Sela pounded Calron on the chest with her fist.

“Please be safe.”

Helly bowed to Calron, her cheeks turning pink.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Calron warmly replied, turning his gaze to the massive army in front.

“See you later!”

The team of three used their movement techniques to swiftly sprint back to the city, leaving Calron alone in the Darkling territory.

“Now… how am I going to sneak inside?”

Calron talked to himself as he began descending down towards the army camp.

………………………………

“I finally see them!”

The assassin exclaimed, seeing the four young kids visible after a long time.

The assassin had been following them since the start of Selior city and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike the target, Calron Raizel.

However, that moment never came and before she knew it, the four suddenly vanished from thin air. Upon closer look, the assassin discovered that their tracks and footprints were not gone, only their bodies. Hence, she began to trail them to kill her target.

She wanted to send a hail of attacks on the invisible people, but she did not like killing someone who was not a target, so she stopped herself from doing it and waited for them to end the invisibility technique.

Now, the target was finally alone and it was time for her to fulfill her contract.

The assassin silently followed behind Calron.

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