Today Zack was teaching Zaroth how to wield a sword properly.
"Your stance is too weak!" Zack spoke as he poked with the sword, making Zaroth lose his balance.
Zaroth grunted as he got back into position.
"I think that is enough for today," Zack spoke as he sheathed his blade.
"Shouldn't we practice more?" Zaroth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's enough for now. Let's see what the others are doing," Zack replied.
Zaroth shifted his gaze to Lily, who was playing with Silverfang like he was some kind of dog,
while Roran was nowhere to be seen.
"That's weird," Zaroth muttered as he began to search around the camp.
'He better not be drinking!'
After some searching, Zaroth found Roran, who was sitting cross-legged, with one leg over the other as if he were meditating, staring at the distance
"Is something the matter?" Zaroth spoke as he approached him.
Roran slowly shifted his gaze to Zaroth as he spoke,
"I have a bad feeling. I think we should return to the main camp already with the teachers," he said with a bit of wariness in his voice.
Zaroth sat near him, staring at the distance like Roran.
"Why? True, today marks the end of the first week of the competition, but we have one more, don't we? Why don't we use the time to catch more Uncommon beasts to increase our scores?"
Roran stretched out his hand and pulled up his sleeve.
"Look," he spoke.
Zaroth raised an eyebrow.
"You have goosebumps?"
"Yes," Roran replied, pulling down his sleeve.
"This only happens when something bad is approaching."
Zaroth took a deep breath, thinking about how he should approach this.
'Luna, do you feel like something is amiss?' he asked her, just to make sure.
'Not really, but keep in mind that as I am in your soul, my senses are dulled. So if there really is something dangerous that could hide its presence well, I won't be able to sense it.'
Zaroth sighed as he spoke,
"Roran… are you sure? Is it possible that it's all in your head?"
It was quite rude to ask such a question, but considering there were more people than just the two of them, they couldn't just act on a whim.
'Wait…' Zaroth's eyes narrowed for a moment. 'Since when have I cared about being rude to someone?'
'It's because he, as well as your squad, are your friends. Though I'm not surprised you aren't used to having any,' Luna teased.
"I am," Roran spoke without hesitation as he shifted his gaze back to Zaroth.
"I think we need to get out of here immediately."
Zaroth closed his eyes for a moment as he took another deep breath.
"Alright, it's been pretty boring here recently anyway, so let's change the scenery a bit."
Roran smiled as he stood up.
Then he froze.
Zaroth stood up as well, looking at the weird reaction that Roran had. He shifted his gaze to the direction his friend was looking.
Then Zaroth froze as well.
A breathtaking woman with blue hair and eyes that radiated an aura of mysterious strength was walking slowly towards them.
Her armor was torn and bloodied, and she was bleeding from one eye.
'Isn't that the princess?' Zaroth asked himself as he shifted his gaze to the girl she was carrying.
The girl was weak and fragile-looking with shoulder-length blonde hair, and her face was hidden behind a white mask that had cracked violently.
Hesitation for a moment, Zaroth stepped forward. "What happened?"
The princess continued to walk slowly towards them, and then—
"I am sorry… I am so sorry. I don't have a choice," she spoke. Her voice was weak and fragile, not one that a person would expect from a member of the royal family.
Suddenly, the princess dug her foot deep into the ground and dashed forward, running past Roran and Zaroth.
She moved so fast that they couldn't even sense her movements.
Suddenly, Zaroth got goosebumps as well.
'She is a fourth-year student and a member of the royal family… So why was she so beaten up… and was she carrying only one member of her squad? Where are the rest?'
As the gears in Zaroth's head began to turn, he locked gazes with Roran.
In that instant, they agreed on something as both of their thoughts mirrored each other.
'We run.'
Without hesitation, they dashed toward their camp, exchanging no words with one another.
Lily was currently rubbing the back of Silverfang as she enjoyed his company immensely.
Zack had his back against a tree, trying to get some sleep.
Suddenly, Silverfang moved, startling Lily for a moment.
The wolf began to bark at her, which made Zack open his eyes, muttering.
"What is it now?" he spoke as he massaged his forehead.
Suddenly, from the bushes, Zaroth and Roran appeared, looking like they were having a panic attack.
"We get the fuck out of here now!"
"What—"
Lily didn't have any time to be surprised as Roran, without saying anything, grabbed her and started running away.
"What about the tent?!" she screamed as the panic started to slowly set in.
"Too late for that," Roran muttered as he continued running.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Zack shouted, half irritated, half wary, seeing his comrades act in such a way as he stood up.
Zaroth met his gaze for a moment before shouting, "Nothing good, run!"
Despite being curious, Zack didn't ask anything as he immediately dashed away, following the advice of his friend.
'Zaroth,' Luna suddenly spoke in his mind, 'I just felt it, get the hell out of here now!'
Zaroth didn't slow down his sprint as he muttered, "You don't have to tell me twice."
*****
A man with dry, cracked skin exited the bushes as he put his hand on the abandoned tent.
"Ah… how cruel, that girl… did they call her princess? To use these poor souls for bait as she gets away…"
Foam dripped from the corners of his mouth as he spoke, his eyes wide and unfocused.
"Well, no matter. In the end, everyone here would die anyway…"
He began to calmly walk toward his next prey, humming along the way as he did.