345 Familiar

"The creature is dead!" Maribelle jumped up to rejoice. 

But the other children dragged her down immediately. They were still uncertain about the nine-tailed beast that stood before them. Just as someone was about to say something, the nine-tailed beast turned back to look at them. 

All of them felt chills down their spine. The beast was covered in the blood of the reptilian creature, parts of its fur dyed red. It walked up towards the children with caution, with no ill intent. The others who were in hiding, watched the scene unfold. The hybrids had their weapons drawn. 

From what they had seen, the beast could easily be injured, unlike the reptile. The humans gripped their weapons tightly waiting for a moment to strike. Queen Willow and her spider beasts watched on too. She knew who it might be, but she could not be certain. 

When she noticed the hybrids aiming their bows at the nine-tailed beast, she could not help herself. She launched a series of silk webs to stop them from raising arms. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Cass hissed in anger, with Ronni holding her back as she was about to confront the Spider Queen. 

"That Kyu… the nine-tailed beast does not mean us harm!" Queen Willow protested. 

"How do you know that!" Cass rebutted. 

The children could hear the adults fighting in the background from where they stood. All of them were cowards, no one dared to come forward to help them. 

"Because if the beasts wanted to eat us, it would have done so by now!" Boss shouted back at them, before turning back. 

The beast shrunk its size down a little, its shadow still loomed over them. The eyes that were once red were now grey in colour. Boss found it familiar, but also unnerving as the beast seemed to be staring directly at him. 

For a moment, it shifted its eyes over to Maribelle and Jos, sending shivers down their eyes. The nine-tailed beast leaned forward and nuzzles its head next to Boss. Its fur was soft to the touch, as Boss unconsciously reached out his hand to stroke its fur. 

The beast closed its eyes and a bright flash of light surrounded it. When the light was all but gone, Vy stood before them in her human form. The wounds she had suffered from the fight with the reptilian creature remained, as blood pooled around her rib cage. 

She falls to the ground before them, blacking out completely. 

"Vyrena? Vyrena!" Boss shouted as he rushed forward to check on her. 

Queen Willow left Red Silk in the care of her other spider beasts as she rushed over to see Vyrena. Some of the children made way for her as she crouched down next to Vy's body. Immediately, she hovered her hands over the injuries in an attempt to stop the bleeding. 

However, she was unable to communicate with the humans, as they could not understand what she said. 

"Can anyone here understand me?" she tried her luck. 

"I can," Ronni added. 

"Ah perfect, could you please tell the rest that I managed to stop the bleeding. However, she needs more rest and medicine, anything that could help speed up the healing of the wound. Other than that, she's just mildly injured, that is all,"

Ronni nodded before he explained to the rest what the Spider Queen had said. The children thanked her profusely for her help and asked what medicine would work best. Though the supply they brought with them were minimal, luckily it had what Vy needed. 

"We will take care of her, thank you Miss Queen!" Maribelle thanked the Spider Queen. 

The other children also expressed their gratitude, so did El and Sorren. 

She simply smiled back and shook her head. With that done, Queen Willow got back up and went back to her spider beasts. Looking at their surroundings, she knew they were by no means safe. 

They certainly had not regained their freedom yet. And if the reptilian creature was just a glimpse of the untold danger that lurked in these regions, they had much more to worry about. 

With a number of her spider beasts dead, others like Red Silk injured, she needed to prioritise the needs of her people first. They needed to find a place to call home in this new territory. 

On the other hand, the rest of the survivors thought of the same thing, however none of them seemed to be willing to work together. When the other humans decided to leave and find shelter, they did not even wait for El or Sorren. 

When Sorren noticed, he gently tugged on El's sleeve to inform her. She looked over to them and back at Vyrena. 

She shook her head, "It's fine, let them go. I am staying with Vy." 

Sorren nodded and indicated through hand signals that he too would remain. The hybrids got ready to leave as well, Cass called Ronni over as they were about to leave. Ronni shook his head, informing Cass that he was staying with Vy. 

"Are you just going to live these children out here on their own?" Ronni asked with creased brows. 

It was one thing to not care about the adults, but what about the children? Surely they can't just leave them to survive out on their own. Cass rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

"They survived in the Jungle, I am sure they can take care of themselves here. Also, we don't need the dead weight." Cass sniggered. 

Ronni had no words for a reply. He did not expect Cass to react this way. As the rest of the hybrids followed her lead and walked away, Ronni was left there to contemplate his next step alone. 

Before he could make a decision, a spider beast came up to him and directed him to Queen Willow. He tagged along without asking any questions and bowed respectfully when he was in her presence. 

"What is your name, hybrid?" she asked. 

"Ronni, your highness."

She nodded with a soft smile, "I just need you to tell the children and the humans to follow us. Some of my spider beasts have scouted a suitable location for us to stay for the time being."

"You're offering us shelter, your highness?" he asked in disbelief. 

No one else cared, despite the fact that they were only able to make it this far with Vyrena's help. But the spider beasts cared. At the very least, their Queen cared. 

"Yes, is that alright?"

"Yes.,. Yes of course. That would be very helpful," he quickly thanked the Spider Queen before relaying the news to the rest.