Chapter 87 The Monarch Of The Autumn Forest [3] - Family

Everyone saw it. The scene of a palace in the distance, standing tall amongst the autumn trees.

The sight was magnificent, yet at the same time, it was terrifying. Lloyd had a bad feeling about whatever lay inside that palace; in a way, what the palace symbolized felt a little more heart-wrenching.

That palace represented the end of their journeys together. It represented the moment they would split off and looking at how the army operates, it was very unlikely that Lloyd would ever see them again.

However, Lloyd was not the only one who thought this way.

Tina watched everyone smile around her, and despite wanting to also smile, she knew that whatever she had outside this dungeon was in no way better than what she had with Lloyd.

"Are you happy? You finally get to see your parents and siblings again. You must be dyingnto see them, right?" Tina asked after walking to the back when everyone started walking again.

"To be honest, I do miss them, but I'm also a little sad," Lloyd replied

Widening her eyes slightly, Tina asked, "Why? I'm sure you'll see us again."

"We both know that is unlikely. You know how the military works... They send you wherever they want. I'm probably not going to see you guys in a long time... I'm almost certain that none of you knew each other before this mission, and the same will happen over and over again." Lloyd smiled solemnly, but it was quickly replaced by a look of determination.

"But Felix said it best... That's okay. We don't need to see each other. Hey, bet I'm gonna hear all about you in the news soon." Lloyd chuckled

"..."

"..."

*Tap tap tap*

*... ... ...*

"Lloyd..."

"Yeah?" Lloyd answered

"I want to be a teacher."

"Really? Nice! W-"

"Wait, just listen, please..." Tina pleaded while cutting off Lloyd's encouraging words.

"You know, behind those walls, anything could happen. There could be treasures, or there could be corpses... I have faith that we can get out of there alive, but if we don't...

If we don't, then I want you to know that I love you..." Tina spoke, her heart beating so hard that Lloyd could hear it outside her house.

"..."

"You don't have to say anything. I don't expect you to reciprocate those feeling either... I just needed you to know that... I needed you to know in case we don't make it out of there." She turned toward Lloyd with a beaming smile on her face.

'I mean... She's only like 3 years older than me? I pretty much look and act like an adult, so I don't blame her.' Lloyd thought before reciprocating her smile.

"Thank you..."

"Hm?" Tina looked a little confused.

"I'm honered. To have the smartest girl I know fall in love with me. Man I must have had an amazing glow up in recent years." Lloyd chuckled, making Tina also begin to laugh.

"Don't get cocky. I've seen men a 100 times more attractive than you!" She declared while crossing her arms, yet despite trying her best, she couldn't keep a straight face and immediately began giggling like a little girl.

This went on for a while, to the point where the rest of the group started to feel like something was wrong with both Tina's and Lloyd's minds.

"Maybe they snapped after finding out how close we are," Felix whispered to Veronica.

"Doubt it. Lloyd's mind probably snapped duento all the torture I've been putting him through." She chuckled.

"I always felt like you were going a little too far... I just never knew how to tell you without being beaten up." Felix commented.

"Well, even if he hates me, at least he's no longer a wimp who cried over a bee sting anymore. I've made hom a pain resistant man! As you can see, I am extremely proud of my creation." Veronica grinned while a shudder went down Felix's spine as he inwardly prayed for Lloyd.

Hours passed by, and even though the palace seemed close at first, it was only the perspective that made it seem that way.

The palace was enormous, yet in a way, it felt out of place.

A black palace covered his vines and webs of cracks.

'Grey would have made more sense.' Lloyd thought while imagining what a grey castle would look like.

"You nervous?" Roderick asked after appearing out of thin air and nudging Lloyd in the side, yet at this point, Lloyd was used to it.

"A little. But We have you, Hime and Veronica. Basically the dream team." Lloyd chuckled.

"You might not believe me when I say this, but Felix and Lachlan are just as strong as Hime and me."

Tina and Rex are a little young, so they aren't as strong, but Tina makes up for it with her intelligence, and Rex makes up for it with his amazing spiritual aura control." Roderick explained.

"Lets just hope that is enough." Lloyd muttered to himself.

"Stop worrying." Roderick turned to Lloyd before raising his arm and touching his bicep.

"We're strong. All of us. You might think that you're the only one who improved, but you made us improve too." Roderick chuckled

"Heh. I'm a half-step first commandment, how the hell was I responsible for you guys' growth." Lloyd chuckled while Roderick simply smiled and looked forward.

"Think about it... Would we be alive if Lachlan was still leading us? It was amazing how you bent over the situation to your desire. You taught Lachlan humility. You helped Tina find her voice and courage? You gave Hime a chance to showcase her leadership skills? You softened up Felix, and you gave Rex a sparring partner." Roderick explained.

"Some of them don't sound that impressive." Lloyd scratched the back of his neck with a tinge of pink dyeing his cheeks.

"That's what you think, but in their eyes, you gave them a thing they didn't have before they met you... Don't you think Rex enjoyed teaching you martial arts? His biggest passion?

Every single one of them feels indebted to you, and even I do." Roderick smiled, and despite being curious about what he did to make Roderick indebted to him, from the glint in Roderick's eyes, Lloyd knew that it was best to not ask.

"Oh yeah. You didn't mention Veronica."

"..."

"..."

"I think your influence on her was a little negative actually." Roderick shuddered.

"How so?" Lloyd tilted his head slightly.

"I had the duty of waking her up last week. Her entire tent was covered in picture of you. It was kind of creepy."

"..."

"..."

With silent mourning, Lloyd placed his hand on Roderick's shoulder before sighing.

"My apologies." Lloyd whispered.

"Huh?"

"I did not intend on stealing the girl you were interested in. However, Doth not fret mine cousin! I, the legendary wingman, shalt help thee woo yond mistress to thy side. All 'twill taketh is time and patience!" Lloyd smacked Roderick's back before walking ahead of him while puffing his chest out.

'Did he get possessed by a Shakespearean soul or something?!' Roderick looked at Lloyd's back with an agape mouth.

Everyone continued walking, but the closer they got to the palace, the quiet everyone got.

At some point, it was nothing but silence. The creatures of the forest didn't dare to make a sound, and nor did the group.

The silence was the only constant in this god-forsaken land, but that was not all.

Lloyd felt like he could smell the anxiety of his teammates. He could see their every shudder. He could hear as their rate of breathing slowly accelerate. He could hear everyone's loudly beating hearts as if they had drums within their chests.

Everyone was like this... Well, everyone but Veronica. Her heart rate was eerily steady for some reason, yet Lloyd didn't think much of it since she was always calm.

They all wanted the walk between where they were and the palace doors to be longer, but they all knew that no time was enough to prepare them for the upcoming fight.

After all, a sentient mind's biggest fear is the fear of the unknown, and even though they all knew that the boss couldn't be too bad, they could not get rid of the wrenching feeling within their guts that made them want to turn around and leave without coming back.

"I guess there's no turning back from here..." Lloyd sighed as the realization kicked in.

"Lloyd, since you're not a part of the army, you have no obligation to-" Hime spoke, yet Lloyd quickly stopped her.

"We're a team... We do everything together, even if it means that we die here." Lloyd tightened his fists. He knew it would kill his family if he were to die here, but it would kill him if he found out that his entire team died because he abandoned them.

"You're wrong..." Roderick muttered as he stepped forward and placed one hand on each gate.

"We're a family." He smiled before pushing with everything he had, allowing the creaking doors to slowly open, allowing sunlight to illuminate the palace for the first time in years while unraveling what lay within its shadows.

Yet in the very moment, Lloyd felt himself being pushed before-

*Whizz*

The sound was light and almost inaudible to the human ear.

Yet everyone heard it...

No. Some even sensed it. It was a powerful mana signature, too fast for anyone to react, but just slow enough to make the hairs on everyone's body stand on their ends.

It moved like lightning...

Fear filled their hearts, and adrenaline pumped through their veins.

No one wanted to look back, because they all felt it.

The cutting winds that left marks on their skin.

And the scorching heat that radiated from the blast.

*Thud*

The sound was lifeless, yet everyone recognized it.

It was the sound of a dropping body.

A lifeless body...

"I have to say, its taken you guys a lot longer to get here than I had expected..." A man with piercing orange eyes slowly stood from his throne as his aura exploded out of his body.

His aura was suffocating, yet his words were somehow worse.

Each syllable felt like a dagger laced with poison dug into their hearts, yet none dared to look back.

None except...

'No...'

Lloyd's eyes looked upon the scene before him in horror as he laid on the ground after having narrowly avoided the beam... yet it was at a cost.

'This can't be happening...'

He didn't know how to feel...

'Why did you push me...'

Lloyd had never felt like this before.

A void...

'No... no no... no no no... no no nonononononononono.'

He could feel it... A void was opening up in his soul, rapidly filling with something else entirely.

'This is my fault...'

'Yes... it is.'

'I did this...'

'Yes, you did.'

Lloyd's eyes finally met with a pair of lifeless brown eyes.

Their body was still, completely unmoving, as they lay in their own pool of blood and brain matter, their face frozen in time, showing Lloyd the last expression they made before the beam shot through their head.

[Commandment: 99.999%]

Shock.

Fear.

Terror.

Horror.

And most painful of all...

Regret

[Commandment: ...]

There lay the person Lloyd relied on most.

Roderick Porter was dead.

[Commandment: 100%]

[Breakthrough initiated]