Chapter 179 Stay On Guard

"By half, you meant nothing, right?" Lank complained, pushing on some branches in his way.

"Look out!" Yelled in a whisper at Nix, hoping he could dodge before the branch hits him.

Twak!

The branch slapped Nix across the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek. Lank winced to the sound, feeling guilty as charged. The others stifled a laugh at what had happened.

"You should be happy Arion isn't here, that would have left a beautiful reminder to that jerkface." Gia snorted, trying to make light of the situation for Lank's sake.

Inhaling and exhaling, Nix forced a smile, "let's carry on, shall we?" He pointed in the direction of where Obsidian led in front of them.

Pulling the saber from its sheath strapped at his back, he took a slice on the very branch that had slapped him on the face.

"You wouldn't be a nuisance anymore." Nix snickered watching the branch fall into the mud below.

Bam!

Lumina slapped him on the head in rage.

"I had taught your lazy ass how to use a sword to defend yourself, not to use it on plant life as a practice course!" She bellowed, her cheeks puffed up with air.

Putting the sword back in its sheath, Nix made sure to look the other way and avoid any form of eye contact with Lumina.

Lank pulled Nix away with his hand over his shoulder. "Let's get away from all these crazy!"

"Who are you calling–" Lumina raised her hand, held back by Luna and Gia, with Gia's hand over her mouth.

Obsidian looked behind, his nose in the air as he sniffed out a faint smell of the black box.

"What are we looking for, again?" Solis narrowed his eyes, heating the branches that would remotely be in his way.

"The black devices that all citizens have?" Obsidian reemphasized, disappointed that he had forgotten so easily.

Solis narrowed his eyes, he knew that was what they were searching for, the reason he had asked was because of the path they took.

Raising his leg from the mud, he shook his head at how filthy he felt.

They had been walking for more than two hours, yet all they had seen were nothing but trees and thick forest and more mud.

"Yet we took the safest and cleanest shortcut in existence." Solis countered.

The one thought of heating his boots and those that he deemed worthy of his ability to be used once they were on the leveled ground felt so surreal.

"Do you want to be seen by the citizens? How about smiling for the curious citizens of Arkai while you're at it?!" Obsidian snapped in irritation.

They were going to face one of the most unpredictable races of their kind–raenz.

They were said to be power-hungry, cunning, and brutal when it came to engaging anyone who crossed their paths. Only the best had ever been sent to engage any of these rogues.

Even though he was confident in his abilities, Obsidian wanted to experience the thrill of being part of a team. If he had a better driving force, maybe then he would be as brutal as he wanted to be if what he was trying to protect was in danger.

He had just pushed down some of the branches, smiling at the sight of a blood-stained floor.

'Gotcha!'

Making a hush sign, he warned all to keep a low profile while they walked closer.

His ears pricked up to the sound of muffled voices. His face brightened by the confirmation of the citizen in their grasp.

Looking over to Lank, he was glad he nodded back in understanding what was going on. The others all fell deadly silent.

"Stay on guard," Obsidian warned, giving hand gestures only he could understand as being trained in the academy.

"What the f*ck is this guy doing with his fingers?!" Solis hissed in anger, gaining a hush from all others.

'Hand signs!' Nix happily thought with a smile.

Obsidian facepalmed at the confused expressions on their faces. This was a simple gesture aimed at telling them where they needed to go.

"Speak with your lips, it's much easier to understand that way." Solis sneered in a whisper, folding his arms.

Luna held all she could not hit her brother on the head, his actions were detrimental to her and this didn't sit well with her.

All hairs stood on Obsidian's back, his attention was immediately drawn to the cause of his senses kicking in.

"It's about time some bigger fish arrives." A smoky voice spoke a few feet in their direction.

They all looked ahead and took a defensive stance against the perceived threat.

"You love darkness as well, huh? Well, it would interest you to know I'm darkness personified." Obsidian chuckled, pushing back his silver hair.

'I love it too...' Luna had wanted to blurt out as she was temporarily distracted by her gaze on Obsidian.

From the shadows, a pale leg came into view.

'Webbed feet?' Nix frowned at the strange phenomenon.

"Yet another UBS!" Nix pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

From his guess, he could already imagine a sick mashup of a character. There was no need to tell him why this person had become a raenz.

A whirring sound could be heard in the background.

Unable to contain his excitement, Obsidian protruded his silver claws, running on all fours.

Jumping in the air, he made a slash at the person who still tried to hide.

"Ah ah ah!" The voice said while clicking his tongue.

A tentacle sent Obsidian flying towards a tree, destroying a few in its wake.

They all let out a gasp at what they witnessed. This wasn't what they had expected to happen so easily in just a few seconds.

Luna sprinted in the direction of Obsidian without another thought.

"Sis? Don't!" Solis yelled.

A peal of crazed laughter could be heard as the perpetrator came out slowly from the shadows.