Several lit up. I forced Luna and I together before trying to us away, but we were in the center of them. The imprisoned us inside them while throwing Lux outside them. Some force was trying to expel me, but I used to create a buffer around myself. I activated my , trying to us out. The kept trying to tear Luna away. If I wasn’t holding her, she’d have been launched. My was barely keeping me there. Nez tried shattering the , but Luna and I were ripped away. I saw Uncle Nox getting launched across the street as the world twisted around us. I instantly prepped my as we appeared in a forest. Where are we? In a forest. Great Nil. After a brief moment, several figures rushed us. I kept using my , making it so I could see the world in grayscale. I need as much time as possible to react and come up with a plan.

No one to save us. I summoned my sword as I saw three beings rushing us. Judging by their weapons, they are here to kill us. I could see the paths all three of them were going to take. Wait. They rushed Luna. Their paths were undeniably for Luna. I the heart of the one closest to Luna while using my sword to try and behead the one coming near me. One more. I behind them, slashing down fast. My sword cleaved them almost in half. I quickly sensed around us, seeing it was safe. Why were they so weak? I couldn’t sense any others near us. Luna realized I dealt with our attackers as I lost dinner. I killed them. Why am I shaking? It was us or them. I didn’t hesitate because I didn’t have time to. I kept puking as Luna walked over. Is it cold here? Waves of nausea were overcoming me.

“Thanks Nil.” Luna said, patting my back. My body was aching. I used a lot of . I was absolutely shivering. At least no .

“I killed them.” I whimpered. But. Why were they weak? I know it wasn’t me being that strong. Maybe caught them off guard.

“But you saved me. Thank you, Nil.” Luna replied, rubbing my back. It felt nice.

“Why?” I cried. I felt awful. Please make this go away.

“Because it was us or them. You did what was needed for us to be safe.” Luna comforted me, leaning close to me. I need to focus; now is not the time to be like this.

Begrudgingly, I stood up. I wiped my sword off and looked around us. We are definitely in a forest. Luna was standing by me, hugging herself close. Those three were way too weak. Why were they after us? I’m pretty sure they were attacking Luna, not me. Why? Attacking her when she was with me? I doubt I’m that strong on the scale of the world, so why send the weakest three here? I took a few deep breaths. Why? This doesn’t make sense. My skin began crawling. I grabbed Luna and away about thirty feet. Where we were just standing a shadow tore through. Looking confused was some sort of . What am I looking at? It had four arms, each with four serrated claws. The had these odd, almost raptor legs with three noticeably sharp talons. It’s presence sent chills down my spine. Overall, it had an ape-like appearance, with a jaguar head. Its entire body was covered in solid black fur, with crimson eyes. Whatever this thing was, it was about fifteen feet tall, with very stocky, gorilla proportions. What is this thing? Every fiber of my being screamed it was dangerous. It let out a massive roar, which chilled my core. Is that how much somethings can possess? The was glaring at us, swaying softly back and forth.

“What is that?” I asked Luna. Please know the answer, and please not be as terrible as it looks.

“An . A basically immune to , as well as being an incredibly ruthless apex predator that’s attracted to the scent of blood.” Luna informed me, her voice shaking.

Luna’s . That’s the real trap; this thing. Why such an elaborate trap to kill her? Did it matter? Have a few weaklings waiting to ambush her. If she fails, this thing kills her attackers. If she survives, this thing kills her. I was fairly confident I stood zero chance of defeating this thing. Escaping it though, that’s a different story. The problem was, I had no idea where we were.

“Luna, do you know where we are?” I inquired. I don’t know how she would know, but Luna knows a lot of interesting facts.

“The Ahzen Forest; it’s the only place where you can find an . We’re about four thousand miles away from the edge of Speranza at minimum.” Luna informed me, struggling to keep her voice level.

What? With what is that possible? I guessed with a powerful enough set you could. But why? Who wants Luna dead this badly? It didn’t matter, the rushed us again. I used to dodge, aiming about forty feet behind it. My blood became ice when I noticed several claws inches in front of where I ended up. How did it pivot that fast? This thing is giant.

“Luna, does this thing have any weaknesses we could use to escape it?” I inquired as it began swaying again.

“They’re not the smartest things alive. They rely on their strength, speed, and to fight. But what they lack in brain power they more than make up for in determination, tenacity, and rage.” Luna warned me. That was not comforting. I will never complain about shopping again if we survive this.

That’s not great. Our only way out was outwitting this thing. I was doing the math on how fast it had to move to nearly grab me out of . That’s not comforting. It did let me know despite its size, the could pivot in an instant. The monster was looking at us, softly swaying again with an amused expression. It’s screwing with us. Why wouldn’t it be confident? We’re kids that can’t beat it in a fight.

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“Do they work together?” I asked. There has to be something we can use.

“Yes. They are willing to work together for meals.” Luna sighed. I could feel her shaking against me.

Our options were rapidly dwindling. It rushed us again, covering the gap in a heartbeat. I used , aiming for the upper branches of a nearby tree. What I did not expect was the solution the had. Who needs to climb a tree for some easy prey? That was too easy. Shattering the base so we’d fall was much faster. That tree was over three feet thick, and it punched through it almost as fast as I could . I had to use again to avoid us being grabbed. This time, I just launched us about a hundred feet into the air. We should be safe up here for a second. Just to be safe, I used to throw us up another twenty-five or so feet. I quickly scanned around us. There’s a cliff over there. We were near a cliff. I’d much rather try and survive the leap. It was a decent distance, but it was likely our only hope. Then I realized I was looking at black fur.

WHAT?! I instantly even higher as I felt the claws of the swiping through where we just were. I can’t maintain this pace of . If it was just me, I would be fine. the two of us is devouring my . I also used a little too much earlier thinking the assailants were the trap. This was not good. I used my to refill my . It’s not a good trick to rely on, but I don’t have a choice. I grabbed the two of us with after we fell a dozen or so feet, and just used that to fly us towards the cliff. Please be enough to deter that thing. Something whizzed by my head. Following us below was the , throwing things at us. Okay, it may not be smart, but by no means does that mean it’s stupid. I assumed it was a dumb brute but that’s clearly wrong.

thankfully used less to maintain. I can’t forcefully refill my multiple times. Needing to forcefully dodge so as to not get impaled was a different story. The wind behind the makeshift weapons was terrifying. If one of those connect. I shuddered. Focus on something more pleasant. I desperately flew towards the cliff. Twenty-seven seconds at this pace. Realizing I was dodging quite well, the monster decided to mix up the formula by heaving a boulder at us which I was forced to through. Twenty-three seconds. The let out a ferocious roar, realizing we were getting away. You played too long. Nineteen seconds. Come on. The end is near.

The did not give up so easily. I heard it start moving rapidly below as it burst through the trees in its path. Come on, thirteen seconds. So close. We’re so close. The leapt up, getting to almost the same height as us. ARE YOU FORLING KIDDING ME?! We were nearly a hundred feet above the ground. How did it jump so high? That wasn’t relevant now. In each hand was a tree. Not a branch. Not a piece. Each hand had an about three feet thick, full-length tree. Those trees have to weigh over a ton each. I activated my to plot a course. It tossed the first one, knowing full well I had to to dodge it. This is not good. Only eight seconds to the cliff. Just how physically strong was this thing?

Getting hit was not an option unfortunately. I used to dodge the first tree, going higher. As we materialized, I instantly used again towards the cliff to dodge the second tree. My body was beginning to protest this greatly. Hang in there. Maintain it for just a little more. The third was barreling towards us. It even threw the trees with spin so that we couldn’t easily grab onto one. I sensed the pathing, using to evade it. I’d be dead without my . I could see the path of the fourth tree impaling us. Come on. Just a bit further. I scraped the last of my together, launching us over the side of the cliff. I looked down. Oh shiza. Oh shiza. I just launched us over what had to be nearly a mile tall cliff. Crap!

*

Nez

Nil and Luna just vanished. I tried disrupting it with , but the was incredible. Who? There was no note. Nothing. They just vanished. I immediately began looking at the which were being destroyed by the next part. Who? Who made this? This was a level of that maybe a handful of people could dream of accomplishing. It was some form of . It sent them to some other location. No. Please Lords.

“What happened?” Nox asked, scanning around. The guards looked absolutely pale. Nox immediately rounded them up.

“Did anyone approach the carriage?” I snarled. Who set that up? That had to take time.

“No.” they replied immediately.

“Do not lie to us.” Nox growled, unleashing a lot of .

It’s possible. Whoever made those could have made a stealth set. That was not good. Nox immediately activated the emergency flare. The utterly destroyed themselves. There was no trace it ever existed. Senna might never let Nil leave the castle again. Provided this was not an execution. This was meticulously planned. I never sensed a thing. Just who did this? The area was now swarming with guards, mages, and the Imperial Staff. Even Grand Archmagus Solomon came to assist. He’s not good enough at to pull this off. He might have an idea. Just how? I have no idea who did this. The were just. Just in a league of their own. I couldn’t even sense them.

“What happened, Nez?” Grand Archmagus Solomon asked me.

“Someone used to make a that teleported Nil and Luna. I couldn’t break it with , and they immediately destroyed themselves after. It was honestly one of the best I have ever seen.” I explained. Nil. Luna. Be safe.

“Not a trace?” Grand Archmagus Solomon inquired, looking at the scene.

I lead him to the carriage. He inspected the surface, using several to try and recreate the . Nothing. Not a trace. If you put this level of effort out, why go for the Crown Prince? I felt horrible for Luna. She was wrapped up in this. Please survive you two.

“Who could have possibly made this?” Grand Archmagus Solomon checked, seeming stunned at the scene.

“No idea. I couldn’t even sense the before it activated.” I lamented. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

“Not to sound rude, but why use this level of for the Crown Prince? This level of could be used against the Emperor or Empress. Why test run it? Let them know it exists?” Grand Archmagus Solomon inquired. Fair point, as harsh as it is.

“It feels like a targeted execution. Just everything coming to mind as to why you’d teleport them away is not good.” I replied. Please Lords. Please let the two somehow be safe.

“Nil is talented, if any kid could figure out a way to survive, it’d be him. Not that I like his chances.” Grand Archmagus Solomon told me. If it’s those two, maybe. There’s the tiniest sliver if it’s those two.

“We can only hope.” I informed him as we continued investigating.