“Because we are! Well, at least we're dead for the lake! We make it happen and spoiled babies like you won't know how bad it felt.”

"Nonsense!" Meyara couldn't help but raise her voice. She emphasized every word she said after that. “No matter how strange the world turns, rising from the dead is not something anyone can do!”

“I have no obligation to make you understand.” The man laughed with joy. Meyara's confusion must have been funny and entertaining to him. Like watching a confused toddler who didn’t understand things that are easy and simple. “Since you ask like that, then I can assume that the seers really can't see us from that disgusting ancient water. So I think the plan worked well."

Those words sparked so many emotions and stirred up a lot of mixed thoughts in Meyara's pounding head. She cursed under her breath for feeling so stupid. Nothing about the man's words sounded possible to do.

Adriel had become very quiet, and had been too distracted himself to engage in conversation.

"Why?" Her voice dropped a bit, but the man could still hear her as he answered immediately.

"Why what? Why can't the lake reflect our future or why did we do that?"

"Both."

It was surprising how the man was so willing to answer Meyara's questions. He surely had nothing better to do at the moment.

"It's easy. You just need to remember what that damn lake was made for," he boasted. "You must have heard that every drop is made from the tears of people who have lost families, right? The main function of this lake is to help them see the future of people they care about and prevent misfortune by carrying out regular supervision. In short, to prevent the sadness that might arise if they are unaware of the potential for impending danger."

"That doesn't answer my question," Meyara muttered.

“So, what if misfortune really comes? What do you think the sentimental lake will do?”

"Enough!"

Meyara's body was shocked to hear Galen's booming voice. The boss was scolding the man who had said too much. He definitely didn't want more of their secrets to be exposed just because one of his minions couldn't keep his mouth shut.

After that, Meyara and Adriel were gagged again. They couldn't say anything but let out a strange hum or grunt and could only surrender when they were dragged somewhere like the previous days. But today was different, Meyara could barely contain the satisfied smile that formed on her lips.

The bit of information she got from the loose-tongued man was more than enough for her to understand everything. All these unpleasant experiences apparently provided a little wisdom that added to her knowledge.

It was not in vain that she decided to help the seers because she really benefited from all this.

As for the next step, Meyara just would need to find the reason behind the rebellion of Frostfell's men before carrying out her plan to break free. To do that, she had to wait until the next opportunity for her to speak arrived.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Holy crap!" Galen's urgent voice broke the previously calming silence of the night. “Take your weapons and stay alert! Don't move until my next order!”

Meyara automatically froze in place. The rough hand that gripped her shoulder tightly had disappeared. Even though she was curious, the girl couldn't go anywhere for fear of tripping or accidentally bumping into any thing or creature that made Galen scream like that.

Until she heard it herself, a grunt and a defiant roar. Some angry loud bellows made her body almost fall backwards, she had to crouch to maintain her position.

It was not a sound made by an ordinary animal. The premonition of being in danger made Meyara jerk her head violently, making her blindfold drop slightly so she could peek at what was going on.

She was stunned helpless when she saw clearly what creature was making such a commotion. A terrifying size of what could be described as a bull stood there in all its powerful appearance.

Its large horns rose upwards, their sharp edges seemed capable of scratching anything that touched them. Its eyes glowed bright red in the middle of the night. Not enough with all the terrible features, its extraordinarily muscular body also looked very sturdy and could not be penetrated by the tip of any fire spear. Galen ordered his minions frantically, but none of their attacks were able to weaken the unknown creature.

“Forget about the spear, now gather all your strength! Attack the monster simultaneously!” Galen shouted again. His resolve was not the least bit dimmed by the fear he felt. Meyara had to praise him for his tenacity.

The bull monster continued to charge towards the hut which Meyara only realized was there. Its roar shook every animate and inanimate object. When Frostfell's men launched an attack, it only let out a few cries of pain before retaliating with greater strength.

The injured victims began to fall. Cracking sounds were heard along with screams and groans of pain. The smell of blood began to waft into Meyara's nose even though she was quite far from the crime scene.

This heartbreaking situation then broke her stance. Moreover, one of the flameless spears that was shot grazed her cheek. She finally looked for Adriel who was also watching not far from her. His eyes were as wide as saucers, his jaw looked as if it could touch the ground as it gaped.

"Adriel, do something!"

"Huh? Doing what?" Adriel blinked in confusion. He frowned when he saw a little blood flowing down Meyara's cheek.

"Whatever! You always brag about how you can always save us anytime, now do it!"

“I mean, I mean just the two of us!” he screamed desperately. “How am I supposed to face that terrifying deadly monster?”

"So we just let them die? Are you sure?" Meyara raised her eyebrows questioningly. "It's up to you. You know I wouldn't mind, I never cared much about other people anyway, unlike you.”

Her words seemed to form an increasingly complicated conflict in Adriel's mind. The young man groaned in frustration before he removed all the ropes on his body with ease. Then he took out one of his many vials, a purple one, and threw it into the air.

The magical pattern formed in an astonishing manner, leaving everyone stunned for a moment, before an explosion came from the center of the pattern straight towards the dangerous bull.

The flames did not touch the terrifying beast but only trapped it in a circle of fire and forced it away from them. The beast made a sound that was very similar to the sound of discomfort, whimpering, before it resigned itself to being carried away by Adriel's magic ball.

Galen let out a sigh of relief and was finally falling, lying on the ground. Panting like a fish struggling to survive in the heat of a drought. His minions followed his actions, sucking in as much oxygen as they couldn't breathe freely before.

Meyara clapped her hands enthusiastically, attracting everyone's attention, including Adriel who was now sitting limp in exhaustion. The girl placed her hands on her hips with a proud smile on her lips.

“I believe you all owe us for this.”

***