The Flower Is Finished

We had decided to leave. After that, I told Shasha to go out first because there might be traps after she left this place.

"Are you sure you can get out of here together with Farel?" she asked when we were already standing at the prison gate.

I nodded because there was no other choice.

"Don't disappoint me."

After that she immediately left, followed by those who had been trapped inside the prison.

After we separated, we went in opposite directions. I glanced at Arif and saw him waving his hand toward Shasha.

"Do you know her well?" I asked.

He stayed silent.

I turned to the side and saw him smiling faintly.

"Yes… I was just asking," he answered casually.

I nodded.

"You're the one people have been talking about in the rumors, right?"

I only cleared my throat, and he chuckled quietly.

"What do you think about Shasha?" he asked.

I fell silent. In my opinion, she was like an older sister who could truly be relied on and who could solve problems calmly.

"I think she's competent. She can be stubborn, but she's kind. She also… has a soft heart," I said, remembering the times when I was little and often bullied. She was the one who helped me because the differences between us were very obvious.

"Do you really only see her as a sister?" he asked.

I looked at him with a frown.

"Yes. I see her as a sister. What about you?" I asked back.

He gently patted my shoulder.

"Yes, I trust her."

But I didn't really care about his opinion, so I ignored whatever he thought about us.

We continued exploring the room. It seemed endless, but we couldn't ignore the bodies scattered on the floor.

There was blood everywhere.

The room smelled extremely foul, and blood stains covered the walls.

We walked for an hour but still couldn't find Farel. I kept searching through every corridor, but there was no sign of him.

A rumbling sound echoed loudly. I looked toward a balcony that could be seen from here.

I walked toward the balcony and opened the door.

Cold air immediately touched my skin. My hair fluttered even though it wasn't very long. The wind felt even colder, and thunder echoed around us.

My necklace pulsed red, making me turn around. Arif was nowhere to be seen.

I hurried to look for him but couldn't find him anywhere. At that moment my necklace glowed brighter, a sign that demons were getting closer.

My eyes widened when I saw Arif about to be stabbed by a demon.

Beside me there was a table with a cup filled with blood. I immediately threw the cup at the demon. When the cup struck his spear, he realized my presence.

He growled and glared at me with hatred.

"Hide!" I shouted to Arif, who looked terrified.

He immediately stepped back and hid.

"So we meet them again," I said quietly.

The demon immediately attacked me with his spear, but I managed to dodge it.

I grabbed my sword and tried to slash his neck, but he avoided it. My sword struck the floor instead.

He turned toward me as if I were just a toy to play with.

He raised both of his hands, moving them forward and backward alternately. Soon the objects behind him were thrown toward me.

I tried to dodge the flying objects, but he moved his hands faster and faster, throwing things at me relentlessly.

Some of the objects he controlled amazed me. He could move them so easily.

I realized this must be a mixture of a demon and a witch. Normally demons couldn't do something like this unless they had a witch's blood.

I stared at him. His eyes were empty. He didn't speak at all. He only moved his hands, and his gaze felt hollow.

I approached him. He moved backward to avoid me.

Now I understood why he didn't speak. Someone was controlling him.

That meant he was actually dead, but magic had brought him back to life. He moved like a living creature even though he was already dead.

There was no other choice. We had to fight.

I raised my sword while he still used his spear.

Hiyaa

Crenggg

Srenggg

Sreng

Sreng

Sreng

The clash between spear and sword echoed along with the rumbling around us.

He kept attacking me.

As I tried to block him, suddenly an arrow pierced straight through his heart.

I turned and saw Arif holding a bow. My eyes widened as he released the arrow and stared in disbelief at what he had done.

I walked toward him. He looked at me in shock.

"I killed him that easily?" he asked.

I stayed silent. How could he die so easily from an arrow? Maybe it was because he was only being controlled by someone.

"Where did you get that bow?" I asked.

He walked toward a jar where the bow and arrows were stored.

I nodded.

"You can shoot arrows?" I asked, remembering that the Elf clan usually preferred herbal medicine rather than archery.

"Yes. I like it… but it's not really my hobby."

I nodded again, understanding.

Then he told me to continue searching for Farel. We had been searching for an hour and still hadn't found him or his parents. We hadn't even found their bodies.

The rumbling sound grew louder.

We couldn't stay here any longer.

"Do you think Farel is still alive?" Arif asked.

I looked at him.

"Yes. I believe he is."

He frowned, clearly unsatisfied with my answer.

"We've been searching for an hour and found nothing. It feels like a disaster is about to happen."

I looked at him suspiciously.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

He stuttered and avoided eye contact with me.

"Didn't Shasha say earlier that there is a traitor among us?"

I nodded so he wouldn't realize that I was suspicious of him.

Suddenly a loud rumbling echoed again.

It wasn't thunder.

It was water rushing in violently.

I looked around to find the source. Then I realized a flood was rushing toward us from behind.

I still hadn't found Farel, but I had to find a way out first.

"Has Shasha found the exit?" Arif asked.

I nodded vaguely and grabbed his arm.

"Run!" I shouted.

We ran together, racing against the flood.

While running through the corridor, I suddenly saw someone I recognized.

"Farel!"

He turned toward me in disbelief.

I ran toward him and saw that he had found his parents.

I crouched beside him.

"What happened?" I asked.

He was badly injured. Beside him were my uncle and aunt, both unconscious.

"Xanders… I found my parents. Take them out of here," he said weakly.

His stomach had been stabbed deeply.

I shook my head.

"You have to come with us."

He smiled faintly and shook his head.

"No. Take my parents. They need it more."

He looked at his mother, whose eyes were still closed.

The sound of rushing water grew closer.

"What's that sound?" Arif asked nervously.

I suddenly noticed a heavy table nearby.

I ran toward it and grabbed one of its legs to test its strength.

It was strong enough.

"Arif, over here!" I called.

He rushed toward me.

"Lift this table. We'll carry them on it."

His eyes widened, but there was no other choice. He helped me lift the table and bring it closer to them.

I carried my aunt first and placed her on the table, then my uncle, and finally Farel.

Arif was already panicking because the water was getting closer.

"I never thought you'd use something like this…" Farel said with a faint laugh after seeing what I had done.

I ignored him because the situation was urgent.

The water kept rising, soaking us. Soon it reached our knees, making it difficult to move.

"Do you know the way out?" I asked.

"I do… but…" he hesitated.

"What? Say it quickly."

"I'm not sure we can pass through it… but we don't have any other choice."

He looked around.

"We have to go up."

I froze when he said that.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.