CORE

Chapter 17 - Shining

The Arrow User stood there, completely in a state of shock as they took a few steps back, their entire body shaking, for their years of training they had never seen their weapon shatter like that, and with such relaxation from the victim too.

"...I'll give you another chance, I can forgive that," Hero spoke as he sighed before outstretching his hand.

"Please, do answer, why are you ordered to kill on sight?" Hero questioned, this time in a more serious tone as the Arrow User slowly took a few steps behind the tree, clearly fearing for their life, while it seemed like this individual had no intention of taking their life, there was just this 'aura' that surrounded them.

However, The Arrow User didn't have to stay in this situation for long, if they just stayed silent and did not cause any threats, then soon enough...

"Doesn't seem like they want to answer," Justice said as he jumped up from the bushes in which Hero turned around.

"... You are trying to buy time, are you not?" Justice asked out of the blue in a calm tone, surprising Hero for a moment as he turned around and looked at Justice, but now that he thought about it, the more it made sense, meanwhile, The Arrow User, upon hearing this revelation, was mere seconds away from sprinting as he knew his cover had been blown.

"...By now he would have attacked us again, but he's instead trying to get on our passive side to make us comfortable," Hero followed up as he turned his head back to the Arrow User, who had already summoned two extra-charged magical arrows, aimed at both Justice and Hero, waiting to be fired.

"On behalf of our Guardian, stand down or face the consequences!" They yelled out as their magic arrows were charged up to their maximum.

However immediately as they fired, Justice and Hero simultaneously swerved out of the way, dashing towards the Arrow User they then slammed him down to the ground by hitting their chest with both of their opposite palms, making a crater in the ground from the impact the Arrow User had just sustained, also causing for them to be completely knocked unconscious.

"Simply amazing, what do we do now? If your assumption was correct then they are probably just a few miles away, and approaching rapidly as we speak," Hero said as both he and Justice stood behind each other's backs to make sure they were both equally protected.

"Well, I'm light, need I say less-?" Justice was cut off as a large blast of purple fire traveled to where he and Hero stood, catching them off-guard, Justice instantaneously slowed down his senses and avoided the attack while grabbing onto Hero, flying out of the forest and back to the pathway as they both rolled across the ground from the sudden momentum before they jumped up and regained stability quickly after...

Out of the forests, a group of people in shining knight armor emerged, standing on the path where they had seen the two intruders escape to.

"Any trace of them?" One of the knights asked.

All of them then looked deep into the forest, but no matter how hard they searched, regardless of how thick or thin, they could not find them.

"...They have escaped, report this to the Guardian, no one has entered Area 4 in a long time, this could be bad," One of the knights spoke out, to which the rest of them agreed, marching back into the woods, supposedly to where the place they resided was located.

But as they strolled along the woods, one of them heard a rustle in the bushes, to which they swiftly turned around while the others continued walking, but much to his confusion, there was nothing, not even a hint.

"What is the matter, Knight #1042?" One of the knights questioned.

"...Nothing," Knight #1042 responded, turning back as he caught up with the rest of the knights.