The Heritor of Illipia

Chapter 20

Is it just me or have I left some things out...?
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        "Hey, what do you think you're doing? You aren't supposed to be leaving your room like that!" Ara scolded as (y/n) made his way down the main stairs. He had remained in his room for another two hours before he was able to move freely without any problems. Ykuei had come down from the ceiling and retreated under (y/n)'s bed when Zhu suddenly lashed out on him. That was where he remained, and (y/n) hadn't felt like bothering him. He figured Ykuei was having just as bad as a time as they were.

        "I got bored. Where's everyone else?" (y/n) muttered. Zhu was close behind him having promised to watch over him to make sure he didn't escape. (Y/n) didn't believe him even in the slightest. Even though Zhu still had his mind made up to kill him, (y/n) knew that the fox was still extremely hesitant to do so. Zhu's presence was still not unusual so it didn't bother him, although he did wonder why the inn keeper was allowing Zhu to stay.

        "Chung went with Aisha to search for Elesis without Elsword's approval. He's been pretty stressed and it's only making his condition worse. I had Eun knock him out so he could rest since he refused to. Raven, Add, and Ain are out helping with village repairs. Ignia is being questioned by the village chieftain. She'll likely be helping us stop Scar although I don't think we should trust her for now. Eve, Ciel, Lu, and Rena are all being cared for but their injuries won't be fully healed until a couple more days. Rena is healing faster than the others though," Ara explained.

        "Sound to me like we're just in need of more time. I'm sure whatever that guy's name is has no chance of winning against us all at once. If he has the preparations ready, all we would need to do is steal back whatever he already stole, right?" (y/n) reasoned. Ara put down the cup she was holding and stared at him as if he were a stranger. "His name is Scar, and no, it's not that simple. Buying time isn't all we need either. He could have just been lying to us to give us the illusion of having time to be bought," she said.

        It made sense, but they were out of options if that was the case. Less than half their team was able to fight at their best. Even with time, Scar still had Jin, In, and General Zhen on his side to stop him. That wasn't even taking into account any hidden allies he might have. "Ara...if we fail, what are we going to do?" (y/n) asked. Ara's stare turned into one of confusion. "What do you mean...?" she question.

        "Realistically speaking, you guys as a team are used to succeeding. I'm sure you guys have been close to failure more than once, like back in Sander, but the El Search Party has never lost. Do you guys even have a backup plan? Do you guys have a way of regrouping to strike back?" (y/n) said. He was trying to get a point across to Ara despite how bleak things looked for them. "Why are you asking me that as if you want us to fail? You aren't still thinking about going back to Sander, are you?" Are inquired.

        (Y/n) immediately denied her accusations. "No, but I'm trying to get you to see something. You're only telling me things that aren't in our favor. Not once have you said anything possitive about our situation. How can you expect to win if you've already been defeated in your mind?" (y/n) said. Ara remained silent having just realized that he was correct. "You're being awfully optimistic. What happened to your usual self?" Zhu wondered. (Y/n) ignored him as did Ara.

        "You're right but..." Ara muttered. She stopped herself realizing that she was about to say something negative again. She picked up her cup of tea and somewhat summed about it. (Y/n) would have said something, anything to get that pout off of her face, but the three of them were immediately distracted by a sound from upstairs. (Y/n)'s senses weren't on par just yet, so he hadn't noticed anything beforehand.

        He and Ara rushed up the stairs with Zhu going ahead of them to investigate the situation. They were headed towards where (y/n) had left Ykuei by himself, and they hoped it wasn't any one of Scar's forces there to retrieve the "final piece" in their plan to revive Sult. When (y/n) and Ara arrived to hallway of the scene, Elsword was there standing in front of Ykuei who seemed to have been unconscious. Across from him stood a blond girl who seemed unafraid of the sudden arrival of reinforcements. Floating near her was a yellow robot of sorts.

        "If any of you get any closer, I'll have to shoot him. I'm only here for the halfling. You have no idea what you are doing by harboring him here," the blonde said. (Y/n) recognized her voice. It was the same person who had come for Ykuei the first time. If (y/n) had been recovered enough, he'd have already disarmed her by using his speed as an advantage. Now they were stuck at a stand still with Zhu being the closest, yet the easiest target to hit should they decide to go against the blonde's orders.

        "You aren't leaving with him. I won't let you," Elsword growled. He was in no condition to fight, nor did he have his weapon on him. Even so, he stood his ground even while being held at gunpoint. "You have no choice, Elsword. You're team has no hope of defeating Scar. Lanox is a lost cause and Sult cannot be revived without the proper sacrifice and procedures. I'll be doing you team a favor by taking that halfling away from here to buy you all some time," the blonde spoke.

        She knew more than she should and it bothered them all. "Who are you and how do you already know Elsword?" Ara demanded. The blonde glanced at Ara not bothering to answer her. "Just give me the halfling. It doesn't benefit any of you to know who I am or how I know you. Just know that I am not your enemy. You should all leave Lanox while you have the chance. Sult's revival can be stopped, but the eruption can't."

        (Y/n) felt a chill shoot through him at the mention of the eruption. "That volcano is going to wipe everything out," he stated with a bit of shock. It was an obvious statement despite there being no real truth to back it up. "Yes, and Sult cannot be revived anywhere else. In just four days, Lanox will be nothing but a melted puddle of what could have been a succesful little place. The fire priestess has been unable to control the volcano for a while now. It's only a matter of time," the blonde said.

        Her words made it clear that, in essence, she was their ally. However, in that moment, she was an enemy. Ykuei was still someone (y/n) felt responsible for, so he couldn't just let her take him. "You can do whst you want to stop Sult, but taking Ykuei isn't an option. He said it himself, that he is the key to stopping Scar. We can't let you do whatever you want. If you want him, you'll have to go through all of us," Elsword spoke.

        For a moment, things were silent. Zhu's growling, which he had kept up for quite some time, ceased entirely. (Y/n) felt a wave of sudden dread wash over him. Before he'd even realized it, he'd sprang into action just as the blonde sighed and made her decision. "It's fine by me. I did warn you so don't blame me for the consequences," she said. Elsword had no way to defend himself, and her gun was already aimed.

Bang!
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I can explain. I know I'm late with this chapter and left you guys on a cliffhanger, but I can explain....although I won't. Next chapter is soon. Until next time you phenomenal readers!