Realm Wars

Chapter 113: Seraphina’s Predicament

"Where's the antidote?"

Vein was forced to meet Ryu's slit eyes, and he didn't know what was with the halfbreed, but the back of his hair rose on edge at the anger on Ryu's face.

Vein wanted to kill the halfbreed for ruining his fun on checking the poison. But everyone's eyes were on him, and the atmosphere was heavy. Even Masha was looking at him like she was having second thoughts about their temporary alliance. With Thall's death, it was no wonder.

How did that guy die anyway? Vein thought for a second. Thall was Rank-A mercenary with affinity to fire. He was a mediocre fighter and reached his way to being a Rank-A through years and years of hard work. He was actually old though he still looked young. 

But still. .. There was no way that he wouldn't have made it from the needle attacks, unless. .. Vein's eyes crept at the people at the side. .. One of them did something.

Vein's thought was interrupted when Ryu shook him.

"Where's the antidote?" Ryu snapped. His claws were drawing blood from Vein's neck.

Vein snapped his fingers and flung the antidote that appeared in his hand to the ground. "There."

Ryu pushed Vein away, but the latter quickly regained his footing and stormed into the dead carcasses of the Coral Drakes. His poisons were his top priority. He'd deal with the halfbreed later.

"Ass," Kai muttered and drank the antidote. Though Vein was indeed a lunatic who only cares about poisons, Kai got to admit that the guy had skills. The poison in his body dispersed at just a drop of the antidote on his tongue. But he wasn't happy the least, knowing that they'll have to face the effect of the poison again after an hour.

Ryu pretended to drink the antidote while secretly storing it in his traveler's ring when Vein was engrossed in dissecting the Coral Drake for its poison.

If anything Vein was confident from, it was his poison. His confidence was born from the years and years that he studied and used poisons. It never even came to his mind that someone would be immune to all kinds of poison. Even the demons and angels could be poisoned, much less halfbreed and mortals. So Vein didn't bother to check the antidote if it was consumed or not. He was too focused on a new possible corrosive type of poison from the Coral Drake's corpse. To him, it was more valuable than discovering rare items.

Seraphina was administering the antidote to Theodore and Jane at the side while Masha was busy inspecting the tunnel. 

As they waited for Jane and Theodore to wake up and Vein to finish his dissecting, the rest decided to take a break.

Kai set up a fire and cooked whatever was edible in his inventory. He didn't know how far the drylands stretched inside the underwater, so best to take in as much cooked meat as he could. Not far from Kai, Ryu was resting on a rock though his eyes kept wandering towards the barriers to see if it would crack due to the Coral Drakes. 

They were just hovering outside. Some were scraping the ice and whack it with their heads.

"Don't worry. As long as I'm alive, that ice would remain there," Kai said and swallowed a whole fish.

Seraphina went to Ryu and offered him a jerky. "You want some?"

Ryu looked over at Seraphina's face. Her usual smile was skewed, and her eyes couldn't look straight at him.

Ryu took the jerky and faced the other side when Seraphina sat beside him. "Thanks."

Seraphina gave a small smile and nodded but otherwise didn't offer ongoing conversation.

Kai roasted a sea urchin and muttered with pointed lips, "Ha. .. how awkward." His face twisted when his stomach churned. Damn! His feet were still wet!

He removed his boats and wiggled his toes. "Aahh. .. finally." Kai sagged on the rock as he savored a moment of peace.

".. ." Ryu munched his jerky. He wasn't hungry, nor was he sleepy. He just needed to rest his legs. It was straining from all the running he made nonstop.

Seraphina rubbed her hands and blew hot air towards them. The cave was cold, and the air was blowing ahead and lingered on their spot since the ice barrier prevented it from passing through. 

.. .

.. .

It was silent for a moment before Ryu finally asked the question he wanted to know the answer. "Why?"

Seraphina blinked and looked at Ryu with her round mesmerizing blue eyes.

"Why did you ally yourself with them? Did you betray us from the start?"

".. ." Seraphina's smile didn't lessen, but after a while, her chin crumpled, and her faade came tumbling with her sigh. She looked at her hands on her lap and said, "No. Believe it or not, I didn't betray you. I never expected to meet Masha this early too. It was just my bad luck at work."

".. ." Ryu took in the vulnerability on Seraphina's face. Her eyes were shaking like the gentle ripples of the ocean. Her skin was supple and tender, and the curls of her wavy hair reminded him of silken yarns of gold. She was mesmerizing in her helpless state.

But Ryu preferred her smile more. "I believe you."

Seraphina's eyelids blinked many times, and she stared at Ryu. He was looking on the ground, on the ceiling, on any part of the cave, anywhere. .. except at her. The angle of his jawline was prominent on side view, and his amber eyes glowed, complimenting the sharp slant of his nose. He was handsome alright. .. but if he matured. . .

Seraphina giggled at the thought. Ryu would cause many heartbreaks in the future. That's for sure.

"Thank you," Seraphina said in a low voice, cheeks tainted in red.

"Heeee. . ." At the side, Kai watched the two with mouth pointing and chin jutting. His face crumpling in jealousy. 

"Darling Seraphina," Kai whispered with a hand near his mouth, "Ryu has a mate, so if I were you, I wouldn't get too close to him. He's a womanizer even if he didn't look like it. He's a natural." 

And besides, you really don't want to mess with Ferris. Kai thought.

Seraphina giggled while Ryu shot Kai a glare and flicked a pebble in his direction. Who was the womanizer between the two of them again?

Kai yelped and grunted when the pebble hit him straight on his pointing lips. 

That's for spreading false rumors.