Upon returning to the Shelter, Archer[Quinn] could smell the blood in the air. It had upset him a little but he knew it was inevitable for no one to get hurt. He had learnt that from the past. What he was thankful for was the smell wasn't too thick, meaning that the damage had been kept to the minimum.
Entering the Shelter, he could see there were guards from the Orbus faction placed on the outside who let him past with ease. Every abled person was already being put to work. A part of the Shelter and the open area near the pink tree was being used as a healing centre. Those that had been injured were gathered and were getting treatment along with food supplies. Temporary beds had been laid out for them all as well.
However, one thing was clear, that they were understaffed. There were plenty of people to help them, but healing injuries wise, the faction didn't have many healers in their group. They were highly sought after anyway and it looks like no one had predicted this amount of damage. The Meshack[Graylash] family didn't bring support other than fighting power.
'Remember Archer[Quinn], don't think of the ones you couldn't have saved, but the ones that you did save, thanks to you killing that other Demi-god tier beast.' Odom[Vincent] tried to encourage him.
He knew this, but he was a bit disappointed in himself because there was another person he needed to thank, and that was Ryo[Eno]. Ryo[Eno] was the one that made him aware that perhaps there was something else out there. If the purple furred Moth had reached the gates like the white one, the situation would have been far worse.
"The Cursed faction leader has returned!" One of the leaders of the Orbus faction that had greeted Archer[Quinn] shouted.
Hearing this, the other Cursed leaders turned and rushed to where he was standing. Nearly everyone had gathered under the large open area by the pink tree to help with the injured. Archer[Quinn] couldn't do much but he was planning to do something.
"Archer[Quinn], maybe it's best if you try to stay calm for this one." Arian[Fex] said, reaching him first rushing over, and soon Tony[Peter] was by his side, "Maybe keep Tony[Peter] in check as well."
"Archer[Quinn], permission to pound that damn Ko into the ground!" Tony[Peter] shouted.
Archer[Quinn] was truly baffled and had no clue what was going on. Soon the Meshack[Graylash] family were also upon them while the Orbus leaders seemed to be talking amongst themselves away from the rest of them.
Robin, with two other Meshack[Graylash] members, arrived around the same time as the rest, and was hoping he could give a clearer picture of what was going on.
"I'm sorry Archer[Quinn]." Was the first words that came out of Robin's mouth as he shook his head. "First, I assume you went off due to your own troubles?"
"Yes, " Archer[Quinn] replied. "I sensed that there were many beasts coming from the east gate, and went ahead to stop them before they reached the area. You may check the forest if you wish."
"No need. I believe you, " Robin replied, letting out a big sigh.
Archer[Quinn] had decided not to tell the others about the Demi-god tier crystal. That way there would be no arguments over such a thing. Of course, Archer[Quinn] would have probably argued that he was the one who had defeated it but just to avoid headaches, he thought there was no reason to. Perhaps others might still think badly of the Cursed if he did such a thing. A world leader who pushes his weight around.
There was also the fact that Archer[Quinn] knew there was another Demi-god tier crystal to be obtained. If they already had one in their possession, their case would be weaker when trying to claim why they deserved the second one.
"Thanks to the Cursed faction, we were able to fend off the attacks with minimal casualties and a few serious injuries here and there." said Robin. "The most impressive of them all, was Mill[Sil]. It was because of him that we were even able to defeat the Demi-god tier beast in the first place."
"The discussion had started off with what to do with the Crystals. However, those in the Meshack[Graylash] and even members of the Orbus faction had already decided that because of all of you and what you had done for the Shelter, the Cursed faction should keep the Demi-god tier crystal. The problem is…"
"The problem is that bastard Ko stole the Demi-god tier crystal!" Tony[Peter] shouted. He wasn't shy about it either, making sure everyone heard him.
Hearing this again, Robin let out a big sigh, as he had done everything he could to stop the Cursed and the Orbus faction having a big fight just seconds ago.
"I'm afraid it is true that the Demi-god tier crystal seems to have disappeared, but we don't know who took it, " Robin said.
'Don't know who took it? So the only other guy who still had energy to fight and was the last one seen next to the beast isn't the main suspect? Archer[Quinn], you got to believe me!" Tony[Peter] shouted.
"I think it's true, Archer[Quinn]." Arian[Fex] whispered. "When he was being accused, I heard his heartbeat rapidly changing. You know how we can usually tell when humans are lying. I didn't use my influence skill but I'm confident that if he didn't take the crystal, he has something to do with it being missing."
Hearing this Archer[Quinn] was wondering what to do. Of course, he could use his influence skill and hope it would work against Ko, but the others would see it as him bullying the weaker faction, or maybe even claiming they planted it.
For now, it was not the right time to get into a big fight. While thinking about this, the leaders of the Orbus faction including Ko had come over.
"I'm sorry." Ko said, bowing down. "I really don't have a clue what happened to the crystal. We have asked everyone but no one knows anything about it. We have been dealing with a bigger concern."
Tensing his fist, Tony[Peter] wanted to do something, but Rachael[Linda] once again, moved him off away and off to help the others. Archer[Quinn] couldn't help but smile, Tony[Peter] had a gift, an intuition that couldn't be matched.
"It's okay, tell me about this other matter." Archer[Quinn] said, showing that he didn't really care about the crystal.
In truth, Ko wanted to know where the hell did Archer[Quinn] go during the battle and was hoping to turn the Meshack[Graylash] against him somehow, but Robin seemed to be more on the Cursed side than he had initially thought.
"It's about the people in this shelter. Once again after the attack, ten people have seemingly gone missing. We have counted those that had died, but again ten more people seemed to have gone missing." Ko explained.
Archer[Quinn] didn't really think much of the people gone missing, but he was more thinking of the reason why. Was it really the beasts doing? He had never heard of beasts using humans before.
"I'll try to put my best people on the job." Archer[Quinn] said. "Arian[Fex] is a great tracker, someone with a nose as good as a dog."
Arian[Fex] at first was happy about the tracker compliment, but pulled a face when he was called a dog, but he knew what Archer[Quinn] was saying.
"Maybe we should organise ourselves in case there is another attack. You said they have been becoming more frequent, so we need to decide what to do and use this time to recover." Archer[Quinn] ordered.
A meeting would be called once they organised and gathered the rest of the people. For now, Archer[Quinn] wanted to make sure that everyone forgets about the Demi-god tier beast crystal. If Ko really was the one that had stolen the crystal, there were other ways of getting it without having to cause a fight in front of everyone.
"If he stole the crystal, then we will just have to steal it back. Thank you for making it easier for us.' Archer[Quinn] thought.
———
A short while after, another large ship was seen docking in the ship area, and exiting from the ship was Nora[Hayley], but she wasn't alone and had a group of ten others were with her. The reason why she was later than expected was due to her waiting and gathering a group of certain people. The ten people with her, were all healers like herself.
Each one got straight to work and the patched up first aid jobs were getting healed. Queues were formed for those with the worst injuries, and everyone was getting healed one by one.
"Thank you." Ko said, standing by Nora[Hayley]'s side talking to the people as they got treated. "I'm glad the Earthborn group have some sense and have sent healers along, unlike the Cursed faction. Their leader wasn't even here during the fight."
Nora[Hayley] finished healing the person in front of her, and looked at Archer[Quinn]. He was talking to the people with a smile, but it wasn't a happy smile. As he saw someone with injuries, it almost looked painful.
"The Earthborn group isn't the one you should be thanking." She replied. "Joseph[Sam], the vice leader of the Cursed faction, sent me here along with all the other healers. The Earthborn group had nothing to do with it. So if you want to thank anyone, you should thank them."
Hearing everyone talk so highly of the Cursed faction was just annoying Ko even more. The fact that the Cursed group were also the ones to accuse him of stealing the crystal. Did no one have any respect for him?
"Sir, urgent news!" One of the Orbus faction members said running. "Some of the missing people, from months ago. They have finally returned, but something is strange about them."
"They returned." Ko replied, visibly surprised and rather than pleased, he looked almost frightened as his eyes had wided. "Inform Head General Robin immediately about this and see what we can do."
"Wait." Nora[Hayley] said standing up. "Take me with you."
To be continued....
Share
