Realm Wars

Ryu looked over his shoulder. Mother Skull's Ship was getting farther and farther away as they walked towards the jungle of Deadman's Rock.

Cecily explained to them a while ago what they were going to do in the little island. She said that they needed to find a Jewel or something.

"Man, I can't believe that we're stopping in here of all places. This island is haunted." Kai placed his arms over his head and yawned. If only his face wasn't on the verge of sleeping, maybe then his words would sound believable.

"Who invited him here?" Rosa shot Kai a glare. She hadn't forgotten what he did to her on the night of the storm.

Kai looked the other way and pouted. "I'm here to repay my debt to Ryu and Fifi. This doesn't concern you." 

The truth was, Kai just wanted to get out of the boat, even if it was just a day.

Rosa sweetly smiled. "If you want to repay your debt to Fifi, then make sure to protect me."

Kai shivered. "Lady, you might be beautiful, but I still prefer darling Fifi over you. You give me the creeps."

Snap. A vein popped in Rosa's head. With a sweep of her hand, volleys of fire shot in Kai's way.

Kai just grinned, and without doing anything, the fire that came his way all sizzled before they froze into popsicles and shattered on the ground.

Rosa smirked. "You have a rare affinity there." 

Kai shrugged. "If fire is all you can do, then you're no match to me, lassie."

Rosa's brow raised, but her smirked remained on her face. "Fire is not the only thing I can do." 

Rosa snapped her fingers, and gust of winds raffled Kai's hair, and the ground shook to where he stood as droplets of water smacked him right on his face.

"W-what!" Kai stared wide eyes at Rosa, unminding his drenched face and clothes. "Y-you're! You're an Elementalist!"

Rosa giggled at the drenched Kai. She was about to toss him in the air and have fun with him when Lucian interfered.

"Don't waste your mana on him."

Rosa pouted but did as Lucian said while Kai wiped his wet face as he grumbled to the side.

Lucian made a quick glance at Kai. There was nothing suspicious about him except for his extreme seasickness. But still, he didn't know him, and he didn't trust strangers –– especially strangers traveling alone.

He only tolerated him because of the added manpower. But the moment he showed signs of being suspicious, Lucian wouldn't hesitate to put him down if necessary.

Following Lucian, Cecily, and Rosa's back were Ryu, Ferris, and Kai.

"You okay?" Ryu asked when he caught Ferris taking a peek at him multiple times. Like she wanted to say something.

Ferris faced away, face red. "Y-yeah."

Now Ryu was concerned. Lately, Ferris wouldn't look him in the eyes, and when he caught her staring, her face would instantly turn red.

Is she sick? Ryu thought. He was about to place a palm at Ferris's forehead when she slapped his hands away.

"I'm fine," Ferris said, still not looking at Ryu.

Ryu frowned and didn't bother with her anymore. She was acting weird lately, and when he asked what was wrong, she would brush him off.

At the side, Kai couldn't look anymore and sighed, "It's so obvious. You're so dense, Ryu. Gah!"

Kai almost bit his tongue when Ferris glared at him. He quickly looked over the sky and whistled, pretending he didn't know her.

"How far is Bloody Lagoon?" Cecily asked Lucian. She was worrying over the clock. They left early in the morning, but she didn't want to spend the night in the forest on an unknown island.

"We've barely an hour inside the forest, and you're already tired?" Rosa mocked.

"I'm just asking. If you're fine spending the night here, then, by all means, let's move at a slow pace," Cecily countered.

The two women looked each other in the eyes, and sparks flew between them.

"Enough, you two," Lucian reprimanded, "Let's stay focused. Who knows what danger lies ahead."

Sniffing the air, Ryu smelled the salt sea, but as they went deeper into the forest, the smell was replaced by damp moss and rotting woods.

Ryu looked over the canopies when creatures made sounds and buzzes, but he couldn't pinpoint them. They were everywhere.

"It's too quiet, don't you think?" Kai asked, "It felt like some beast is lurking nearby and would pounce at any moment."

"Oh? What's this?" Kai asked. His attention could only hold for one second, and the next, he was poking a weird-looking plant growing on the wet portion of the swampy soil.

The tiny plant had a needle-like spike forming on its red beehive-like bulb, and Kai was enjoying himself as he flicked it left and right. 

(Pic)

"Ah." Kai was startled when its stem broke, and the bulb burst open, and the next thing happened, he was screaming.

"Ouch! What the freaking little blob–!" Kai was clutching his injured hand, and the rest looked his way.

When they saw that his hand was burned, they resumed their journey, not caring if Kai lived or not.

"Heartless," Kai murmured under his breath as he healed his hand. The acid on the little Stingbulb was ferocious. It almost corroded his arm if not for his ice that froze his limb.

Kai sighed in relief when the ice thawed, and his hand was brand new again. 

"Stop messing around and be quiet," Lucian reprimanded. "If you want to follow us, then don't make unnecessary trouble."

Rosa bat an eyelid. "I say we just kill him and bury him somewhere." 

Kai squinted a glare at Rosa and grumbled his discontent.

"Quiet," Lucian hissed, and Kai zipped his mouth.

Cecily narrowed her eyes. "What's that?" 

Ahead of them laid a murky swamp under dead trees and fog. And within its dirty waters, there laid a hairy beast with a long snake-like neck and skull-like head. Its body was littered with worms and insects, and its raw, jagged teeth protruded from its mouth. 

(Pic)

"It's an old Stinkeye."