Chapter 14

"Gusion has left the house," Mrs. Paxley said upon entering the office of her husband. "Do something about this!"

The head of the Paxley family stands from his seat with his eyes wide. He narrows his eyes at her wife who is already glaring at him, her nostrils almost flaming with anger.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, hoping that the prophecy is not true and that Gusion is simply out there doing magic.

"Get your head straight!" Mrs. Paxley yelled as she throws a piece of paper right in front of her husband. "He cancelled the engagement with Guinevere and has fled. You better find him before the Baroque finds out about this!"

Mr. Paxley picked the paper, it was the marriage contract Gusion is supposed to sign to formally agree with the engagement and wedding ceremony. Instead of his magic seal, Gusion had written 'cancelled' across the paper.

"I have also found something he has hidden from us. Go by the cliff by the entrance of the city and see his hideout with your own eyes!" his wife continued to vent out her anger.

"You should have been more strict at Gusion! Because of your carelessness, it is now too late to take him back now that he has learned combat!"

Mrs. Paxley left the office by shutting the door with a loud bang.

"The fourth rebel shall rise," Esmeralda stated. "Didn't I already warn you about this? You should have taken more precautions."

Mr. Paxley held the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut.

"Now, when will the land fall into its demise?" Esmeralda asked, putting the old Paxley into more pressure.

But he simply waved her off and said, "I won't let that happen. I will take care of everything."

Unknown to them, Guinevere has overheard everything. A bitter smile forms on her lips as her chest tightens in pain.

"You cancelled it, huh," she mumbled as if she is speaking right to Gusion. She covered her mouth before her sobs would escape and would reveal her presence.

She hurriedly left the Paxley mansion and shut herself in her own room. She may be a tough girl yet her feelings towards Gusion is genuine and the small hope she has been holding onto is now gone. Getting rejected is what she considered as the most heartbreaking moment especially that she has expected that her wedding with Gusion would commence after years of waiting.

While everyone is in turmoil with his actions, Gusion is busy with another matter.

He is currently humming by the entrance of the Enchanted Forest, waiting for the arrival of the abyssal demons who do their night patrols.

These demons are the underlings of Dyrroth, they stroll around when the night has risen and Gusion had noticed their presence a long time ago. A smirk is formed on his lips for his decision to let them be has given him an advantage. And he is quite thankful that Lesley has not seen them for she might intervene his plans.

As he watches the horizon where the light from the moon could shine upon, he sees no shadow from the vampire. Though he has doubts that Cecilion might not attend their appointment, he still waited. Feeling the cold touch of the breeze and indulging himself with his success so far, his attention is suddenly caught by a familiar voice.

"Dyrroth is going too far. He is the prince of the abyss yet he tries to negotiate with the princess of the Moniyan Empire? Hah! Unacceptable!" Vexana scoffs.

Her skin is pale green, her bones are evident as if she has never eaten for months yet her sharp claws look deadly. Her two huge horns and sharp cheekbones added to her terrifying eyes making her look terrible. Her companion crawls on the ground like a stealthy spider. Its teeth are pointed, even sharper than the greatest predators on the ocean.

"We better overthrow him and let someone else rule over the abyss," Helcurt hisses as his eyes glow up in the dark.

Watching the two demons frowning over the reign of their current prince is such a delight for Gusion. His luck keeps on piling up that if he takes advantage of them, he could get the Magical Cube in no time.

The fireflies that surround the two huge trees of the entrance into the Enchanted Forest suddenly scattered away as if they had sensed some sort of danger. Gusion remains in his hideout where he could overlook the whole place. Vexana and Helcurt have also felt that there is something wrong.

They both guard each other's back upon seeing a shadow that has passed by in a speed of lightning. Their expressions show the alarm they feel, either afraid of being killed but more likely fear of the fact that someone could spill their secret to the hated prince.

Gusion knows who it is, Cecilion has arrived on time. The moon is at its peak of beauty that night, it seems larger compared to the other nights as if something had pulled it closer towards the land. Vexana has summoned her toxic magic while Helcurt remains on all fours on the ground, ready to pounce on his enemy.

Gusion watches how Cecilion makes the two demons tremble with his speed. He might be outnumbered but the mere fact that he's immortal makes it fair enough to fight against two demons.

Vexana turns impatient for she could not clearly see her enemy so she goes all out with her deadly gas. She releases a huge amount of it, coloring the atmosphere green and unable to see through anything. Gusion suddenly feels the sudden surge of panic when he hears Cecilion coughing.

"There you are, you piece of trash," Vexana curses under her breath as she stretches her arm towards Cecilion. "Phantom!"

"Too slow," Cecilion smirks as he stands up on both feet and goes behind the demon. He is about to slit her throat but Helcurt interrupts him and with his double strike, Cecilion gets wounded across his chest.

Helcurt hisses and is about to pounce onto the vampire but Cecilion dodges and strikes him right on its abdomen. Helcurt whimpers as his head hits the tree trunk with a blast. Vexana, on the other hand, grips Cecilion by his neck and digs her pointed claws into his flesh.

"Creatures who stick their noses into someone else's business deserve a painful death," she whispers as the vampire's blood start to color her claws scarlet.

"Creatures who betray their colleagues deserve to vanish," Cecilion states as he stretches his hand and claws at the toxic woman's face. He bends down in pain as Vexana retrieves her hand and more blood gushes out from his wounds.

But the bloody moon is of great help to Cecilion's regeneration, his wounds stitch back into their normal state, leaving no scars at all. His eyes turned redder and his fangs start to reveal themselves.

Helcurt sneakily tries to attack from behind but Cecilion could read every move of his enemies. He turns behind him and grasps Helcurt's fave with only one hand. He chants some ancient spells and with Cecilion's own blood, he ties Helcurt with it as if his scarlet blood is an unbreakable chain.

With his other free hand, Cecilion reaches out to Vexana who is about to assault him. His blood turns into a crimson chain, tying the toxic woman from head to toe, giving her no chances to fight back.

"You, wench!" Vexana curses as she tries to summon her powers but to no avail, she could not do so for Cecilion could cancel her summoning.

Gusion, who is at awe watching, sees the undead knight of Prince Dyrroth walking towards the fighting scene as if he has predicted such event to happen. His horse neighs, giving signal to the others about his presence.

Leomord places his lance behind his horse before setting foot on the ground. He faces Cecilion who is still gripping the two demons. Gusion could not hear what Leomord has spoken of but he witnesses how the vampire releases his captives, giving Helcurt and Vexana their freedom to live once more.

But before they could even feel relieved, Leomord summons his lance and killed the two demons with just one strike. Their blood splatters on the ground and a few drops have stained Cecilion.

Gusion sees Leomord slightly nods his head towards Cecilion as he laid his lance beside him. He motions him to follow suit and from that, Gusion's plan to have Cecilion join the dark abyss is a success.

Cecilion and Leomord walks into the forest until Gusion could no longer see them.

"One card at play, now for the next one," Gusion says to himself as he watches the ashes of the demons scatter away with the wind.

He turns his back and walks into the gates of the city. Thinking that he is alone, Gusion stops on his tracks when he comes face to face with Lesley. She is wearing her usual blue trenchcoat, and her rifle is just behind her. Just like the usual days, her left eye is covered by a black eye patch.

"What does it have to do with you?" she asks him seriously, referring to what she has witnessed about the demons.

"I have nothing to say to you," Gusion replies as he passes by her. He has no intention of letting her know more about his plans. Lesley has known enough information and if she gets to know more, she'll become nothing but a hindrance in the future.

"Harley is nowhere to be found. He might have entered the Enchanted Forest and you doing something at the entrance of the forest is simply not a coincidence," Lesley tells him as if giving a warning but Gusion has no time to deal with her. He has to go back to the laboratory so he says nothing and continues to walk away.

The night starts to darken as the clouds cover the moon, only the lights from the torches light up the city. Lesley's shadow is still visible to Gusion but he chooses to give no attention to her.

Not until she lifts her rifle and immediately pulls the trigger. Gusion summons his blade at a speed of lightning and slices through the bullet that is aimed at him. He runs towards Lesley who has shot another bullet but only got cut in two once again.

Within just a split of seconds, Gusion threatens Lesley with his blade positioned across her neck. His years of learning light elements and training combat, it has now paid off.

"Save those bullets of yours and let them hit me if you're already skilled enough," he whispers on her ear before hitting the back of her neck with the hilt of his blade.

Lesley loses her consciousness and slowly drops on the ground. Gusion lets out a heavy sigh before carrying her into his arms and walks towards the Vance mansion. He sneaks in and let Lesley down by the front of the porch before heading back to the laboratory.