The gray firebolt went out before it could reach Ru. However, he lost his balance and fell from the tree. But he was lucky today to be rescued by someone at the last moment.
The man who caught Ru in the air as he was falling asked, "Is this... him?"
A silk fabric floated from the sky and took Sorcerer Heise's form as it descended to the ground. "I know this gorgeous creature all too well," he approved. "He is the final clone."
"He's a child," the monarch said, clearly disappointed.
"But he'll grow," Heise said, grasping for the boy in the monarch's arms. "Give him to me, and I'll make him grow instantly."
"Do you wish for him to be deprived of his childhood?" the monarch asked, his piercing gaze enough to stop the sorcerer in his tracks.
"He's already twelve. When you think about it, he doesn't have much left of it," Heise muttered, trying to dodge the point.
"I hope he won't get hurt and that, when the time comes, he'll reunite me with the original," the monarch said, bending down to gently lay the child at the base of the tree.
"I'll do everything I can to protect him. Don't worry," Heise said, greeting the drizzling rain by opening his bamboo umbrella.
"I hope you can," the monarch replied.
Heise did not remain idle while the monarch took care of the child. He pulled a piece of paper with the amulet marking from his belt and lit it with the jade flame in his necklace. He swiftly dropped the amulet toward the oak tree near him.
A whirlwind of brilliant light started to encircle the old oak, eventually becoming a veritable jade twister. Ozone wafted across the air, and invisible electricity sparked with it. The jade light shimmered around the edges of the portal as it solidified before them, leading to another dimension.
"If anything happens to him," the monarch began but paused.
"It won't, I assure you, Your Excellency," Heise replied, his gaze wandering to avoid the tension.
The monarch took off his cloak and draped it over the child before rising to confront him. "Notify Lord Dekaris Zharqasti that I shall not engage in his game unless I possess the original piece."
"Of course, I will notify him," Heise said, trailing after the monarch. "But you worry for nothing. Great Ruler Ru will be in the game. Of course, if the demons leave the last clone alone. You only need to—"
The monarch stopped abruptly, issuing a stern warning. "Don't even mention my daughter!"
"As you wish..."
Shortly after, the two entered the swirling jade gateway, the shimmering light enveloping them. The portal subsequently collapsed, leaving in its wake only the ancient oak and the scattered leaves.
The person, who had surreptitiously observed them with her candy-red eyes, slowly emerged from the bush where she was hiding. She had difficulty breathing due to her injuries. Before, she distracted the hellhound that was attacking Ru and drew its wrath on herself. Because she couldn't adjust to her new body, she struggled to fight it.
Unfortunately, the human body's energy was too low to match her magic power. Still, she was able to slow down the hellhound's time. Despite this, the hellhound broke the limited time barrier around it and leaped on her. That dog had heavily injured her. It was on the verge of biting her neck when that unexpected moment happened. That moment, the hellhound was quickly burned to ashes in gray fire.
Then she appeared to notice a silky figure gliding through the sky. She tried to reach Ru but was hindered by her injuries. She had made it halfway by creeping. Upon arriving at the bush, she spotted two men and came to a halt.
Who they were, she had no idea.
Now she was trying to reach Ru again. But the human body had lost a lot of blood. It had become impossible for her to endure the pain any longer. She fell in front of the tree under which Ru was lying.
The last moan that came out of her mouth was "Sorry, dad, I couldn't do it."
Scout leaders rescued the two missing youngsters before daylight. Ru was resting soundly at the bottom of the tree. Vaelan was found laying on the ground, soaked in blood.
The forest was lighted by blue and red flashing lights as one was loaded into an ambulance and the other into a police cruiser.
At the crack of dawn, the Thargata family, Vaelan's distant relatives who had adopted him, were making their way between the hospital and the police station.
Vaelan swiftly recovered and told the authorities, "The bear attacked us," while his stepfather confirmed Ru's innocence.
However, upon interrogation, Ru said "Demons attacked" instead of "Bear attack," so he was transferred to the hospital's psychiatric department.
Less than a day later, his first visitor arrived, and it was no coincidence that it was Mr. Thargata.
"I want to save you, Lirui," Mr. Thargata said and placed his large hand on Ru's shoulder.
"Why?" Ru inquired, leaning to the side and attempting to pull his shoulder free of the man's clutches.
"You know I can't stand seeing you in pain," Mr. Thargata said, leaning slightly towards him.
"You know how much I want to kill you," Ru said firmly, standing up and baring his teeth. "Go away! Otherwise, I will report you to the police."
"Tsk, that's too bad." Mr. Thargata rose up and showed the boy how tall he was. "What do you plan to tell the police?" As the boy took a step back, the man added, "Mr. Thargata is actually a demon, girls." Then he winked.
With an elevated head, Ru met the man's gaze. "I think you're not a demon; you're something worse than that."
"What am I?" Mr. Thargata asked with a grin.
"You're a fucking pervert," Ru said calmly, and he added, raising his voice, "Rest assured, someone will believe me."
Mr. Targatha pressed his index finger to his lips. "Shhh!"
Ru stated, gazing at the wall clock, "You are unable to silence me in that manner." He wondered how much this guy paid to visit him. Even though visiting hours were over, no one came or went.
Mr. Thargata was walking around him when he suddenly stopped and leaned into his ear and said, "You say goodbye to your grand piano by blaming me."
"Don't talk like I had a piano and I was going to lose it," Ru grumbled.
"Maybe you would it," Mr. Thargata said, heading towards the door.
Ru remained silent.
"I promised I wouldn't touch you," Mr. Thargata remarked and looked back over his shoulder. "And so I did."
"What were your intentions?" Ru asked sternly.
"I just wanted to play, that's all," Mr. Thargata said.
Ru clenched his fists and said, "I'll think about it."
After hearing the door close, he flung the first object he found.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"