CHAPTER 55: WHERE THERE’S NO SHELTER

"What happened?!" King Shion asked, surprised.

"Yuecheng passed out," Sayaka replied, panicked. "But he protected us from that... weird thing!"

"Lay him on the bed," the king said, standing up.

"Wait, my lord, I’ll help you," Sayaka said quickly, but Shion managed to navigate the room by memory alone, moving carefully despite his blindness.

He sat down on the chair by the desk.

"I’ll stay here. Go call the doctors."

"Yes, my lord."

*

Shien yawned and stretched. Ayame, eyes glued to the next tome, read through each line for clues. Rouhuo did the same, helping her mistress search.

"How long has it been?" Ayame asked, not lifting her eyes from the book.

Shien sighed.

"Two, maybe three days."

"There’s still hope. We’re just finishing the first shelf."

"Yeah, but before we get through these piles of useless junk, it’s gonna take forever," Shien muttered and tossed the book in his hand into the corner.

*

Wake up right now. You can’t rest.

I overdid it with the magic – my fault, but don’t fail me now, Yue

S-sorry... why are you so mad?

Because we’ll soon have a goddamn army of gods on our hands. I can still channel my old power through your body, but your siblings. They might end up being completely useless, and we’ll all be dead because of it. But hey, no pressure.

You’re telling me this now?!

Yuecheng blinked slowly, his vision clearing. Sayaka stood over him, along with one of the royal doctors.

"Master Yuecheng, can you hear me?" she asked, anxious.

"Yes. Thank you for worrying, but I don’t need to be examined."

"I insist the doctor checks on you," said King Shion. "From what Sayaka told me, you fainted after protecting them from unknown attackers. I’m grateful, but I’m also worried about your health. I won’t force you, but please allow at least a brief examination."

"Fine," Yuecheng replied with a sigh.

Just as the young prince expected, the doctor found no signs of illness or injury. He bowed and left.

Ugh, I hate playing Yue. It’s so damn boring.

Hoshizuma thought, then guided Yue’s body out of the room. Yan Mo was standing guard at the door.

"Yan Mo, I need you."

The guard bowed deeply.

"My deepest apologies, young master," he said, his voice full of regret.

Yuecheng – or rather, Hoshizuma – raised a brow in confusion.

"W-why are you apologizing? You’ve been guarding the door and my mother, just like you promised."

"I lost track of your mother. I can’t find her anywhere – not her closest maid Rouhuo either. It’s a failure I can’t forgive myself for, a stain on my honor that gnaws at me from the inside."

Hm, Ayame probably went to the library and took Rouhuo with her.

Yuecheng smiled.

"Don’t worry so much. My mother’s always gone her own way. It’s not easy to keep an eye on a fox who loves slipping away," he said with a small laugh.

Yan Mo let out a short chuckle and straightened up.

"Keep your head up, Yan Mo. If you really think you messed up, here’s your chance to make it right. Come with me to the Hoshigane courtyard. I’ve got a feeling something bad might happen."

"As you command, my lord," Yan Mo said and bowed.

"Master, wait!" Sayaka called, stepping into the doorway. "Please tell me where you’re going. King Shion’s in charge of keeping you safe while your mother’s away."

Yuecheng sighed.

"To the courtyard. Just for a walk. Tell my uncle not to worry – Yan Mo’s coming with me."

"A-as you wish," she nodded and returned to the royal chamber.

Yuecheng gestured to his guard, and the two made their way through the palace halls.

*

Maldie, Gari, and the three royal children finally reached the courtyard. On the way, Gari bought everyone something sweet, which lifted their spirits. The boys were teasing each other again, while Yuri stayed quiet – still gloomy, but at least not crying anymore.

When they entered palace grounds, Yuri asked Maldie to put her down.

"L-looks like we’ll be staying here a little longer. Hope you don’t mind," Maldie said, trying to joke, though her voice trembled.

Gari gave her a soft, carrying look.

I’ll ask Shion to give us the same room. Don’t worry, love – tonight, I’ll be there for you and hold you tight.

The half-dragon thought, glancing at her partner.

"Nooo, we won’t! It’s gonna be awesome! You and Gari are sooo cool, right Shion?" Asahi said happily. Shion the Second didn’t answer. "Come on, say something!"

"That’s true," Yuri said shyly. "They’re really cool."

Maldie laughed for real this time – it cheered her up, even if just for a moment. Then she sighed.

Well, now we have to go see Shion and tell him what happened. I still can’t believe Yuri has such a strong and amazing magical power.

Just then, Yuecheng and Yan Mo appeared in front of them.

"Yue, what are you doing here?" Maldie asked.

"Are you all okay?" Yue asked, genuine concern in his voice. "I had a feeling something might’ve happened to you, but I blacked out a moment ago. The palace was attacked by lesser gods of shadow – I managed to take them out. I was afraid something like that might’ve hit you too."

"Our home’s gone," Gari said through clenched teeth. "Some asshole–"

"Gari! Watch your mouth around the kids!" Maldie scolded her.

"Sorry. Some... guy burned our house and bakery to the ground. But Yuri took him out with a single look."

Yuecheng’s eyes met Yuri’s for a second – she had her veil back on.

Interesting. I’m guessing she acted purely on instinct under strong emotion, which let her take out a god in a single glance. Not bad.

That means we’re in a slightly better position than I thought – but even so, our chances are still terrible. If Haru were back to normal, we’d stand a better chance.

Hurry up, Ayame – time’s running out. We don’t know when Fourth’s worms will strike again.

"Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re all safe," Yue said calmly. "Yuri, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had such strong power", he lied.

"Th-thanks," Yuri mumbled, unsure how to react. She still couldn’t wrap her head around her new ability – much less being praised for it.

"Maybe it’s better that we all stay here together," Yue said. "We can look out for each other."

"Yue, maybe it will sound weird but..." Asahi said hesitantly. "You seem... different."

Yue felt both boys’ gazes on him.

"Yeah, something’s off about him," Shion the Second added.

Yue gave them a cold look.

"You’re not, like... possessed, right?" Yuri asked nervously. Yue blinked, surprised by the question.

"No. Just tired."

"But–" Asahi started, but Gari cut him off:

"Hey, it’s not nice to talk about people like that. Why don’t you three stay here, play outside or something, while Grandma and I go talk to your dad?"

"Wait, one of us should stay with them," Maldie said. "What if something happens? Yue just said the palace isn’t safe either."

"You’re forgetting Yan Mo’s here. He’s worth at least four of me," Gari grinned, amused by her own joke, then turned to the guard. "Please, keep an eye on them."

"Of course. I’ll protect them with my life," Yan Mo said seriously.

Maldie and Gari nodded, then passed him and Yuecheng, disappearing through the palace’s main doors.

"Are you sure we did the right thing leaving them?" Maldie asked. "What if something happens? Are we both really needed to talk to Shion?"

"Maldie, don’t panic. Yan Mo can handle anything – and if not, Yuri’s got that power of hers. One look from her, and it’s over. Besides, it’s just a quick talk with Shion; we’ll be back before anything bad happens. And yeah, I do need both of us – there’s something extra I want to discuss with him."

Maldie sighed.

"If you say so."

Gari took her hand.

"Let’s go," she said firmly, looking into her eyes.

"Yeah," Maldie nodded, giving her a quick, soft kiss.

*

Meanwhile, Yan Mo stood quietly in the shade. The sun was blazing down.

"So, what do you guys want to play?" Yuecheng asked.

"Tag!" Asahi said instantly.

No way. We’ll be exhausted before the battle even starts.

"It’s too hot. We’ll get tired too fast," Yue said.

"Then hide-and-seek!" Shion the Second suggested.

Sure – split up and make it easier for the next enemy to kill us one by one.

"The courtyard’s too big. I’m not searching all over that," Yue replied calmly.

"Ugh, you’re no fun!" Asahi groaned.

"What about you, Yuri? Do you want to play something?" Yue asked.

"N-no," she said quietly.

Yue noticed a shadow above the three siblings. That wouldn’t have been strange – if it weren’t growing with every passing millisecond.

If not for Yan Mo, who grabbed the three kids and jumped away, a massive god would’ve crushed them into a bloody pulp right where they stood.

Yuecheng looked up. The being was huge – nearly two and a half meters tall, muscular, with violet skin and black fragments of armor fused into his body – meteorite plating. His face was fused with a horned helmet, with his raw, bloody gums and nasty yellow teeth sticking out.

Yuecheng smirked with disdain.

The first higher god The Fourth One decided to send against them was Tenjū — the God of Gravity.