"What do you mean they are not dead!"
The table, whose legs were too thick for a normal person to grasp with two arms, split in half with a single blow. The Third Elder, rapidly pulling his thin arm back, shouted with anger. The stone walls shook; the sound caused some of the hanging paintings to fall to the ground and the windows to crack.
"We don't know, sir; everyone saw the Blood Valley portal closing!"
The assistant making the explanation included the Third Elder present there too since his own life was on the line. He thought he couldn't deny what he saw with his own eyes, but right now the skinny man seemed not to be in his right mind.
"And on top of that, you are saying they crippled what remained of the Black Lily Clan and many service squad disciples?"
"Sir, it was only one person who did this. Jashua, whom the others call Lord, fought alone!"
"Where was the girl next to him?"
"She appeared after the battle ended!"
"Well, is there any news from that idiot calling himself the new representative?"
"No, sir!"
When the Third Elder threw himself into his seat, he curled like a snake; while the darkness in his eyes increased, he muttered to himself.
"Take care of them during the Clan and Fiefdom visits!"
While these were happening at the top of the tower with dark clouds hovering above it, two people were hugging each other tightly in the room inside the Temple. Jashua didn't seem like he would let go of Lareina, whom he hadn't seen for a year; they stood like that for a long time.
"I missed you so much, Lareina!"
The young girl was a bit surprised by the actions of the man she was with just six days ago, but judging by her smile revealing the dimple on her right cheek, she was inwardly happy.
"I missed you so much too!"
They lay down on the wide bed; Jashua, gathering his lover's hair with his hand, started looking at her face. She looked so much like the woman standing behind the two girls in the painting on the wall that it was very hard for anyone not to fall in love seeing her this way.
Jashua immediately covered the girl's face again; even this thought disturbed him. He loved Lareina and couldn't accept the possibility of someone else feeling close emotions towards her. Fortunately, a pair of lips touching his lips made him calm down; knowing his feelings were mutual felt good.
When the two lovers left themselves to the bosom of the night, the beautiful girl in green clothes was watching the valley from inside the Garbage House. Even though six hundred years passed where she stayed closed, she found everything in its place when she returned. When Jashua told her in surprise that he stayed inside the formation for a year, she didn't make a sound; there was no need for anyone but herself to know the change she experienced.
In the following days, she rarely moved from her place. Sometimes she watched the battles Jashua fought with the five, and sometimes she listened to what Lareina experienced as a result of drinking her mother's remains. Mora's sister had almost come to the end of the remains, and when she showed the drawings she made during this process, Nafız discovered something very important. Before, her drawings also looked exactly like the real thing, but now the energy flow on the paper could be seen with the eye.
"It is admirable that you made this much progress in a short time; I am dying to see what will happen!"
Their last conversations with Lareina were like this. Nafız rested her head going to the valley for a few days, and when the announcement she expected came, she returned.
"Sir, the sect is sending everyone compulsorily to visit their clans or fiefdoms this year!"
When one of the five shouted in surprise, Nafız took her first step inside from the ruined wall on the valley side.
"Jashua, Lareina, pack up. We are going to the Bloody Moon Fiefdom!"
The Young Count didn't make a sound; Lareina was also sitting calmly next to him, but the man among the five who took on the role of spokesperson immediately stepped forward.
"Sir, this might be a trap!"
Looking at the panicked state of the man, Nafız answered spreading her mouth.
"I hope it is!"
Three days later, inside the mechanical device for transportation purposes, Nafız, Jashua, Lareina, and the five were ready to travel. The man thinking the arrangement was a trap was still grumbling.
"What do you mean there are no mechanical devices for defense purposes left; they gave them to everyone else!"
Jashua silenced the man with a dirty look; he knew Nafız didn't like this kind of empty talk, but there was a big change in her lately. She seemed foreign to what was happening around her, didn't talk much, and spent a large part of her time watching the surroundings on her own.
This didn't change when they set out either; although there was nothing outside but blood-red cracked earth, Nafız had directed all her attention there. They traveled for a full day; while the others were chatting, the red-haired girl very rarely opened her mouth.
"Stop!"
This was one of them too; with the order she gave to the command system of the mechanical vehicle, the journey stopped.
"Open the door!"
The two-winged door opened, and the three-step stairs fixed to the ground. Nafız was in black from head to toe today; when she stepped on the ground, the crumbling soil rose into the air forming a red pattern.
"How much longer do you intend to hide!"
She shouted to the empty space; there was no one reacting. She didn't move from her place; ten breaths later, ten people in gray battle outfits appeared. They surrounded the mechanical vehicle for transportation purposes; they had uniform daggers in their hands.
Neither their clothes nor their weapons gave a clue about their identities; it was very hard to know who they were while only their eyes were visible.
"We are quite far from the settlement lands of the Holy Blood Sect; I cannot continue to feel your dirty energy for another half day!"
When Nafız spoke, Jashua attempted for the door, but the red-haired girl raised her hand into the air and stopped him. She knew it would be better for him to be next to Lareina and the five.
"So you were aware from the beginning and knowingly decided to get yourself killed. They said you were a bit cracked, but you are seriously crazy!"
When one of the ten people stepped forward and spoke, the others were laughing out loud. From the moment they started trailing, they had tried not to reveal themselves so as not to miss them; how could they not laugh at what they just heard.
"You don't need to hide your blood energies; did you think your identities wouldn't be known when you dress up like clowns?"
Nafız, taking a cold-blooded stance in response to the condescending actions of her adversaries, suddenly changed the atmosphere of the environment with the words coming out of her mouth. The moment she said blood energy, the laughter ceased, and the tension began to rise rapidly.
"Kill her!"
They all attacked at the same time; indeed, their weapons were wrapped in a blood-red energy.
"Blood Dome!"
In the blink of an eye, an area with the mechanical device in the middle appeared; the dome consisting of red energy walls separated the enemies and Nafız's group. The ten people didn't stop when they saw the Blood Dome; while bringing their weapons down on the walls of the shield, they didn't neglect to talk either.
"You little bitch, let's see how long you can sustain this technique!"
The voice of the man shouting opening his mouth to the end was suddenly cut off when he came to the end of the sentence. While the words were coming out, an arrow covered with blood energy went in.
"That is one, nine left!"
Nafız, lowering the composite compound bow in her hand, murmured quietly. The arrow she shot had passed the Blood Dome, entered through the enemy's mouth, and come out from his brainstem.
"Be careful, she can attack!"
"Come on man, how can such a thing happen!"
While the nine people were attacking unconsciously, they suddenly had to take a defensive stance. Contrary to what they knew, this Blood Dome allowed attacking from the inside.