The morning had come. Anwen and Odette were preparing everything they needed for their trip to Randle Forest. Food, water, some change of clothes, and weapons were all ready. Anwen spent five silver coins to pay for the inn and bought all the provisions. Honestly, Odette felt very bad because Anwen paid for everything, but she really had no money with her to offer to pay some of the expenses. There might be money tucked away in her shirt pocket that was left at Green Castle, but that money was useless because it didn't apply here. "Well, it's done!" said Anwen as soon as they finished arranging the things in a brown duffel bag. Odette carried the bag on her back because she would be sitting in the back of the horse. "Okay, are you ready for an amazing adventure?" "Yes!" Anwen and Odette did a high five then started climbing Dan. This morning, Anwen and Odette looked more intimate, as they were now friends. Perhaps, it would be very difficult for them to part later on. Dan gall
The Randle was a forest that was often dubbed the forbidden forest because it was a den of wild monsters and mythical creatures. Despite the fact, many people were still desperate to enter the forest. Odette walked while stroking the upper arm of her left hand. She felt goosebumps when she saw the trees that were growing so big. She estimated that the trees were as high as one hundred to two hundred meters with tens of meters of trunk thickness. Many of the roots of these trees were sticking out, restraining other trees in the vicinity. Some of them even wrapped around and strangled their own trunks. After looking around for a while, Odette looked up at the leaves above. The leaves were spread wide and overlapped each other tightly, that they blocked the path of sunlight, and because of that the atmosphere in the forest became dark, damp, cold, and foggy. Odette's blue eyes now turned to see the fruits hanging from the branch. The shape of the fruit looked strange and Odette had n
"Don't worry about me and go! I'll catch up with you soon, if you stay here, I can't protect you while fighting them off," Anwen said. Odette was silent for a moment then said, "Okay." After that, she stepped back slowly, turned around, and immediately ran, but the Chimera who was standing next to them immediately jumped to pounce on her. Fortunately, Anwen was no less fast and immediately jumped up while doing a vertical slash that split the two goat heads on the creature's back and aroused the creature's anger. ROARR! The chimera roared very loudly and charged straight at Anwen. The fight was unavoidable. ROARR! Not long after, the other Chimera roared loudly and joined the fight. Slash! Anwen managed to injure the head of the Chimera in front of her and immediately slammed its body to the side when she noticed another attack coming from behind. Anwen's movement made the attack hit the chimera whose head had been injured. ROARR! The chimera roared loudly again when its fri
The chimera jumped to pounce on Anwen but she managed to dodge by sliding out of reach of the creature's claws and stabbing into the creature's chest. However, it didn't do any fatal damage and only provoked the creature to rampage and attack brutally. After seven minutes of fighting and moving continuously, Anwen started to get tired, her speed dropped drastically. Plus the injuries she received, made her even more unable to move fast. Gradually, Anwen's defenses began to be exposed, making it easier for the chimera to inflict damage on her. "Ah!" Anwen was hit by a claw on the shoulder. Blood immediately flowed and covered the ground. Anwen was still on the move, he was desperately fighting to win the fight. In the midst of the battle, as she continued to dodge and counter attack, Anwen was reminded of her older brother teaching her to use the sword. At that time her brother said "True warriors will not back down from the fight. It is better to lose than surrender. When they h
While running, Odette was slightly surprised when she saw a gray-haired man standing in front of her. Her eyes could clearly see the man's face. He was a jerk, but, for some reason, she felt very relieved to see the man in that place. "Aagh! Help me!" she shouted while running, and immediately hid behind Rion, while the chimera immediately jumped to pounce. But Rion also jumped quickly and kicked the creature, so that it was thrown away and hit a tree. Rion landed and planted his feet on the ground smoothly. Seeing this, Odette was flabbergasted as she looked at Rion's back. 'He's so strong! No wonder Anwen said that he is scarier than a monster when he's angry,' Odette thought. The chimera got up again and looked angrily at Rion. "Get out of here and find a safe place," Rion said without turning around as he raised his sword and mounted a stance. "Um." Odette immediately nodded and ran to one of the trees. From behind the tree, she watched Rion fight against the chimera. Rion
'Is he scared too?' Odette wondered in her mind. She looked up slightly and saw Rion who seemed to be watching the monsters that were still passing, then she buried her face in Rion's chest again. If she could get inside that man's body then she would go in and hide there.For some reason being in Rion's arms felt very comfortable and she felt safe.After almost a minute had passed the creature's tail finally flashed."Hah." Rion breathed a sigh of relief and released his arms from Odette but not Odette. She was still holding him very tightly. The man cleared his throat and spoke curtly, "If you don't let me go, I'll think you're a real seductress."Odette, who had been carried away by the comfortable atmosphere in Rion's arms and didn't realize that the tension had passed, opened her eyes in surprise when she heard Rion's words.She then quickly let go of his hand."I-I hugged you because I was so scared," said Odette with a flushed face."Is that true?" Rion asked flatly."O-of cour
*** Slowly, Anwen started to open her eyes. She felt pain in several parts of her body. "Brother… Rion." She muttered under her breath as she remembered the figure of Rion who had saved her in the forest. "Thank goodness, you're awake." Her purple eyes that were looking up at the ceiling shifted to look at the person speaking next to her. "Trishy..." She said weakly, then got up quickly and Trish quickly held her back. "What are you doing? You're still sick," Trish said, trying to make Anwen lie down again, but the girl shook her head. "I'm fine. Where is my brother and Miss Ody?" Anwen asked, looking at Trish. "They're not back yet." "What?!" Anwen's eyes widened. Suddenly anxiety enveloped her and she immediately threw her blanket and wanted to get out of bed, because she wanted to catch up with Rion and Odette, but Trish held her back. "Princess, you are currently seriously injured, so get some rest." "No, Trishy, I'm fine, let's follow Rion and Odette." Anwen insisted.
The night was getting late, Odette couldn't sleep at all. The sounds of the creatures living in the forbidden forest were very disturbing. Howls, roars, even voices that sounded like women laughing and crying alternately sounded from all over. Every now and then, the ground below shook, which was probably caused by the battle of the giant snake-like monsters they had seen earlier. No one would be able to sleep under the circumstances. Odette finally decided to get up and walked over to Rion who was sitting outside the cave, her eyes open and watching the surroundings closely. "Rion." Odette sat next to Rion. "Why don't you sleep?" "Huff, who can sleep like this? How about you? Aren't you sleepy? You've been sitting here for a while. You can go into the cave and lie down, while I keep watch." "I can't entrust my life to you," Rion said flatly which made Odette feel offended. "What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm unreliable?" Odette said, annoyed. Rion flatly answered her w
“Doctor Ody.”“Mia?”Mia smiled and sat beside Odette.“I know you’re feeling scared right now, but we can definitely handle it properly,” Mia said reassuringly.“You’re not afraid of him?”“When Bee was born, and I saw him for the first time, I cried because I remembered when Alvin was born. At that time, I didn’t want to see his face because I hated his father so much. Every time I remembered that, my heart hurt, and I felt bad for having such a thought. Alvin doesn’t know anything, so why should he be hated?”“Mia...”“Bee doesn’t know anything either. He’s a sweet child with a heart as pure as an angel. Why should I be afraid of him?” Mia smiled, then looked at the sky. “Since my parents died, I don’t have anyone anymore. People who should be called family actually treat me like trash. Perhaps even tr
“Odette!” Hans finally came. He quickly approached Odette, who was struggling to get away from one of the firefighters who were holding her and preventing her from getting closer to the flames blazing the house.“Senior, help Bee! BEEE!” Odette let out a hoarse cry.Then Hans was stunned to see Bee being carried out by the firefighter. “Bee?”“Baby, Honey.” Odette immediately dragged her wobbling feet to approach the child, carefully taking him from the firefighter. “It’s okay, Honey. Mom is here. Mom is here.” She rubbed Bee’s back and kissed him as she hugged him so tightly. It wasn’t long before Bee suddenly lost consciousness.“B-Bee? Bee!”“Let’s take him to the hospital!”Odette and Hans rushed into the car and took Bee to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital, Bee was handled by the doctor immediately.“Bee…
In the palace garden, Rion, Trish, and Anwen sat together while enjoying dessert.“What?” Anwen and Trish were shocked to hear of Rion’s plans to retire and leave Panthera.“Are you serious, Your Majesty?” Trish asked hurriedly. “What’s wrong? Why so sudden?”“It’s not sudden. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.”“Then what about Panthera?”“There is you.” Rion casually said it as though it wasn’t something serious, then cut the cake in front of him before eating it in delight.“What?” His eyebrows raised a little upon noticing the sharp gaze from Anwen and Trish. The two of them couldn’t believe what the king had just said.“Your Majesty, your joke isn’t funny at all,” Trish said flatly.“This isn’t a joke.” Rion took a deep breath and then looked up at the sky.
Betelgeuse, Alpha of the Orion constellation.Betelgeuse D. Panther was the star in the hearts of Odette and Rion.“Bee...” Odette kept smiling as she watched Bee’s sleeping face. When the boy was asleep like this, he became very calm.Somehow, every time she looked at Bee, she was like seeing Rion’s figure when he was small.“Mom… Zzz…”“Mom’s here.” Odette chuckled when she heard Bee calling out to her. She remembered Rion also calling her name in his sleep. Indeed, Bee really was the son of Arion D. Panther.“Sweet dream, Honey,” she whispered and kissed the boy’s forehead.She then got off the bed then left the room, walking towards the living room. When she arrived, she saw Mia was busy with piles of fabrics that needed to be sewn.“Mia.”The young woman stopped her activities and turned her head naturally.&ldqu
“Drystan,” Rion called the young man again, and this time, Drystan cast his gaze at him.“Is my father…?” Drystan wanted to ask about his father’s condition but couldn’t finish his sentence. The words stuck in his throat as though, deep down, he had already guessed it.“Did you already know about this?”Drystan nodded with a faint smile, but sadness was evident in his eyes. He told Rion that before going to the capital, he went to Bosa with his father. When his father found out that Aathreya was dead, and so did Rion, he decided to take that step.“He regretted that he never gave any happiness to Odette. If you died, Sister Odette would definitely suffer a lot, and he didn’t want her to suffer anymore. I told you that my father deeply regretted all the things he had done in the past, and now he had proven it. That’s it, I’m leaving,” Drystan said in a self-deprecating man
“Big brother?” As Anwen saw Rion’s fingers moving slightly, she rushed to kneel beside him, followed by Dario.As Rion’s consciousness returned, Dario’s consciousness actually faded.“When… when you meet your sister-in-law, tell her that I’m sorry,” Dario said while looking at Rion wistfully.Anwen was silent. She didn’t give any responses, as she wasn’t sure if there would be a chance to see Odette again or not.Dario’s eyes quivered. They slowly closed before opening again, closed again, and opened again. This continued until his body slumped to the ground helplessly. Luckily, Anwen immediately reacted and supported his back.Dario’s eyes were still open, and he looked in a daze at the cloudy sky above him. At this moment, he had sunken into his trove of memories of Odette.‘I DON’T HAVE A FATHER! MY FATHER IS DEAD!’The image of Odette
Rose sat by the river while Rion lay on her lap, enjoying every second of their togetherness.“Rose, I’m sorry,” Rion said as he looked at the woman, holding her hand, which stroked his forehead gently.Rose smiled gently. “You’ve said it 100 times.”“I am so sorry.”“You’ve said that a hundred times already.”“Since you left, I couldn’t breathe properly every day, and something invisible kept tightening my heart.”“Yes… You’ve said it, and Lucas also told me.”“Lucas?” Rion got up and looked at Rose questioningly.“Yeah. He said Trish told him about it.”“Trish?”When Rose told him everything Lucas had told her, Icarus arrived at the Rose Garden. Anwen was surprised to find Dario and Saintess Angela there.Dario hopped onto Icarus’ back and carried Rion down
Aiden was finally gone as his body was destroyed from within by the combined power of Rion and Aathreya. However, although Aiden was dead, the problem wasn’t really over because Gerald’s soul had already left his body and resided in Rad’s body instead.At the moment, Gerald was floating in the air, under the purple eye that still stood firm in the sky. He raised his hands to activate the Divine Eye, but Icarus came and breathed out a powerful flame, forcing Gerald to move away to escape it.“Narine?” Anwen muttered when he saw the little fairy on the back of Icarus flying towards her.“Get the king onto Icarus’ back,” said Narine briskly.“What?” Anwen and Trish felt puzzled.“Just do it if you still want to meet the king!” Narine exclaimed in a bit of a hurry as if she was being chased by time.Roul, who was listening to their conversation, nodded to Trish as the man lo
Swoosshh…The wind blew against the leaves of the shady trees while the blooming rose swayed gracefully and gave off a sweet fragrance. Several butterflies flew around and perched from one flower to another, showing off their stunning wings.Odette walked among the roses while looking right and left. That place reminded her of the Rose Garden in Green Castle, or… was she actually in the Rose Garden?Her gaze swept around the area, looking for the Green Castle building, but no matter how far she looked ahead, she didn’t see the building anywhere.Tap!Her steps came to an abrupt halt when her eyes fixed on Rion’s figure, who stood a few steps away from her. The man was wearing a charming white cloak with gold thread fluttering slightly. For some reason, Rion looked more handsome than usual.“Rion?”The man smiled gently at her.Seeing that, Odette couldn’t help but feel an endless joy