It took hours before Sel stopped crying. She was still angry but not as much as earlier. She excused herself and told Thea and Riz that she wanted some time alone. She soared towards Gailbreeze Mountain. Riz checked on Emerald Wind Village. Thea returned to Yellow Oak Forest.
There was already a makeshift hut in there, a bonfire, and a boiling cauldron.
"How did you make all of these in just a few hours?" Thea entered the hut with awe and glanced at Camus. "When did you get here?"
"Just a few minutes ago," he was watching over his master with a frown. "How can you leave me at the village without a word?"
"You were sound asleep and you also need to recover," Gia reasoned with an apologetic smile.
"And we didn't leave without a word," Juliann added. "We left a note. That's why you are here."
Camus sighed and told them, "Thank you."
The boar seal was done looking through the memories of Asuren and had fallen asleep.
"How is Asuren?" Thea asked because he still looked pale.
"He already woke up," Henry answered. He was lying on another makeshift bed. "His wounds are still healing. I told him to get more rest before we extract the boar seal."
"When can we destroy it?" Thea settled near the bed of Asuren.
"You can destroy the seal but my master has a better idea," Camus seriously said.
"What idea?" Thea furrowed her brows with suspicion.
"Master wants Asuren to use the power of the seals and put an end to the Evil Witch."
^#########^
Asuren opened his eyes and saw Thea sitting next to his makeshift bed. She was tightly gripping his hand. There was anxiety in her eyes that vanished as soon as she noticed him staring at her.
"Asuren," she breathed with relief. "You're finally awake. Is your chest hurting? How about your shoulder?"
"I'm okay," Asuren slowly sat up. "How is Sel?"
"She will be fine," Thea smiled and then seriously asked, "What do you want to do with the boar seal?"
"I want it destroyed. That is the safest thing we can do to the seals," Asuren had seriously answered.
"Master's idea is not that bad. Don't you want to think more about his suggestion?"
"You are supporting that crazy idea?" Asuren asked and then glared at the boar seal. "I guess you didn't tell him everything."
"What does that mean?" Camus looked hurt.
"To make the boar seal dormant within me, your master has to die."
"What?" Camus was horrified. "But if my master dies, you will also die."
"He believes that I can survive the consequence of our pact."
"What?" everyone stared at him with confusion.
"No one had ever survived the consequence of a pact," Camus shook his head. "Asuren will die."
"When someone rips the wings of a fairy, they will be struck by lightning and die," the boar seal had said out of nowhere. "But I heard rumors about fairies surviving such deadly consequences."
"Those were just rumors!" Camus looked at his master with frustration. "We cannot rely on any rumor!"
"How about this?" the boar seal smiled. "Deadly barriers are supposed to be 'deadly'. But here we are, still alive after crossing it."
"You have a seal! Anyone touched by a seal bearer can enter the deadly barrier and survive!"
"How about Asuren and his friends? Are you saying that they carry seals within them?"
Camus fell silent. Asuren too. According to the boar seal, he was a seal bearer. He knew he had to tell his friends but for some reason, he could not.
"Let's just destroy the seal!" Thea said. "That's the plan from the start. We should not make things more complicated."
"If that is your final decision then you can start with it. Destroy the seal within me," the boar seal said with a sigh.
"Asuren's wounds still need to close," Henry said after replacing the bandages on the shoulder and torso of the frequently wounded fairy.
"Let's destroy it now," Asuren seemed to be in a hurry. "The Evil Witch is cunning. She might find a way to take it. I don't want to give her more power."
"Let's start now," Thea agreed. "Asuren can have a long rest after."
Henry nodded and then told them, "An elemental blade is needed to destroy the seal."
"I'll do it," Juliann offered. "We already practiced this a few times. Gia will assist me."
"Let's start," Gia knelt in front of the boar seal. "Don't worry. Henry, Juliann, and I practiced on this a lot of times."
"I'm not worried," the boar seal closed his eyes.
Gia placed both her hands over the chest of the seal bearer. She also closed her eyes and chanted a long spell, until her hands were covered with a faint green light and the chest of the boar seal radiated a crimson glow.
Asuren clutched at his chest that felt like it was on fire. The boar seal seemed to be enduring the same scorching pain with a forehead creased and brows furrowed.
"Asuren…" Juliann glanced at him and was worried.
"Go on," he told his friend. "This is nothing."
Juliann nodded and focused on the chest of the seal bearer. He summoned an emerald wooden blade and pierced it at the heart of the seal bearer.
Asuren closed his eyes as unpleasant memories flashed in his mind. He was at the prison chamber. The Evil Witch was standing in front of him, gripping a purple dagger. His arms and legs were tightly chained against the wall. He had been tortured for seven days. It seemed that his endurance only made the Evil Witch more furious. She wanted him to give her something he had stolen but he could not remember stealing anything. He kept on asking but the Evil Witch only muted his voice. She pricked his chest and sliced it open. The agony was too much for him to bear. If not for the chains binding his arms and keeping him up on his knees, he would have collapsed on the ground and writhed in pain. But all he could do was scream in agony while the Evil Witch tried to pluck his heart out.
"Asuren!!! Wake up!!!"
Asuren jerked awake. He was lying on the floor, sweating a lot, and trembling. Everyone in the hut was staring at him with worry.
"The seal…" he massaged his throbbing chest as he slowly sat up.
"Successfully destroyed," the seal bearer seemed to have become smaller, rounder, and more pinkish. "I returned to my weakest form but I never felt this good," a small smile curved on his lips. "I'm not a seal keeper anymore. You can call me by my name. Vince Evergreen."
"Vince cursed and killed a lot of fairies," Thea handed Asuren a bowl of warm soup. "As the princess of Daybreak Realm, I need to punish him. He and Camus will help us fight the drought. They will stay in Barren Forest until it is properly restored."
"I'll watch over Vince and Camus. I'll make sure they are doing their job well," Gia willingly offered.
"You only want to learn from him," Thea beamed happily.
"Of course," Gia grinned. "I love learning about plants. Helping the withered vegetations come back to life… I want to learn that."
"Gia, let's return to your home," Henry yawned. "I want to get a lot of sleep before learning tricks from Vince and Camus."
^###########^