"Ugh, I'm not feeling well. My stomach hurts," a girl suddenly cried out near Lady Nanarin, clutching her abdomen tightly, her eyes darting around in distress.
"What's wrong, Rien? You only had a few dates," Kee—the girl with the strange hat—spoke, turning to Rien, who had just pulled down her black mask. She was perfectly fine just moments ago. Maybe it was the truck's constant jerking motion, never pausing for even a second.
Without another word, Rien bolted toward the corner where Rivta was seated and vomited into the bucket beside him. Refta instinctively recoiled, clearly disgusted by her sudden outburst. Motion sickness? In this day and age? he scoffed internally. And why does she seem weaker than the rest of her group?
"Damn it, watch where you're throwing up!" Refta growled, brushing his hair back with an irritated breath. Cloud was still fast asleep, as was Black—neither stirred despite the commotion.
"Here, take this. It's a calming elixir. Smells like perfume," said Vanessa gently, rubbing Rien's back as she offered a small vial. Rivta blinked in disbelief, questioning whether his eyes were deceiving him. Vanessa? That cruel girl? Being… kind?
"Thank you, I'm okay now," Rien replied softly. Nanarin, relieved, returned to chanting her incantations.
"What's your problem, boy?" Rien snapped, turning back to Refta. "She just threw up—something that could happen to anyone. Stop playing the mysterious, brooding type. It's honestly pathetic."
Whoa, Refta thought, she actually has the nerve to talk to me like that? He let out a low chuckle. Of course, things would've been different if he still wore his crown. If only he still had his jewel—she'd be begging on her knees for forgiveness.
"I agree with her. I never liked him. He's so full of himself," Vanessa added sharply. The scorn in their gazes made Rivta's blood boil. He already didn't like them—now they were climbing the list of people he wouldn't mind eliminating.
"Get out of my way," he muttered, struggling to keep his composure. The last thing he needed was to lose control and massacre everyone. Not now—not when he was finally on the right path toward his goal.
"The truck's big enough. You can walk around us, Your Highness," Rien mocked, mimicking his tone. The veins in Refta's neck and arms began to swell. "Do you think you're royalty or something, expecting us to obey you, spoiled brat?" Vanessa's voice dripped with venom. She enjoyed breaking egos, taking delight in provoking others.
"I swear, I'll end you both. I will—" But before Refta could finish, a sharp, blinding pain pierced his skull.
"Damn it—not again. Not here…" His vision began to darken. It was the same overwhelming sensation he always got—an uncontrollable rage, laced with a deadly urge to kill. And then, he collapsed, unconscious.
"Don't touch him. One move and you'll die," Cloud warned coldly as he stepped forward. He, Lady Nanarin, and Eliza had all felt the sudden surge of Refta's insane energy. Even if it was only for a few seconds, this boy… he's far from normal, Cloud thought grimly, approaching now that the girls had backed away.
"No one could feel this kind of energy unless they've faced the cursed Jewel Demons," Eliza said, as she began sprinkling fine white sand around Refta in a perfect circle, chanting healing spells from the legendary rank.
"Mina, I need you to interfere with the presence above. Just three minutes," Eliza instructed in a strange tongue—one that Nanarin and Cloud somehow understood. She stared at Refta with deep regret and whispered, "He's a demon."
Nanarin placed a firm hand on her shoulder, shaking her head—signaling her to say no more. This isn't the time or place to discuss his condition.
"Isolation," Mina uttered.
The surroundings shifted instantly. A dark void enveloped the space, cutting everyone else off. Only Eliza, Nanarin, Cloud, and Mina remained inside.
"You're not going to purge him, are you?" Cloud asked, visibly shaken. His hands trembled. He'd seen an exorcism before—when a friend had been possessed by one of the cursed Jewel Demons. It was something no one should ever witness.
"No. It would take a thousand legendary healers to exorcise a creature like this. I'm only going to suppress it," Eliza replied, beginning her ritual. Nanarin, anxious, stroked her own forehead.
There's no way this boy knows what kind of power is trying to take over his body. He must be suffering, Mina thought as tears streamed down her cheeks.
The sound of their hearts pounding in sync filled the space. Anyone who was watching could tell—Refta was no ordinary civilian, regardless of what his ID claimed.
I have to file a report about this development to my superior as soon as we reach a secure relay point, Cloud thought, keeping his eyes locked on Refta.
Refta, writhing in pain, screamed as the blue flames surrounding him deepened into a darker hue. Mina shut her eyes tight—she couldn't bear to see him like this.
Will he survive? she whispered to herself. He has to survive.
"No mom, stop,"
Mina screamed as if she lost her mind to To intersect the rituals when she threw her body to embrace him.
"Stay away, Mina, this is not the time for your extra emotion, I will not be able to protect you from his energy for a longer period " Her mother responded with a blatant tone.
"But I am ... mom the prophecy ... I saw that everything related ... I ... it is..."
She had been cut off by the scream of Nanarin as she pulled Mina backward, saying,'You cannot help him unless he wants it, I understand'
Nanarin's response was indicative of the facts that Mina hidden, but she never told her vision on anyone.
"Oh, I'm done,"
Eliza said staring at Refta for a really long time, "Never ever get in my spells way, for such un true what ever hallucination You have not yet controlled your strength, and the last time you thought it was a prophecy you damn ended in danger because of your un stable vision."
Her mother held her hands tidly, Mina was about to cry.
'But what I saw was the end of the world by his hand,'
Mina did not speak those words out, but it was written in her face.
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