Voyage Of The Villainess

  An hour ago...

"I'm also curious about that cat." Hyun Jae slowly reached out to the cat that was on Iris' head.

"Could I touch him, what's his name?" She paused midway.

Both Malaya and Iris exchanged glances. 

'Will it be alright if Hyun Jae touches him?'

'I think so?'

'But they are destined enemies. What if he suddenly bit Hyun Jae.'

'His a cat right now, so probably he could not do any harm to her. And besides, if she could remove this cat from my head, I will be overjoyed.'

'Then fine if you said so.' 

Both Malaya and Iris nodded at each other as if they understand each other thoughts. But if they knew that they exactly answer each other thoughts they would surely be surprised.

"He is Kayden," Iris said.

"What a cute cat Kayden is," Hyun Jae said with delight. "Could I pat him?"

"Of course, and if you manage to get him off me, I would be happy."

"If you say so." Hyun Jae started to reach out for Kayden but then...

"Meow..." Kayden all of the sudden jumped out from Iris' head before Hyun Jae could touch him.

"Yes!" Iris rejoiced when the cat was removed from her head. She jumped up and down.

"Oh no!" Hyun Jae exclaimed in fright. "Sorry if I frightened you, come back here!"

Hyun Jae started to run after Kayden.

"Hyun Jae, don't go!" Malaya screamed after her. "It's dangerous to leave here!"

'Oi...' Iris' celebration was cut short when Hyun Jae ran after the cat and Malaya ran after Hyun Jae. "These brats!"

But she paused when a white mist suddenly covered everything. 'What in the world?!'

"Malaya! Hyun Jae!" There was no response, she tried to go after them, but the white mist intensified, making the visibility rate to dropped. She couldn't see a single thing now!

Iris paused her steps. 'I can't recklessly go on. Or I might get lost as well.'

She returned her gaze back at their campsite and strangely enough, it was clear from any mist up to to the forest. 'I need to get that two help!' Iris decided to head to the forest to look for Rein and Elred.

---⚓⚓⚓---

"Hyun Jae!" Malaya continued to scream. As she continued to run, a white mist suddenly emerged from out of nowhere, making everything hard for her to see now. "Where did all of this mist appear all of a sudden?"

"Ahh!" 

'That scream!' Malaya turned in the direction of the scream. 'That's Hyun Jae.'

She immediately ran in that direction as she brought out her Trinity. Her guard was all up as well. She was very well aware of how dangerous the place was right now. In a place where there was low visibility, any monsters with heightened senses could attack her.

With quick and silent steps, Malaya made haste to the source of the scream. 

"Let go of me!" 

"That's definitely Hyun Jae! She's much near now." Malaya hastened more her pace.

Until within the mist, she saw two towering rocks.

Malaya slowed down as she hid behind the rock. She slowly and carefully leaned to check the situation.

The first thing she saw was a huge clearing with torches surrounding it. The mist didn't reach the place.

"Let go of me!" Her gaze went to Hyun Jae who was struggling against the hold of two people covered with black cloaks. They were tying Hyun Jae in some wood. And Kayden too, he was already tied up completely besides Hyun Jae and he seemed unconscious.

"Hyun Jae," Malaya scrutinized the place. There were ten cloaked people on the left, four on the right. And another six that were closed to Hyun Jae.

Then as she turned to the other right corner, there were a lot of people tied in other logs. But then her line of sight noticed a familiar golden hair. 'The crown prince...'

["They also went here but it's been three weeks for them now, and they still haven't come back."] Malaya remembered Hyun Jae's words when they met again.

"So this is where he went."

"But he is not my problem anymore." Malaya returned her gaze back at Hyun Jae who was now completely tied up in a log. The two people just stood on each of her sides.

"Can I take them on all by myself?" Malaya tightened her grip on her Trinity. Then she looked behind her where everything was covered with mist. 'I can't possibly go back and ask for help as well. Oh wait, I've got my talismans.' Malaya said as she tried to get one of her talismans on her satchel. But she couldn't grab her satchel.

'Oh darn.' Malaya remembered that she dropped her satchel on the place they seated on the campfire.

'What terrible luck I have?' Malaya cursed herself for being this careless. 'I have no choice, I'll just look for an opportunity to attack there could...'

Malaya's eyes widened when she felt someone touch her back. She immediately turned around, pulled the arm of the unknown assailant, and forced him to the ground. Malaya glanced if any of the enemies heard her. She sighed in relief when none were looking in her direction.

She then glanced back to her assailant but her eyes widened in surprise to see a familiar green head. 

"Sir Oliver, is that you?"

"Lady Malaya, it's been a while."

'That voice, it's definitely him.'  But Malaya didn't let go of him in this instance. "What are you doing here?" She asked with great caution.

"We came here to investigate the Hellarez but all of sudden our group got ambushed by those cultists and I'm the only one who escaped."

'Just as what Hyun Jae said, but did he just say, "Cultist?"

"It is the Tenebris Cult."

That's when Malaya noticed that there were bandages covered on the right arm where she was locking. A red liquid was starting to spread from the once white bandage.

That was the time Malaya let go of Oliver. Then she returned her gaze back at Hyun Jae who was trying to break free.

"Then if they found out that Hyun Jae is the Saintess, she would be in such great danger."

"Hyun Jae?" Oliver exclaimed in shock as he went to look where Malaya was looking.

"Why is she here?" 

"She came here to look for both of you when you didn't return."

Oliver clutched his head. 'This is not within my plan.'

Malaya looked at him with suspicion but there was nothing she could do right now to find what made him suspicious.

"When I have a chance, I'll go save Hyun Jae," Malaya said which made Oliver return his gaze to her. "I told you to protect her, but now because of your actions, she is in harm."

"..."

There was a brief moment of stillness in the air. Oliver eventually spoke after a few moments.

"How do you plan to save her?"

'So he would say anything about that,' Malaya sighed inwardly then decided to tell her plan.

"If some of them fall asleep, I will use that as a chance to wipe them off one by one."

"You can't do that," Oliver stated.

"Why?"

"Lady!" Before they could speak, they heard a shout of a man.

"Theo!" Hyun Jae shouted back. 

A man with brown hair, tall and sturdy built was rushing head-on towards Hyun Jae's location. 

"I will save you!" Theo brought out a huge sword from his back but before he could get close to Hyun Jae...

*Fwoosh!*

Multiple white nets flew towards him. 

"What?!" Theo raised his sword to slash the incoming nets. It shattered and fell to the ground.

"Don't think, you can stop by..." on shattered binds of the net sudden electric charge came out from it. "Ah!"

"Theo!" Hyun Jae shouted in fright as she watched her friend who brought her to this island being electrified until he lumped on the ground.

"That..." Malaya furrowed her brows.

"You'll never be able to get near to their captives until you first destroy the source of those things," Oliver said.