276 Sorry for what...? II (1/2)

Knucker was resting on his throne inside of a castle covered by shadows when he heard the sound of wings flapping outside his door.

He stood up to see what was the source of the noise and gazed at a massive green dragon flying in the distance coming closer and closer once he opened his doors until the beast landed on the ground right in front of him.

”So my baby girl has returned...” he commented while observing the dragon shrinking in size and slowly turning into a girl with green skin, vines for hair, and clothes made out of leaves.

”Hey, boss... I'm back...” Dria replied as she walked towards the castle to rest.

”Where were you...?” Knucker asked as he shoved his arm in front of her to block her path.

”What do you mean? You asked me to kill stick-girl's blond friend!”

”I did? Oh... I see... Sorry... It's been kinda hard to keep track of what's going on lately...” Knucker replied while rubbing his head.

”Did your powers return?”

”No... Aside from that strange phenomenon yesterday, I still haven't been able to see anything... Evlin must have disappeared again...”

”You think she will show up for the game?”

”She will... I couldn't see much yesterday, but I did see her and her pack of idiots coming to us just like I wanted... Everything will work out...”

”Glad to hear, boss... Plus, your body's location will continue to stay hidden now that the telepath is gone...”

”Oh... That... Right... I don't care about that any more...” Knucker admitted while returning back inside.

”You- You don't??? What!?” Dria gasped as she began to run after him.

”I'm planning to reveal my body's location at the end of the game, so... Doesn't really matter if evlin finds out or not...” Knucker explained as he reached his throne and took a seat once again.

”Then why the hell did you sent me to kill that guy??”

”Because his absence will set the stage for another person to play in the games... Trust me... I know what I'm doing...”

Dria began to ponder for a moment, ”Another person...? Who...?”

Part 2

”Ashley!!” Evlin screamed as she spotted her sister appearing on top of a griffin alongside Lilith, Ellie, Gustav, Ria, and Marcia.

The mage wondered how that monster was managing to carry so many people at once but then she noticed that its claws were coated with a pair of metal gauntlets, which meant that Marcus was giving the beast a power boost right now.

Evlin and the others hurried to greet their friends resulting in everyone jumping on top of each other to deliver a tight group hug, resulting in all of them falling on the ground while laughing.

”Oh!!! It's so good to see you guys!!” Ria claimed as she started to squeeze Evlin like a balloon.

”Ah! Is that Ria!!??” Ellie screamed while pointing to the black-haired woman.

”Ah!! Yes!! I finally managed to meet all of the heroes from my aunt's tales!!!” Ellie shouted while fist-bumping the sky.

”Oh... I like her already!” Ria commented.

Evlin rushed to hug Ashley as well much to the woman's surprise, ”E- Evlin?? You are not mad anymore??”

”Of course I'm mad you idiot!! But I'm also glad to see that you're okay! So I'm multi-tasking right now by being mad and glad at the same time!”

”Oh... O- Okay...” Ashley whispered while not fully understanding where they were standing but still glad that her sister was happy to see her again.

Daren finally reunited with Lilith but almost had a heart attack upon seeing her restless expression.

”Lilith!! What happened to you???”

”I'm just a little tired... Don't worry... How's Lance?” Lilith asked followed by suddenly noticing her lover's face, ”And what happened to your ear???”

”Ah! Don't worry, it's not a big deal... I'm gonna ask Auren to fix that in no time... I'm fine, We are all fine...”

”Oh... I- I see... I'm glad...”

Claire, Joseph, and Dia just watched as all of the adults took their time greeting and exchanging words of gratitude for realizing they were all safe and sound and a small moment of confusion took place while they explained what happened to Marcus.

”Man... They look really happy to see each other...” Joseph commented.

”Well... Yeah...” Claire agreed, ”They're like a family...”

Joseph continued to gaze at their faces, their smiles, their laughs, ”I don't know... My parents are my family, and I don't think I ever saw them making a face like that while talking to me...”

Dia gazed at the group as well, ”At least you remember the faces of your parents...”

”Oh, my gods... You guys are such downers...” Xadi groaned while laying on Joseph's head.

”Sorry sensei...” the boy murmured.

”Don't worry, my pupil! Once we are rich and famous, we can buy new parents for you!”

Claire raised an eyebrow, ”I don't think that's how life works...”

Xadi just waved at her, ”When you have money, you get to decide how life works!”

”Oh my freaking God...” Claire whispered while rolling her eyes.

She then went behind Joseph's and Dia's back and pushed the two forward so they could greet Evlin's friends as well. They felt a little uncomfortable at first but soon opened up once they noticed Ria's casual way of speaking to them.

”Ah!! You must be Ellie's little buddies! I'm Evlin's buddies as well! That means we are fellow buddies!! I'm Ria!”

The three kids just giggled at that silly comment.

”Hi! I'm Claire!”

”I'm Joseph!”

”I'm bored...” Xadi stated.