Constantly reminding himself that he was only doing it for the points and nothing else.
[Do I sense care and worry for a friend?]
HTC teased Hisha with a wiggling brow emoji.
'I need the points and my butler back, that's all.' Hisha lied and pretended as though he hadn't replied in any sense.
"Darling!" Alta squealed in delight at his presence behind her.
[Exp+3]
Yoru growled in suppressed rage at the unprecedented change of events, taking a step back as she reconsiders her options.
"Do you think I would sit by while you try to cuckold me?!" Hisha's cold voice tore through the once silent environment.
A clap of thunder could be heard as the sky darkened and the cloud gathered and so did flashes of lightning travel through them with Hisha's mood.
Bringing his hand down in a bid to break off her connection, lightning raged down in their midst.
Yoru had managed to pull her partners away from the blast but was pushed farther away from Hisha's location.
Her teeth clenched, blaming herself for not envisioning there would be a thorn in her plans.
'They were not supposed to be here at this time!'
With their Sux depleted, Yoru could do nothing but retreat.
"If you think you've won, you must be delusional!" Yoru screamed while encasing herself and the two hooded partners in a crystal.
Alta growled and protracted her claws, "should I kill them?"
Evaluating the situation, he could feel that Yoru was hiding a trump card that could easily overpower Alta.
There was still the mystery of how plausible it was that he would rescue Alta–if it had any connection to Yoru, then it was best to continue with the tournament.
Solara had a rather calm demeanor while she observed what was going on.
Nor sparing another look in their way, she turned around and walked toward Kritz. Unable to touch him, she created a flammable dome to regulate his body temperature.
"You can't die on your lord now," Solara whispered, remembering all Kritz had done for Hisha and the harem.
Causing another lightning strike on the crystal, a shattering noise could be heard.
[External force nullified]
Hugging Hisha, Alta used her wings as a shield and easily deflected the shards of crystals.
'I could have done that easily.' Hisha awkwardly stood looking down at a pleased Alta who had made use of the opportunity to her benefit.
Solara had burnt and shattered the rest which had flown in her direction.
"Alta, could you let go of me?" Hisha deadpanned, knowing fully well this succubus could hold onto him for as long as she wanted.
Quickly pulling away, Alta pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear and her cheeks flushed.
Pulling her in for a kiss on her forehead, he pulled away and whispered a thank you.
[Exp+4]
Walking over to the shattered encasement, he frowned upon realizing it was nothing more than a ruse, set to fool him.
[They vanished!]
HTC informed and began analyzing the situation.
'I can see that.' Hisha deadpanned, cross-popping veins making their way to his forehead.
Self loathe seething off him at the condition that had restricted him from destroying a pain to his side. The irony was uncanny–the one person he desired to kill couldn't be done by him, nor could his harem's current strength match even the trio's weakened state.
He couldn't understand why Yoru continuously shielded and guarded her subordinates. If it weren't for her and his careful approach to dealing with them, he would have unintentionally killed her himself bringing upon the one thing he dreaded.
'Whoever and wherever you all are, this is a whole lot of bullshit!' Hisha looked above, imagining some supreme beings watching over the land.
Pit!
Pat!
Hisha felt tiny raindrops slide down his cheeks, starting as a drizzle.
'Are they watching?' He wondered, wiping his face and turning toward Kritz's direction.
[You still need to find a way to pacify Kritz now that the external force had been nullified]
Squatting and looming over Kritz, Hisha had a bitter smile.
Solara took several steps back and beside Alta as they watched curiously at what Hisha planned on doing.
He placed his hand on Kritz's forehead, instinctively mouthing the words, "be calm."
Ding!
[Pacification of Kritz achieved]
[4000 points gained]
Gasp!
Kritz jerked awake and sat upright in a daze.
He observed his surroundings and found it strange, holding the side of his head. "Where am I?"
"I think this is what they call 'forest'." Alta deadpanned, rolling her eyes and folding her arms.
Tilting his head to get a glimpse of who had answered, he pushed back in shock.
Pointing an accusing finger at them. "H-How... Did you two escape the citadel?"
Alta and Solara raised a brow to his question, but remained mute–if Hisha couldn't care less how they did it, they were not accountable to anyone.
Hisha chuckled at the interaction, relieved he could let out some of his built-up tension with some comedic relief.
Offering his hand to Kritz, he noticed his assistant's reluctance to go through with his simple gesture.
"Come on, take it." He offered with a smile.
Timidly taking the gesture, Kritz was pulled up and into a hug.
Patting Kritz back, Hisha whispered into his ear. "I'm glad you're back."
These comforting words melted the once guarded emotions Kritz had put up.
Pulling away almost instantly, Hisha let out a cough, "we should get going, I wonder how those two are holding up."
"Which two?" Alta and Solara questioned in unison.
Kritz facepalmed at the thought of the answer, 'Did they run away?'
Walking towards the narrow path they had used to get into the deeper parts of the forest, Hisha paused and looked over his shoulder at them, "there's no point standing, let's get going. I have an idea of where they might be."
*****
A/N
Mass release for win win privilege unlock
~1k+ unlocks= 2 bonus chapters the next day
~5k+ unlocks= 10 bonus chapters on the weekend.
My heartfelt appreciation to those who vote with powerstones on my book constantly or happened to devote them currently.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com