THER MELIAN: CHRONICLES

Episode 8

Leighton. He was completely unaware of the man behind them until the man threw out his weapon, a curved-tipped blade connected by a long iron chain. The knife struck Vrey right in his stomach, causing the girl to fall on the merchandise stall, destroying a row of ceramics on it.

The man who threw the knife was wearing a long green robe that covered his face and body. Before Leighton could react, their attacker pulled back the knife. The clattering of chains filled Leighton's eardrum, for a split second only that sound was heard before the entire narrow alley exploded in screams.

Desna who was the first to act, she pulled out two daggers with curved blades from her waist and jumped towards their assailant. There was a violent clash as both Desna's daggers clashed against the man's large blade.

The mysterious man's headscarf was revealed slightly. Leighton only had a chance to see gray hair in it, but he recognized it immediately. That's Shazin called Karth—one of Valadin's friends.

While Desna and Karth are fighting, Leighton hastened to Vrey. Rion had already helped get rid of the ceramic pieces that covered Vrey. Unexpectedly, Vrey got up. He was sitting on a ceramic fragment, his face was pale and he looked in pain.

Leighton immediately cupped his hands together, about to use healing magic on Vrey.

“No need, I'm not hurt.” Vrey prevented Leighton from spending his strength.

Rion. “Must be! That big knife just stabbed you in the stomach!”

Leighton flicked off Vrey's robe, he scanned Vrey's belly. Everything looked fine, there were no wounds at all, let alone blood.

“Come Nymph,” whispered Vrey. “You forgot, huh?”

Leighton was greatly relieved, his veins as if freshly passed by a stream of cold water.

Vrey trembled slightly, although the knife did not pierce through his body, but the force of his violent throws sent him bouncing far enough. “Friends Valadin?” he asked after he stood up.

“Iya,” replied Leighton. “I didn't expect this to happen when we almost got back to Granville.”

Leighton oversaw the fight between Karth and Desna. Although their height adrift far— very far even, but Desna did not have trouble balancing Karth's movements. The two people used the weapons in both of their hands so deftly. Karth slightly benefited by the long chain at the end of his knife, he could use his weapon to attack from a distance. Desna relied entirely on her acrobatic ability and agility to avoid Karth's long-range attacks.

The sudden sunlight that shot out from behind a two-story house dazzled Leighton's eyes. It was then that he realized something, a black shadow over the house, a hooded person pointed his bow towards them.

“Awas!” yells.

An arrow was released and it would have hit Vrey's head if Leighton had not immediately used his sword to pull the arrow over.

The archer on the roof again threw out some of his arrows. Leighton couldn't shake everything. He leaped forward, hiding behind a fruit stall to avoid the dart striking at him.

Vrey was intending to get closer to him, but suddenly an arrow rippled and shot right beside his head, breaking a large pot of water. Several arrows were directed at Vrey and Rion, forcing them to take cover. The rain of arrows kept coming, stuck on the walls of the wood around them.

Leighton looked at the open area that stretched from his hiding place all the way to where Vrey and Rion were. Too far ... He couldn't possibly reach their place before one of the arrows hit him, he was stuck here.

The archer now aimed his arrow at Desna who was fighting with Karth. Desna's incredible dodging ability kept her safe from the arrows that kept ringing around her. However, constantly being pushed from both directions like that, Desna was overwhelmed as well, one of the arrows scraped her arm and injured her quite deeply.

Leighton knows there is only one thing he can do at the moment. “You go!” it's on Vrey and Rion. “Run to the canal, fast!”

Vrey slips. “How about you?”

“I will protect you! Bring this.” He took off his necklace that had been hidden inside his clothes— the Royal emblem of Granville.

Leighton wrapped his emblem in a letter from Princess Ashca and threw it at Vrey. The girl caught him right before falling to the ground, then hid again behind the stall. Vrey looked at the necklace in his hand and Leighton took turns.

“Go first, Vrey,” urged Leighton. “Bring my necklace to the Blue Lagoon. Tell them everything!”

“No! I will not leave you, run away now when their attention is distracted,” Vrey said.

“And left Desna against them alone because of something we did?” Leighton smiled bitterly. “I can't do it. Wait for me at the Blue Lagoon Palace.”

“Then we fight them together!” refute Vrey.

“No! Go then! You'll miss the airship!” exclaims

Leighton.

“You have no right to rule me!” sahut Vrey fierce.

Leighton turned his gaze to Rion. “You understand, right? Take Vrey to the Blue Lagoon Palace. I'll double the reward for you when I get back!”

Rion immediately pulled Vrey's arm. “I understand, but you better catch up with us soon,” he said. “And I want to triple!”

Leighton nodded. Rion drags Vrey through a long alley that separates their hideout from the canal. Some arrows immediately shot out hunting them.

But Leighton also sped to the front of the alley. He unsheathed his sword and made a magic protector that thickened the arrows directed at Vrey and Rion. The two of them were already barely beyond the archer's firing range.

Realizing that, Karth throws one end of his knife chain towards Leighton. His knife swooped and curved to the side, avoiding Leighton's magic protector and almost hitting the side of his unprotected body. But Desna reacted faster. He kicked Karth, his leg landed hard on Karth's back and made his knife slip.

Karth bounces to the side with Desna's kick, his headscarf detaching and revealing his identity.

Desna. “Elvar!” hisses.

Karth stretched out two knives with a threatening attitude. “Do not interfere,” he said.

The rain of arrows from the roof suddenly ended, it seemed like the archer was running out of ammunition. Leighton glanced back, Rion and Vrey had already sailed away down the canal in Princess Ashca's boat. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her.

Leighton advanced forward and drew his sword at Karth. He and Desna now besieged the Shazin from both directions. Karth observes Leighton, like trying to remember where they've met before. They had met while on Mount Ash, but at that time Leighton was still disguised as Aelwen.

The archer came down from the roof, Leighton saw a tiny green hooded figure running across the alley and approaching Karth. “Sorry, they escaped,” said the voice of the woman behind the cloak.

“No what, Laruen,” says Karth. He turned his eyes to Leighton. “Say where those two people went!” snapped it. “We will be kind enough to give you a quick and painless death!”

Leighton was undaunted, he squeezed his sword. Desna narrowed her eyes, looking at the two green-clad figures in front of her in full fury. “See where you were before threatening me! The Lavanya warriors will soon surround you!”

Karth doesn't care about Desna's words, he doesn't even care about Desna's whereabouts. His attention continued to focus on Leighton. “I remember you,” he said suddenly. “You Eldynn who withheld Eizen.” magic

“Dia!?” laruen said in disbelief. “But instead of Eldynn back then a woman!”

“Not a problem for me,” said Karth. “Men or women, I'll make him say where the Sapphire Relic is.”

Leighton gasped, Sapphire Relic! Now he knows the name of the thing Vrey stole from Eizen. And as expected, it was indeed valuable so Valadin and his friends wanted it back.

The large knife that suddenly rippled right at him shocked Leighton. He used his sword to pull over. He saw Desna pull over Karth's other knife. As soon as it came, the two chain knives were pulled back into Karth's hands.

Almost simultaneously, Leighton and Desna charged forward with unsheathed weapons. Karth leapt back, avoiding Leighton's sword, but Leighton did not go after the man. He thrust his sword right between the chains of Karth's blade, locking the weapon on the ground.

Desna did not waste the opportunity that Leighton made, she lunged forward while swinging her daggers. But he had not yet reached his target when suddenly a very loud whistle sounded. An eagle dhadak flew down, snatching right into his face. The bird almost clawed his eyes if Desna did not dodge him at the last second.

The eagle swooped back, but this time the target was Leighton. He rolled dodging the eagle's claws. It was then that Leigthon saw Laruen smiling in satisfaction. He immediately realized what was happening. Laruen ordered his eagle to attack them.

While the eagle kept them busy, Karth prepared with both blades of his knife. He raised his hand high, ready to throw his knife at Leighton and Desna.

***

I don't know how long Leighton lost consciousness. Her head hurt instead of puffing after hitting the floor. He moved slowly, removing the rubble that was crushing down on him before rising to his feet.

He realizes Karth and Laruen are no longer there. Not far from the place, behind the roof of the building, Leighton saw black smoke billowing. Something or a building not far from its place is burning violently. That seems to be the cause of the explosion. By accident? No, it was impossible for a random explosion to occur along with the appearance of Valadin's friends. This must be all related! thought Leighton.

Half-dead he looked for Desna who was buried between the ruins of the shop. Leighton shifted the wooden table that hit Desna's body and checked her condition. “You

alright?” tanyakanya.

“Ya,” says Desna. He grimaced in pain while holding his stomach, his clothes were torn and he was bleeding. Leighton saw a large piece of glass lying next to Desna, which hurt her stomach.

“Support is not in.” Leighton examined Desna's wounds. He used enough healing magic to stop the bleeding.

“Where are they?” ask Desna. “I heard a very loud explosion, what happened?”

“When I realized they were gone,” replied Leighton. “While the explosion was, it seems to have come from there.” He pointed towards the smoke rising higher and higher.

Desna jumped when she saw him. “That's Ateliya Princess Ashca!” panicked shouting. “I have to make sure Mr. Princess is okay.” He turned around and walked back down the road

Ately.

“I'm coming,” said Leighton immediately ran after Desna. His heart beat rapidly as soon as he knew the source of the explosion was Ateliya the Princess. He was increasingly convinced the Elvar Valadin plotters were the mastermind behind all this. He needs to know what they want. This time Leighton did not want to escape as he did on Mount Ash. He will face them.

Streets that were once crowded and filled with busyness are now colored by cries and panic. Some soldiers moved quickly to calm the residents so that the panic did not get worse. Others continued to walk in the same direction as Leighton.

The closer Ateliya got, the density on the narrow path was getting worse. The inquisitive crowd and the soldiers who were about to secure the location made it impossible for Leighton to get close, fortunately he was with Desna.

“Give way!” desna shouted at the few soldiers who closed the entrance to Ateliya. Seeing the arrival of Desna, they immediately opened a path.

After being freed from the crowd, Leighton and Desna finally arrived in front of Ateliya Princess Ashca. Leighton was flabbergasted, the place changed completely compared to the last time he visited it.

Houses and shops around Ateliya were destroyed. Stone debris and wood chips were strewn along the road, as well as broken glass, tiled, and other small objects. Hundreds of parchments drifted from the sky, covering the streets. Ash rained down on the black body lying along the road.

Desna exploded in anger. “Who can do this cruel thing!?”

“I think I know,” replied Leighton. “His name is Eizen, he's a group with Elvar who attacked us.”

“You brought them on us!” exclaim Desna growled. “I won't forgive you until something happens to Princess Ashca.”

Leighton was stunned, suddenly he felt weak. Is it possible that the Elvars destroyed this place after seeing themselves, Vrey, and Rion enter this place? If that was true, let alone Desna, she would not be able to forgive herself either.

Ateliya Princess Ashca had already turned into black rubble, the entire building was almost flat with the ground. Only part of the wall has not been destroyed, while the rest is no longer shaped. Some soldiers were already there. They tried to extinguish the fire and inspect each piece of debris, looking for survivors.

Leighton felt nauseous whenever she saw her blackened body pulled out from under the rubble. His head was dizzy thinking about why all this was happening. Did this guy die because of him?

The screams of one of the soldiers resuscitated him. “Here! There's someone who survived!”

He hurriedly followed the direction of the voice. The soldiers managed to get out a colleague trapped under the collapsing wall.

Desna immediately questioned the soldier. “What happened?”

“A man ... green robe ..” said stamped. “He kidnapped the Princess, then ... Ateliya ... exploded!”

“Where do they go?” ask Desna again

But the soldier did not reply, he had already exhaled his last breath.

Desna slammed her fist furiously into the ruins. He turned his attention to Leighton who was bowed. Desna grabbed Leighton's collar violently. “You know something!” the accusation. “I don't care if you're a Prince, if you don't start talking—”

Desna's speech cut off another explosion, this time not as big as before. It came about a few blocks from where they are now. Leighton jumped, and so did Desna. Panicked screams and terrified screams came back from all around them. Desna dumped Leighton's collar and immediately ran towards the direction of the second explosion.

Leighton followed. He began to believe this incident had nothing to do with him. It's too much for the Elvars to blow up the whole street just because he and Vrey visited it. All of these events had a reason, and he had to figure out the reason.

Desna crossed a very narrow alley; it seemed to be a shortcut. In an instant, they arrived at the location of the second explosion. The place is a market or—it was—pasar. Now all the stalls along with the merchandise are falling apart. Water gushed out from the huge gaping hole above the rocky road, flooding the entire alley.

Some people were injured, some others were lying on the roof of the stall, lifeless. Leighton continued to follow Desna until they finally met some soldiers standing guard in the area.

“Does anyone see who did all this?” ask Desna.

“No,” replied one of the soldiers. “Suddenly the ground below us exploded violently, spraying water and debris everywhere.”

Leighton furrowed his brows. “What's underground?” tanyakanya.

“A very old water tunnel,” replied Desna. “In addition to the canal, we use that tunnel as a waterway to prevent flooding.”

“We need to get into that tunnel. Princess Ashca may be with them in there.”

“Cannot be! There was nothing there except—” Desna's speech came to a halt, she realized something.

“What?” leighton. “What's down there?”

Without answering Leighton's question, Desna jumped down through a large gaping hole.

Leighton decided to jump in. An unpleasant smell filled his smell as he slid down through the stuffy hole. He landed in a knee-high puddle. The aqueduct was dark, the only light coming from the hole where he entered earlier. He could not see what was in front of him.

“Desna, wait.” says Leighton. “I can't see anything, we should have brought a lantern.”

“No need,” replied Desna. “Close your eyes.”

Leighton closed his eyes. There was the sound of something being broken and a dazzling beam of light was seen from behind his eyelids. Leighton opened his eyes slowly as the light died down. The water surface in the tunnel emits a bright white light. Leighton can see everything clearly now.

“What is this?” ask Leighton.

“Lumines liquid,” replied Desna. “Made of luminescent stones that are deciphered by alchemical processes and will glow in the dark. But the light emitted when the bottle is broken can make you blind for a moment, so I told you to close your eyes.”

“Practice once.” Leighton was impressed.

“This water will not last long,” Desna said. “Come!”

“Wait a minute.” Leighton held Desna's move. “Tell me, what's down here! I can't help you unless I know why they kidnapped Princess Ashca!” leighton.

Desna looked back at Leighton. “They kidnapped Princess Ashca because the Princess is one of the few people who know the secret underground path to Naian Mujdpir,” he said. “What they are after is Lavanya Royal Palace!”