Chapter 169: Bad feeling

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Bad feeling

Morning light streamed through the windows into the room, laying pale bands of brightness across the floor and rousing Theon from his wretched night’s sleep.

His muscles were sore.

Yesterday’s training followed by fooling around with Lyra had left him drained, and Theon yawned as he massaged the side of his neck.

The room had come to life.

Captain voss was already present, seated in the very same spot he had occupied the day before.

He appeared bewildered.

Whatever had occurred yesterday had shaken him deeply, and his expression suggested he was already at a loss for how to deal with the situation. Theon studied the man for a moment.

*No need to bother, let him be.* he thought.

The captain did not appear to be in any mood for conversation yet, so Theon left him alone.

Whatever had happened yesterday had affected him profoundly, and Theon figured the man needed time to come to terms with it.

His gaze drifted elsewhere.

Cryvathar was already awake, sitting silently and staring blankly at nothing.

His expression was different.

He was lost in thought.

Deep in thought, in fact.

He seemed to be in some kind of trance, far removed from the present.

Theon knitted his brows.

*What might have captured his attention so completely?*

He fixed his eyes on the man for several long moments before looking away.

*What could he be pondering?*

Before Theon could think of a response, something drew his attention to Silver.

She was just as absorbed.

Without a word.

As if in a daze.

Lost in thought.

Theon looked over at the two of them, normally the sharpest observers in the room, yet right now too absorbed to utter even a single word.

He nearly felt the urge to question them about it.

Yet just as quickly as the impulse arose, it faded.

*Maybe it was better to leave them alone, perhaps they’ll discuss it with each other,* Theon concluded, turning away from the pair.

That was the moment Lazaria approached him.

"Master."

Theon turned to face the woman, who looked at him with a calm expression even though something in her bearing instantly made him uneasy.

"Good morning," she said in greeting.

"Morning."

She paused briefly.

Then she began to speak.

"I must request your permission before I go."

Theon fixed his gaze on her.

"You wish to leave?"

"That’s right."

That alone was enough to catch him off guard.

From the very first day she arrived, Lazaria had all but shadowed him. She had stood beside him through the fiercest battles, through training, and through most hardship they had faced along the way. Not once had she even hinted at the idea of leaving.

Theon’s stare grew darker.

"Leave? To where?"

Lazaria held his gaze.

"If what the undead emperor said is true, then my father is still alive."

Theon fell silent.

Lazaria went on.

"He knew something about my father and i have to find out what it is."

She stopped for a moment.

"I also have to find out what’s happening with the Supreme Demon General who was sent to hunt me down."

Theon’s expression changed.

So that was the truth of it.

The explanation behind her abrupt shift in resolve.

She had spent endless hours searching for her father, and now, finally, she had come across a clue about where he could be.

Theon had to admit that he grasped what she was feeling.

He looked away, pausing briefly before he gave his answer.

"All right."

Lazaria let out a sigh of relief.

"But only on one condition," Theon went on.

She pulled herself upright.

"Whatever condition you name, Master."

"If you run into any kind of danger, return at once."

A smile curved across her lips.

"I will."

Theon gave a nod.

"When are you planning to leave?"

"This very moment, if possible," Lazaria answered.

Theon let out a breath.

"Very well, then—go."

Lazaria offered him a small bow.

’Please avoid any needless risks, and should anything occur, however minor, return at once.’

"I will."

Theon looked at her briefly, then turned away.

Ifrith and Silver remained silent.

Each of them was lost in thought.

Lyra, meanwhile, kept playing on the bed, as though the world were not ablaze.

The dragon girl was silent as well.

She stood apart, absorbed in her own thoughts.

Theon squinted.

Something was wrong.

Too many people had fallen silent and were preoccupied by something none of them would mention.

Lazaria had come to inform him that she was leaving.

Cryvathar and everyone else was preoccupied.

Even Captain Voss remained seated there, as if the previous day’s events had barely touched him.

That was not a promising indication.

Not in the slightest.

Even so, Theon figured it was too late for him to do anything about it.

"You may leave," Theon said to Lazaria.

She lowered her head.

"Thank you, Master," and having said that, she turned toward the balcony and made her way there.

Theon watched her go before something suddenly came back to him.

"Hold on," he called out.

Lazaria stopped.

"How are you planning to get there?"

She turned back around, and a faint smile touched her lips.

"I managed to evolve during the recent battles," Lazaria said.

Theon stared at her, mouth agape.

"What?"

Lazaria’s smile grew wider.

"So what did you evolve into?"

Lazaria answered without hesitation.

"A Prime Demoness."

The word had scarcely left her lips when she moved.

Her demon wings unfurled behind her, and Theon watched in shock as the massive wings spread outward, filling the skies.

Lazaria walked over to the balcony’s edge and, caught by a gust of wind, leaped outward and upward.

She flapped her wings two more times before disappearing from view.

Theon grinned.

He lifted his hand and waved.

"Take care."

Lazaria waved in return, then faded into the distance.

Theon dropped his arm and turned around.

Clap.

Clap.

Two sharp claps rang out across the room, and every head turned toward Theon.

He surveyed the room, his eyes resting briefly on each person before moving on to something else.

The headmaster was nowhere to be seen.

He looked toward Ifrith.

"Where is the headmaster?"

Ifrith paused before answering.

"He went to look into whoever let Noel in," he said.

Theon gave a nod.

Then something drew his attention towards Cryvathar.

"Is everything all right?" Theon asked.

Cryvathar raised his gaze.

Theon motioned toward the individuals present in the room.

"You all appear rather distracted."

Cryvathar fixed his eyes on him.

"I’m not sure."

Theon’s brow furrowed.

"What has happened to you?"

Cryvathar shook his head and repeated.

"I’m not sure."

Theon stepped closer.

"Is everything okay?"

Cryvathar expression was uneasy.

"I’m not sure, but I have a bad feeling about something."

Those words appeared to shift the mood in the room.

Theon turned to face Silver and the others.

She nodded slowly.

"Yes," she replied.

"I don’t like this either."

Theon turned to look at her.

"What sort of feeling is it?"

Silver directed her gaze toward him.

She said it was a feeling that some great danger lay ahead.

As if it were a catastrophe.

Theon gazed at her.

"A danger?" Cryvathar spoke up before Silver could go on.

"Yes, though we don’t know what it is," he answered but his face grew darker.

"And seeing the way all of us are reacting to it points to that, it could very well be greater than anything we have ever fought."

Theon remained silent.

His thoughts were already racing through everything that had happened lately.

The battles.

The enemies.

The monsters whose strength appeared to be beyond all understanding.

He had believed he had seen the limit, but now he understood that perhaps, just perhaps, there were still creatures even stronger than those they had already faced before.

And if the foreboding unease in the room meant anything, then one of them might be on its way.

Theon turned slowly toward Ifrith.

"What about you?"

Ifrith raised his head.

"There is nothing wrong," the demon replied.

Theon fixed his gaze on him.

He stayed still.

Only when Ifrith began to shift uneasily beneath his stare did theon crossed his arms.

"Ifrith," he said.

The demon gave no reply.

"You and I are bound by a contract," Theon went on.

"If anything is bothering you can tell me"

Theon stepped closer.

"So, just come out with it already," he said.

Ifrith looked back at him.

For a moment, he remained silent.

Then he let out a sigh.

"I feel it as well."

Theon’s eyes contracted.

"You feel it as well?"

Ifrith gave a nod.

"Something doesn’t feel right."

"What is it that doesn’t feel right?" theon questioned.

Ifrith’s voice became even more silent.

"Something took place late at night."

Theon paid attention.

"A gust of wind suddenly rushed into your chamber."

Theon’s brows drew together.

"The wind entered through the balcony and pushed the door open."

He stopped for a moment.

"The wind swept past me in waves."

Ifrith wavered.

"And then a voice reached my ears."

The room appeared to pause in silence.

"What were its words?" Theon inquired.

"Help us, Dark One," the demon uttered.

He paused.

"Help us."

Something clicked in Theon’s mind.

His thoughts darted back and forth, assembling the strange events that had occurred only hours before.

The balcony.

The wind.

The voice.

The plea.

That sense of unease.

An unease that belonged to no one in the room.

His expression changed.

"The Primordial Demon Realm," Theon whispered.

Ifrith nodded without hesitation.

"Yes," the demon replied.

Theon turned to face him.

"What might be going on in the Primordial Demon Realm?"

Ifrith shook his head.

"I don’t know," he answered.

"But the last time NOVA came here, he mentioned something," Ifrith went on.

Theon listened.

"He said the Primordial Demon Realm was in turmoil."

The memory came back to Theon’s mind he had made a promise to NOVA that he would go there and look into it yet everything else that had occurred since then had driven it to the back of their minds.

Theon let out a breath.

"Yes," he said.

"I made a promise that we would go."

Ifrith gave a nod.

"But recently, with everything that’s been going on, we haven’t had the time."

"Exactly," Theon said, as though he were trying to convince himself.

"But with everything that has been going on recently--"

A groan rang out from outside, and both men turned toward the sound.

Something was trying to come in through the balcony.

It groaned in pain, attempting to pull itself up.

The room went silent.

Theon moved at once to intercept, his stance shifting into one ready for combat.

Something was on the balcony and was fighting to get inside.

Theon did not hesitate.

The sound of a person hauling himself up echoed through the room.

A hand rose over the balcony, and then another.

Theon readied himself to strike.

At last, the figure heaved itself over the balcony and crumpled onto the floor.

Theon gazed at the being sprawled on the floor.