Chapter 66: Ch 66. Running Out of Energy

"Your Majesty, I have carried out all your orders. Dinner is also ready," Coxy said politely, causing Vylen to nod slowly.

"Tomorrow we’ll go to the Fox clan’s main palace. Invite Selena there—as a token of my gratitude, I want to formally honor her in front of all the officials and high-ranking members of the Fox clan," said Vylen, causing Coxy to nod. "Have all the kings arrived for dinner yet?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. However, the Queen hasn’t returned yet," Coxy replied, causing Vylen’s hand—which had been reviewing a report—to stop mid-motion.

He looked at Coxy, who seemed hesitant.

"Selena hasn’t come home yet?"

"That’s right. I’ve been keeping an eye on the Queen’s palace but haven’t seen her return since we parted ways this afternoon. I’ve already dispatched several guards under my command to look for her, but there’s still no word so far," Coxy said, causing Vylen to furrow his brow.

Where did Selena go? Hadn’t things started to get better? She couldn’t possibly have run away, could she? She’d said she just wanted to find medicinal ingredients for them—it was impossible that Selena had decided to leave on a whim.

"What time is it now? Doesn’t she remember to come home?"

"I’m confused too. The Dragon King asked me about it earlier as well. But I could only explain the truth. They have a right to know the Queen’s whereabouts, since they’re also her husbands," he said, causing Vylen to sigh with worry.

He even set aside his papers and stood up. He had a bad feeling—it seemed something had happened to Selena.

"Get the horse-drawn carriage ready; I’m going to look for her."

Coxy nodded and immediately went to do as he was told. Meanwhile, Vylen let out a heavy sigh and walked out of his office.

Outside, just as he was about to get into the carriage, Stoner, Jhon, Dorven, and Stevan approached him. They looked puzzled to see Vylen leaving.

"Did something happen, Fox King? Where are you going at a time like this?" John asked curiously.

"That’s right, dinner’s ready. We’ve been waiting there for a while, but you and Selena still haven’t shown up," Dorven added, raising an eyebrow. "Did something happen? Why haven’t I seen Selena since earlier?"

Vylen let out a heavy sigh and roughly rubbed his face. "Selena hasn’t been back since this afternoon—I just found out myself—so I want to go look for her," he said honestly.

Hiding this from them wouldn’t help either; it would only make things even more complicated.

"What do you mean? Selena hasn’t come home since this afternoon? Where did she go?" Stoner asked with a serious look.

"I don’t know where she went either. But something must have happened, so I’m going to look for her. If you’re worried too, let’s search together. Let’s split up across all of Eldoria so we can find her," Vylen said before climbing onto his horse-drawn carriage.

"Staying here won’t help. I’m heading west—the direction we parted ways after leaving the Eldoria Court. If you want to join the search, look for her in other directions so we can find her quickly."

After that, Vylen’s carriage sped off, causing the four Beast Kings to panic and immediately grab their own horses.

They couldn’t afford to lose Selena; they had to make sure nothing happened to her or that she didn’t leave them behind. The world out there wasn’t safe enough to face, especially for Selena—a healer of extinction who was being hunted by many evil people.

"I haven’t thanked you yet for the potion you gave me earlier, nor for the medicine that stopped my skin from hardening just now. Selena, you can’t go far—you can’t get hurt..." Stevan said frantically as he spurred his horse to go faster.

"I won’t let anything happen to you, Selena... Damn it, I should’ve gone with you earlier. If anything happens to you, I won’t forgive anyone who hurts you." Jhon gripped his reins tightly. "Wait for me—I’ll be there soon."

"I’ve never had your care, Selena. You mustn’t get hurt or just leave me like this... All this time I’ve held back and let the other kings have your care first, but you belong to me too." Dorven said with the stern, fierce expression characteristic of a mighty lion in the wilderness.

"Selena... Where are you? Please answer the call of my heart that’s connected to yours..." Stoner swallowed hard. "Selena... Please answer me! Tell me you’re okay..."

***

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please stay conscious..."

Selena faintly heard Vee’s voice shouting as she shook her body. But Selena’s energy was completely drained; she lay there helplessly with her eyes closed.

The attack by that black shadow had more than overwhelmed Kav and Kev. Selena had unconsciously channeled energy into them to keep them strong, because dealing with that black shadow was incredibly troublesome.

The figure couldn’t be struck because it vanished instantly; attacking it in any way yielded no results. It would vanish and reappear, suddenly striking Kav and Kev, causing them to fall to the ground several times—though they always got back up and fought back.

But fighting for an hour without results and constantly parrying empty attacks naturally left Kav and Kev overwhelmed. Selena was also running out of energy because she had to channel it to them, but she realized that the black shadow was actually siphoning her energy away—which is why Kav and Kev weren’t receiving any support at all.

Selena was already lying there, weak; her energy, which had already been depleted, was being drained even further by the battle. Just before closing her eyes and passing out, Selena pressed the special plaque given to her by Dali Hawksen.

In her final moments of consciousness, Selena immediately pressed the plaque—which, fortunately, she had always carried with her wherever she went ever since Dali Hawksen gave it to her. After Selena pressed it, she could see hundreds of Eagle troops appearing from the sky, attacking the black figure until it finally fled and vanished without a trace.

"Chase him! He’s from Eldoria’s enemy faction!"

That was the last thing Selena heard from the Eagle troops, after they asked Vee to take Selena home. Meanwhile, they had already provided Kav and Kev with extra energy so they could hold out long enough to carry Selena out of the forest.

"Where are we, Vee?" Selena asked softly, her voice so weak she couldn’t even open her eyes.

"Your Majesty... You’re finally speaking! Thank goodness! We’ll be there soon—please hang in there, Your Majesty..." Vee said, holding back tears.

Selena exhaled softly but nodded. On the brink of death, she could feel something inside her body slowly—very, very slowly—healing her.

Selena had the ability to heal herself, but given the severity of her condition, even she wasn’t sure if it would work.

[Your husbands are frantically searching for you, Selena. Within a one-kilometer radius, Jhon Nix will find you.]

Selena heard the mysterious voice in her head speak again.

"Jhon...?"

[Yes, all your husbands are frantically searching for you. They care deeply about you—look at how they’re all frantically searching for you as they spread out across Eldoria.]

[Your decision to stay and heal them was worth it; they’re starting to show their gratitude. You have to understand that your presence is now considered important to them—so much so that they’re afraid of losing you.]

Selena let out a soft sigh. "What’s happening to me? Why am I so weak?" she asked herself, remembering that Vee was nearby.

[Because you’ve been draining your physical and emotional energy, your survival energy is still enough for the next 8 days. But you’ve run out of survival and growth energy because you’ve been too exhausted these past few days.]

"Survival and growth energy? Since when has that been in my body?"

[I forgot to mention—this energy is different from survival energy. Survival and growth energy is used for abilities like concocting or devising remedies.]

[Creating a cure for extinction is a difficult and arduous task; that energy is ultimately full of resistance. You need to replenish that energy so you can recover.]

Selena let out a heavy sigh. "How do I do that? I’ll do anything to keep your body from becoming paralyzed like this," she said, causing the mysterious voice to chuckle.

[Good question—kill two birds with one stone! The way to restore your survival and growth energy is to have sex with one of your husbands.]

[It’s the same method used to restore or extend your survival time here. You must immediately choose one of them to have sex with; that way, you’ll recover as if nothing had happened.]

Damn, this all feels like a trap. However, Selena truly had no other choice—this mysterious voice hadn’t offered any other options.

"Whether I like it or not, I really have to choose one of them... Oh damn, who can I choose?!"

In a half-conscious state, Selena faintly heard Vee calling out to Jhon by his title. The horse-drawn carriage stopped briefly; Jhon climbed aboard with such a sense of panic that Selena felt his hands cup her face.

"Selena... Can you hear me? Selena?"

Selena didn’t answer; she just stayed silent, her mind racing.

"What about Jhon? He’s almost recovered, but not 100% yet. Should I just sleep with him?"