My mask!

          Emi’s mouth was slightly agape at the unexpected situation and she quickly recovered, bringing her arm up to conceal the bottom part of her face.

          Damn it, what do I do?

          He completely saw me!

          Taking a cautious step back, Emi brought the other free hand and placed two fingers into , a piercing whistle coming out from .

          “Luna!” She exclaimed, looking around frantically for her beloved horse.

          I can’t waste any more time! I should escape now, when I have the chance!

          On the other hand, the whistle caused Kris to break out of the hypnotizing spell that Emi had over him. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head until he heard a horse galloping towards him, making him spin around.

          The horse neighed and he avoided the horse, immediately rolling to the side to prevent himself from being trampled on. However, the time that he took to get back on his feet allowed Emi to jump onto her horse.

          “Run, Luna!”

          Get me out of here!

          “Damn it!” Kris cursed loudly, sprinting to his horse and climbing onto it swiftly, commanding it to chase after them.

         

         

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

 

          Sergi managed to escape from their grasp, if not for the fire causing the whole stage to collapse, he would not have been able to get away. He grunted in pain, a large gash on his arm and he tore part of his shirt away, wrapping it around his arm to stop the bleeding. He heard footsteps behind him, his face pale from the intense pain he was feeling as he hurriedly ran to his horse.

          He was outside of the mansion, knowing that they were behind him and he spotted his horse, at the same exact spot where he placed him, hidden away from public sight.

          “Chief!” Someone shouted behind him, and he recognized it as the man that fought along beside him.

          “Let’s get out of here.”

          Sergi nodded at him, both of them were seriously injured and they would have no chance of fighting back now. The man took out a long circular object from his back, placing it between his mouth and blew hard into it.

          “Watch out!” Yun, Kris’ right hand man noticed something flying out of the object, instantly looking at the person it was aimed to and leaping to him.   

          It turns out that it was small dart flying out of the object, which the man beside Yun narrowly avoided, if not for Yun jumping at him and pushing him to the ground.

          This slowed down the three of them chasing after Sergi and the other bandit.

          “Any of you hurt?” The third man among them asked, concern evident in his voice.

          Yun slowly stood up, shaking his head at him. “No, not at all.”

          The third man nodded at Yun, starting to run off after them again, only to have someone stop him by gripping him on the shoulder.

          “Let them go, they aren’t our concern anymore.” Yun said, his voice firm.

          “But-“

          “Our job is to protect this place from intruders, that’s all.”

          “Alright then.” The man sighed at Yun, helping the other man up from the ground.

         

         

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

         

          Emi bit on her lip, still hearing the same horse from before galloping behind her, knowing that it was the mercenary that tried to capture her.

          What should I do?

          I’ve already strayed off far from the meeting point, and I’ve no idea where I’m headed to.

          Despite that, Emi still continued straight ahead, trying to think of anything that could help her. Unfortunately, that was interrupted when the gravel path just disappeared gradually, leading her to a cliff and Luna neighed, coming to an abrupt stop.

          “Whoa, whoa!” She said quickly, not wanting to go past the cliff and Luna took a few steps back.

          A cliff?

          Just how far did I stray off to?

          Where is this place?

          The horse galloping behind her came to a stop too, and she slowly turned around with her horse, hiding the bottom part of her face with her arm again.

          Oh no…

          “Dead end, huh? Where do you plan to escape off to now?” Kris smirked at her, blocking her only way of escape.

          Emi glanced nervously to the cliff and to Kris, letting out a shaky breath.

          “Why can’t you leave me alone?” Emi asked in exasperation, not wanting to continue this any longer.

          “Like I said, you have something that I want.” He folded his arms across his chest, staring intently at her.        

          Clenching her fists at those words, Emi reached into her hidden pocket and took out the necklace that he wanted so desperately, gripping onto it tightly.

          It’s either my life or this necklace.

          “Fine.”

          Kris shot his head up, the necklace glinting brightly in her hands as she held it out in the moonlight, dangling from his hands. His eyes widened at the sight of the necklace, a little surprised to see it in her hands, despite knowing she had it.

          “You want it? Go get it then!” She hollered, lifting her hand high up into the air, preparing to throw it off the cliff. Kris predicted her movement, taking out a ninja star that was slotted into another pocket that was tied tightly to his ankles. He flung it at Emi’s direction hurriedly, the ninja star making a small nick on Emi’s petite wrist.

          Letting out a yelp of pain, the necklace was released from her hands, dropping onto the ground and Kris hopped off from his horse, running towards the necklace.

          Through her pain, Emi managed to grasp hold of the opportunity and urged Luna to get out of here.

          Whereas, Kris couldn’t be bothered about chasing after her anymore, since he had the necklace in his hands now.

          Letting out a sigh of relief, she hurried out from his sight as fast as she could.

          “At last, he’ll leave me alone.”

          Her wrist throbbed in pain, making her grimace as she looked at it for a second, deciding to place her wrist onto Luna’s mane, to prevent any blood from dripping down onto the ground.

          Kris held the necklace up into the moonlight, inspecting it closely and frowned. He wasn’t sure of how to check whether if it was authentic, and guessed that the only choice he had was to go ask an artisan.

          Quickly keeping it into one of his pockets, he spun around to get back onto his horse, only to be distracted by the ninja star on the ground. He picked it up, knowing that it would save him resources if he collected them back and gazed intently at it. He noticed some blood at the side of the ninja star, knowing that it belong to the Shadow Rogue.

          A sudden image of her, in her unmasked form appeared in his mind, recalling how enthralled he was when he saw her. Her beauty was so alluring, the way her hair glistened beautifully and the way her seductive lips dropped open slightly, followed by her eyes sparkling brightly in the moonlight.

          An involuntarily shudder ran down Kris’ spine and he shook his head, trying to snap out of his daze.

          Remember Kris, remember why you hate people like her.

          Looks can be deceiving.

         

         

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

 

          Emi headed back all the way, until she found the landmarks for the hidden path that Sergi made on the way to the mansion. She let out a breath of relief, finally managing to find it and proceeded to follow it all the way.

          Reaching the safehouse, everyone cheered when she returned back safely and shortly after that, Sergi returned too. At least, she was happy to know that she wasn’t the only one to flee unscathed and moreover, he was seriously injured, compared to her.

          Of course, she did not show it on her face, instead, she retreated to her room like always, not bothering to greet back or respond to their cheers. She felt someone’s palm on her shoulder, making her turn her head around.

          “Meet me in my room in an hour.” Sergi ordered her and she nodded emotionlessly at him, walking to her room and closing the door.

          Locking the door and setting up the usual security measures, she changed into a more comfortable outfit and let out a relaxed sigh. At last, she was able to relax and let her guard down for a moment, she laid on her bed, fluttering her eyes close, the silent peaceful atmosphere being her only company.

          “Another fifty-five minutes more.”

         

 

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

         

          Knocking on the room door, Emi entered the room at Sergi’s permission, she was greeted by a half- Sergi who was dressing his wound and she stood there, a nonchalant expression on her face.

          “You called for me, Sergi?”

          “I did.” He nodded, still dressing his wound and she remained silent. She wasn’t affected by the sight of him half-, after all, she lives in a building full of man, it wasn’t surprising if she was used to seeing half- man.

          “Now, explain to me, who the hell are they?”        

          “Who are you talking about?”

          “Those mercenaries.”

          Emi furrowed her eyebrows, gazing at Sergi with a confound expression.

          “Don’t you know about them?”

          “Why do you think I’m asking you about them?”

          “…the Dragoons.”

          “What?”

          “They are called the Dragoons, Sergi.” Emi rolled her eyes at his annoyed tone, not knowing why he was so annoyed with her.

          “It’s probably because you don’t explore around a lot, but they are famous around the whole area, maybe even the whole country.”

          “What for? What do they exactly do?”

          Emi cocked her head to one side, thinking of how to answer Sergi properly.

          “They don’t exactly do anything, they complete jobs assigned to them and in return, they get a reward for completing that assigned jobs. What they are famous for are something else…”

          “What is it?”

          “It’s how they complete the jobs. You see, the only way of contacting them is placing your job request on their bulletin board and you’ll know it’s accepted if your job request form is stamped with their signature. And once it’s completed, they accept the reward from you personally and disappear without a trace and never once, have they failed at anything.” Emi explained slowly and Sergi nodded to her every once in a while, concentrating on her words.

          “Their group name itself has a big effect on people, and no one dares to mess with them. Anyone who does…well, I’d rather not dwell on that. They aren’t your average group of people, Sergi, if they are, rumours about them wouldn’t sound so terrifying.” Emi continued, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned on the wall.

          “The Dragoons, huh…” Sergi muttered, a small smirk tugging at his lips and Emi noticed it.

          “Sergi, if you want to find them or if you want to do any business with them, don’t involve me inside.” Emi reminded him, her eyes narrowing at him.

          “What’s the problem with that?”

          Emi let out a heavy sigh, raising an eyebrow at Sergi. “I live by one rule, Sergi, I told you before. If I smell trouble, I’ll stay out of it for my whole life.”

          “You saw how strong they were, Emi! How do not want to do business with them? Imagine what we could do with such power…such fame!” Sergi scoffed at her and she let out a humorless chuckle.

          “Listen, Sergi. I don’t care what you do or how you are going to do it. I’ll obey anything you ask me to do, but we made a deal about the one rule in my life I will always follow.”

          Sergi’s expression quickly turned solemn as he directed his eyes to Emi, and she felt a chill running down her spine. Even though she dared to argue with Sergi, deep down, she was still terrified of him.

          “Is that so?”

          “Of course.” Emi answered, her face remaining emotionless and the tension in the air was thick.

          “…your lost.” After a pregnant silence, Sergi finally replied to her, shrugging his shoulders and the tension in the air dissipated gradually.

          “Since when do I care about winning?” She retorted, opening the door and exiting his room as she heard him snort. She walked down the hallway to her room, locking her door and she leaned against the door.

          Her knees started wobbling and she eventually slid to the floor, a drop of sweat rolling down her face as exhaled out a deep, shaky breath.

          Sergi…

          He’s planning something.

          Emi burrowed her face in her hands, not liking the feeling of apprehension she was feeling, twisting in her guts.

          He’s definitely planning something that I won’t be able to avoid.

          “It can’t be…!” Emi’s eyes widened considerably as her eyes snapped to her closet and she opened it frantically, proceeding to open a hidden compartment.

          Searching thoroughly, she let out a breath of relief when she found the item that she was looking for, holding it in her trembling hands as she brought it close to her chest, hugging it tightly.

          She held it in her hands, dangling it down and letting it sway from left to right. Bringing it out into the light, the object that she was fretful about resembled something that she has seen before, and something that she just threw away hours ago.

          The Timeless Necklace.       

 

 

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

         

          Kris was riding in a carriage again, however, he was alone today. Deciding to travel around alone, so that his comrades could train more and also, he needed to be alone. Not because he wanted to, but because he needed the privacy.

          The carriage stopped at the destination like he requested and he persuaded the carriage man to wait for his return, since he would ride him again, back to the forest that led to his base.

          Exiting the carriage, his shoes landed on a stone path and he stood up straight, walking down the crowded street. Everyone were either chatting happily to one another, while others were rushing for time, either for work or for some other appointments. Since it was still day time, the street was still awfully crowded with people.

         

         

          ***********************************************************************************************

         

         

          After some time, Kris arrived in front of a store that seemed to be a jeweler’s store. Pushing the door open, Kris entered the store and was greeted warmly by a familiar face he knew. The store was small and cozy, display cases around the room, showcasing different types of jewelries and tables that small standing mirrors on it, for people to try their jewelries on and observe themselves.

          “Hey, Kris! Nice to see you again! What can I do for you today?” The store owner, who looked like the average fifty years old man, asked him.      

          “I just need a small favour, are you good at examining jewelry?”

          “Why do you ask that odd question?”

          “I need you to verify this for me.” Kris stated, showing him the necklace in his hands and the store owner just gaped openly at it, his eyes lighting up in admiration.       

          “Such a beautiful design.”

          “So, will you help me?”

          “Of course, it’s simple for me to verify jewelries.”

          “That’s good to hear, thank you.” Kris grinned at the store owner, thanking him sincerely.

          “Oh, please. It’s the least I can do, after what you did to save my store.” The store owner waved it off with his hand, taking out a box under the display case. Placing it on the table and taking out some equipment to inspect the necklace carefully.

          After a few agonizing minutes, the store owner finished his observation and he lifted his head up, looking at Kris, his expression unreadable.

          “Kris, this is…”

          “What is it?”

          “This isn’t authentic, Kris. It’s a fake, the design seems to imitate the real necklace but the material—it’s a counterfeit of the necklace.”

          What?

          A counterfeit?

 

 

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Hope you guys like this chapter!