Chapter 288: A strange village
Some distance from the city of Rumbus, across the border, in a dense forest, where, it would seem, after the disaster there should have been no traces of civilization, there was a large lively village.
At first glance, anyone who saw it would think that this was a place where people had miraculously survived. However, upon closer inspection, one could see that the buildings in this village looked a bit strange and unusual.
All the buildings in the village were made of wood and had shapes unlike those on earth. Strange writings were written on the walls of the houses, from which an incomprehensible force emanated.
There was a small square in the very center of the village, on which a tower-like structure stood. At the top of the tower, a strange object in the shape of a sphere, covered with many shining letters, was rotating. This radiance enveloped the entire village, hiding it from prying eyes and suppressing any connections with the outside world.
At first glance, all the villagers seemed to be ordinary people. However, if you looked closely, you could see the glazed looks and slow, strange movements, as if they were puppets or puppets.
Only a few of them could see the sparkle in their eyes and the wide smiles on their faces. Surprisingly, all these residents with a sparkle in their eyes were women.
In the depths of the village, in a special building with several rooms that were separated by bars, there were several dozen people. They were restrained by unusual devices, similar to handcuffs. These handcuffs somehow mysteriously suppressed their powers, making them practically helpless like ordinary people.
Among these prisoners, there were four people in one of the rooms: one woman and three men. One of them was Arabel's younger brother, Arslan.
All the men's eyes, like those of the residents outside, were devoid of luster. They sat with their heads down and looked at the floor. Only the woman, despite her bound hands, had bright eyes.
The woman was Milena Orleans, the leader of the Untouchables guild. The other people who were in her room were the heads of the other three guilds.
Milena sat motionless, but emotions were raging inside her — fear and despair. She couldn't believe she was in this situation.
No matter how hard she tried, the handcuffs on her hands held down her strength, and she was unable to change anything. She could only wait to see what fate had in store for her.
It wasn't long before Milena and all the other people in the building were suddenly teleported to an unknown location, where they were greeted by a mysterious force.
Under her influence, all the men lost their willpower, their eyes lost the light, and they, as if on command, knelt down and fell to the floor. At the same time, several powerful Soul Forces suppressed the women, including Milena.
It was only after feeling this pressure that Milena realized that the one who teleported them was at the top of the Gold Rank, if not higher.
Before the glassy-eyed people who appeared out of nowhere began to block their movements, Milena was able to see those who were behind it all.
It was a group of a dozen beautiful women with a wide, joyful smile on their faces. Milena recognized several women among them, whom she had met in the city of Rumbus. They were the members of the Queens Guild who had disappeared this afternoon, and it was in search of them that they had come.
All these women were dressed too lightly and openly, which immediately caught Milena's eye. Surprisingly, they didn't seem to feel the cold around them at all. There were many symbols written on their bodies that moved smoothly over their curvaceous forms.
All the awakened ones were handcuffed and locked in this building.
Milena did not know who these people were or why they had ambushed and captured them.
"Milena," came a voice from the next cell.
Looking up and turning around, she met the gaze of a young girl with short hair and short stature. Like Milena, she was handcuffed.
Milena immediately recognized her as a member of the Defenders Guild. After searching her memory, she remembered her name.
"Milla?" — Milena asked uncertainly, doubting if she had pronounced her name correctly.
"Yes, Miss Milena, it's me," Milla said happily, and then, quickly coming to her senses, she began to look around.
"Who do you think these people are?" she asked.
"I have no idea," Milena replied. "But I noticed the missing members of the Queens Guild among them."
Then she looked at Milla and frowned.
"Didn't the members of the Queens Guild come to cooperate with your Guild?" she asked suspiciously.
"I don't know myself. But that's what Leader Arslan said. He has connections with the Leader of the Queen's Guild, Irene," Milla quickly replied, trying to justify herself.
Milena lowered her head and thought.
"Are these women really members of the Queens Guild? Or are they impostors?" She asked herself.
"Miss Milena, do you think anyone will come to our aid?" asked Milla with a trembling voice.
"I doubt it," Milena said with some desperation. "Almost all the awakened ones from Rumbus City are here..."
It was only now that Milena realized how strange it all was. Why did they all decide to go in search of the missing group of Queens?
As she recalled, Arslan had put forward this proposal, and everyone, including her, had agreed without hesitation. It was as if they were children who blindly follow adults without thinking about the possible consequences.
While Milena and Milla were talking quietly, a small black creature was sitting in a dark corner of the building, hidden from prying eyes. His eyes were fixed on one person, a red—haired youth with glazed azure eyes.
This creature was Ned, who, despite everything that had happened, could not take his eyes off his target. Ned was sure that his Master would not leave him and would come for him. He also believed that the Mistress would come too, because the person he was watching closely was the brother of the Mistress.
At the thought of this, a wide smile appeared on the creature's face.
He had already sensed that the pressure that had descended on them was not the power of Golden—ranked beings, but much more powerful ones-Platinum and Diamond-ranked beings. Beings like himself, whose rank was suppressed by the restriction of the world.
This understanding gave him the realization that those who stood in the way of his Master and Mistress were not from this world, but came from a completely different one.
And that was crazy.
Ned was already anticipating what would happen soon. A thirst for battle was rising in his soul.