A beast covered in a shadowy mist stood in front of Shiebe and Zaneff. It resembled the appearance of the watchdog of the underworld Cerberus

  Eros:--Shit!

  Eros gripped the open wound made in his stomach as his wives slowly put him on his throne.

  “We need to get a healer and fast”

  The situation was complicated for Eros. It wasn’t as if he could tell Shiebe to take Zaneff and run away as Louis would just catch up to them.

  Maz was unavailable as Eros had told him to evacuate all the maids the moment the first boulder struck.

  Louis De Louch: Y-You dirty human!. HOW DARE YOU STRIKE ME!!!

  As he got up he let out a shout to Eros now feeling raged.

  He wiped off the dust that stained his fancy clothing.

  Zaneff: ..Why did this have to had happen

  Shiebe: Don’t worry Zaneff. I won’t let him take you back there

  Zaneff:...how did he know I was here?

  Shiebe: Newspapers. Word spreads fast around this place. It’s probably the same way the council knew that I was here.

  Louis De Louch: Enough! I Shall End This meaningless CONFLICT ONCE AND FOR AL-

  KRAKA-BOOM

  ???: Are you trying to kill everyone in here!

  Thunderstruck upon Louis disallowing him to finish his sentence.

  In terms of damage it was little to none but it did shock him for a bit

  Louis De Louch: So you’ve finally arrived

  Shiebe:-!

  Zaneff: Maz!

  Louis De Louch: So you must be Maz Iriono… Your brother’s doing well if you must know .

  Maz:---

  As he landed on the ground he walked towards where Shiebe and Zaneff were standing ignoring the comment made by Louis.

  Louis De Louch: Zaneff! Step away from these fools and come to me.

  Zaneff:----

  Shiebe and Maz stared at Zaneff awaiting her response.

  Louis stared deeply at the girl trying to inflict fear onto her as if saying “You know what's good for you”

  Zaneff: Father…I-

  Louis De Louch did not speak. He did not have to as the look in the eyes had said enough.

  Zaneff:--Y-Yes father

  Shiebe: !?

  Maz:--?

  Louis De Louch: Good Girl.

  As he had intended, fear was the biggest factor in her decision. Defining her father was something she could never do. Whatever he said she had no choice but to obey regardless of what she had wanted.

  Shiebe:--Z-Zaneff wait!

  Stolen story; please report.

  Zaneff who was walking towards her father had stopped looking back at the voice that called out to her.

  Zaneff: It’s okay Shiebe. There’s no need for any more bloodshed.

  Shiebe: B-But what about the academ-

  Zaneff: Shiebe. I said it’s fine…Goodbye

  Cutting off his sentence she turned her head away from him and bid her farewell before joining her father’s side.

  Shiebe looked towards Eros as a sign of help.

  Eros: —-

  Eros shook his head telling Shiebe to stand down. It was unrealistic to fight a council member. He was also her father so there was little that he could have possibly done in order to protect her.

  Louis had grabbed her hand and headed for the exit. The two boys looked at the man in anger but he could not have cared less about their feelings. However before leaving he told them –

  Louis De Louch: I won't be enrolling her in that academy. 8 years from now she will be attending Henokai Academy. If you wish to see her then enter that school.

  These were the last few words that he had muttered before leaving the main hall.

  Then they had left the palace itself.

  All that remained was the destruction left behind

  ***********************

  A few hours had passed since Zaneff had left.

  Healers immediately came to the palace and took care of Eros’s wound. Shiebe and Maz have little to no wounds and were deemed okay.

  Shiebe: Damnit!

  Maz: There was little we could have done Shiebe. Letting her go was the safest option for both us and her.

  Shiebe knew all of this, in fact he wasn’t angered that Zaneff had left the palace. What truly made him angry was the circumstances that made her leave. He didn’t like the fact that her father had enforced fear into her

  Shiebe: Now what… Eros is out of commission for a while and now Zaneff is gone. So what should we do?!

  Stress was starting to build within him. All these problems to have occurred in just one day was too much for him. His heartbeat rapidly increased as well from the encounter earlier.

  Maz: I will admit that I barely knew her so I can’t say that I'm distorted about her leaving but what I do know is that we can’t let it slow down our progress in life. It may be a bit harsh but she’s gone now and she won’t be coming back. The only way to see her is to go to Henokai Academy and that school has a low acceptance rate.

  Shiebe: What are you trying to say?

  Maz: We need to get more power. That’s the only way for us to see her again. You can’t bring yourself down.

  Shiebe: Y-Yeah you're right. Thank you Maz ... I-I wouldn’t know what i’ve done without you.

  Maz placed his right hand on Shiebe’s right shoulder and gave him a thumbs up with a grin across his face.

  Maz: That’s what friends are for right.

  Shiebe:--

  Until this moment. Shiebe had never even thought of Maz as a friend but rather an ally. He thought that it was the same for Maz but hearing those words come out of his mouth brought a spark into his eyes.

  Shiebe: Y-Yeah!

  He wasn’t alone anymore. He had friends who genuinely cared for him and he would do the same for them as well.

  ************

  About 2 more hours had passed by.

  Shiebe, Maz along with Eros’s wives patiently waited for his arrival. They were told by the healers that he would be healed up and ready to go in a few hours.

  It was a surprise to Shiebe as the wound that was inflicted seemed to be deep but never underestimate the power of healers.

  “I think that’s him”

  One of his wives ,who were all standing by Shiebe and Maz, had claimed that the footsteps that could be heard outside belonged to Eros.

  In the back of Shiebe’s mind a thought came to him. ‘Be Alert’. The bounty on his head could bring unwanted attetition especially with what had just happened and the palace having damaged parts in it.

  Maz: Yeah..I know

  Maz who stood next to him understood exactly what he was thinking as was preparing himself as well.

  They both didn’t want to alarm the ladies so they didn’t get into a battle stance but were ready to jump anyone who wasn’t Eros.

  Creek

  The door slowly opened

  FWOOSH

  KRACK KRACK KRACK

  Shiebe & Maz: !!

  ???: W-Whoa?!

  ???: Not bad

  The door had opened to reveal a man in an attire that a butler would wear.

  Unfortunately for this man, To these two boys they saw a man who was not Eros.

  Shiebe unleashed a small ball of destruction whilst Maz pointed a zap of lighting towards the man.

  These attacks were all blocked though by what seemed like a sword slash.

  Behind the man stood three silhouettes. From the distance the boys were at they couldn’t get a good look at their faces though.

  Person 1: I don’t appreciate being attacked upon arrival.

  Person 2: Y-yeah…

  Person 3: Heh, Sorry about that it’s been a bit lively here so the boys are on edge.