Spirit Game

~Chi!~

"What's wrong, Chi?" Rain asked, noticing the urgency in her chirps.

Chi was stomping in his direction without stopping. 'The Hobgoblins have picked up their pace and are heading here. They'll be here within two days!'

Rain and Druger exchanged a grave look.

"That's earlier than we anticipated," Druger said.

Instead of wallowing in fear and despair, Rain urgently gave out orders. "Abandon the village! Everyone, carry the sick to the warships now!"

"Rain!" Druger and Chi were surprised. "What are you doing? Abandoning the village? Are you nuts?"

Rain shook his head, gritting his teeth. "I'm the most sane right now!" he declared, which made Druger and Chi pause. "I know that abandoning the village seems cowardly, and would waste all our efforts thus far, but it's the best course of action to save everyone right now! Until we find a cure for the disease, we can't fight ten thousand Hobgoblins with our current state.

I hate to say this, but we've lost this war the moment the disease struck us." Read the latest novel on M-VL-em|p,yr

Druger and Chi couldn't find the words to argue. They knew Rain was right, but accepting defeat before the battle had even begun was a bitter pill to swallow.

"We will stay and buy you time," Rain said firmly.

"What? But, lad—"

Rain tapped Druger's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "You have to evacuate everyone, including the townsfolk, to the warship. We'll stall the Hobgoblins while you evacuate. We will give you enough time."

"But . . . what about you, lad?"

Rain forced a smile and winked. "Don't worry about me. If things get tough, we'll escape too. With only a few of us, we can mostly outrun the Hobgoblins. Escaping would be easier."

Druger stared at Rain, speechless.

"Go, Druger. Time is of the essence."

Druger finally forced himself to nod, determination hardening his features. With his small yet sturdy feet, he sprinted toward the village to relay Rain's instructions. Ignoring the fever and coughing that racked his body, he took a swig of strong booze, using its fiery burn to fight the disease's grip. His resolve was unshakable — nothing would stop him from carrying out his duty.

~Chi!~

"I won't escape while you stall the Hobgoblins, Chi," Rain said, his voice as stony as his face. "I'm the lord of this village, and it's my responsibility to keep everyone safe."

Chi pressed her beak tight. She was about to speak when they heard Pup's howls.

"What's going on?" Rain asked, concerned. "Is Pup alright?"

They hurried to where the wolf was and found him inside the barn near the barrels of chicken food.

~GrrRr!~

Pup howled and growled, baring his fangs, his butt raised and head lowered, ready to pounce on whatever was there.

"Pup, what is it?" Rain asked.

~Chi?!~

Rain and Chi approached Pup and stared at what the little wolf was growling at . . . but there was no one there.

"What is it?" Rain asked again, puzzled by Pup's relentless growling.

~Chi!~

Chi hissed, and Rain grew more curious. It wasn't just Pup; Chi was acting strange now as well.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something shining. Upon closer inspection, he saw a strange-looking dark bug with glowing markings on its body.

"W-what . . . what is it?"

Chi immediately stopped him from approaching.

'A foul strength emanates from that bug!' she warned with a loud chirp.

The bug was about to escape, but Pup was fast and snapped his jaws around it.

"Don't kill it!" Rain commanded. His gut told him that the bug was something significant.

Pup immediately stopped crushing it between his jaws. The bug struggled to get free but couldn't.

~Chi~

'Give it to me.' Chi extended her hand, and Pup obediently dropped the beetle into her palm.

The moment the bug landed on her, it bit Chi, and she chirped in anger. She quickly picked it up by its round back so it couldn't bite her again.

'What the hell are you?!' Chi chirped, glaring at the bug between her fingers.

But before Chi could squeeze the bug for answers, she started coughing violently. Her eyes drooped, and she collapsed with a fever.

"Chi!" Rain was shocked at the turn of events. He watched in horror as the beetle quickly escaped.

"Pup, after it!" Rain ordered while checking on Chi. To his surprise, Chi was burning up and coughing, just like those afflicted by the disease ravaging the village.

Chi had mostly stayed in the north and hadn't had any contact with the infected. How could she have contracted the disease?

"D-don't tell me . . ."

Pup returned with the struggling beetle between his jaws, wagging his tail triumphantly. Rain had no time to praise him, however.

"Is this . . . is this thing the cause of the coughing disease?" Rain asked no one in particular.

He quickly grabbed a glass jar from his inventory, originally used for storing rainwater, and used it as a makeshift jail for the beetle.

Rain then instructed Pup to guard the cellar while he quickly carried Chi to the quarantine area.

This was bad! His General had contracted the disease. With Chi incapacitated, it was as if half his army was crippled.

Now it was imperative to find a cure, or Chi might not make it.

"Don't worry, Chi . . . Hana is . . .

Hana is doing his best to produce a cure." Worry gnawed at Rain as he placed Chi inside the quarantine area, struggling for breath.

With a heavy heart, Rain had to leave, despite Chi's fever raging. He knew he couldn't do anything in the quarantine area than waste his time worrying. Steeling himself, he bolted back to the beetle and headed straight for Druger and the others.

Now that he had found the possible cause of the disease, maybe they could finally create a cure. Rain was hopeful as he raced back to the village.

When he presented the beetle to Druger, the latter was equally surprised.

"This is the first time I've seen something like this," Druger said.

"Me too," Rain affirmed. "I couldn't find anything about it in any book. Do you think the elders know about it? Maybe with this, we can finally find a cure?"