The Second Port

Mila's confusion was palpable as she looked at us. Babu turned to me and asked, "Lezlie, are you sure about this?" I nodded confidently and replied, "Yes, I'm sure, Babu. If we find Ryuu and Hiroshi, we can help Mila with their help."

Babu voiced his concern, "But if we don't be careful, we can get caught up by the epic." I acknowledged his warning, "Yes, that is correct. But we can help Mila, and by doing that, Mila won't have to get married."

Mila looked at us skeptically and asked, "Are you sure you really know him?" I answered her without hesitation, "Yeah, we've been traveling with him for a long time. He's a very close friend of ours."

Mila turned her gaze towards the road ahead and instructed us, "Okay, but now we're moving randomly, try to remember where you last saw them. They could be at Port Two. We got to the first port, and they weren't there, they were probably at the second port." We all agreed, and I replied, "All right, then our next stop will be the second Port."

After half an hour of traveling, we finally arrived at Port Two. To avoid attracting any attention, Mila left the carriage a little behind, and we walked a little distance to the second port. We started asking around for Ryuu and Hiroshi, but no one we talked to had seen them. Despite searching for them for a long time, we found ourselves resting in the middle of the harbor, panting from exhaustion.

Babu looked at me, "It's almost night. We asked everyone at the port, and if they were here, I'm sure someone would have seen them." Mila, too tired to argue, said, "Your friend is right, there's no way they're here."

But I wasn't ready to give up yet, "But we can't give up now, Mila, Babu. We're running out of time!" Babu nodded in agreement, "I think she's right. We can't stay here. We've already wasted a lot of time here. If we wait a little longer, they'll catch up with us. We need to leave as--" Just as Babu was speaking, a loud noise interrupted him, and we turned to see someone running towards us very quickly.

Mila looked back at us and said, "Oh, no. I didn't expect him to find us so soon." The tension in the air was palpable, and we braced ourselves for what was coming next.

With a sudden burst of movement, a stranger darted into the port, their face obscured by a peculiar mask. The swiftness of their approach left us reeling, as they closed in on us within seconds. Their gaze upon us was unsettling as if they knew us from somewhere before. But unfortunately, he didn't look at us as friends.

"Princess, it has been a long time," the stranger spoke with a voice that resonated with authority.

Mila was taken aback, "Yes, some time has passed, I think. Tell me, how did you find me?"

"I've searched far and wide throughout the kingdom for almost a week, running there, here, and everywhere. But, fortunately, I finally found you."

Mila's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "You still haven't answered my question."

The stranger cast his gaze around before responding, "In order to locate you, I had to spend some time and hurt some people a little. But as you can see, it worked."

Mila's voice was cold as ice, "I hope you didn't touch my men. Or you will pay for that."

The stranger's tone turned mocking, "Ah, yes. The men you love so much, and the men you left behind."

Mila's expression turned to one of horror, "What did you do to them?"

He continued, "Unfortunately, they're all dead. They're all dead because of you, Princess."

Mila's anger was palpable, "You filthy monster. I will make you pay for this!"

With a swift movement, the princess extends one hand in the direction of the sea and the other to the stranger's neck. Somehow, with the support of the water, the water of the sea came into his hand and he sprinkled it hard on the enemy with his other hand. And I had never seen anything like it before. Was this a new magical power? We had heard whispers of such things before, but this was the first time we were witnessing it firsthand.

The stranger twisted Mila's arm and taunted her, "Princess, are these your new pets? Oh, I'm sorry, I meant your new victims." It was as if the enemy had spoken these words for us.

At that moment Babu's anger boiled over and he shouted "Mila!" and lunged at the enemy to attack.

In an instant, the mysterious intruder's lightning-fast movements had taken down Mila and Babu. He moved with such speed that their attempts to counter him had been in vain. Babu tried to create a barrier with his stick, but it was no match for the intruder's barrage of attacks.

As Babu struggled to defend himself, I rushed to Mila's side to check on her. She was conscious but clearly shaken by the sudden attack. I knew we had to act fast before the intruder could strike again.

With the intruder's speed and Mila's water power seemingly ineffective, I had an idea. I suggested using a spell to make the concrete on the ground more slippery, allowing Mila to wet it and make it even more treacherous for the intruder.

Mila hesitated at first, unsure if it would be enough to stop the intruder. But with no other options, we quickly put the plan into action.

As the intruder rushed towards us once again, we activated our plan. Mila drenched the ground with water, making it slick and difficult to navigate. The intruder slipped and stumbled, giving us a chance to strike back.

But the intruder was not so easily defeated. As he regained his balance, he began to move towards us once again. I quickly cast another spell, this time making the floor sticky. The intruder fell once again, giving us precious time to escape. My sticky magic could only last half an hour at most because Mila had wet the floor.

As we ran, we knew our victory was only temporary. The intruder would undoubtedly recover and come after us once again. But for now, we had bought ourselves some time. And with our combined skills and quick thinking, we knew we could take on whatever challenges lay ahead.

As we hurriedly made our escape, the enemy's parting words lingered in the air like a dark cloud, threatening to cast a shadow over our hard-earned victory. "You think you have won," he spat, his tone seething with anger and frustration. "But remember," he added, his voice lowering menacingly, "when I get out of here, I will come after you. Remember that."

Despite his warning, we refused to let fear cloud our minds. We had faced and triumphed over his brutality and cruelty, and we were not about to let his threats shake our resolve. We quickly made our way to the car, helping Babu into the back seat to rest and recover from the ordeal.

Mila and I climbed into the front seats, set the carriage in motion, and drove away, leaving our enemy behind us. As we sped away, the wind whipping through our hair, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over me. We had made it out alive, and now it was time to leave this nightmare behind and focus on the road ahead.