Net-working

~~~💡~~~

The gallop of the horses rumbled like restrained thunder, shaking the fresh dawn air. The chase had already left behind the walls of Luminas, stretching into the outskirts of Kounaria. The shadows of the forest started swallowing the path. Thick trunks and crossing branches narrowed the trail. Turned it into a dangerous gorge where any mistake could cost a life.

Rei clenched his teeth. Gripped tight the device resting in the right holster of his belt. It had taken him three whole days to build—more complex than anything he had ever made in his life. He had worked on it through long nights of confinement in the castle, adjusting springs, pressure locks, and elastic meshes intertwined with conductive threads. He had never had a real chance to test it. And now, in the middle of a dark forest and a stampede of runaway horses, it was his best—and only—card.

But what he needed was the right spot to set it off. He scanned the forest, and there they were: tall and straight, joined almost like a natural arch over the trail.

“The trees…” he murmured to himself, eyes cutting through the shadows like blades. “Two aligned trunks… thick brush all around… perfect.”

He turned toward his companions, breath pounding in his chest.

“I have a plan!” he suddenly shouted.

“Seriously?” asked Leonoris.

“Didn’t think I’d ever hear that coming from you,” added Nessus.

“That was rude.”

“Up ahead!” Rei pointed with an outstretched arm at the trunks. “We have to drive the horses between those two trees!”

Nessus, holding the reins of the horse carrying the three of them, smiled with that reckless spark that defined him even in the worst of times.

“All the way there? Easy, brother. Get ready to fly!”

He yanked the reins hard. The animal whinnied as it swerved toward the path between the trees. Speed picked up. Wind whipped their faces. The saddle groaned under the strain.

“Faster, Nessus!” Rei grinned, feeling like a child again begging his little brother to fly with the grappling hook.

The group thundered ahead, but the stampede began to scatter. Some horses broke off to the sides, threatening to bypass the trap.

“Damn it!” Rei shrieked. “They’re spreading out! They won’t go through the trees!”

“I’ll handle it!”

Leonoris, holding on tightly, closed her eyes for a moment to focus her energy.

“Solaria, let me see!”

Her fingers glowed, and with a swift motion, she flung several orbs of light forward. Blinding white spheres floated in the shadows like miniature suns. The stray horses, confused, instinctively veered toward the glowing path that led them straight into the narrow passage.

“Nice one, Leonoris!” Rei cheered, though he didn’t notice the proud smile of the princess. “Just a little more, Nessus!”

Their horse drew closer to the stampede, closer to the arch Rei had chosen.

It was time. He pulled his last contraption from the holster: a small metal pistol crudely assembled from copper. With a cylinder sticking out between trigger and barrel. He would've loved to make it prettier. But there was no time, no materials, no tools. No patience. Rei aimed straight ahead, just above the horses.

“Keep it steady!” he shouted.

“Aye aye!”

For once, Nessus dropped the mad jockey act and drove the horse in a straight line toward the arch, just as the Hero had asked. Leonoris, on the other hand, let out a startled cry when Rei grabbed her hand and pressed it against his coat.

“Hold me, Leonoris!”

She spun quickly and saw him trying to shift position, lifting one knee onto the horse’s back.

“Are you insane?!” she shouted.

“Yes, thank you very much! Just do it!”

Leonoris couldn’t believe his answer, but in the heat of the moment she twisted her torso as far as she could and held him with both hands.

“Hold the—”

Ettor, once again riding at their side, never finished his sentence. To his right: Nessus, actually following orders for once. To his left: Leonoris, the calmest princess in the world, risking her balance with a wild maneuver. And between them, Kashiwa Rei, kneeling precariously on the horse, just high enough to gain the leverage he needed.

“Kashiwa Rei…”

No. This wasn’t the same Rei who had arrived. Couldn’t be…

“Fear not, for orange is the colour of hope, and with it comes the Hero who will set the Earth on fire.”

“Now, Rei!” Nessus yelled, his eyes blazing with excitement.

The young inventor drew a deep breath, squeezed the trigger, and aimed between the trees.

A metallic roar burst from the cylinder. The lid blew off, and a carefully woven Auricite net shot out, snapping open with a vibrating crack. It flew above the horses’ heads, and within seconds the mesh stretched tight between the trunks. Weighted balls coiled and locked it in place like serpents, sealing the path.

The Net—the second invention of Kashiwa Rei.

The first horse slammed into it with a shrill whinny, tangling itself. Those behind piled into him, collapsing in a storm of bodies, hooves, and dust. The net strained, vibrated under the force, but held firm thanks to the incredible Auricite stone. Famous for boosting durability.

Rei let out a triumphant cry. His heart pounded hard in his chest.

“It works! It works!”

One by one, horses crashed into the trap. A brown one fell. A black one too. But the stallion leader, held back until now by its struggle with Rei…

That one swerved, avoiding the net.

“Son of a—!” Rei spat. “The big bastard’s getting away!”

“Ha! Never liked that idiot anyway,” Nessus added. “Kicked me more than once.”

“What do we do?” Leonoris asked.

“Ettor!” Rei called, settling back onto the horse. “Catch the ones in the net—we’ll go after him!”

“Rei!” Ettor shouted, calling him by name for the first time, though Rei’s horse was already veering off. He cursed. “Damn it… Catch the others!”

The command to the guards was clear—they would handle the trapped ones. Rei would go after the runaway giant. Without realizing it, Ettor had placed his trust in the Hero.

Their horse closed in quickly. The stallion, weary and alone, faltered slightly. Taking advantage of a dodge around a tree, they pulled alongside him, provoking the beast to lash out.

“Oh no, dung-bag…” Rei muttered with a crooked grin, clenching his fist. “This time, it’s payback.”

Before anyone could stop him, Rei rose from the saddle and leapt forward—straight onto the stallion’s back.

“Rei!” Leonoris screamed again.

“He’s insane!” Nessus howled.

Rei clung desperately to the black horse’s mane. The beast snorted and thrashed, trying to shake him off, galloping wildly. But the Japanese boy was no longer the clumsy apprentice of a few days ago. This time, he had a plan B.

He looked ahead. The horse was about to burst into a clearing, where the forest would give way to open fields. If it made it there, they might never catch it. The moment to act was now. He picked a tree—the last in the forest barrier. But no, it was too close, directly ahead. It wouldn’t work.

He glanced at the ground racing beneath him, shivers running down his spine. But then he remembered: he had already jumped onto a horse using a grappling hook. How different could this be?

“Steady, Rei. You’ve got this,” he whispered. “Let’s go!”

With a daring move, he launched himself off the horse’s back, twisting midair with pinpoint precision. In the flight, he raised his arm and fired the grappling gun.

The metal cable shot out, whistling like a snake. The claw sank into the bark of the tree he’d aimed for. Relief and pride surged in him.

“Say I don’t have steady aim now, Ettor, you—”

“Ah!”

The impact with the ground was harsher than expected. Arms, legs, face, neck, chest—all bruised in an instant. The grappling gun flew from his hand. But he hadn’t triggered the retraction yet.

Exactly as he’d planned. He had flung himself aside so that the cable stretched between him and the tree—with the frantic horse in between. The beast had no time to react before colliding with the unbreakable line, toppling onto the damp earth.

“He ate it! Yes!”

“No, no, no—you’re mine!”

In a flash of inspiration, Leonoris tossed a rope from her horse, looping it around the stallion’s neck. When it tried to rise, the weight of her horse anchored it down.

“That’s right, bastard… who’s laughing now,” Rei boasted from the ground, though he couldn’t even move from the pain.

“Rei!”

Nessus and Leonoris steered their horse toward him, dragging the subdued stallion. The beast was covered in dust but, thankfully, unhurt.

“Rei!” Leonoris was first to dismount, running to him with her heart racing. “Are you alright?”

"She’s so sweet when she worries." Rei couldn’t help but surrender to the subtle charm of the ever-hooded princess.

CRACK.

Before she reached him, a trunk snapped behind her and began to fall—straight toward her white hood.

“Leo, look out!” Nessus cried.

“Leonoris!” Ettor, rushing up from behind, was struck speechless.

The tree tilted fast and crashed down with a monumental thud. A massive cloud of dust engulfed the clearing, blinding everyone.

Leonoris froze, raising an arm to shield her face. She coughed, lost in the haze, unable to move.

Then she felt arms wrap firmly around her waist—protective, warm, unmistakable.

“Not bad,” Rei’s voice whispered, breathless but triumphant. “After all those days locked up… this lab rat has a few tricks.”

She looked at him, eyes shining, words failing her. She simply nodded, holding onto him a little longer than necessary, making him smile.

When the dust settled, her brothers found them still like that—Rei holding the princess, both covered in dust, but alive.

“Oh, no way!” Nessus burst into laughter. “We didn’t bring you here to be the Hero who falls for the princess!”

Rei blushed so hard his wounds stung worse. Leonoris fared no better, her hood hiding a tomato-red face.

“Don’t say that!” they both exclaimed, pulling apart—though Leonoris quickly caught him again, barely able to stand.

Ettor arrived behind, sheathing his sword with a calm motion.

“We’ve secured all the horses. You could have used a more conventional strategy.”

“You’re right,” Rei laughed, brimming with confidence. “But it was my strategy that worked. That’s enough for me.”

Ettor sighed, eyeing the amused faces of the three beside him.

“Fair enough.” He turned. “Let’s head back.”

The weary guards regrouped, making sure no more threats lingered. The black stallion lay to the side, breathing heavily but not rising.

In the quiet chaos left after the battle, the Solaris siblings and Rei exchanged a look of hope. Together, they had faced the fight—and triumphed.

Rei raised his face toward them, wiping the sweat from his brow. He smiled faintly, with the little strength he had left.

They weren’t pirates. But not bad at all for the Hero of Solaria, Kashiwa Rei, to begin writing history.