An Extra’s POV
chapter-628

Gratiana gritted her teeth as she walked behind Rey Skylar.

She had her head somewhat lowered, as it hung shamefully on her shoulders while she contemplated everything that just happened.

"Haa… haaa…"

Steamy breaths escaped her lips with every step she took, and every second or two, she would lift her gaze to look at the man who walked a couple of inches from her. She desperately wanted to close the gap and access what she was denied, but—

'No! What am I thinking? Why am I… what would the girls think?!'

Gratiana tried her best to hide the immense guilt that was bubbling up within her, but it was getting too much to bear. A few moments ago, when Rey told her about the return of the Young Ones, she was disappointed.

It was only for a split second, but she certainly thought:

'Why did they have to return now?!'

As an Elder, she should have been elated by their safe return. Yet, she selfishly indulged in a bet that put so much on the line. Instead of rushing to rescue them, she instead conversed with the perpetrator of all these evils.

Gratiana felt awful beyond measure.

'They're my responsibility… yet I abandoned them.' Her thoughts trailed as she watched Rey exit the Fortress. She felt reluctant to do the same.

'How can I even face them?'

She simply wanted to stay back and hide herself in the shadows; at least, until she had worked up the courage to face her little sisters.

Unfortunately—

~VWUSH~

—She had no choice in the matter.

In a fraction of a second, she stood right beside Rey, who placed his arm around her as he smiled confidently at the Elves who were fast approaching, right outside the barrier's boundary.

The sudden change in scenery stunned Gratiana so much that it was difficult for her to render a single word or action in reaction to it all. She could only take everything in with a gasp and widened eyes.

"Do you see now?" She heard Rey whisper to her, and instantly her body shivered.

Her heart sank even lower than ever as she looked at the incoming girls and the menacing expressions on their faces.

Their bodies were stained with blood, and they were dripping with all manner of entrails. Still, they remained unfazed by it all.

The way they tightly clung to their lethal weapons as they approached with a battle-hardened glare proved just how ready they were for combat—perhaps something even more.

"Do those eyes look innocent to you now?"

Gratiana saw it—even felt it within her—but she didn't want to accept it.

"N-no… I don't believe this." She whispered, staring at the group that now reached the forefront of the barrier.

"You don't believe it even if it is right in front of you?"

"I… I can't…"

She saw Rey smile as he turned back to look at her.His glowing red eye made her body react accordingly—almost as if it completely knew what to do with just a single glance.

"I figured as much. Which is why I'll show it to you—right here and now." Gratiana didn't know what he meant by that, but he simply stood still, allowing the girls to approach even further. They walked through the barrier like it was nothing, approaching him and Gratiana with unchanging expressions on their faces.

"W-what are you planning? Girls! My sisters! Are you oka—?"

The Young Ones walked past Gratiana without uttering as much as a single word. They didn't even glance at her—or Rey for that matter—but kept walking straight towards the Fortress.

It puzzled Gratiana instantly.

"They can't see or hear us. I wouldn't want you to interfere with what you're about to witness with your own eyes." He narrowed his eye as he watched them.

Gratiana gulped as she joined the spectating; observing as her little sisters stopped short of the Fortress and then stretched out their expensive-looking weapons.

For a moment, they were still.

Almost as if choreographed, they all stopped moving, and Gratiana didn't understand why. She was able to know every little thing that went on in the minds of her Youngs, but this time she was completely confounded.

"What are they doi—?"

~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~

Before she could conclude her question, bright bursts of energy in many forms—fire, lightning, light, or sheer explosions—charged from the weapons of these girls as they fired their attacks at the same time.

The result was a deafening eruption, as well as the utter obliteration of the towering construct that both Rey and Gratiana previously occupied.

"They didn't know we had left that place, yet they blew it up. Shouldn't their first thoughts be to save you through non-lethal means?" Rey spoke in a low tone as Gratiana covered her louth with both hands.

She trembled at the horror she was seeing.

Despite seeing entrails on the girls, and observing their expressions, she didn't want to believe her girls had gone that far yet. After all, the entire test was staged by Rey.

But this? What excuse could she have for them?

"T-they know you're powerful! You won't die so easily from that attack!"

"But you would…"

"What are you trying to say? That they wanted to hurt me? There's no way!"

"I'm not saying anything, Gratiana…" Rey slowly turned to her again, causing her body to freeze up.

"But maybe their desire to kill me has overshadowed their intent to save you."

She gulped as she watched the girls continue to fire their energies at the crumbling building—using elemental abilities, Skills, Magic, anything that would let them continue their display of destruction.

And the strangest part of it all? They were cackling all through the experience.

The innocent faces of the Elves were now marred by ugly laughter that seemed to spread to the corners of their faces.

It was horrifying.

"Ah, I forgot to mention something." As Rey said this, a flapping sound began to echo, and a figure in white emerged from the debris.

"There was someone else in the building."

The figure had long white hair and bright blue eyes. She remained unharmed by the attack, so her skin was as fair as ever. With her beauty untainted, she descended on the sandy ground—a small distance from the Elves and the crumbled building—while wearing an annoyed expression on her face.

"What the hell have you done now, Rey?"