Chapter 64: Spider and wolf
Tempest stopped his attack when he heard her. He looked at her with eyes that showed reluctance.
"You said five minutes."
"Yes, but then you two started going at it like you wanted to kill yourselves, and it was only a matter of time before you started ripping up the entire forest," Aris said.
"Tch, I would not need to go that far to get rid of him," Tempest spoke and looked at Ren, who was still gliding in the air.
She heaved a tired sigh and got to her feet.
"Even you can see that he has not started going all out, much like you."
Ren watched the two of them speak. He ascertained that the fight had ended, and so he flew down, landing on the mountain opposite the two of them.
"I’m guessing you are a forest lord as well."
He said to Aris, and she let out a smile.
"That would be spot on," she replied and stepped forward. "I am Aris."
’She doesn’t seem to want a fight. That’s good. Taking on two would be a crazy act.’
While Ren was busy analyzing things, multiple shadows shot up the side of the mountain. Remu and Riker had flown into the air while carrying Ragna, while Ezra flew behind.
They came in fast and then released Ragna. He pulled his sword.
"RAWRRRRRRRRR!" He let out a thunderous roar as his foot slammed into the mountain and caused the earth to tremble.
The others landed on the ground as well and immediately got into their battle positions, with Ren at the center.
"Take one more step forward and your head will hit the floor."
Ragna’s voice was low. He looked directly at Tempest and Aris, Remu beside him, neither of them moving.
Tempest frowned when he saw them standing there.
"This," he said, pausing. "This is not a fight for the likes of you. Stand down or die."
"We would rather die," Ragna said, "than allow you to come any closer to our master."
Ragna was seething. When Ren and Tempest had been locked in their fight, he had been unable to move, unable to do anything. They had moved so fast he could not even follow them, and that alone had spiked his anger to where it currently sat. He would not allow Tempest to continue.
Tempest’s frown deepened.
He could not accept being disrespected by such lowly beings. He gripped his sword tighter. Before he could do anything else,
"I would not do that if I were you."
Ren’s voice was clear and crisp. Not playful. Not carrying any particular emotion. Plain and straight. The kind of statement that you knew would be backed up.
Tempest looked up at him.
"You allow your subordinates to speak to me knowing they could lose their lives?"
"You do not raise a blade at my subordinates," Ren replied. "Or anyone under me. If you choose to keep breathing, that is the first and most important rule when it comes to me."
Tempest’s rage climbed higher.
Then Aris stepped forward.
"Let’s take a deep breath and calm down," she said, looking between them. "Both of you. Especially you, Tempest."
She turned her gaze to Ren.
"You took out the Calamity Orc. One of the forest lords. That makes you the new forest lord. It is purely courtesy that we came to visit and talk. To get to know our new acquaintance."
She dragged the last word slightly, then looked back at Tempest with a smile.
"I never knew you attacked acquaintances to kill."
She paused.
"Tempest is a hothead. He was not going to kill you, though."
The way she said it made it very clear that the emphasis was on kill you specifically. As if to let him know that Tempest could, whenever he chose to.
Ren frowned.
Then, a few seconds later, he smiled.
"Well then," he said, "if we are acquaintances, let’s get down and talk."
He said it as if the entire fight, the tension, the lightning and the flame, and the mountain taking damage were nothing. As if none of it had happened. He simply spread his wings, flew down the mountain, landed casually at the base, and looked back up at them, waiting.
Tempest and Aris were completely stunned by the three-hundred-and-sixty-degree switch.
"This is the dragon that took out the Calamity?" Tempest asked.
"You faced him yourself. Don’t ask me," Aris replied.
Everyone came down the mountain now that the situation was calm.
"I’m really sorry we can’t talk yet. The orcs are kinda moving over to my side of the forest where I stay so we can get them settled," Ren said casually.
"If you don’t mind, then rather than speaking here, we can head back to where I stay, and then we can talk properly."
Tempest and Aris exchanged looks between themselves and then proceeded to follow him back. But before fully leaving, Ren figured it would be best to move the dwarf first. The old man gave off the vibe that he would kill himself if no one else was there to supervise him.
They made it back to the settlement, and both Tempest and Aris were blown away by the place. It may not have been some grand city, but it was very clean and well made, making them kind of jealous.
Ren prepared a meeting place for them, and they got ready to have their little talk. But at that moment, something was happening nearby in the forest.
A young wolf that had stepped into the forest was moving about playfully on its own. Then, suddenly, a spider the size of a fist appeared close by.
Before the wolf could react, the spider leapt onto it and bit deeply into the wolf’s neck.
Ren had been stepping inside when he spotted something in his peripheral vision, but by the time he looked, it was gone.
"Hmm, could have sworn..."
He shook the thought from his head and walked into the building.
Behind a bush, the body of the wolf soon rose back to its feet. The spider had somehow merged right into the wolf. The wolf shook its head a few times and then rushed back into the settlement.