The Guild Of Shadows

Saving Grover 2

"There!"

An arrow was shot at a bird, only for the bird to dodge.

"Shoot! Over there!"

"Argh! I can't concentrate if you keep yelling in my ear, Sir Vladmir!" 

Justin, who was hopelessly trying to shoot a strange bird, exclaimed as he readied another arrow.

They were currently on foot and a few meters away from their destination when suddenly they were attacked by a giant rainbow-colored bird with long talons.

"Sun purge!" 

Justin shot another arrow, only for the monstrous bird to swiftly dodge it. 

Vladmir couldn't help but dodge incoming attacks from the bird as he was carrying a sick Krystal on his back. 

With a mighty caw, the rainbow-colored bird started to flap its wings really fast, generating a strong wind current that managed to push the adventurers back. 

"Vladmir, put me down." 

"But, Captain, it's too dangerous." 

"Trust me." 

Krystal, who had barely regained consciousness, got down from the big man's back and approached the bird. 

"Look, the birds are calming down." 

Justin said as he put away his bow. 

Krystal then raised his hand and placed it on the bird's head. He then closed his eyes as if he were trying to communicate with it. 

''I know you are acting as a protector here. We're not here to hurt anyone; we only need to find a healer who could save one of our friends. Please help us out.'" 

Krystal pleaded with the bird as the bird cawed again, but this time it wasn't out of fury. 

It soon started to shrink to the size of a regular bird, and an old man emerged from a hiding spot right at the entrance to the village. 

"Oi, what a bunch of interesting fellows we have here." 

The bird fluttered towards the man and sat on his shoulder.

"My name is Shambala; I am the village head here." 

He said while stroking his long white beard as he continued... 

"Welcome to Shoot Village.". 

Krystal smiled at this gesture. 

"You say this bird's an artifact, man?" 

Vladmir was astounded as he and Justin were repeatedly poking the bird, only for the bird to finally have enough and chase after them both as they ran over the room they were currently in. 

It was a small, well-arranged room in a Japanese-style setting. 

"Hahaha. Ada here doesn't take well to strangers."" 

The old man called for the bird as it stopped its assault on the two. 

""Yep, this is my partner and artifact, Ibong Adarna. Or Ada, for short."" 

He added while petting the bird, as it was loving the treatment it received. 

"I thought there were only three types of artifacts."

"Hoho, the three you know of are only the most common; Ada here is a beast-type artifact, which your friend seemed to have noticed earlier." 

Krystal could use seismic sense and thus be able to sense that the bird's aura was different from that of normal birds. 

""No wonder you told me to put you down. Captain, you never cease to amaze me."" 

Vladmir laughed out loud as he slapped the back of the sick Krystal, who had a worried expression. 

He stood up and summoned forth his shadow. 

The atmosphere of the room changed. 

Out came Grover in the same condition as he was a week ago. 

"Old man, you said you were a healer when you let us in earlier." 

Krystal got on his knees and bowed. 

"Please save our friend; I'd do anything." 

He finished as Vladmir followed suit and bowed; even their newest companion, Justin, did the same. 

The old man rubbed his long beard as he looked at the bird and nodded. 

The bird fluttered towards Grover and started singing as a faint golden light enveloped him. 

His wounds were starting to close! 

The gang had their jaws dropped for a moment, only for them to start rejoicing at the sight in front of them. 

Krystal, who had contracted a terrible case of the flu earlier, started to glow, and he could feel his fever dissolving by the second. 

"I'm all fine now!" 

Krystal rejoiced, and as he was about to thank the old man, a huge explosion occurred outside. 

Grover was still being healed as the trio and the old man ran outside to check what was going on. 

"Hello, dear brother." 

In front of them were the two ninjas that had been tailing them for a while. 

"Who the heck are you?" 

The shorter ninja plopped on the floor as he got back up, laughing maniacally. 

"Come on, don't tell me you can't recognize your own little brother after running away from home." 

Krystal's eyes widened as he recognized who these two were. 

They quickly took off their masks to reveal their faces, which, in truth, bore some resemblance to Krystal. 

"You never told us you had a brother." 

Krystal clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he was trembling down to his knees. 

Was this rage? 

" Vladmir! Justin! Old man! Take everyone and run!" 

No, it was fear.

"Huh?" 

Before Vladmir could even react, he was sent flying with an uppercut by the larger brother as he spoke for the first time. 

""Two hundred and sixty-seven. That was the number of times we could've killed you and that archer if it weren't for your good luck." 

They had been silently stalking their prey until an unknown figure joined the party earlier. 

The careful and oldest of the brothers decided not to take action just yet until they knew how to take out the teleporting Justin, not knowing that it wasn't his power that teleported him to the ark. 

Their luck ran out when they saw Justin firing golden arrows at a giant bird earlier. 

The larger brother had just knocked out Vladmir with a single blow. 

"Brother, Father wants you to come home with us; if you resist, we are told to use force and take away your artifact." 

Justin could not believe what he'd just seen. 

He knew how strong Krystal was, but he was now trembling in fear at the sight of these two ninjas, who claimed he was their brother. 

And one of them effortlessly took out Vladmir, who was a district commander. 

'"What am I doing? I should run!' 

"It seems you young people have business with Krystal here, but there was no reason to wreck the village." 

Shambala spoke up, as his aura was flaring up a lot. 

The two were ready to attack the old man until... 

"How's Stark doing?" 

What the old man said caused a series of strange reactions from the brothers and Krystal as well. 

"How do you know our old man?" 

The old man's gaze turned dark as he explained. 

""He was my young pupil, while you young people still have your heads attached to your necks. GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!" 

His aura took the form of a gigantic bird as Ada came flying out of the room they were in. 

The larger brother widened his eyes after seeing the bird. 

"Keith, let's retreat and report back to Father." 

""B-but brother. You can't possibly believe it."" 

"Keith!" 

"Argh! Fine... Beelze!" 

He called upon his artifact, and a strange miasma covered the two as they vanished. 

Back in the building, Grover was starting to open his eyes as he was met with the faces of a now awakened Vladmir and Krystal. 

"Grover!" 

"Ow ow! Demon spawn, what did I say about bear hugs?" 

"Hahaha. Sorry" 

"Welcome back to the land of the living Grover." 

Finally, their mission to save Grover was successful. 

A mini-party was held that night, while Krystal was currently sitting outside and contemplating the events that had transpired earlier, as Shambala came out to join him. 

"I thought you'd be happy and celebrating your friend's recovery with us."

He asked as he handed Krystal a cup of tea. 

Krystal sipped from the cup as his expression changed a bit from the worried face he had earlier. 

"I am grateful for all that you've done for us, old man." 

"Ahh, anything for the child of my beloved student." 

"About that... Was my father really your student?" 

""Indeed, he was; he looked a lot like you when he was your age. He came to me to learn complete mastery over Anima.'" 

The old man said as he also took a sip from his cup and continued... 

". Don't worry, I knew what your father did when he came to me all those years ago. And I'm sure your brothers won't be bothering you anytime soon."" 

He cut a piece of bread and fed it to Ada. 

""You have your whole life ahead of you now, and I can see that you're already forging powerful bonds with the people around you. Never lose sight of who you are.""

"Thank you, old man." 

Krystal finally had his usual smile on his face as he gulped down the tea. 

"If you ever feel like you're in a pinch, you can come to me for help anytime, okay?" 

He added as he poured more tea for Krystal and got up to go back inside, leaving Krystal to take more sips of the tea as he enjoyed the beautiful starry night. 

"This tea's delicious!"