"Darok, knock her out," she said.
Darok appeared like he had never left and moved towards me, knocking me out. My eyes were wide open, staring at Selka's grinning face before falling unconscious.
"Damn, what an annoying woman..."
I haven't seen anyone as annoying as her. Aside from being annoying, she was also manipulative. The kind of person who smiles while twisting the knife.
I didn't know how long I was knocked unconscious, but when I opened my eyes, I was marveled by the scenery before me.
At a far distance, about 20km away, there stood an enormous flower. The flower wasn't attached to any stem, just sprouting from the ground like an ordinary plant.
The pedicel protruded from the ground into a gigantic trunk holding the flower. The petals of the flower had an attractive color, a dark blue with a mixture of orange. Both colors shone in the reflection of the sun, creating a magnificent scene.
There was only one word...
"Amazing." The word slipped out before I could stop it.
A sudden realization dawned. We were moving towards the flower on a vehicle.
"You are awake? Good morning, Miss Emily," a strange person said.
I flinched slightly, rearranging my clothes and straightening my posture. I began to evaluate my surroundings. Yes, we were on a moving vehicle, but only those who are prepared for the worst can survive this world. I adjusted the blade hidden under my sleeve. Just in case.
Through observation, I noticed the others. Each one of them was seated with distance between them, most especially Quinn. They distanced themselves from Quinn due to the earlier confession.
'It looks like I am the last to wake up,' I thought.
'If I may ask, why are we going there? And where is Lady Selka?" I politely asked.
A grunt voice from the driver's side answered.
"You are not in the position to know, and for why we are going there, that is where we shall make preparation for the journey to the castle."
I knew who had that grunt voice from anywhere. The mysterious Darok. An unknown variable.
'Two at the driver seat, two beside us, heavily armed. With that, they are four in number. Could there be more behind us, hidden somewhere? No, that can't be. For her to be so calm and send three people including her second in command, that means she is sure that we wouldn't escape. What a terrifying woman,' my eyes moved, scanning everywhere.
'Either she is testing me or it is sheer confidence.'
Nobody spoke throughout the drive. It was only the noise from the vehicle and constant sneezing from Mark that prevented total silence.
'Does he have an allergy? Or is it the flower's fragrance already affecting him?'
During the drive, I got to confirm something that had been pestering me for some time. The constant gaze from Edward. It wasn't just any type of look, but one that someone gives to a person that they like.
Just looking at him, I felt annoyance for him. For someone who had just heard terrible news, he was coping well. Really well.
'No wonder your father sold you,' I closed my eyes as that thought surfaced.
We finally got close to the abnormal flower, taking in the fragrance. For a flower as big as this, its fragrance was really strong and heavy. Even before we got here, we smelled the flower already. It clung to my tongue, sweet and metallic.
"We are here," a familiar voice said.
It was the man who first spoke to me when I woke up. From what he said, it was a signal for us to move towards the flower on foot.
We got off the vehicle and started approaching the flower. As we got closer, we saw an opening in the pedicel of the flower.
"This is where we will enter," the man said.
With his confirmation, we entered the opening where we were greeted with an amazing sight. In the flower, there were rows of books arranged on curved shelves, spanning from the first floor to an unknown number of floors.
I just couldn't know the number of floors the building had due to how high it was. The air inside was cool, dry, and heavy with the scent of old paper.
'This is the flower, absolutely unbelievable!' I exclaimed in my mind.
As the whole team marveled at the sight, Darok moved forward and stopped, facing us. He finally spoke with a calm tone.
"Welcome to the Great Citadel, Arvok..." he paused as he was interrupted.
A noise came from the upper floor, approaching us slowly until it finally got to us.
"Isn't it Darok, the leader's doll?" a mysterious voice mockingly said.
Following the person were four people who, just like the leader, looked eerily human.
"Hmm."
"No response, you're really boring... you guys seem to be the ones the leader captured," he said as he stared at me.
He stared intently at me, sizing me from head to toe. After staring at me for a few seconds, he snarled and added;
"And you are the leader of this team? What was the leader thinking when she picked you?"
I knew this was my cue. People will always belittle the underdogs. People won't know your value until you prove it.
"Are you saying the leader is wrong? Your leader picked me because she sees something in me that's not in you," I replied coldly.
The words might sound harsh, but that was the truth. A vein bulged on his head, displaying the anger he felt. He gritted his teeth and gave his own response.
"And what may that be?" he asked.
"That's simple. Potential."
I could feel the anger in him brewing along with his killing intent. I was sure he wanted to kill me, but before he could do anything, Darok spoke.
"Since that was taken care of, I would begin the briefing."
As he spoke, he stared at the man who spoke earlier.
"Xyrus, explain the history of the realm."
With a displeased look, Xyrus walked towards the front and faced us.
"For those who don't know, this whole realm was created by the great and powerful hero, Lenos Mundus. Lenos fought the realm conqueror in a deciding battle that affected the whole world. The great hero only won by a hair. With his last breath, he created this realm, serving as the burial site for the realm conqueror," he summarized.
"And our mission is to get a particular weapon used by this conqueror. According to outdated sources, it is believed this weapon is in the castle and we must get that weapon at all costs because this weapon is necessary in saving our realm," Darok added.