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Warden is pissed off.
There's a lot of reasons to be.
First, the stones are still missing, and he doesn't know who took it.
Second, the whole Barrel Zone is in chaos because of the Aetheral knights' rampage and ransacking the place.
And lastly, she's missing.
Warden effortlessly lifted the table and the chair in his office.
He sat down and looked pissed.
His grip on her bunny stuffed toy tightens as he slumps down to his chair.
He never lost cool before, no one ever saw him lose cool.
He's supposed to be composed and in control, but Yuu always driving him crazy.
Did the Aetheral knights already captured her?
No, if they did, he'll know it right away.
He put the bunny plushie on his table in a sitting position.
"I really failed you, aren't I?" He said while caressing the bunny's head.
A sudden sting in his left eye.
His eye's start to blur, still looking at the bunny plushie in front of him.
"I really failed as her father..." He murmurs.
...
Yuu held her left eye as she felt a sting.
Sarah looked at her worriedly.
"Hey? You okay?" She gently asked as she observed her.
Yuu only looks away, ignoring her.
This makes Sarah snap.
"Look I'm just worried, if you're gonna stick to your attitude, then be it!" She snarled as she climbed down the treehouse leaving Yuu and Levi left alone.
"Hmm..." Levi continues to watch Yuu, crossing his arms together, leaning against the trunk.
Yuu continues to silently wince on the floor.
It's really hurting her this time.
She needs her syringe, she needs her Momo.
"Lu...Lucian..." She managed to say his name between her grunts.
"He's out..." Levi answered as he continued to watch her suffering in pain.
Yuu looks up to him but her vision gets blurry.
She tried to reach out to him but he seemed far away.
Levi, with a little bit of mercy, he took a step closer allowing Yuu to hold onto him.
"W-where..is..he!?" Yuu grabs him by his collar, he remains unhinged.
"He looked for your Momo," he answered immediately but remained calm.
Yuu only clenches her teeth.
She hates it when she's like this, useless.
If only she didn't steal those damn stones.
No...
Everything is going just right.
It's about time that the Barrel Zone needs to change.
...
"You lost your worth..." A random oldman told the Warden before he became the Warden.
It's true, up until now, he is still thinking about the phrase repeatedly in his mind.
Everytime he look at Yuu, he always remember the hell he's been through.
No, he doesn't hate her, rather he wants her.
He wants to be better for her, to save her.
Just as he promised to 'her'.
The Warden knows where she should belong, and it's not here.
She belongs out there, she should be shining, not rotting down here.
But he kept her anyway, to protect her.
His grip on her stuffed toy tightens. He hated that he was frustrated because of her.
"Why do you look so lost?" A man walks behind the Warden.
"Zen..." The Warden murmured.
He looked at the stuffed toy that the Warden was holding.
"I feel like I lost her again..." the Warden continued.
"No, you're just tired..." Zen pat the Warden's shoulder and walk away.
Is the Warden really tired? He didn't think so.
Because the moment he takes a rest, everything in the Barrel Zone will crumble down.
Just like right now...
She was right, he didn't save the Barrel Zone. He's not the strongest here.
The Warden is just like the Leader, the person he hated the most.
Maybe she ran because he hurt her? Maybe she was scared of him? Like 'her'.
He was becoming like his father?
The Warden walks through the people who are suffering in the Barrel Zone, he's not in his right mind.
People screaming and shouting for his help, he only stares in his path blurring every scream and noise around him.
He's lost without her.
Without Yuu.
As he walks in the alleyway and chaos.
He finally reached his destination.
He knocked on the door, gently not his usual bursting through doors.
The man with white hair and hazel eyes opens the door.
"Zen..." The Warden called out.
The man only stares at the Warden.
"I made a mistake, what should I do?" The Warden asked.
Zen's eyes widened, it took a long time to see the Warden asking help from him.
Suddenly, an image of a little boy flashes through his mind while staring at the Warden.
Damn, being immortal is indeed a curse.
...
Lucian returned to the treehouse with a fake bunny stuffed toy.
The moment he stepped inside, Yuu jumped on him and hugged her tightly.
"Yuu... I'm sorry, I can't—" before Lucian completed his reason, he was cut off by the sound of her sobs.
She nuzzles against his shirt like clinging to her life.
"Where did you go?" She said between her sobs.
"It hurts...Lucian..." She continued.
Lucian tried to hand the fake bunny stuffed toy to her but she only slapped it away.
"I don't need it...I need to go to my father..." Her voice is failing.
"I'm sorry...Yuu.." Lucian didn't let her go, he only hugged her tightly.
"Please..." She cried even more.
One of the bandits shouted from below the tree house.
He was running, and gasping for air.
"The Barrel Zone is swarming with Aetheral knights!" He warns.
Levi immediately ran to the terrace of the treehouse to see the shouting bandit from below.
"What!?" He asked.
"The Warden is missing and we can't practically get out through the usual pipes because it has a lot of Aetheral knights put there..." The bandit answered.
"So are you saying that we're stuck here!?" Sarah complained.
"We can't be stuck here! Not especially this time when we need to move faster than the Aetheral..." She continued.
Levi immediately looks at confused Lucian, as the girl is still clinging on to him.
"Is there another way?" He asked.
Lucian hesitates to answer, he notices that his grip on Yuu tightens, making her groan a little bit in pain.
"I know a way, but..." He didn't continue.
"But what?" Levi asked again but this time his tone was impatient.
"But,. it's straight through the Capitol..." Lucian bit his lip as if he just said a curse.
But it was indeed, his grandmother mentioned to him before that the place they're staying is the heart of the Barrel Zone.
Each pipe can lead to other places, that includes the Capitol and the Harvest Zone.
"We can take it—" before Levi walked back to the terrace and announced the news to other bandits, Lucian stopped him.
"We can't!" He shouted.
Levi was taken aback because of his shout.
"What do you mean we can't?" He asked.
"It was sealed long ago, it might be dangerous for us to use the other pipes..." The boy explained and the leader of the bandits sighs in frustration.
"I can lure the Aetheral knights while you escape..." Yuu suddenly suggested making everyone fall silent.
Lucian looks down at her, how can she say that?
The Aetheral knights are swarming the zone because of her.
"Are you an idiot?" Levi broke the silence.
"W-wait—" Sarah tried to call out for him but he cut her off.
"This is all because of you..." Levi hissed.
"Don't blame her!" Lucian shouted in defense while pulling Yuu into his back.
"Levi, stop being a jerk!" Sarah stomps her foot making everyone look in her way.
"Don't defend a criminal, Sarah." Levi turned his head to his little sister.
"We're a fucking criminal, Levi" Sarah snapped back.
Levi closed his eyes trying to calm himself.
"Enough! I'll think of another way." Lucian said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What way? The only ways we can escape this place are fighting the Aetheral head on, using her as bait, or using the other pipes even though they have cursed in it." Levi snarled.
"We can't just sacrifice her, Levi...she's--" before Sarah could finish her sentence, Yuu was already gone.
Lucian looked at his back, she was really gone.
He clenches his jaw as he looks down from the tree house to see the other bandits trying to chase after her.
"Miss!" They called out to her but they were blocked by a smoke bomb she stole from Lucian's pocket.
"Fuck!" Levi muttered as he jumped down the terrace trying to chase after her.