"Let us hear it first," Calix furrowed his brows in suspicion.
"You already heard about it the last time we talked," the tall blonde fairy was staring seriously at Asuren. "If my master gets killed after you take the seal from him, you will die with him."
"What's your end of the bargain?" Calix raised an eyebrow.
"If I fail to give you time to examine my master within three days, I will die."
"Deal," Asuren agreed and reached out his hand to the tall blonde fairy but Calix quickly grabbed his arm.
"What do you think you are doing? That deal doesn't sound fair. You don't even know his name."
"I am Camus Vines," the tall blonde fairy had said and reached out his hand to Asuren. "Will you now make a deal with me?"
"If your master gets killed after Asuren takes the seal from him, Asuren will die? You want Asuren to keep your master alive for the rest of his life?"
"This is a fair trade," Asuren took the hand of the tall blonde fairy. "I understand that he wants to protect his master. We would have done the same. I accept this pact. I, Asuren Nightgloom, will keep your master alive even after we take the seal from him. If I fail to protect him and he dies, I will die with him."
"I, Camus Vines, will help Asuren Nightgloom take the boar seal from my master, Vince Evergreen, within three days. If I fail to assist him, I will die."
Their hands had been covered by a faint golden light and a leaf within a circle had been carved at the back of their hands. When they let go, the light had vanished together with the carved leaf. Asuren swayed while Camus dropped on his knees.
"What is your plan?" Henry asked and tried to help Camus but the latter declined and leaned on the wall. He was sweating a lot and catching his breath.
"Master will notice if I get help from others. I just need a few minutes of rest," Camus explained. "Tomorrow, we can execute my plan."
"What is your plan?" Calix repeated the question Henry had asked.
"Tomorrow, you will know about it," Camus shakily got up on his feet and then vanished into the shadows.
"He did not trick us, didn't he?" Calix stared anxiously at Asuren.
"If Camus breaks the pact, he will die," Henry handed Asuren a bottle of rejuvenating drink.
"Can we really find a way to keep his master alive?"
"We will find a solution," Henry smiled with confidence. "Curses can have different counter curses. There is certainly an option to destroy the seals without killing their keepers. I will find it. I promise."
"Juliann and Gia are looking for you. We should tell them that you are back in this cave," Calix was about to get up on his feet when Asuren suddenly fainted. "What happened?"
Henry quickly checked on his unconscious friend and said, "I don't know what is wrong with him. He had fallen into a deep slumber and his pulse is unstable."
"Was it because of the pact he made with that tall blonde fairy? He tricked us, didn't he?"
"Right…" Henry examined Asuren with his silver eyes. "This is part of the deal he made. It is acting up. I think someone is trying to kill the boar seal."
"Sel…" Calix looked around the cave. "I need to stop them from killing the boar seal but I can't leave you alone in this place unprotected."
"I will take care of Asuren. I can transport us out of danger," Henry carried Asuren on his back.
"You can't fully control your ability," Calix frowned.
"You need to leave," Henry said. "Asuren will die if you stay here. I will keep him safe. I promise."
"I will return as soon as I can," Calix sighed and then hurried out of the cave.
^#########^
Asuren was running for his life. A tall figure covered in black hood, mask, and knee-length overcoat was chasing him. For a moment, his wings felt like they had been sealed. But after a few seconds, he could finally spread them. He flapped them fast and zoomed away from his pursuer.
The black-hooded figure had no wings. He was only striding on the ground yet he managed to catch up.
Asuren was terrified. His back hit a tree and he had been completely paralyzed.
The black-hooded figure pulled a dark blade out of thin air. His hand moved faster than Asuren could perceive. The next thing he knew, the dark blade had pierced his right shoulder and pinned him deeper into the tree. His pursuer conjured another dark blade but before he could stab Asuren for the second time, someone from the shadows of the tree trunk had grabbed Asuren and pulled him into safety.
^#########^
Asuren jerked awake with a stab wound on his right shoulder. He was back at the cleansed cave and only Henry was with him, already patching up his bleeding wound.
"The boar seal is in danger," he tried to get up but Henry stopped him.
"Calix will keep the boar seal safe."
"What happened here? Why is your shoulder bleeding? Did you encounter the boar seal again?" Thea returned to the cave and was worried.
"Have you seen Calix?" Henry asked back after wrapping bandages on his wounded shoulder.
"I did. He told us everything that had happened here. He thought we were attacking the boar seal but we only encountered his disciples. When he told us that the boar seal is in danger, his disciples had quickly retreated. Riz, Sel, Ayhan, and Calix are tracking those disciples. I came here to check up on you. What happened to your shoulder?"
"Someone wants to kill the boar seal," Henry glanced at Asuren. "Did you see who it was?"
"It was the sneaky seal bearer," Asuren replied.
"His clothes are all in black? Even the hood?" Thea asked.
"He also had a mask covering most of his face. All I could see was his eyes."
"Pitch-black eyes?" Thea further questioned.
"Even his blades were radiating a dark aura."
"That is the sneaky seal bearer that we chased to the Nightfall Realm," Thea sighed. "He is back and wants to take the boar seal? I can't believe we are dealing with two seal bearers at the same time."
"We should focus on the boar seal for now," Henry said. "We only have three days to fulfill our end of the deal."
"Right," Thea nodded agreement. "Calix said that the tall blonde fairy will only tell us his plan tomorrow? I don't think we can wait that long."
"Camus might move his plan earlier because of what happened to his master," Asuren believed.
"I think so too," Henry rested his back on an empty makeshift bed. "Let's get some rest before he arrives."
^#################^