Dawn Blossom

Chapter Four

Harold follows Mei as she leaves the restaurant and runs to the northern part of the woods. After several minutes, he catches up to her. Standing in front of Mei, Harold watches as she transforms into a Tiger. It looks like Mei has a Construct called Maiden's Tiger.

Harold creates a Wood Spellbomb and throws it at the Tiger. The Spellbomb explodes into green leaf particles. The Tiger is knocked back.

The Tiger recovers from the attack and leaps on top of Harold. This causes him to fall onto the ground. She then uses her claws to slash viscously at Harold. He uses his arms to cover his face from the slashes.

Harold realizes that the Tiger's throat is exposed. With this knowledge, he creates a Wood Spellbomb with his left hand and hits the Tiger's exposed throat.The Tiger is knocked back and lands on her back. Harold stands up. The backs of both of his forearms are bleeding. The wounds are slowly regenerating.

Mei, in her Tiger form, is coughing up blood. She lunges directly at Harold. This time, Harold was prepared. He sees the Tiger coming, and he bends down a few inches, grabs the Tiger with both his hands, and throws her onto the ground.

The Tiger gathers Midrash energy around her claws. With her claws coated in Wood Midrash, she slashes at Harold. This attack is called Wood Claw. No damage was done because Harold dodges the attack and hits the Tiger with another Wood Spellbomb. The Tiger is defeated and transforms back into Mei.

"Hello?" Harold said as he stood over Mei's body. "You awake?"

No movement from Mei. It might take a few minutes for her to regain consciousness.

Just a few seconds earlier, a Spellbomb had dropped in front of Stella and Lyla while they were walking toward the bridge. They turn around and see the spiky-haired guy who is angry at this point.

"What is wrong with you?" asked Stella.

"You girls dare laugh at me?" asked the spiky-haired guy. He rushes towards the girls for an attack.

Stella activates her Sura to transform her bracelet into a white Sword.

Let me explain what a Sura is. A Sura is any accessory such as a ring or a bracelet that can transform into any type of weapon. For Stella, she has a bracelet that can transform into a Sword.

Stella uses her Light Midrash to coat the blade of her Sword. She slashes the spiky-haired guy as he rushes toward her and Lyla. The attack used by Stella is called Light Slash. After the slash hits the spiky-haired guy, Lyla uses her Lightning Midrash to attack him with a Lightning Spellbomb. The spiky-haired guy falls and spits blood from his mouth. He is lying on the ground now.

The spiky-haired guy transforms into a Rabbit and jumps over the girls and attacks Stella with Wood Kick. Stella uses her Sword to block the attack. The Rabbit jumps off the Sword and tries to kick Lyla but she quickly dodges.

Stella sees the Rabbit is still in the air. She tries another Light Slash at him, and Lyla throws a Lightning Spellbomb. The Rabbit is able to dodge the Slash, but not the Spellbomb. As soon as the two collided, the Spellbomb exploded into yellow lightning particles. The Rabbit rolls back from the girls, gets up, and runs away towards the eastern side of the woods.

It looks like the battle is over. Stella and Lyla begin to make their way back to the inn.

Bruno had made his way to the restaurant with turquoise-colored roofs. He goes inside and looks around. A waitress walks up to him.

"What would you like to eat?" asked the waitress.

"Can I get a menu?" asked Bruno.

"You're the second person to ask for a menu. It's written on the wall at the door. Duck with plum sauce." said the waitress.

Bruno looks at the wall. "Ah, I'll have the duck, then!"

Mei is beginning to regain consciousness. She wakes up and sees Harold.

"Aiiii!" Mei shrieked when she saw Harold. "Do you always watch girls sleep, pervert?!"

"My apology." Harold said.

"Did you touch me while I was unconscious?"

"Please, I wouldn't dare do anything like that."

Mei smiles mischievously. "Too bad. You had your chance."

"Anyway, it seems like you know something about a stolen painting. Tell me more about that." Harold asked.

"You see, there is this guy that I recently met. He said if I help him in stealing a painting, he'll split the profit from the sale with me."

"Who is this guy?"

"I don't know his name, but his eyes are jade." answered Mei.

Harold's eyes lit up. "Was it a self-portrait of a girl with saffron eyes?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Mei answered again.

"Do you know where it's at now?"

"Yeah, it's in that large building over there." Mei said and pointed to the silk store.

"Let's go, then" Harold said.

Harold and Mei had been walking for about five minutes when they passed the restaurant earlier. Bruno can be seen walking out the restaurant. It looks like he had just finished eating.

"Yo, Bruno!" Harold called out.

"Hey!" Bruno replied. "I have something to tell you."

"It's fine. This girl here knows where Lily's painting is."

Mei scoffs. "Hmph! I'm right here! Referring to me as this girl!"

Harold sighs. "This is Mei. She's taking me to that store that we went to earlier."

"That big one with the silk?" asked Bruno.

"Yeah, that one." answered Harold.

Stella and Lyla had crossed the bridge now. They start walking for about two or three minutes until they see Harold and Bruno walking with Mei. As soon as Stella saw the girl, a surprised and confused look appeared on her face.

"I see Harold and Bruno, but who's the girl?" asked Lyla.

"I don't know…" answered Stella.

The two girls walk closer to Harold, Bruno, and Mei until all are in talking distance. Harold sees Stella and Lyla and explains the situation to them.