Gray dropped to his knees as the mark gradually took it's shape.
His head throbbed relentlessly as he grimaced in pain. His eyes began to grow a bright yellow as he felt his consciousness fading.
"W…Wait… Before I go… Tell me…Why did you run!? If you're so power.. Argh! If you're so powerful, why didn't you fight back!?" Gray shouted
"I didn't run… I did what I had to do. Gray, boy. In this universe… There are things beyond your imagination. Things even the flow of time can't beat."
"That's-"
Before Gray could say anything else, he was interrupted as his figure suddenly vanished.
Once again, the king was all on his own inside of the room.
He had a serious look on his face, and he looked lost in thought.
"That young man reminds me of myself when I was younger… So other members of my race, survived…"
A small smile grew on the king's face.
"Let's just hope he doesn't make the same mistakes I did… He's gained the mark of a king… Now it's up to him to figure out whether or not he can make use of it or not…"
Those were the king's final words before closing his eyes and returning to his sleep.
Ruby swayed left and right, barely avoiding the wind blades, as she ran towards the spinning tornado.
Cuts began forming all over her body, after leaping inside.
The very same cuts were healed up right after as the gem on her battle-axe glowed brightly.
Meanwhile, her blood which was released, created solid platforms for her to leap up on as she made her way up the tornado where the duchess could be seen, levitating.
Blades of wind were propelled at ruby from every direction.
Ruby swung her large axe, cancelling them all up, before crouching down.
The red gem on her battle axe glowed once more.
The air around the tornado partially burst out as in the following second, Ruby leapt up towards her.
The tornado began to spin faster and faster, as a large open palm manifested itself right beneath the duchess who was at the top.
The duchess swung her fan and the palm was propelled down towards Ruby.
Ruby vertically swung her battle axe at the palm aiming to cut it down.
But the instant she did, the air which had been gathered inside of it exploded out towards her, blasting her right back down to the ground.
Her figure span around, the tornado before crashing into the ground.
At the top of the tornado. The duchess raised both fans before spinning around.
A spinning drill manifested beneath her.
With both hands, she swung the fan down.
The drill spun towards Ruby at frightening speeds. Blood seeped out of her wounds, creating three layers of blood above her.
She used the layers as a shield as she ducked down.
The spinning drill, easily broke through the first layer.
It shattered the second one with a little more difficulty before coming to a stop on the third and last layer.
Struggle could be seen on Ruby's face as she focused all her power into keeping the blood layer active.
The blood from her unclosed cuts could be seen leaving as they were constantly adding themselves onto the layer.
The others who watched from outside the tornado couldn't tell what was going on inside. They weren't able to help.
The Duchess Charlotte, who stood at the top, raised the fans once more.
"I'm sorry. But I must bring you back otherwise his majesty will kill you… Even if you are his daughter."
*Swoosh*
She swung it down.
Another burst of air came crashing down on Ruby.
The last layer of blood shattered as the drill crashed down her
A strong gust of wind, burst out, sending almost everything around it flying away.
The group which were fighting the zombies, were blown away.
They were fortunately caught by Violet's telekinesis before they could get gravely injured.
The tornado faded and a large crater could be seen on the ground.
In the middle of said Crater was Ruby on her knees. Blood could be seen flowing down her stomach from an injury she had sustained.
She was panting heavily, the glow from her battle axe had dimmed down.
The duchess, elegantly descended to the edge of the crater, she hid her mouth behind her fan before speaking once more.
"Princess you are strong, but you are still young. Your ability holds potential but you lack experience and training. Seize this at once, and I'll take you back to the king, to apologise with you."
Seeing how, Ruby was on the losing end. The others had taken their attention off the zombies and instead turned it to her.
Just as they were about to head over to help her, they were stopped by Ruby who raised her hand gesturing them to stop.
"Don't worry… *Cough* About me… I'll be fine…! Focus on stopping those corpses and getting us a path out of here - *Cough*".
Ruby's arms trembled as she pushed herself up with her axe.
Although she was telling them to trust in her, they were still hesitant. Would she really be fine? She was covered in injuries.
Even if most were healing, some were taking longer than others.
"I have warned you… Princess."
The duchess, raised her hand again with the fan, on top.
Just as she was about to swing it down, her eyes widened as her body came to stop.
Her arms and body began to tremble before she let go of the fan. Ruby's eyes glowed a bright crimson red as she muttered.
"I was saving this for my father… But I have no choice but to use it now.
The duchess dropped to her knees.
[Blood Manipulation: Blood Control.]
Ruby was taking control of the blood inside of the Duchess's body, even without her blood particles having gone inside of her.
Her control over her ability had increased. Even the Duchess didn't know she could do this.
"Ruby… Don't… Don't do this… He'll kill you… All of you…"
Those were the Duchess's last words, before she collapsed onto the ground.
She was unconscious.
"I'm sorry, Charlotte." Muttered Ruby
Ruby quickly turned to the others who had their hands full, fighting the zombies.
As she leapt towards them to help them out, something suddenly happened.
A loud siren resounded across the city. It was so loud that they all had to cover their ears.
It was beginning. The raid.
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