Things Just Got Interesting

"Things just got interesting. Are they going after Kukulu? This would be the perfect chance to see if I can break the seal..."

In the forest, Kukulu practiced earnestly, while Fanny watched in bewilderment:

"Kukulu, why are you practicing so hard?"

Kukulu lowered his sword, a gleam of longing flashing in his eyes. "I want to be as strong as my older brother. Then I can protect you and everyone else."

Fanny spun happily, hugging her rabbit. "Then it's a promise! You have to stay with me forever, Kukulu. No lying!"

As they spoke, a gentle voice reached them.

"What are you talking about that's made you so happy?"

A tall, slender, handsome man walked over.

His robes fluttered, and his silver hair swayed with his steps. His eyes and brows were gentle, though his features should have made him seem cold and unapproachable.

Yet his smile softened that coldness, lending warmth to his bearing. At that moment, he seemed like a gentle yet distant older brother.

Kukulu ran toward him in delight, but stopped halfway, reining himself in to bow. Fanny bowed beside him as well. Only after making sure his deportment was flawless did he speak:

"Brother, what brings you here? Shouldn't you be handling official business right now?"

The man smiled, patted Kukulu's head, and spoke slowly:

"I came to see how your training was going, and to take care of a few little rats while I'm here."

A flower resembling a lotus, yet not quite a lotus, floated above his hand. Sharp glints flashed across it, its beauty carrying a hint of killing intent.

A closer look would reveal why the flower gave off those sharp glints: it was made entirely of hovering, petal-shaped blades. Each gleamed with an icy light that inspired dread.

At that moment, it hovered obediently above the man's hand, as though it truly were a flower meant only to be admired. Yet the aura emanating from that beautiful white blossom was impossible to ignore.

Wisps of crimson, bloody energy even lingered around it, lending the flower an uncanny beauty, like an untouchable god stained by the dust of the mortal world.

Its petals suddenly whirled, and two shot toward the space behind Kukulu. They moved so fast that he had no time to react. He felt only a light breeze before a tremendous crash sounded behind him.

The dense undergrowth around them had been reduced to bare, level ground, where a woman lay face down. Two "Lotus Blades" had pierced her wings, pinning her firmly to the earth. She could barely lift her head.

The Lotus Blades were immensely powerful. Just two had completely transformed the surrounding terrain.

Had Kukulu not witnessed it himself, he would never have believed a place could change so drastically.

Apart from the two that had shot out, all the remaining petals arranged themselves in a circle, forming a protective barrier around their master.

Under the sunlight, it seemed almost insubstantial, but only those who had encountered it knew the power it held.

Countless people had once tried to assassinate the eldest prince of the Ancient Spirit Fairy Clan, yet every one of them had fallen before that unassuming barrier, for one simple reason.

Before they could even touch it, the Lotus Blades had pierced their bodies, which then crumbled to dust and drifted away on the wind.

And within that barrier, the man it protected looked as though he had been born among the petals, like a god descending into the world.