Biohuman

It grew quiet as the people gave each other similar looks. Lee Seng's behavior was certainly saying something, but they were hesitant. The three large groups waited for the man to say something. He stared at Lee Seng for a long while as Team Zephyr awkwardly stood there. The adrenaline pumping through their body wanted them to act.

Liz moved her fingers to stop the lightning from appearing. She wasn't ready for an all out fight. The city dwellers, these people, had somehow suffered due to Lee Seng. She and the other members of Team Zephyr never fully understood what had happened under the tyranny of the Deimon inside Lee Seng.

Lee Seng kept his head down as he waited. Calis shifted and held his trident in his hand. Every time he would move, Group C would follow him. They were ready to strike at any movement.

'Do you believe this would be the best course of action?' Calis asked Lee Seng through telepathy.

'It's the only way.' Lee Seng answered.

'What if they don't believe it?' Manny asked, shifting in his spot. He gulped as the main guy seemed to turn slightly away from them. He motioned and to someone in the back and then turned to look at Group B and C and motion. Four or five people broke out from their groups and slowly made their way to the man.

'IF they don't believe it then we'll have to fight our way out of here.' Keng answered.

'What're they saying?' Olivia asked. 'Both of you can hear, right?'

"Do you buy his story?" A woman asked in a hushed tone. The other men and women looked at each other, all giving the same answer.

"No." A man with twin swords in his hands answered. He glanced over at Lee Seng and the others before looking back at his group. "He killed our leader. He brought destruction onto our homes. They came back for him and killed our people. They made us look like fodder! Why should we trust what he says? A Deimon who has died? Ha, the likely of that."

"I think we should give him a chance. He's willing to be the people with him. Would any of you bet your comrades' lives?" A woman with a bow strapped onto her back asked.

"I second that." A woman with an axe strapped to her back motioned at the archer. "Usually someone would bet their own life on the line, but he clearly knows that his life isn't enough. Sir, I think we should give them a chance to—"

"To what?" The twin sword man hissed. "To betray us? Why are they even here? Why do they wear similar looking masks?" The spearman folded his lips in a looked at Lee Seng and the others. Lee Seng hadn't budged and the group seemed on edge, ready to act at any point. The spearman's eyes slowly rested on a similar looking man off to the side of the group. He was holding the rock up and was watching them.

"What say you, leader? What should we do?" An older man asked. He looked towards the spearman.

'They're discussing whether or not to spare us.' Keng told the group.

'We're telling the truth, though!' Evan groaned. 'W-we can't die because of what happened. That's a misunderstanding!'

'They wouldn't know that.' Calis commented. 'If you saw someone come into your town and kill people you knew and loved, you'd be mad, right?'

'B-but—'

'They don't know what we know.' Calis interjected. 'They don't know that was the Deimon and not the person that kneels before them. These people have definitely lost a lot. They blame the Deimons for what they've lost. They blame the Deimon that was inside Lee Seng, too.'

The spearman sighed and tapped his spear on the ground twice. Everyone knew what that meant. They all turned and looked at him. The twin swordsman grew angry and started to say something when the spearman spoke.

"Fine. Under one condition." The spearman's voice cut through the tension. Zephyr's telepathic conversation stopped. They all returned their attention onto the spearman. The spearman stepped forward, breaking out of the group he had formed and looked at Lee Seng and the others. "You will do us a favor. If you're truly not the Deimon that caused all of our grief, you should at least prove your worth."

"What would you have us do?" Keng asked.

"Who permitted you to talk?!?" The twin swordsman clashed his swords together and stepped forward. The spearman raised his spear and the twin swordsman grew quiet.

"Tell me… Are you the one who did it or is he the one who did it? There are two of you in front of us and it seems he has taken it upon himself to accept what has happened as his fault."

"I'm the one who was there." Lee Seng lifted his head up. He straightened his back out and kept himself knelt on the ground. "My brother doesn't have anything to do with this. None of them do."

"Yet you put their lives on the line." The spearman raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Lee Seng nodded. "What do you need me to do?" The spearman turned and looked at his men.

"We're returning home early. Watch them. Do not utter a word to them. We'll put them in that place when we return." The spearman ordered as he turned back to look at Lee Seng. "As for you… You'll know when the time is right."

The three large groups quickly swarmed Team Zephyr and surrounded them. They pointed their weapons and forcefully took away the weapons in their hands. Lee Seng and the group were split from each other and forced to walk with shoves.

The large group of the city dwellers led them back to their home. They returned to somewhere Lee Seng wasn't familiar with. It was different part of the city that was filled with tons of nature and fauna. Large trees grew in places not possible in almost thirty years.

Lee Seng wondered if their were nature-affinity users here. Growing trees like this wouldn't be such a problem for those people. Lee Seng watched as his group members were all split off in different directions. He was pushed forward, almost stumbling on his feet.

"Keep goin'." The woman behind him ordered.

"W-where are they going?" Lee Seng asked.

Somewhere else. Stop talkin' or I'll cut your tongue out!" The woman pushed him again. Lee Seng followed the large group in front of him. They had used a lot more men Lee Seng had thought possible just for him. They brought him to the largest tree and descended underneath it.

Magical lights weaved with machinery of the old age coursed its way through the tree, giving light. Lee Seng was led to a room at the bottom and thrown into it. The room was filled with strange energy. 𝐟re𝐞w𝐞𝒃𝓃𝒐𝐯𝚎𝒍.c૦𝚖

'This odd energy feels familiar… Like a dampener.' Lee Seng thought as he looked around the room. It was barren. The entire place was wood. They had carved this room out from the large tree and Lee Seng could only assume the rest of his friends were in similar places.

—

"James, why are you back so soon?" A woman asked. She sat near the top of the tree. The large branches stuck out in all directions as blooming flowers grew all around. The room was carved with clear glass to allow people to see the wonderful view of the city. Rugs laid out on the floor as a huge war table sat in the middle of the room. The woman sat behind a carved desk with paperwork neatly stacked off to her right.

James, the spearman, stood in front of her with the four he had talked to before. The twin swordsman grumbled while the old man took to a seat off to the side. The two women stood at attention behind him, waiting for James to speak.

"The day we feared has come." James told the woman. She straightened her slightly slouched position and raised her eyebrows. "The… so-called 'Deimon' that came here years ago… He's back, but…"

"But…?" The woman asked. James gulped before speaking.

"He isn't the same person. At least, that's what he claims." James finished his sentence. "But, he's not with that Deimon he came with that day. He's not with anyone I recognize. He's with people I've never seen before and… He came with his twin brother."

"Twin brother?" The woman nodded. She stood up and looked at the twin swordsman and two women. "Is this all true?"

"Yes." The archer spoke.

"Aurora, I do not believe a word he has said. I don't understand why James and the others are giving them a chance. We should have killed them and went on our merry way!" The twin swordsman complained. He slammed his chest as he took a step forward. "Just give the word and I will kill them all! They shouldn't even be allowed to step foot into our city after we've just recovered!"

"Tyler, do not be so hasty to act." The axe woman spoke up. "It seems like they came here because they need something."

"And if they've come for something, we need to be sure nobody else followed them." The old man spoke up. "Like Miss Reina has said, I think they're here for something."

"What would they be here for?" Aurora asked. "Did they forget something in the ruined city?"

"I'm not sure what they're here for, but this is an opportunity, Aurora." James cleared his throat. "We can have this man deal with our current problem. If he survives it… I'll entertain my curiosity with why they came here. What do you say, Druidess?"