Chapter 63: The Tasks

As soon as Gale asked that question, the scroll had glowed. The golden light formed tiny images of what seemed like a butterfly with flaming wings.

"Did I count those insects correctly? We need twenty?" Gale was looking more exhausted. "And where…"

His voice faded as those fiery butterflies gracefully fluttered from the smoking peak of the volcano. It flew around them and the glowing powdery substance that their flaming wings were emitting had set their clothes ablaze.

Princess Pieffer quickly put up a barrier around the four of them, then they hurriedly extinguished the scattering fire on their clothes with bare hands.

"How on earth are we going to get those insects?"

To answer the frantic inquiry of Gale, the scroll released a ball of golden light that floated in front of Gust. At the moment he held out his hand towards the light, it instantly vanished and dropped a few items.

Gust caught everything. There were four net insect catchers that were surrounded by a faint blue light and a medium-sized brown sack.

"Good," Gust breathed. "There are four."

He was giving out the insect catchers when the pocket watch alarmed. Thirty minutes had already passed. One hour and fifteen minutes remaining to save Aries.

"How are you feeling?" Princess Pieffer asked, and everyone glanced anxiously at Aries.

"I'm okay," he quickly answered and held the insect catcher with both his short arms. Not only did his body become so small, but it would also easily set ablaze once touched by the powdery substance. He had greatly weakened but catching insects should be easy for his tiny body.

"Gale, take care of this sack," Gust tossed the sack to his twin brother after shoving the five sparkling scales in there.

As soon as Gale secured the sack at the belt of his overcoat, Gust told everyone, "The wind underneath us will move at a very slow pace. That is the only speed I will manage with our combined weight."

"My shield will protect us from the flames," Princess Pieffer assured them. "But it will shift and roll out of the wind underneath us if we destroy the balance we already have. We need to remain where we are. A slight movement will do but not big ones."

"Understood," everyone replied and they began catching flaming butterflies. The insect catcher was fireproof and could automatically put the flaming butterfly inside a waterproof cage. As soon as they catch one, they would toss the cage at Gale and he would put it all on the sack that was not bulging no matter how many things had been shoved in there.

As Gust had said, the wind underneath them was making a very slow movement. They had easily caught four but as soon as they did that, the rest of the flaming butterflies had flown away from them and they could no longer catch up to the insects. The butterflies became cautious and would swiftly move away once they approach. The short handle of the insect catcher was also adding to their annoyance.

The pocket watch alarmed once more. They wasted more than thirty minutes at that place. And they only had thirty minutes remaining.

"I will catch the butterflies," Aries suggested.

"No!" the three had firmly disagreed.

"Your vessel is made out of light materials. It will easily catch fire," Princess Pieffer reminded him.

"If we waste more time in this place, I will also die," Aries silenced them. "Let me do this."

"We can try," Gust said despite his anxiety. "You are almost as light as a pillow. Your movements will not disrupt our balance. Come here."

Aries jumped from the shoulder of Princess Pieffer towards the lap of Gust.

"I can give you a momentary protection against flames," Gust touched his palm to the forehead of Aries. He chanted a few strange words until a faint blue light had enveloped the rag doll.

Gust carefully took his overcoat off and tied one of the sleeves at the waist of the cloth vessel. 

"I will pull you back after you get a few butterflies," Gust firmly stated.

"Thanks," he sincerely told Gust then seized the insect catcher the latter was holding. "I need to catch as many butterflies as I can."

Aries jumped as high as he could. His body was so light that the strong wind blowing around that place had nearly propelled him out of control. Fortunately for all of them, he quickly regained his balance and he caught four butterflies before they could soar out of his reach.

Gust quickly pulled him back because his rag doll vessel was starting to catch fire.

Aries tossed the cages at Gale while Gust renewed the fireproof shield around his vessel.

After a minute, Aries was back on air and he had caught six. In his third jump, he had caught another six and the moment he touched the lap of Gust, the scroll had transported them to the last location.

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When the golden light that enveloped them had vanished, they were dropped on a cloud that could not carry the four of them. They passed through it and then they were plummeting miles away from the ground.

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"Guardian Aika!!!" Gale bellowed in annoyance while Gust grabbed his twin brother, ragdoll Aries, and Princess Pieffer then pulled them inside the wind vortex.

Gust brought them back to the cottony-looking cloud. He quickly put another thin sheet of wind underneath them to avoid repeating the situation a few seconds earlier.

"What is it this time?" Aries gave the insect catchers with caged butterflies to Gale. The latter had quickly seized the items and shoved everything inside the sack.

"Show us the third item," Gust commanded and the scroll instantly emitted a golden light that formed a jar that was half-filled with liquid.

The scroll had given them the jar then their clothes and the entire body of ragdoll Aries had glowed with the golden light.

"The cloud was wet when we passed through it."

Since Aries could not feel anything, he realized only then that not only his comrades were dripping wet but also his entire vessel.

"Let's fill the jar with water from the clouds," Gale grabbed rag doll Aries and the overcoat tied at his torso then squeezed them hard until all the absorbed liquid had been extracted in the glass container.

The jar had been nearly filled. Princess Pieffer and Gale had removed their overcoats and squeezed them over the container. As soon as the exact amount had been fulfilled, the scroll emitted a golden light that enveloped the four of them.

Princess Pieffer seized the ragdoll and held him close to her chest. Aries felt awkward but he could not push his face away from her breast.

Fortunately for him, the magical transport lasted only for a few seconds. But unfortunately for all of them, they were not yet back at the chamber of Guardian Aika.

They were sent instead to another unfamiliar place, at least to Aries.

Princess Pieffer was wide-eyed as if she was terrified of the area. Gale and Gust were both furious. Aries managed to jump from the chest of the princess and stand at her left shoulder.

"I thought there are only three items?" he asked and Gust, instead of answering, had crushed the scroll with his right hand but it did not break. It only emitted a golden light that formed the shape of four plain rag dolls.

But they could not see any plain ragdoll around them. There was only an alarming stillness drifting in the air. Empty and moss-covered stone houses lined on both sides of a paved road. Bushes and trees were slowly overcrowding the area. It appeared that there were no humans left in that place.

"This is the House of Goat," Princess Pieffer whispered, still looking terrified. "Spellcasting is forbidden in this place."

"Don't worry. You are safe here. My master had burned all the humans that will harm extraordinary creations like us."

A man wearing a white overcoat and boots had walked out from the house nearest to their location. Though he appeared to be around the same age as Aries, his hair was white and it was remarkably long, silky, and neatly ponytailed. His silver eyes were impassive and a wicked smiled flashed on his lips.

"Master wants to have you," he leaned forward, vanished, and the next second he was gripping rag doll Aries in his arms.

Princess Pieffer tried to seize Aries but the man in the white overcoat raised his hand and it was what the princess had grabbed.

"Give Aries back to us," the princess impatiently demanded.

"No," the man in white smiled more wickedly. "Don't worry. I will give you what you need," he leaned backward and vanished, leaving four plain rag dolls in front of Princess Pieffer. Instead of picking those toys up, Gust disappeared into a wind vortex and reappeared with a sword in one of his hands right in front of the man in white.

While Gust waved his dagger, Aries struggled but stopped when he heard cloth ripping. His vessel had been tightly connected in the arm of the man in white by pieces of white threads. He had noticed the strands oozing from the skin of their strange opponent and quickly reconstructing the severed stitches.

The man in white evaded the dagger and escaped a few meters away just by leaning backward. Gale used the wind vortex but only managed to cover a few feet away from the princess then he collapsed on his knees.

"Grab the rag dolls!" Gust commanded then, with the help of the wind vortex, he had reappeared in front of the man in white.

The princess obeyed then knelt right next to Gale. 

The scroll hanging in the belt of Gust began to emit a golden light. Even the pocket watch had alarmed. He hastily swung his jade-green blade at the arm of the man in white that was gripping Aries.

The arm had been severed but instead of blood splattering, cotton had oozed from the cut wound. The man in white was not a man at all. He was similar to the vessel of Aries. It was a rag doll.

Gust grabbed Aries by his arm while the doll in white seized Aries by the torso.

Gust pulled hard until Aries heard his vessel ripping apart and it was like something in his mind was also being torn into pieces. The pain blurred his vision and the explosion of golden light had totally blinded him. There was one final ripping noise that sent an excruciating pain all over his head.

Flashes of memories burst before Aries until he could no longer hold out and chose to succumb in his reliable sanctuary, the pitch-black darkness deep within his mind.

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