Without a second thought, Oware chased him, and Abeni chased her until they ended up in the middle of the empty and dim village plaza. Crashing him into the waterfall and breaking it into pieces as Oware thrust her nail straight into his right leg, made further scratches on his body and painted him red. A red diluted by the waterfall current with no choice but to drip over his shoulders.

“You all killed him! My baby!” Oware’s voice boomed with inconsolable heartbreak shaking the room.

“Argh! Ugh!” This was the first-time genuine fear crossed his face. As if he didn’t believe Ibrahim’s words about an ẹda being there. He probably didn’t. “C-C-Creature! Ah!”

Abeni panted, holding her sore back as she eventually caught up to them, spotting the village chief pinned underneath the female ẹda and their two loud voices echoing in the space. To the point that eniyans who lived nearby the square woke up from their slumber and opened their doors only to scream at the sight.

“What is that!”

“We’re under attack!”

“Someone call the guards!”

Some people threw rocks and vicious words their way to protect their chief which the white-haired girl blocked with a gold-white handled short sword poking out from her bag.

“Don’t attack us!” Abeni shouted back.

And they stopped.

Eight of nine.

With the speed the village chief had, he may be one of the remaining four hunters then? But really, did that matter? If it’s just him as their enemy, they would be able to escape. So, this couldn’t be prolonged. They couldn’t wait for any opportunities. Not that she even needed to voice that to a grief-ridden Oware.

It’s...it’s all Abeni’s fault.

So, Abeni hastily walked between them as his legs vibrated at superspeed to rumble the ground, shakily leaving the bag with Oware as she looked down at him in disgust until he eventually stopped moving. Finally able to show him how he truly felt about her and take responsibility for her costly mistake. “Where are your other hunters?”

“Urgh...” He turned his face, twisted in pain, to her. Having the energy to raise his voice, “To-To think a creature lover l-l-like you would have any right to ask me questions…!” He shouted, mad as he shouted to the world up above. “Those three are not needed! They’re weak in comparison. Caterina, come here! Ibrahim, protect me!”

But that’s not the right thing to say, because it made Oware laugh maniacally before lifting back one of her arms and stabbing him again in his gut. Ripping through flesh until it reached the other side. And suddenly, all Abeni was worried about this eniyan fall to pieces. At this rate, he’d…

“This is— Argh! This is just a taste of the underworld, you insolent, weak little girl! You are just like your mother! Like my wife! You will never survive without me, you worthless slut! A-And yet you betray me like this—!”

Oware glowered at his words. “That’s enough out of you,” she said as she pulled back her elbow, arm taut and ready to stab him right through his head.

“No,” he muttered looking down the nail with a chilling face of horror that Abeni could only remember expressing when she first saw an ẹda. “Urgh! Attendants, please! Mother! Mother, help me! Please help me!”

But no, this wasn’t right. “Wait!” Abeni shouted. Something about this was wrong.

The village chief thrashed beneath Oware’s grip, white robes dirtied on the rough stone ground as he yelled, delirious with pain. “You fool...you fell for it! I am destined to be the strongest here! I have ruled this village for so long you should be thanking me! But this b-betrayal! To bring a worthless creature like this to stain my village. Ugh! I-I-I will kill you!” But Oware just held him down, baring her teeth and making him shut up as she turned to Abeni with a frantic expression.

“Wait? For what? I’m hoping you’re not thinking of sparing this lunatic? Because I won’t let y—!”

“No, no,” Abeni watched his pathetic yelling, his bloodied white robes and drenched hair and swallowed. “I’ve thought of a better fate for him,” Abeni said, noticing that something had died in her tonight. All her mercy and willingness to delay the inevitable were completely and utterly gone. Permanently. Because, as long as she could…no, they could survive, she’d do anything.

But this wasn’t simply to protect them and her. No, since Abeni failed to protect them all, since one of Oware’s children ended up perishing because of this selfish eniyan’s plans and her selfish stalling…this part…this part was personal.

“The chief will not be dancing.”

Abeni remembered last week’s banquet when the village chief stood to the side of the dance floor, as if scared to do something he hated the most, so she’d force him to embrace it. She’d force him to suffer like they have. Because it was what he deserved.

“Dance until you die.”

That’s nine out of nine.

“No wait! Argh! Wh-Wh-What did you do?”

And the man rose from the ground, groaning and grunting in pain as his limbs flail around with that pathetic gold fabric crown finally falling off of his head.

“Let’s leave,” Abeni suggested with a heartless look that the female ẹda mirrored. “Before we get ambushed again.”

So, they did. Oware carrying her out of the space at a supernatural speed. Breaking past the guards who chased them out of the square and down the residential streets.

If this was just a taste of the reality that the female ẹda was talking about, then it’s all too bitter. Abeni felt like she’d just jumped into a pool of despair. Was this how every battle would be? Was this how living in the underworld would be? Just constant pain and death and merciless enemies? If that meant the whole underworld was cursed…then she’s already sick of curses.

“I’m sorry,” Abeni choked out, “I’m so sorry.”

Oware looked down to her arms as she kept slithering for a long time before speaking quietly. Lacking that usual teasing tone she usually spoke with. “What’s wrong with you? Are you gonna cry?”

“No, I’m not,” Abeni wiped her eyes and the caking blood from her cheek.

“Well, that’s good because I have no idea where I’m going right now and I need my almighty chief to tell me or I might head back and rip your uncle’s head off of his neck.” Oware’s voice sounded strained as she tried to joke around like she usually did even though they both know she meant it.

The pair seemed to be travelling south exit of the village, judging by the scenery. Heading towards the nearest exit which would take them to Sa’id Village. But Abeni didn’t care about that place anymore. She didn’t care about the Libyan underworld either or the underworld as a whole.

She hated it all.

That’s when she made her decision once and for all. If this was just the beginning...then she’ll leave the underworld for good. This wasn’t a place she would ever call her home and it wouldn’t ever be. For the children and for Oware and Abeni’s sake, they had to leave it, so they could find that life of safety and peace that Abeni had been hoping to live in. That she knew they both had both been hoping to live in.

Abeni turned to look above at stalactites she’s never seen as she exclaimed. Feeling like she could grab them from down here. Feeling larger than what she was. Bolder than ever. “The overground!”

Silence enveloped them both until the fire in Oware’s eyes seemed to amplify as she looked back at her, ready for their new journey, their new plan. “…Roger, chief!”

“Please, don’t call me that…” Abeni flushed.

“I’ll call you whatever I want.” Oware smirked.

And the two left Aajiz Village once and for all. Leaving behind the tyrannical ruler to dance until he dropped, their attackers to murder each other and a stone hut with memories of her new and old family blessing it.

However, unbeknownst to them, that’s not the only thing that left Aajiz Village with a goal that day. Because while the fighters had fought their hardest to beat that hunter under Abeni’s command, their target painted the hut with their blood and their insides. Using the rest of his energy to search the village for them and limply approach the dancing village chief.

“I-Ibrahim! Ugh! Ibrahim, assist...me,” he shuffled on his feet, shimmying side to side as his gut bleeds out.

Said man looked down at him with an unreadable expression. Taking note of the now drenched gold fabric crown that he never could stood the sight of. “Hm…what’s in it for me?”

Causing the village chief to raise both eyebrows in shock. “What are you talking about? You are my...strongest and most loyal hunter. Argh! It may have felt pointless to you, but this situation is exactly what I w-wanted to avoid,” he crisscrossed his legs in a poor attempt at a shuffle. “If you had just watched over her p-p-properly, I would have been able to—”

“So!” Ibrahim raised his voice, sounding affronted. “I was loyal to you and you paid me. That’s how it always worked. But then some ex-hunters die and you forced your ‘strongest and most loyal hunter’ to go out of my way to watch over some girl, never tell me the reason why and now you blame me for it getting out of hand?”

Chief did a body wave, face cringing at the pain that ensued. “That is because you are at fau—”

But the eniyan had had enough, staggered forward and stabbed the once village chief in his chest instead. And the man’s body still tried to dance it off as he collapsed onto his knees. Wheezing and coughing up blood.

Ibrahim’s felt his deep-seated resentment cool as he watched this man’s suffering. He leant down and grabbed the eniyan’s hair before spitting in his face, grinning as he said. “Now you kneel.”

He soon stood upright again as best as he could with a leg wound, sniffing the air and his head soon turned to face the path that would take him in the direction of the southern village gate. “You're not going anywhere."

Then, after one short detour back to where this night began and setting things right, Ibrahim wanders out of the village, shivering with the pure willpower to ruin them. Committing himself to hunting down that ungrateful white-haired girl and her crazed creature who stole both his comfortable life here and the oh-so-important equipment right from under his nose.

Damn. He really should’ve smashed the remaining two eggs.

[Current Total Beings In ‘Abeni’s Army’ – 2]