932 RACING WITH TIME

This ominous feeling that Iris felt came like a broken dam, which made her stood up and stared at a certain direction. She narrowed her eyes, while Hanna started to regain her consciousness.

From the corner of her eyes, Iris could see how her two little lights fluttered in the air, both of them were very active, as if they could feel her anxiety.

Thanked to the fire magic stones that Iris found, Lou could sustain the protection shield around them. The shield was very strong, it could protect them from the attack of the spider devil, while Lu and Cezi dealt with them.

"What is it?" Lou asked, he saw the look ofworry in her expression.

On the other hand, Hanna opened her eyes and started coughing blood. Iris immediately helped her to alleviate the pain. She caressed her back and from her palm, you could see white light that seeped through her body.

"Are you, okay?" Iris asked.

Hanna looked a little bit disoriented."Wh-where are we?" she asked with hoarse voice and then looked around her."Where is Will? Where is he?"

Iris couldn't answer the question and this made Hanna fell into panic. She tried to stand up, but Iris stopped her."We will find him."

However, the word didn't convince Hanna, because she already saw her surroundings and knew the gist of the situation."Is…Will inside one of those?" Her whole body was

trembling and craziness flickered in her eyes to think Will was within inside one of those eerie cocoons.

"We will find him," Iris reassured her, butHanna had pushed her away and rushed out of the protection shield, where she immediately shifted into her beast and started to look for Will.

"Hanna!" Iris screamed when one of thespider de vils caught her movement and started to take interest in her.

Meanwhile, Lou and Cezi were overwhelmed. They were greatly outnumbered, though with the power that the lycan held, they could make the situation even.

"Don't go out!" Lou immediately grabbedIris's arm, preventing her from going after Hanna, while Zale tried to stop her too.

"I will go and get her!" Cedric said, heunsheathed his sword and rushed after Hanna's beast, but everyone knew that the knight wouldn't be able to get Hanna back. She wouldn't be willing to go with him, until she found Will.

"This will not do!" Iris gritted her teeth infrustration. She felt this ominous feeling getting closer and whatever she was doing right now, would be a futile attempt if they had to face Rei and Decratic at the same time.

But, the question was; would they work together? What about the people from the Holy Kingdom?

And as if answering her question, Zale tugged at her dress and pointed his finger at a certain direction. "There! Luna! The people from the Holy Kingdom!" he said in delightful tone, thinking that their back up

was already here, but Iris didn't feel the same.

There was something completely wrong with this whole situation, but she couldn't pinpoint when did this exactly happen.

The appearance of the people from the Holy Kingdom couldn't be said as their advantage, especially when she could feel Rei was among them. His presence was reeked with black magic, which made it hard to ignore.

"Did you feel Rei is among them?" Lou asked,he stood behind Iris, while Zale looked at both of them and then realized, it was wrong to be happy with the presence of the Holy Kingdom's people.

"Yes."

The people from the Holy Kingdom stood at the far distance, away from the chaos that was created with the fight between the lycan and the spider devils. They didn't move and there was no sign that could indicate that they were going to help them or something.

"We should have poisoned those peoplewhen we have a chance," Lou was seething. He glared at a bunch of the knights and magic users from the Holy Kingdom.

The three of them were protected within Lou's protection spell, while out there, Lu managed to kill ten of the spider devils, while Cezi barely managed to take down one and Hanna moved very fast among the spider de vils to find Will with Cedric followed behind her.

"Wait," Iris said, she narrowed her eyes. Shecould feel there was something not right with the situation with the people from the

Holy Kingdom.

"What is it?" Lou tilted his head to look atIris's expression.

"I think they are under the spell..." Iris saidhesitantly. She was not sure with this, but if you looked at their eyes closely, you would know that they were empty."I think... they are under the influence of black magic."

"Does that change anything?" Lou didn't likethese people, thus whether they were under the influence of black magic or not, it was the same in his eyes.

Iris thought about it for a while. She looked around her, but couldn't find anyone else. She knew Decratic was nearby, but his forces or even himself couldn't be seen. He must have been hiding somewhere. Where was he?

"Yes." Iris gritted her teeth. She then shiftedher attention back to the lycan, who managed to take down two more spider devils. These monsters were under the influence of black magic too, that was why, the lycan couldn't control them and neither Lu nor Cane wanted her to risk herself by coming closer to them to purify the black magic. They were going to kill them all instead.

Iris watched how everything unfolded before her eyes and observed the situation. She noticed how the black magic around her increased, to the point, she couldn't even pinpoint the direction of it, since it was literally everywhere.

She was not only surrounded by the black magic, but also drowned in it. Her two little lights didn't move as active as usual. They looked like they were hiding inside her curls. The thickness of the black magic in the air must be very strong, which this affected them.

Iris worried something bad would happen to her babies, thus she summoned the Sylph to strengthen the protection around them. The air spirit engulfed them with divine protection, which looked like a flimsy, transparent membrane.

Five minutes later, Lu managed to take down five spider devils and when the number down to only one spider devil, Iris stepped out of the protection shield and started to reach the closer cocoon and use the black wisp to slash it, so she could retract the person inside.

"Get them out of the cocoon and take themto me!" Iris ordered Lou and Zale. She needed to kill the spiderlings that had been put inside of them. The coco on just made, thus the people inside was still alive and the spiderlings had not yet caused any irreversible damage on them.

Lou and Zale started to work on it.

"Should we save him too?" Lou got bad luckwhen he opened the coco on and got Koda instead."I waste my energy."

"Bring him here," Iris said.

"You are not serious, right? Why would youwant to save him?"Lou grumbled, but he knew Iris wouldn't abandon this old thing. It would weigh on her conscience. Therefore, lazily Lou dragged Koda's body to Iris, leaving the man sustained a few wounds on his back because of the sharp stone that scratched his skin.

Not long after, Cedric returned. The knight was carrying Abby's body, he asked Iris to save Abby. Hanna managed to find her, but she still couldn't find Will.

"Please, save her," Cedric said. Abby lookedvery pale, she started showing and Iris prayed it wouldn't affect the baby at all.

Thankfully, it didn't. Abby and the baby would be fine.

But, Iris wondered how Cedric was still very much loyal to Abby even when she had touched him and technically speaking, he was one of her protectors. Not like Lou, Zale and Rei, whom very drawn on her, Cedric didn't seem to have the same inclination.

However, the question could wait for another time, because right now, Iris had to focus on saving as many people as possible.

"Help me to get them out of the cocoon,okay?"Iris said to the lycan beast when he was done taking care of all the monsters and approached her, nuzzled her neck,

asking to be praised, only to end up with another task.

Lu snorted in his beast form, he turned around, giving his back, sulking.

Lou, who saw this scrunched his nose. If he was not afraid of this lycan, he would have talked something offensive, but unfortunately, he knew better not to be the source of the lycan's wrath.

"Please, Lu?" Iris said, she softened her voiceand kissed his snout."I can't do it in time without you."

The beast's red eyes flickered, Lu glanced at her, it seemed the word pleased him, but he wanted more. He was being greedy right now. He didn't care about those people's lives.

"I need you," Iris said and caressed his head.

Meanwhile, Lou and Zale scowled.

"Where is the alpha?" Zale asked. He didn'thave problem with the lycan, but sometime, this cursed creature only brought more headache to the luna.

"Yeah, I have the same question too."

And as if Cane could hear the complain, before Iris could kiss the lycan, he had shifted into his human form, right in time to receive a kiss from his mate, which startled Iris too.

"C- Cane?" Iris stuttered.

"Were you startled when you kissed yourmate?"

Iris couldn't tell whether Cane was teasing her or he was genuinely upset because he was about to kiss Lu.

But, before she could get the answer, Cane had stood up and by using the black wisp, he slashed the cocoon that engulfe d the warriors' body.

"I can only help you to this point," Cane said.He could get them out of the cocoon, but he couldn't cleanse them from the spiderlings that had been inserted inside them.

"You have helped enough." Iris stood up andtiptoed to kiss his cheek.

"Can't you stop to kiss each other? There isa little boy here. It's not an appropriate sight to see, you know." They were in critical condition, but the two of them

didn't fail to show their affection.

Iris's face turned slightly red, but Cane didn't care. He worked on taking out his people from the vicious cocoon.

Soon after, Hanna and Cedric returned, this time, they came with Will. The man was unconscious, but his body had turned red. He must have stayed inside the coco on long enough, because Iris didn't see this symptom on the other people she had saved.

And when Iris checked on him, the spiderlings had grown, these little spiders had eaten his flesh from inside, which caused his organs bleeding from inside.

"What happened?" Hanna asked, she wasvery anxious. She couldn't find him quick enough and if something happened to him, she would blame herself for her

incompetence.

"He will be fine," Iris reassured her, whiletrying to stop the internal bleeding and kill the spiderlings without hurting Will further.

With this, Iris realized one thing; she was racing against time. It didn't matter whether they managed to kill all the spider devils, because right now, the spiderlings would kill these people without mercy if she was late.

Iris looked around her. She felt her heart dropped to her stomach when she saw there were thousand of cocoon, which meant, these thousand of warriors waited for her to rescue them, or else, they would meet their demise.

But, more importantly, would she be able to save them all? Would her power be enough? She was not going to put herself and her

babies at risk, but...

They had not yet found Jace, Ethan, Aliana... and many more, the people that dear to Iris.

Meanwhile, the presence of Decratic and Rei became stronger and a poisonous miasma appeared!