Second Lead Syndrome (1-187) | ✓

• 56 •

Alric glanced around, panicking and panting lightly as he ran. He could hear them behind him, the yells, the barks and the threats. The crowd avoiding him like the plague, fear flashed in their eyes, just like Alric.

Their footsteps were so loud.

Their weapons were almost nicking at his arms and legs.

I'm scared! I'm scared! I want to switch!

Fortunately, this body wasn't his previous body, or he would have been captured due to the lack of stamina. However, he still couldn't shake his pursuers off, giving him no chance to switch back to Xue.

If he stopped even for a second, his body would be impaled mercilessly. Even if Xue were to survive by some miracle, this wasn't a safe area to be in.

Kai: "Alric, you need to shake them off somehow! Or fight back!"

Alric: "I can't! I can't, I can't, I can't!"

Xue: "Use my spear."

Alric fumbled his hands about on his back, he touched nothing but empty air, panicking even more.

Xue: "Summon it."

Alric: "Summon it? A spear? Th-that's impossible!"

Xue: "It's bound to--"

Xue stopped himself, he didn't want to finish the sentence.

Kai: "It's bound to our souls! You know what to do, Alric!"

Xue: "It's not ours. It's my soul. Mine."

Kai: "Whatever! Alric, hurry!"

Extremely unhappy, Xue stopped talking and remained gloomy. If his "body" wasn't in trouble, he would not even be here, conversing.

Alric nodded, whimpering slightly and he continued running, stretching his hand out. He bit on his lip, images of Xue's spear flitting past his mind as he constantly chanted the word "spear" in his head.

Alric: "I-is this working?"

Kai: "I'm not feeling anything from the body!"

The cowardly merchant's head was spinning from repeating until he didn't know if "spear" was a word anymore.

Alric: "Is this working?"

Kai: "I...I don't think so."

An enraged yell from the pursuers startled Alric into concentrating harder.

Alric: "Is it working?!"

Kai: "That--Xue, you tell him!"

Xue: "Shut up and focus."

Alric was shedding tears internally, he wished a white knight would swoop down and save the day.

Spear, spear spear spear.

Spearspearspearspear!

At that moment, glowing blue particles floated into his vision and Alric felt a sudden weight in his hands. He lit up, glancing down...finding nothing in his hands.

"...?!"

Kai: "Xue?!"

Xue: "Remember the shape."

Alric lit up in understanding, the exact shape of the spear has been engraved into his mind, ever since the day he met Xue.

"Archer!"