The camp was quiet.
A small fire crackled.
Shun slept with one eye half-open.
Lira slept soundly on a rock.
Eldarin slept inside a tent, somehow maintaining perfect royal posture.
And then—
A shadow appeared.
"...Hehehe."
Liren, the former General of Lust, grinned mischievously.
"I've been behaving for months."
She crossed her arms.
"...So a tiny prank should be fine."
It was not, in fact, fine.
Liren pointed at Eldarin.
A faint pink glow appeared.
Eldarin's eyes opened.
"...What a wonderful evening," he said in a strangely monotone voice.
Liren covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"Perfect."
The prince stood up.
Turned.
And began walking directly toward Lira.
Meanwhile, Shun's eyes snapped open.
"...Why is the prince walking?"
She watched for a few seconds.
"...Why is he walking toward Lira?"
A few more seconds.
"...Why is Liren hiding behind that tree?"
Silence.
"...LIREN."
The former demon general froze.
"Uh-oh."
Before she could run—
Shun launched herself across the campsite.
BOOM!
The tree exploded into splinters.
Liren dodged at the last second.
"IT'S JUST A PRANK!"
"THAT'S A TERRIBLE PRANK!"
Meanwhile—
Eldarin continued marching forward.
Lira remained asleep.
The prince leaned down.
And immediately tripped over a random rock.
THUD.
Face-first into the dirt.
The mind-control shattered instantly.
"...Why am I eating soil?" Eldarin asked.
Shun stopped chasing Liren.
"...Good question."
Liren stared.
"...That wasn't supposed to happen."
Eldarin stood up.
A leaf stuck to his forehead.
"...What happened?"
Everyone slowly looked at Liren.
The former demon general pointed at herself.
"...No idea."
Nobody believed her.
Lira finally opened one eye.
"...Too loud."
Then she rolled over and went back to sleep.
Silence.
Shun cracked her knuckles.
Liren took one step backward.
"...I have made a tactical error."
"YOU THINK?"
The chase resumed immediately.
Across the entire forest.
While Lira slept through all of it.
To Be Continued...