THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 280: 280. BONI VALLEY I

The freaking Boni valley? What the hell could anyone be doing in the Boni Valley?

Boni Valley was one of the oldest deadlands recorded in the histories of Tagayia, a vast depression of stone and broken earth enclosed by towering cliffs that stretched for leagues in every direction. The valley possessed only a single known entrance, a narrow passage cut through black rock where the walls tightened. Beyond that pass, the land opened suddenly into an immense interior of forests, ravines, ruins, and uneven plains that no map had ever fully captured. For centuries, Boni carried a deadly reputation.

Some said that an ancient beast lived there, and others said that a warring tribe lived there. There are many speculations around boni. Some even said a demon lived there, and others said it was a portal to the underworld. Expeditions entered it and vanished. Scouts sent to recover them vanished as well. Entire war parties disappeared without a trace beyond the pass, leaving behind no survivors, no messages, and no bodies.

Over time, the valley became less a place and more a warning spoken in the mouths of people, just like a myth. The deeper one entered Boni, the harder it became to understand direction, distance, or escape, and because there was only one way in and one way out, retreat itself often became impossible. In history, it was written. Those who entered Boni rarely returned, and those who did never spoke of what they had seen within.

Sagiri had heard about boni from Rusha. After all, it was deep in the east, to the legs of Tagayia, almost stepping on the head of the south. There had even been rumours that it was the southerners who had infected the valley. Even so, Boni Valley did not hold any threat, at least for anyone who did not go in. All anyone had to do was stay away from Boni, and they would never be in any sort of predicament or just disappear.

That is why, as sagiri stood in the glaring sun of the desert, he wondered what possessed Squad 25 to go into Boni Valley. What could possess college students to go to such a place? He had never regretted his words so much.

It had been an emotional departure back then, and he had sworn that he would still be a part of the squad even in absentia. He had also opened his big mouth and made a promise that whenever the squad was in trouble, he would show up whenever and wherever if they called him, and he would be there for them. any day, any time. The promise applied to the four girls. After Lira had almost died for him, it had naturally evened the scales with her.

He had not granted her wish of helping her remember, however, but he said if they ever met again and she had not changed her mind about being his ally, then he would help. Well, if she hadn’t already remembered.

It had been a year since he made the stupid promise, and now they had to pick a time when he needed to go to the capital to rescue his mother’s guardian. Even damned Zaira chose the very moment to be hatched, and now it was sleeping on his finger. It had not stirred again.

What to do? What to do? He could just go to the capital and hope that he would find Koru and then hurry north and rescue them. He did not know how many days it could take him to find Koru in the capital, however. Both capitals of the south are huge, and it could take him at least a week to scale one.

He did not know whether squad 25 could survive till then. The message was no doubt sent by kiuga. The college students were on an exercise. Students could choose at will whether to go in squads or all alone. It is a college exercise that lasts a month. Most students did it in squads because who goes merit hunting without a squad? If it were up to Kaka, then perhaps he could go alone, but he and Kaka could not be separated, and kiuga was like a head whom everyone followed. It seemed that Squad 25 and Gavina’s squad were together on this mission.

kiuga had not left that out. The note was small and annoying.

We are jaws at the doors of death in Boni Valley, where we have been trapped for a week. Even your to-be wife and your girlfriend are here. If you delay, you might never see my beautiful face again.

Who even says such obnoxious things? But Sagiri knew that if kiuga had to personally ask him for help, then the strategist was at the end of his wits.

”What do you think, Zaira? Should I denounce anything to do with this squad this time and cut links with them?” Sagiri said, but even thinking about going separate ways with the squad made his heart stir uncomfortably.

He would help this time and then beat them to a pulp for even daring to go to such a place. Just how many merits could a man want? If Sagiri could guess that the squads had followed each other because they were bitter rivals and could let no one get ahead.

They were going to die one day just for this stupidity.

Sagiri stopped only long enough to look toward the horizon, the desert stretching endlessly beneath the morning light, dunes rolling like waves under the wind. His loose desert robes shifted around him in the heat, layered sand-colored cloth wrapped tightly at the waist, while lighter outer fabric moved freely with the wind to keep the heat off his body, and over his face rested the black desert mask that concealed everything below his eyes, shielding him from sand and heat alike.

With a sigh, he turned northeast and moved. Sand burst beneath his feet as he accelerated instantly, his body leaning forward into the run. He crossed the desert in a blur, his robes flowing with the rhythm of his speed. Dry wind tore across the open land, dragging spirals of sand around his legs while heat still rose from the earth in wavering currents. He passed over cracked ridges of stone and steep dunes without slowing, boots touching solid ground only briefly before launching forward again.

The farther he moved, the emptier the desert became, the silence swallowing everything except the rush of wind and the muted impacts of his steps. Above him, the sun grew hotter and hotter as the sun rose higher and higher, then when the sun could not rise anymore, the sky darkened slowly, stars beginning to emerge over the vast northern horizon, but Sagiri did not stop.

You’d better stay alive until I come and beat some sense into you!