ã€ŠThe Moonlight Sorcererã€‹


 Chapter 1: The voice

    It''s been raining since thismorning.

    The dark greyish cloud covered the sunlight that should be on it''s prime around this time. But instead, they hid almost all the light just leaving a few faint glow throughout the area. From the way I see, this rain won''t be away anytime soon.

    I never liked the heat of the summer. But, I love it when it rained like this. The cold air seeping through the windows followed by splashes of raindrop. The curtains starting to get drenched so a few people nearby went and closedthe windows. The classroom felt kind of warm and cool at the same time.

    I settled down at my desk. Fold my arms and lie my head down till my forehead touched the cold desk surface. It''s been a while since I last feel this peaceful. It''s rare to be exact.With my head facing down,I carefullylistened tothe muffled raining soundoutside the windows.

    Bam!!

    Someone slammed on my desk just an inch away from my arm. Then smacked my head to gain my attention. I raised my head up to answer whoever did that.But then Igota smallheavypouchthrown towards my face hit my cheek. That was hurt. I bet there were coins in the pouch.

    Thevoices in the class got toned down and followed by whispering and murmurs. They only stood and watched. The area around meslowlycleared out from people except thatonegirl in front of me and her two followers. They stood proud, head up.With arms foldedin frontof the chest.

    "Get me three sandwiches, one without egg, one withoutmayonnaiseand one without both. Two pack of potato chips.One cup of coffee without sugar. Oneorange juice. One cup of milk tea, I want them immediately!!" She orderedwithout stopping to catch breathethat you wouldn''t have any clue of what she just said without focus. Then she took a deep breath,sat on the desk in front of me and crossedher leg.

    Here goes my peaceful moment

    One of the girl beside her suddenly stepped forward then shoved my shoulderand caused me tostumbledback.

    "Oi... didn''t youhear her, Sasaki-chan said now!!¡±

    Right.

    SasakiSumire.

    I don''t know what I did to became one of her bully targets. I didn¡¯t interact with people that much. I only talk when I needed to. So, I didn''t think I would left any impressions. I am a low-key ordinary high school boy. But why am I here a target of a bully. A spoilt girl to be precise. She had powerful family background with a lot of cash. She is so arrogant and proud that she actually went around bullying and ordering people, thinking all mighty about herself.

    Despite her rotten personality, she got a pretty cute smug face. With her sharp almond shaped grey eyes, Sasaki glared at me. Tapping her finger on her folded arm waiting for me to react. I stared back at her, not because I am angry. I am just confused. I mean... why me?

    Corner of her mouth went down. Brows laying low and close. She squinted her eyes and looked furious. She looked like about to explode.

    ¡°Did you forget what I just said? I AM not repeating!¡± She spoke as I kept silent.

    Okay... before she started rampaging

    I stood up from my chair, picked up the pouch she just threw me. That¡¯s when Sasaki and her two followers started grinning proudly. I don¡¯t want any more trouble. It was so awkward to be treated like that in my own classroom. I might as well as just went out. Escape the heavy stare all students gave me in the class.

    I walked toward the door, right before I was out of the class, I caught a glimpse of Sasaki''s sharp but confused glare following me. She didn¡¯t look too amused.

    As I walked through the hallway, I could feel people¡¯s gaze upon me. People always looked at me, somehow quite intensely. Some would just stare at me with mouth half open, especially when I looked straight back at them too. Some girls and even guys would blushes toward me. Some other people came to me upfront just to say things like ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful!¡± or ¡°How can you be so pale?¡±.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    There were extremely annoying people who would mistaken me as a girl.Is itmy hair?I never really care much about my appearance that I would keep the length in check. I noticed thatthey wentpassedmy earalready. I have a normal jet black hair like most Japanesegot. I am not that different from the average.

    That¡¯s what I convinced myself.

    I bought the list of things that Sasaki ordered. Put them on a tray and brought them out from the canteen. The canteen lady always say, ¡°Good... good... eat more so you can grow taller boy!¡± and overjoyed at how many food I bought. Well, I was indeed a bit shorter than average but I believe I still have spaces left to grow on.

    I moved back toward the classroom through the same hallway. That has been a routine for me, a daily task given by Sasaki. I knew that she was being mean to me. But, instead of getting all intimidated. I felt nothing. I didn¡¯t fear of her. She looked like a moody Chihuahua to me. As long as she didn''t cause commotion that would make people around me feel uncomfortable, that was fine.

    I had a peaceful first and second year. It was all started during this third year of high school when she attended here as a first year student. If I was not mistaken, it happened exactly after some polls held within the students and I seemed to ranked the first of something I don¡¯t really asked about.

    All I remembered was that I received a flower bouquet as a reward. Weird. That was when Sasaki noticed me from all the way back of her class. She walked into my class furiously. Then she pulled my neck collar closing our distances to mere few inches by her face. She locked her eyes toward me and not blinking, scanning every nook and cranny of my face.

    Iwas just as confused as I am now. I couldn¡¯t think of a reasonwhy would she be so mad.That happened right after thebouquet I received.I called it the bouquet of thebeginning.

    ¡°What took you so long!!¡± Sasaki yelled as she saw me with her usual high-pitched voice.

    Well, I was moving carefully not to spill the drinks, especially when I had to climb up stairs all the way from the 1stfloor to the 3rdfloor.

    They werewaiting in their class.

    My class is at the 2ndfloor. She came down deliberately just to order me to do this and that. She even gave me money to buy their food. Weird bunch. Well that¡¯s true she would have to give me the money to run her errands but wasn¡¯t that what a bully won¡¯t normally do?

    I placed the tray right on her desk. Her followers chuckled a bit and one of them evenshoved my back.

    ¡°Good boy!¡± as she patted my head so roughly that myheadboweddown from the impact.

    Her classmates stared at me for how I was treated. It was not like I couldn¡¯t fight back. As a man, I should be more powerful than those girls. But, I wasn¡¯t really concerned about the fact at all. I don¡¯t want to argue. I don¡¯t want to fight with girls. They looked so frail.

    ¡°Hey you!¡± The girl beside Sasaki suddenly stood up and moved to the back of the classroom.

    She kicked the table of a girl who looked so cloudy and dark. That girl looked so... gloomy. She got a very ominous long straight black hair and her bang kind of messy, covering one part of her eyes. She was looking straight at me.

    ¡°Whosaidyou can stare!!¡±Sasaki¡¯sfollowergrippedthatgloomygirl¡¯s jawwith forceandrotated her chin up with her palm.Demanding an answer.

    But she only gave her a cold stare.

    ¡°Tsk¡±The bully shoved her grip away making her lose balance and fell to the floor.

    The real evils were those two girls beside Sasaki.I felt sorry for Sasaki to be part of such a circle.Butnever mind,seeing Sasaki grinning together with her followersmade me cancel what I just thought.She was equallyasbad as those girls.

    Nobody dared to report this incident to the teachers. Theyquietlywatchor continue doing whatever they were doing.I wonder why was the girl a bully target. What was the common of usboth?

    Apparently her name isKisaragiKazue.

    Ihearditfromthenearbystudent,whisperedabout how unlucky that girl was.Kisaragi still lay low on the floor, facing down. She raisedher left hand to the chest levelandclencheda pendant whichhung around her neckintoher palm.Then, she raised her head up toward me. Shelookedstraightat me. As if shebroke through all mydefence.

    I was caught in her gaze. There was a weird feeling built in my chest.Looking at hergave me a strange familiar feel, as ifI had known her for a long time.

    Anyway,I think I should walk awayamidstthe commotion.Idon¡¯t know why would she stare at me. Islowly movedtoward the entrance.

    I have found you...

    Iheard a soft whispering out of nowhereas I exited the classroom.It staggered me for a second.I turned my headonly to caught a glimpse of Kisaragi beingcornered by Sasaki and her bullies.

    I shook my head for a bit. I must had misheard it.

    Then I walked away.

 Chapter 2: The Pudding

    Classes ended.But not the rain.

    Students were walking out of the building one by one.Opening their umbrellas. It was raining sincethismorning so nobody would forgot totakeumbrella with them as they came when it¡¯s raining too.Some stay for the after school activity. As for me, Inormallywent straight home. I am a third year after all. I have to prepare for thefinal exam and University¡¯s mock exam. I would just head back home, cooped in my room to study.

    I reached the main entrance.I changed into my outdoor shoesand went to the umbrellas slot.But then I found myself stunnedsearching for it.

    It¡¯s gone

    Never have Iencountered such a problemin my life until now. I never thought that anyone would steal it. Or maybe someone mistook my umbrella for theirs. That¡¯s what I decided to believe.

    Haah...I let out a long sigh. Though I loved the weather, Iam not fond of getting myself wet. Running through the rain seemed hurt. Raindrop falling in such a speedwhich no human eyes can seewould be hurt on contact if I sprintedout countering them.I don¡¯t like that thought.

    I scanned through the umbrellas slot oncemore. Only to hit back by the truth.I looked around to see studentswalking out of the entranceone by one.Thinning out the school¡¯s population.I could ask forhelp, to share an umbrella with the student that was heading to the train station.Then I can buy a new one to continue my way back home.

    That was when Kisaragi popped out of nowhere. Not from nowhere, It¡¯s me who was shockedwhen looking around to found someonesuddenlystood close near the corner of my sight.Studentswalkedby, passing where we stood, there were sound of the rain and the umbrellasopening.I started tofeelcoldbecause ofthe rainy air seeping through the entrance.

    I calmed myself from the slightshock I just took.Looking back ather while stepping back to add some distances between us.For the first time, I saw her face from upclose.

    She is beautiful...

    That¡¯s what popped up in my mind at the firstclose upencounter.She hasa high nose bridge,big pair of roundbrowneyesadorned withlong thick eyelashes. Her lips arefull with an attractive cupidshape on top.People would thoughtif she was amixed race girl for thatprofile of her.Too bad she covered part of that face with her messy front hair.

    I watched her closely as she pulled out something from her back. An umbrella.She stared at me as if she wasinvitingme to share with her. I nodded without thinking further. That¡¯s how we shared anumbrella.

    ¡°...what¡¯syour...name?¡± she asked while we walked through the rain, under the shared umbrella. She got that nice voice. Soothing in the ear. Shelooked at me waiting for an answer.

    ¡°Shiratsuki Yuu¡±

    Ianswered herwithout hesitation.Looking at her from the corner of my eyes while facing straight toward the road we were walking.She noddedand stay down looking at the steps she was taking.

    Silencestruckdown.We didn¡¯t talkuntil we reached the train station. I thanked her for sharing the umbrellaand left her goingto the convenient storelocatedin the train station. I walked in to the 7-eleven store. Picked a black umbrella and brought it to the counter.I looked through the glass wall and found the familiarperson standing near the store.Kisaragi Kazue.

    What¡¯s she doing standing there?Does she wait for me?

    I questioned myself.Curiosityhit me.I walked out after thepurchaseand she followed me on the back. So, she was waiting for me. Why?

    On the all wayback, even after I reached my station. Kisaragi followed me down to the road from the same station.I wondered if she lived around here too.We held our own umbrella so we didn¡¯t stand close enough tobe able tohold a conversation. But she followed me closely, I could hear her footstepsamidstthe rainuntil I reached just a few blocks away from myhome.Thefootsteps, rain splashingsoundshe made while walkingstopped abruptly. I glanced back to found herrunningtoward theother way.

    Away from me.

    She always left me wonder.What an odd girl.

    Standingin frontof myhouse. I closed the umbrella. I shook the water out then Iopened the entrance.

    ¡°I¡¯m home...¡±

    I greeted as Iwalked in to my house.Afamiliar figure came out to greet me. It¡¯s my Grandmother.

    ¡°ah.. Yuu, your shoulder got so wet. Come on in and dry yourself¡± She looked concerned. Hurried back maybe to findtowel. I just realized after she stated it. It might be from the time when I shared one umbrella with Kisaragi.I wondered if she got her shoulder drenched too.

    I changed my cloth. Dry myself.Not having any appetite, Iskipped the dinner.Iwent straight to my room. I threw myself at the moment I saw my bed. Lying face downon my pillow, processing what happened recently.I turned my head to the side to catch a breath.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    As I closed my eyes, Kisaragi¡¯sface flashedintomy mind.

    Thinking how unlucky she was to be in the same class as Sasaki. That Sasaki is anunreasonable girl who picked people out of nothing.Thinking for a while, Ifinallyfound afew commons of myself and Kisaragi. We both didn¡¯t talkmuch and we both have a very pale skin.Maybethat¡¯s what madeus looked weak, that¡¯swhat madeSasaki chose us.I convinced myself to thinklike that. As the rain not showing anysign of halting. The rainfellat asteady pacefrom the morning. Not any stronger or weaker.It was a lullabyto my ears. Before long,I actually fell asleep.

    ***

    Morning came.

    I went to school like usual.I brought my umbrellaas the sky was clouded. A sign of rain. My instinct proven to be true as it actually started rainingafter Iwalkedpassbythe school¡¯s gate. I ran a bit before the rainactuallycaught mewetinto the building.As I didn¡¯t get my umbrella¡¯s wet so Idon¡¯tneed toplaceit in the umbrella¡¯s holder.My umbrella will be safer that way.

    When I was changing into the indoor shoes, I noticed Sasaki walked inas proudly as usual, flaunting her silkybrown medium long hair. Her followers stick closely to her. Their names areMika andAya as I peeked on their name tag. Mika isthe most evil one. Sheoccasionally used her hand to shove me and hit me. I don¡¯t like girlsthat useviolence.I can tolerate bad mouthing but not physical abuse. I don¡¯t like the feeling of pain.

    Justwhen I closedmy locker,ahandsuddenly brushed throughthesideofmy face and bumped on the locker so hard that it produced a large banging sound.I rolled my eyes to only see Sasaki¡¯sface close to mine. Her brows lay so low and her lips shut tight with corner curled downward. Then she leaned forward until her mouth just an inch away from my ear.So close that I could hear her breathing.

    ¡°I heard from Mika... that you were gettingchummy with that Kisaragi¡± she whispered with a low mocking voice.¡°Did you two go out or something?¡± She added again while leaning backward. Then she grinned, looking down at me as if shestood higher than me.I looked at her but not showing any reaction. She was pissed off and bit her lip.

    ¡°Interesting...¡± She turned around and walked away from me whilelaughing as if she was plotting something bad.Then I walked in toattend classes like usual.

    ***

    Lunch break¡¯s bellrang. Class dismissed.

    It was time for Sasaki¡¯s daily arrogant orders.I sat on my seat, taking out mylunch. Grandma made me abento.I unwrapped the cloth around it and opened the box. The foods were arranged neat and tidy with lots ofvegetablecolours. Grandma always made sure to prepare healthy foodfor meto eat.She put more food than she normally doestoday. MaybecausedI skipped the dinner last night. Igotto eathurry as Sasaki would came anytime soon to demand this and that.

    When I was about to take my firstbite. A commotion suddenly started outside the classroom.

    ¡°That was awful...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go watch it!¡±

    The murmurs caught my attention. The students seemed to gather and heading to other place hastily. Then I heardone student said. ¡°Woah... first year students are scary¡± before she exited the class.

    Which made me think, who could it bebeside that Sasaki.Icouldn¡¯t think of anyone else. Well, that¡¯s great. Means I can eat my lunch peacefully for today. I took another bite from my bento.Then someone suddenly flashed into my mind.

    Kisaragi...

    I took the third bite of my food, chewing and running my minddeep. Thinkingaboutwhat Sasaki said in themorning. It could beher. It could be someone else. Sasaki bullied quite a lot of people. But...

    I put down the spoon I held. Closing the bento box. Stood up from my seat and walked away from the classroom.

    Ihate this feeling. I tried my best to not mingle with anyone. But knowinghow people suffered all because of me. Annoyingly affected me.I steadily walked toward the commotion. Listened to some bypass student saying it happened in thecanteen and followed those busystudents toward the same destination.

    I entered the canteen. There were crowd of students circling a few people in thecentre.The canteen lady seemed concerned but she did nothing. Because theculpritwas Sasaki. Her household held a big sum of sharesout of this school. Not even the principal dare to provoke her.

    Iweaved through the crowd ofstudents.With Sasaki¡¯s back facing me. I leaned sideway to see who was the victim.Just like what my hunch told me. It was Kisaragi.

    She wasdrenched.Herlong hair flatten as it soaked in the water. Heruniform stained dark brown by the water. It smelled like coffee. So it was coffee.Kisaragi glared at Sasaki with her big roundeyes.She looked like about to fight back.I never saw her getting so agitated before.I thought she is the type of person whoget bullied and do nothing. But instead,she showed Sasaki an intimidatingglare, grit her teethand clenched her fist.

    ¡°Ahh... you don¡¯t like coffee?Maybe..... shouldIget you some milk?¡± Sasaki rolled her eyes to Mikagiving her a sign. Mika nodded andpickeda glass of milk from a random table. She handed it to Sasaki.

    Kisaragi was ontheseat, while Sasaki stood right beside her. She tilted the glass. Slowly pouring down the milkon her head.As the milk ran down throughKisaragi¡¯sface. She didn¡¯t move an inch from her seat and kept glaring at Sasaki.

    ¡°Coffee..... Milk! It is a coffee milk!!Hahahahah!¡±She laughed satisfyinglyfollowed by Mika and Aya.

    Canteen was dead silent. But,whispers can be vaguely heard once a while. Everyone hooked their eyes toward the scene.But, nobodygoing to help Kisaragi. Howcold.

    ¡°Oh!! Do you likedessert?¡± Sasaki continued her arrogant speech and picked a puddingfromKisaragi¡¯stable. Sheswung around the pudding.A few seconds before she flew her hand with pudding towardKisaragi¡¯sface.

    Splasshhhh!!

    Isplasheda glass of waterIjust picked,straight toSasakifrom head down to her back. She whinedandstopped whatever she¡¯sgoing to dothen sheturned around.She was shocked to see me. The crowds startingto get noisy. Everyone beside me put some distancesfromme, all eyes shifted tome.

    I immediatelyregretted.

 Chapter 3: Upturned Sky

    Sasaki¡¯s back was drenched. Her hair became sticky. What I justspilled was a sweet carbonated drink.

    ¡°Y- You !!¡± She ran her fingers through her sticky hair.

    Then, she sighed andgroaned. She screamed and squeaked like a rat.Mika and Aya immediately movedclose to her and wipedher with tissues.

    Kisaragi stunned as she looked at me. Anger left her face and she showed concern toward me.

    Wiping the sweet drink was a futile. Thesticky residue remained on her uniform.She glared atme angrilywhile pointingher forefingertoward me.

    ¡°You will regret this!!¡± She declared and bumped through thecrowd.

    The crowdsplita path forher toget out.Realizing that Sasaki was going out,Kisaragistood up as ifshe forgot to dosomething, she was about to followher.

    While stompingout furiously.Sasakiyelled,

    ¡°Afterschool. Rooftop!! You BOTH!¡±As she wavedher handwiththependant.Mika and Aya anxiously followed Sasaki out from the canteen.

    Thecrowdgradually ceased its existence.No one talked toKisaragi. They just went back doing their things like nothing happened.

    Kisaragisat down with head facing the ground.The water dropped from her messyfront hair.So shewiped herforehead with her arm.She lookeddispirited.

    ¡°Are you....alright? ¡°

    Iapproached her andactually asked if she wasfine whenshe definitely didn¡¯t look¡®fine¡¯ at all. I handed hersometissues. She tookthemwith her head still facing on the ground.

    ¡°....¡±

    Silence. She looked so disheartened. I wondered if thatpendantwasimportant to her.After a while, sheslowlyraised her head up.

    ¡°I....Uhm...I need to...¡± She stuttered.

    ¡°... I need toget that pendant back¡± She continued.

    ¡°It is important for me!¡±and sheraised her voice.

    Then I hear her mumbled. ¡°...that...was the only thing myparent....left¡±

    Sigh

    ¡°Okay... I understood¡±

    Kisaragi¡¯seyes filled with asparkof light as she heard me.

    ¡°Thank you¡± She thanked mesincerely and she actually smiled.

    That was the first time I saw her smiling.Itmade my heart fluttered asecond. But not in a romantic way. Itfelt likeyou saw a cute kitten¡¯svideo online.Her smile lasted only for a while.

    After that, she leftheruneatenlunchand walked away.She went upstairs, goingto the changing room. Isubconsciouslyfollowed herall thewaytoher intended destination.Then,I stood outsidewaiting as she went into the room.I don¡¯t know why I followed her. But she looked sodepressedthat people would think if she will be doingstupid things.

    Some girls walked pass by me and gave me a suspicious lookingstare.That made me feel a bit awkward.

    While waiting,looking up at the sky that I watched through the window. The rainhad finallyceased.Leavingbehind drenched rooftopsin the neighbourhoodandwet ground.My stomach started to growland rumble. I am hungry.

    ¡°Uhm.....Shiratsuki-san...¡±Kisaragiwho changed in to her PE clothonce againstartled me by suddenly stood beside me.Icouldn¡¯t feel her presence at all.She knew that andgrinned. Then she looked all gloomyagain.

    She walked toward the end of the hallway. I followed her closely. Then she sat on the stair which we seldom use in the school.I lied my back towardthe wall.I hesitated a bit as the wall feltcold but the warmspreadoutafter a while.I watched Kisaragi closely.

    ¡°I never saw you before¡± Italked after a momentof silence.

    It¡¯s true that I never saw her until recently.I don¡¯t mingle with people.But, I remember everyfacesI saw.I never forget.

    She listened and nodded then she finally spoke.

    ¡°I transferred into here just a while ago¡±

    I gave her an¡°Ohh...¡± then we fell silent again.

    I didn¡¯t mean to, but I took a quick scan of herfrom the corner of my sight. Shehas small wrists and thin body.Shelooked so frail as if she would break with a single bump. But, when Ithink about the expression she made while glaring back at Sasaki a while ago.

    Itook back what I''vesaid, sheisnotweak.

    ¡°I really appreciatefor what you did just now¡± She thanked me again.

    ¡°No.. It¡¯s nothing¡±

    I lied.

    To be honest, Iregretted a bit. I don¡¯tknow why Ireactedaggressivelytoward that incident. I never wanted to stand out. It¡¯s my last yearof high schoolandI just ruinedit. Normally,I wouldjust leave her be. I won¡¯tbe concerned by it.But, she piqued my curiosity.As a human being, curious is the least I could feel.

    ¡°Yesterday...¡° I pausedbriefly and gained her attention.

    ¡°...Did you followme?¡± I asked again, out of curiosity. It¡¯s now or never.

    She gasped.

    ¡°I-I lived nearby¡± She panicked. I can see that.

    ¡°But,why did you have to ran away?¡± I continued with another question.

    ¡°...that wasbecause.............¡± She gave a long pause.

    Sheinhaled and exhaled.She showed a determinedexpression. Then,shestood up from her seat.Kisaragi stepped forward.

    She stood in front of me.

    ¡°To be honest, Iwa-¡°

    Rrriiiiiiinnnnnnggggggggggggggg.....

    The bell suddenly rang and interrupted whatever Kisaragi was going to say.Tension left her face.I caught hersighing outof relief. She was nervous.

    ¡°I- Igot togo... See youlater¡± She immediately leaptaway.

    Leaving me half answered and confused.I scratched myhead for a while andwentdown stairs to my class.I thought shehassomethingtosay. If not, why would she led me tothe secluded area of the school.

    I managed to eat my lunch right before the teacher camein.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ***

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your homework. The class is dismissed¡± The teacherdeclared.

    The students stood up onclassrepresentatives¡¯ sign. We bowedto the teacher andthanked him for the class. After the teacher walked out.Everyone started topack their belonging and walked out one by one.

    Some students stared at me. But thentheyimmediately lookedaway when I caught their eyes.

    I guess what happened todayreally made me standout. Iamused to people¡¯s eyes on me.But adding that incident, they looked at me with somehow a different way now.

    After packing all my belonging. I went straight to the rooftop.

    The rooftop is normally locked and off limit. I don¡¯tknowhow but Sasaki must haveher way. I walked outfromthe doortoward the rooftop ground.The floor was puddled with the rainwater.Iavoided the puddle as I walked toward them. Sasaki,Mika,Ayaand lastly,Kisaragi. She was tensed up.

    Sasaki folded her arm as shesaw me. Standingproudly with chin slightlyup.Mika and Aya both standing left and right of her, as if they were her bodyguards.

    Shehadchangedinto the same but clean uniform.I don¡¯t think that the staincould just easily be cleaned upinsuch a short time. So, that uniform must be newlybrought to school.

    I went toKisaragi¡¯sside and stoppedexactly next to her.Thedarkclouds haven¡¯tfully dissipated.So itwas quite dark and ominous feeling up here.I looked through thefence. Seeing students walking pass by the maingate.

    Then I looked atKisaragi, whowasclearlygivingathreatening glare toward Sasaki. But her expressionrapidlychanged fromanger totroubled when Sasaki pulled out thependant from her pocket.She was holding it with her thumb and forefinger. Sheheld ituphighto the eyelevel.Then she swung the pendant by the fence.

    ¡°Hmm....Would it break if I throw it from here?¡± rather than a question,shethreatened.

    Kisaragiwatched the pendantanxiously.Itwas asturdylooking pendant, so Idon¡¯t think it would break butthrowing with strengthfrom that heightisdefinitelygoing to leave ugly scratches. That pendant lookedpolished.It was a silver framed gold colourednewmoonshapedflatgem.She has taken a good care for the pendant.

    ¡°Please! Give it back to me!¡± Kisaragi pleaded as she stepped closer to Sasaki.

    Mika and Ayastepped forward to drew a linebetweenKisaragi and Sasaki.

    Sasakismirked.

    ¡°If you want itback that bad...¡± She rolled her eyes toward me.

    She took outa clothingfrom her bag.Then she threw it to me. I caught the cloth by reflex.

    ¡°Wearit!!¡± She ordered while grinningwickedly.

    Ispread the clothdown. Itwasa girl¡¯s uniform.Kisaragi gasped andclasped her hands by her mouth.Istoodstill.

    ¡°No...You don¡¯t have to dothis!¡± Kisaragiexclaimedasshesnatchedtheuniform from my hands.

    Sasaki saw that and slowly movedcloserto the side of the fence.

    ¡°Not doing it? Then I have no use for this!!¡°Sasakiraised her handbackward and uphigh,building momentum,to throw the pendant.

    ¡°N-Nooooo!!¡± Kisaragishouted outloud.

    She leapt forward while Mika andAyapushed andblocked her.

    ¡°Stop it!¡± I raised my voice in case she didn¡¯t hear me amidst thenoise.

    ¡°Iwill do as you say¡± I stated.

    Sasaki stopped midway and turn around looking sopleased with my resolution.As if she predicted it.

    I unbuttoned my shirt and took it off. They glanced atme as Ithrewmy shirt awayexposing my upper body.

    Then I grabbed the uniform Kisaragi held andwore it in oneswoop.Idragged upthe skirt from below thenpulled down the pants I was wearing.Kisaragi was flustered, she lookedat me withguilty-riddeneyes.

    Sasakilocked her eyes on me and gave outasmirkwith hercheekkind offlushed.

    The uniform unexpectedly fit on me.I am not a tall guy. My height is roughly the same asthem so maybe that explained how the uniform fit.Then I glanced at Sasaki.

    ¡°Tsk...¡± Sheclicked her tongue.

    The oncesneeringSasakisuddenlycurled her upper lip with disdain.She scanned me from topto bottom and didn¡¯tseem tolike what she saw.

    I turnedmyheadtofaceKisaragi. Her eyes wide open lookingatme with disbelief.

    I felt a bit humiliatedfor a few seconds.But then, that feeling quickly disappeared. As long as I can getKisaragi¡¯spendant back. Thatmuchwas nothing.

    Itook fewstepcloser to Sasakiandraised my hand upto chest levelwith palm openedfacing upward.

    ¡°The pendant¡± I demanded while looking straight intohereyes.

    She grit her teeth and clenchedthe fist which she held the pendant in.

    Why is he so calm aboutthat...

    Sasakiintrospected.Her aim was too see a pathetic side of Shiratsuki.Instead of what she thought he will be. He actuallyacted as calm ashe normally does.None of her bully went throughShiratsuki.That¡¯s what made hergetting more andmore irritated.

    It¡¯s not like Shiratsuki everoffendedher before.Maybe oncewithout himselfaware. But it wasn¡¯t his fault at first. She knew it butshe didn¡¯t like hisoddly composed manner.

    Moreover,his face.Thatpeculiar gaze he always gave fromhis sharpand crystal clear pair of black eyes.Theskin complexionthatwas uncommonly pale until itoutshone hers.

    He looked so mysteriouslyappealingin her eyes that itliterallybecamehate.Shewas sosurprised to see Shiratsuki wore the opposite gender¡¯s uniformwith suchimpeccablyfitting.It felt like the uniform was madesolely forhim.

    Sasakisnapped out from her trainofthoughtandsmirked awkwardly.She pulled out a smartphone out ofher pocket.

    Kacha!

    Her camera flashed.Her phone aimed at me. So I guessshe took a picture ofme.

    She slowly walked along the side of the fence as she said,

    ¡°A boy wearing agirl¡¯suniformas a hobby during his spare time.... How does it sound?¡±

    She turned her smartphones screen toward me which displayed a picture of me crossdressing.

    Ileaned forward andswung mynearesthand without prior notice intended for her phone. But, she dodgeditlike she knew it.I was surprised by herreflex.

    ¡°Go away!!¡±Ayaknocked mebackwardcaused me tostaggeron the side but Imanaged to keep my balance with a step back.

    ¡°Hmm.. that sounds really great!Itwouldbecameour school¡¯sheadline,wouldn¡¯t it?¡±She continued her arrogantspeech.

    Sasaki and her two followers laughed in agreement. Their laughs echoedthroughoutthe rooftop.Lightning flashedominously as their background. They looked like threedistastefuldevils.

    To be honest, Iam notbothered by thefactof her spreading the picture.

    Instead, most students would know that Sasaki was the one who forced me into that.But, when I thoughtabouthow some girls caught me standing alone in front of the girl¡¯s changing room suspiciouslythis afternoon.Sasaki might succeed. Nonetheless, that wasn''t the point.

    Iglancedat Kisaragi whowaslooking at her pendant anxiously as Sasaki swinging back and forth nearby thefence when she talked. She was about to be intears.

    Whichfrustratedme.

    Then I unconsciously whispered,

    ¡°U...gly..¡±

    ¡°What?

    ...Did it bother you?¡± She didn''t hear it.

    I clenched my fist and opened my mouth.

    ¡°You are the¡®ugliest¡¯ girl I¡¯ve evermet¡±

    I can¡¯t believewhat I justsaid.

    Silence suddenly struck.

    Sasaki¡¯sformerly chuckles stoppedabruptly. Her eyes wide open and theypierced mewith aragingsharp gaze. She bit her lip indisbelief tohearthe words that justcame out from my mouth.

    Mika and Aya looked at each otherastounded.

    Sasaki clicked her tongue and once again sheturned her body toward the fence and sheraised the pendant highbackward. She was going to throw thependant.

    Iwas one hundred percent sure she will.

    I leapt throughlearning what she will be doing. Swiftly grippedher wrist withthestrength I didn¡¯t care to control.I forced her to turned around, facing me.Shewhimperedandstumbled.Then shestruggledwith her back leaningonthe fence. Both Mika and Aya came to her aid.But, my strengthoutwitted those girls.

    ¡°Y-Youinsolent creature!!¡± She screamed atmeso loud that it rang in myear.

    She was quite powerful for an average girl.It wasn¡¯t easy to force her away from the fence.It was dangerous as thefence¡¯s height onlyaround mywaist tall.We were strugglingand her followers were pulling and pushing me.

    Exactly when Ithink about the danger. Mikausedall her strength andpushedme onthechest. I lost my balance,myback hit hard on thefence. I stumbled, myupper body bentpassover thefence.

    I caught a glimpse of Sasakidazedand Kisaragi astoundedfrom afar,about to leapt forward.

    I couldn¡¯t feel thegroundon myfeet.My sense of directionshambled.I saw thedarkskyupturned.My heartthumped so fastthinkingabout what will happen next.

    Then I vaguely heard Kisaragiscreamed as my sense of hearingfading away.

    I am fallingdown toward the end of my life.

    That was when all the magic happened...

 Chapter 4: Before the magic happened (I)

    Haahh...

    It was cold this morning. Iwalked steadily through therain,holding an opened umbrella,going to school.It was my first daythere.

    My new orphanage¡¯sownerarranged me into thatnewschool.I changed school way too frequently. I had lot of bad records on my previous schools. Troubles always flocked around me. People always picked on me. I learned that being weak attracted bully. So, I changed myself and caused quite a commotion on my previous schools by acting like the bad guy. I was a rebel during my younger time.

    But now, I felt tired.Iwas determined andwishedfornotto changetheneighbourhoodI lived inagain.

    I will return to the old me.I wished to return to the oldKisaragiKazue,who loved to socialize and had manyfriends.

    I will make this the last time I moved through school.

    No matter how many times I moved around. I never got used to it. Constantly changing the living environment wasn¡¯t that funin the end.I had lived like thatfor more or less than tenyears.It was started after thatincident on the winter.Whenmyfatherwas...killed.

    After theincident took place, instead of further investigating. Thepolice closed the caserather quick. It was masked as a robberyhomicide, despite none of our wealthwas touched at all.

    Iremembered.

    That night,I woke up from the loud noise my fatherproduced with the culprit. Tablesthumping, glassesshattering,they were the sound of them struggling.

    Islowly opened the door andpeeked fromthe narrow openingand I listened.

    ¡°WHERE IS THAT THING!!¡±I saw the back of a dark suited tall guy yelled at my father as he stomped toward him.

    "I really don''t know!" Fatherexclaimed, trying to convince him.

    That tall man kept sweeping thingsdownfrom the surface, causing loud noises as they hit the ground. He opened every drawer he saw. He was searching for something.

    Right before he turnedaround, before I could seewhat he looks like under the moonlight.

    Father grabbed him by the shoulder and turned that tall guy back to him with force. That guy stumbled on his feet.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± Fatherbegged as hefrowned.

    ¡°I know that cursed girlishere¡±

    ¡°N-No!!¡±

    That guy broke free from Father¡¯s grip.Then he pushed Fatheraway while he turnedtohis side as he moved toward the door besidemine.I gaspedandaccidentallybumped on the doorcausingit to bounce and thud.That guy stoppedmoving as henoticed.

    Both Father and himturnedtheir headtoward the source of thesoundin syncand they saw me.Fatherlookedgreatly astounded.

    ¡°Kazue!! HIDE!!!¡± Father cried out lout as heleapttoward theguy.

    Hewrapped his arm around that guytight to his chest.Heput all his strength into hisarmpulling andlifting thatguy.They struggled, theybumped on every side of thewall.They spunbythewindow¡¯s side, where moonlight shone andshadowformedbythewindow¡¯smuntin.They moved in and out from themoonlight.

    After a while ofstruggle, that guy finally broke throughFather¡¯sgrasp.He pulled out a black metalthing from his pocket as he turned around. He pointedittoward my Father.

    BANG!

    Apiercing sharpblazing sound produced by theshortmetalpiecehe heldwas heard and followed by a spark of light from it¡¯smuzzle. It was a gun.

    ¡°Arghhh!!¡± Fatherjolted back andgroanedinagony.

    Hemoved hishand toward his stomach, where blood started to soak through thecloth andspreadrapidly.He stumbledtothe side of the wallto support his bodyas heloseshis strength, sliding down to the ground.

    I was frightened.

    I didn¡¯t understand what I saw.I slowly moved back with eyes glued on thenarrow opening of the door.Then, I let myself fall to the ground and crawled deepundermybed.My breathe was all over the place. My heart thumped so hardas if it was about torupture.All I could think of was the order my Father just gave.

    Creaakkkk.....

    I could seea quarter of the door from under thebed as itopenedslowly, makinguncanny creaking soundbefore it thudded on the wall. I claspedmy hand around my mouth as my breath was getting heavier.

    I saw his black leather shoes, movingintothe room.They stopped for a moment.Then I heard the sound of my wardrobe being opened.Then he started rummaging with my belongings.

    I closed my eyes and trembled.

    The footsteps were getting closerto me.He uncovered the blanket on mybed thinking I might be hiding under it.

    Father....I am scared.

    I tried my best holding my tears. Mynostril starting to get blocked.My cheek and eyes feltsohot.My vision was getting blurred from thegathered tear on my eyes.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    That guy was standingright in front of me. Seemed to be about to crouch down.

    Bam!Bam!Bam!

    ¡°It¡¯s police!! Open the door!¡±

    Theself-proclaimedpolice officerpounded on the maindoor.I shuddered on relief but still holding my breath.

    That guyjolted and stopped mid way. Hestraightenedboth hislegs.

    He clicked on his tongue and uttered,

    ¡°I will be back!¡± Ashe leapt and sprinted out of my bedroom door.

    I heard the window slidopen followed bya few steps to the balcony then his trace of sound vanished.

    The polices broke in afterward, making noises as they saw my father lyinghelplessly.Immediately, tend to him.Icrawledoutfrommy hiding spot. I rananxiously and stumbled on the way out.Ran to my father''s side.

    ¡°Father!¡± I cried andheld his hand on his stomach.

    The blood transferred to mypalm, it waswarmand it gave me shudder.The floor was stained witha pool of his blood.

    He used his last strength to raise his bloody hand and caressed my cheek.

    ¡°Kazue... listen to me closely¡± His breathwasshortandfaint.I looked at him with tears rolling down on my cheek. I hold his caressinghand.The warmthof his hand startedtofade away.

    ¡°Y-Yes... Father¡±

    ¡°That thing, your mother left for you... I hid it in your favourite plush...¡± He explainedwhile frowned in agonyas he was holding down the pain he felt atthe moment.

    ¡°Always keep it by your side...It will mask your... presence.......¡±

    Fatherpuffed his last breath. He left thisworld.

    He leftme alone in this cold winter.

    Father didn¡¯t have anyrelatives and my mother¡¯s existence wasshroudedin mystery.The policemade a decision to send me into an orphanage.

    It wastoo sudden for me.I couldn¡¯t let go of what happened that night. The police didn¡¯t catch themurderer.There were no clues and traces. Therewasnothingleftfrom that murderer.So, the police stopped investigating andsimply stamped it as a robbery case.

    I was so furious knowing that theyclosedthe case. Irebelled and caused trouble for everyorphanage Iwent. Because they had to bail me outwhenever I was sent in to the policestationduring my rebellion phase.

    All my father left wasthis thing.I did as he said, about the thing he hid inside my bear plush. It was hidden within the zipper of the plush.

    It was aletterand...a pendant.

    I raised my hand to the chest level and stroke the pendant as I walked amidst the rain.

    He lost his life all because of this damn necklace.

    It was a shiny moon shaped gem wrapped mystically in the silver frames. They were crafted in a very detailed way. A very well-done piece of accessorize. It might hold an awesome hefty price tag on the market. It pained me for just looking at it. Because, it reminded me of the horror ofthatnight, which I would never ever forgot.

    Before l realized, I was already at the school''s front gate. I raised my head up and tilted the umbrella I was holding to observe the school I will be attending for my next two and half years. Hope so, if I don''t move to different orphanage again.

    That school gavea strangefeeling to my chest. Every step I took in make me feel heavy and somehow dizzy. Maybe, it was the lack of sleep that got me. I wasn''t able to sleep well last night after all.

    Screeechhhhhh!!

    A shiny black vehicle stopped right before me. I was startled as the water splashed and reached my legs. My socks were soaked wet. Then I turned around to see whoever that came out from that car.

    An old looking uncle came out from the driver door with an umbrella on his hand, hastily moved toward the passenger''s door. He opened the door to get a student out. That student was sheltered under the umbrella.

    She had a medium long brown hair with its end curled in completed with a nice airy bang adorned her flawless forehead. She got a quite lean figure, seemed to be an athletic person. Her face was flawless and even from any bumps, not any slight pores could be see with naked eyes. She got a pair of piercing sharp grey eyes and an unwavering small lip.

    She tossed her hair from aside to her back with a straight face, and then she moved toward the entrance steadfast. She walked pass by me, whose leg drenched wet because of the car she once rode, not feeling any guilt. She didn''t notice me nor glance at her attendant. She walked on her own pace.

    Later on, I learned that I was assigned into the same class as her. Her name was Sasaki Sumire.

    It was rather weird to be transferred into the mid semester. Every student here had formed their own groups. I thought I will be isolated in the class, but apparently, myclassmatesflocked around me during the class break.

    "Kisaragi-san, your hair is so long and smooth, how do you maintain it?"

    "Yeah, tell us what shampoo brand do you use!"

    "Your skin is so pretty! Are you a Caucasian mix?"

    Mountain of questions were thrown all over to me. I used to have messy front hair which covered part of my face. It was quite an effort in the morning to comb them tidy. I did it for the sake of this, for the sake of what''s happening right now. I wanted to leave better impression to my classmates and it actually surpassed my expectation.

    "Uhm... I-" Before I finished my statement.

    The sound of a metal shrieking on a ceramic surface echoed intensely throughout the class room, muted the students around me. It was a sound made by the girl who sat two rows next to mewhen sheabruptly stood from her seat. It was Sasaki. Followed by two girls, they went out of the classroom with a flustered expression.

    ***

    The next morning.

    I came to school to found my indoor shoe was snipped into a rickety state.

    I was dumbfounded.

    I glanced from side to side. Seeking for any suspicious person who might be the culprit.My heart thumped so fast.

    "Oh my... that''s awful!" Someone approached me while speaking in a compassionate tone. She lightly tapped my shoulder as I turned to the source of the sound.

    That person was Sasaki.

    I looked at her with doubt. She never talked to me, moreover about what the hostility she showed yesterday. She looked like an extraordinary proud person. What would a person like her care about me.

    "Who did that?Did you offend anyone? But, you justtransferredhereyesterday"She continued as she moved to my side.

    "I... don''tknow" I answered her hesitantly while glanced back at the state of my shoe.

    "Ohh...my. Good luck for you then!"

    I caught a glimpse of her snickered face before she moved out from my line of sight.

    I had unsettled feeling about that.

    My intuition was proven to be true. For the next week, every day, my belongings were destroyed.My seat willbe knocked down. Mynewly changed shoe, both indoor and outdoor,was cut.My umbrellawill disappear.Even my uniformswerecut open.I had a hunch for whoever that did all this. But, I was helpless.

    The students who once gathered around me started to avoid me. At first, they showed me sympathy. But then after four days straight, they steered clear from my way. They looked alarmed whenever I approached them, they will turn away in a rush not giving me a chance to speak. I knew it was her doing. They avoided me whenever she stared at them.

    Sasaki Sumire.

    Students were fear of her. Her family had greatly affected the finance of this school. Which made her stood equally as the principal. No. Maybe above the principal. She owned the school after all. Rules did not apply on her. I wondered why such a person study as a student here. It wasn''t a school for all the riches after all. She could be just send to a more prestigious academy at the city. Despite that, she''s here.

    She''s here toshow her power and step on the weak.

 Chapter 5: Before the magic happened (II)

    Three weeks had passed.

    The once blazing motivation of mine has long gone. I barely gathered my willpower just to attend the school. I felt incapable. I ran out of the pocket money I got for three months'' worth, only to buy the destroyed shoes, umbrellas as the weather not compromising, books that was teared apart, and etc.

    Last evening, the owner of the orphanage came to me. He was concerned for my condition. Sometimes, I came back drenched without an umbrella which I definitely brought with at the morning. Sometimes, I came back barefooted. Then, my uniform was cut and sewn in many places. He asked if I was bullied at the school. But, I quickly denied.

    I didn''t want to bring trouble for him. I didn''t want to move into another neighbourhood again. I didn''t know why but this area I currently live and along the way to the school. It gave me a peculiar feeling. It was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. It gave me a peace of mind.

    It was a normal rainy day that day.

    I went to school like usual. The troubles Sasaki caused no longer surprised me. I felt numb.

    But, it was a bit different today.

    She normally went out eating at her private room in the school building during the lunch break. But, she stayed in the class for today. I hope she won''t bother me. I wished to at least have a peaceful lunch.

    I peered through the window, the weather was especially murky today. I pulled a plastic wrapped bread out of my bag. I unwrapped the bread and started munching on it. It has been a week since I stopped going to the canteen. I didn''t eat anything else than the bread for the lunch. The expenses I spent on the result of bullying cost me a lot, so I needed to ration them. Maybe, tomorrow, I will visit the canteen.

    I peeked on Sasaki, Mika and Aya respectively. They sat in a circle, talking about their other victims they have messed with. Apparently, I wasn''t the only one being bullied. But, I was one of the most bullied person.

    Ten minutes passed, the bread I was eating disappeared into my stomach. I''d grown genuinely bored of the bread. I really had to eat something else tomorrow.

    ¡°What took you so long!!¡± Sasaki yelled as she saw a person she knew moving into the classroom with a tray of food held on his hand.

    That feminine looking person, who was a guy obviously, as he wore a male uniform unless she was a crossdresser.

    He gave my little heart a shock.

    I drew a deep, shuddering breath.What was this feeling?

    I felt oddly agitated as I saw him. I couldn''t take my eyes off him.

    He gave out a mysterious ambience around him, as if I could see the aura he emitted. It was faint but I was not mistaken about what I saw and felt.

    I was captivated by that person.

    Thus reminded me of the letter my father left me ten years ago.

    At first, I thought it was a nonsense. But now, I was almost convinced by the content of the letter. Piece by piece of the mystery starting to gather together. There was one last thing I only had to make sure to be able to completely trust what''s written in the letter.

    Before I could move out from my train of thought, a hand suddenly clutched on my jaw by force and snapped me out of it.

    ¡°Who said you can stare!!¡± She yelled as she forced me facing her. Mika glared at me in disdain.

    Then, she pushed me by the jaw so hard that I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

    That was when I realized that the pendant I was wearing glowed as it dangled on my neck and emitted the same aura I sensed from that guy. As if they resonate with each other. The pendant quivered.

    I held it close to my chest and felt it''s warmth. I raised my head up, once again, I looked at him straight into his black beautiful eyes.

    When I saw him reacted and responded by looking back at me.

    As if a flash of light shone through my mind. My thoughts were cleared. Instinct told me that he was the person my father mentioned in the letter.

    I watched him as he slowly walked away, toward the door.

    I have found you

    **

    The class ended.

    I hastily ran downstairs to the main entrance. To prove what I guessed. I scanned throughout the umbrellas slot. I squinted my eyes as I looked at them one by one. I moved closer to the umbrellas and... I was right.

    It was faint, but I could feel some sort of presence emitted from one of the umbrella. It grew stronger as I focused. It was a black normal umbrella tagged with braided red string on the holder probably to help him identify his umbrella.

    It felt weird to have that kind of perception, as if my sixth sense was activated. It felt surreal.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Thinking back, I¡¯ve been feeling it since the day I came to this neighbourhood. Even strong when in the school. But, I only came to realize by now. The mysterious feeling that I¡¯d experienced for the past few weeks. It was him.

    I picked up his umbrella together with mine and leapt to the corner of the shoe lockers hall. I slid his umbrella into the small space between the back of the locker and the wall. Nobody will discover it unless they pushed the locker away.

    That strange feeling again.

    The more I gained conscious about his existence, the more powerful my perception became.

    I hid behind the second row of the locker. I peeked at him, looking confused finding his umbrella.

    I was ninety percent sure at that moment.

    I slowly placed my steps until I reached his side.

    I stood for a while before he suddenly jolted back as he noticed me.

    His eyes widen, his breathe was unruly for a while before he calmed down. He stared at me.

    Then he took a step back from me.

    Seeing him up close filled me with so much unexplained excitement.

    Before I started to creep him out, I took out my umbrella. My plan was to get him share the same umbrella as we walked. I wanted to know more about him and about where he lived. Maybe I will find some clues about it there.

    Before I could even speak, he nodded as if he understood my intention.

    Together, we walked through the rain sharing an umbrella. He was the one who held it. But, he held it far from his side and it caused his outer shoulder to be soaked in the rain. I peeked at him. Then, I realized that I didn¡¯t know his name.

    I asked him for his name and he answered me while facing forward. He didn¡¯t seem to be interested in me at all. He did not ask me back about my name or did he know it already?

    We arrived at the train station. He thanked me for sharing my umbrella and left me. He walked into a seven-eleven store.

    B-But, my plan...

    I thought that we will be sharing one until he got home. I didn¡¯t think about the chance of him getting a new umbrella at the train station.

    I sighed.

    It¡¯s okay. I will follow him and just made up a ¡®Oh.. we both lived nearby!¡¯ thing if he ever asked.

    I decided on that thought.

    I closely followed him after he purchased his new black umbrella.

    He lived just one station away from me. Well, at least we were close enough.

    I think he noticed me following him, but he didn¡¯t ask me nor looked at me. He kept walking in a steady pace toward his way back home.

    As I thought, the path which he took really reeks of his aura. It was getting stronger and stronger along the way.

    Then.

    I saw it.

    A big pane of invisible wall just a few meters ahead of the road. The invisible wall radiated a very perturbing silver coloured aura unwavering in the rain. People walked through it as if it wasn¡¯t there. The pendant on my chest quivered. It was the same unpleasant yet comfortable feeling I usually got around this neighbourhood. Unless, it was stronger this time.

    I followed him steadily. Right before a few step to the wall. I slowly raised my hand and then I let my forefinger went through the wall.

    A sharp, immense pain almost immediately shocked me through the end of my finger. I jolted back in astonishment as I glanced on it. There was no injury made, but I didn¡¯t feel like going into the wall.

    That must be ¡®The Light¡¯ my father mentioned in the letter.

    Before I could feel any worse, I turned around and leapt away from that place. I dreadfully ran as fast as I could off that road, countering the rain and the wind caused by my swift movement. I didn''t look back.

    Fear was engraved from the moment I felt that sharp immense pain which I never experienced before. I could feel my forefinger twitching and my heart beat growing rapidly. I quivered at the thought that magic actually existed in this world. It wasn''t a fairy tale. Does it mean that all the magical creatures also existed? But, if it was true then why do they never show up? How about me? About the incident that took place ten years ago, could it be related to him?

    Did he know?

    Dozens of questions filled my mind as I ran toward nowhere, as long as it was the opposite direction from that terrifying wall. I didn''t care where I was heading. I sprinted with all my might, splashing as I marched through the rain water covered road. Until I ran out of my stamina, I finally stopped as I exhaled a short breath among the traffic of people with umbrellas.

    Then I took a deep shuddering breath before tear rolled down on my cheek.

    I wished that I never met him.

    ***

    The next day.

    With my puffy eyes, I went to the school out of obligation. To be honest, I didn''t have the mood going to that place, he was there after all. I was drained. I needed rest. But, I didn''t want to worry the orphanage''s owner. So, I reluctantly grit my teeth and reached the school ground.

    The weather was lighter than usual, it should be raining around this time, but It didn''t. Despite that, I could see the dark cloud swirling slowly but steadily at the sky. It will rain again today, but much lighter, I predicted.

    It was strange but none of my belonging were messed up today. I went to the class rather unexpectedly effortlessly. No rugged shoes, my locker was not broken in, nothing happened. Then, Sasaki came to the class rather normally. She ignored my existence and chattered with her followers like she usually does before class.I had a mixed feeling about this.

    Half of a day have passed and the lunch break''s bell rang.

    I promised myself to get a proper lunch today. So, I stood up from my seat after tidying my tools. I walked pass by Sasaki and her bunch. Then she gave me a wicked smirk as I brushed pass her, she smiled as if she was plotting something evil. I hurriedly escape the class to avoid her.

    The canteen was hectic like usual.

    I scanned through the counter and locked myself to a shiny, sparkling, glossy looking small round blob of caramel topped pudding. My heart fluttered just by looking at it. The spark of happiness, temporarily hid the unpleasant mood I had.

    I pointed at the pudding rather excitedly while looking back and forth between the canteen lady and the pudding. I have to get that blob. I would spend extra cash for that tiny little mood booster. Even if I had to eat bread for the rest of the month after this.

    Happily walking to find an empty seat with a tray of delicious looking food, I hummed excitedly. I glanced at the pudding which wobbled in sync along with the step I took. I moved toward the empty nearby seat and sat comfortably as I placed down the tray.

    Complete with a glass of warm coffee, I looked at the food while nodded satisfyingly.

    The peace I was having, interrupted by a swift hand snatched my glass of coffee from my sight. I turned around as a reaction. The person who stood beside me was Sasaki. She held the glass of coffee in her hand while smirked at me.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you have a mature taste¡± She said, with the glass on her hand.

    She moved it to the top of my head and then tilted it down, water poured out and landed on my head. Then, it rolled down to my cheek and uniform.

    Ahh... Just when I thought I was having a peaceful moment.

 Chapter 6: Before the magic happened (III)

    The coffee dripped from my messy front hair down to my lips.

    Bitter...

    I realized that I forgot to put the sugar in. But, it didn''t matter anymore.

    With every pair of eyes shifted onto me, the students started to gather crowd around us. The students who sat beside me, scooted away. They formed a nice round circle, for observing purpose around Sasaki, her two followers and me. They avoided when I glanced at them. But, eyes remained stick close to the commotion.

    Sasaki looked at me with a downcast gaze. Her lips curled in an upsetting way, not satisfied with my reaction. She leaned forward and did what I never anticipated.

    She pulled my pendant in a swish, causing the exquisite chain of my necklace to broke and fell onto her grip.

    I was staggered from the momentum she created.

    She held it close to her sight and squinted.

    "Hoo... this thing is nice! Can you give it to me?" She grinned at me, who started to scowl merciless.

    I put my strength into my leg in order to stand up, but it was cancelled by Mika andAya. They pushed my shoulder down in sync and constrained me on my seat.

    "Tsktsktsk... look at you. I hate it when people glare at me you know?" Sasaki said.

    She walked around with an arm folded on the chest to support her another hand while touching her chin.

    ¡°Ahh... you don¡¯t like coffee? Maybe.... should I get you some milk?¡±

    Mika handed her a glass of milk as she understood her intention.

    Once again, the liquid was poured onto my unwavering head. I kept glaring at her.

    I don''t care if she bullied me. I don''t care about that at all.

    But I will not tolerate her for taking my pendant away. That pendant was the only article my parent left for me, which my father protected with his life. I couldn''t afford to lose it. It was the pillar of my strength.

    The next moment I know, she was about to swing my pudding toward my head.

    Splasshhhh!!

    Sasaki yipped as liquid was sloshed onto her back. Speckles of the liquid flew and landed on my face.

    It is sweet

    I tilted my head to the side as Sasaki blocked my line of sight.

    I was surprised, to seeShiratsukiYuustanding right behind her, with his hand holding an empty glass. He stood there unfaltering.

    I didn''t expect him to stand out for me. I knew he was bullied by Sasaki, so he was the last person I could ever think that will jump out to defend me.

    Sasaki was infuriated. She ran her fingers through her soaked wet hair. Then, she screamed like a little child.

    After throwing her tantrum around, she leapt away bumping through the crowd.

    I was snapped out of my thought, wanted to chase her for the pendant, but she yelled as she waved the pendant.

    ¡°Afterschool. Rooftop!! You BOTH!¡±

    Then, she stomped out from the canteen angrily.

    Shiratsukisomehow came to ask me if I was alright, when I was definitely not. Maybe, he was just trying too hard to comfort me. Then, I realized, that if I wanted to get my pendant back. I have to ask him to come with me. Sasaki won''t be as compromising if things didn''t go her way. So, I gathered myself to ask him.

    Surprisingly, he agreed without fuss.

    After thanking him, I left the canteen going to the changing lockers. I remember that I have a clean PE cloth inside. So, I decided to get myself changed. While I was changing in the locker room,Shiratsukiwaited outside.

    At first, I wasn''t aware about him following me. I wondered why would he do that.

    Even though I appreciated him for defending me, it still pained me to see him. It reminded me of many unhappy things in the past and moreover about that incident happened yesterday. I knew it wasn''t his fault. I couldn''t help but resenting him for what I have experienced nearby his living district. However, he indeed defended me in the canteen. So, I brushed away the negative feeling. I decided to get some more information about him. I wanted know,what is he?

    I walked out from the changing room and stopped right beside him. I called out his name and he was startled by it. Back to his sense, I lead him to the end of the hallway where nobody seemed to be around. I''ve made my mind to properly ask him.

    I sat by the stair while he leaned his back on the wall. We had a small talk. But, then the silence struck again.

    I brought the letter my father left for me subconsciously, for this purpose. The letter resided in my pocket. It took only a mere second for me to get it out. But, I couldn''t muster the courage.

    What if he denies it? He could be not the person I thought he is. The letter could be false. I could be hallucinating. I mean, there is no one able to prove what I felt and saw was true.

    Instead of asking what I originally intended to, I thanked him again to break the ice between us. It was something so random and I didn''t expect that made him blurted out that question.

    ¡°Yesterday...¡° Hepaused briefly as I glanced at him.

    ¡°...Did you follow me?¡±

    The question I feared before, came out from his mouth. He looked into my eyes searching for an answer. I became anxious for a second. Then, I remembered the plan I previously thought to counter this question.

    ¡°I-I lived nearby¡±I hope he didn''t see me gasped.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°But, why did you have to ran away?¡± He continued bombarding me with another question, that I haven''t thought about the counter-measure.

    ¡°...that was because.............¡±

    Should I tell him? Should I ask?Arggghhhh-

    I abruptly stood to his face.

    ¡°To be honest, Iwa-¡°

    Rrriiiiiiinnnnnnggggggggggggggg.....

    The bell rang, somehow in the perfect timing. I excused myself and leapt away in a whoosh.

    The rain had long ceased, as if Sasaki has the power to predict the weather. I proceeded to the rooftop as she told. We were in the same class, but she didn¡¯tleftafter I did. She seemed to be plotting something with her followers before they caught up to me.

    Sasaki pushed me to the side as she moved pass me, while grinning excitedly. Both Mika andAya, respectively bumped on me as they followed Sasaki.

    ¡°Where is your boyfriendKisaragi?¡± She bluntly asked.

    What? Boyfriend?

    I close my mouth tight, not giving her a respond.

    She frowned.

    Right at the moment the situation felt awkward.Shiratsukicame out from the door and walked toward us.

    Then, hestopped right beside me.

    Sasaki started her play.

    ¡°Hmm.... Would it break if I throw it from here?¡± She waved the pendant by the fence with a rather threatening tone.

    Even with only one percent of chance that it would break from this height. I still hate the probability. Sasaki knew how anxious I was, she grinned from ear to ear.

    ¡°Please! Give it back to me!¡± I leapt forward but Mika andAyablocked my way.

    ¡°If you want it back that bad...¡±

    Sasaki took out a girl uniform, and threw it toShiratsuki.

    ¡°Wear it!!¡± She commanded.

    I was surprised with her demand. I could see a slight frown onShiratsuki''sface.

    ¡°No... You don¡¯t have to do this!¡± I snatched the uniform from him.

    The problem was mine from the start, I shouldn''t let him sacrifice that much for me. For a boy to wear a girl''s uniform. No man would accept that. Besides, we have only known each other from yesterday. Merely a day of acquaintance. Why would he do it for me.

    Sasaki was not amused.

    She moved closer to the fence again and raised her hand up high.

    ¡°Not doing it? Then I have no use for this!!¡°

    ¡°N-Nooooo!!¡± I cried helplessly knowing what she was about to do. I immediately leapt forward.

    But.

    Sasaki stopped midway asShiratsukiyelled,

    ¡°Stop it! I will do as you say¡±

    He unbuttoned his shirt by swiftly pulled it open. He snatched the uniform and really changed into it, not leaving the skirt too.

    The uniform was surprisingly fit into him. He looked just like a normal high school girl.No.He shouldn¡¯tbe look that striking.But, he indeed hasthe charismathat would be charming to both gender.

    Sasaki got even more irritated.

    The request was fulfilled soShiratsukistepped forward and raised his palm.

    ¡°The pendant¡±He asked with amonotone voice.

    Sasaki stared atShiratsukifiercely for a minute.

    Then, she pulled out her phone aimed atShiratsukiand flashed at him.

    ¡°A boy wearing agirl¡¯suniformas a hobby during his spare time.... How does it sound?¡±

    Sasaki waved the phoneat him.Shiratsukiwas kind of taunted and swing his hand trying to reach for her phone. But, he failed.

    Ayacame and pushedShiratsuki, causing him to stumbled to the back.

    Sasaki continued her taunts, I could see thatShiratsukiwas troubled by it. Even though he didn''t obviously show it on his face. But, I can feel it.

    I didn''t know why.

    Trouble always flocked around me. It had always been like that. I wanted to get my pendant back but in the same time, I didn''t wish to make trouble forShiratsuki.

    I should''ve chase Sasaki back then when we were in the canteen. I shouldn''t have askedShiratsukito came. If I came here alone, I think I will get my pendant by enduring one or two of her selfish request. I should''ve done that myself.

    When I was feeling remorseful,Shiratsukispoke.

    ¡°You are the¡®ugliest¡¯ girl I¡¯ve evermet¡±

    He said that.

    My eyes widened, my mind was clouded, I couldn''t believe what I just heard. He never voiced out his thought. But, that time. He was different. I could feel the aura which normally radiated from him was cloudedand flared unruly fora splitsecond.

    I was too shocked that the next moment I snapped out, was whenShiratsukileapt forward and caught Sasaki''s hand just in time before she threw my pendant over the fence.

    The rooftop was thrown into chaos.

    Shiratsuki''sexpression is something you would see from a silent serial killer. He was so furious that itactuallyscared me. He gripped Sasaki''s wrist and forcing her to move away from the fence.

    Both Mika andAyajoined in the ruckus, they pushed and bumped around the short fence. Sasaki was fighting back with all of her strength but she wasn''t strong enough to fend ofShiratsuki.

    But then, beforeShiratsukicould pull Sasaki away from the fence. Mika pushedShiratsukion the chest when he was in the middle of stumbling, causing him to hit hard on the fence.

    What happening next, wasShiratsuki''sbalance went over the fence. He was thrown out. Everyone knew what would happen next and panicked as they leaned forward with hand reached out trying to catch the impossible.

    Shiratsukiwill be dead.

    No... No... No... NOO!! I won''t let anyone die on me again. Not because the pendant, not because of me again!

    The content of the letter my father left me flashed through my mind. Without further hesitation. I focused my mind on thelittle information I learned from it. I will try casting the spell.

    It was stated in the letter that thisspell... willactivate an ancient magic.

    It is a spell that only I can do it and itcost the caster''slife for another.

    But, I will not hide again.

    I will not let the tragedy repeat.

    I will save him.

    I will not falter anymore.

    "Tevatiac!!Turnreotginrioeht!!"

    I yelled out a mouthful of sentence,but Imysteriouslyknew how to pronounce those unknown words. It came from deep within my heart. I felt like I knew what they are.

    Power surged within me and it caused me to feel extremelyuncomfortable.

    A ray of grey blue light struck down from the sky in a split second. Stack of circles rose from the floor one by one. Those circles were engraved with unknown lettersaroundthem. They surrounded all the people here, except me the caster.

    The glowing blue circlesshrunkand wrapped Sasaki, Mika,Aya, who seemed to forget aboutShiratsuki''sfalling. They were bewildered by the magical moment happening on themselves.

    The magic circles vanished intotheir body once they had no space to shrunk into.

    Sasaki and her bunch stopped moving.

    It seemed like that, but the truth was their movement was extremely slowed down.

    I know that because I can sense them moving.

    Another magic circle rose again from the ground. But, this time, it surrounded me. Itwas anenormousdark murkycolored circle which painted black on the middle. It wasbizarre.

    Then, a dark matter rose from where I stand. They engulfed me completely.

    I felt weak, my conscious was gradually leaving me, but a voice can be heard.

    Do you wish to return to the origin?

    I didn''t know what it mean. I simply want to save him. I didn''t want to leave any regret. Like what I did ten years ago. I wished that father survived on that night. I wished that none of this should happen on me.

    I wishto fix all the problem from the beginning.

    That''s what I wished for.

 Chapter 7: Heaven and Hell

    The first one I thoughtaboutwas my Grandma.

    I¡¯ve been living together with her since my earliest memory.She was the kindest, greatest and most understanding person Ieverknew. She scold me once a whileif I went against her,but never tooharsh. She knew what I would like as a birthday gift even though I never mention. She justknew it. She knew all aboutme.

    When I was younger, I asked him aboutmy parent¡¯swhereabouts. She said.

    ¡°Your parent diedin an unfortunate car accident¡±

    The same answer always came from her mouth no matter how many times I asked her.She gavenofurther explanation about that. So, I stopped askingher.I couldfeelthat she¡¯shidingsomething.But, I will not force her to speak without herselfwanted to. I believe that she will talk about them in the future.I will patiently wait.

    Although, yes, I am curious about myparent.Eighteen years of theirabsenthas becameahabit of mine. I¡¯ve grown accustomedto lifewithout a ¡®parent¡¯. Grandma is all I have.That is enough.

    Shealways told methat,¡°Nevergive one hundred percent of your trustto people¡±

    Shewould addsomething like, getting myself too indulgedaround them will one day for sure, causeme harm.

    I didn¡¯t know what she mean by that.

    But, thereisone thing that I know for sure.

    I am going to be dead while wearing a girl¡¯s uniform.I will be on the headline tomorrow as acrossdresser who fell down from the school¡¯s rooftop. That didn¡¯t sound too cool in my ears.Grandma will beso sad.

    Before I closedmy eyes shut,I saw the sky turning bright.

    Is that heaven coming for me?

    The sky was shining so brightthat I could feel it behind my closed eyelid.But, something caught my mind asthe lightwas soblinding andfelt¡®blue-ish¡¯ behind my lids.

    Why am I still not reach theground?

    I opened my eyes and found myself floating mid air, falling butnot with the usualspeed, as if I was sloweddown and my cloth moved in a way like the astronaut move in the space.I was surrounded by zero gravity.I couldn''t hear anything, as if the sound vanished.

    I rolled my eyes to side,reaching the school ground, observing what was occurring around me.Some studentswere facing up with finger pointing toward me, some were clutching their palmin frontof their mouth, while the rest were walkingtoward the gate not noticing me. But, it was all in slow motion.

    My sight wasfiltered blue. Everything I was seeingwere tintedgrey and blue, almost sepia like but blue.

    MaybeI have entered the realm of thedead.

    Before my mind decided on that,I saw a differentlight flashed on therooftop. It felt like as if shadow wasmaterialized on themid-air.It gave me a shiver down to my spine. I started to have an ominous feeling.

    Thatis no heaven.Iwill be going to the hell.

    The shadow waswhirling inacircle, I was sure that it was around where Kisaragi and the others stood.The circlegrewtallerand shot uptothe skycausing an apocalypse like atmospherein just a blink of an eye.Colour vanished, even the blue. The world hasbecomeblack and white, with the blackat thestrongerside.

    Later then,a pitch blackshadow appearedand float above my chest.I couldn¡¯t actually move freely to react as my movement was bind in the slow motion.

    The shadow touched my skin and crawled on it. They slowly but steadily covering me from the heart as thecenterto all around my body.It wascold.It seeped into my skin andspread the cold into my blood rapidly.Then, it engulfed me whole.

    Is that the end?

    Apparently not.

    My consciousness faded from this world.

    The next time I opened myeyes, Iwas inan endless white void space, where no horizon could be seen froma far. This time, I was surrounded bythelight. But, it didn¡¯tblind my eyes. The light felt soft andwarm, as if itwas trying to get me to sleep.

    I was confused,Am I in the Heaven or the Hell?

    I wonder what happened to Kisaragi, Sasaki and the others after witnessing me falling down from the rooftop. They must be traumatized.

    Amomentpassed.

    A black dot appeared from the farbackof the voidspace.It grew larger andcloser as if it was slowly crawling toward mylocation.

    Before I could further observe, theblackdot spread andtwirl like a tornado directly toward me. Itblasted through me in a splitsecond andferociously invaded my mind.

    I was overwhelmed, my head hurt so much that I groaned in agony.

    Stripe of memories flashed through mymind. The sudden flash of memories were too overwhelming that I couldn¡¯t think straight anymore.

    I sawGrandma,Kisaragi,Sasaki andallthefaces that Iremember.

    A lot of events thathappened recently.

    Myself as a middle schooler.

    I saw the younger me playing inthe forest Iused togo.

    Untilmyself as a baby.

    The memories that flashed into my mind were goingin abackwardsequencesin just a few seconds.

    It was so fast that my headfelt like splitting.My body felt boiling hot.

    UntilI saw thatoneweird memory.

    Amiddle aged woman.

    By the bedside, crying andweeping.

    Something is strange.She lookedjust like Grandma,but in her younger state.That¡¯s weird. I never saw grandma¡¯s picture in her younger age. ButIwasone hundred percent sure that she was the same person.I just knew it as a fact.

    Seeing her tears rolling down like that, made me heartache.I wanted to stroke her cheek. But, I couldn¡¯t move anything that was playing in my mind.

    She came closer to me and held my hand.

    ¡°It was all myfault.You are too kind...¡± she paused andsnuffled.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve listen to what my mother said. I shouldn¡¯t let youknow about that.

    Ireallyhatedmyself¡±

    Her teardrippeddown to my hand which she held.

    My vision blurred. I couldn¡¯t see her face as clearly as before anymore.But, I can see her forcing to smile in the last moment.

    ¡°See you again...Shiratsuki¡±

    The flash of memories ended.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ***

    My consciousnesscameback to me again, but this time, I can freely move my limbs.

    I was lying onthe cold hard ground.

    My sense of hearing gradually came back to me.Heaviness haven¡¯t leave my head but it was better.

    It was kind of... noisy.

    Islowly opened my eyes.It was dark at first, but then my eyes adapted to it and caught the dim light emitted from theceiling of a....cave?

    A lot ofnoise jumbled together and reached myhearing. I can hear clearly now, soI turned my body to the side andslowlylift myself up into a sittingpose.The once dark vision turned out to be brighter as I sobered up.

    ¡°What kind of joke is this!!¡±

    ¡°W-What is happening?¡±

    ¡°Where is this?¡±

    ¡°Can anyone explain the situation?¡±

    A lot of people complaining and grumbling, some were crying.

    I sat on the ground surprised.

    Didn¡¯t I fall down from the rooftop?Is this the realm of the dead?

    No.Somepeople around me were the students of the same school asme. There¡¯s no way that they were dead too.

    Is it the light I sawdestroyed the world?

    It was such a coincidence if the world really destroyed at the moment I fell down to death.But, I have a hunch telling me that wasn¡¯t it.

    I stood up while scanning the surrounding.

    We werestanding in the centerof acave with weird bright dirt ceiling.I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before.

    Everyone was busylooking around to findclues.There were someholes around the cave, which seemedlikethey could lead us to somewhere else.Although, not knowing where it could lead might berisky, staying here clueless won¡¯t help either. Some students started to form their little own group and marched toward the hole¡¯s entrance.There wasanespecially big and tall hole in the cave. I saw a few people walked in there.Some walked into the other hole.

    Aroundhundredsofpeople here. Not all of them werestudents, some people wear casual clothing, some were in their working suit.I could see a fewunfamiliar face in every ten or twenty people.But, almost eighty percent of peopleare the students and ninety percent ofthepeople are around the same age as me.I didn¡¯t see any elder or young children.

    Not manypeoplewent to venture,majority ofthemwere too scared to wander around in this unfamiliarlocation.

    What¡¯s happening right now?

    Ineed someenlightenment. So, I walked toanearbystudent and asked.

    ¡°Do you know how did we end up in this place?¡±

    That boy was startled by my sudden questionbut then he answered.

    ¡°I have no clue at all.I was on the shoe lockers hall. Then there was a light appeared around me. Then,the next thing I knew is that I am here¡±He explainedwhile looking puzzled.

    Odd.That¡¯sa bitdifferent from how I got here.

    ¡°Thanks¡±

    I weaved through the crowdtrying tofind familiarface.But, all I got was a short weird stare from them.

    Ohgod.

    I amstillwearing a girl¡¯s uniform

    That explained why theylooked at me in such a weird way.

    I have to change it as soon as I am out of here

    I was thinking like that as I continue weaving through bunches ofpeople,heading to thebiggest holeof this cave. It wasso big that I have to tilt my head upjustto see theupper side of the hole.

    The hole was totally dark unlike the cavewe stayed. There was no light on it¡¯s ceiling and the air that flowed out from the holewas creepily cold. It brought shiver down to my spine.I didn¡¯t feel likegoing in there.

    ¡°Everyone listen to me!!¡± A voice of a young man called out on everybody.The murmurs haven¡¯t totally went dead buthe actually did toning them down for a bit.The echo on the cave acted as a natural speaker and helped him spreading hisspeech.

    People turned theirbodyto thedirectionwhere the sound camefrom.

    ¡°Please calm down!!Do not wander around by yourself¡± Hesaid.

    I know that guy.

    He¡¯sKishidaKenya. He ismy class representative and also a student council¡¯s member.He excels in study andis a verydisciplined guy.

    ¡°For those who know where is thisplace,pleasespeak!¡±

    Silence.

    Nobody knows huh.

    Wheneveryone was busy thinking aboutKisihida¡¯squestion.

    "H-HEELLPPP!!!"

    A scream resonated from within the pitch black cave hole.Thescream was vibrated with terror.All the eyes shifted to the hole. Everyone stood still, trying to catch what was the voice.

    I remember that a small group of studentswith male leadinghelda cigarette lighterwalked into thehole.

    Don¡¯t tell me that soundwa-

    A body of a girl student was thrown out of the hole.Hit the crowd of people who stood nearby the entrance.In a blink of eyes,dozensof people were thrownback all together with theimpact caused by the flying girl.It was so strong that it actually produced a strong gust of wind as she passed through.

    I rancloser to the girl who lie down subconsciouslyordead.

    She has abig claw mark dug deep into her back. Blood was gushing out making whoeverthat stuckwith her, bathed in her blood.

    People started to hysterically scream and panic.What on earth is that thing that could make a wound like that? Is it a bear? But the size of the claw is too big. Ican¡¯t think of any animalswith claw as big as that.

    ¡°r-run....¡± the girl said before she huffed her last breathe.

    Run? Fromwhat?

    GROOOOWWWLLLLLLL...

    The hole once again resonatedbut this time. It was a deepferocious sound of an animal.

    The noisy crowd once again became deadsilent, people were surprised by thesoundandstarted to move far away from that hole. Leaving the dying girlon the cold ground floor. All of them squeezed to theback of the cave.

    Sound of feet thumping on the ground could be heard.It was a heavy stomping sound, as if the creature was a giant.Itcame closerwith alowgrowling sound.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes on that hole.Nobody dare to make voices.

    Then, that creature finally came out.

    The height was around 3 to 4meters tall.Itwas a black three headed hound like creature.Its black furwasmessy, unruly and dirty.They were snarlingwith theirlong sharpteeth out.Its forefeet werecomplementedbyoversized claws, three claws on each foot.Thehind legs seemed to be so strong andtough.

    The middle head drippedbloodysaliva while snarling

    at us.

    That creature looked like theCerberusin the myth.

    I quickly scanned the surrounding.There were other holes in the cave. I spotted the smallest hole in the back of thecave anddecided tomoveto that place.

    People were too shock and they seemed to be paralysed infear, couldn¡¯t process what they were seeing.

    I slowly weaved through the crowd in case sudden movementwould agitate that creature, with my eyes constantly glancedattheback.

    The three headedcreaturewiggling their nose and sniffed.Their sniffing sound wereso loud that it echoed in the cave.

    It took few steps forward to where the dead girl lying.

    Then one of its head bowed down and bite that girl up. With its strongjawand sharp teeth, it chomped on her body. Sound of bone cracking could be heard. Her blood spurted all over the place.

    Part of the body hang out fromits mouth. Seeing that,the head next to itsnatchedthe part of the girl which hang outand ripped the girl¡¯s bodyapart.

    Whatever inside the girl came out splashing down to the ground. It was a horrible sight to see.

    "t-this can''t be happening"

    "it was all an act, right?"

    The crowd started to get noisy.

    "N-NNOOO!!"

    A girl screamed out with a high pitch voice reacting to the scene before her eyes. People were snapped out of their mind and startedpanic.

    Upon hearing the scream, that three headed creaturebecame alert. Their ears pricked up while dropping the body part they were chewing.

    Ggrrrrrrrrr..........

    Thecreaturesnarled and sniffed.

    All three heads bowed down followedby thechest, then the body wiggledbefore it jumped.

    ¡°RUUUNNNNNN!!¡±

    It was chaos, people ranto the opposite direction of where the creature was. Nobody know where should they run, for the moment,runningaway from the monsteris thepriority.

    Those people started to bump each other, pushing away every person who blocked their way. It doesn¡¯t matter whether the person was a male or female, younger or older. They ran only to save themselves.

    That monster landed on the crowd.

    Pounded those people with itsheavyweight. They were instantly crushed under its feet.

    As thecrowd became disarrayed, I started running too.

    Luckily, that monster jumpedonto the other side of the cave where it was quite far from the hole of my destination.

    I shouldn¡¯t be thinking it as a luck, should I?

    That monster bit on whatever thatstood nearby, it pounded on people to constraintthem down on the ground. Then one of its head will biteoffwhatever stuck out from its foot.It was an easy catch.

    Just a bit more...

    Just a few meters infrontof me, was the small cavehole that I intended to go.

    That thing won¡¯t be able to go through this

    I thought that I will be safe. But no.

    That monster jumped high to the midairagain and poundeddownrightafew meters beside me.

    Yes, right next to me.

    I stumbled on my feet from theshort quakethatmonstercausedand Ifell to the ground.

    That monster was looking straightinto me, snarling with all the saliva drippinguncontrollably, with few bodies under its feet.

    This time, I will be dead for real.

 Chapter 8: Beyond despair

    That three headed hound snarled and huffed their breath straight ontome as it came closer.

    Opposite from howaggressive itbehave before,it came to me slowly. Lifting the blood painted feet one by one.

    Until their nose onlyafew inch away from my head.

    Itsniffed on me.

    I scoot myself back as I tilted my headuplooking straight into the middle head¡¯s eyes.

    I prepared myself onto whatever the worst case scenario that is going to happen. But, that monster seemed to be... unsure about me. It reacted differently toward me.

    People around me have cleared out of the way, leaving only me,the monster and the injured/dead bodies. Nobody would came to rescue.They runawaywith allthe power they could muster.

    I saw that asa chance forme to escape when it was behaving strangely.The cave hole was just a few meter reachaway.

    I can do this!

    I turned myself to the backwith hand supporting on the ground then crawledup. Idashed away before that monsterstarted to snarl again.

    Just abit more

    That monster made a loud growling soundand started to howl with their heads up. Thenit sprinted forward with the speed that could catch up to me in just a leapt.

    I glanced on the monster,itleapt to mid air ready to pounceon me. Knowing that,Ijumped with all my mighttoward the hole. I knew that I won¡¯t be able to reach there with this jump or escape its pounce. But still, I wanted to try even there wasonly one percent chanceof me escaped.

    When I reached the peak of my jump, that monster suddenly yelped and instantly landed while yowling in pain. Blood gushing out from the left eye of itsleft head.Ashort knifestabbed deep into its eye, showing only the handle. The monster was staggered.

    I rolled on the groundcaused by thehastyjump I did. Then I saw her.

    A very familiar figure, who I was with at the last moment before all of this happened. The one who gave me hard time during my last year of high school.

    It was Sasaki.

    Did she just throw the knife?Where¡¯s that knife come from?

    She was trembling in fear, yet she managed to threw the knifeaccurately.I could see her trying so hard to hide her anxiety.Then, she glanced at mewhile short in breath.

    ¡°What are you doing!! Run!!¡±

    She ran toward me and pulled me upon my feet and dragged metoward the hole.

    That monster shook its left head vigorously until the knife detached from its eye and stabbed directly onto the ground.

    Together with Sasaki, we managed to dash into the cave hole.That monster stuck its head into the entrance. But, just as I expected,the big body of it couldn¡¯t pass through this tiny entrance.That was the only cave hole with that size.

    The monster snarled and sniffed then pushed its head into the hole. But,it was all in vain.So, it gave up pretty quick and turned its back to us. It began to pounce on whoever that was still in the cave.

    All I could hear from here was the endless screaming of thosepeople. Some people tried to follow us, butthat intelligent monster seemed to knowtheir intention of escaping through the hole that it couldn¡¯t pass. That monster guarded the hole and swiftly pounced on whoever that was near the entrance.

    I could see the eyes of those people, begging for help. They were both confuse and helpless then died.

    People I knew were crushed under its feet andripped apart by the monster mercilessly.

    ¡°uughh...¡±

    Sasaki¡¯s voicetrembled.

    She turned her back to the terrifying scene and ran away intothatdark passage.

    I closely followed her. There were a lot of questions I wanted to ask. But, I didn¡¯t think it was the right time.

    Weranandmovedfurther in, it was a passagewith a lot of branch but Sasaki just took whichever she wanted. Until the noisefrom that cave started to fade.

    The passage wasn¡¯t as dark as I thought it would be. It was the cave that¡¯s so bright that it madethis hole looked dark.The passage wasilluminated with some sort ofsubstance stick on its wall and ceiling. It was a weird, slimy, liquid likething.But, it glows and stuckunwavering on thesurface.

    We kept running in this longbranchingpassage, where the end can''t be seen yet. Until Sasaki finally short on her breath. Her stamina ran low. She decelerated by joggingfora little bit then she started walking in a slow pace.

    Sasaki stayed quite. I knew that she was scared. I can see her handshaking.

    Do I need to calm her down?

    I was quite shocked with the previous scene, but not as obvious as what showed on her face. Her brows frowned, her lips curled down and her eyes sometimes dart from left to right.

    I need to say something

    "Thank you..."

    I needed to thank her for saving me anyway. But, the words that came out from my mouth somehow shocked her. She turned her face toward me in an instant. In addition of the fear, now she showed confuse.

    "W-what?? You''re a male??"

    "Eh?"

    She stopped walking and front facing me.

    What did she mean by saying that? I know that I have a feminine faceand currently wearing a female''s uniform. But, how can she not recognize me?

    She squintedher eyes, looking at me puzzled, running her mind deep.After a while, her eyes widened.

    "Don''t tell me... that you are...."

    I nodded in agreement to whatever she will be saying.

    "Shiratsuki? What the hell?" She stepped backward, adding some distances between us.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "What happened to you?? Didn''t you fell of- Eh, that¡¯s not the problem now!!"

    She raised her hand and pointed on my head.

    "What happened to your hair?!!" She shrieked.

    My hair? What''s about my hair? Is there something on it?

    I raised my hand and stroked the hair near my face, then gently moved it closer to my sight.

    "That colour!! Your hair turned into silver colour!!"

    She exclaimed while I saw it for myself too.

    My jet-black hair, has turned into silver colour by unknown reason. I was startled. I never in my life dyed my hair. Now, it has become silver coloured. So, that explained the stare people gave me earlier before the ruckus. A student with silver coloured hair, that was a breach of school''s rule.Not that it mattered anymore.

    "How did you do that!!" Sasaki continued bombarding me with questions I didn''t know the answer too.

    "I don''t know"

    "Are you going to die?? Are you poisoned??" She seemed to be concerned with the sudden change of my hair colour.But, poisoning?

    I shook my head.

    "Arrrhh!! Nothinginhereismaking any sense anymore" She sighed. Tension finally faded from her face, leaving a weary expression.

    She walked to the side of the passage and crouched down with her head buried behind her crouching legs.

    Then, she started snivelling.

    It was faint at first, as if she was holding back. But it became louder, the small snivelling became a loud wailing sound.

    "Uuuuwaaaaaaaahh..."

    She cried out so loud that I started to be concerned.

    I was worried with her state of mind but there is one more thingthatIwasworried.

    The loud wailing sound she made will attract any creatures that could be lurking at the end of this passage.The probability of anothermonsterroaming around is high, after all that happened.Being noisy was one of the worst we could do.

    I moved closerto herand crouched down to the same levelasher.

    "Uhm.. Sasaki"

    I patted on her shoulder. But, she ignored me.

    "Sasaki!" I raised my voice a bit and caught her attention.

    She stopped wailing and tilted her head slightly upward, showing one of her tear soaked eye.

    Now what, how do you comfort a crying girl?

    "Uhm... I am sorry"

    Her brows frowned again then she sniffled. She turned her head back behind her legs, starting to sob.

    "I don''t want to hear you apologize... Uwaaaaaaaahh...

    *sniffI just want to go home!! waaahhhhh..." She continued wailing again.

    This time, sheraised her voice andcried in a thunderous way. The passageway was echoed with her wailing sound.

    Seriously, I needed that to stop.

    "Stop it!"

    "Stop crying please!" I exclaimed.

    I grabbed on both her shoulder.

    "You need to calm down!"

    She stopped againand raised herhead up.She stared at me with herred puffy eyes.

    ¡°How can you be like that!! Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± She asked while sniffling.

    I did feel terrified and confused. But, what is happening now,can¡¯t be solve by wailing like thatanyway.

    Ilet out a sigh.

    ¡°Yeah, I am scared...But do you want that monster tocome after us?¡±

    ¡°But the monster cannot come into this passage!¡±

    ¡°What about the end of the passage? Don¡¯t you think there will be other monster too?What if they hear the sound you make and aggressively come toward us?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Shefinally muted, but her shoulderstill quivering in sync withhersniffling motion.It was the first time Italked back to her. All for good will.

    ¡°...how can you be so calm about this¡± She wiped her tears and looked straight into my eyes.

    "You lied to me. You aren''t scared at all..."

    I didn¡¯t expect her to say that.

    Am I not scared?

    No matter how calm I could be. I am still a human.I believe that it was quite a traumaticscene evenfor me.Nobody would beable to keepone hundred percent calm about a Cerberus ripping people flesh apart.

    ¡°...I hate it when you looked unfaltering with that pretty face of yours... I hate you...¡±

    ¡°Then... why did you save me?¡±

    She was trembling so hard back then after throwing the knife. Then why?

    She looked at mehesitantly.

    ¡°...I don¡¯t know. There was something in me telling me to saveyou. I actually heard a clear voice in my mind... I swear!¡±

    ¡°What voice?¡±

    Shesquinted her eyes while looking upand thinking for a while.

    ¡°I think.... it said ¡®savethat person...¡¯. So I moved my body without thinking further and swissshhhh!!¡± Shereplayedher previousthrow.

    ¡°Hmm...¡±

    ¡°Then I landed that knife straight to that monster¡¯seye.. phew! Iwas surprised by myself too¡± She sighed in relief.

    ¡°Where did you get that... knife?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I saw someone nearby holding it onhand. So, I snatched it from her¡± She proudly explained.

    She returned to her original self and put her usual smug face on. But, on acried face.

    ¡°Just let you know, I am quite skilledwiththrowingknives!¡±

    Why would a normal high school student be skilled in that?Sasaki is moresuspicious than how I thought she was

    ¡°...Iwas the kendo club leader at my previous school.You should beglad for having me by your side. I saved your butt from that monster¡¯s teeth you know!¡±

    I nodded repeatedlyas she boasther skills.That was better than to hear her crying like ababy.

    ¡°you know...¡±

    Shemuted down. Looking all depressed again. But, this time she didn¡¯t cry.

    ¡°We will be able to go home, right?¡±

    To be honest, I highly doubt about that probability.That Cerberus monster was the proof thatwe are ¡®far¡¯ from ourhome.But there are chances that I could be wrong.

    ¡°Yeah...¡±

    I hope she is convinced.

    Sasaki stared at me for a while, than forced a smile after a groan.

    ¡°At least you tried...¡± shesaid while putting a sad expression.

    We sat on the side of the passage. Sasaki buried her face back behind her legs again.

    She needed time toreconstruct her feeling I guess.

    After all the hectic moment, I can finally have my own peace of mind.

    I thought about how all of this happened. It started from me falling from the rooftop.The sky turned into a sea of blue light.Then there was a black matter crawling all around my body. Iremember having a painful dream but, I can¡¯t recall what it was about. Probably some nightmare.

    I wondered where is Kisaragi. She must be inside the cavetoo, whether alive or not. The chance of her being alive is...small.

    The thought of her being piled as one of the dead bodies in the cave, really ached my heart.I felt butterfly on my chest but in a disgusting way. It made mefeel dizzy to only think about Kisaragi¡¯s unknown condition. I wondered why would I feel like that. We¡¯ve barely known each other,I didn¡¯t have a reason to be so attached to her.

    But, she reallywasdifferent.

    Shegave mea very odd but familiar feeling, as if Ihad known her for a long time ago.But,in the same time, she was just another stranger that I just got involved to.I never met her. I knew that because I remember every face I saw.

    I wonder if Sasakiknow anything I don¡¯t know abouther.She was her classmate after all, even though only for a short period of time.

    I should ask herabout itafter we figured out where we are.

    About an hour passed without us talking to each other.

    Sasaki remainedin her position without moving at all. So, I started to have a weird thought.

    I moved closer with ear facing the side of her head.

    She isbreathing... probably asleep.

    How can anyone be asleep in that position, moreover in this situation. She must be extremely exhausted but thenI was relieved. Ididn¡¯t like the idea of Sasaki die on mein this way. But, how could she? She was just cooping by herself. Nobody die from that. I guess the shock finally got my head.

    Two is better then one in this scenario. We can keep each other¡¯s back in check.On top of that,she got theskills to survive. But,we didn¡¯t really bring any weapon with us.No ordinary student will bring weapon to school anyway.

    No way...

    When I thought, we didn¡¯t have any weapon on us.

    I saw Sasaki, she was actually carrying a bag on her back.I didn¡¯t realizeituntil justnow.

    I hope shecarriesabottle of water.We will need water to survive in case weare still wandering in thisplace for the next few days.

    *stomach rumble....

    And we need food too.

 Chapter 9: Finally changed

    It¡¯s been a while since we stopped moving. I need to wake her up. I wanted to know what¡¯s in the bag after all.

    ¡°Sasaki? Wake up¡±

    I called her right beside her ear. She should be able to hear that.

    She reacted. Then, she slowly raise her head up. She was squinting and frowning with eyes directed toward me. Her eyes still look as puffy as before, but less red than when she cried. Her hair was in a mess.

    ¡°We need to get going¡±

    ¡°To where?"

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we need to move forward.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go home?¡±

    She was muted for a while. But then she nodded and stood on her feet in a blink.

    ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s go find the exit¡± She clenched her hand with determination. Good thing that she listened to me. I couldn¡¯t handle it if she throws tantrum again.

    ¡°Before that....¡± I raised my hand pointing at the bag on her back.

    ¡°Can I see what¡¯s in your bag? Uhm... maybe we can use a thing or two¡±

    She glanced at me with her eyes widened.

    ¡°Oh wow... I completely forgot about it!¡± She confessed while looking all shocked.

    Never mind me for not realizing that bag, but how come the carrier forgot her own belonging? Didn¡¯t she felt the weight on her back?

    She moved the bag from her back to her chest. Then she unzipped the bag swiftly. She dug her hand in and grabbed something out, just like what I have anticipated. It was a bottle of water, but unfortunately with only a quarter left. We need to carefully divide it.

    When I was thinking about rationing it, Sasaki opened her bottle and tilted it right above her opening mouth.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I was too late. She poured in all the water into her mouth until the last drop, leave me hanging.

    ¡°Fuwaaaaa... I was so thirsty from all the running¡± She let out an exhilarating sigh without feeling any guilt.

    I stared at her immensely.

    ¡°What¡±

    She didn¡¯t had any clue about what she just did.

    ¡°Are you thirsty? Oh ho.. No way I am going to share it with you. That would be an indirect k-kiss.¡± She stuttered at the end while turned her head to side showing only half of her face.

    I can officially conclude that Sasaki is an idiot. Forget about that surviving skills she has. She couldn¡¯t even think about something that basic.

    I felt irritated knowing that an idiot actually, bullied me. I regretted for letting her did all those thing to me. Now that we are alone in this unknown place. I don¡¯t have any reason to put up with her arrogant attitude anymore. What was my reason for allowing her to bully me in the first place anyway? I started to forget about it.

    ¡°Why do you keep staring at me!"

    "Sasaki..." I gently called on her.

    "What!" But she seemed to be irritated.

    ¡°Do you understand what you had done?¡±

    She bit her lip while frowned and began to mull over the question.

    "What! I was drinking water. How come I am guilty for drinking water? So, are you guilty for breathing?"

    I face palmed inwardly.

    She is the most idiotic person I''ve ever known. For real. I need to let her realize it by herself. Will she able to?

    "Say... if you''re thirsty again. What would you do?"

    "I will-" She paused briefly and looking all confused while blinking her eyes.

    "I will... drink again?" By now, she already realized her mistake. But, her pride won''t allow her to admit it that easily.

    Sigh...

    "How?" I pressed on her again.

    She showed a flustered face.

    Running her mind deep, thinking of a way to encounter me, even though it was her mistake. Really. This girl can''t be cured.

    "Aaahh!! I don''t know" She turned away and started moving forward, attempting to avoid my keen stare.

    "We need to stop wasting time and precious energy for talking. We need to move forward. Don''t you know that?" She claimed as if I am the one who is wrong.

    She peeked at me, but she knew that I am not amused with that biased answer.

    Oh well... I don''t want to argue with her. It will be a waste of my energy.

    While we were walking, Sasaki still digging into her bag. Then she pulled out a small thin black metal thing.

    It was a smartphone.

    "Arrghh.... it''s not working!" She complained while punching the power button with her finger repeatedly.

    I had the hunch about that anyway. Back when before we came into this passage. I didn''t see anyone using their phone. So, I had guessed that all of the smartphones were probably broken or can''t be used in this place.

    She tossed that broken device back over her shoulder, without any hesitation shown on her face. That expensive looking device thudded on the ground. Screen facing down.

    I thought nowadays people couldn¡¯t live without phone. But she can easily tossed it away.

    I wished that I have my bag on me. I guess the only things that would follow us were the ones that stuck close to our body as we teleported. In my case, only my cloth.

    Speaking of my clothing, I really had to get something changed. It was kind of... airy down there. It feels uncomfortable.

    But, there''s no way I could find another clothing in this place, could I?

    "Ahh! I have my PE uniform in the bag!" Sasaki pulled out her PE uniform, right at the perfect timing. Is she an esper?

    "Yay! I can change this smelly uniform out" She stopped walking and put down her bag then spread out that red training suit.

    I stared at her again, this time, glancing from the corner of my sight.

    "W-what again!!" She stuttered. Then she looked at me from top to bottom, reminded her of what she did to me.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator."Ah.. Geezzzz!!" She threw her PE uniform to me.

    Good thing that our school''s PE uniform is unisex. On top of that, I have roughly the same weight and height with Sasaki.

    "You owe me one! No, you owe me two to be exact¡± She smirked.

    "Go further. Don¡¯t let me see you changing!¡± She commanded me as I walked away.

    A turning point could be seen not far from me, so I decided to go behind that wall. It was around 5 to 8 meters away. Sasaki should just follow me and waited right beside that wall. But, she didn¡¯t. She stood there digging her bag. I will look into that later.

    ¡°Be quick!¡± She added.

    As I move closer to the turning point, I heard some voices. It was a faint whispering or hissing to be exact. I was immediately put into alert. Wondering what was it.

    I started tip toeing my way there.

    Curiosity hit me, I wanted to know what made that sound. But, I don¡¯t want to agitate any of it/them.

    I reached the side of the wall with hand clutching on wall, I slowly moved my head out of the wall and stopped at the moment I can see clearly.

    Hiisssssssss............

    It was no longer a passage. That turning point lead to another big cave.

    It was darker than the previous cave added with a lot of spikes on the ceiling. The terrain of this cave was uneven and rocky. The temperature is lower here and there was a bit of haze in the air. I scanned at the surrounding and finally found the source of the sound. I immediately hid behind the wall upon seeing that. Trying to sort out what I saw.

    I can say that I have a good news and a bad news.

    The good news is that I saw a big pool of water, no, a small sized lake to be precise. If it was an open lake, then we can follow the stream and might be able to find a way out. There are lots of possibility now that a lake surfaced in the sight. It was indeed a great discovery. Furthermore, I saw a few entrance branched out from the back of the cave.

    Another thing is that we could solved my earlier worry, the water supply. First, I need to make sure that the water is drinkable. After that, I need to look for more container for the water.

    The bad news is...

    There are three monsters.

    They were laying on the center of the cave. They have long snake like body but with a dragon like head with long and sharp fangs gloriously exposed at the corner of their mouth. Their skin was covered with sturdy and coarse scales. They length about 4 to 7 meters. All three were intertwined with each other, curling up around a rocky hill at the center. Eyelids closed.

    They seemed to be dormant at this moment.

    ¡°You! What are you doi-¡°

    I turned around and swiftly pushed Sasaki to the side of the wall, with an arm on the wall and another one covering half of her face. Laying my face just an inch close to her. Her eyes widened. Her pupil contracted. She breathed in my palm.

    ¡°Mmfft!!¡±

    I slowly peeked at the monsters from afar.

    They are still asleep. Sigh...

    I let out a short exhale while the tense on me faded. I dragged Sasaki all the way back until we reach far enough, to the spot where Sasaki once talked loudly without the monsters reacting. But still, we have to be aware now that I knew what¡¯s behind the wall.

    ¡°Get your filthy hand off me!¡± She angrily shoved my hand, with a hint of flush painted on her cheeks.

    ¡°Ssshhhh... ¡°

    ¡°What is it?¡± She leaned closer.

    ¡°There are monsters in there¡±

    ¡°W-What?¡± No way, we have to take another ro-¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, I cut her off.

    ¡°No. We will head in¡±

    She gasped in disbelief.

    ¡°Are you nuts? Didn¡¯t you say that there are monsters in there?¡± She complained.

    ¡°There is a lake in there, moreover I saw an entrance behind the cave. The lake seemed to be connecting with a stream to somewhere, that could be our way out.¡± I briefly explained.

    ¡°But the monster! What are you going to do with them. Kill them?¡± She shrieked at the idea.

    The monsters seemed to be sleeping soundly. So...

    ¡°No, we will sneak around them¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± She raised her brow and hung her mouth open to what I said.

    I explained to her about the current condition of the monsters and the plan I have on mind. Even though they seemed to be fast asleep. Going around them still poised some risk. If the monsters wake up, it will be the end for us. But taking another route has different risk too. We could be ended up in an active monsters lair, or we could be ended up lost in this maze. Returning after all the energy spent on finding another place, is a dumb thing to do.

    After all the walk with repeating scenery, discovering this cave was a big step forward.

    ¡°W-What are you doing!¡± Sasaki shrieked as I started pulling up my upper cloth.

    Can¡¯t you see that I am changing?

    I don¡¯t know why, but she started to get on my nerve. I mean, I¡¯ve been facing her all this time. But, to be actually doing a ¡®two way¡¯ interaction with her, seriously putting me off more that I ever thought. I preferred myself to stay quiet rather than talking to her. But, for people as dense as her, need to be talked to reach a mutual understanding.

    Anyway, that uniform of hers fit me quite well, a bit small but this will do. Still better than flaunting around with a skirt. This red jersey is my favourite school¡¯s uniform.

    I seriously thought that I will be stuck running around with that skirt until we got out from this maze, If we could. Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to wait that long.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go...¡±

    ¡°N-Now?¡±

    Sasaki stiffened, couldn¡¯t process what she heard, she dazed. Fear slowly engraved on her face. She was reminded of what happened in the previous cave. I can see her trembling. Cold sweat adorned her temple. I honestly thought she has already get over that, but she¡¯s not. She didn¡¯t show opposition, but doubt and fear filled her expression.

    She¡¯s still an ordinary high school girl after all.

    I let out a sigh.

    ¡°Okay... I will let you prepare yourself first¡±

    I let myself fall and sat on the ground, eyes closed. Trying to rest my sight for a bit.

    I shouldn¡¯t rush her.

    A person as impetuous as her, can¡¯t be perturbed when entrusted with a dangerous task. All I wanted her to do was to quietly follow my steps and go beyond the monsters. But, if she chose to stagger mid way. It will be problematic.

    I should keep that in mind.

    ¡°Do you have anything else in your bag?¡±

    ¡°y-yeah... but they were useless things.¡± She crouched down, then she rotated her bag upside down, shook all her belonging down to the dirt ground.

    A pencil case, few books, an empty bottle, wallet with worthless paper now, rubber bands, hair pins, handkerchief, a nail filer and a scissor.

    ¡°You have few good things here¡±

    I pointed at the nail filer and the scissor respectively. Especially the scissor, which doesn¡¯t look like a student allowed one. It doesn¡¯t looked like a scissor that¡¯s being used for cutting paper. The long, thin and sharp blade of it could easily clipped a thick firm meat into two clean pieces.

    She must had used that for bullying purpose.

    I need to distract her into thinking about something else than fear. So, that¡¯s perfect.

    ¡°Say... why did you bully people¡±

    She didn¡¯t expect those words to came out from my mouth. The unsettling face of her became flabbergasted. She mulled over the question I randomly threw. Part of me, wanted to hear about it too. I don¡¯t understand why would anyone bully another of their own kind, causing mental until physical harm to others.

    That can be a worth while information, to learn about their state of mind. So, I can be better at guessing their next move.

    Unexpectedly, she stayed quiet. I thought that she will get angry over that and started insulting me. But, she curled up to her own space and rested her chin on her knees. Her gaze felt empty for a moment.

    Then, she moved her hand into her skirt¡¯s pocket and pulled out a familiar article.

    It was Kisaragi¡¯s pendant.

    The pendant was dangling down from Sasaki¡¯s hand. Looking all the same as before, unscathed.

    ¡°I must return this¡±

    She stared at the pendant closely, biting her lip.

    ¡°I must be cursed..¡±

    I closely listened as she spoke.

    ¡°She must have cursed me! I swear she shouted an evil spell before we were turned into this state¡±

    Huh?

    ¡°She casted a weird magic on us all. She¡¯s the evil!¡±

    What was she talking about? Did she just accused Kisaragi as the guilty one when all she did was bullying her?

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of her, that those thing happened to us¡±

    It''s good that she returned to her arrogant self.

    But, I don¡¯t get what she was blabbering about. So, I just nodded to her long speech. What I needed was to divert her mind out of the fear she previously shown.

    Then she pondered while sweeping the back of her finger to the chin like a detective.

    ¡°I think... I strongly feel and sure about, that if I return the pendant to her. We will be send back to our home¡±

    A light sparked into her eyes.

    ¡°Yeah! That must be it. I have to find her!¡±

    Hmm... to find her amidst all of this, would be difficult. I previously thought that Kisaragi might be dead already.

    I don¡¯t know what she said about Kisaragi was the truth or not. But, if what Sasaki said was the truth, about Kisaragi was still alive and casted an evil spell on us, I don¡¯t think she will let us return to our homeland, especially Sasaki. But I don¡¯t think she need to send all of us to this nightmare, even me, who was helping her before the teleport after all.

    She had no reason to drag me into this mess. She isn¡¯t the kind of person that would let people suffer like this. I don¡¯t know why I assumed like that, I just knew it.

    Unless, she didn¡¯t have the control of her power.

    I¡¯ve always got a strange feeling around her. To be honest, Kisaragi was quite suspicious. She would suddenly appeared nowhere then ran away all she liked.

    It was all a fantasy guess, none of the above could be proven true at all. But, seeing a mythical creature appeared before my eyes, didn¡¯t fully brush away all those crazy possibilities.

    ¡°Hey! Aren¡¯t we going in?¡±

    Sasaki snapped me out of my long train of thought.

    Now that Sasaki is back to her usual self and confidence, we are ready to go.

    ¡°Before that, let us make use of the ¡®weapon¡¯ you have¡±

 Chapter 10: Sneaking pass the death

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Sasaki nodded solemnly as I whispered.

    The cave was flowing with prickling cold air, it filled my nostril with its unique murky stench plus a hint of blood. Instead of feeling the cold, sweat trickling down from my head.

    We were standing at the entry, which was at the far corner of the cave. It will take almost half a kilometre to reach our destination. It¡¯s not that far away, but to move forward in a sneaky style, will take more times.

    The terrain of the cave was jagged unevenly, with only a few walkable narrow dirt path. We have to climb up and down through a few small obstacle. While all needed to be done in the most noiseless way possible. It will be a long tiring walk.

    I glanced at Sasaki.

    She strained all her focus into observing the area. She didn¡¯t look like she was playing around. I¡¯ve never seen her being that serious. That expression of her was assuring.

    Sasaki put in her promptly made weapon into her skirt pocket. It wasn¡¯t much, I split the scissor of her into half, and got us two sharp blades. The blade is long enough to be called a short knife except it was slender and had a scissor handle.

    I didn¡¯t hope to be engaged into a situation where we have to use the blade. The blade was cute compared to the size of the monsters. Furthermore, I doubt that we could penetrate through its rough scale with it. But, I have something else in mind if the monsters really attacked us.

    It was better than going in there barehanded. Who knows that there might be another monster in the cave. I can¡¯t fully scan the cave as some areas were blocked by the rocks. Despite that, I didn''t see any moving creatures beside the dragon headed snake.

    ¡°Psst...¡± I made a sound to Sasaki as a sign of the beginning of our plan.

    I placed down my first step into the cave, while focusing on what¡¯s ahead. With Sasaki closely following my back, we started moving into the cave.

    There were few big rocks along the way. We constantly sneak and hid behind the big rock which blocked the sight between us and the sleeping soundly monsters.

    The cave was occasionally vibrated with their hissing snore. It was an advantage, as it let us know whether the monsters were still asleep or not. We hasten our feet everytime that sound resonated within the cave.

    The plan was running smooth so far, the monsters couldn¡¯t hear our tip toeing steps or they might hear it but didn¡¯t care about harmless creatures passing by.

    It was all good, until when we reached to a part where a wide crack on the ground blocked our way and spikes of rock decorated at the bottom of it. I didn¡¯t see the crack from afar as the other side of the ground was lower than this side. I formerly thought that it was just a slope down.

    Going around the wide crack was impossible as the path around it stood a whole jag of bristly tall rocks, which left no space to be weaved. Climbing on the spiky textured tall rock will be reckless. None of us are pro climber, we could fall down or worse. Walking back to go on another route is a better choice for the current situation. We could take our time as long as we didn¡¯t rouse the monsters up.

    I decided.

    But then, Sasaki gently tugged my sleeve to gain my attention.

    She briefly opened her mouth, almost going to talk, but she realised the rule I set about not talking in the cave. So, she shut her mouth tight and started gesturing with her hands.

    She opened the palm of her left hand, placing the tip of her index and middle finger from her right hand straight on the palm. Then she moved her fingers, imitating a walking person, and jumped through the little space she made in between her left fingers.

    She wanted us to jump over the crack.

    I immediately shook my head in disagreement. That would produce too much sound. The cave is sensitive to sound, the thudding sound after we jumped and landed on the ground would be echoed all over the place. It will put us in risk, if it awaken the monsters.

    A look of irk furrowed her brow, she leaned close to me. Staring straight into my eyes. Her sharp grey eyes were filled with eagerness.

    I glanced at the crack again. The height difference between the ground is around a meter while the wide is roughly a meter and a half. It wouldn¡¯t be a hard jump. But still, I didn¡¯t want to risk it even if the chance of waking up the monsters was low. Besides, we were close to the center of the cave now.

    I trod away from Sasaki as an act of denial.

    But then, Sasaki strode pass and stopped right in front me as she turned around with both eyes glaring at me. After a short while, she steadily moved her right foot behind, hunched her back slightly and arched her lips into a smirk. Her eyes focused on what¡¯s behind me.

    In a blink of an eye, she brushed through my side, followed by a gust of wind. She jumped with the momentum she created by running off the slanted edge.

    I turned around with eyes locked on Sasaki, who leapt through into mid air with her hands raised over her head, leg bent and feet pointing straight to the ground, toward the implied area while her hair danced through the air.

    THUD!

    Her feet landed first and the force made her scrunched her body down with both hands counterbalanced on the ground supporting the weight of her body. She safely crossed the crack.

    Tense spread throughout my body as the sound she caused reached my ears. I immediately closed my distance to the side of the rocks. Trying to hide myself in case the monsters were awakened. They could see me if they stood up above that big rocky hill.

    Sasaki rolled to the nearby boulder, with the same intention.

    We both waited for reaction, but a minute or two had passed. Nothing happened. Furthermore, the occasional hissing sound could be heard like usual.

    I glanced at Sasaki who was already standing on her feet. She glanced back at me with a contented smile. While standing proudly, she raised a hand up to her eye level, pointing at me, she curled her forefinger and beckoned me in a taunting way.

    Seeing her attitude made me inhaled and exhaled a long deep breath. What she just did could have endangered us. There was no remorse in her face, it only showed arrogance.

    I will teach her a ¡®lesson¡¯ after we exited this cave

    Still, I didn¡¯t like the idea of the sound which produced when landing. But, seeing Sasaki who already stood across the crack. I have no choice but to follow her. I couldn¡¯t just leave her to her own and go back to find another route myself. Her impetuous trait needed to be constantly watched over, or else, she could be ended up being snacked by the monster.

    Maybe that¡¯s a good idea, she will act as a decoy as I sprint to the exit

    An evil thought crossed my mind, but I know that I won¡¯t do that. I need her bottle to stock on water too.

    I moved to the position where Sasaki previously stood to build the same momentum. I imitated the way she did, stepping one foot back, curling my back. Then I put all the power on my front foot and pushed the ground strongly, I ran through the slanted ground and jumped like what Sasaki did.

    I closely followed Sasaki¡¯s movement in my mind but I actually landed further than what I supposed to. I lose my balance and tumbled on the ground. Sasaki threw herself to the side to avoid collision. While I almost groaned in pain as I slid on the ground roughly.

    Damn it, I didn¡¯t expect that

    I quickly rolled myself to the side, knowing I just messed up. The sound I made was two times noisier and longer than what Sasaki did. She was startled and instantly dropped herself down to a crouching position. Anxious filled in her face. She gulped in dread.

    I was surprised by the blunder I made. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be like that. I calculated the distance carefully. I should be landed at that spot, but my jump actually went further than I predicted. My body felt lighter than usual when I pushed off the ground. I was bewildered.

    For the second time, we dare not move even an inch waiting for the worst possible outcome. But, this time, the tension felt heavier.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    A few minutes passed, there was no sound could be heard. Both of us still hiding behind the rocks, uneasiness plastered on our face.

    There was around an inch of space between the rocks I clung to. So, I slowly move my head and positioned one of my eye to that narrow crack. The pupil of my eye contracted as the light hit me.

    What¡¯s beyond that definitely not a sight I wanted to see.

    One of the monster was put into alert. It was standing while observing the surrounding. It slithered around the hill, on top of its own kind with its head slowly turned around, as it gaze upon the cave ground.

    The hearing of the monster wasn¡¯t as good as I thought it could be. It didn¡¯t know where we were located at all. The monster didn¡¯t catch the source of the sound from the echoes. Good thing that it didn¡¯t have the perfect hearing like a bat do. I assumed that the monster here will be accustomed by the echoes of the cave. But it seemed like that¡¯s not the case.

    I glanced at the exit which was still half way further. The rocks for blocking the sight between us is lesser around the exit. But, it was a lot nearby the monsters. So, we could carefully tread our way pass the monsters while hidden behind the rocky walls.

    The problem is that at the end of the cave, where there were less rocks that could be used to hide. Especially at the further end, the length of the closest rocks to the exit is roughly one hundred meters away. It was a wide open space there. I didn¡¯t know the speed of that dragon headed snake but I bet that it could easily leapt through and caught us cold upon discovering us.

    Now with one of the monster alerted, we can¡¯t do reckless thing like before anymore.

    I hand signed at Sasaki, to inform her about the awaken monster. She reacted by clutching her hands tight to her mouth after she learned about it. She was petrified. Even so, we still had to move forward.

    The area around the monsters were enclosed by a lot of big rough rocks, as if they chose the area intentionally for their own practicality.

    Sasaki and I started sneaking through the side of the rocky wall, clung close to it like our dear life is betted on it, so that our head won¡¯t be seen from above. We started moving at the slowest speed than ever, to prevent any more unneeded loud sound. Deliberately strode over the rocky obstacles and periodically peeked at the center of the cave.

    And sometimes, I spotted a few drop of dried blood on the surface of the rocks. But, it didn¡¯t matter to me now, so I continued forward.

    Right now, the monster rested its head at the highest peak of the rocky hill with eyes opened, as if it was guarding its nest, but in a groggy way.

    We had gone pass by the monsters now. Our location was approximately three fourths to the exit, where the lake could be seen clearly and the exit was just a sprint ahead. Reminding one of the purpose of coming in to the cave was to stock the water supply. So, I started observing the lakeside.

    There were no tall rocks that could hide our entire body by the side of the lake. But, there was a small rock which could practically hide one person if crouched low, it was located exactly within hand reach to the lake.

    The problem is that the terrain around the lake would be hard to travel as the ground was pitted with a lot of nasty cracks and uneven rocky surface. One misstep would be fatal, as the monster was alerted enough to be able to hear the sound this time.

    I peeked at the monster again. The awakened one was virtually facing the other side of the cave, opposite from where we stood. Which is an advantage.

    I waved at Sasaki to follow me closely, we will be heading toward the nearest tall rocks that¡¯s closest to the lake side. I intended on filling the water by myself as that blind spot beside the lake can only hid a person. So, I will tell Sasaki to wait for me as I swiftly go to finish the task and then will move back on track.

    Along the way there, Sasaki and I caught a vague panting voice nearby. It was drawing near as we moved closer to the destination. We looked at each other puzzled as the sound seemed to be produced by a human¡¯s vocal cord.

    It¡¯s been a while since we last met another people. But, unfortunately as we made a turn at that rock. What¡¯s lying there startled both of us.

    ¡°Mi-!! Mmmfftt!!¡±

    Knowing how she would react, I quickly grabbed on Sasaki and forcefully blocked her mouth with my hand. She struggled and stumbled on her feet, while trying to get my hand off. I dragged her away from the source of her shock, out off her sight. Then I forced her to scrunch down with me, laying low at the ground. I held her tight and close to me, resistance can be felt from how strongly she gripped on my arm until her nails dug into my skin. It hurt but I have to.

    What¡¯s lying there were her friends, both Mika and Aya, on top of a pool of their own blood. They were both gravely injured, in the cruellest way possible. Aya seemed to be lying cold already, the lower part of her body was ripped gone, exposing the bone and her innards, her chest was holed from probably sharp fangs, exactly where the heart was positioned.

    On the other side, Mika was still breathing with blood dripped down from her mouth corner. Her consciousness started to fade. The injury she got was no small matter, not even the newest medical technology could save her anymore. The shocking part was that she actually managed to stay alive in that state, but alive wasn¡¯t the correct definition for her anymore, she was practically half dead.

    Blood painted all over her left chest down to her stomach which had been flattened inward, it was an injury caused by blunt force. I remember caught a glimpse of the bloody wall beside her, she was probably hurled down from up high and got her side pounded hard on the top of the rock then bounced down to the ground. Her right arm was nowhere to be found, left a bloody free flowing opening.

    They must had ran into the same entrance from the previous incident and somehow caught themselves into another nasty mess in this cave.

    ¡°h...he...lp¡± with all the strength she could muster, she weakly pleaded help as she noticed us. I doubt that she knew who we were. She probably noticed us from the voice Sasaki made.

    But, observing her state, there was no way we could do to help her.

    Hiiiissssssssss..........

    As I expected, the monster did notice the noise.

    Cold sweat started to drip and the temperature of my body started to raise together with my heartbeat.

    Forgot the struggle, Sasaki had realised her slipup and started to tremble in fear. She was snapped out from the shock only to face with another shock which caused her to froze and became dead silent.

    A big cast of shadow could be seen lurking in on the ground just ahead of us. A long tall slender shadow, which is of the monster. It was now positioned exactly behind the tall rock we clung dearly to.

    I released the hand which I held Sasaki tight as she had calmed down. We were both in a very tight position. Where any tiny mistake will be marked death for us.

    I started unconsciously breathed in and out in the slowest possible way which caused my chest to be so uncomfortable from the lack of air. I slowly pulled out the blade I made and gripped on the handle tightly with the blade pointing straight down from my fist.

    Judging from the shadow, the monster slithered pass to the place where Mika and Aya bodies laying.

    Sound of its rough scale brushing through the rock surfaces could be clearly heard. The rattling and hissing sound was louder than ever.

    ¡°hhh...¡± Mika grunted as the monster stopped rattling.

    ¡°....!!!!!!¡±

    As if shouting, she shrieked and yowled in pain, almost voiceless.

    I couldn¡¯t see what¡¯s happening there, but it seemed that the monster was doing something with her body, like digging its fang in. Alongside the groaning sound Mika made, I could hear merciless squelching and splatting sound.

    I glanced at the shadow far near the turning where the bodies was located. From that, I saw the dragon head picked Mika up with only one of her leg in its jaw and the body dangled upside down.

    After that, the monster shook its prey from left to right in an astounding force until the body was ripped and detached from the leg. Mika was flung away, landed and rolled to just about few meters away from us. With her horrendously battered body facing the other side and her broken head facing our side. Her eyes coincidently staring straight at us, lifeless.

    ¡°Nooooooooo!!! Mikaaa!!¡± Sasaki started screaming and leapt forward seeing the horrible state of her friend.

    I reached out my hand only to caught the empty air as Sasaki drifted away from me. I was too late to be able to caught her. She threw herself down to Mika¡¯s side. Then, she gently held her bloody broken body up close to her trembling self.

    ¡°No...No...Noooo... Ayaa... Mika!!¡± She wailed painfully and lamentedly, forgot whatever formerly filled her mind with fear.

    I moved forward to uncover the line of sight between me and the monster. That dragon headed snake slowly slithering close to Sasaki.

    ¡°Run!!¡± I shouted at Sasaki with the loudest voice I could howl. But, she couldn¡¯t hear me amidst her grief.

    The monster now stood high above Sasaki. But, she didn¡¯t notice nor realise about her position at all. Their friendship must have been so deep that¡¯s enough to put Sasaki in great anguish upon seeing her dead friend.

    Two monsters which were asleep in the center of the cave have now been aroused. They were inching closer in just a blink of eye. Like a hungry predator found its prey.

    Without further hesitation, I immediately leapt forward inching close to Sasaki.

    ¡°Sasaki!! Please!!¡± I shouted at her again but got no respond.

    I pulled her up, but she put up a resistant and staggered on her feet.

    GROOAAAAAARRRR

    I glanced above, the monster had opened its jaw wide, bloody saliva spurted everywhere, ready to pounce on us.

    I immediately pushed Sasaki away, caused her to tumble far from me, followed by turning myself away, trying to leapt. But, my speed was overwhelmed. The monster hauled me in between its strong jaw. One of its long sharp fang forcefully penetrated deep into my stomach, jolt of pain started to throb throughout me and my ribs felt like it''s about to burst. It was so hard to breathe that I gasped for air.

    The stalagmites on the ceiling were closing to my sight, I was lifted up high, beneath the monster''s jaw. Every second of the time, felt so long and heavy to me. My body started to feel so hot, its boiling hot, it''s getting extremely unbearable hot. I coughed out whatever that bubbled up to my throat. My vision gradually leaving me. Knowing how bad the situation I was in. I mustered all my strength and swung the hand which still clenching the blade tightly, it was so tight that I might have sliced my palm.

    ROOOAAAAAAAAAARRRR

    I stabbed deep into its eye socket and managed to twist once before that monster tossed me away with force.

    "Shiratsuki!!" I could hear Sasaki had snapped out from her grief and once again to only face with another agony. She screamed my name repeatedly, with her almost dried out voice.

    I felt the wind breezed through as I flung away. Then, the next thing I know, my back was slammed and splashed onto the lake surface.

    By that time, my body has fully stopped receiving order from my mind, I couldn''t move my limbs, I couldn''t breathe. I saw bubble floating up as I sank, along with my blood flowing in this cold dark lake. My head was pounding, every cell in my body was screaming for air. But then, my consciousness began to betray me. I was sinking down, however, in just a mere blink of eye, a flash of light suddenly lit on top of the lake surfaces. With no state of mind to ponder, I drifted further from that light and then my vision engulfed with darkness.

 Chapter 11: A Monsters Egg?

    Cold...

    The only sense I could still perceive was the prickling low temperature of air that crawled all over my body, as if my skin was covered with a thin cloak of ice and my blood had stopped flowing under it. I couldn''t feel anything than just being cold, not even knowing whether I was trembling or not.

    Especially at the part where the critical wound was supposed to be, the stomach. It felt tense and tight, as if the skin around the stomach will be shattered with only a slight touch. It was freezing cold to the extent that it became a burning sensation. It was cold, but then at the same time, it was flaming hot.

    The sensation steadily spread all over my body that in my mind I screamed out of pain. My conscious was hazy, but then, I wasn''t truly awake, or I couldn''t. There''s nothing I could do to ease the pain, not that I could handle it if I was awake. All I could see was black, only pitch black.

    The life and death sensation continued for a while, suddenly, a warm and soft little palm touched my wounded area. As if magic, the sensation mysteriously slipping out from my body on contact and vanished. The blood under my skin started to flow, the intense pain I felt gradually diminished and the tightness on my stomach had long gone.

    All of my senses gradually came back to me. The sound of a dripping water echoed into my ears. My nose was filled by the same familiar murky stench of the cave. I can finally feel the movement behind my eyelids as I rolled my eyes under it. I can move my fingers, turn my head and stretch my leg. Last but not least, I breathed.

    "Hhh!!" I jolted awake as I gasped a chunk of air through my mouth.

    That warm sensation which cured me from the pain, vanished in sync as I breathed. The sudden loss of the soothing feel had got me unsettled. The tingling pain instantly returned, but this time, in a far way weaker force than before.

    I carefully turned my weak body to the side, my hands touching on to the cold ground and gently pushed myself up while slowly opening my eyes. But, the gravity won over my tiny little resistance, so I staggered and fell back to the ground. The impact caused by pounding back onto the ground, has stimulated the wound I have on my stomach. I groaned in pain I precipitated upon myself.

    My vision was blurry at first, I wasn''t sure about what I exactly saw, a figure blurred away and followed by a splashing sound right after I blinked. At the moment my vision fully returned, that unknown figure had disappeared. It was on my mind for a sec, but then I let it pass first.

    While lying on the ground, I slowly turned my head to see around. Beside me, was a spread of water, I was lying at around a meter far by the lakeside. Above me, stood the same old dirt ceiling with the weird glowing substances, up high from reach. What made me pondered, was the lack of the stalagmites which was supposed to be fully covering the cave.

    The stalagmites?

    The terror rushed through my mind as I recalled of what had happened before. My heart thumped. My eyes opened wide and quickly took a scan toward the other side of the cave. I gazed all around the cave with unruly breath while my back still laid flat on the ground.

    There was no one, no monsters.

    The cave itself was different, I wasn''t in the same cave as before. The terrain of this cave was tamer. The size of the cave was smaller compared to before. The ground was dirt flat, surrounded by only few rocks at the opposite side of the lake. The lake seemed to be covering half of the cave. The ground and the lake were separated in a straight line at the center of the cave.

    Once again, I mustered all my strength into my arms and I pushed myself up onto a sitting position. At that exact moment, I realized that the zipper of my red training top was forcefully shredded open, exposing my chest and stomach area. I slowly slid my hand to touch the round blueish bruise on top of my stomach.

    That was where the fang jabbed through.

    I was one hundred percent sure that I was jabbed through my stomach. But where did the hole go? It was impossible to heal a wound that fast. What''s more peculiar is that, how did I end up here? I was certainly sure that I drowned into the lake bottom. Speaking of that, it reminded me about the previous splashing sound, so I immediately put the lake onto my sight.

    It could be a monster.

    I closely watched over the calm surfaced lake. Once in a while, the dripping sound of water from the ceiling filled my sense of hearing. There was no sign of life moving on the lake, but it wasn''t like that I could see what''s hiding under the calm surface. I shuddered at the thought of the possibility of a few unknown monsters swimming freely underneath the lake.

    Now that I sat up, eyes on the higher level than when I lied on the ground. I looked around the cave again. Something was definitely off. I deliberately searched on every nooks and crannies of the cave with my eyes. But I couldn''t find it.

    There was no entrance to this cave!

    I was stupefied by the fact I''ve just learned. There was no sign of crack nor hole around this cave. Then, how the hell did I get in here?

    "Ughh..." I groaned at the pain that is still tingling on my stomach. I might have mistaken, but didn''t the bluish part of my wound shrink?

    Sasaki...

    Her smug face flashed into my mind. She wasn''t here. At the previous cave, the monsters were awakened and one of it threw me into the lake. That was the last time I saw her. I sincerely hope that she managed to run for her life. But, thinking back about how close the monster stood and the mind state of her at that moment. The chance was greatly reduced, but not into zero. If I calculate about the good reflex she has and the knife throwing skill she showed, there was a hope.

    I never actually hated her, maybe a bit irritated, but that''s all. Still, I will pray for her safety.

    Whoooossshhhh

    The lake water by my side, splashed upward and blurred something out. It dashed out in an outrageous speed, up to the air. I was caught off guard and lurched back as a reaction, with both eyes glued on the blur. That thing hit onto the ceiling and bounced straight down with a not faltering speed. In just a blink, it was thrust into the ground.

    An... egg?

    A big striped green egg to be exact. The length was about half of my height and its wide was around one arm long. The bottom of the egg was magnificently stuck into the ground with only two or three meters away from me. I sighed in relief at the thought that it didn''t land on me. I would be instantly crushed under that force if it did.

    While wobbling weakly, I forced myself to stand on my feet. Braced myself for whatever worse that will come next. I shifted my eyes from the egg to the lake, back and forth, trying to figure out the current situation. Silence returned to the lake and no movement could be sense from that egg. The shell must be so thick and hard which explained why it didn¡¯t even break after that crash.

    While my eyes fixed on the egg. I was about to move closer to inspect further. But then, another splash and whoosh filled in my ear from the direction of the lake. I weakly turned myself to the source of the sound and locked my eyes on another being that was jumping out from the lake. I hastily add distances between me, the egg and the currently blurred unknown being.

    That unknown being flipped on the air and landed perfectly, the previous blur had gone. It wasn''t a monster, nor another egg. It was a little girl. She stood up like it was nothing.

    if I had to guess, she would be around eight to ten years old. Her height was about my chest level. Her rugged beige colored clothing soaked wet, while her shoulder length light blue hair dripping out the water in a peculiar way, as if the water itself slid out from her hair, but not leaving it wet. Her fluffy wavy hair had perfectly dried by now, even though she just got out from the lake. I couldn''t muster what I was seeing.

    She glanced at me with her big round turquois blue eyes filled with an unknown intent. I didn''t know how should I react. She didn''t look harmful and she has that normal human face except she has the feature of an extraordinary beautiful doll. Everything about her felt godly and out of normal. What was abnormal was the bizarre pair of legs she has. The skin from the knee length until the ankle, was covered with shiny little blue scales. Now that I noticed, at the back of her hand was covered with a patch of scales too.

    While I was still standing puzzled, holding on the pain that was tingling harder as it reacted to my tensed-up body. She moved to the side of the giant egg and stopped. She leisurely raised her right hand up, fist curled into a ball. She thrust her hand straight on top of the egg, in a speed my eyes couldn''t follow.

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    CRAACCKKK

    The hard-shelled egg broke as easily as a normal human breaking a normal egg. She opened a big round crack on top of the egg. Some bits of the cracks strewed across the ground. I took a brief look at the shell. It was about an inch thick. On top of that, the material of the shell looked different, definitely not a matter from my world.

    The egg was almost as tall as the girl which explained why she stood on her toes. Both of her hands entered into the crack she opened. A moment later, she picked up a slimy embryo looked a like flesh, holding it with both hands. She turned to my side and she stared at me again with that mesmerizing blue eyes of her. She steadily walked toward my direction, while holding a dripping slimy big chunk of flesh.

    Should I run?

    Escaping flashed through my thought, but then I realized that this was an entrance-less cave. I couldn''t escape even if I wanted to. Even if I run, I doubt that I could win against her astounding speed. Not even a Cerberus and the dragon headed snake could win against her speed too. Alas, what should I do in this situation?

    I stepped my foot backward subconsciously as she drew in closer toward me. There was no emotion shown in her face. Just plainly straight. Her big eyes locking onto me. She would have won a poker face award, but not until when she stopped exactly a few steps in front of me. She opened her mouth.

    "Uhmm!!" A cute little voice came out from her tiny little mouth, followed by a refreshing smile. She shoved the slimy flesh forward, directing onto me, while I was still dazed by her voice.

    I quickly run my mind deep about the event which was happening right now, right in front of me. First, I need to know what''s her intention for giving me a lump of flesh. Does she want me to eat it? And that voice she made, totally not the sound a predator would have made.

    She seemed to be realize that I was mulling over her action. So, she pulled back that slimy flesh and ripped it apart. The flesh was divided into two pieces. Next, she thrust her hand again, swinging that slimy flesh in front of my face. She smiled eagerly while waiting me to take that lump of flesh.

    Okay then...

    I slowly raised both of my hands with the palm opened up. Upon seeing that, she immediately dropped that slimy flesh onto my hand. I was jerked downward as the flesh landed onto my palm. That thing was unexpectedly way heavier than I formerly thought. I do have the strength to lift it, but I was caught off guard.

    The girl smiled from ear to ear. Then with her pale and currently slimy, little hand, she yanked on my arm directing me to follow her stride. I was hesitant, but there''s no way I could reject her invitation. I didn''t want to angry her. Thinking back about how she can easily cracked that hard-shelled egg open, I warned myself to not enraging her. For now, I will follow the flow and further observe.

    She towed me all the way to the side of the cave, where some knee length rocks lie. She freed my arm and went to sit on the rock. The hand she used to drag me went back to hold that slimy flesh. She happily munched on it like a normal meat. Then, she glanced at me who''s still standing with both hands holding the same thing. She raised one of her shiny scales covered leg and thumping it down repeatedly at the rock beside her excitedly.

    "Umuu!" She voiced again, cheerfully. Trying to tell me to sit beside her.

    Learned of what she was implying. I walked to the rock and sat on it. While sitting, I started to think if she can actually talk or is that the only way she can communicate. Then to why she¡¯s telling me to eat. Does she want to fatten me? In order to eat me later? She might not look like it. But, could it be that she is a cannibal? Just look at how leisurely she munched on that raw flesh.

    "Nom! Nom!" She munched on the flesh looking satisfyingly, as if it was a gourmet meal.

    Her light blue fluffy wavy hair covered her cheek, some stranded and stuck on the slimy surface of the flesh. She resembled a baby eating their baby food, messy but in a cute way. I was nearly forgotten about the horrifying strength she displayed before. If not for that, she would be just a perfect cute little girl. Okay, except the scales she has on her legs and back of her hands.

    "Uuu?" She questioned me while staring at me intently. Then, she glanced at the flesh I was still holding and back to my face again.

    As if she wanted to tell me what I was supposed to do. She took a big bite off the flesh I was holding and chewed. After that, she looked at me again with a contented face.

    Do I really have to... eat this?

    I looked at the flesh I was holding, the slimy substance still constantly dripping onto the ground. The raw smell of the flesh that was pricking my nostril, strong enough to almost make me puke. The flesh was colored in light pink. And the shape, resembled an animal''s embryo. This must be an embryo of a monster. I wondered how that girl could eat it in such an appetizing way. Her face didn¡¯t seem to be lying. I was almost tempted by how scrumptious she was eating. My stomach grumbled as I watch her chomping.

    Ahhhh!! Better than nothing

    I took the first brave bite, immediately swallowed the tiny bite down to my throat. It slid down smoothly and unexpectedly didn''t leave a bad after taste like what I had feared. It was actually, nice in the mouth. I was surprised. I further observe the flesh on hand again. Still, a gross looking slimy raw flesh. But, what''s with the taste?

    I took the second bite, now, courageously chewed it inside my mouth.

    ¡°Umuuuuu..." That girl leaned close to me, while seemed to be waiting for my reaction.

    It was juicy, a bit salty and sweet. The texture of the flesh was so tender that it melted away almost like a cotton candy. I couldn''t think of any way to describe this food. Even though it looked disgusting. But then again, never judge a thing by its cover. This slimy gross looking flesh actually tasted amazing.

    "Uhhm... it''s delicious" I responded to her, not knowing whether she understood my words or not.

    Her eyes widened, a glint of surprise flashed through.

    She pulled my hand toward her and placed the rest of her meat onto my hand. Then, she nodded lightly while staring at me intently. I pushed it back to her knowing that she enjoyed eating it too. But, she insisted about giving her portion to me. Actually, it was too much, I didn''t think I could finish it all myself.

    "It''s okay... You can eat it" I tried talking to her. I have a feel that she might understand what I was speaking.

    She stopped pushing and stared at me again. As if she was deeply touched, she frowned her brows and her eyes sparkled. Once again, she pushed me while smiling sheepishly with an extended strength. This time, she shoved me too hard and caused me to stumbled to the side. I was staggered and then fell down unsightly.

    "Hh!" I groaned a bit in reaction to the jolt of pain that I felt through my stomach.

    That girl immediately stood up from the rock she sat and then quickly ran to my side. She looked at me with concern plastered on her face. I slid my hand and covered the area where it hurt. Trying to suppress the pain, when knowing it was actually a futile. It was hurting only for a moment. I had already felt fine by now.

    But then, she startled me by pulling my hand away, uncovering my stomach. Then she took a deep breath, looking at the wound seriously. She raised one of her hand and put it on top of it. After that, she closed both of her eyes. Her palm felt familiar.

    She whispered and hummed in a weird voice, it was definitely not a human language. The air around her started to change. As if the nearby air was circling around, the fluffy shoulder length hair of her floated and her cloth danced in the air. It was a heavenly sight.

    A moment later, from her palm seeped out streaks of glowing blue light, slowly encircling the wound. The light was warm upon contact on my skin. It was soothing and comfortable. The bruise on my skin faded in a steady speed. The tingling sensation on my stomach was gone. The discoloration on the skin vanished, as if it was never there before. I was now fully recovered.

    That girl retracted her hand back to her chest, then she shifted her eyes toward mine. I didn''t know how should I react. By now, I had realized that she was the person who healed my wound when I was still unconscious. She was the one who saved my life. I am one hundred percent sure that she is the one. The feeling she gave when she was healing me. It was exactly the same as before.

    "Hhnn!" She gave me her brightest grin.

    While I was dumbfounded by the magic she just displayed.

 Chapter 12: Underwater Fireflies

    "Uuumm?" That girl tilted her head and some of her hair fell down to her cheek. She looked at me, puzzled.

    That girl, who just healed me with some sort of magic, stood on her feet, while I was still sitting on the ground. Staring at her with bewildered thought. I couldn''t move past my mind from what had just happened. When the mysterious light which was emanated from her palm, shrouded the wound with that blue warm light, my wound had fully recovered. She made it look easy as a piece of cake.

    What she displayed was definitely magic. The magic that was only existed on the books and movies. The magic that existed only in fairy tale stories. The magic that was played in games and read in manga. It happened right in front of me. I saw it clearly with both of my eyes. I''ve experienced it on myself. There was no mistake, it was a real deal.

    I recollected myself, stopped showing her what might be a dumbfounded expression on my face. Then, I crouched on both legs, stood up and facing her. I shouldn''t let my guard down. Even though she looked like a harmless child, moreover, she saved me. But, a stranger still a stranger. I need to gather information from her. First, I need to know if she can understand what I said.

    That girl happily went back to her rock seat and sat down. She hunched her back while both hands placed behind her. She straightened her legs and swung them up and down respectively. Like a happy child. I moved back to the rock I formerly sat on. I glanced at the smashed flat flesh that I accidentally threw and mashed upon I fell onto the ground. My stomach rumbled from the sight of it.

    I peeked at the girl. But, she was looking at my face too. So, the peeking was futile. I was glad that she didn''t go berserk knowing that I wasted the food she gave me. I need to start a conversation with her. Who know what she might be able to tell me.

    "Thank you... for saving my life" I spoke with both eyes looking straight into hers. Observing her every little movement.

    She stopped swinging her leg and laid her feet flat onto the ground. She leaned forward and face on my side. Then, she replied my gaze with her big blue eyes. Her head nodded and she gave me a smile.

    Does she understand?

    I rotated myself to front facing her.

    "What''s your name?" I asked but was immediately responded by a puzzled expression from her.

    While showing me that confused expression, she started to look at me intently, trying to figure out what I mean. She frowned her brows, squinted her eyes and slightly tilted her head. Seeing her reaction, an Idea flashed through my mind. I raised my hand up, curled my forefinger and pointed the finger tip toward myself. I cleared my throat.

    "Shi...ra...tsu...ki" I slowly spelled my name out while pointing at myself repeatedly.

    Her eyes suddenly widened and her brows hunched up. I can see that she was listening. She mulled over it for a few seconds. But then, she raised her hand and pointed at me.

    "Seeyacookie!!" She repeated my name wrong but she was excited. At least now I know that she was capable of speaking something other than ''uuuhm'' and ''uuu''.

    I shook my head and continue enunciating each syllable slowly.

    "Shi.......ra.......tsu......ki"

    She pondered for a second but now giving me a discouraged expression. She knew that she had spelled it wrong. Even so, she bravely tried and gently voiced out again.

    "Iyaacoo...kiee?" As if she feared about giving me an incorrect answer, her tone of voice was tuned down. She patiently waited for my next reaction while looking at me with her puppy eyes.

    Ahh... I guess that this ''Shiratsuki'' was a bit too mouthful for her.

    I changed my mind.

    "Yuu..." I pointed at myself again while slowly pronouncing my given name.

    "Yuu?" She quickly repeated to what I said but still with a careful tone laced to it.

    I nodded at her, as she seemed to understand what a nod implies. She stood up straightaway after I gave her the nod. Then, she excitedly thrust her hand out with her forefinger pointing toward me.

    "Yuu!!" She loudly repeated my name again, then she happily jumped around and circling me. She might have an abnormal appearance, but she was just a child after all. Seeing her behavior had almost made me forgot the crazy strength and the eyes opening magic she displayed before.

    I cleared my throat to gained her attention back. She heard the sound I made and stopped jumping around. With that chance, I gently raised my hand and pointed at her.

    "What is your name?" I repeated the question that she previously confused with.

    She listened and looked at me closely. Then, she contemplated at my hand gestures. She pondered for a bit. Eventually, she made a small ''oohh'' mouth shape and glanced back at me. She moved her hand and placed it on top of her chest.

    "Elly!" Laced with a cheerful tone, she finally told me her name.

    I honestly thought of a possible chance that she might have not known or didn''t have a name. But, luckily, she got one. So, I didn''t have to think of a name to call her. Now that I have an easy way to call on her. I will further wring out bits of information.

    "Elly... Can you tell me how did you get me into this cave?" I pointed at her and then I pointed at myself, trying to give her something to think with. Hoping that she would understand.

    But as expected, that question was too much for her. She gave me a straight poker face, implying that she didn''t understand any bit of it. Next, she threw me a wry smile, showing that she had trouble interpreting that.

    As I thought, she didn''t understand my words. But, she was clever enough to guess what I mean from the tone of my voice and the movement of my body. She has a good observing skill. So, we started our gesture guessing play.

    I stood up from my seat and started acting. She was eagerly watching me as if watching a show. I pointed at myself at first, then I pointed at the lake while trying to imagine and acted as if I was drowning. Last I circled my hand around the wound that was supposed to be there if not healed. At the end, I hunched my shoulder up with both arms on my side and palms facing up. ¡°How?¡± I added a word with a questioning tone.

    Elly folded her arms to her chest and mulled over it. Then she moved her hand as if she already knew what I was trying to say.

    ¡°Uhhmmm¡­. Yuu...¡± She talked with her usual ¡®uhm¡¯ but now added with my name.

    With that tiny little figure of her, she imitated my drowning act and then quickly moved her feet to the other side as if looking at her previous stance, she raised both her hands and whispered what seemed to be a spell but not in a human language. It was indeed some kind of language, but in a different frequency range than how a normal human usually does. Streaks of blue light started to appeared and swirled magically in front of her palms.

    A big transparent bubble formed out of the light and now floating in front of her palm. The bubble swayed for a moment and then popped in the air. After that, Elly retracted her hands and looked at me straight. She showed me another of her magic skill.

    But, it didn¡¯t shock me anymore. What was driving me right now was the urge to explore the yet unknown knowledge to me. How did the magic form? For a bubble made out of nowhere, it was still an unbelievable sight to see. But, what was the purpose of the bubble? I didn¡¯t get what she was trying to say.

    Elly puffed her cheek as she knew that I was clueless about what she just did. She came closer and yanked on my right arm. She dragged me away with a strength of an adult even though she has a figure of a child. Then, she stopped right next to the lakeside. My feet were just an inch away the edge.

    My instinct told me that something awful is going to happen. I stared at the lake in front of me. The lake seemed to be deep and it was dark under the surface. I couldn''t see what''s might be lurking inside the lake from my whereabout. But the lake surface was peculiarly calm. I stepped my foot back to add distance between myself and the unearthly lake.

    I turned to look at Elly, who was currently tip toeing up and down on her feet, staring at the lake intently. Then, she glanced at me. She put up an unexpected evil smirk on her mouth which fiercely rang the warning alarm in my mind. In a bat of an eye, she forcefully thrust her hand toward my chest. She pushed me with the strength that I couldn''t resist in time. I lost track of the ground and fell straight to the lake while front facing her. Elly had the sheepishly smirk on her face while I was falling down.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Splaaasshhhhh

    My whole body had submerged into the cold lake, head pointing down. The chilly cold water covered all over my skin and started to crawl their way into my nostrils. I didn''t collect long enough breath to hold inside the lake. My mouth started to blow some bubbles up. I kicked in the water with my legs and swung my hands in confusion. Did I ever say that I couldn''t swim?

    It was the consequence for letting my guard down beside her. I should have run away at the moment she dragged me to the lakeside. But, where could I go? I didn''t even sense any malign from her except she was the actress of the year. She even saved my life and showed me concern. Never had I guessed that she will try to drown me. Even though she was the one who pulled me out of the lake. Why would she push me into the lake now? Maybe she was trying to show me something that I couldn¡¯t comprehend yet. Maybe because of the flesh I mashed onto the ground. Who know how a little girl¡¯s mind work, moreover an abnormal one to be precise.

    The lake was dim and dark. I could barely see things, but I knew that the lake bottom was deep. At the moment when my little attempt of swimming up to the surface had ceased. The flow of the water around me suddenly moved in sync as if something brushing pass me. That unknown thing swooshed and circling my pathetic self. I can sense it with how the water moved around me.

    I am drowning and now, a monster?

    It stopped circling and floated in front of me in the dark. Slowly, a light emanated from the shadow. The light was swirled into a circle and then became a glowing bubble. That bubble floated toward the currently powerless me and plunged into my chest.

    As if I was enlightened, the pressure on my chest faded and the lung that had been crying out for air had calmed down. I didn''t breathe, but I could feel the breath itself. No air was inhaled or exhaled from both my mouth and my nose. But, the air had already circulated my lung. I pressed on my chest and awkwardly trying to gasp for the air. But, the water came in as I opened my mouth so I shut it tight. It was awkward and eerie. That was the first time in my life to be alive and not breathing.

    The next second, a bigger bubble was formed by the unknown shadow, which I had already guessed who. The big glowing bubble glanced on Elly''s little smiling face. Then with both her hands, she scattered out the bubbles into hundreds of tiny glowing bubbles. The glowing little bubbles floated across us. Spread all over inside this lake, flying like the summer fireflies, but they were brighter and more, breathtaking.

    Still haven''t got used to this not breathing way of a ''breath''. I keep both my hands on my chest closely as if feared for running out of the air in my lung. Elly swim closer to me, with some glowing bubbles reflected on her face. She chuckled when she saw my reaction. Later on, she grabbed on my wrist and she turned around. Slowly dragging me into an underwater tunnel. The next moment, she speeded away so fast that I was jerked forward by the force, even though we were clearly underwater. Wait, something seemed to be off.

    Elly was pulling my hand with one of hers and another hand laid leisurely at her side. Then, how did she ''swim''? As we were moving away from the previous spot. The glowing bubbles faded far away. Elly moved her hand and made another big bubble that hit herself alongside the speed. The hundreds glowing bubble were scattered when hitting her tiny figure. Some bubbles stick to her and exposed herself in the glowing blue light.

    A fin... tail?!

    What was supposed to be a pair of her thin little legs had gone. A fully-fledged tail of a fish had extended from her waist down like it has always been there. It was naturally placed as a part of her body. She flicked her tail up and down, fanning at the water, speeding through this tunnel.

    Elly is a mermaid...?

    At that point, when I thought that I would no longer be surprised of what she did. Once again, she had succeeded putting me in awe. She was a child full of surprise. Or, maybe I should say that ''this world'' is full of surprises. I couldn''t imagine the next event that would eventually happened to me. Although the chances will be about encountering another danger, but somehow, my heart thumped excitedly at the thought of discovering more fantasy being. As if I have yearned for this in my whole life.

    Maybe, I can get her to lead me outside of this cave. The possible of being sent into another world still short a whole forty percent. It could be that this dungeon like maze of caves were just another mysterious location that haven''t been uncovered in ''my world''. But, the higher chance leaned more to the fantasy guesses. Everything that had happened since the start at here never had made any sense. Especially the magic which defied the law of physic. This place was unlikely a part of ''my world''.

    The eternal long tunnel had finally ended. We swam into another lake connected to the previous one. It was a brighter lake. I could almost see clearly underwater. I spotted some unknown weird fishes and some weird colored plants grew on the lake bottom. Elly released my hand and left me to float aimlessly. She slowly flipped her tail up to the lake surface.

    I, the once who didn''t know how to swim, can finally calmly think through about how to push myself up in the water. The thought of knowing that I wouldn''t run out of breath had gave me a courage to try myself. I slowly swing my legs imagining the way a swimmer does on television. I stretched my arms forward and then opened my arms apart as if dividing the water. Steadily, I learned how to swim myself up. I followed Elly on her tail.

    "Fuwaa!" The moment I plopped my head out of the water, the air came into me fiercely. When I had just adapted to the no breathing breath, I was thrown into disorder again. The sudden hale of air got me shocked. I lost the balance I''ve just learned underwater. Now, splashing on the surface like an idiot.

    Elly noticed me and quickly swished over to me. She pulled me over to the rocky shore and placed my hand on top of the reachable rock surface. Now that I have something to hold on, my mind was cleared again. I turned my head and looked at Elly.

    "Yuu?" She tilted her head with that peculiar hair, which was sliding down the water, eventually left her hair dry and fluffy in just a few seconds. It was a sight that I won''t be get to use to in a short time.

    I gave her a smile, but it turned out to be a wry kind of smile. I guess I was not okay with all of that.

    I looked around upon the new cave we arrived in. This cave was greener then the previous caves. What I mean by ¡®green¡¯ is that there were lot of plants inside this cave. Of course, those were not the plants that I recognize. I was not a botanist. But, I know that no trees grow blue foliage. Especially when the color of the bark was tinted in dark blue. Though they had the shape of a normal tree. In addition, there were lots of dark colored shrubs spread across the cave grounds. The soil looked especially smooth and dark in here.

    I glanced back at Elly who was pushing herself up into the shore. Exposing her shiny emerald colored mermaid tail, she sat on the edge of the shore while flipping her tail and sprinkled drops of water out of her tail. It was dry in just three flicks. After that, speckled of blue light gleamed and covered her whole tail. The light was so dazzling that it blinded my eyes for a sec. I blinked my eyes while the light went away and that pair of legs returned to her just like that. She never stopped surprising me.

    She stood up on her feet like a normal child. Then, she walked and faced me. One of her hand stretched down. Knowing what she means, I reached to her hand and let her pulled me up to the ground. While I was soaking wet from top to bottom. Elly seemed to have almost dried up herself except for her clothing.

    Not giving me a chance to wring my cloth dry, she immediately dragged me to follow her stride, toward the tallest tree in the cave. Previous event taught me that caves in here were a dangerous place. I threw my sight wildly across the horizon, trying to catch any living movement. But, seemed like the cave was not habited. That''s what I thought. In reality, by the time we reached underneath the tallest tree, I was immediately proven wrong.

    At the side of the tree, a big black bush arranged into a bird nest shape, laid a lot of that big green striped eggs. Cold sweat started to form as I saw the eggs which I once tasted and ate. Thinking about the size of the eggs made my heart thumped and my mind went blank.

    What kind of monster that could laid that size of eggs?

 Chapter 13: Cute and Deadly

    Currently in my sight, the big black shrub nest, similar to a bird nest, with height equal to the top of my head. Built exactly at the side of the tallest tree in this cave. From afar, the nest looked just like another shrub but larger in size. The thought of it being a nest had never crossed in my mind. It was only when our distances were narrowed down and the top of the eggs peeked out.

    "Uumuu!!" Elly released me from her grip and quickly moved forward on her own. She cheerfully bounced her way there, while not showing any sign of fear at all.

    I had become wary about my surrounding since I learned about the nest. Once again, I darted my eyes vigilantly and travelled every corner of this unusually long cave. The ceiling was so high up that no one would be able to reach without having a wing sprout on its back. Trees that grow in the cave were so tall that people might briefly assumed that the trees were thin, but in fact, the trunk of those trees were remarkably thick. And there was some white fog covered a few parts of the ceiling, as if they were clouds. It gave the cave an otherworldly feeling to it.

    The cave has a shape resembled to a rectangular aquarium. All four corners were almost straight up. Both the ground and the ceiling were strangely aligned. It was almost a perfect rectangular if not for the constantly uneven ground and those stalagmites that protruded from the ceiling. If I was told to describe this cave in a word, it will be a ''forest''. A fantasy looking forest to be precise, as the bright light that gleamed on the cave had that hint of blue and purple glow.

    Elly had reached by the side of the black shrub nest. The height of the nest had totally overwhelmed her, but she easily sprang on her feet and jumped over to the top. She landed effortlessly, stood on the tightly built black shrub nest and hopped down to its center. I couldn''t see her from where I stood. I glanced to left and right again, briefly assumed that there were no monsters lurking around. Whatever that owned the eggs should have a size of a giant. So, I moved closer to the nest. One hand clutching on the shrub.

    "Elly...?" I called on her name, just to make sure that she was still there.

    She didn''t reply to my call but I can hear the noises she made inside the nest. She was constantly rustling and moving within the nest. Without further waiting, I hooked my hands on the edge and slowly climbed my feet on the branches that wrapped around the shrub, acted as a ground to step. I pulled myself up over to the edge.

    A dozen of eggs were thrown to my sight. Those big green striped eggs were gathered in the center of the nest, tilted left and right. Elly was tying some of the eggs with a long thick rough looking vine. She tied it in a nice-looking knot. Unexpectedly good enough to hold three giant eggs together. I honestly thought that she will be munching on the eggs right on spot. But, she seemed to be preparing to move some eggs away from the nest.

    "Yuu!" She noticed me after the eggs were neatly tied together.

    Some of the eggs beside her had been cracked open, empty inside, I wondered if that was her doing. Elly seemed to be quite familiar with this cave. She might have been visiting the eggs quite often to feed on them. Now, it makes me wonder, how long has she been staying in the cave? Does she live with her mermaid family in the caves? Are there other mermaids in these caves? I crouched down and stroked at the shell of the egg. It was unexpectedly velvety smooth when I touched. I kept stroking at the egg while mulling over the unanswered questions.

    Slluurrrrppp!!

    I have only taken a few seconds off her and now she had already cracked an egg open, dwelled her head into the crack, feet on toes and slurping down the gross slimy substance as if drinking a yummy soup. I honestly thought that she won''t be feasting on the spot, but she eventually did it. I couldn''t understand the way her mind worked at all. And why would she need to tie the eggs?

    Elly raised her head up with the transparent slime plastered all over her mouth. She flicked her tongue out and swipe at the corner of her mouth clean. It wasn''t a good manner but her cute face overwhelmed her sloppy trait. People will forgive her for the adorable expression she constantly made and for her sparkling blue eyes. And that fluffy light blue hair too.

    Elly waved her hand, beckoned me to come over and join her. But I shook my head to refuse her offer. She puffed her cheek for a sec but then she dwelled her head in once again and the slurping sound started. To be honest, I didn''t think that eating in a nest of an unknown monster was a good idea. I will let her finish that one and get her to leave the nest immediately. I¡¯ve been getting eerie feeling since earlier. My instinct has been keen recently and I didn¡¯t like it.

    I walked to the other side of the nest, crouched down and sat on the edge with both legs hanging down. Then, I gaze upon the sight that I had never seen in my life. I fed my eyes with all the unknown flora, trying to guess the closest kind of the plant I knew to those surreal looking plants. There were orange mushrooms with spiky head covered the bottom of the tree trunk. Tawny vines crawled all over the trunk surface to the end of the branches of those trees which resembled the redwood trees in my knowledge. But the trees in this cave were colored blue. And they were way taller than the redwoods. If we compared, I was an ant beside those humongous trees. I tilted my head further up to view at the top of the tallest tree beside me. The end of the tree was so high up away and it was hazy at the top. I couldn¡¯t really see clearly because of the patches of fog that were swirling on the air above.

    Unexpectedly, it was a bit windy inside this cave. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the slight breeze from within the cave. Despite the weird color the plants here got, the air smelled as fresh as a forest in the morning. Could it be that the exit was closer than I had expected? At the end of the cave does have a big cracked hole that lead into another tunnel. But before advancing, there was something I wanted to make sure first. I will need Elly to guide me there. For now, I will try to relax for a bit and enjoy hearing to the gently rustling sound made from the shrubs brushing by the wind, in addition of Elly''s slurping and munching sound of course.

    But then, it was starting to get strange. The wind was getting stronger. My hair swayed all over the place and the shrubs around me rustled wildly because of it. Somehow the wind I had enjoyed became ominous. It was not natural. The direction of the wind came from on top of the nest. As if something massive was hovering above it, flapping the fierce wind upon us. I tilted my head and gazed upon the empty space above me. Though weird, I did feel something was hovering above us. I could faintly hear the sound of a wing flapping on the air, while nothing appeared to be on sight.

    SCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

    Followed by a bash of wind, pulling all the foliage toward the direction of the ear-piercing scream. I stumbled upon the blast and fell backward. Eyes searching on the source of the sound while my back bounced on the nest. Elly leapt to the air, landed sharp at the edge of the nest with a stance braced for upcoming impact. Her tiny little back stood there unwavering, her blue fluffy hair fluttered with the wind and she snarled while exposing her cute canine teeth. Her usual adorable expression had changed abruptly.

    I rolled and crouched on my feet with hand thumped onto the ground, being wary for a monster that I couldn''t see yet. The ear-piercing screech still echoing thunderously in this huge cave. My ears were ringing and I couldn''t hear any sound other than the screech. I couldn''t find any monster in the sight. Not around the nest and not above it too. But, Elly seemed to know what we''re facing. She had her gaze viciously fixed on a point where I saw nothing.

    "Elly! Run!!" I shouted at her tiny back, trying to get her to stop exposing herself to danger. She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes but completely ignored me. She turned back and deeply inhaled, chest inflated and she opened her mouth.

    WOOOONNGGGGGGG

    She replied with an equally loud piercing scream, in a sound wave similar to whale cry that no human could possibly produce. The transparent sound wave briefly distorted the sight I was seeing, the ground vibrated and the shrub shaking uncontrollably from the scream. I tightly pressed and blocked my ears to suppress the ear-piercing scream from further creeping in. But, it was futile. My head felt like splitting and my vision blurred for a sec.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The visible transparent sound waves travelled the cave in a speed of light and broke once it hit on matters. One of the wave hit on a transparent being that seemed to be hovering on the air. It roared from the shock. Slowly, from the middle to all over its body, the monster dispersed from the invisibility and revealed its almighty form.

    Shiny, rich, iridescent blue feathers with emerald sheen flaunting gorgeously when glanced on the light. Those feathers adorned its majestic looking wing that has the length of a truck. Its head was similar to a hawk-eagle but adorned with two long antenna-like golden feathers, swinging in sync as the monster flapping its wing. The claws on its feet were painted with the same golden color and seemed to be sturdy and strong. The body of the monster was big enough to fully cover the nest if it brooded on it. Which made sense, as the eggs seemed to be laid by it. The glow of the cave flaunted its elegant form perfectly on the air. It was a breathtaking sight to me.

    Tension raised up high in the air, it has become a gauging competition between the giant flying monster and the small fearless Elly. She had just provoked the monster with her own roar, one of the reason might be to expose its body. The monster glanced at its nest. Then, it threw its angry stare back to Elly, who didn¡¯t feel any guilt for breaking the eggs at all. That flying monster flapped its wing forward as the body jerked backward. Next, it spread its wing open, beat the wings down and speeded up high to the air. Seeing the monster flaring up in the air, I quickly climbed up onto the edge to where Elly stood.

    "Come with me! Elly!" I yanked Elly on her arm trying to pull her away from that place, every second counted, with eyes frequently glancing above. Despite that, she didn''t move even an inch from her entrenched stance with both eyes still sharply locked on that monster. She didn''t budge at all. She ignored me and keep staring at the currently high up in the air monster, shrouded by the fog at the cave ceiling, ready to pounce down. "Elly!" I shouted at her but she didn¡¯t react. So, I stopped pulling on her arm and helplessly watched at her snarling face.

    What should I do??

    The monster screeched again and I covered my ears on reflex with eyes shifted instantly to it. The monster threw itself straight down with head pointed at us, uncovered itself from the fog. In a speed I couldn''t follow. Elly stomped one foot back while she swung her hand into a fist. No fear could be sensed from her.

    The monster brought a gust of raging wind as it inched closer to us. I squinted my eyes from the blasting wind and unconsciously crossed my arms in front of my face, as if it will protect me from the impact. Elly leapt up at the same time the monster had opened its beak wide to greet us. She landed her tiny fist onto the head of the monster, causing a blast of force that exploded during contact, the monster was thrusted straight and trashed to a tree further away. The trunk split and tilted to one side because of the impact, but the flinched monster was still alive and kicking. It barely regained its balance and hovered at place. Its golden eyes glinted with fury.

    If that punch was landed upon a normal human, the head will be smashed right on the place, with the body staying still because of the abrupt speed and strength. Even though the punch was packed with exploding force, it didn''t inflict any visible damage to the monster. But, the punch did cause the monster to be taunted and it screeched ferociously toward us. Hearing the roar of the monster, Elly gritted her teeth. Not any hesitation shown on Elly''s little face, she leapt to the tree trunk, kicked and sprang from tree to tree which dented the trunk surface because of the force. Elly was jumping her way fast toward the monster. While I still stood nearby the nest, not knowing how to react.

    Far from the nest but still visible to the eyes, Elly had closed the distance between them. By the moment she reached the closest tree to that monster. She sprang straight from the tree and threw her kick directly toward the monster. But, it was dodged, barely. The kick landed on the already split trunk and the tree finally broke down from the second impact. Elly flipped on air and landed her feet on the closest tree. With her little feet, she moved up and sprinted vertically on the tree trunk with unfathomable speed. The monster flew up followed her with the equal speed, rotated its body and thrust its claw toward Elly but she dodged flawlessly while she jumped and flipped over the monster toward another tree behind it. She scrunched down as she landed on the trunk, gathered a bit of momentum and sprang with a strength that caused the trunk to be smashed apart, with a leg pointing toward the monster, she landed a kick on the head once again. The monster was sent straight down, hit the ground, the area was destroyed and the monster roared out of grimace.

    Not giving it a chance to recover, Elly continued, she landed on another nearby tree, kicked with all her might, she blurred straight down, flipped herself right above the monster and she stomped mercilessly at the thrashing monster, so powerful that it caused another earth-shaking explosion reverberating within the caves. The stalagmites on the ceiling shook wildly as if they were going to break and fall. Gust of dust caused by the impact flew all over the place with them at the center. The dust was thick enough to impede my vision. All I could hear was the scream of the monster while the earth shook every once in a while.

    In the next minute, the monster suddenly jerked up from the dust, flapping its injured wing but eventually crashed back to the ground. It turned its helpless face toward Elly, who was walking leisurely out from the gust of dust. The monster quivered, fear had engraved in its eyes. With the broken wing, it could no longer soar to the sky nor escape. The monster was troubled but still didn''t throw its hope away. It stood once again with pompous chest and head up glaring bravely at the tiny Elly. From a glance, Elly might have looked like a worm to the monster, but in reality, the monster was no match for Elly. The monster once again turned its body invisible, hoping to raise the chance of survival.

    While I couldn¡¯t see the monster. Elly kept walking with her eyes fixed on one place as if the invisibility didn¡¯t happen at all. While invisible, the monster threw its attack and caused the ground to be trashed all over but Elly dodged with ease, even though the attacks was supposed to be invisible. She sprang from left, right, and to left and right again while dodging and closing the distance to the deliberate invisible monster. Elly leapt forward intended for another merciless kick but the monster successfully blocked her attack. The impact caused its invisibility to dispersed.The monster was pushed aback with one claw on the air, which it used to block her attack and staggered with another claw balancing its body on the ground.

    Continuing her attack, Elly leapt toward the monster before it regained its footing, but this time, her leg was radiated with a blue glowing light probably imbued with magic. As if teleporting, she blinked forward and landed a powerful spin kick straight on its abdomen in a speed of lightning. The monster spurted black blood from its beak and was sent straight to the furthest east cave wall. Its body was forcefully thrust through layers of trees across the cave with unfaltering speed.

    Trees in between Elly and the monster were shattered and smashed down. The monster crashed straight onto the cave wall and mashed flat from the crash before it slid down to the ground. It was the end for that monster. I put all my strength onto my feet and started sprinting toward Elly. She jumped into a distance branch and stared emotionless at the dying monster. Speckled of blood painted on her face, her blue eyes glistened like a bloodthirsty predator.

    The once gorgeous looking monster had thrown into a bloody mess. Blood spurting out from its teared open flesh, the lustrous blue feathers were now stained with its own black blood, the majestic wings of it had broken into pieces, it was not a shape of a wing supposed to have. It was a sight painful to see. The monster squealed in agony because of the faint consciousness it still maintained in that gruesome state. Elly casually leapt from branch to branch toward the monster and eventually reached by its side. She moved closer and clenched her fist. The sparkle on her blue eyes vanished and she was about to throw another deadly punch to that dying monster. I didn''t like what I was going to see.

    "Elly!! Stop!" I ran with uncontrolled breath while shouting at her. But, she didn''t hear my voice, her powerful fist thrust straight, shattered the skull of the monster, blood splattered like a firework, the inside was scattered all over the place. The monster''s head had been crushed into pulp and the body stopped moving from the absent of its brain. It was the end of its life. I was staggered at the moment she landed that fist. Even though the monster was obviously dead. Elly didn''t stop. She drew her fist again. Shadow covered her face. My throat was bubbling hot. And my body seemed to be strangely contained with energy.

    "ELLY!!"

    My voice reverberated within the cave. I almost choked from the shout I yelled out by myself. Similar to the one Elly screamed previously, the sound travelled with a visible transparent waves that slightly distorted the view, to all over the cave in a lightning speed. I was surprised. But, it did abruptly stopped Elly from throwing another fist. So, I will think about that later.

    Elly turned her emotionless face toward the direction of the sound. In a sec, she looked like as if she didn''t recognize me. But then, the light gradually returned to her eyes, a smile was put on her face, she retracted her hand while turning her body facing me. Elly had returned to her usual self.

    "Yuu?" She tilted her head while looking at me, her face spotted with blood, her hand was coated all black and still dripping fresh blood. She raised that bloody hand and waved at me cheerfully. "Yuu... Yuu!!" She jumped on place happily with the gruesome body of the monster by her side. I noticed that there were still some slimy substances around her mouth, which was from the egg that was laid by the monster she just brutally killed. The monster was just protecting its eggs. I felt bad for the monster. But, still, we need to survive too. I didn''t think Elly''s doing was wrong. It''s just, that the way she ended it, was a bit hard to swallow.

    She grinned happily while showing her teeth from ear to ear. I forced a smile back at her. What just happened had deeply etched in my mind.

    Elly is not someone that I should provoke with no reason.

 Chapter 14: Impulse

    The area where they fought ended up in a mess. Giant trees collapsed, the cave wall where the monster crashed, crumbled into a giant dent. Little Elly who stood beside the dead body, starting to walk toward me, she sploshed across the pool of blood that was flowing from the monster while looking straight at me. Even though she seemed to have returned to her usual self, seeing her walking straight to me with her blood-soaked hand, it made me feel a bit flustered.

    No cut could be seen from her pale skin, she seemed to be perfectly fine. But, when she moved closer. She wobbled on her feet and dropped down. I dashed to her side, caught her right before she touched the ground. I carried her on my arms while kneeling. Her eye blinked tiredly at me, even though she just flashed me a smile not long ago.

    "Elly?? What''s wrong?" I shook her body a bit, trying to get her awake.

    Elly weakly shook her head, but then she uttered, "Yuu..." She beckoned to get my face down. When our face was aligned, she looked at me not blinking, her thick dark blue lashes didn¡¯t moved even a bit while gazing into me, drawing me into her big blue eyes. I couldn¡¯t move my eyes away as if I was paralyzed. Elly raised both her hand and then she suddenly grasped my head at both side. She pulled my forehead, touching hers. A golden light glowed on our forehead, simultaneously, a faint shock felt through my temple and eventually travelled toward every corner of my body. It was a light fluffy feeling at first.

    I have no idea about what she''s doing. I peeked at Elly, her brows furrowed and her face looked troubled. Suddenly, a different shock flowed through my forehead. The shock got more intense as time passed. My instinct viciously urged me to withdraw but I couldn¡¯t, not because she held my head tight, but because I simply couldn¡¯t move my body. My movements were restrained, my body wouldn''t listen to me. Elly whispered. The moment she moved her lips, the shock pierced again. Then, a voice resonated in my skull.

    [¡°I''m sorry Yuu, please endure...¡±]

    The shock increased, my heart hammered wildly, I can feel my blood flowing in sync. Especially on the chest, it was bubbling hot and stuffy. Something in me seemed to be pulled out forcefully by her. As if she was drawing the energy out from me, simultaneously, Elly regained the healthy flush on her cheek every sec. Wild guesses were running through my mind.

    Is she sucking my life force out?

    I tried my hardest to move my hands or legs, but I couldn''t. It was so uncomfortable, as if I was standing at the edge of a steep cliff, hands and legs tied, with sandstorm behind me. After a minute of suffering, Elly finally pushed me away. I jerked backward at the same moment Elly had let me loose. The uncomfortable feeling abruptly disappeared. She¡¯s still looking at me though, constantly smiling at me, not explaining. She adjusted herself upright, then she sat on her knees. She beamed her usual smile like nothing ever happened.

    "Thank you!" She spoke with a weird accent to it.

    I did remember myself saying that word to her. But still, I was amazed by her learning curves. It won''t be hard to teach her how to speak my language as she seemed to instantly remember every word I had ever said. She is a quick learner. But then, why did she thank me? And what was that just happened?

    Wait... she sucked my life force out, didn''t she?

    She was wobbling weak before, but now, she seemed to be fine enough to throw another deadly kick. I groped all over my body. Trying to find anything that might had gone wrong, but everything seemed to be perfectly fine. I stood up from my position, once again examining myself throughout. My stamina was the same as before.

    Sigh... Nothing seemed to be out of place

    I looked at Elly again, wanted to throw a question but then was taken aback by a flash of how she smashed that monster head apart. I gulped down my cluttered thought, calmed myself down again. I shouldn''t be agitated.

    "Welcome" I replied to her thank. I was fine, so, I will let it pass first. Hopefully, I will be able to get a full explanation of what she took from me. I felt it, she did draw something out from me. It was a mysteriously familiar feeling, but I couldn''t describe it well myself. Lastly, I seemed to recall hearing her telling me to endure on the process. But, it couldn''t be from her, because that would have contradicted with the fact that she didn''t know how to talk in my language. I didn''t remember ever saying any of those words to her.

    Ahh... so many questions

    All left unanswered, the questions kept piling up high in the back of my mind. But for now, I will just keep myself close to this super strength girl while slowly gaining information as we explore the caves. Speaking of that, there was one place I need her to escort me. Before I could open my mouth, Elly turned her back to me and started moving forward, heading to where the nest placed. It was now an uninhabited nest.

    I followed Elly, strode over the roots, weaved over the shrubs, moving forward to the nest. The forest had returned to its previous tranquil atmosphere. By the time we reached the nest, Elly hopped into it and I waited for her at the ground. Another second, Elly jumped to the edge of the nest with three giant eggs over her head. Blocking the light from above, shadow casted upon her face. She looked at me while grinning. Seemed to be contented. She jumped down and immediately sprinted. I was surprised, but still I followed her.

    Sigh...she never stopped moving

    "Yuu! Come!" She casually ordered me to follow her, talking with that weird accent of her again, but it was cute coming out from her mouth.

    We started walking toward the big vertical cracked tunnel at the north of the cave, with Elly holding her eggs up high above her head.

    Wouldn''t she feel heavy? Should I help?

    I clutched my hands around the eggs, trying to lift them. I pulled and pushed at the load.

    Uhm...But... they didn''t seem to move any bit?

    "Yuu?" Elly voiced out a question, she tilted the eggs away together with her head to front facing me, shadow left her face. I was shocked by how easily she could move with the heavy load above her. Not mentioning about lifting the eggs, I can''t even budge the eggs from her grip. I retracted my hand.

    ¡°Nope... nevermind¡± I mumbled and ashamed of myself. I honestly thought that I could lift that load, but it seemed I was too naive.

    She moved the eggs back, up over her head and continue walking straight, hopped over any obstacles blocking her way. That three eggs were just three balloons for her. It was a long walk to the end of the cave, by the time we reached the tunnel. I was panting from the fatigue, while Elly was perfectly fine.

    The otherworldly forest scenery had finally left my sight, we were walking inside another underground tunnel. Elly was leading the way at the front. She was humming a cheerful tone while she were moving. I wondered where we are going. Hopefully not into another monster lair. My little heart would broke from the constant shock. And I didn¡¯t like the idea of letting Elly fought alone. Not that I could fight alongside her anyway. So, it was best to not encountering another danger. But, nobody knows what will happen next.

    I tilted my head up, looking at the ceiling of this tunnel. It was pretty high up. Almost as tall as the one I saw back at the first cave, where a Cerberus appeared. And I didn¡¯t ever wanted to see that monster again. We made a few turns in the tunnel, Elly did seem to be very familiar with the caves and tunnels. She might know where the exit is. I have started to miss the sunlight, even when I normally avoided exposing myself to it. Now, I honestly missed the warm feeling it radiated. The caves and tunnels were kind of cold after all.

    Elly suddenly stopped while I almost hit the eggs she held up high. I was alerted by her sudden change of behaviour, so I immediately walked to her side. She raised a brow up while squinting her eyes. She seemed to be focusing or sensing something, I don¡¯t know. A while after that, she suddenly leapt away in a speed I totally couldn''t catch up. I ran and chased on her gradually vanishing back.

    ¡°Elly?! What¡¯s wrong?¡± I called on her while running behind her distanced back. Eventually, we entered into another strange cave. This time, it was a cave full of sand, dunes, valley and canyon, but it was at least ten times larger than all the previous caves. I can¡¯t even see the border of this place. It was an underground dessert with extremely high up ceiling as if as high as the sky, the air felt so dry and cold when sniffed down to the throat. No wonder why the tunnel felt colder as we moved further in.

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    Elly shuffled into the limitless dessert, with that giant eggs held over her head. She sprang toward the west of the tunnel we just came out. Where a vast red canyon mountain area could be seen. It was difficult to run through the sand terrain that lightly sucked in my feet whenever I stomped down. Furthermore, the sand was damp.

    Elly jumped down off a steep cliff that cracked on the ground nearby the red canyon, I who couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it, was surprised by her action. When it reached my eyes, I was relieved to learn the fact that the bottom wasn¡¯t all that deep, probably five to seven meters deep with a stream of river lined across the bottom of the valley. The river seemed to be connected to all of the canyon area of this cave. As for this one, one end of the river was streaming into a small canyon cavern which was buried with the sand on the top, leaving only two meters tall of space. At the other side was a small stream of waterfall hung down from the edge of this steep valley. The upstream was connected to the canyon mountain.

    I ran down from the slanted rocky wall, climbed and jumped myself down. My feet landed heavily on the sand strewn rock surface. And my eyes were set on Elly, who was putting down her eggs by the side of those four black kittens, which have the size almost as big as an adult dog in my world. Each of the kitten had three crooked tails adorned with white fur at the end of the tail and the ears stood straight above their head. They had the fang of a white saber tooth protruded from their mouth. The fur on their chest was especially long, surrounded the neck like a lion.

    Even though they had a feature of a monster and seemed to be strong. The kittens were injured. They were laying down weakly, green eyes blinking slowly. The kittens wiggled their nose wildly when Elly approached them and they whined when they confirm it was Elly. Elly¡¯s eyes glinted with anger and she snarled as she listened to the whimpers of the kittens. Next, she glared and frowned her brows with fury.

    ¡°Elly? What happened?¡± I spoke as I got my self close to them. Elly¡¯s vicious snarl faded when she heard my voice. Then she turned her head to me. Her eyes gleamed wet. Her brows scrunched.

    ¡°Uuuuuu...¡± she let out a sorrowful groan as she glanced back at the kittens.

    I closely observed at these weak monster kitties, they had bite marks dug deep into their skin layers all over its body. Moreover, the exposed flesh was swelling up with purple coloured pus, as if poisoned. There was trail of blood all the way up the other side of the valley, where the big red rugged canyon blocked the horizon.

    Elly broke her eggs in one swoosh, she took out the flesh and immediately brought it near to the kitten¡¯s face, in hope to restore their stamina. The nose wiggled, the mouth was opened slightly but that¡¯s it. They were too battered to be able to swallow any food down through their throat.

    Elly tossed the flesh, she knelt down by the side of the biggest kitten. She laid her head down on its big furry body while hands hugged and lightly stroked around it, comforting the dying kitten. She closed her eyes, her lashes were soaked wet, but no tears seemed to be rolling down.

    Are these her pets?

    I had a thought that she might be bringing the eggs back to her family, but it seemed like I was wrong. Does she live alone in here? There was some dried shrub from the previous cave, built into a comfortable looking bed near the river cavern. It was made and built to the size that all four or more kittens could sleep snugly in it. If the kittens had the size of a big adult dog, what would be the size of their parent?

    Elly gave the kitten her last hug, then she moved back and she started trailing over the blood trails. She sprang on her feet and jumped over the other side of this crack, left me confused. In fact, I haven''t fully regulated my unruly breath from all the running from before, but still, I heavily moved my legs and followed after her.

    After a while of vigorous climb, I finally hooked my hand on the edge of the cliff valley and pulled my body up to the horizontal surface. While panting exhaustedly, I adjusted my position and started sprinting toward the blood trail, into the red sombre gateway. I rolled my eyes all over the place and secretly admired for the wind carved rock wall of the canyon inside.

    It was almost dead silence in this ravine path if not because of the sound made from my shoes hitting the rock and the puff I huffed out of my mouth. The trail of blood ended when I made a sharp turn at the end of this ravine, leaded to a vast opened area, where big patches of blood were splattered across the barren walls decorated with lot of holes. There, Elly stood in a stance braced for a fight.

    "Elly?" I called on her name. Her eyes fixed on the biggest hole at the north barren wall, where the outer area painted with colourful liquid which I assumed as blood, furthermore there were unknown flesh scattered to rot nearby that tunnel. It was clearly a lair of a ferocious monster. The hole reeked the smell of death.

    Behind the tunnel, bone cracking and wet squelching sound could be faintly heard if I focused on my hearing. Elly moved her legs steadily toward the nasty tunnel, sploshed over the rotted fleshes and burst a nose piercing stench. She dashed into the tunnel, her barefoot was tapping inside the tunnel and her back vanished into the dark. The hair on my skin were raised and the blood in me was curdling in tension.

    My legs froze like stone, while my mind processing the nasty scene spread in front of my sight. The spine-tingling silence struck again, I positioned myself into an unprofessional stance, as if I was a martial artist fighter, preparing myself for the upcoming impact.

    My eyes darted vigilantly toward every ominous feeling that creeped out from the holes on the barren rock walls. I stared deep inside the black holes, not blinking, somehow started to catch creepy critters feet tapping and crawling into my ears. I closed my eyes tight, trying to concentrate more. It was pitch black, I sniffed, my nose picked up the same deadly stench but then, further into the hole, the air from inside seemed to be moving irregularly.

    Hundreds... no... probably thousands of them... They are here!

    I opened my eyes, immediately greeted by the critters I was sensing. My instinct was proven to be true but not to be surprised nor celebrate. Tiny, slender, fury legs drumming out of those holes, creeping on the wall. Their black skin were creepy smooth and shiny, seemed to be squishy, with four slender furry legs supported each side of its body. Those were spiders with the body size of a basketball. They started swarming all over the wall, and scuttled into the ground. Escape was the first thing I thought of, I turned myself back but to only caught another swarm of crawling spiders, blocking the path I came from.

    The red barren rock wall was now covered by a blanket of moving black. The swarm slowly creeping in, I was force to move to the centre and got myself cornered. They were spread everywhere except the big tunnel Elly went in, as if not to block whatever that will be coming out of that eerie tunnel. Their eight eyes blinked separately, shining like a black pin heads and their mandibles clicked as they scuttled with those furry slender legs. They surrounded me but didn''t attack. The tunnel was the only path I could take. I blinked and squinted my eyes to focus. I stared at the tunnel where Elly is.

    Should I follow her? But it could be worse inside.

    The swarm keep increasing, the wall was totally black and not a space could be seen through them, except the ground I stand and the tunnel behind me.

    The once silence tunnel exploded with a loud earth-shaking sound, followed by a scream of a girl. I turned my head, a raging wind blasted out from the tunnel, altogether with a body crashing straight into the wall north of the tunnel. The blast messed the formation of the swarm, they are all over the place.

    "Hh!!" Elly shrieked while she dropped to the ground, the swarm avoided her, they scuttled and distanced away from Elly, simultaneously opened a path straight across from her, to me and to the tunnel.

    I batted my feet and rushed to Elly who had adjusted herself into a stance, she regained her balance while panting, her eyes looked troubled and a pinkie length cut could be seen on her left cheek, red blood rolled down. Elly swung her hand across her chest directing to me. She fixed her glaring eyes onto me.

    [¡°Move!!¡±]

    Her voice once again resonated in my head.

 Chapter 15: Eight Legged Crawler

    [¡°Move!!¡±]

    Huh? What was that? Did Elly just say move?

    She shifted her eyes to what¡¯s behind me. I turned my body aside to look at what Elly''s been glaring. Divided with blanket of moving blacks, from the tunnel, a thick, long, hairy leg with long sharp claw thrust out and jabbed on the rocky ground. It cracked the ground with its black claw as sharp as a blade which connected to its thick hairy leg. Followed by more of that creepy legs, moving its body out from the tunnel.

    It was a giant hairy spider. Coarse, unruly black hair covered part of its head and body with red shiny bulky eyes spotted all over it. They blinked respectively, with the size ranged from a tennis ball to a gym ball, randomly scattered. The body itself had a size of two cars lined horizontally, supported by four crooked hairy legs on each side. Two white grungy fangs protruded from its mouth, clicking like a scissor, each fang was covered with thousand spikes. It slowly creeped to the center, greeted by the swarm of spiders.

    Elly leapt and hauled me to her back as if carrying a livestock. I was confused by her action but I didn¡¯t have the time to resist. She ran to the side, kicked the ground and then suddenly leapt up to the air, the speed was astounding, my vision was blurred when she leapt. The next moment, she had already landed on top of the highest barren rock wall, where no swarm gathered yet.

    ¡°Yuu... here!¡± She stated as she leapt away, not giving me a chance to speak.

    I ran as she jumped down from the edge, she flipped on the air, one leg stretched out and pounded on the ground.

    BOOOOOMMMMMM!!

    With a stomp, the area shook, rocks on the wall slid, the sand at the area were blown away, exploding like a blooming flower. The rocky ground split and travelled to the Giant Spider. The swarms were clicking anxiously, they scuttled away from the center. The orangey rocky ground exposed into a round shape, where the giant spider and Elly stood while closely observing each other''s movement. All that commotion happened but the giant spider wasn¡¯t affected by her intimidation at all. It screeched out another monstrous wail and the moral of its swarms were back again.

    Elly snarled like a predator, no notice given, she sprang forward, jumped and pointed her force packed leg at the Giant Spider. As if predicted, the giant spider moved aside, easily dodged Elly¡¯s attack. The swarms started crowding at Elly, but she moved too fast for them. Only the giant spider could follow her blurring speeds.

    The giant spider leapt backward, while it was on the air, it spurted purple blobs, spitting straight to the ground where Elly was at the moment. Elly jumped and dodged the bubbling, sizzling blobs. The purple liquids melted the rocky surface on contact. The spider then landed at the wall nearby its tunnel, drumming its hairy legs around it. Not stopping, the spider once again spurted the acid blob toward the running Elly. Some of the smaller spiders got splashed and burned on place.

    There was nothing I can do to help her. All I did all the time was watching her fighting from high up, at the place that seemed to be free of the swarm. But, not for long. The hairy legs started peeking from the edge, then they creeped onto the surface, pulling its shiny black body up. More of them followed. The spiders had reached the ground where I stood.

    The ground I stood was only a thick wall across the canyon, behind me was another steep cliff far down to the rocky ground, in front of me was the area where Elly fights. The only route I can take was to go around to the other side of the wall where the rocky wall was much more slanted and can be descended. But, going down mean more swarms, which is not any better.

    The smaller spider jumped toward me, I swung my hand on reflex, but they clung onto my arm so tight, the claw on their legs tightly gripped me. I clenched at the spider with another hand, trying to pull its basketball sized slippery body away from me. The body was soft like I had expected from a glance. It felt creepily cold and spongy on touch. Another spider flung itself toward my leg, creeping up, sending shiver down to every of my spine. The spider on my hand jabbed its fang into my arm, instantly spread a burning sensation into my skin.

    I staggered, swinging the bitten arm wildly on the air. I pulled back my hand, fingers pointed straight and stiff, then I thrust them straight into the mushy body of the spider. The body burst, dark purple blood squirted and the hairy legs loosen. Then it fell to the ground upside down with quivering legs. My hand coated with its blood, it was hot and tingling, quite acidic but not to the stage where it could melt my skin.

    The spider on my leg scuttled up, jabbing its claw while moving. I raised both my hands, pointed at the spider straight and thrust into its body. The blood splattered and the pants I wore melted into holes. They were easy to kill but the bite was something else. The tingling sensation on my arm was increasing and my heart started to hammer.

    I started running while the swarm inching close, chasing me from behind and creeping up from the edge of the ground. I glanced at Elly who was throwing her powerful kick toward the Giant Spider, they barely brushed at each other. But, Elly''s face doesn''t look too good. She was frowning and trouble glistened in her glare. While peeking at them, a spider suddenly flung to my sight, I swung my hand and busted it away.

    The speed of the spiders wasn''t any quicker than me when running but the moment they leapt with those eight legs, the momentum they built before they sprang, pushed them far enough to reach me. The swarm was getting crowder and it won''t be long until I see myself cornered. I keep running and throw my sight toward every nooks and crannies, looking for an escape.

    "Graaaaaahhhhhhh!!" Elly screamed while she leapt into the air, with glowing blue light reflected on her leg, she somersaulted in the air and pounced on the giant spider. It couldn''t fully evade the lightning speed slamming and got one of its right leg crushed, ripped apart from its body. The same dark purple blood splattered and the giant spider wavered to the side where its balance was crushed.

    But, the giant spider had adjusted its footing in another split second, then it immediately swung its front left leg and got Elly on her stomach with an eye blurring speed. Elly was thrown straight but she managed to adjust herself in the air, flipped and landed on the wall with both her feet. And then she smashed the wall by her powerful kick and bolted toward the giant spider right on its abdomen. The giant spider squealed in an ear-piercing sound and stumbled to the back.

    Not having any time to be concerned about Elly, I who was running along the wall, had finally got cornered from all direction. The swarm surrounded me. They started jumping on to me who deliberately smacking them away from my body. But, still few landed on me and burrowed its burning fang into my skin. Their numbers overwhelmed me.

    They crawled all over my body, attacked me in group and got me staggered. They repeatedly bit on my skin through the thin clothing I was wearing. I jabbed through the spiders'' body with my fingers and clenched my hand into a fist, then I pulled my hand out, burst its body open. The blood fluttered mid-air, splatted onto my face.

    They didn''t rip flesh but they injected a searing liquid under my skin. Flowing through my blood, the poison travelled from my body to my head, my mind was getting hazy as time goes and my vision was getting worse. It was a sea of swarming black in front of me. The spiders kept coming and my hands had started getting numb from exposing too much spider blood. I started swinging my hand aimlessly, strength gradually leave me. I couldn''t even feel my fingers anymore.

    If only I have power

    I glanced on my hand, they were spotted with bite marks, similar the one those kittens had on their body. The bite of the spiders must have poisoned. My head thumped crazily, my mind was cluttered, I couldn''t think straight anymore. My chest felt like rupturing. My body was burning hot and bubbling up on my chest, I felt tight and almost couldn''t breathe. My legs betrayed me and I fell to the ground while the swarm engulfed me. I was too numb to feel their crawling legs but I can see myself covered with them while struggling with my back laid flat on the ground.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    But then, one of the fang, jabbed straight through my stuffy chest when I thought I couldn''t feel anything more. That sting, immediately send alarming signals throughout my body and reached my nervous system.

    "AAARRGGGHHHHHH" I howled in anguish, helplessly to what was happening to me. I robustly swung my burning hand toward the spider which bit on my chest as if releasing the pure distress in me.

    WHOOOSSHHHHHHHHH

    The spiders around me were flung away by a blast of sharp raging wind. Their body was slashed on contact by a sharp, blade like, wave of air, squelching them in rhythm. Blood splattered all over the place, dropping down like the rain. The body of the swarm were sliced into clean two parts, exposing its black gooey innards, slowly flowing out together with the dark lumpy blood.

    What was that?

    They were scorching hot, I rolled my eyes, looking at the faint green light reflected on my hands. I raised it up to my face and stared at it bemused. It radiated in the same way like Elly did. The light faded, my hands returned to normal except all the bites scattered on my skin. I looked around, the ground was bubbling in sea of severed spiders and its blood. While my legs were still wobbling, I sat up and stood with my trembling legs. Slowly, I dragged myself to the edge, eyes searching for the familiar person.

    They were right below the wall I stood. Elly was breathing heavily, but still glaring and snarling toward her opponent. The giant spider wasn''t in any good shape either. It had lost another leg and currently standing with unbalanced stance. But, Elly had blood flowed out of the corner of her mouth. The flush on her cheek had long gone, the shadow under her eyes appeared and her lips were turning dark.

    She is poisoned

    The same goes with me, I coughed, blood threw to my sight. I shifted my eyes to Elly, our eyes met and she looked surprised. But then, the giant spider moved, blinking its hundred red bulky eyes, it turned its face toward me. Elly¡¯s eyes widened, she leapt and blocked our line of sight, while the giant spider squirted a purple blob directed toward me.

    "Aaaaaahhhh!" Elly yowled in pain as the liquid splashed straight to her back. The cloth burned and her pale skinned back was sizzling and melting. She dropped straight down to the ground, while wriggling in pain.

    The giant spider crawled in and raised its sharp claw high up. Elly stared from the corner of her sight, looking at the upcoming impact, she rolled on her blistering back, she groaned and barely dodged the claw that struck just an inch beside her. The giant spider turned to Elly and raised another claw high up.

    The thought of Elly inevitable being stabbed by the upcoming claw, flashed on my mind. My hearts once again, hammered wildly. My body moved itself and I jumped down high in the air targeting the giant spider. I landed on its head, crushed few of its eyes, the impact caused the monster to missed Elly and struck its claw far from her. The monster roared viciously while swerving sharp from left to right, trying to get me off its back.

    Elly had adjusted herself straight, standing with her bruising grimy feet. The spider directed its claw toward me, I jumped off at the exact moment it thrust its claw, eventually missed me and jabbed on its own body. The monster once again roared thunderously while quivering on place. The earth shook from its recent roar. The swarm of smaller spiders started jumping in aggression toward us.

    Elly gave out a loud screeching cry with the transparent sound wave, travelled and flung the small spiders away from the area. But then, they continued back swarming into us. I kicked, stomped, smacked the spiders away with all the strength I have left. But, I couldn''t hold out for anymore longer. My legs had been wobbling weak.

    I glanced at Elly, she forced herself to move and leapt with a fist curled to her back, directing at the giant spider. But, she suddenly staggered mid-air, coughing blood, she lost her momentum and the monster once again slammed its leg toward Elly, sent her straight down to the ground. Elly spurted blood and yelped. No matter how strong she might be, there''s no way she could fight in that battered state. The blisters on her back were smashed at the impact. Tears started forming at the corner of her fading eyes because of the pain. Her consciousness had broken down.

    I ran myself to her side, but the giant spider had hauled her up with its sharp claw, dug into her skin. The fangs were clicking in frenzy while dragging Elly''s battered body near to its mouth. She will be eaten. I leapt forward with all my might, my chest tightened, my mind focused, my hands shaking in fear but not of the monster, but the thought of her dead while protected my pathetic self. I swung my arm trying to struck its leg, to make it lost its balance.

    SSWIIIISSHHHHH

    Something else happened, the giant spider didn''t move, it stopped clicking its fang, those creepy red eyes stopped blinking, the legs froze on place, the claws which hauled Elly unleashed its strength and dropped Elly down. I immediately moved my wobbling legs, stomping on my way to her.

    SPLAAATTT

    The giant spider suddenly slit apart, from the lower left to the upper right, split its body horizontally in a lightning speed. The upper part slid down and the inside gushed out at the moment they were exposed to the air. The legs no longer supported its body and dropped the body down to the ground, blood and innards splattered out, painted the area with its dark viscous pungent blood. Some of the liquid mixed with its poisoned blobs, sizzled on the ground.

    A speckled of its purple blob landed on my cheek and dug into the thin skin layer of my face. I groaned a bit but I continued carrying Elly away from that monster. The swarm of spiders moved in confusion, but they had started retreating back to its hole. Until they finally cleared out of the nasty area, leaving only me, Elly, the severed monster and the ghost-quiet area.

    "Hey! Elly! Elly! Open your eyes!" I shouted at her while carefully carrying her in my arms, not to agitate the horrible wound which spread across her back. But, her eyes remained shut and her lips were getting darker every second.

    I closely inspect the wound on her body. She was bruising all over the place. The poison must had got into her through the first cut on her cheek and slowed her movement. I felt the scorching pain on my cheek, way more vicious then the bites from the smaller spiders. I couldn''t imagine getting them splashed directly onto my back. Gruesome guessing raised the hair on my skin. I glanced at her paling face.

    Not knowing what to do in this situation, I was reminded of how Elly regained her health at the previous fight. With a slight hope imbued in me, I moved my face down aligning to hers. I tilted my head and touched her cold small forehead. Desperately hoped for a miracle in this hellish place.

    A moment passed, but nothing happened. She''s not moving and her breath was getting more faint. I pulled my head up, knowing it was a futile. Grief filled in my mind. If it was not for me, if she didn''t block that acidic liquid for me, she would have not ended up like this. I didn''t deserve her sacrifice at all. A weakling like me, wandering in this kind of place, should have just drop dead.

    Sasaki''s face suddenly flashed onto my mind. It was my incompetent that turned us into that state. I shouldn''t have let her hands go. I should''ve held her tight knowing how impetuous she could be. But I decided to release her from my grip and caused her to leapt away to danger. The chances are her being dead, gruesomely, and it was all my fault.

    I dropped my head down again, the faint breath on Elly''s nose could no longer be heard. I closed my eyes and gripped her tight. My eyes somewhat felt warm and wet, but I hold it. I despised myself for always letting people die on me. This thought, somewhat felt like it wasn''t for the first time. This feeling of having someone dying while I carried in my arms. It happened before. But when? My chest tightened at the thought and my heart pumped rapidly.

    ["Yuu... Don''t cry. I''m fine"]

    I opened my eyes, in front of me was Elly, breathing weakly, forcing a smile to me. And we were both glowing in a golden light, but the light was flowing one way, drifting from my side to her. She shuddered in my arms, her blue hair lightly fluttered in the air and the darkness faded away from her lips.

    It was mysterious. But, it didn''t hurt me like how it did the last time. The energy drawn from me felt light, easy and in consent with my mind. It wasn''t a forceful draw like before as if it was from myself who gave her the energy this time. Elly regained her conscious, but her wound didn''t actually heal. The blistering on her back still looked as gore as before.

    Elly moved herself into a sitting position. She weakly turned her head to looked at her gruesome back. Then, she rolled her eyes back to me. Once again, she mysteriously spoke into my mind. While her tired eyes staring into mine.

    ["Yuu... I need more"]

    While it''s true that I was a bit taken aback by the voice she made into my mind. But her condition was too awful to be questioned for that. Elly raised both her hand with palm aligned vertically. I scooted close, she held my head and then she pulled my forehead touching hers.

    I closed my eyes, scrunched my brows, bracing for whatever sharp piercing pain that will be inflicted onto me. But, none of it happened. I felt all the same except the blood in me was hurling in a speed as if going to bust out of my lung. No. It wasn''t the blood. But something else that had been flowing in me without my knowledge.

    But, what could it be?

 Chapter 16: Lies and Fear

    I peeked at her.

    Elly with her eyes closed, she seemed to be concentrating. The golden light from me hurled faster and the glow was brighter than ever. A while after that, I started to feel a little bit drained. It was not my stamina, but something else. But, it somehow affected my stamina too.

    Elly released me, I observed her wound, but they were still the same. The blistering on her back were swelling dark and squishy. I looked at her face, she''s still tired but much better than before. Something definitely changed within her. I can sense it but yet I couldn¡¯t explain what is the difference.

    Elly stood up and stand on her grimy feet, she swayed a little but then she managed to balance her footing. Slowly, she walked herself while sploshing across the sea of spider blood and the giant spider¡¯s innards, moving toward the giant tunnel. Her face, legs, hands and cloth, they were all smeared with dark purplish blood. She was dirty from top to bottom, except for her peculiar blue hair and that bright blue eyes, staring into the big tunnel as she entered.

    I moved my heavy body, quickly followed her. I tapped at her shoulder, carefully without touching the still blistering back. ¡°Elly? Why the hell are you going in? You should rest!¡± tone of my voice unconsciously raised while I asked. She was forcing herself, I can feel it.

    She turned her head to me, shot me a weak smile but her brows scrunched a bit. She shook her head, implying that she¡¯s fine, for now. I glanced into the dark tunnel, strangely enough, as though I saw what''s beneath the end of it, I knew that nothing dangerous lurking inside and so I let her continue to walk in as I closely watched over her.

    The tunnel was dim and dark, the wall was covered with gooey disgusting liquid, ground covered with some bones here and there alongside rotten flesh. The stench is getting stronger as we move. It was so unbearable that I pinched my nose and breathed through my mouth. The air in here was so thick that I coughed once a while because of it.

    But, Elly didn''t seem to be bothered by that at all. Her eyes fixed on one place, her back sometimes quivered, her feet sometimes staggered but still, she didn''t look back and continue forward.

    The tunnel finally ended and we entered into the cave where the source of the stench was the strongest. Not even mouth breathing could stop the stench from tingling my nose. What''s inside my grumbling stomach started to rise and made me gag. "...Elly" I called on her, just wanted to make sure that she was alright but it seemed her smelling sense might be different from me.

    Inside the lair, patches of grimy spider webs were spread everywhere, lots of spongy murky eggs strewn across the corner of the cave. A lot of monster I had never seen, had flesh ripped apart, head crushed, eyes gauged, some hung and wrapped by yellowish spider silk with blotches of dark blood soaked throughout the silk, dripping down. No living being could be seen inside this horrifying spider nest, except dead monsters.

    Elly moved to the west corner of this grimy place. That was where a familiar looking body lied, the monster which had the same appearance as the kitten monsters in the valley. But the belly had been ripped open thus the life had long gone. Elly stroked at the fur and then she hovered her palm above the opened belly.

    A bright blue light emanated from her palm, streak of light swirled and slowly covered the opening. The light on her hand slowly expanded and covered its whole body. In a while, the opening of the kitten monster had slowly pulled together and steadily merged back. The blue light she emanated was so bright that it lightened the entire cave, washing away the dark atmosphere for a moment.

    The opening had closed, Elly retracted her palm and looked at the kitten monster intently. But, no movement could be sensed. She brushed the long fur around the monster''s neck, she had the helpless expression. Deep down, she had already known that it was a futile effort. But, she did restored the horrible opening to its origin state.

    I moved to her side, she glanced at me from the corner of her sight but then she turned away. Elly moved the monster''s body, carried it in her arms and started moving away from that place. The bubbling on her blistering back still looked as horrifying as before. I didn¡¯t know how does she endure the pain while walking.

    When we left the tunnel, the smaller spiders peeked from the smaller holes that spread across the wall. Elly threw a vicious glare at them along with a snarl. The spiders jolted and creeped backward. To be honest, if they swarmed against us, I doubt that we will be able to won the fight. Fortunately, the dead of the giant spider had caused their moral drastically decreased and they didn¡¯t come after us anymore.

    We walked out of the red canyon and as expected, Elly was carrying the body of the fifth kitten back to their den down the valley. Elly jumped down, and groaned a bit as she landed on the ground. I couldn¡¯t do what she did so I slowly climbed myself down the slanted rocks wall.

    The rest of the monster kittens were no longer moving. They were all dead already. I wondered why Elly didn¡¯t heal them at the first encounter. She gently put the fifth kitten down near their bodies. Them she crouched beside them, contemplating.

    I walked to her side, and sat down.

    Elly didn¡¯t cry nor wailing. She glanced at the dead bodies while lips slightly pursed. Her breath was short and frequent. Her back was getting more unsightly.

    ¡°Elly... why don¡¯t you heal yourself¡± I suggested, she only gave me a weak glance but then her body suddenly swayed backward. ¡°Hey!¡± I immediately reached her and caught her before her back pounded on the ground, preventing any more damage.

    Her body was boiling hot.

    She blinked at me then she opened her mouth slightly.

    [¡°Yuu... take me into the river¡±]

    Her voice resonated in my head while she was looking at me. Without further await, I carried her small figure up in my arms and walked to the riverside.

    Slowly, I plunged Elly in the clear river water. Some part of the purplish smear on her melted into the water, but not exactly vanished.

    [¡°Release me¡±] She ordered.

    I gently pushed her body away from my hands. She floated on the river but then she slowly sank in. Her legs were shrouded in shiny, bright, blinding glow and then they transformed into a mermaid fin.

    Inside the river, the stream has stopped flowing, the stream of the river mysteriously circling her and her whole body reflected a sky blue soft light. Thousand of glowing bubbles emerged and gathered around her, they were especially bright on her back. The purplish dirty smear was swept by the glowing bubbles. The cut on her cheek faded. All the bruises around her body healed.

    Wow... wish I could do that

    The light slowly faded, the river continued flowing normally and Elly energetically swished herself beneath the crystal clear river. She splashed her head out of the river and rest her arm by the edge while she beamed a smile from ear to ear toward me.

    [¡°Hehe... Thank you!¡±]

    Once again her voice resonated in my mind. I wanted to ask her but, should I? She just recovered but she seemed to be pretty cheerful already. Even though the dead bodies were near her sight. She didn¡¯t look troubled. I thought that she will be mourning against their death.

    ¡°Uhm... Elly, there are so many thing I want to ask you. But, are you alright now? ¡± She was flipping her tail, splashing the water cheerfully while listening to me.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    [¡°What is it?¡±] She casually replied while putting a straight curious face.

    I raised my hand and pointed at my temple. ¡°Did you just talk into my mind? How did you do that? Why didn¡¯t you do it from the start?¡± I bombarded her with the questions I had been wanting to ask since she voiced her first word in my head.

    Elly stopped swishing her tail.

    [¡°Hmm? I thought that Yuu was the one who connected us?¡±] She looked confused then she pulled herself up to the shore, her tail glowed and magically returned to a pair of clean flawless legs.

    Huh? What was she talking about...

    ¡°No... I didn¡¯t have any idea about that at all¡± I was still pondering at her statement.

    [¡°Yuu is the one who opened the access gate to your mind. If not, Elly wouldn¡¯t be able to reach through... ¡±] Elly stood on her feet. She looked as clean as before, while I was still covered by the grimy purplish blood all over the place. And thus, it made me realized about the bite marks that were still scattered all over my body.

    I thought that I was poisoned from the spider bites, but that head splitting sensation had long gone, left me with only slightly tingling bite marks and depleted stamina. My body still felt heavy though but I didn¡¯t feel like I will be dying from the poison anytime soon. I was just tired. Does it have any connection with the previous golden aura?

    ¡°No... I didn¡¯t¡± I denied her statement after wandering for a while. Elly puffed her cheek as she stomped closer.

    [¡°Yes you did! Don¡¯t you remember the time you gave me your mana?¡±]

    My eyes widened, my mind almost went blank as I stunned.

    ¡°Huh?¡± I was bewildered by her statement. To be exact, I was agitated by the word ¡®mana¡¯.

    Continue puffing her cheek, Elly raised her hand and pulled my face down aligning with hers. I almost stumbled on my feet.

    [¡°This!¡±] She pulled my forehead close and we bumped. Her grip was pretty strong, I couldn¡¯t just lightly push her.

    A jolt of pain suddenly pierced my head, the golden light sparked between our forehead. I was shocked and immediately jerked back.

    Elly raised one her brow while staring me with her big blue eyes. She tilted her head.

    [¡°Yuu... Open your mana gate to prevent the pain... Like how you did before!"] Elly explained while she casually invading my head.

    ["Like this!''''] She moved backward while still facing me and opened both her arms. She took a deep breath. Her hair fluttered in the air as if the wind was gently blowing through. Her body glowed in a golden coloured transparent light. The aura was swirling as if merging with the air. She looked as though a goddess in painting.

    She smiled before she closed her eyes, her brows furrowed a bit as she was concentrating. The golden aura which she emanated, slowly, flying through the air and danced around, until it reached me.

    The aura couldn¡¯t be touched but it was warm when it reached my skin. My own body started reacting weirdly, the blood in me seemed to be attracted to the aura. Or maybe it was the ¡®mana¡¯ in me... I don¡¯t know anymore.

    [¡°I¡¯ve been trying to connect but Yuu was unapproachable before... uuu¡±] That aura suddenly retracted and went back into Elly in a swish. The air around me returned to its normal cold and dry atmosphere.

    If she really means what she said. Does it imply that I will be able to use magic too?

    That thought gave me a shudder. Magic. The fantasy skill which has always been displayed inside entertainment medias. Now, on me? Could it be that the green light on my hands before, is that... magic? The one who caused the spiders to be mysteriously sliced apart, is that me?

    Elly walked to the side of the dead bodies. Her cheerful demeanour faded as she crouched and buried her head in the pile of motionless furry bodies.

    ¡°But I thought that you didn¡¯t understand my words¡± I asked. She had been clearly answering me knowing what I was talking.

    While her face still laying down, she turned her head to me and looked at me.

    [¡°Every language has different way of expression. But, through synchronized mana, it can simply breaks them down and transfer only the meaning itself. So, I don¡¯t really know how to speak in your language nor understands it bare... Elly can now understand because Yuu had let me access to your mind through mana flow you opened for me.¡±]

    Unexpectedly, Elly dumped me a long train of info that I¡¯ve been longing for. But still, it didn¡¯t satisfy me yet or I couldn''t fully understand.

    ¡°Okay, fine. Then there is one that I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you since I first met you¡± I uttered, with a serious tone.

    Elly stared at me, not blinking.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I asked.

    It was a moment of silent before she moved back and sit straight while crossing her legs. Elly blinked at me and tilted her head.

    [¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t you know that we are inside The Gates of Hell?¡±]

    Elly curiously asked, as if I was the one who¡¯s strange between us.

    The Gates of Hell?

    The first image that came into my mind was the gas crater with bubbling active lava in the distant country that I''ve seen in television. But, it couldn''t be. It might be the name of a place. But, definitely not a place exposed to common, ''only if'' this Gates of Hell was still a place located in the earth.

    "Can we get out of here?"

    Elly froze from my question. Cold sweat adorned her temple, her fist suddenly tightened, and her eyes darted. She tilted her head down and exhaled a short breath. Then she raised her head up, with a straight emotionless face.

    [¡°I don¡¯t know"] She suddenly beamed a smile as though she could cover the little movement she showed before, which made her words clearly unbelievable.

    She seemed to be lying...

    "Haven''t you try finding the exit?"

    Elly was fidgeting, it was clearly a lie, she knew where''s the exit.

    "Elly? Where''s your family? Do you live in this place?" I further asked.

    She raised her head up high, looking at the sky like ceiling of this limitless cave. Then she turned her head and glanced at the dead kitten monsters.

    ["Elly don''t know..."] Her answers were short and reluctant.

    "What do you mean by that?" I closely watched at her movement. She raised her hand up, put it on the furry monster, and stroke the fur.

    ["I lost my memories..."] She answered, while brushing the black hair of the dead monster. Her eyes looked empty.

    Huh? This is getting weirder.

    "Then, what is the earliest memories you have?" I asked.

    ["I only remembered waking up to this place"] Her lips slightly wavered, and she darted her eyes.

    Should I believe her? She didn''t seem to be lying when she said that she lost her memories, but the part of her earliest memories...Hmm, I guess I''ve no choice but to believe her for now. As for the exit...

    I turned my back facing her, and started walking away. It was a bet, but I doubt she will ignore me. If I was right, she wouldn''t like it if I left her alone.

    "Yuu?" She voiced out, it has been a while since I last heard her talking with her own vocal cord.

    "If you don''t tell me, I will find the exit by myself" I declared as I stride away heavily, now had reached the slanted rocky wall, and about to climb.

    ["No... please don''t leave Elly alone"] Elly suddenly jerked up from the ground and leapt to me. She pulled on my messy ripped shirt.

    I turned my head back and stared at her heart-breaking expression.

    "Elly... you are strong, enough to be able to survive in this place. But, I am just a normal human. I can''t just let you protect me all the time. I need to get out of this place." I don''t know the situation outside of this place, it could be worse, but I will just bet on it.

    ["But... Elly''s scared"] A pool of tears puddled at her under lashes, her hand trembled.

    Looking at her reaction... Could it be worse outside? No... saying that she''s scared instead of warning me defied that possibility. I had a hunch that she knew what''s outside look like. But what could be the thing that actually scared her, even when she had that monstrous strength?

    I turned myself front facing her, crouched down on one knee while looking up at her wet eyes and unsure stare.

    "It will be okay Elly... you have me by your side. You are not alone" I tried talking her out, while gently wiped the bead of tears out of her face. Without doubt, she still had the mind of a child. Unpredictable and na?ve at sometimes. But, I know that she is kind-hearted. Even though she can be pretty ruthless when killing, that side of Elly, suddenly flashed through my mind.

    "Uhm...." Elly pondered but then she nodded lightly.

    Yes... but before that...

    "Elly... before we are out of this place. There is somewhere I wanted to go. Do you remember where did you find me?" I continued asking.

    Elly nodded again but then she looked at me puzzled.

    "I want you to take me there" I solemnly asked.

    Having Elly by my side will be useful in my current situation, it might be still dangerous to go to that dragon headed snake''s lair, but still, I need to see it for myself. If she''s still around... or not. Elly might have found me in the lake bottom but still, a lot of thing still felt amiss. Like, why didn''t she rescue Sasaki? She should''ve heard the commotion above the lake. Looking at her trait, she would have helped Sasaki too.

    ["Okay!"]

    Elly suddenly yanked my arm, snapped me out of my train of thought. I quickly inhaled a long deep breath as if I had predicted what she will be doing next.

    SPLAASSHHHH!!

    As expected, we plunged right into the river.

 Chapter 17: Brace yourself

    Elly suddenly dragged me into the river. I struggled a bit before Elly casted her ¡®no breathing, breath¡¯ magic onto me. I will ask her the name of this spell later.

    [¡°Yuu... why is your face looked so funny whenever we are in the water?¡±] Elly asked while swishing through the river, with a hand pulling mine, heading into the cavern side. Which an underwater tunnel seemed to be connected there.

    How do I answer...If I open my mouth, the water will get in... can I talk into her mind too?

    I tried concentrating while keep repeating the words ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ inside my head. Elly with one hand pulling me, she keeps swimming forward, while spreading her glowing bubbles to lighten the area.

    No reaction from her... maybe I should ask her to teach me to do this ¡®telepathy¡¯ thing

    We speeded through the tunnel, it was not long until we reached into a lake.

    [¡°This is it! Where I found Yuu¡±] Elly swished to the center of the lake and swim in circle to point at the spot she found me. I looked above me, the lake surface was calm as always. Then Elly suddenly speeded up, heading straight above. To where the monsters should be lurking.

    [¡°Wai...t!!¡±]

    Elly stopped abruptly, then she swished back down and front facing me. She tilted her head in confusion, no sound could be heard from this dark lake, except the glowing bubbles that was floating around and popping.

    I think I¡¯ve just did it... the ¡®telepathy¡¯...?

    [¡°What¡¯s wrong Yuu?¡±] Elly asked.

    I tried again, doing the mind talking thing, but it didn¡¯t work anymore. So, I started gesturing, telling her to follow me.

    I started moving myself in the water. As though dividing the water, I spread my arm and swing my legs. To prevent the last mistake, I swim to the direction of the shore.

    Slowly, I plopped my head out of the water with hand hooking onto the shore.

    ¡°Hah¡± As expected, the breath started regulating normally at the exact moment my nostril hit the air. I gasped but as noiseless as possible. I lied my head low above the lake.

    Elly swished to my side, her head almost submerged underwater, leaving only her eyes. Her hair floated on the lake surface and moved as she turned her head looking at what I was looking.

    It was the same place where I got separated with Sasaki. I looked around the cave ground, but what I have learned was just surprise.

    ¡°Yuu?¡± Elly questioned as I pulled myself up shore.

    What is that.

    I quickly pulled myself up shore, while dripping wet, I stood at the lake side, staring at the scene in front of me.

    [¡°Yuu... why do you looked surprised? Those are just rotten flesh, you should have seen more in the Canyon though?¡±] Elly wondered as she moved to my side with her already transformed legs. She stared at me with her big blue eyes filled with curiosity.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± I promptly asked.

    Elly stared at the objects I was talking about then she shook her head.

    [¡°It has been like that when I found Yuu¡±]

    What¡¯s in my sight right now, made my head spin in confusion.

    How long have I been in coma? It couldn¡¯t be long... right?

    The monsters, they were dead. And now was rotting into the level that should have some period of time passed already. As if the monsters were killed long time ago. And the blood on the ground, had dried. My sense of time suddenly crumbled.

    [¡°I used to come for their eggs... that day I found Yuu... they were dead and their eggs were gone too, ahh... they taste delicious... too bad¡±] Elly pursed her lips while her eyes staring at the center of the cave, reminiscing the taste of the eggs, and gulped.

    ¡°Elly... " I called.

    "Hmm?" Elly responded with a hum as I walked to her, front facing.

    "How long have I been unconscious since you found me" I carefully assembled the question.

    Elly hummed solemnly as she walked to the nearby rock and leaned her back toward the big rock with head turned facing me.

    ["Hmm... Yuu was gravely injured. It took me almost a day until you fully recover"] Elly tilted her head while eyes looking at the upper corner of her sight, thinking.

    A day... There¡¯s no way those bodies would rot into this state within a day, right? Their bodies were sunken, the flesh almost thinned out. Only the bones and the scaled skin remain intact.

    I walked further into the center of the cave, the rocky hill where the dragon snake resided. The pungent smell hit my nose as I get closer. Wait...

    "Elly... at the moment you found me, the dragon snakes were still alive, right?" I asked her seriously. Elly looked at me, throwing her confused stare.

    ["No... They were already dead by the time I found Yuu... Speaking of that, how did you do that??"] Elly suddenly leapt and moved closer to me. She leaned forward, her eyes sparkled and she stood on her toes while trying to align our face close, as if something stuck on my face. She looked at me intently.

    "Huh? What do you mean by doing what?" Her sudden change of behaviour startled me, my legs moved backward subconsciously. She was too close. And then, she was saying that the monsters were dead when she found me. But, how did that even possible? Could it be that the rule from my world applied differently in here? Like, the bodies rot quicker?

    ["Yuu had mana barrier formed and was invisible! it might be invisible to the eyes of many, but not Elly! So... Actually..."] Elly moved her body back and started fidgeting. ["...Elly accidentally broke your barrier and almost drown you, ehehe"] She smiled sheepishly at me.

    Mana barrier? Invisible? This is getting weirder... I didn''t remember anything special during the moment I was sinking. Only darkness. Wait... There was something, though I am not sure if what I saw in that flash of moment was real or not. It could be me imagining things.

    "How long have the dragon snakes dead when you found me?" I asked.

    Elly shifted her eyes to the upper corner as she pursed her lips, thinking of an answer to my question. Then, she turned her head facing me.

    ["Hmm... I am not sure. They are now almost just bones and scales, so... probably a month?"] Elly''s eyes looking at me, her voice sounded unsure.

    A month?? How could I be still alive during that time? I was in the water and moreover I have got a huge chunk of my stomach screwed. Unless if that Mana Barrier thing which Elly just said was real, and it did something to my body.

    Elly was still staring at my confused self. I cleared my throat and adjusted my stance.

    "Elly... have you ever found anyone beside me?" I asked.

    ["Like who?"] She innocently asked.

    "People like me?" I added some description. I don''t know how she viewed me as. Like how I viewed her, she is a mermaid, but she can transform into human form anytime she wanted, she''s nothing like the fairy tale in my world, where a mermaid would need to sacrifice her voice to be transformed into a human. It was a popular sad love story, though there were many versions, none of them was described like Elly.

    Elly became quiet. She averted her eyes for a moment and then she looked at me again, but her gaze was imbued with a bit of anxiety. Then she threw her sight to the ground. Her hands were clenching on her cloth.

    She¡¯s hesitant

    "Elly?" I walked toward her and then raised my hand to pat on her fluffy blue hair.

    "You don''t have to force yourself if you found it hard to speak" I stated as I stroke her head. She seemed to like it when I do this. I do not want her to suddenly change her mind about going out of this place. It is impossible for me to do that alone. I need her strength.

    Elly raised her head and plainly stared at me with her big blue eyes for a few seconds.

    ["There were... lot of human suddenly appeared in here"] Elly started talking, even though she was clearly hesitant.

    "When was it? Was it around the time the dragon snakes were found dead?" I further asked since she had opened the chance for me to ask more.

    Her eyes widened, she seemed to be a bit surprised. ["How did you know?"] As she looked at me bemused.

    I was under the lake when the monsters were killed. But, I wasn''t found on that exact day though. From how she stated, I was found in the lake approximately a month after that incident.

    "Elly... Have you ever go under this lake, at the time period between the day you found the dead monsters and the day you found me?" I asked.

    Elly frowned her brows and mulled over it. ["Uhmm... Probably, a few times"] She answered while looking at me intently, as if waiting for the next question.

    Huh... But she has only found me recently... I should already be under the lake during that time though, despite of that, she didn''t notice me until recently. Why?

    I glanced at Elly again. She didn''t seem to find anything weird with that. She went through the lake a couple times, even though I have always been under the lake during that time, she didn¡¯t see me at all.

    I remember the moment when I was sinking in this lake. Right before my vision turned dark. It was just a flash, but I did see a flash of light brightened the surface of the lake. The light was sudden as if lightning flash and it was bright like the sun on mid-day, no, probably more if I could see it from underwater.

    Let''s assume that the light I saw was real. It might have the connection to what happened in this cave and somehow killed the monsters.

    "Then... Elly... it''s okay if you don''t like answering..." I continued asking, but trying to approach her in a gentle way.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Where are those people now?"

    As expected, Elly¡¯s face changed when I throw this question. She frowned and went silent for a while. The atmosphere suddenly changed.

    ["Actually... I don''t know. They suddenly appeared but then disappeared within the same day too"]

    She didn''t seem to be lying, but I can feel that there were more into it. She hid some fact from me. I don''t know why she did that, but I feel like I shouldn''t be prying more. For now, going out from this place is the priority.

    "Hmm..." I walked toward the place where I got separated from Sasaki. No corpse could be seen, not even Mika and Aya. But the blood still there, dried.

    Did the monster ate their bodies? But, if the monster was killed at the moment I sank into the lake bottoms, the bodies should still remain there. But, there was a possible of other monster came and got their bodies too.

    I scanned throughout the monsters remain. The scales on its skin still remain intact and flawless, no sign of cut or injury, as if they suddenly just dropped dead and left to rot. Could it be Sasaki who killed the monsters? But, if she really did, she would have come to save me, wouldn''t she? But then, I don''t think Sasaki was capable of actually killing the monsters.

    Seeing how Elly fought the previous monsters, made me think, anyone who can just instantly put those dragon snakes to death without inflicting external injuries, would be a monster among the monsters. I couldn''t think of anyone stronger than Elly yet.

    "Elly..." I turned my head and called on Elly.

    "Hmm?" Elly hummed.

    "Follow me" I asked. Then, I started walking to the tunnel where me and Sasaki came from. The tunnel which connected to the ''first cave''. Elly followed by my side, she didn''t ask. But, from her expression, I guess she knew where I am heading to. I might be able to find some clues over there.

    We walked into the tunnel, leaving the cave. Nothing seemed to change, the tunnel remains the same. So, I walked the path we took when escaping from that ''first cave''. Good thing is that I never forget. I remember every turning and branching points we walked through.

    Elly didn''t speak any words, she followed me silently while putting a serious expression. She seemed to be mulling over something. I will let her be first.

    After a long walk, we finally reached the end of the tunnel, so I started treading slowly. But, Elly ignored me and keep walking straight toward the exit.

    "Hey... Elly" I called her as light as possible, she stopped and turned her head to me.

    ["It''s okay... that monster is not here right now"] Then she continued walking.

    I followed her after that. The exit was drawing near, and what''s inside finally exposed to my sight. I can clearly see the cave, and we finally made in to the cave. But, the cave is...

    ["It is empty... I''ve told you, they disappeared"] Elly continued walking to the center.

    The cave is empty. What I have secretly guessed was right. There were no corpses, but the smell of blood is thick and strong, as if there were mountain of corpses in here before. Despite of that, it was empty, leaving only the blood-soaked ground and...

    Huh? What is that?

    I threw my sight toward every corner of the cave. I didn''t realize it from before, as there were too many people gathered in this place back then. But, now that nothing was blocking across the cave, it got my attention.

    I ran to the corner of this rounded cave and closely inspect the paint that piqued my interest. Elly followed me. She walked across that paint on the ground. The paint is in black colour, it was almost faded but still visible to the eyes if I put more focus. The black paint circling this rounded cave, scribbled with unknown letters around it, as if...

    ["It was a magic circle"] Elly explained without me even asking.

    I looked at her. She stared at me. She hasn''t smiled since we walked into the tunnel. It''s not like her to be this serious.

    "Do you know what happened here?" I bluntly asked. Hoping that she will give me a little bit of information or whatever she didn''t yet told me.

    Elly looked at the paint, then she slid her foot and smudged the paint. After that, she crouched down while looking at the part she erased.

    ["I am not sure, but... I think all those people were ''called'' out"] Elly said.

    "What do you mean by ''called'' out?" I asked another question.

    ["They were all teleported, including the corpses"] She added which made me more confused.

    "But, why didn''t I get ''called'' out too?" I bluntly asked. It was weird. If what Elly said was true, then why was I left in the cave?

    Elly raised her head and looked at me, then she suddenly stood up and stepped forward, front facing me.

    ["Because Yuu is not the same as them"] Elly answered, while her mouth shut tight, her mysterious blue eyes gazed into mine. Her voice still resonating in my head.

    I am not the same?

    ["In this world, they were called ''Alte'', they were people summoned from the other world... and as for Yuu..."] Elly looked at me intently, she blinked her eyes as I gulped waiting for her to continue. My heart started pounding. Elly leaned closer as she squinted her eyes.

    ["Ehh? Weird... I was sure that Yuu isn''t an ''Alte'' but..."] Elly closed her eyes and sniffed on me. ["It was faint, but you are indeed an ''Alte''... "] Her eyes widened, and she looked surprised. Then she mulled over her own statement while crossing her arms.

    "So... You don''t know why am I still here either" I concluded.

    Elly stopped mulling and nodded at me.

    Sigh... No question really got fully answered. Okay...

    "Elly-" I called on her name, she responded. "...Let''s go out" I declared.

    Elly immediately frowned and hesitant, despite of that, she nodded and we left the cave.

    It was finally the time, the moment where I will be stepping my feet out of this place, into another world. Thinking about that, reminded me of Grandma. She must be extremely depressed when she found out about me missing. I should find a way back. If there was a way to this world, there must be a way back to my world. That''s what I convinced myself. First, I will need to find those people that came here together with me. And for what reason that we were summoned to this world? Also... why am I left in this place when Elly said they were all ¡®called¡¯ out. Why was there a naming for an ¡®Alte¡¯. Is it common for us to be sent into this world? How does the system work anyway. I know nothing. I will further ask Elly when we are out. For now, I will be focusing on getting out.

    I followed Elly and we walked into the biggest tunnel entrance of this cave. The tunnel where the Cerberus monster came out. I was immediately put into alert when she chose to walk into this tunnel.

    ["It''s fine... That thing is not here either"] Elly explained as though she knew what I was being wary about. Her words calmed me.

    "How did you know?" I asked. She mentioned once before we went in to that cave, saying that the monster wasn''t there.

    ["I can sense it"] Elly answered while keep walking and facing forward. Even though she seemed to be calm from the appearance, she was quite nervous inside. I can feel it. She didn''t show her usual confidence and her face was clouded.

    "Ohh..." I responded short. I don''t know how she did it, but probably, it was the same like when I sensed the spiders at that canyon area. I still don''t know how I did that. Even though, I closed my eyes now, I couldn''t feel anything. Something weird is going on within me, definitely.

    Elly lead the way, the tunnel has quite a lot of branching point, but Elly didn''t hesitate and walked straight into one of the tunnel. We were now walking into another bigger tunnel. The ceiling is getting higher and the colour of the ceiling is lighter. And as we moved further in, sound of waterfall gushing could be heard, the swishing was getting more thunderous as we moved closer. The glowing substances on the ceiling were brighter near the end. Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel.

    I couldn''t believe what I see.

    Instead of going into another cave, we were actually at the bottom of a sky high steep cliff, where a wide foamy waterfall tracks from the edge of the high cliff, tiered and plunged into the depths of a big blue crystal-clear lake, forming a whooshing vortex at the bottom and drizzling up drops of water to everywhere around it. The thunderous waterfall buzzing sound filled the entire area, I can''t even hear myself breathing.

    The wall of the cliff was covered with lots of these glowing substances, but they were even brighter and a bit bluish, sparkling like a milky way. I glanced at Elly, the shimmering lights reflected on her clouded blue eyes. She stared at the top of the waterfall while her mind seemed to be weighted.

    I looked around the area, the bottom of the cliff, scanning throughout the lake and then to the west part of the area. The ground of this area was oval shaped and quite short, surrounded by high rock wall as if we were inside a well. But, there is a ground for footing protruding from the upper part of the wall, north of where we stood. And that is where the waterfall gushing from.

    I shifted my eyes throughout, now to the east part of the ground. There were something piling though. I moved my legs out of curiosity, I walked toward the east. Elly closely followed me, she didn''t say any words. As I was getting near, my heart started beating weirdly as what I was closing to... those are...

    A mountain of... human skeletons?

 Chapter 18: Breaking Through The Boundary

    I slowly moved my legs toward the big pile of skeletons, they were almost like a rocky hill to me from the corner of my sight. But, now that I had noticed, I could not unseen them. It was an ocean of skeletons, piling up like a small mountain.

    I stood in front of it, gawking at the skeleton mountain, with that high up waterfall at the side, it was getting more surreal. I inspected at the skeleton which strayed from the pile and scattered on the ground. I assumed those were all the human skeletons, but as I closely looked at it, I noticed that some of the bones were different. There were tail bones, some of the feet or hands had very long claws and some skull was adorned with horns. But, most of them were human''s and they all have the size of a child.

    Are those really children''s?

    Looking at the pile, it sent shiver down to my spine, I glanced at Elly.

    Elly stood beside me, looking at the skeletons from the bottom to the peak of the pile, not even blinking, she stared intently. I couldn''t guess what she''s thinking at all.

    "Elly... what happened here? Did you know?" I asked.

    Elly didn''t look at me, she''s just staring at the skeletons pile. Looking from the state of the bones, those had already been here for a very long time, probably years. The skeletons on the lower stack was messier, broken and all jumbled together, while the bones on the upper part still pretty much intact. And they all had a crack on the middle of their skull.

    All of the skulls had the same crack on its forehead... strange

    Most of the skeletons at the upper part were of humans'' child, whilst the lower part was more of the unknown''s human alike creatures, as the skeleton looked quite alike except for the horns, claws and tails. They were all stained with blood, quite old, but the blood on the upper stack seemed to be quite recent.

    Elly walked around the pile, toward the back of the skeleton mountain. I followed her steps, she didn''t answer my question. But, as we walked around the pile, my eyes widened from the sight I got behind it.

    Hundreds of human children corpses, lying on the ground neatly, hands crossing on the chest, they were rotting. Black maggots like creatures creeping all over their softening bloody skin, the bodies were broken and twisted. The maggots were eating from inside out, took the eyes first and now crawling out from the mouth and the ears. They made holes on the body, creeping in and out, drilling the flesh.

    The sight triggered my gag reflexes. Even though there weren¡¯t any stench at all, which was strange. Even when there was a mountain of skeletons behind me, but I still reacted to the scene in front of me. I should''ve know that before the skeleton, those would be the process. But still, seeing them up close, moreover in hundreds, screwed my guts.

    What the hell was going on here???

    They were placed neatly on the ground, side to side, no bodies were stacking at each other. And there is a blood trail from the skeletons pile leading toward them. Someone seemed to have moved the bodies from their original spot, which was formerly on the skull pile.

    While covering my nose and mouth, I walked closer and looked at one of the nearest body to me. A girl seemed to be at the same age as Elly, actually, all of the bodies were probably around her age, that girl''s legs and arms were fractured badly, the neck twisted and broken. Her face wrinkled and could no longer be identified.

    Hmm?

    Her head, there is some kind of symbol painted, no, rather than painted, it was carved onto the skin. It has the shape of a hexagon star. Even though it was crawling with maggots, curiosity beat me, so I hesitantly crouched down to get my sight clearer. I squinted my eyes as I focus. The symbol was made from words. It was tiny, but definitely not just a plain straight line. They were written neatly and tight with almost no space in between, thus made it look like a line if not observed from close distance.

    In the middle of the symbol, although tiny, there was a visible hollow part, probably pierced through with a thin blade. The skulls behind me also had a crack around the same spot. Judging from the condition, it was thrusted forcefully with one clean strike. I briefly scanned other part of their already wrinkled face, their mouth was laced with purplish blood.

    Were they poisoned?

    I looked at Elly, she was staring at those bodies, lips wavering, brows furrowed.

    "Are you the one who dragged those bodies down the pile?" I bluntly asked, trying to confirm my thought.

    Elly stayed silent. She didn''t move nor look at me. Her face clouded.

    "Did you kill them?" I added.

    Elly jerked her head to me while looking surprised.

    ["No!! It wasn''t me. It was him! He did it!"] She yelled in my head while stomping closer to me.

    Then she stopped mid-way, realizing that she had lost her composure for a moment. She was flabbergasted.

    "Who is he?" I continued. I was fully aware that Elly wasn''t the one who killed these children. From the way she stared at those bodies. That was not the eyes of a killer.

    Elly froze. As if found guilty, she dared not look into my eyes. Her long eyelashes quivered, her mouth slightly opened, she gulped, and then she clenched her fist as she faced the ground.

    I knew it, she really does hiding something from me... I want to know who is ''he''. But, I will save that for later too.

    I walked away from the bodies as she watched over my back.

    "Let''s go, what happened here had happened, there is nothing I can do for learning about their last moment anyway" I declared as I moved away from those bodies.

    Elly stood for a while, eventually, she snapped out of her mind and followed me.

    I raised my head up, looking at the upper ground, where the roaring waterfall dropping from. I wondered if that was where the exit lied. The upper ground was so high up, that it was impossible for me to see the surface and what''s lying on it.

    Huh?

    It was faint, but I think I saw a thin transparent surface gleamed nearby the upper ground. I blinked my eyes as I peered. But, there was nothing. Was I seeing things?

    I walked to the center and stood right in front of the tunnel we came from, while facing straight at the waterfall, my eyes traced from the bottom to the source of the gushing waterfall, which is cascading from the upper ground that is far from reach. Although I couldn''t see what''s on the surface, the wall around that upper ground was hollow at the middle, suggesting a path leads inside.

    But... how are we supposed to get our feet on top of that upper ground? There''s no sign of stairs around or path to climb though...

    "Haaahh...." Elly suddenly sighed.

    I threw my sight to her, she seemed to have thrown the cloud out of her mind. She started smiling, even though she was not in the mood just a moment ago.

    ["I''ve made my mind"] Elly declared.

    "About what?" I asked.

    Elly turned and looked at the skeleton mountains. She gazed over it, as if looking through to the hundreds of bodies lying behind it.

    She finally put her usual smile on her face, showing a bit of her canine teeth as she grinned while her brows still showed sign of frown. She seemed to be forcing it onto herself, regardless, her confidence finally back.

    ["Let''s head out now!"] Elly clenched her fist, her eyes burnt with determination. She didn''t explain why though.

    "Is that where the exit was?" I asked while looking at the upper ground.

    Elly raised her head, looking up. "Uhm!" She nodded.

    "How are we going up?" I asked. Deep down, I might have already got the answer.

    The corner of her mouth perked up, she steadily walked toward me, her eyes seemed to be plotting something. I subconsciously moved backward as she inched closer. "Elly?" I called on her, but she only gave me a dubious smile.

    ["Yuu, put both your hands on your chest"] She ordered.

    "Why-"

    Elly leapt from her position, she hauled me up on both her arms, carrying me in front of her tiny figure as she sprinted around the lake toward the wall. My sight blurred from the speed, the wind blasted wildly through us. Elly mumbled some words, her blue hair fluttered strangely, her body shrouded in blue light, and her speed suddenly rocketed.

    ["Here we go!!"] Elly jumped toward the wall in one kick.

    My heart pounded so hard that it felt like bursting. The ground was drifting away quick, my body felt like about to fall in any seconds. Elly sprinted on the wall as if the law of gravity didn''t affect her at all, but it did still affect me, my body felt heavy as if pulled by magnet toward the ground.

    The speed still increasing, we blinked so fast throughout the vertical wall, inching close to the upper ground. The blasting wind filled my ears, as if we were flying.

    Elly looked like she was having fun sprinting up, as though she ditched all her troubles behind. We rapidly sprinted up, climbing the wall vertically alongside the gushing waterfall. Our body was sprinkled with the waterfall drops, added with the wind from the speed, it was refreshing and heart-racing. Judging from the speed, it won¡¯t be long until we reach that upper ground.

    Wait... What''s that??

    There was a thin blanket of mist a couple meters before the upper ground. I blinked my eyes. It was still there and it was inching closer. I don¡¯t know why but my heart screamed danger.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    "Elly!! STOP!!"

    Elly didn''t hear me, she dashed through the mist as if she didn''t see nor sense it. The glow on her body dispersed, simultaneously as she passed through the thin line divided the bottom and the upper wall. She lost her momentum and stumbled. Her legs couldn''t move as she wanted. Her grip loosened and I was released mid-air.

    "Elly!!" I shouted at her, she seemed to be half conscious and weak. Her mana was completely depleted.

    We were now falling separately with head pointing down, beside the wall and the waterfall. All the blood now rushed to my head, cluttering my thought. Above me, was Elly who looked helpless and almost soul less.

    She need mana

    I closed my eyes, trying to focus. Despite this hammering heart and the pressure, I inhaled as slowly and as steady as possible, then I exhaled. My mind focusing on the mana that was supposed to be regulating within my body. I imagined getting the flow out of my body, replaying the moment when I was transferring mana to Elly like before.

    I can do it... I can do it...

    I scrunched my face, put all the energy onto something I haven''t yet comprehend. Not knowing what I did was correct or not, while free falling. That mana flow, gathering in me, stuffing my chest. They were now swirling in chaos. My chest felt hot, I don''t even know whether it''s my heart hammering or the mana bursting. But, I think I can do it.

    Now!!

    Whooossshhhhh! Gust of wind raged as though a tornado, centring on me, the golden aura spread out from me like blazing fire as I fall, now shrouding Elly.

    Her eyes opened, she regained her conscious.

    ["Yuu!!"] Elly who realized the situation, she flipped her body and kicked on the wall, sprang straight to the opposite wall while seized me mid-way. I was once again carried on her arms. Now, she was sprinting on the opposite wall, going up, heading toward the mist again.

    "Elly stop!!" I exclaimed.

    ["Give me more!! Trust me!!"]

    No time to waste as we were inching close to that thin line of mist. I tried imagining more of the mana out of my body. My body felt hot and I can now faintly hear myself panting. I regulated myself and finally exhaled.

    WHOOSSSHHHH

    The golden aura exploded once more, flickering all over the place. Elly absorbed all of it.

    ["Thanks for the meal!"] As she flicked her tongue. She started laying her body low while sprinting, the blue light on her was now brighter, and then she kicked at the wall.

    BOOOMMM!!

    The wall crumbled, stones scattered mid-air, we flung straight up, directed to the upper ground. I can no longer feel my body throughout the lightning speed.

    We passed through the thin line of mist, Elly''s blue aura dispersed again, she grunted, but the momentum from the previous kick still applied on her. She only had to keep herself balanced in order to sustain the speed and the momentum. But, she looked troubled keeping herself fully conscious.

    Almost there

    The surface started to be visible, the horizontal ground could be seen, we had now passed above the targeted ground. My eyes shifted wildly, scanning the unexplored surface but then got myself glued on the humongous white stone gate further in the area, carved beautifully on every inch of its surface.

    Elly''s grip loosened, and I was hurled away from her, we both fall down straight to the ground.

    "Argh!" I landed roughly and rolled on the stone paved ground. I pushed and scraped on to the stone floor, struggling and finally stopped rolling.

    I adjusted myself and crawled up, going toward Elly.

    "Elly?!" I shouted at her. She slowly raised herself up, so I stopped running and sighed from relief.

    Elly turned her face to me, she smiled wryly.

    ["I''m... okay. Hehehe"] She grinned and blinked tiredly.

    We looked at each other, with a helpless expression. What just happened, one slight mistake, we could have ended up splattered on the cliff bottoms. I will be dead without even seeing the outside world.

    My heart hasn''t stopped its wild pounding, instead it was still hammering rapidly.

    Calm down...

    I tried regulating my unruly breath. I drew a big, long inhale, I closed my eyes and sighed out. My heartbeat, slowly, returned to normal. I opened my eyes, and travelled my sight throughout this new place.

    The ground was paved with white stones along with a river streamed in the middle which was the source of the waterfall. The river came from a large, tall, white stone gate, as though the gate was especially made to adorned the river, purposely opened. Beside the gate, white candle scones adorned vertically on the wall, illuminating the already breathtakingly gate.

    I trod carefully to the edge of this area, looking down onto the cliff bottom, we were just there a few minutes ago. And that thin line of mist, what I supposed to be as a barrier to keep monsters from going up, could be clearly seen from up here.

    It''s strange, I feel like I know what''s that barrier made for... Why?

    After a while of pondering, I left the edge, walking toward Elly, who was treading lightly beside the gate. She seemed to be wary about this area. Her back stuck close to the gate and slowly moved her head in and peeked. Then she turned her face looking at me. Our eyes met.

    ["Be quiet... follow me"] Although her voice was not actually spoken out loud, still, she spoke gently as if afraid to be heard. She waved her hand to me.

    I moved slowly as she suggested. On the way there, I noticed some red stain on the white stone paved ground at the other side of the river. I started indulging myself into a creepy train thought.

    Could it be... the blood of those children?

    I mulled as I walked and I now had stood behind Elly. She''s still wary about going through the gate. I haven''t really looked into what''s inside the gate, where the river streamed from. Speaking of the river, the water was crystal clear, revealing the bottom that was paved with the white stone too. The river seemed to be manmade.

    After observing for a while, Elly started moving her legs into the gate, with me following closely behind. The gate leaded into a white, large, pristine stone tunnel, with candle scones decorating along the wall.

    The candle fire was strangely deep coloured, and they felt unnatural to me. The lights reflected on the river and illuminating the ghost-quite tunnel in an ominous way. There were no weird bright slimy substances on the wall like the ones lightening the caves below.

    I peered at the end of the tunnel, it was even brighter there, the light came from a turning point which could be seen and the river streamed straight to a small opening purposely made on the lower part of the wall. The opening was low, with silver metal bars blocking across it. But, I do think that Elly can break through if she wanted.

    We slowly walked through this eerie tunnel, closing our distance to the turning point. I glanced at Elly, she''s still looking as tense as before.

    "Are you okay, are you hurt anywhere?" I asked her. Elly suddenly stopped walking and waved her hand in front of me, signalling a stop. We were now a couple meters away from the turning.

    ["Two person approaching"] Elly alerted. But, I didn''t hear any sound at all.

    She grabbed on me and sprang straight onto the ceiling right before the turning point. She thrust her feet straight into the stone ceiling while hand grabbing on my stomach, I was made hanging with arms and legs pointing down, facing the ground.

    What is she... a bat??

    Not long after that, sound of feet tapping echoed throughout the tunnel, coming from the turning point. Then, two humans entered my sight. I was thrilled to see another human, but in the same time, they felt wrong to me.

    Huh? What''s with the clothing. Are they soldiers?

    They wore copper coloured breastplate armour, and the same coloured head armour. They were holding a long spear on their right hand and now standing below me, chattering.

    "¡­*mutter *mutter *mutter"

    And... I don''t understand any bit of it, as expected.

    The soldiers were staring at the gate we came from, as they talked in unknown language. I wonder if Elly understand them.

    I turned my head and looked at Elly from the corner of my eyes.

    Elly was frowning, her hands trembling. That''s when I realized that she should have her mana already depleted from the second contact to that weird barrier. She pursed her lips, pushing herself to the limit.

    I turned my head down looking at the soldiers below us. Those two seemed to be arguing about something. After that, one of them finally turned around and started walking back to where he came from, out from our sight. But, another one stayed and grunted in contempt. The soldier who stayed, started walking straight ahead, back facing us.

    Elly suddenly dropped down from the ceiling and we thumped right behind the soldier. The soldier was alerted and he turned around facing us. Immediately poised himself, bracing for a fight.

    "!!!?" The soldier was flustered and seemed to be questioning about our presence with his spear pointing toward us.

    Sigh... I wish I understand what he is saying

 Chapter 19: Escaping

    The soldier kept spouting words I didn¡¯t understand and now he was staring at Elly while questioning her with a surprised looking face.

    ¡°????!!!!¡± The soldier now pointed his spear toward Elly.

    Elly¡¯s face was dark, she heard him but didn¡¯t voice any words out, after that she leapt forward and hit the soldier¡¯s temple with her leg. The soldiers didn¡¯t even have the chance to yell for help, his body dropped down to the ground, making a lout thudding noise, echoed throughout the tunnel.

    Did Elly understand what he speak?

    Leaving the body laying untouched by the manmade riverside, Elly hid herself behind the wall before the turning, which I closely followed too.

    ¡°??????¡± The other soldier, who probably haven''t gone far, heard the commotion and called his friend from that turning tunnel, his leather boot tapping against the stone paved ground, echoing louder as he reached closer.

    The soldier went into our line of sight, but he had his eyes locked on his fellow soldier who was lying unconscious on the ground. He immediately ran to him, crouched down and called on the fainted one, didn¡¯t notice Elly who had already crept behind him.

    Thud

    She hit on the nape of that soldier with a swift, clean, heavy strike. This time, without making any noticeably sound. Elly turned her head to me, smiling with content. Then she dragged the soldier before the turning point and placed it by the side of the wall. After that, she dragged the first one too, placed it beside the other soldier.

    After positioning them side by side, her eyes were now glued at the first soldier, she was staring oddly at him while mind seemed to be weighted by something. Then, Elly raised her right foot, which was glowing in blue light.

    Wait... What is she going to-

    SPLAT

    She stomped on the head of that soldier, not even that thick looking head armour could save his head from her magic strengthened stomp. Elly killed the soldier, without blinking, without hesitating, like crushing an ant. She didn¡¯t twitch at all. In one strike.

    ¡°Why did you-¡° I haven''t finish my question,she already raised her blood soaking foot and now pointing at the other one.

    ¡°STOP!¡± I pushed at Elly and finally got her focus on me. She looked at me while tilting her head in confusion, as if an innocent child.

    [¡°Why?¡±] She asked, her big blue eyes staring into mine.

    Why?

    I glanced at the soldier who just got crushed on the head, now splattered flat on the wall. His blood still spurting out of his neck and the flesh jumbled along with its not so effective head armour, mixed on the wall, no way to identify his face anymore. And then, I looked at the other soldier who¡¯s almost becoming the next victim.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to kill them. They are now defenceless anyway¡± I exclaimed.

    [¡°They can be awake in any moment as we are walking down the tunnel¡±] She explained.

    ¡°But it won¡¯t be that quick, right? You knocked them out pretty hard after all¡± I replied, her reason didn¡¯t seem to be the sole reason for killing the soldier though. She could¡¯ve just kill the soldier at the first strike, but she didn¡¯t and changed her mind after that. Did she know the soldiers?

    Elly turned her head toward the still, living and breathing soldier. She softly sighed and mumbled.

    [¡°Okay then... I will spare this one¡¯s life¡±] Elly stated and now looking at me again. I sighed, finally relieving my tensed-up body. I honestly thought that she wouldn¡¯t listen to me at all.

    Elly walked to the riverside and dipped her blood soaking foot. She swirled her foot in the flowing river, cleaning the red stain on her blue scaled leg. I have almost got used on seeing her legs with that blue scales covering from the ankle to her knee. It has becoming a normal sight to me.

    Leaving the fainted soldier and the brutally killed one, we continued walking through the tunnel where the soldiers came from. The ceiling of this tunnel is much lower from before, and much narrower too. The structure of this tunnel was not as pristine as the tall, spacious, river streamed tunnel as before.

    The path was a normal sized, dull looking grey stone tunnel, brightened with the normal looking, yellow fire across the candle scones along the tunnel wall. This very being of tunnel, finally gave me a familiar feeling of my world. No weird slimy glowing substances, no strange deep coloured weird candle light, except for the blue haired little girl who was walking by my side, whose abilities was definitely abnormal.

    After a while of walk, a stone stair could be seen at the end of the tunnel and that¡¯s where the brightest light shone through.

    ¡°Is that the exit?¡± I whispered.

    Elly glanced at me.

    [¡°Hmm... probably?¡±] She answered me with an unsure manner, which leaving me feeling a bit doubtful about the path we were taking. But still, I didn''t have any choice but to continue.

    We climbed up the stairs carefully and as noiseless as possible. It was a long straight stair leading to the probably the brightest light ever caught into my sight since I first came here.

    ["Stay as quiet as possible Yuu... I sensed few peoples upstairs"] Elly whispered. She''s now climbing ahead me, every step she took was soundless and swift.

    The opening of the stair can now be seen, the square horizontal opening as wide as the stair where the light shone bright, casting a spotlight on the stairs below it. Elly and I trod lightly, stopped behind the harsh light, sticking our back onto the wall hiding behind the light, and looking up through the opening.

    The ceiling was stone carved, made of grey stones, built exquisitely, round and hollow on the middle where transparent glass window placed. That''s where the sunlight came from. Elly climbed and finally walked out of the stair, so I followed.

    My eyes squinted as the light hit my face, I climbed out from the opening, and blinked to adjust my vision.

    We were now inside a rounded room, standing on a rounded marble stage which was surrounded by shallow water canal. At the north of the stair exit, placed a path leading to a tall, white, wooden double door. The door was closed though.

    We walked our way to the door, and leaned ourselves closer, and trying to listen to any noises might came from outside.

    Elly placed both her palm on the door, she leaned her ears close while facing me.

    ["Two person, probably standing on guard right behind this door"] Elly stated. Then she pulled herself back, and started crossing her arms.

    "Are there any more people nearby?" I whispered, as lightly as possible.

    Elly closed her eyes and focusing.

    ["Hmm... there are more, but further, and they were constantly moving"] She opened her eyes again, looking troubled.

    "How many?" I asked.

    ["Sorry Yuu, but I''m not sure when they are further away, if I have to guess, probably around ten people"] She added.

    Could they be the patrolling soldiers? Elly said that this is inside a place called ''The Hell Gate''. Looking at the structure of this room. It should be quite an important place. Probably...

    I scanned all around the room, the stone carving on the ceiling edge was quite large and bulky, and there were some spaces to let our feet stand on if we could reach up there.

    Hmm...

    "Elly" I beckoned her to get closer to me. She noticed and leaned toward me, facing her left ear toward me.

    "How about we..." I whispered and explained what''s on my thought to Elly and she nodded in agreement.

    This is the least I can do

    ***

    In front of a tall, wooden double door, stood two soldiers guarding the majestic door beside them. They stand upright, holding a spear on their right hand with another hand dropped straight beside their body. They were facing forward, putting on a tired looking face unfitting a young athletic person who''s just around their mid-twenty. The soldier on the right yawned.

    "Hey, don''t you think, those two have been gone for quite some times?" Asked the Left Soldier, who has a noticeable big nose, he turned only his head to looked at the Right Soldier, whose eyes were droopy, as if about to fall asleep, and he did just yawn.

    The Right Soldier didn''t turn his head, he answered while facing forward, "Nah... They probably are lazing around right now... Hoaahmm..." And he let another yawn out again.

    The Left Soldier was unsatisfied with the answer he got, so he asked again, "But, didn''t the crystal change colour two times in a row? Could it be the barrier finally broke? What if the monsters actually made out and killed them? Could we be in danger now?" He started sweating at the thought he had in his mind.

    The Right Soldier finally turned his head to look at the Left Soldier.

    "You know nothing, green boy... That was normal... there will be some monster birds trying to fly through the barrier but then... Eventually... they will be falling back to the cliff bottom...It happened... few times a year...." He lazily explained.

    "Why is that? Why would it fall?" The Left Soldier threw another question, his eyes gleamed with curiosity.

    "Are you seriously asking? I know that you are new today but, aren''t you too ignorant? This is a common knowledge after all" The Right Soldier clicked his tongue, couldn''t believe the question.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Eh... well, I''m not too educated myself... hehehe... But, I am strong!" He grinned sheepishly while showing his arm muscles. It was indeed strong looking, seemed to be well trained, comparable to the Right Soldier.

    "Why are you even here when you know nothing??" The Right Soldier furrowed his brows in disdain.

    "The pay is high for a mere guarding job, especially when this place is known as the most peaceful place to be guarded... ehehehe" The Left Soldier bluntly explained, while the other guy looked at him with one brow scrunched down.

    "You really know nothing at all..." The Right Soldier shook his head, then he mumbled at himself, "...great, I will be stuck with this idiot for the next seven days huh..."

    The Left Soldier only smiled awkwardly at him and the silence overtook the atmosphere again.

    Bam bam bam!

    Both soldiers jerked their head toward the door, where the source of the sound came from, Left Soldier almost stumbled on his feet. "Huh?? What was that?" He gasped.

    Both of them, stared at the door and waited for upcoming sound. But, none.

    "S-Should we c-check?" The Left Soldier asked with a quivering tone, and he was trying to hide his nervous face. Cold sweat dropped down his forehead and he awkwardly adjusted his head armour. He was reminded of the two soldiers who haven''t come back for quite some times.

    "It''s not locked!" The Right Soldier yelled, replying to the knock.

    But, it was a silence response. Both soldiers looked at each other confused. The silence proceeded for a while.

    Bam bam bam!

    They knocked at the door again instead of directly opening the door.

    The Left Soldier looked at the Right Soldier anxiously, because the Right Soldier showed quite a solemn looking face, despite his lazy droopy eyes just a moment ago.

    "Go get the outer guards..." He ordered at the Left Soldier, which was immediately replied by a stuttered, "Y-y-yes" The Left Soldier shuffled out from the door, calling for more people.

    The right soldier stood straight, body tensed up, head slowly leaning toward the door again, trying to listen.

    "AAAAHGH!!"

    A scream suddenly wailed behind the door, the Right Soldier opened the door without thinking further, and dashed into the hall. But, he was greeted by an empty hall and the echo he made while abruptly opening the door.

    He held his spear tight and high, pointing at whatever that could be coming out from the stairs. The sound had vanished and there was nobody in that rounded hall.

    "Hey! Are you alright?" The soldier, slowly, walked toward the stairs opening that was built on the middle of the stage, he peered through the dark entrance to the stairs while calling whoever might be making that sound. But, the dark tunnel only replied him with the echoes of his own voice.

    He''s now stepping one of his leg in the stairs.

    Thud

    Something landed behind him with a ''thud''. The soldier turned around but then he got his nape hit, his vision blurred.

    "Hu..h?..." He dropped to the ground, but he managed to catch a short vision of a barefooted feet running toward a silver haired person peeking behind the door. And so, he drifted into darkness.

    Two figures sneaked out of the door, the silver haired person and a blue haired little girl. They closed the heavy door and hastily tapped their feet into the big, brighter, hall way, where a wide red carpet spread across the shiny white stone floor. They were running past those thick white pillars filling in the hall. Not even stopping to see what''s around, they ran toward the end where the other same big double door stood elegantly.

    They have almost reach the door but that little girl suddenly stopped, dragged the silver haired and scurried away from the red carpet. They both hid themselves behind the thick pillar, when couple of guards barged in the door.

    It was the Left Soldier who brought four other guards into the hall. Those four have sword hung beside their waist and they wore better armour than the one who''s guarding the door.

    "Huh? Where is he?" The Left Soldier staggered when he saw nobody by the closed door.

    "Are you playing prank on us?" One of the soldiers scorned.

    "N-No way... He must be inside" The Left Soldier explained while frowning.

    The soldiers looked at him in doubt.

    "It is true that those two had gone for quite some times..." Soldier A stated. The rest of the soldiers were focusing on him.

    "Yes! I was thinking about that too... Isn''t it weird for them to not coming back after for a while?" The Left Soldier hastily added, the rest of the soldiers started to nod in agreement.

    "I''ll believe in you for now..." Soldier A spoke, and started walking ahead of them, followed by the rest of the soldiers.

    And so, they started walking across the red carpet, heading toward the door.

    While they moved past these thick pillars, those two who was hiding behind one of it, slowly, scooted around the pillar to avoid their line of sight. They tip toed, as lightly as possible, staying out of sight, cramping together closely and waited for them to walk further away from themselves.

    But, the soldier who leaded the way suddenly raised his palm up and halted stop.

    He turned his head to the right and started at one of the pillar.

    "Who''s there" He asked with a loud, clear voice. The rest of the soldiers followed his eyes and stared at the same pillar.

    That soldier now turned his body around and slowly walked toward the pillar while unsheathing the sword hanging beside his waist.

    "Show yourself... or else" He threatened while not stopping his careful tread.

    He got silent treatment for a while, but the moment he''s just a couple meters away the targeted pillar. A hand suddenly plopped out to their line of sight, following by the legs and now body.

    A rather short looking soldier, with his head armour closed down, blocking the face. His clothing too big for a thin person like him and the breastplate was clumsily wore on. He waved his hand toward the soldiers.

    "Huh? What are you doing there?" The soldier asked the shorter guy who was now in the center of their attention and put his sword back to its sheath.

    That shorter soldier raised his hand up to his face and made a yawn. Even though, no one could see his face nor expression.

    "Oh! He was sleeping!" The Left Soldier suddenly answered excitedly, as if playing a guessing game, he forgot his former task.

    The shorter soldier nodded his head while scratching his head. Then, he turned around, facing the exit, he was about to walk away.

    "Hey, report your name!" The soldier called on his back, the shorter soldier staggered for a bit, but still he kept walking, not looking back. Feeling suspicious, the soldier moved toward the guy, who was scurrying quicker as he inched close.

    He finally reached him, with his hand, he forcefully turned the guy by pulling his shoulder. Then, he swung his other hand toward the lid of the helmet, exposing his face.

    The messy silver hair sticking out of inside the metal helmet adorning the pale cheek and forehead. The pair of black eyes staring at him, not darting, not even showing any startling expression.

    "Huh? A woman?" The soldier was dazed for a while. Then he was reminded about no woman soldier was assigned in this very place, he finally twitched and realized.

    But that person had now forcefully broke from his grip and dashed toward the door.

    "Intruder!! Intruder!!" That soldier yelled as he started running, chasing the one who was now bolting quicker than ever.

    With his daily trained legs, the soldier had now almost caught up to the escaping person but then a shadow blurred and crashed down, blocking his way. The soldiers behind him got staggered at the sudden appearance, now gawking at the weird being.

    It was an even shorter person, wearing an oversized soldier clothing, the sleeves were too long which engulfed the person¡¯s whole arm, dangling down from what supposed to be the hands, the end of the pants were ripped on purpose and exposed the pale barefoot beneath. The face was hidden behind the closed head armour.

    "Who are you!!" The soldier shouted at the tiny person, wearing their comrade''s uniform. They already had their sword pulled out and pointed at the tiny person.

    "Grrrrrr" the tiny person snarled at him.

    Without further await, the soldier leapt impatiently, swinging the sword. That person dodged and raised the right leg up, and kicked it onto the stomach of the leaping soldier with a powerful side swing.

    "Uaarggh!!" The soldier was sent flying in just one kick, straight to a pillar and spurted blood as he pounded before he dropped to the floor.

    The other soldiers stared at their unconscious comrade with eyes and mouth wide open. Cold sweat rolled down from their forehead.

    The tiny person stared at them, moving those short legs, slowly, walking toward them, giving out an intimidating aura that made the soldiers secretly trembled.

    "!!!!" The short person suddenly shouted at the tiny person, in a language not known to the soldiers from the doorway.

    The tiny snarling person stopped advancing, the intimidating aura faded and thus whatever almost happened was cancelled. The tiny person turned around, and they ran away.

    Those two intruders had successfully escaped the hall.

 Chapter 20: Not So Abnormal

    ["Just let me kill them... geez"]

    Her blue hair sticking out of her helmet. I couldn''t see her face, but I know that she was puffing her cheek.

    Sigh... Good thing that she listened to me just now, if not... there would be another blood bath

    We were now out from the previous hall. The door led to another wider, grander hall way with path at the middle left and right. But I chose to run straight, and the guards from the previous hall had now chasing behind us.

    GOONG GOONG GOONG

    "!!!!!" The guards started yelling, simultaneously, one of the guard was ringing a big bell stood not far from the door, probably for alerting purpose. The sound spreads across the building. It was getting rowdier as time goes.

    More of those guards started running into the hall, they came from the left and right, started flooding the big main door stood at the end of this hallway.

    If they were blocking it, that must be the exit

    I was running behind Elly, the guards who¡¯s chasing us was getting closer to me.

    ["You are too slow!"] Elly exclaimed.

    The guard has almost caught onto me, Elly hauled me up and started leaping while carried me in front of her tiny body.

    The guards before the doorway had lined themselves straight, forming a human barricade with their spears and swords pointing at us. Behind us, another group of soldiers were chasing at us aggressively. Their heavy leather boots tapping wildly as they were inching closer while they were shouting at us.

    A guard behind us thrust his sword straight at Elly''s back, but Elly leapt to side and avoided it. Another guard at the left, saw it as a chance and thrust his spear but Elly turned around and blocked it with her leg, furthermore, breaking the spear in two. I was flung around in her arms, looking like a disabled person.

    This should stop

    Elly turned and ran again while dodging and leaping toward the targeted door.

    The guards who lined before the door, started advancing as we reached them. There were guards inching closer from behind us too. They had surrounded us, and made sure didn¡¯t leave any space for us to escape through.

    Elly turned to the left and stomped on the floor, the carpet ripped and the stone cracked, we flung straight to the pillar. These guards turned their head in sync, looking at us.

    Targeting the big thick wooden door, Elly kicked and we flung straight to it. The guards were yelling and shouting, they gathered at the door, one was putting a lock on the door. Regardless, Elly thrust to the door, instantly breaking the door open, and the guards were flabbergasted.

    We landed at an open hall, where a beautiful garden built in the middle, surrounded with a rectangle shaped hallway, with one door on each side except the north of us. Instead of a door, it was a big archway standing gloriously, leading to another hall.

    We didn¡¯t had any time to admire the garden. We ran through it, stepped on whatever flowers blooming on the ground. I peered through the large archway, there was a large metal studded wooden door at the end of it.

    The surrounding guards were all chasing us on our tail. We had stepped in the hallway, probably the last one. There were two rows of guard standing before that large metal studded wooden door.

    The guards at the second row looked a bit different than all of the other guards we had encountered before. They didn''t wear visible armour like the helmet or the breastplate nor holding any spears or swords. They had both hands raised in front of their chest, eyes closed and their lips were moving.

    "Careful! There are magic users at the door" I warned Elly. I was not hundred percent sure, but I definitely sensed it, the mana that was flowing aggressively through them.

    A magic circle emerged on the floor, expanding and spinning in circle. The circle is red, bright and expanding quick.

    "Ahh!" Elly was startled, didn''t stop in time. Her leg stepped in the corner of the circle.

    Fire blazed and exploded, Elly managed to jump away and landed behind the blazing circle. The fire faded quick like how it suddenly appeared.

    Another circle emerged from below us again.

    BOOM!!

    Elly was a bit late this time and we were caught in the explosion as we jumped. We fell separately, rolled onto the ground. I quickly adjusted myself up, so was Elly.

    The red circle emerged again, but only at Elly.

    BOOM!!

    Exploded again, Elly flung away by the impact and crashed on the west wall. But, she landed on the ground with both leg standing straight.

    I glanced at the magic users hiding at the row behind the swords wielding guards, they were still chanting the spell.

    It seemed that they couldn''t cast two circles at the same time

    The guards started coming at me, they swung their swords aggressively, I tried dodging but still got a few brushes here and there.

    "Heeaarrgghh!!" One of the guard yelled as he thrust his spear targeting my waist, I shifted my body to the side, resulting him to miss his strike. I grabbed at his tightly gripped spear, pulled it with force causing the guard to stumbled and fell down in front of me. I swung my elbow straight down right to the nape of his neck and hit him with all the strength I could muster. The guard flinched and dropped to the ground. Grunted but still conscious.

    Damn... I don''t have the strength like Elly

    The guard on the floor was getting up while two guards came running from both my side with their sword swinging toward me. I grabbed at the guard who¡¯s still struggling to get up and pulled him as I moved backward. The guards at my side had swung their blade and couldn¡¯t stop in time.

    ¡°Arrghh!!¡± The guard I pulled was mistakenly slashed by his fellow guards and groaned out from pain. I dropped the injured guard and immediately dashed away, while the standing guards were still in shock.

    Ahh¡­ did I just¡­

    I glanced at the injured guard as I ran. He got his arm slashed pretty badly, fortunately his fellow guards halted their strength when they noticed him being dragged in.

    Good thing that he didn¡¯t die on spot, but even so, he tried to kill me anyway¡­ I was only defending myself

    More guards surrounded me and swung their sword at me. I barely avoided them at the beginning, but now that they have started to outnumber me. It was too much. I couldn''t hold out much longer.

    "Uaaggh!" One of the guards in front of me was kicked on the side by Elly, and got sent far away. She swiftly swing her kicks at those soldiers, sending them out, one by one.

    Amidst the fight, a guard secretly snuck behind Elly, thrusting his sword at her blind spot and Elly didn''t seem to notice at all.

    Damn it

    "Behind!!" I leapt forward as I raised my hand trying to reach her.

    CLANK

    The blade got sliced, and dropped to the floor while the guard holding it was dumbfounded at his sudden broken sword.

    ¡°???¡± He was still stunned looking at his sword and now raised his head looking at me.

    Elly had turned around and landed a deadly kick on his head. He was sent straight to the wall and few of his teeth flung out from his mouth. I glanced at my faint glowing hand, now faded.

    What was that?? I can feel the mana swirling on my palm... If feels like...

    ["Yuu!!"] Elly''s voiced in my head snapped me out of it.

    There''s no time to think about this

    I quickly followed Elly, running across the guards filled hall.

    The magic circle emerged on the floor, bombing all the way as we sprinted through. We were inching closer to those guards before the door. Elly now, could avoid those exploding magic circle in ease as though she had learned their timing and pattern. I closely followed her, the explosions almost got me every time as I lagged behind her.

    ["Cover your ears"] Elly suggested, and I did.

    WOOOONNGGGGGGGGGG

    She roared, the whole building shook and all of the guards dropped their weapons to cover their ears, including the magic users. Their focus was broken down and they were wailing in agony as they shook their head. We had finally reached the tall metal studded door.

    BAAMMMMM!!

    Elly broke it in one kick, making the thick door looked weak and undependable. The bright light aggressively shone through the opening, blinding my eyes. We had now, reached the outer ward of the building.

    In front of us, stood a big stone wall with guards shouting on top of the walking way. They had closed the metal gate down. There were more guards standing neatly on top of the wall. They were all holding a bow, loaded with arrow and pointing at us.

    "!!!!" One guard shouted out loud, signalling the archers.

    Elly once again hauled me up and we sprinted toward the wall, the guards released the arrows. The rain of arrows flung aggressively toward us. Elly leapt from side to side while avoided the speeding arrows.

    The guards from within the building had come out chasing us, holding their weapons. Shouting furiously while running and some even threw their spear toward us. We were now behind the high stone wall, the guards has cornered us.

    Whooosshhh

    All guards that stood on the ground have their head tilted up, mouth hung open. Because we jumped up so high, now we were flying across the row of archers who stood on top of the wall, whose mouth was also wide open.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    I stole a look across the horizon from high up, in front of us was spread of forest, far from us was mountains, surrounding this area. This very building was built in the middle of the surrounding mountain, as though it was a meteor crater, but was covered with lush forest.

    What on earth is this place??

    We went pass the wall and landed perfectly at the other side. We continued running straight. I glanced at the guards, who now busy opening the big metal gate, in order to chase us. But we had gone into the forest, out of their line of sight.

    It seemed like some guards had already come out as their shouting could be heard from distance. We ran as fast as we could.

    "Where are we going?" I asked whilst running by her side.

    ["I don''t know"] Elly answered.

    She did say that she lost her memories... hmm¡­

    There''s no other option than running deep into the forest, away from the manmade road. After a while of running, we finally stopped to catch some breath. No sound could be heard anymore. Only the sound of tree foliage brushing against each other and birds chirping.

    I looked around. It was a normal looking forest, normal coloured trees. I looked above me, through the green foliage, the sky also looked normal. It wasn''t like what I had expected as the terrains on the caves below were nothing of ordinary. Could this be a hidden location in the earth as I formerly guessed?

    The guards were wearing old era looking clothing, where in the earth people still wearing that? Which country''s language was that? And those magic users... Magic...

    I glanced at my hand.

    It was me... I sliced the blade of that guard. But how?

    I turned my hand, looking it from the palm to the back. Nothing seemed to be out of ordinary.

    I remember the mana swirling on this part.

    I tried imagining flowing the mana toward the palm. My eyes squinted in focus. Sweat rolled down. But nothing happened.

    [¡°Yuu...¡±] Elly broke my focus. I glanced at her. She was smiling, tiredly.

    [¡°Do you mind sharing some of your mana?¡±] She asked.

    ¡°Ah... yeah, sure¡± I answered, instantly agreed as I walked closer to her.

    I haven¡¯t give her any mana since the second time she touched the barrier which strongly depleted her... I thought she was fine as she didn¡¯t ask for it. But, strange... We went through the barrier together but why did it only affect Elly?

    I channel my mana out, golden aura reflected from me, and Elly absorbed like usual. I could do it easily now. But, I still had trouble focusing the mana in a specific part of my body.

    Maybe I should try practising.

    [¡°Thanks for the meal Yuu!!¡±] Elly thanked, back to her cheerful demeanour.

    We started walking slowly through the forest, the guards would found us if we stay in one place for too long. For now, we will go to the north. I remember seeing a route in the middle of the forest when we jumped high up, leading north to the base of the mountain. But, we will take a roundabout, instead of walking across that manmade route.

    ¡°Elly... why do you always said ¡®Thanks for the meal¡¯...¡± I asked her recent statement.

    The lid on our helmet had opened, we can now see each other¡¯s face. She was swinging the dangling sleeves as she walked.

    [¡°Because... it was indeed a meal!¡±] She answered.

    I throw her a confused look and before I could open my mouth to ask, she explained to me.

    [¡°Elly doesn¡¯t eat to fill stamina... mana is all I need to sustain my energy¡±] She added, while beaming a smile from ear to ear.

    ¡°Huh? But you did eat something back then, right?¡± I asked again, reminded of the slimy egg embryo flesh. Speaking of that, made my stomach growled.

    [¡°Yeah... Elly eat because Elly like the taste and nothing else... Eating makes me happy! Yuu has a loooottttt of mana¡±] Elly raised and opened her hands in circle as she said cheerfully.

    ¡°...and what do you mean by a lot?¡± I asked again.

    Elly turned around and walking backward as she looked at me.

    [¡°hmm... Yuu is filled with boundless mana!! Look how you didn¡¯t even flinch when you transferred yours to me¡±] She stated.

    ¡°But then, how did you fill yourself before me?¡± I asked.

    [¡°To be honest, Elly can get mana from the surrounding, but not as quick as how I got from Yuu in one swoop. Elly only had to rest if I used up all my mana. Fighting drew quite a lot out of me too.¡±] She explained.

    ¡°From the surrounding?¡± I asked.

    [¡°Yep, there is mana circulating in the air you know? Can¡¯t you feel it? It was stronger in the caves though¡±] She answered.

    I looked around the forest. Trying to see what Elly said. But, I didn¡¯t feel anything. The air smelled like... forest and nothing more.

    ¡°Is it normal for people to transfer their mana to the others?¡± I asked. Transferring mana... is that normal?

    [¡°Hmm....¡±] Elly turned her back to me, now facing to the front, [¡°I don¡¯t know¡±] And she shortly answered.

    [¡°All I know is that, not even the monster had that much mana as yours, Elly doesn¡¯t too¡±] She added again after a brief pause.

    Is that normal? Those magic users back then... they had to chant the explosive spell in group, furthermore, they can only cast one at a time. The mana flowing through them, not even close to what Elly usually showed to me.

    I know nothing about magic after all... I need to get more information to decide on.

    We had walked over an hour, and the mountain wall in the sight was now closer and higher. Although, the trees looked normal, but to be honest, they were not the species I know. Still, it could be that I am the one who hadn''t learned about it. I am no botanist after all. And the birds that sometime caught in my sight when they flew through, they were unknown to me too. It''s not like they had three eyes or five wings, it''s just that they were kind of unfamiliar to me.

    I glanced at Elly, she was happily hopping all the way as she hummed a tune.

    "grooowwwll"

    Elly turned her head and looked at me as she chuckled. It was my stomach.

    "You might not need to eat... But, I do... We have to find some food." I added. My stomach had started its war against my mind.

    For now, we will have to focusing on going out of this area, going pass the mountain and probably find a village or city if there is one nearby. But, I don''t even know where we are, Elly''s doubtful memories lost also didn''t help.

    Going pass the mountain and avoid being caught is the priority now...

    It was a peaceful journey until we started ascending the mountain, there was a manmade tunnel on the mountain base. But, the tunnel was guarded, probably because of us. Going through the tunnel could save us some time rather than climbing up the mountain, which would probably take few days without any food and water. That would be impossible for me.

    I have to think some way through that tunnel.

    Elly and I were staking out not far from the tunnel, hiding in the forest. But the guards were in clear sight for us. There are dozens of guards standing at the tunnel side.

    ["I can just beat them all"] Elly declared. But, I immediately reject.

    "No, I don''t have enough stamina to play chase with them"

    ["I will kill them, they can''t chase us then"]

    I stared Elly coldly.

    ["I am just... kidding hehehe"] She shrugged it off.

    I let out a sigh, "Elly, you said that you lost your memories, didn''t you? Which mean, you didn''t know what''s lying beyond the mountain, where could be the nearest city or village and how they will be looked like"

    She nodded.

    "If we kill more of these people, they will put more guards everywhere, probably in a city entrance if there is one, it will be harder for us to travel and eventually put us into a needless danger" I explained.

    ["But, they don''t know who we are, do they? We covered our face"] Elly stated.

    I went silent for a while.

    "Actually... my face was seen by the guards, up close" I confessed.

    Elly puffed her cheek.

    ["Yeah, you did... I wanted to kill them but you won''t let me."] She was reminded of the previous event and now sulking.

    The guard did see my face, but I doubt he had the memories good enough to remember it in just a glance, at least not in a detailed way. Nonetheless, still, I should''ve just let Elly kill the guy who saw my face. I made a grave mistake there. Hope I won''t be seeing my face posted on a wanted list.

    I scanned along the route opened in the middle of this forest, which came from the previous building until this tunnel. Although I haven''t explored the other part of this forest, but my instinct said that this could be the only route leading straight out of the surrounding mountain.

    After a while of pondering, something finally caught my eyes, from the south of the route.

    There was actually a horse, a plain brown horse carrying a sand coloured carriage, coming from afar. A coachman sat in front of the carriage reining it toward the tunnel. The carriage was closed, the inside was not visible. But, it was big enough to fit around six peoples.

    "Elly" I pointed the carriage to her.

    And then we both grinned.

 Chapter 21: The Old Man

    In the middle of a forest, there was a manmade route leading to a tunnel on the mountain base. A sand coloured horse carriage was following the route and moving straight to the tunnel, where dozens of guards patrolling around as they guard the tunnel opening.

    The guard slowly walked as he waved at the carriage signalling the coachman to stop. The coachman lightly pulled the rein of his horse and they stopped before the guard. The guard, seemingly middle-aged guy with thick brown moustache grew above his mouth. He looked at the coachman and his brown horse. The coachman had some sweat rolling down on his forehead, whether because of the hot weather or... he was nervous.

    ¡°There was an intruder at The Hell Gate and they have escaped, I will need to check what¡¯s inside the carriage¡± The moustached guard said to the sitting coachman. The coachman was hesitating for a while but eventually he nodded as he uttered, ¡°Yes, sir¡± and he hopped down from his seat. He lead the guard to the tail of his carriage.

    The moustached guard now stood behind the carriage, he stared at the same sand coloured cloth curtain blocking the inside. In a swoop, he swept the cloth to aside, exposing the barrels, boxes and brown gunny sacks which lied in the carriage floor.

    ¡°What are those¡± The moustached guard asked as he fixated his gaze to the coachman.

    ¡°Ahh... those are the blessed supplies... You know, the supplies that have been blessed by the monthly ceremony¡± The coachman explained but the moustached guard shot him an even more doubtful face.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those supplies have been transported few days ago? I didn''t hear about the upper asking for more" The moustached guard questioned the coachman which resulted the coachman to slightly flinched. The coachman slowly leaned closer to the moustached guard and cupped his hand beside his cheek while his eyes darting left and right.

    "Actually, sir... It was..." He whispered into the moustached guard''s ear. As he whispers, the moustached guard smirked, as the coachman secretly pushed a small pouch to the moustached guard. They both exchanged an agreement nod and smile.

    "But, still, let me check inside... those big barrels" The moustached guard had stepped his leg into the carriage and the coachman was surprised.

    "T-those are just the usual goods too!" The coachman subconsciously pulled at him but the moustached guard threw him an unfriendly sharp glare, so he let off his grip reluctantly. The moustached guard had now moved into the carriage.

    He scanned at the four barrels put at the most inward corner of the carriage, those barrels were big enough for a human to hid inside. He slowly closed the distance toward the barrels while he unsheathed the sword hanging on his waist. The moustached guard thrust his sword to the barrel''s lid and flicked it open.

    "I-I can explain!!" The coachman immediately followed into the carriage. It was a clear water filled barrel. But, both the moustached guard and the coachman looked at each other tensely. The moustached guard immediately opened the three other barrels with the same content. The carriage was filled with a flowery smell afterward. The moustached guard turned and glared at the coachman.

    "Are these from the sacred hall??" He almost shouted out loud.

    The coachman blinked nervously and then he pulled out another pouch, and thrust it to the moustached guard''s palm. The bag was a little bit bigger and heavier. The moustached guard weighted it on his palm by swinging up and down, then he opened the bag and peered what''s inside.

    The moustached guard rolled his scrutinizing eyes toward the sweating coachman. After a while, he raised his hand and pat on the coachman''s back, then he smiled as he turned away and unmounted from the carriage. The coachman secretly sighed from relief.

    "T-Thank you" The coachman stuttered and forced himself a weird smile directing to the back of the walking away moustached guard. The moustached guard waved his hand at the guards blocking the tunnel and they casually moved away from the tunnel opening. The coachman went back to his seat and reined his horse, as he kept his smile at the moustached guard who was standing beside the tunnel. The coachman leaded the carriage forward, not knowing that his carriage had two uninvited passengers on board.

    ["Hahaha! Your face is sooooo red Yuu!"]

    Elly and I was hanging under the carriage, beside the moving wheels, whilst upside down. It was easy for Elly, but as for me. It was hell. Elly was grinning while looking at my desperate self. I glanced at the tunnel entrance which was drifting further and further away. Wishing for the tunnel to end as quick as possible.

    It was not long, and the tunnel finally ended. There was no guards at this other side of the tunnel. So, we dropped ourselves down to the ground, the wheels went pass through our side. We stayed low on the ground, in the middle of the route as we watched the carriage moving forward. And then I let out a short sigh, tense almost left my body, but I know that I still can''t let my guard down. We rolled ourselves up and dashed into the woods where Elly suddenly burst into laughter.

    ["You should see your expression when we were under the carriage"] She chuckled. I glanced at my red palms. My hands almost went numb when I was holding on the underneath of the carriage. The metal bars under it was thin and difficult to grip with. I almost gave myself away. Especially when the carriage stopped for quite a long time. What were they talking about anyway? They seemed to be arguing about something, but it was solved pretty quick... fortunately for me.

    ["Where are we going now?"] Elly had stopped her laugh which I ignored and she asked me the question. I looked at the road.

    If there is a route, it will eventually lead to a city or a village...

    "We will follow the route... but, we will trace it from the woods" I suggested. The guards will have found us if we stay in the opened area. But, for now, they probably still thinking that we haven''t gone pass the mountain.

    And so, we started walking in the woods, not too far from the road but also not too close and constantly keeping an eye out at the surrounding. I looked up at the sky which I haven''t yet closely observe. No matter how long I stare at it. It looked just like the normal sky to me. White clouds scattering on the big sea of blue with the sun shone so bright on it. But, if I really had to point out a difference, it will be the blue of the sky. It was rather clear and clean. The air also smelled fresh and nice here. More than any forest that I''ve ever visited.

    How long has it been since I feel this peaceful?

    I glanced at Elly, who''s now walking in front of me, she swung her hands back and forth and she was humming.

    Ah... I can ask her about that

    "Elly... " I called her name and she stopped humming. Elly tilted her head to the side and looked at me from the corner of her eyes.

    "How do you concentrate mana into a specific part of a body? In your case, you usually focus it into your legs" I asked solemnly.

    Her eyes widened and she smiled excitedly, ["Do you want me to teach you?"]

    "Yes" I answered without hesitation.

    Elly raised her right hand up as she pulled her sleeve down, exposing her pale fingers and the blue scale on the back of her hand. Then, she curled her palm into a tight fist.

    ["You will need to imagine the mana flowing into it"] She explained while her hand now has started reflecting a faint blue glow, from the tip of her fingers and spread to her wrist. ["Aaaanndd... that''s it!"] Elly ended the short, abrupt explanation which left me still unsatisfied.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "How do you actually ''imagine''?" I asked again. Elly mumbled and pondered for a way to answer me.

    ["You do know how to transfer your mana to me, don''t you?"] Elly asked with a solemn manner unfit her usual demeanour. I nodded at her.

    ["To be honest, Yuu didn''t actually transferring your mana toward me"] She continued.

    "Huh? But you did get the mana, right?" I replied her with a confused question. I''ve always thought I did properly transfer it to her.

    ["Yes, I did... But, it was not directed to me and I had to absorb the mana you aimlessly released by myself. It wasn''t that much different, but the way you did it will be taking more toll"] She stated as I stared closely at her every movement. ["What were you thinking when you did it?"] She continued with a question.

    When I was transferring the mana... I was thinking about shooting the mana out from me... I was chasing them out from my body so that Elly can... wait, I was forcing them out, wasn''t I?

    I tried focusing on the mana which was flowing inside my body, it was getting more obvious as time goes if I had to compare with the time when I first reached the cave. I didn''t even realize it until Elly forcefully took it out from me. And since then, I couldn''t un-feel the mana anymore.

    ["Imagine the mana flowing gently... don''t rush it Yuu. Try directing it only to me"] Elly instructed.

    I stopped walking so I can be more focused. I closed my eyes. All I could hear is my own breathing. I feel the mana flowing inside of me. I gathered it, slowly, gently, while keeping myself relaxed. I calmly inhaled... and exhaled... My heart beat in a normal pace and it felt quite comfortable.

    I opened my eyes and stared at Elly, who is now standing in front of me, waiting. I can feel the mana slowly emerging out from me. I stared at Elly with scrutinizing eyes and beads of sweat have started pooling on my forehead. ["Take it slow Yuu"] She whispered and actually calmed me down again.

    I raised my right hand up and moved my palm out facing Elly. I tried making a thin opening out of the mana shrouding my hand and directing it out from me. A thin golden transparent thread of mana travelled to and touched Elly''s forehead. Slowly, spreading over her and also shrouded her with the same golden light.

    ["You did it! Yuu, you actually did it!"] Elly suddenly shouted in my head and broke my focus. The golden light instantly vanished.

    I think I''ve got it

    The longer I focus, the more the mana felt like another perception to me. Human has five senses, which are the sense of taste, sight, touch, smell and sounding. Human received all senses at once but some sense tends to be stronger than another at sometimes, it depends on where the focus was put and how it was activated.

    Mana felt like the unity of all five senses. If I put enough focus on it, I can control it. That''s what I convinced myself. And now, to strike the iron while it''s hot, I turned my focus back on my hand and solely on my hand. Doing it once made it easier at the second time. I, slowly, shrouded my hand with mana. After feeling contented with the mana I gathered on my hand. I raised the glowing hand and I swung it in front of me in one straight swift line.

    "¡­"

    ["What are you doing?"] Elly stared at my glowing right hand, then she shifted her eyes meeting mine. It was awkward.

    How did I do it... the slicing magic. It was magic, right? The spiders... then, the blade too...

    "Elly... do you remember that giant spider monster back in the canyon cave?" I asked and she nodded.

    "I think I am the one who killed it" I confessed. Elly gave me a surprised look. But, not because she didn''t know the fact that I was the one who killed it. It was the opposite.

    ["Huh? I''ve always thought that it was Yuu"] She stated. Listened to what Elly said, made me feel even more confident about it. I am the one who did it. But how?

    "Can you teach me how?" I seriously asked but I was responded with a plain big old stare.

    ["Heee? I thought you yourself know how, because it was Yuu who did it, didn''t you?"] She threw me a confused look.

    "No, I wasn''t aware about it myself" I answered and now she crossed her arms across her chest. She leaned her back on a nearby tree and looked at me.

    ["Elly also doesn''t know how"] She uttered.

    "But, didn''t you use magic on your legs and arms?" I asked again.

    Elly once again raised her right hand with clenched and glowing blue fist. She turned away from the tree she formerly leaned on and thrust her magic imbued hand into the tree bark.

    Baam!

    She thrusted her fist straight through and out from the other side. The tree cracked and started swaying. The leaves on the tree shook, old ones dropped from the branch and swinging on the air until it reached the ground. Elly retracted her fist back in a swoop causing a hollow on the tree, thus it tilted to one side and fell toward the ground. The tree had crashed down and the leaves from the tree were scattered everywhere behind Elly.

    ["Mine is different, what I did is to boost my strength while protecting my fist too... it will be easier than just to throw bare punch, which will be damaging to me if I hit things like this"] She explained while showing her flawless hand to me.

    "So... did you mean that you cannot do it like what I did? That slicing magic" I asked. Elly nodded while hiding her hand back into her dangling long sleeve.

    ["Uhhm... I can''t do it like the way Yuu did. But, I might be able to find some other way to achieve through my own mana affinity. It was awesome after all!"] Elly declared excitedly.

    Hmm? Does it mean...

    "Elly... what''s your mana affinity?" I solemnly asked.

    ["It is..."] She paused and blinked, ["Water!"] And she announced as she stretched her hands open as though asking for a hug.

    Well... that is what I''ve expected. Elly is a mermaid anyway. What else could it be

    "Elly, what''s my mana affinity... can you tell?" I asked while my heart secretly pounded with excitement. But, my brain ignored it.

    Elly moved closer with scrutinizing eyes. She stared at me for quite a while without saying any word. She scanned me from top to bottom. After that, she let out a sigh.

    ["Eh, I thought I know but... Uhm... I am not sure. I can normally see the mana''s affinity in a person but why... why can''t I see yours?"] She mulled over it while eyes still stuck on me. ["I thought that Yuu''s affinity is ''wind''¡­] She added as her eyes opened wide and now looked into my eyes.

    ["The way you sliced through the air... that should be the power of ''wind''] She added some explanation. But, then she puffed her cheek and turned around.

    ["Aaaah... I don''t know! Observing your mana made my head hurt"] Elly started marching forward and thus we left the area where the tree collapsed by Elly''s thrust.

    Wind... Hmm... I will have to find it out myself then...

    We started walking down the forest. Elly looked as carefree as she usually does. As for myself, I started organizing my thought. Where questions were still piled as high as mount Everest. I was lining up my priorities.

    First, I have to find out where exactly is this place, am I still in the earth?

    Second, I have to find out a way to go back to my homeland... the only clue is the people who came with me, who Elly said that they have been transported out of the cave while I didn''t.

    Third, find out what was that caves all about... It was called ''The Hell Gate'', well... I need to know more. But, definitely not by going back to those caves again.

    Those were three of my main priorities, as for now, I will have to find a city or village to start gathering the info. I looked at Elly and myself. We will need to change our cloth too. And... also food for my growling stomach. After a while of walk, a sudden loud collapsing sound reached both me and Elly.

    BOOMM! CRASHH!

    Elly suddenly ran and hid behind a tree. I, too, followed her steps. The sound was drawing closer. I peeked from behind the tree and saw two persons running from a far. No, actually there was three persons as the third person was carried on the back. An old man carrying a girl around my age, she seemed to be unconscious and another guy with a dark blue hair, wearing white coat, holding a long sword while chasing the old man in front of him.

    The dark blue haired guy slashed his sword mid-air, all of the sudden, the trees in front of him collapsed. The old man barely dodged and he looked troubled. I glanced at Elly, she was looking at them intently.

    "!!!!" The dark blue haired guy shouted and thrust another air slash with his sword. Another tree collapsed in front of the old man and the foliage blocked his way. The old man turned and about to made a roundabout but the dark blue haired guy flicked his sword again, slashed on the ground beside the old man. The old man couldn''t dodge in time and got his left leg slashed. The dark blue haired guy put on an evil smirk on his face as he inched closer to the old man who was wailing in pain. I kept myself stay hidden behind in a distance tree. Now turned my sight back to forward and closed my eyes for the inevitable.

    Exposing ourselves now is the last thing I want to do. That guy looked like a knight or something... Instinct told me to not making any contact with that guy, he looked strong... stronger than any guards before. Although i felt sorry... I can''t be reckless in this unknown area.

    "Grraaaaahhhh!" A familiar snarl and shout suddenly filled into my ear. I immediately opened my eyes and looked to the left where Elly was supposed to be there.

    Damn it... that girl!

    I peeked at them again, Elly had just landed a kick but got blocked by dark blue haired guy with his sword. He was pushed aback and far from his original position, regardless, he''s still standing on his two feet with unfaltering stance. He fixated his glare on Elly who had leapt behind, now standing face to face with that guy.

    Sigh... I should''ve known it, shouldn¡¯t I?

 Chapter 22: Cherry Lips

    "Grrr..." Elly snarled behind her helmet. It was a good thing that she took precautions to hid her face, but still, this is troubling.

    ["Yuu! Take the old man and the girl away from here!"] Elly ordered while her eyes still fixating on the dark blue haired man who dressed in a white vintage coat with an embroidered shirt beneath it.

    "!!!" The man yelled at Elly, he seemed to be questioning Elly''s sudden entrance. But, Elly didn''t give him any break. She leapt from her position and throw another kick. The man was pushed aback, but like before, he blocked it with his sword which was supported by another hand. He grabbed on Elly''s leg. Elly immediately kicked with her other leg and broke from his grip.

    The man flicked his sword and leapt in a blink. He slashed his sword at Elly who''s just landed on the ground. But, Elly jumped again, avoiding the air slash and landed further back, then she sprang toward the man. She spun and pointed her leg which had been boosted by the mana. The man shifted to side and barely dodged Elly''s kick. Elly landed beside him. Wind blasted from the impact and the foliage brushed wildly as they were blown out by the force.

    I glanced at the old man, he had the girl carried on his back and about to sneak out from the area while his face showed a pained look. Fortunately, the wound wasn''t deep and he''s still able move around. The dark blue haired man noticed, he leapt away from Elly and dashed toward the old man with his sword drawing against them. Elly jerked her head back and faced the leaping man.

    WOOOONNGGGGGG

    She roared at them. The sound waves blasted toward them. I closed both my ears. The dark blue haired man was staggered, including the old man. Elly successfully stopped the man, but only for a few second, the man has started adjusting himself back. Elly sprang to his direction and landed a direct kick on the man. He was sent straight afar, bounced on the ground and pounded hard on a tree trunk. Despite that, he quickly adjusted himself back into a stance, wiping off the blood he coughed out from his mouth. Then, he smirked, as though it was nothing major as he glared at Elly.

    ["Yuu! What are you doing? Hurry!"] Elly commanded me again.

    Dang, we could''ve avoid this trouble

    I pulled the helmet cover down, reluctantly unhide myself from the tree and dashed to the old man. The dark blue haired man noticed me and about to leapt toward the old man too. Elly knew his intention and blocked him off with a kick, but he avoided with a swift side stepping. He dashed again but interrupted again by Elly''s attack. His eyes fixated on the old man whom I had reached. At first, the old man looked at me with doubt, but then he chose to trust me and let me carry the girl, whom I assumed is his daughter on my back. We quickly scurried away from the battleground. Even though the old man''s leg was bleeding, he ran beside me without whining.

    Sound of boom and clash echoed throughout the area. Trees collapsing and the ground shook frequently. Most of Elly''s attack landed on the ground and the trees as she missed the man. Elly kept throwing him kicks but the man dodged and blocked all of them. The dark blue haired man shifted his eyes to me as I run and carrying the girl on my back. Elly broke his eye contact by throwing a kick she swung from the ground. The man saw her upcoming attack. He raised his hand up and caught her kicking leg. Elly was abruptly stopped. His hand not even pushed aback from the force nor speed. He squeezed his grip so tight that Elly grunted.

    He threw a sharp, cold, downcast stare to Elly. His intimidating aura was so overwhelming that he made Elly shivered. She quickly jumped with her another leg on the ground and spun her body, intended to break free. But that man pulled Elly away from her momentum. He slammed Elly to a tree, her head smashed on the trunk and the tree collapsed by the impact. "Aaaghh!!" Elly wailed as she dropped to the ground. The man walked to her side and he raised his leg. Next, his leg blurred down and he stomped on Elly''s ankle, with a force that cracked the ground along with a blast of raging wind. "!!!" Elly shrieked again.

    Elly?

    I jerked my head back as I run and saw Elly squirming on the ground. That dark blue haired man bent down and grabbed on Elly''s head. He raised her up to close their height difference until they were face to face. He swung the sword he held on the right hand and slashed it toward the helmet face.

    Clank

    Elly''s face was uncovered. She had blood rolling down from her nostril. She was glaring and snarling at the man. That man froze. He is now looking at her with eyes wide open. He was surprised to see her face as though he would never expected that face to be showing up in front of him. Elly took it as an advantage, she booted a powerful side kick to his waist. The dark blue haired man groaned as he took the hit and Elly was released from his grip. Elly dropped to the ground. She fixed herself up but her stance wobbled as her left ankle was injured. I stopped and hesitated about escaping when I saw Elly in that state.

    Should I help her?? But, what can I do??

    At the end, I decided on running away first. There''s nothing I can do with an unconscious girl carried on my back. That man once again fixed his stance but now he turned to my direction and ignored Elly. The next second, he had leapt from his position and he flung toward us in the fastest speed he ever shown. Elly tried to sprang, but her ankle didn''t cooperate and she tripped down. "Yuuu!!!" She shouted while lying flat on her stomach desperately, about to get up.

    I turned my head and glanced at the man who was coming toward me in a blurring speed. That man flicked his sword covered with green blazing sheen. He swung his sword behind as the green aura raged even more ferociously. Every cell of my body screamed danger upon seeing that. There''s no way I could evade the upcoming blow. I stopped abruptly as I turned toward him. His face frowned.

    BWOOOOSSSHHHH!!

    I thrust my hand at his direction and a transparent force busted straight at him, broke his momentum and sent him backward. He crashed into three layers of trees and stopped at the fourth. The surrounding birds screeched as they fly away. Dust strewn across the air, covering the ground and slowly fading out.

    In front of me, is a destroyed path dragged straight to the man I just sent flying. My hand still hung on the air with palm facing in front of me. A green glow faded away from my palm and I can feel my mana had calmed down. I peered through the smoke caused by the impact. That man sat underneath the broken tree. His head hung down and I can''t sense any movement from him, but oddly, his sword still gripped tight on his right hand.

    What the hell was that??

    "Elly! Can you walk??" I shouted at the wobbling Elly, she nodded as she started dragging herself toward us. The old man looked at me with his eyes wide opened. He was surprised, so did I. Thus, we escaped the area, leaving the dark blue haired man, not knowing whether he is alive or not. When we were moving through the forest, the old man talked to me. I didn''t understand what he said. Unexpectedly, Elly replied to him and they exchanged speech.

    "Huh? You know how to speak their language?" I asked. I never thought she could, because she only speak ''uhm'' and ''uuu'' when she first met me and she never replied any of the question of the guards or the man back there threw to her.

    This girl... she never stopped surprising me.

    ["He said that the village he stays is near... we will be going to his house"] Elly translated for me.

    "Why didn''t you tell me that you understand their language?" I continued asking.

    ["Well, you never asked me anyway... ehe"] Elly smirked as she answered.

    That¡¯s true though...

    I agreed and let the old man lead us to his house. The girl I was carrying on my back was still unconscious. I wonder what happened between them. Why were they being chased and that man back there, who is he?Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ahh... I hope the commotion didn''t draw any of those guards to us

    The direction we were running to, was actually following the route which I and Elly originally tracked. I glanced at the old man once a while. Even though, he looked old. He has maintained an athletic body and his stamina didn''t fit his age at all. I glanced at his hastily bandaged leg. The blood soaked through the cloth and still dripping down. I was surprised at how he easily ripped his sleeve and tied it around his injury in a calm manner a while ago.

    In the other side, Elly still moved in a funny stride as her steps were unbalanced from her swelling ankle. I asked why she doesn''t heal herself like how she did before. But, she only said that she couldn''t. Although I¡¯m not satisfied with the short answer. I didn''t ask more. For now, we need to be cautious of the surrounding and quickly reach to our destination.

    It was a long run but fortunately, the man didn''t chase after us. He might be dead. And if he really is dead, it means that I had killed a person. The thought itself feel a bit disturbing to me but what happened back there wasn''t intentional. I didn''t expect that at all. Anyway, there were also no guards came running for us so it''s good. We spent few hours of run and finally shuffled out from the forest. A small village filled with old brick and wooden small houses strewn across the sun setting horizon. It was a scenery straight out from a middle-aged painting. What hit my head first was a question.

    Where the hell am I??

    Seeing the village didn''t clear my mind, instead it further clouded with unsolved questions. Far from the village, lies blanket of lush mountains gleaming in orange tint as the sun started setting down. The houses in the village was distanced by wheat fields and further back should be the center as the houses gathered closer at that area.

    Leaded by the old man, whom he introduced himself as Arex, we headed east, where a shabby wooden house built near the forest and secluded from all the houses in the village. The village was not as populated as what I have expected. I saw the faces of peeking people from their house as we moved past but they didn''t look very welcoming.

    I told Elly to ask what is the name of this village and Arex said it is ''Paltia''. I mulled over it, thinking hard and throughout about the name. But, nothing came to me at all. Looking at the appearance of the villagers and the architecture of the houses. The village resembles an old era western countryside. But, as for what country this village belongs to, I didn''t ask. To be honest, I couldn''t fully trust the old man yet. We''ve just met and he was chased by a seemingly knight or royal guard and moreover a quite skilled one. I was reminded by the evil grin that dark blue haired man put on his face when he fought Elly. I secretly hoped that he is dead.

    I shouldn''t act like I know nothing about this world... I have to think carefully about the question I will be asking.

    Arex let us walked into his house. There were two rooms and the old man opened one on the right, which is a bedroom filled with one low wood table on the corner which he called a bed. I walked to the bed side and finally let the girl I carried on my back down to the wood surface. There was a window above the bed, so I glanced through it when my eyes were aligned with it. A small wooden shack was built not far from the house. The door to that shack was chained by a rusty lock. In front of the shack, a horse was tied beside a green carriage. No window was built on the carriage, so I supposed it was for transporting supplies. But, it could fit a couple person inside if wanted.

    Arex went to the kitchen and opened a few cabinets until he finally found some white candles and lit up the house with those. Elly and I sat beside the girl on the wooden bed. She has a long wavy blonde hair and a round face like Elly. Her lips are as red as cherry in contrast with her skin. Now that I closely observed, she''s probably younger than me. She is wearing a red frilly dress. Her father, Arex is wearing a neat black suit too. Their clothes didn''t reflect the shabby wooden house they lived in at all. I wonder where they were going before that man attacked. Arex was outside the room, now closing the windows and locking the door. Then I looked at Elly''s swelling ankle.

    "Elly, why can''t you heal yourself?" I asked. She shifted her eyes to her ankle.

    ["Ahh... yes, actually... I can''t heal myself like how I heal others with the usual way"] She answered before she paused for a bit as she looked through the door, probably watching Arex.

    "But, didn''t you heal yourself after that fight with the spi..." I stopped, interrupted by my own sudden realization.

    She indeed healed herself but it was different... At that time, she-

    ["I have to be in my mermaid form"] She explained. Thus, it made sense why she never heals herself during a fight.

    "Are there other limitations?" I asked. In case we jumped into another unexpected fight. I need to know her limits.

    ["I have to be fully submerged in water too"] She awkwardly smiled as she rubbed her ankle. ["But, it will eventually heal by itself as time goes... just not as instant as how I healed myself in the water"] She added.

    "Can it be any water? Even in a dirty or cramped place?" I asked.

    ["Yuckie... but yes, that will do, as long as it is water"] Elly stick her tongue out as she imagined the question I asked.

    "???" Arex suddenly walked in on us, he held two set of clothing on his hand. He gave me one of the set and another one to Elly. I nodded to him as a thank as I don''t speak his language. He asked about my language to Elly before. Elly shrugged it off by saying that I came from a faraway country. Arex can only chose to trust the vague information Elly gave to him at that moment. I believe he was being wary around us. We were walking in the woods wearing a guard''s uniform after all. If I was him, I would feel suspicious too.

    We changed the previous guard clothing out. It was a rugged long sleeve brown coloured tunic with a V shaped collar. Elly also wore the same tunic but in a white colour. The sleeves are too long and dangled down from her hand like the previous guard cloth. But, she seemed to like her oversized clothing. I asked why Arex didn''t give her a girl''s clothing, he said that he lost her daughter''s clothing on their travel when they were suddenly got attacked by that dark blue haired man. The only clothes they have left is the few old ones of his own in the wardrobe.

    ["This morning, Arex was travelling to another city with his daughter. They are going to visit their relative. They went with a travelling cart along with a few villagers inside too. Then, all of a sudden, that man attacked their cart and killed everyone else. He managed to escape until... he met us"] Elly translated Arex''s story to me as he talked. I looked at his daughter.

    "What happened to his daughter?" I asked Elly to question him. Elly spoke and the old man Arex, he answered.

    ["He said that his daughter is usually ridden with sickness and weak, his other purpose of visiting that city was to bring her to see a better doctor. So, when they were in the middle of escaping, her daughter fainted as her illness gave her away."] Arex looked at her daughter and his eyes were getting teary, but regardless, he managed to hold his tears from rolling down to his cheeks.

    "Can you heal her, Elly?" I glanced at Elly but she immediately shook her head.

    ["I''ve tried but... it doesn''t work and I don''t know why. Something within her blocked my healing magic"] Elly answered and sighed helplessly. She held the hand of that girl and clench it tight. Elly seemed to like that girl. Arex talked to Elly again and then they looked at me.

    ["He said that he will be going to the city the next morning as travelling in the night will be dangerous. Monsters will be lurking in the forest when night fall. But, the village is safe because a barrier was set and..."] Elly listened intently to Arex who is currently continuing his speak ["¡­he said that he wants us to accompany him on the journey, in case that the man came after them again"] Elly finished translating.

    To accompany them to another city huh... he said that there is a better doctor, so it could be a bigger city. I might be able to get a whole lot of information there.

    "Okay..." I nodded at Elly and then I stared at her, "By the way, why do you have to ¡®actually¡¯ speak even when you were telepathing with me?" I asked. Elly was talking all the time when she was sending her thought to me via the usual way. Although I have a few guesses in my head. I asked to confirm my thought. She¡¯s been doing that since we were moving in the forest.

    ["Actually... I don''t want him knowing that we can be communicating via telepathy..."] Elly explained and I shot her a ''why'' gaze. ["Uhm... I will explain later"] She ended the conversation while exchanging stare with Arex. We smiled awkwardly at each other after that.

    Elly seemed to be wary around Arex. I don¡¯t know why but I feel the same too...

    I looked at Arex. His dark brown hair had white mixed into it. He¡¯s polite and he looked like a friendly old man, nonetheless, I shouldn''t let my guard down. I will keep a close eye on him. After a moment of silent, Elly asked Arex where she can relieve herself. It was outside of the house, Arex said he will guide Elly and so they walked out of the room, leaving me and the girl alone. Sound of door unlocking could be heard and they had left the house. I glanced at the opened door and watched as their back disappeared into the shadow. Somehow, that sight concerned me.

    Well... what can an old man do to Elly anyway.

    I travelled my eyes throughout every nook and cranny of this room. The candle put by Arex on the table illuminated the entire room. The candle is strangely bright. Brighter than any candle I''ve ever seen before. I gazed at the flickering fire which casted shadow upon my figure to the wall behind me. There''s a cabinet beside the bed and my eyes caught on a painting hung on the cabinet door. Then, when I was about to go get a clearer sight of it...

    Snatch

    Someone gripped on my wrist. A cold eerie hand. My heart thumped and I jerked my head down to see what''s pulling my hand. It was that girl whom I never seen in her conscious state before. Her eyes opened and now staring at me with a frowned face while still lying flat on her back. Her cherry lips quivered as she slowly opened it.

    And she talked. But, I don''t understand any bits of it.

 Chapter 23: The Night Sky

    "..."

    I stared at the girl surprised by her sudden grip. It was tight at first but her fingers eventually loosen. Her hand dropped and now hung over the bedside. I looked intently at her as she whispering words that I don''t understand. Her eyelids slowly fluttered down as her conscious and the frown on her face drifted away. Her eyes now closed and a small drop of tear rolled pass her cheek.

    "Hey-" I leaned close to her and tried calling her back but she didn''t show any sign of reaction to my voice.

    I should call Arex and Elly

    I turned back and hastily walked out of the room. At that moment, Arex had just stepped into the house. I beckoned him to quickly go into the room. He was surprised to see my sudden change of facade. His rather red face turned pale after he saw my gesture. He probably thought of something bad happened to her daughter.

    He dashed into my direction with eyes fixated on the inside. I quickly stepped aside as he trod pass me. He reached the bed and sat beside his daughter. He keenly stared at her as he let out a relieved sigh. I moved into the room and stood beside him as he turned his puzzled face toward me. He opened his mouth but immediately shut after he realized that I will not understand any words he¡¯s about to say. Then, he gave me a rather stern gaze.

    "She was... awake..." I tried talking with hand gestures as I pointed at the blonde girl and then tugging my eyes from close to open. He frowned while trying to guess what I mean, until Elly finally came to the rescue. We both looked at Elly in relief. Elly stared at us with her big blue eyes. She looked at me and Arex back and forth, wondering what was happening. I immediately explained.

    "That girl, she was awake just now and she talked before she went unconscious again" Elly shifted her eyes to the girl and back to me again as I continued "But, I didn''t understand what she was trying to say" I confessed. Arex tried to process what he heard but in the end, he couldn''t contain his urge of wanting to know what had occurred to her daughter as he impatiently questioned to Elly.

    After a brief explanation from Elly, Arex''s expression suddenly changed. I caught a glimpse of his brows twitched in surprise before he turned his back facing us. He crouched down as he held her daughter''s hand. He repeated some words "Trea... trea..." probably the name of his daughter who I haven¡¯t asked yet and continuing with words I don''t know.

    ["He said that his daughter usually had nightmare whenever her illness gone worse. She will be talking meaningless thing and crying in her sleep... my poor daughter... uuuuu..."] Elly explained as she listened to Arex and then she sob. Her eyes gleamed with sympathy toward the old man. Truth to be told, I was surprised to see that kind of reaction from her. I can feel the guard she has been putting around Arex starting to broke into pieces.

    But I don''t.

    That girl... she''s definitely awake and conscious even though only for a moment. I can feel the desperateness coming from her words, as if she was pleading for... help.

    I travelled my eyes back to the cabinet behind me. Slowly, I turned my back and walked away from them. My shadow casted upon the cabinet and a piece of small painting hanging on it. I know that I had to take a look of that painting. I need to know more about this old man and his daughter. I can''t just sit down and received the info one-sidedly. Who knows how much truth that actually came out from his mouth. Ever since we entered this house, I''ve been feeling something... something wrong.

    I stood in front of the wooden cabinet with scrutinizing eyes. I moved my hand toward the painting but the intended object was snatched away all of sudden. I glanced to my side. Startled.

    Arex had already stood by my side, wordlessly. He had a solemn expression and pursed lips. His dark coloured eyes stared into mine. Half of his face was engulfed by the shadow which further added the eerie vibe he currently gives. But, then he beamed me a friendly smile as he turned and looked at the picture.

    ["He said that it is a painted picture of her daughter"] Arex held the picture up. I peeked from my side but he eventually showed it to me. It was indeed a picture of that girl in her conscious state while smiling happily. But, the picture felt off.

    Huh... I thought I saw more than one person displayed in the picture. Am I seeing things?

    "Elly... ask him about his wife and whether he has more child" I talked to Elly but my eyes glued on Arex. He put the picture back on the cabinet. Elly did as I told and Arex answered while his eyes met mine as though he was talking directly to me.

    ["He said... His wife was dead for quite a long time ago and Trea is his only daughter... by the way, what is going on Yuu... you sounded different"] Elly asked while looking at me with a discerning gaze.

    "Nothing... Elly, keep him inside the room" I solemnly requested. Elly agreed without much asking. Good thing that she knew how to read the atmosphere. I excused myself out of the room and Arex seemingly wanted to follow but Elly held him back and started talking to him. Arex stared at me from the corner of his eyes but then he''s back to Elly reluctantly.

    That old man... he''s hiding something

    I went to the kitchen which is also the entrance area. I scanned at all the things placed in this area. There is a rectangle wooden table with four wooden stools on each side. The crockeries were put on the shelf above the stack of firewood with a big pot hung over it. Some other cookery tools were placed on the brick counter built beside the big pot. I moved to the corner where a door to another room was positioned. Slowly, I pushed the door into a small opening and peered through it. Inside was the same wooden beds and desk with a wardrobe standing beside the door.

    This house... it doesn''t look like only two persons live in it.

    I gently closed the door back and moved to the house entrances. I slid the lock open and slowly, moved myself out from the house filled with the chatter between Elly and Arex. I closed the door behind me with a ''thud''. To my left is the thick forest where the moonlight didn''t reach, it was a pitch black. To my right are the houses of the village illuminating the area with the candlelight shines through their windows. After a few seconds, my eyes adapted to the darkness and caught something bright shining above my head.

    The night sky which i never really liked, usually only blackness could be seen. It was different here. The black is now scattered with colourful and sparkling millions of stars. A scene that could never be seen in my neighbourhood. The moon, it was bigger and brighter than how it supposed to be. My heart started thumping with excitement as I unconsciously submerged myself into the panoramic view above me. I almost forgot my motive going out of the house.

    This is not the time for awe-inspiring...

    I carefully trod my way to the small wooden shack where a scruffy latrine built beside it. My eyes were constantly peeking at the breathtakingly night sky. As I turned my sight to the house, a black figure stood by the window pounded my little heart. I inwardly gasped. It was Arex. Elly popped out beside him and she waved to me in the shadow. Seeing her calmed me down greatly from the little shock I just received, so I waved her back and pointed at the latrine, while Arex was just watching me.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Damn... He¡¯s starting to creep me out

    I changed the direction I was originally going and head to the latrine. I opened the latrine and as I casually walked in, Arex''s shadow disappeared into the room. Seeing that, I quickly dashed out from the latrine and hid at the side which facing the wooden shack. The latrine had perfectly blocked me from the window''s view. I stopped a while to regulate my breath with a sigh and then I looked up at the poorly built wooden shack. I crouch walking to the back of the shack as I closely observe the wall forming the poor building.

    There is it

    As expected, the wooden plank was not evenly placed. Right at the back of the shack, there''s a small crack just wide enough for me to peek through. I glanced to my right side. The latrine was still blocking me from the window''s line of sight, just barely though. I placed both my hand on the wall while aligning my right eye to the crack. I blinked and peered intently through it. But, all I got is pitch black.

    Of course, it will be dark. What am I thinking...

    I sighed inwardly and pulled myself away from the wall with disappointment. I probably should quickly head into the house before Arex came out to check on me. I peeked out from the latrine that blocked me. Nobody standing by the window so I snuck to the latrine again and casually pretending as though I just came out from it. In case that Arex suddenly popped up. When, I was about to move forward. I felt an intimidating aura coming toward my back.

    What th-

    I threw myself to the right and fell onto the ground as I jerked my head to the left.

    Whooossshh!!

    A slash of slicing wind ran through the ground beside me until it hit on a tree. The tree split and collapsed down. I pushed myself up while facing the source of the familiar attack. Another slash came after me again. I barely evaded and quickly leapt toward the shack. I leaned my back close onto the wall while I bobbed my head out to see the walking figure inching closer toward my direction. His strides were not stable. But, his intimidating aura overwhelmed me. His dark blue hair gleamed below the moonlight. His long sword reflected the night sky as he swung to side.

    That man, he''s not dead!

    "Yuu!!?" Elly shouted at me from that little window and then she noticed who I was trying to hide from. Elly jumped out of the window without any hesitation and landed with a groan. Her ankle must be digging her up. That man leapt with his blazing green sword, simultaneously, Elly sprang at him with her glowing blue legs. Both colour clashed at each other and they jerked backward after a loud "Bam".

    "!!!" That man shouted as he drew his sword again. His eyes glinted with fury as he wildly swung his sword. He was panting heavily and seemingly about to collapse in any moment. The injury he got from me in the forest must have been screwed him up pretty bad internally.

    He repeatedly slashed his sword toward Elly. But, his attacks were slower and blunt if compared to before. Elly easily dodges all the attack but her ankle also limited her from counterattacking. Elly dodged and leapt until she threw herself close to the shack where I stood covering myself. That man directed his air slash toward us. I threw myself away from the wall.

    BBOOOOMMM!!

    His attack landed on the thin wooden wall and successfully blown a big crack through it. The planks were destroyed and parts of the roof collapsed. The moonlight finally forced it way through and exposed what''s lying inside. The main door of the house suddenly made a loud thud noise. I glanced at the house and caught Arex carrying her daughter out. Our eyes met.

    "Y-yuu??" Elly called on my name while she stood frozen as she stared bug eyed into the crumbling shacks. I turned my head to see what she was surprised by. Inside the shack, it was filled with tools and supplies. In-between the boxes and barrels, there lied three cold bodies on the ground with their hands and legs tied tightly with rope. Their mouth was forcefully blocked with murky cloth. Two adults and a boy child, whom the soul had already long parted with the body. They all had their throat slit open horizontally which caused them to dead from the shock and blood loss. The slit wasn''t deep enough to cause instant death. They probably struggled for a period of times before they died with eyes bulged open as though screaming ''I don''t want to die''.

    "FWEEEEEEE!!" That old man Arex whistled and threw a small knife aiming at the rope tying his horse. The horse broke from the leash responding to his loud whistle and galloped to his position. That dark blue haired man ignored Elly and I. He sprang toward Arex who''s already jumped into his horse with the girl placed on his back. That man slashed his sword but the air slash missed and landed behind the galloping horse. His hand was trembling, regardless, he gritted his teeth and ran toward the galloping horse.

    "Elly!!" I called Elly and she nodded as though she understood what I mean. Elly put all her mana into her legs as she mumbled some sort of spell. The usual soft blue glow suddenly blazed wildly and the next moment, she sprang forward leaving me a blast of wind which made me fall backward. Elly passed through the desperate man in a flash and she stopped in front the galloping horse with her palm raised up, facing the startled horse. The horse jerked back and raised its front legs in surprise as it whines.

    The unconscious blonde girl was thrown off the unstable horse. Arex turned to reach the girl but he got a stomp on his face before he could do that. Elly bounced on his face as she sprang toward the girl who''s still had her eyes shut tight even amidst the chaos. It was only split seconds away before she fell to the ground with head down.

    Thud

    Arex fell over his horse. The girl was successfully hauled up but not by Elly. That man with dark blue hair, he had the girl embraced close to him with his left hand. Then, he raised his right hand which tightly gripping the sword. He swished it up and lunged down in a vertical line. Arex jumped up into a stance and his face scrunched into an ugly agitating expression. He mumbled a spell under his breath and a dark purplish magic circle emerged mid-air in a blink of an eye.

    BOOMM

    The air slash stopped as it clashed with Arex''s magic circle and caused both party to hit by the recoil, they both flung a few meters backward. Taking advantage of the current distance, Arex sprang to his horse again intended for an escape. "Hyaaaa!!!" Elly landed her favourite spin kick on his head before he adjusted himself on the horse. He crashed straight to the ground with blood spurting out of his mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his skull. His head was half buried into the ground. Elly bounced back and swung her injured ankle as she groaned and complained.

    ["Should I kill him?"] Elly looked at me as she questioned. I know she will do it if I didn''t give her an immediate respond so I shook my head and she seemed to be disappointed.

    Now that Arex was down and the girl is saved. But, the atmosphere remained as tense. That dark blue haired man glared intimidatingly at us. Elly was alerted by his aura and she prowled in distance as she keenly gauged at the man.

    ["How about this guy? I can kill him, right?"] Elly asked again, but she didn''t seem to be asking for a permission, instead she had started leaping toward that guy. I closed my eyes and gather the mana on my right hand.

    Now!!

    "Stop!!" I thrust my palm facing them and a bullet speed force shot through the air passing in between those two and directly hit the house.

    BOOMM!!

    One side of the wall was destroyed. The candlelight inside the house diminished. Both of them jolted backward and glanced at me in sync. I walk to them. They stared at me, especially the man, he''s surprised.

    "Elly... Stop it. He''s not the bad guy..." I paused briefly and sighed. "... We misunderstood him" I declared. She grunted but she didn''t look surprise. She seemed to had already know what I mean, but still giving that man, an unfriendly glare. That man, being wary around us, he held the girl and the sword close to him. Blood adorned the corner of his mouth. His legs lightly trembled, barely supporting himself and the girl.

    "...hh" The girl grunted softly and caught our attention. All of the eyes now on the awakened girl. Her eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes right at my face. She tiredly blinked and then she weakly glanced up at the man holding her. She whispered something to that man. After that, he turned to look at me with a stern expression. But, the vibe he gave is much friendlier than before. No hostility can be felt from him anymore. That man unsheathed his sword back to its cover beside his waist.

    ¡°Elly... what did she say¡± I asked. While looking at the girl who¡¯s now also looking at me unblinking. Her lips slowly curled into a smile, directing at me. Looking at her smile made me filled with guilt.

    Ring

    I caught the object which the man suddenly throw to me. It was a leather bracelet with a round yellow gem planted on the middle. I looked at him befuddled by his intention and then he spoke.

    [¡°Regulate your mana into it... he said¡±] Elly explained to me while she curiously stared at the object too.

    Without further await, I did as he told to direct my mana into the bracelet. The gem in the middle glowed as a respond to me. I didn¡¯t understand the purpose of the object until he spoke to me.

    ¡°Who are you¡± The dark blue haired man talked, while I glanced at him in shock.

 Chapter 24: Rhoselyn and Erol

    "Who are you?" He spoke. What surprised me was that I ''understood'' him.

    Elly looked at us back and forth quizzically. She snuck into my head, ["Yuu¡­ He said... Who are you"] Elly whispered what I''ve already knew. At that moment, I realized. It wasn''t that he spoke in my language. It was the bracelet which he gave to me, it worked like how I communicated with Elly. The magic bracelet broke the core of the language and conveyed the meaning directly to my head.

    How convenient. I wonder if this kind of thing is common in this world.

    "Yuu" I answered after a short while of hesitation. His eyes are sharp and cold. His wavy hair got messed up from all of the action. He has a sculpted face that would make any girls fawn over him. But then, his intimidating glaring eyes should have negated that effect. He would scare a child with that piercing cold stare. I glanced at the girl. She was just there, blinked at me as she observes. That girl wiggled herself out from the man, who is holding her awkwardly, he immediately released his hand from holding on the girl.

    That girl adjusted herself after a wobble on her feet. Her long wavy blonde hair almost covering her face, and so she tucked it behind her ear, exposing her transparent cheek. She was lying unconscious just a while ago, but now she stood on her feet facing me with a weak smile beamed on her dainty face. She stepped toward me. That man moved forward with a frowned face but the girl shook her head, as though saying ''it''s alright''. She seemed to be in a better shape than before. I wondered what¡¯s going on.

    "Thank you... for siding with him" She thanked, as she glanced at her kidnapper and then back to me. She had slightly droopy eyes, which reminded me of a puppy. She gives off a dignified Lady kind of aura. She probably is someone of high status, which explained how she was dressed up if to compare to the villagers I saw earlier. And that cold-eyed man beside her. He''s probably a guard of her.

    I will see how things go first...

    Elly suddenly leapt and caused the man to alert. But, it was too late. Elly had buried her face into the girl¡¯s chest as she hugged her. Then, she turned her face to side as she glared at the man. That man seemed to be dissatisfied with Elly closing to the girl. He scowled at Elly''s behavior. Those two gauged at each other like a cat and a dog. The girl chuckled at Elly as she patted on her fluffy blue hair.

    ¡°Miss Rhoselyn¡­ You didn¡¯t know, it was because of them that you were almost kidnapped! They helped that vile man. And this person...¡± The man vented as he looked at me, paused. He had a quick run through his mind, and then he grunted ¡°I can''t trust him¡± His voice is low and hateful as he shot a cold glance toward me.

    I wouldn''t trust me if I were in his shoes too...

    "No, Erol. They tried helping me. I was listening all the time. They were fooled by that person..." She calmly explained to the dark blue haired man whom she called ''Erol''.

    So, their name is Erol and Rhoselyn huh...

    "But they attacked me!" Erol protested.

    "What happened right before they jumped out?" Rhoselyn asked, her voice is soft but yet clear and pressuring enough. She aligned her face to Erol.

    "Trying to save you, Miss Rhoselyn" Erol was confused by her question which she should have known well the answer herself. "What else could I be doing" He mumbled to himself while still pondering at the odd question.

    "But, why didn''t you able to save me at that moment?" Rhoselyn continued her question. Erol blurted.

    "I was close to save you, Miss Rhoselyn. Until these two came out and sided with him. They attacked me!" Erol explained while swinging his hand horizontally. He frowned in disdain while giving us a glare.

    "There you go... there you go... Erol, that is the problem..." Rhoselyn calmly explained to Erol as she looked at him. Erol raised one of his brow and eyes squinted in confuse.

    "Huh?" He was dumbfounded.

    "It was your attitude and... your face" Rhoselyn added.

    "My face?" Rhoselyn''s explanation only further complicated the already confused Erol. He touched his cheek and then he looked at his hand. He didn''t get the message at all. Rhoselyn released Elly from hugging and she moved two steps closer to Erol. She raised both her hand and pinched Erol''s cheek. "...Eh?" Erol jolted.

    "Smmileee" Rhoselyn instructed while pulling the corner of his lip upward. Erol froze in place, his gray eyes dilated in astonishment. Tip of his ear turned reddish. He jolted backward and broke himself free. Rhoselyn retracted her hands while putting an amused expression. And then she turned to my direction.

    "Erol always gives out a misleading impression to other people. Despite that, he''s actually not all that bad. See?" Rhoselyn explained as she hinted to Erol, who is now blushing with mouth open and flustered, his eyes bulged in surprise. A few seconds after, he cleared his throat with an "Ahem" and back to the cold expression he usually put on.

    "Nevermind that... Miss Rhoselyn, we will be leaving now." Erol impatiently suggested and then he looked at me. "That horse, we will take it" He declared.

    "Wait, Erol..." Rhoselyn stopped Erol from walking away. Then, she pulled Elly close to her. "How can we leave this injured little girl in the dark? It was you who wounded her, wasn''t it?" She asked while also glanced at Elly. Elly repeatedly nodded and glared at Erol in fury. "...He stomped at my ankle... uuuh" Elly complained as she tilted her head up looking at Rhoselyn.

    "Huh? That ''little girl''? Miss Rhoselyn, don''t be fooled by her act, she-" Rhoselyn cut his unfinished words as she spoke, "You name... is Elly, am I right?" She asked and Elly immediately nodded.

    "Actually, I wasn''t fully unconscious throughout the time. His spell ''Paralyze Sleep'' was to keep me from moving and talking by blocking my consciousness. I was struggling to break from his spell but I guess I''m not powerful enough. But, I managed to maintain my hazy consciousness even for a few second. Was it you? The one I pulled?" She explained and asked to confirm her guess. I nodded.

    "Miss Rhoselyn" Erol protested but is ignored. She continued talking to me.

    "Are you going somewhere after this?" She asked at me.

    This ''Miss Rhoselyn'' didn''t even show any slight of hostile toward us at all. Although we did almost successfully help the kidnapper out. Should I say that she''s being prudent or...

    "Miss Rhoselyn is talking to you" Erol urged me. He stared at me from behind Rhoselyn. If I stay quiet, thing will soon go awry again. He seemed to be an impatient and prideful man.

    "Why are you asking?" I answered, but with a question of my own. To be honest, I don''t have anywhere in mind. My questioning answer to Rhoselyn seemed to have madden Erol.

    Erol stepped forward about to confront me, but Rhoselyn swung her hand up and blocked him from going further. Erol stopped and looked at Rhoselyn in frustration. That girl, Rhoselyn, although she''s still occasionally, tiredly heaving throughout her speech. Still, she managed to calmly think through and talk to us.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    "I feel sorry for leaving Elly injured by Erol. As his master, I should be responsible for the trouble he caused to you-" She confessed as she looked at Elly with an apologetic face, "...will you come with me? I will help with healing her injury." She offered.

    Well, it''s not like I have anywhere in mind. And the villagers here also looked unfriendly. Plus, I have the feeling of the guards will be soon or later come searching to here. Elly can heal herself, but she might feel inconvenient exposing her mermaid form when around these people. She didn''t say it but, I''ve the feeling that she''s been covering her identity. She never once exposed her scales ever since we met other people...

    "Where are you going?" I asked.

    "To the city of Easton" Rhoselyn promptly answered. I glanced at Elly. There''s no familiarity on her facial expression.

    City of Easton... From the way they were dressed and to compare it to the villager here. I will assume that she came from a well-heeled family thus it won''t be just any small city. The city should be big and lively. Which mean... more information. But, I could be wrong, after all I don''t know what''s the standard of this world.

    Rhoselyn still waiting for me to answer. But, before I could open my mouth, Elly cut in, "Okay!!" She excitedly agreed as she glanced at me with hope. Rhoselyn also looked at me with patient. I sighed inwardly.

    "Alright, also, we''re sorry too..." I apologized, after all, it wouldn''t happen if not because of us being not enough observant. Same as Elly, I also jumped into conclusion about Erol. But, at that moment, any stranger would have assumed in the same way too. He didn''t show any hesitation in his eyes plus that intimidating aura he gave out. That strong murderous intent.

    "Not at all..." Rhoselyn humbly replied.

    We reached an agreement, Elly and I will join them to the city of Easton. Although, Erol was not any slightest agree to this conclusion. Although Erol didn¡¯t agree in the slightest. Still, he obeyed to Rhoselyn choice. Since then, he''s been keeping quiet and didn''t show any more objection. I don''t think that he''s foolish enough to engage into another fight with us too. I can feel how he''s enduring himself from giving out to his stamina. He barely masked it behind his cold monotonous expression.

    We went to report to the chief village about the case and about the man who killed the whole family. We heard that, the kidnapper has been around the village for the past two days. But, they never asked about his sudden appearance nor finding it weird about the family''s disappearance. As for now, the kidnapper is kept detained in the village''s prison.

    It was late night, so the journey to the city will be started at tomorrow morning. We were offered to rest at the chief house. The chief, from the face, he seemed to be friendly. But, he showed reluctant when he offered the suggestion. It felt like, he was forced or he felt that he ''should'' do that. I couldn''t yet comprehend his behavior. But, I think that I will learn why soon or later.

    The chief gave us two separated rooms, each for the male and female. It was not spacious but also, not cramped. The room filled with three pairs of that wooden bed with a not comfy looking pillow lying on top. These rooms, looked like it was specially made for visitors or... adventurers(?). Before Elly and I got separated, I warned her to not talking about how we came out from those caves. She nodded in consent. We walked into our room respectively, Erol didn''t talk any one bit and went directly to the bed closest to the door as I also quietly lie on my bed.

    And thus, I let the tiredness took over me.

    ***

    It''s late night.

    All the villagers were resting in their own respective houses. The road is empty, with only a person patrolling the area and making sure that the barrier placed around the village is still fine. The brick and wooden houses were mostly dark or dimly lit, except for one place. That is the chief house, which is also, the village town center. Fire torches were lit surrounding the flimsy wooden fence.

    In the front yard, when all the living creatures should be in deep sleep. But, there were two persons standing outside the house, muttering. It was Erol and the village chief. The chief gestured and leaded Erol to back yard where a shack and a villager guarding it. The guarded opened the locked door and they entered the small shack.

    It was built for a stair to the underground jail. Where the chief detained the kidnapper. They moved down the stone stairs. It was a short trip down; the underground was parted into three compartments built with sturdy looking steel bar. Lightened with only a candle scone on the wall near the stair. The underground is dark and cold with a hint of muddy smell. The ground is muddy and scattered with dry straws. Only one person habituating the cell, which is no one else than the person who called himself ''Arex''

    "You may leave" Erol ordered to the chief.

    The chief slightly bowed and then he climbed the stair, leaving Erol with the kidnapper who''s now staring from inside the narrow and dark compartment.

    That kidnapper, glared at Erol who''s also staring him with downcast eyes. He moved closer to the steel cells and then he talked.

    "Who are you?" He started his first question to the kidnapper.

    That kidnapper stayed quiet but constantly watching on him. He didn''t seem like he will be spilling anything out. Erol opened the steel door. But, the kidnapper couldn''t do a thing as his hands and legs were both chained to the furthest wall. The silver cuffs were studded with small golden gem. It was to nullify his mana so that he couldn''t cast any spell for escaping.

    Erol moved closer again. Until he''s just one step away from the glaring kidnapper. Erol looked down at him and then he spoke again.

    "Who sent you" His question is short and clear. Erol stared at him coldly.

    Ptoeee

    The kidnapper spitted on Erol and hit his leather boot. But, Erol didn''t say anything. He calmly pulled up his sword, slowly, with a ''shink'' sound, the sword is now exposed on the air and he pointed the tip of the blade at the jaw of the kidnapper. Erol pressured the blade and forced the kidnapper to chin up. The kidnapper¡¯s eyes glinted in disdain.

    "What is your motive?" Erol interrogated again, but this time, in a much more threatening tone. He pressed the tip of his blade and caused the kidnapper to jolt. Blood rolled down to his neck, regardless his mouth still shut tight.

    Slashh

    "AAAGGgghhhH!!" The kidnapper screamed as he pulled his own hands up directing to the side of his head. But, the chain on his hands limited his range and thus he couldn''t reach the side where the blood now dripping ferociously, he trembled in pain as he looked down to the ground. Part of his ear lying motionless. Erol pressed the tip of his sword against his jaw again and forced the trembling man to looked at him.

    "You, noble... dog" That man finally spoke but it was not to answer, it was to curse.

    Erol retracted his sword and crouched down as he aligned his face straight to the trembling, glaring fury man. The blood still dripping, stained his cloth and down to the straws on the ground. The kidnapper started panting heavily.

    "Who sent you?" He repeated the question. His tone is low and almost flat. Beside grunting in pain, the kidnapper didn''t answer anything. Erol stood up and moved his sword to the other side of his head, but then, he suddenly noticed the corner of a paper peeking out from the pocket of that man. The kidnapper noticed where Erol was looking at and mumbled, "No..."

    Erol pulled the paper up as the kidnapper squirmed helplessly. It was a folded paper. Erol casually opened the letter as the kidnapper struggling from breaking out of the chain. He read the content wordlessly and frowned. After that, Erol sneered as though he found something interesting.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Erol glanced at the kidnapper as he grinned in complacent of the newly acquired information. The kidnapper started to cower and morally decreased. He knew that he had lost the ground to keep himself worthy of staying alive. "No... please..." He pleaded as Erol tightly gripped the sword and stared at him without saying anything. His eyes as if staring at a piece of trash, that stare, it was horrifying to the kidnapper.

    "It will not work... y-you will need me... " The kidnapper declared in desperate, hoping the man who''s swinging the sword in front of him will stop whatever he had on the mind. Erol indeed stopped to listen but remained quiet and observant.

    "A code, unless there''s a spesific c-code... He w-will not expose h-himself-" The kidnapper stuttered and sweat started breaking out, he''s no longer putting the stuck-up face. Instead of getting interested, Erol showed flat and cold expression as he leaned closer to the kidnapper''s scrunching face. "Do you mean..." Erol aligned his mouth closer to his bloody ear and he whispered.

    The eyes of the kidnapper bulged in surprise. "H-how?!" He shrieked in disbelief but at the same time, he squirmed with all the strength he has left to avoid Erol. Erol stared at him with downcast eyes, the slight interest he had when the kidnapper first initiated has left his eyes. He swung his sword toward the yipping man.

    SLAASSSHHHH

    Blood splattered to the murky stone wall and pooled on the straws ground. A severed head rolled after an audible ''thud''. Erol turned away as he flicked the blood out of his sword. Not any sign of guilt flashed through his face. He casually sheathed his sword back as he walked out the ghost-quiet cell. He climbed upstairs. In front of the underground entrance, the chief stood and waited for him.

    "Dispose him" He ordered the chief and got a "Yes" answer. Then, he walked back to the house like nothing ever happened.

 Chapter 25: Unexpected Reveal

    The sky is bright. The small and quiet village started to feel a bit lively during the morning. The wind blowing through the trees and the birds were chirping cheerfully. Everyone doing their activities just like every other day. Despite what just happened the other night. No one seemed to really care about it. As though the family never been a part of the village.

    "Yuu!!" Elly came over me as she ran. The swelling on her ankle seemed to have got better, although still bluish, at least she walked less funny than how she did last night. I was in the backyard, standing by the well and just wiped my face clean from the water droplets. Elly now stood in front of me while spinning around. Then, she stopped and looked at me eagerly.

    "What is it?" I casually asked and wondered what caused her excitement in the early morning. Elly puffed her cheek and grunted. She stomped closer and lightly punched her fist onto my chest. Then, she raised her hands up and tugged on her twin-tailed hair. That''s the moment I realized what she meant.

    "My haaiiirrrrrrrr" She complained, the earlier excitement has ceased from her expression. Now, she stared at me as though I owe her a big sum of loans. I do see the change on her hairstyle but I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s something worth mentioning.

    "Elly, you didn''t say about where we came from, did you?" I solemnly asked. Elly pursed her lips, "No" She answered but looking displeased.

    "What did you two talked about last night?" I asked again. But, then I got a scrutinizing stare from her.

    "It''s a secrreeeeetttt" She teased and then quickly run away, leaving me confused.

    Well, if she didn''t expose us... then, that''s good...

    I walked out the backyard, following where Elly headed to. In front of the house, there is a horse carriage with a coachman sitting in front of it. Rhoselyn and Erol were standing beside it while facing the chief. Rhoselyn was talking to the village chief while Erol stood beside her as quiet and as uptight as usual. I walked toward them and my eyes met Erol''s. He''s still giving me the same cold stare. But, I think he does that to everyone.

    "Yuu!! Here!!" Elly popped out from the carriage''s window and cheerfully waved her hand at me, thus broke the eye contact I made with Erol. Rhoselyn noticed me from Elly''s loud calling. All of their eyes now on me except Erol who''s walking to the coachman.

    "Good morning" Rhoselyn greeted me with a refreshing smile. Seem like she had a good rest last night.

    "Good morning" I replied to her humble greeting. I stood beside the village chief. But, my eyes watched at Erol. He is now talking with the coachman.

    Last night, he walked out the room for a while. I wonder where he went...

    "Are you ready?" Rhoselyn interrupted my thought and I nodded ¡°Yes¡± as an answer. Erol had done talking with the coachman and now came to her side. We parted with the chief village and rode into the carriage. Elly and I sat in the same row while Rhoselyn and Erol were opposite of us. The seats were made that we have to sit face to face. To be honest, it was a bit awkward as Elly and Erol constantly glaring at each other. I looked through the window. The village is now far behind us. The horse carriage went faster than I¡¯ve expected. But, Rhoselyn said that it will still take almost half a day to Easton.

    ¡°By the way, Erol, what are you going to do with the kidnapper?¡± Rhoselyn asked out of curiosity. She looked at Erol waiting for an answer. Erol has the same calm expression as he thought for an answer.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told the chief to transport him to the city as soon as he got another carriage available. He will then be punished according to the law of Tesoviel¡± Erol explained.

    ¡°I see¡­ I wonder why they targeted me¡­¡± Rhoselyn smiled but with a hint of dejection.

    ¡°¡­they?¡± I curiously asked.

    ¡°Yes¡­ It was originally a group of three people. Erol and I were on the way visiting a place and suddenly, two gentleman looking persons and their coachman halted our carriage in the middle of the forest. Their carriage had broken and they hoped to hitch our ride¡­¡± Rhoselyn started explaining the situation as she glanced at Erol who¡¯s now wordlessly looking at her. Rhoselyn awkwardly smiled.

    ¡°¡­Erol told me to ignore the strangers but I insisted on helping them. It was when Erol and our coachman helping to move their heavy-looking suitcase into our carriage. They killed the coachman but missed Erol. By that time, I was already put under the spell.¡± Rhoselyn looked at me and Elly as she spoke.

    ¡°What happened to the rest of the people?¡± Elly asked in my stead. Exactly what I wanted to ask. Everyone is now looking at Erol, the sole person who¡¯s conscious during that time. Erol had the seriousness plastered over his face.

    ¡°I killed them¡± Erol confessed as he now glanced at Rhoselyn who¡¯s solemnly processing what he said.

    ¡°I understand¡­ You need to do whatever it takes to protect me... But¡­¡± Rhoselyn looked disappointed and she mumbled. ¡°¡­I wish you didn¡¯t kill¡­¡± Erol heard her whispers but he stayed quiet. After that, they stopped talking about the incident. Silence struck down for a while until I asked about the city where we are heading and thus the topic changed. I tried my best to not discussing our identity. But, it eventually led to what I¡¯ve fear.

    ¡°What are you doing in the forest wearing a guard uniform.¡± Erol straight up asked. Although not saying, Rhoselyn seems to be interested in this question too.

    "¡­"

    I don''t even know why am I here in the first place... How should I answer...?

    ¡°We came to visit our friend at ¡®The Hell Gate¡¯¡­ and then¡­ We stole his uniform. It was just a prank hehehe¡± Elly suddenly answered. Erol glanced at me but I kept my cool as though what Elly said was the truth.

    "¡­" Erol stayed quiet.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t know that we took his uniforms out¡­ I bet he¡¯s now getting mad over it hahahaha¡± Elly added. Erol now looked at her, clearly not believing her words.

    ¡°Oh really¡­ what¡¯s his name?¡± Erol interrogated as he arched his thick brow up.

    ¡°Ray¡­ Do you know him? He¡¯s enforced in the patrol troop¡± Elly answered without any slight pause nor hesitation, as though the person she mentioned is real. Erol quietly received the answer. He thought for a while.

    ¡°No, I don''t¡± He shortly answered. He seemed to be convinced, at least for now.

    ¡°Where do you come from?¡± Rhoselyn joined in. But her tone of voice is much friendlier than Erol. Although the question poised the same trouble to us.

    ¡°We came from the North¡± Elly fluently answered.

    "Ahh... I see. It is quite a long journey from the north to here. He must be a very good friend of yours" Rhoselyn spoke as she gently smiled toward us. She didn''t find anything weird with Elly''s statements at all. At least from her expression. I don¡¯t find any doubt in her eyes.

    ["Yuu... Just went along with me, okay? I also told Rhoselyn that we are sibling from a different mother"] Elly suddenly barged into my head. But, she''s still facing Rhoselyn.

    Sibling from a different mother? Well... As long as they are convinced then...

    I took a glance at Erol. He''s just chilling at his seat with his usual cold gaze, added with a hint of doubt. I guess Elly''s lies only barely accepted, but Erol didn''t pursue the matter for now. After that, they talked about the city of Easton and the surrounding villages. It seemed like Easton is not just any normal city. It is in the heart of the East region. It is well known as one of the bustling merchant city of their kingdom which they called ¡®Tesoviel¡¯.

    Some hours passed and the sun now had risen up above us. Along the way, I''ve seen blankets of lush mountains from afar as we constantly moved in and out from some of the forests, but we still followed the road. I''ve spotted some strange wildlife. When we were on a road surrounded by flowers field at both side. I saw blue rabbits hopping, nearly transparent butterflies hovering, and a flock of rainbow colored tiny birds flying over the flowers field. It felt almost unreal to me. Not long after the flower fields, the sight of the city started entering the horizon.

    The road is now crowded with carriages and carts as we get closer to the city. Other than horses, the carts were also pulled by wolves. But, not the normal kind of wolves. They were bigger, almost as tall as the horse and they have muscular legs. The wolves had silky smooth grey fur that''s flying elegantly as they were sprinting along the road. Faster than the horses. I couldn''t take my eyes off the gorgeous looking creature. Until I saw long queue in front of the city entrance. Dozens of carriages lined up before entering the big stone gate of the city. Couple of guards seemingly inspecting each of the carts.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s going on there?¡± Rhoselyn spoke, her question further adds the possibility of what I was thinking.

    So, that is not a normal sight huh? Seems like trouble is approaching...

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    I looked at Elly. She understand what I was hinting. But, our carriage didn''t stop behind the queue. Instead of queuing, our carriage rode to aside and a guard came stopping us before the gate. The guard approached us as Erol descended from the carriage.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ Sir Wynford, it¡¯s you¡­ I apologize for not recognizing the carriage as it seemed like the ride is changed?¡± The guard recognized Erol. I assumed that¡¯s his last name, Erol Wynford.

    ¡°Something happened and we lost our carriage. By the way, what¡¯s happening here? The line is longer than usual¡± Erol asked as he looked at the long line of carriages and carts.

    "This morning, we''ve received a report about two criminals roaming around this area. So, we will have to thoroughly check the inside of every carriage or person that''s entering the city" The guard explained as he now scanned at the line.

    Two criminals? It couldn''t be a coincidence, could it be...

    I continued eavesdropping at them. Elly also heard their talk and she spoke into my head, ["Is he talking about us??"] Elly seemed to be nervous. But, then I focused on my hearing again.

    "Who are they and what they did?" Erol asked.

    "The informations weren''t clear, but I was told that one of them is a woman with silver hair and another one is a very short person with unknown gender... Ah, here''s a drawing of the woman according to the witness" The guard explained as he pulled out a paper out of his pocket. He showed it to Erol. "The pictured woman is around 5 feet tall and the short person is around 3 feet tall. The reason is classified and it is a direct order from the King himself. We were ordered to catch them alive" The guard added as Erol picked up the picture.

    I am now sure that he was talking about us. But, what''s with the silver hair ''woman''...

    ["Hahahaha... I think they mistook you for a woman, Yuu!"] Elly busted a laugh in my mind but I ignored.

    "I will take this. Excuse me" Erol stated as he folded the picture and slip it into his white suit.

    "Sure, Sir Wynford. Have a good day" The guard humbly accepted and then he bowed to Erol as Erol now climbed into the carriage. The carriage started moving in and moved through the gate without having to queue at the long line nor getting searched.

    I''ve thought that Rhoselyn could be a daughter of a rich family but I guess it is more than that... Even the guard recognized Erol... I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this....

    "What is it Erol?" Rhoselyn curiously asked the question I hope they don''t discuss. Erol pulled out a paper from his suit and unfolded it. He showed it to Rhoselyn.

    "Hmm... who is she and what happened?" Rhoselyn questioned.

    "She is a wanted criminal. These guards didn''t know why but I guess the Lord should know" Erol answered.

    "My father?" Rhoselyn questioned again.

    "Yes, the actual order was from the King himself, but I think the Lord should''ve known the detail" Erol explained. Rhoselyn took the picture from his hand for a closer look. I wanted to peek but I couldn''t get any sight from my position. She stared at it for a few seconds, after that she turned and looked at me. Back and forth to the held picture.

    No way...

    "Don''t you think this woman looks like Yuu?" Rhoselyn held the picture up with its back facing me and comparing it to me, side by side.

    "Let me see!!" Elly bobbed her hands up requesting to take over the picture. Rhoselyn moved it to Elly. The picture is now on Elly''s hand thus I leaned to her side to get a look. It is a hand painted picture with ''my face'' but adorned with a long and silver colored hair. The facial features were quite detailed to my shock.

    "Ahahaha!" Elly suddenly busted a laugh at the picture, needlessly drew attention from both Rhoselyn and Erol. I lightly nudged her and she finally calmed down.

    "hah...ha... I can almost picture Yuu as a woman..." Elly awkwardly ended her laugh. Erol now staring at Elly from the corner of his eyes.

    "Yes indeed. The woman in the picture really resembled to Yuu. I would have thought that they are the same person if not for the gender" Rhoselyn agreed with Elly and spoke her mind out.

    Good thing that the guard misunderstood me as a woman... sigh...

    "The information they got was not clear..." Erol cut in and stated the fact as he now looking straight at me. "...The witness could be wrong" as though trying to see through me, Erol didn''t move his prickly cold stare from me. The atmosphere turned tense after those words. I stared back at him.

    "Yeah... It could be... I hope they find the criminals soon" I went along with his words and ended with a smile. Erol remained silence as he now snatched the picture from Elly. He folded it back into his suit.

    "Well, I will be looking through the case later" He stated and the stare ended.

    Well, I hope you will never find who

    The carriage now moved into the city. The adjacent houses in the city were built with timber, stone and bricks with architecture resembled to old English buildings. The streets are crowded and lively. A lot of stalls adorning the stone paved road. A lot of people casually strolling and browsing at the stalls. The merchants are lively and constantly shouting to promote their merchandise, further adding the liveliness of the city.

    After a few turns and a period of time. The carriage has brought us further into the secluded part of the city which is far from the bustling city center. The road here filled with sparse trees and flowers instead of the crowded houses from the streets. No one seemingly take this route after us. Because, it is a route leaded to a sole building in the area. I peeked from the window. At the end of the route, there''s a luxury looking Victorian mansion built majestically with a scenic mountain view behind it. The carriage brought us near to the mansion and now stopped in front of the main entrance to the building.

    This is... way more than what I have expected

    In front of the entrance, rows of servant in semi frilly black and white maid uniforms stood after the tall wooden door, which is carved with a phoenix like creature on the upper corner, seemed like a family crest. The maids stood there as though they had expected our arrival. Erol descended and stood beside the carriage door waiting as Rhoselyn followed out. He raised his hand to assist Rhoselyn climbing down the carriage.

    The moment Rhoselyn stepped out from the carriage. The maid stepped forward and bowed in sync at her arrival. Elly and I also came down the carriage now following them. After the bow, the maids moved backward and opened the tall wooden door with a loud ''creak'' sound thus exposed what''s inside.

    "Welcome home Miss Rhoselyn" Dozen of voice greeted in sync as she stepped into the grand hall room. All of the servants standing left and right bowed at her as we moved in. There is one particular gray haired aged man in black suit standing straight at the middle of the hall. He came over and personally greeted Rhoselyn.

    ¡°Welcome home, Miss Rhoselyn... ¡± He spoke and then he glanced at Elly and I who¡¯s awkwardly standing in the middle of this luxurious hall. Probably just me. Elly looks fine and undisturbed by the sparkling furniture placed all over the hall.

    ¡°Hello Mr. Pierr, it¡¯s good to see you¡± Rhoselyn greeted him back and now she turned around facing us. ¡°You see¡­ I have two guests today. Mister Yuu and his little sister, Miss Elly¡­¡± Rhoselyn introduced us to the black suit elder called ¡®Mr.Pierr¡¯. Elly and I both nodded at Mr. Pierr ¡°¡­Please prepare rooms for them¡± She added.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Rhoselyn¡± Mr. Pierr humbly accepted the request and he turned to the maids beside him. He instructed them to do some chores and the maids left. ¡°Is there anything else I could help with, Miss Rhoselyn?¡± He politely asked.

    ¡°Is my father in his study?¡± Rhoselyn asked.

    "No, he''s not... The Lord is now in the city" Mr. Pierr steadily answered.

    ¡°I see..." Rhoselyn lightly sighed and then she continues, "I will take them to the guest hall. Please bring me my staff Mr. Pierr¡± Rhoselyn requested. Thus Mr. Pierr answered to her request and parted after a bow. All of the servants were dismissed except for one ginger haired maid. She stayed and followed behind Miss Rhoselyn as we moved along. Rhoselyn took us to the east hall and we walked into a spacious tall ceiling room with comfortable looking couches placed in the middle. Rhoselyn instructed us to sit down while Erol and the ginger maid stood behind her.

    "Yuu and Elly, welcome to the Easton Residence. Please, feel free to be yourself here. If there''s anything you need. You can ask the earlier man, Mr. Pierr. He is our butler here" Rhoselyn welcomed us in a friendly manner.

    "Easton Residence?" I repeated the part which caught my interest.

    Does it mean...

    "I apologize for not properly introducing myself. I am Rhoselyn roy Easton, the daughter of the Lord Crubert roy Easton who govern the East region of Tesoviel Kingdom¡± Rhoselyn explained. Elly and I glanced at each other.

    Great... we have just escaped from the royal guards but now we are sitting in the residence of a royalty... Could it be any better than this...?

 Illustration: Elly

    Hi there!! ^^

    I am sorry, this is not a chapter ehehe-

    I tried drawing Elly in her oversized clothing in my meantime.

    This is how I imagined her in my head. How about you? ^^''This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    I enjoyed drawing her. Hope you like the drawing~ ^^''

    *Please ignore, just to fill the words count lol

    Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly Elly

 Chapter 26: Confessing

    ¡°...I might have a fancy title but I am just ''Rhoselyn'', please don''t change your attitude toward me after learning this" Rhoselyn confessed and then she smiled at her humble request.

    "Not at all, I will keep that in mind, Miss Rhoselyn" I answered that but in truth, it was quite overwhelming for me. Still, seeing how friendly she treats us. I see no reason to refuse this relationship. Having to be acquaintance with someone that powerful will be surely benefitting me. But, I have to be extra careful about our identity. I can''t afford to let her know that we were actually the criminals the King is searching for. She¡¯s part of the royalty after all.

    Hmm... since she''s related to the King. I might be able to snoop for some information about ''The Hell Gate'' and the people that went missing... It''s not that bad after all...

    Not long after that, another maid walked into the hall holding a silver tray with glass teacups and teapot. She had her ash brown hair tied into twin braid lying down on her shoulder. She walked to the small wooden table between me and Rhoselyn. The maid then puts down the teacups and excused herself away to stand beside the couch Elly and I sit.

    "I will assign Muria to serves you both. Please don''t hesitate to ask for her assistance" Rhoselyn gestured at the ash brown braided maid and she stepped forward.

    "Hello, I am Muria. I will be at your service while you are here, Mister Yuu and Miss Elly" Muria introduced herself and bowed.

    A while later, the butler, Mr. Pierr came into the room to where we were sitting with a white wooden long staff on his hand. The staff is crowned with silver frame and a sparkling blue stone on the top while the wooden handle is esthetically engraved with letters of this world. Although I don''t know the standard of this world, the staff sure looked exquisite and thus should be expensive.

    "Thank you Mr. Pierr" Rhoselyn took the white staff as she thanked. The butler bowed and excused himself out. That''s when the quiet Erol suddenly spoke.

    "I will excuse myself too, Miss Rhoselyn" He said his parting words and then he followed after the butler, Mr. Pierr, with a serious looking face. They are now out from the room.

    "Elly..." Rhoselyn called as she is now holding the staff straight, her eyes looking straight to Elly. "Can you pull up your pants leg? I will commence the healing" Rhoselyn asked.

    "Ehh? Why?" Elly looked surprised.

    "I have to closely inspect the injury in order to heal" Rhoselyn answered.

    "Huh? But, why do you have to see my l-leg?" Elly started to look anxious as she stuttered at the end. Rhoselyn stared for a while before she finally realized something.

    "Hmm? Ahh... I see. Elly doesn''t know how healing magic works, right? Let me explain for a bit..." Rhoselyn assumed and started explaining.

    "Healing magic isn''t as spontaneous as it sounds. In fact, the healer needs to inspect and learn the scope of the injury with mana firstly. So, the healer will know which part that''s need to be reconstructed because the spell will vary depends on the injury. Hence blindly shrouding the injury with healing spell without knowing where and what to fix specifically, will not work, if worse... could cause more harm than good... except..." Rhoselyn explained to Elly who''s now staring intently at her.

    "Except?" I repeated her last word. Rhoselyn took a breath in.

    "...except for the people who are a natural magic user. They can directly manipulate their mana to their own heart desires. They will not need any magic tools like my staff here, to control their mana nor need to inspect the receiving end first. But, there is one person in the Tesoviel Kingdom who is able to do it as though she skipped the inspection although she''s not a natural magic user" Rhoselyn smiled while she explains. Her eyes filled with determination and admiration as though that is her goal.

    ¡°Oohhhhhhhhhh¡± Elly monotonously answered as she blinked at her.

    Although still calmly facing Rhoselyn, Elly nervously grunted into my head ["Yuuuu! I can¡¯t let her see the scales! Heellppp!!¡±] Elly peeked at me from the corner of her eyes and then back to Rhoselyn. Her sudden silence had confused Rhoselyn. But then, Rhoselyn stood up from her seat. She¡¯s probably coming for Elly.

    [¡°I will be captured!!¡±] Elly added.

    Huh? Captured?

    ¡°¡­Let me see the injury, Elly¡± Rhoselyn walked toward our side with her long white staff. Elly turned her face to me while her eyes glinted with anxious.

    [¡°Ahhhh¡­. I didn¡¯t expect this. Yuuuuuu!!¡±] Elly wailed again with a trouble looking face.

    ¡°Elly?¡± Rhoselyn has realized Elly being anxious and reluctant about exposing her leg. I can see Rhoselyn started to frown and confuse by her reaction.

    She better explain to me why...

    ¡°Miss Rhoselyn, please wait¡± I stopped Rhoselyn from advancing and now she looked at me quizzically.

    Elly also looked at me as she gulped and hid her legs away from the light. She stared at me and Rhoselyn, back and forth.

    ¡°I am sorry, but Elly can¡¯t show her leg¡­¡± I spoke and glanced at the anxious Elly. Rhoselyn heard and now back to her seat. ¡°Why is that?¡± She curiously asked.

    ¡°You see¡­ actually, Elly has scars on her leg that she doesn¡¯t want people to see. That¡¯s why¡­ I hope you understand¡± I explained while looking straight into Rhoselyn¡¯s kind golden eyes. She¡¯s listening without blinking and now glancing at Elly.

    ¡°Ah, I am sorry Elly¡­ I didn¡¯t know¡± Rhoselyn gasped with her hand in front of her mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Elly doesn¡¯t feel hurt a-anymore! Elly heals fast¡­ Hehehe¡± Elly went along with me as she stood up. The earlier anxiousness she showed has faded. She spun around in place, showing how fine she can now move, despite still hurting. But, she masked the pain behind her bright smile.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ But¡± Rhoselyn doubted.

    ¡°Just give me some medication, I will treat the injury myself¡± Elly added again. Rhoselyn sighed and finally nodded.

    ¡°Although not as quick as healing magic, I think we got some magic made medicines stocked in the house. The medicine will also aid in the healing process¡­ I will tell Mr. Pierr to hand you some of it¡± Rhoselyn offered.

    I think what Elly need now is a big tub of water and alone time though¡­

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Elly happily accepted and then she looked at me smiling awkwardly. [¡°Ahh¡­ Thank you. Didn¡¯t think of that¡±] Elly confessed. I guess she was too anxious to think straight. Which made me realize.

    Mermaid isn¡¯t supposed to be here huh...

    ¡°Fetallina, please tell Mr.Pierr to prepare the medicine¡± Rhoselyn ordered the ginger-haired maid who was standing behind her the whole time. The maid called ¡®Fetallina¡¯ immediately answered and quickly moved away from the room. Rhoselyn focused back on me. ¡°By the way, Yuu...¡±

    Rhoselyn looked at me straight. Her every movement is delicate and she¡¯s also very well behaved, unlike Elly who is blunt and forward about everything she does.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°What will you do after Elly¡¯s recovery?¡± She casually asked. I glanced at Elly who¡¯s now sitting beside me.

    ¡°To be honest¡­ I am not sure yet. We¡¯ve been staying in our homeland for too long. Now that we are outside. As you can see, we don¡¯t even know the common knowledge of just a healing magic. I want to learn as much as I can.¡± I answered to her question.

    It was partly true anyway¡­

    ¡°I see¡­ So, you are interested in magic?¡± Rhoselyn assumed.

    ¡°Yes, I am¡± I replied without hesitation. Magic is something I took great interest from this world too.

    ¡°If you want, I can teach you the base knowledge¡± Rhoselyn humbly offered.

    This is a great opportunity she offered. But why would she do that? Insisting to heal the injury of strangers who aided the bad side¡­ It was already weird enough. But now, she¡¯s offering to teach me magic. Are the royalties in this world all that kind?

    Elly started to bore and so she walked around the room, poking at things that caught her interest.

    ¡°Why are you being so kind toward us? ¡± I bluntly asked. Although, she said that she felt sorry for Elly¡¯s injury caused by Erol. I don¡¯t think it was necessary to give us such a hospitality. It makes me wonder if she had other motives or is she just a plain friendly lady.

    Rhoselyn looked surprised but then she chuckled a bit as she spoke.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there should be any reason for a person to treat others with kindness¡­ that¡¯s my belief¡± She answered as she now looked at Elly who¡¯s standing at the tall bay window, looking out at the beautiful garden.

    ¡°¡­I think every meeting has its own meaning. I believe it is a work of fate¡­¡± Rhoselyn now turned to me. She stared into my eyes, straight. ¡°Do you believe in fate, Yuu?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Fate?¡± I repeated the word. But, not as a question to her. It was to myself. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know¡± I answered after a slight pause.

    I believe every event is caused by chain reactions from previous actions. But, getting summoned to another world¡­ Was that ¡®fate¡¯?

    ¡°I believe meeting Yuu and Elly is a work of fate. It is more romantic to think this way, isn¡¯t it?¡± Rhoselyn gently smiled at me as she spoke. So, I returned a smile too.

    I believe she¡¯s sincerely kind but¡­ Well, I will make use of her kindness then.

    After a while, her maid, Fetallina came back and told us that our room is ready. Rhoselyn told us to get a rest as she will be attending some works first. Rhoselyn said that she will visit us after her works done. Meanwhile, Muria, the ash brown braided maid will be guiding us to our room and also get us changed. Elly and I parted with Rhoselyn and now walking to our room with Muria leading us.

    If I looked closely, Muria, she''s quite young. Probably around my age. While walking in front of us, she turned frequently and peeked at us every few minutes. As if she wanted to talk to us. Elly and I looked at each other when we realized Muria''s weird behavior.

    "Uhm..." I mumbled right at the moment she turned and peeked again. She was shocked and now fully turned around.

    "Y-Yes, Mister Yuu?" She questioned while being a little fidgety, she doesn''t feel like the same person as when we were in the guest hall. She had a calmer demeanor there. It could be caused by the presence of her master, Rhoselyn.

    "No, I was wondering if there''s anything you want to say..." I answered.

    "Ahh, I apologize if I caused you to feel u-uncomfortable" Muria quickly bowed on us while putting an awkward face. After that, she hastily walked to the door nearby and opened it. It seemed like we have arrived at our room. Inside the elegantly decorated room, two comfortable looking single beds were placed. The tall bay window granted the sunlight to brighten the entire green and brown hued room.

    "Uwaaaa!! Bed Bed Bed!!" Elly happily shouted and rushed into the room with bursting excitement. She threw herself on the bed and roll on it while keep squeaking in joy. Muria was secretly chuckling at Elly behavior. When our eyes met, she awkwardly tilted her head down.

    "There are some clothing placed inside the wardrobe too, Mister Yuu, please feel free to change into them. I will be waiting outside the room." Muria explained and excused herself out. She closed the door and probably now standing in front of it. I turned and look at the lying lazily Elly. I moved further into the bedside.

    "Elly" I called on her who''s face burying on the bed. She tilted up while staring at me with a satisfied expression.

    "Yesss???" She rolled over and now facing up, looking at me while back still lying flat on the bed like a magnet.

    "Why didn''t you tell me beforehand about the sibling thing and what''s with this ''We came from North''. Why will you be captured when you show the scales? Didn''t you say you lost your memories?" I started bombarding her with questions I''ve been wanting to ask as we got alone time. Elly scrutinized her eyes and pursed her lips while thinking for a while. Then, she let out a long seemingly tired sigh. She sat up and stared at me with an uninterested looking face.

    "I lied to you" She confessed.

    Elly stared at me while saying those words, solemnly. Her masked flat face now slowly turning into a guilt-ridden face. She hopped down from the bed and stood in front of me. Then, she pulled her long dangling sleeve up and showed me the blue scales on the back of her hands. She raised both hands close to her face. I stayed quiet to observe her next move.

    "You know that I am a mermaid, right?" She asked the obvious. I nodded. Then, she continued as she dropped her hands down again.

    "Do you remember the children corpses back in ''The Hell Gate'' caves?" Elly suddenly mentioned the previous incident. I nodded again. That''s what I wanted to ask too. But, I will let her explain first.

    "We were the sacrifices for a summoning spell at that place¡± She uttered while looking at me with a pained gaze.

    ¡°¡­It seemed like they had been trying those for years. Maybe not every year. Probably once a decade from the skeletons I observed" Elly paused again. She took a deep breath in and now looked away from me while clenching her fists tight. She shuddered.

    "I was one of the sacrifice children and probably their best offering of decades. I''ve heard of them talking about my race being the key of the sacrifice. My earliest memory was when I''ve already been captured and chained inside a dark, cold underground cell. I remember nothing before that place" Elly tilted her head down. Her face is clouded. Her body tensed up. I thought about stopping her but my curiosity ceased that.

    "Every few days, a child will be thrown into the same cell as me. They all seemed to have retained their memories unlike me. We were kept as though livestock. Worse than that, we didn''t even get enough food and water. Some died from dehydration and starvation. It lasted for a long long long time... I had lost count of days" Elly smiled bitterly and now sitting on the bed again. I walked to the bed beside her and sit down, face to face. But, Elly avoided my eyes as she continued.

    "Despite scared, those children are strong. We comforted each other and also tried thinking on the positive side. Seems like, most of the children came from smaller villages or slums. They were kidnapped when they were wandering alone at a quiet place. It was all so sudden. When they woke up, they were already in the cell... We believe... That we will be rescued... That''s what kept us going on. Until that day..." Elly is about to be in tear. Her lips wavered.

    "Are you alright?" I asked. Elly inhaled and exhaled to calm herself down. Although unpleasant, she nodded as an answer and continued.

    "We were knocked out and brought to that hall they called ''The Hell Gate''¡­ We have aligned nearby the edge of the cliff with a paralyzed body. There are rows of black-masked people in a black cloak standing before us while muttering some sort of spell. I was standing in the middle of the group. One of the black-cloaked mages stepped forward while holding a pot of purple liquid with one hand. He crept up to the most corner child first...

    With another hand, he dipped a needle-like blade into the liquid. He pierced through the child''s skull in one hit... The paralyze spell was broken but at that moment, the child was squirming in pain and had lost his sanity. He screamed and threw up blood before he was pushed down the cliff by the cloaked person. Another cloaked person then collected the blood on the floor. Tears rolled down from children eyes but we couldn''t move. There''s... N-nothing we can... do..." Elly started sobbing and tears falling down. Whether it was from fear of the regrets she had back then. She sniveled.

    "I am sorry... for what happened to you and your friends" I tried calming her down. I patted on her hair. Her face still looking down. Her tears dripped down and wet the carpeted floor.

    "...If only I had the power back then... uwaaaaaa" Elly started howling sorrowfully. The room is now filled with her cry. She didn''t hold back at all.

    I guess she''s been enduring it all the time alone huh...

    "Mister Yuu?? Is everything alright?" Muria knocked the door and questioned from outside. She was concerned by Elly''s loud crying sound. I was surprised.

    "Ah, yes! Everything is fine!" I shouted from my place hoping she will hear my voice beneath the loud cry Elly produces. But, I guess she didn¡¯t hear me.

    The door slowly opened. Muria gasped at the chaos happening in the room. She stared at me as though I was the cause of Elly''s cry. I awkwardly tried calming Elly down.

    "Elly, Elly? Please, don''t cry?" Instead of stopping, Elly wailed louder than ever. I helplessly looked at Muria who''s still standing astounded. A moment later, she quickly shuffled into the room and crouched beside the crying Elly.

    "Why is she crying?" Muria asked.

    "Ah, I-" I haven''t yet finished my answer. Muria raised her hand up and ''poof'' a butterfly suddenly appeared into existence. It surprised not only Elly but also me. Elly now noticed Muria in front of her face. She has calmed down, whether it was because of the butterfly or because she has finally noticed Muria thanks to the butterfly. The nearly transparent butterfly hovered for a while but then disappeared into thin air. That¡¯s when I realized. It was not a real butterfly. I can see the mana dispersing as the butterfly faded.

    Elly has stopped crying. She calmly wiped her tears with her hand and now stared at the maid, Muria. The maid proudly smiled and spoke.

    ¡°This is how you calm a crying child Mister Yuu¡± She glanced at me with an awkward smile put on her face.

 Chapter 27: Clearing Doubt

    "-Waaaaahhh!"

    Huh? What was that?

    I leaned my face close to the door. My right ear was sticking on the wooden surface, trying to listen to whatever caught my attention just now. Eavesdropping isn''t a good manner of a maid. But, I couldn''t contain my curiosity.

    Is that Miss Elly crying?

    *knock *knock *knock

    "Mister Yuu?? Is everything alright?" I knocked at the door while calling at them. The cry still continues and I didn''t hear any answer. So, I brave myself to open the door. It will be troublesome if something happened to them when Miss Rhoselyn entrusted them to me.

    "hh..uuuwaaaaa"

    I opened the door, Miss Elly is crying hysterically as though her pet just died. I remembered my young self, crying like that when my pet, Ulu the blue rabbit, died from sickness. I tried to observe what could be causing her to cry and I see nothing out of ordinary. Mister Yuu saw me but he said nothing. He tried calming the crying Miss Elly. But, he failed. Then, he wordlessly shot me a help signal.

    I quickly moved into the room, to where Miss Elly is sitting and I crouched down right in front of her. I raised my hand up and formed the surrounding mana into a little butterfly. It seemed to have successfully gained her attention. She stopped crying as she looked at me.

    Ahhh... How cute

    Ever since Miss Rhoselyn brought them to the manor. I couldn''t take my eyes away from Miss Elly. Her sparkling blue eyes, her fluffy blue hair and that fair complexion. Her every movement screamed adorable in my head. I''ve never seen a child with such a heart-throbbing face. Miss Elly wiped the tears from her eyes as she gained calm. I looked at Mister Yuu.

    ¡°This is how you calm a crying child Mister Yuu¡± I spoke to him as I smiled trying to cover the dumb face I probably had when Miss Elly stole my heart.

    "Thank you" He thanked me but then I realized what I just spoke might be too blunt and rude to a guest.

    "Ahh. No- I-I am sorry" I quickly moved backward and stood with my head tilted down.

    Nooo... What if he complained to Miss Rhoselyn? Will he? Will he??

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to be uptight around us¡­¡± Mister Yuu stated and I tilted my head up, facing him.

    To be honest, Miss Elly¡¯s older brother also looked so beautiful. Ahhh¡­ my eyes. My eyes hurt. How come the sibling can have such a perfect facial features. But, of course¡­ Miss Rhoselyn will always be my number one.

    ¡°Muria isn¡¯t it?¡± He spoke to me.

    ¡°Y-Yes, Mister Yuu¡± I answered.

    ¡°Just call me Yuu, you can drop the honorific, Muria.¡± He openly suggested as he arched a smile on his lips. I thought that he¡¯s the kind of person who does not give smile easily. But, I guess he¡¯s quite friendly?

    "No... I can''t do that Mister Yuu. You are the guest of Miss Rhoselyn" I rejected his suggestion and told him my reason. But, he shook his head.

    "It''s fine, Muria. If you''re uncomfortable. You can call me that when your master is around. But, when it''s just us, please call only my name" He smiled once again and still trying to change my mind.

    "B-but" I still feel it was wrong.

    "Yuu... okay?" His gentle smile kind of breaking my reasons.

    Hmm... From how they behave, I guess, they are not from any nobility family, although Miss Rhoselyn herself welcomed them. If he insisted then... I guess...

    "Alright... Y-Yuu" I nodded at his request. Elly is now completely calm. She looked at me as she grinned. "I am Elly!" She cheerfully introduced herself. My heart went ''screeechh'' for a moment. Yuu looked at his little sister and patted her head. Elly seemed to enjoy the little head patting.

    Ahh, I want to pat her too!

    "I am sorry, but can you leave us for a sec?" Yuu suddenly asked. I awkwardly stepped backward as I bow.

    "Ah, yes, I apologize for barging in like that" I quickly apologized.

    What am I doing standing still in their room, Ahh, Muria you fool!

    "No, you calmed Elly, I had to thank you for that. It''s just, we haven''t changed yet... so..." Yuu hinted as I looked at them, still wearing the same baggy clothing.

    "Yes, I will be outside, excuse me" I retreated myself as I learned his intention. He gave me the same smile as I moved away from the room. I slowly closed the door while Yuu still smiling facing my side. The door now fully closed after a weak ''thud'' and they are now out of my sight.

    "Haaahh...." I let out a long sigh as I can finally relax my body.

    Ahh! What are you doing Muria? You could have messed up!

    I cursed myself. I remember Mr. Pierr''s daily speech about the code of the Easton Residence''s maid. "...Treat the guest as though your Master" I mumbled the words, Mr. Pierr always repeats that every morning when we were briefing.

    B-But, calling his name... it was his request! So... it''s fine, right? Master''s requests are absolute, aren''t they?

    I tried convincing myself to think like that. I sighed again and decided to move on. What happened had happened. So, I guess I will just stand here and wait for them to change. By the way, why is Elly crying anyway? Hmm...

    As I mulled over it, a figure down the hall caught my attention. He''s walking toward my direction. The very person was Mr. Pierr. He''s looked neat in his black butler suit as always. I''ve heard from Fetallina that he has been following the Easton Family ever since the previous lord. Although he is a butler, he held a special position in the Easton Family. He''s kind and also respectful, even to me, the little maid who just joined the Family recently. I bowed as he came over.

    "Muria, are Mister Yuu and Miss Elly currently inside the room?" Mr. Pierr asked, with his wise looking face. He''s always gentle when speaking to anyone.

    "Yes, they are inside the room. I am waiting for them to change, Mr. Pierr" I answered and reported the current situation.

    Mr. Pierr solemnly nodded as he pulled out something from his black suit pocket. A small glass bottle with a glowing green liquid inside.

    ¡°Can you please hand this to them for me? It is the medicine for Miss Elly¡¯s injury. Tell her to dab the swelling area with this every morning and night after bath¡­¡± Mr. Pierr explained as I took over the glass bottle into my palm.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Pierr, I will convey your message¡± I answered.

    Mr. Pierr lightly nodded and then he excused himself. He walked along the hall and disappeared after a turn. I held the glass bottle up and turn it around. The glowing green liquid is pleasing to the eyes. When I was drawn by the substance. The door behind me suddenly opened and caused me to jolted. I almost drop the glass bottle. I gulped in relief as I turned around to see them.

    It was Yuu and Elly, both of them has changed into the clothing that I had prepared. I put clothing with different styles in the wardrobe since I don¡¯t know what would their taste be like. Yuu chose the simplest one in the wardrobe which is the sand colored long sleeve shirt and a pair of dark brown pants. While Ms. Elly here is a bit shocking to me. Elly didn''t wear the dresses I''ve prepared for her. Instead, she chose to wear the male clothing I prepared for Yuu and of course, another oversized get up. Yuu noticed my confusion toward Elly.

    "She''s not getting used to wearing dresses. You see, Elly is a very active girl" Yuu explained and simultaneously, Elly bobbed her head up and down. "Dress is a no-no" She exclaimed while staring at me intently.

    ¡°Ahh¡­ I am sorry. I didn¡¯t think about that. I-I will get another clothing. Please wait in the room¡± I quickly apologized. Before Yuu could say anything, I excused myself after a bow. I hastily walked through the hall while leaving them standing in front of the door. But, I was reminded of something before I make a turn.

    Gosh¡­ I forgot about the medicine. Ahh, I will give it to them after I retrieve some clothes for Elly. My little Elly, ehehe, I wonder what kind of clothing should I get?

    The clothing area isn¡¯t that far away. It¡¯s at the ground level in the same East wing of the manor. In Easton Residence, they have a room where they display all kind of clothing for all ages in different styles. All of those were prepared for the guests. Even though, most of the guest packed their own clothes and rarely wore the ones we prepared.

    I guess that''s what noble family do?

    I walked through halls and halls. Until I reached my initial destination hallway where the room is positioned. I remember on my first day here when I got lost in this maze-like mansion. I ended up spending one hour searching for the tableware room. It was Fetallina who came searching for me because I was gone for too long. That was one embarrassing memory.

    ¡°¡­Are you sure?¡± A voice caught my ears as I walked past a hall, so I abruptly stopped and moved back to see who.

    Aaahh! It¡¯s Sir Wynford¡­

    I crept and peeked to that hallway right behind the wall. I positioned myself so that they didn''t notice me. Sir Wynford is facing the opposite with another person facing him. I couldn''t see who is it as the tall body of Sir Wynford blocked my sight. I think it was a royal guard.

    Awww... I can never be bored by looking at him all day long. Just how handsome could he be? If only he was friendlier. Anyway... what are they doing in the hallway to the kitchen though?

    "Yes, I am sure that I will be able to recognize the criminal when I see them with my own eyes, Sir Wynford" The other person answered his previous question.

    Who is that... Ugh, I can''t see.

    I tried tiptoeing to get a clearer sight, but I stumbled upon my own feet and fell backward. ''Thud'' I bumped at a table placed behind me. I turned around and quickly catch the falling vase. My heart pounded crazily as though about to bust out.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    "...phew" I inwardly celebrated. If the vase broke. There goes my pay for this month.

    "Who''s that"

    Yikess!!

    The two men standing in the hallway now looked at the source of the sound. Erol Wynford, he turned around and walked to the end of the hall as he asked again, "Show yourself" rather than asking, he demanded the perpetrator to came out as he trod toward the source. The man in guard uniform also followed him as he put a frown on his brows. Erol turned the corner but there''s nothing other than an empty hallway greeted him.

    "What happened, Sir?" The guard approached him. Erol looked to left and right. He caught a black maid skirt bottom flashed out of the turning at the hall end.

    "Nothing, just a rat" He answered as his cold eyes shifted back to the person beside him.

    ***

    "Yuuuuuuu! What do you think?¡± Elly asked me as she swung her body from side to side in front of the mirror placed beside the wardrobe. She picked a light blue bandeau layered with a brown leather vest and wearing beige colored baggy pants tucked into the brown boots. Elly also wore open gloves to hid the scales on the back of her hands. She moved her legs and arms, showing how freely she can move now. Elly seemed to satisfy with her current clothing.

    ¡°Yuu?¡± She turned around facing me while tilted her head, questioning my answer.

    ¡°Okay¡± I answered after a brief scan. I personally thought she was showing too much skin with only that bandeau covering her chest. But, as long as she feels fine. I don¡¯t see any reason for me to judge. I glanced at Muria. She seemed to be thrilled with Elly¡¯s new get up. Her eyes sparkled with excitement but she didn¡¯t speak it out until Elly asked her, ¡°What do you think, Muria?¡±

    Muria sagely nodded as she complimented, ¡°You look great Mis- I mean, Elly!!¡± She clasped her hands together while looking at Elly, "Ah!" her expression suddenly changed as though she was reminded of something ¡°By the way, Yuu¡­¡± She pulled something out of her pocket. It was a tiny glass bottle with a glowing green liquid inside.

    ¡°This is the medicine Mr.Pierr gave me earlier. He said to dab the medicine on the swelling area every morning and night after taking a bath¡± She explained while handing it over to me. I turned the glass container around. The consistency of the liquid reminded me of honey. The strange thing is how the liquid glow. It looked surreal.

    ¡°Thank you¡± I thanked Muria.

    After that, we went for a tour around the mansion. I¡¯ve learned that they have around 300 servants managing the manor. They have a separate building for all the staying servants. The person who¡¯s sitting on top of the hierarchy is Mr. Pierr. He has been serving the Easton family for whole his life. Everyone respects him, including the Lord himself too.

    ¡°And¡­ this is The Easton Book Hall.¡± Muria stated as she opened the tall wooden door, different than any other doors decorating the hall that we passed through. We were now in the West Wing of the Manor. It was the wing where the Main Family mostly visited.

    As the door fully opened, the smell of leather and paper immediately filled my nostrils. The Book Hall is spacious and tranquil. Despite the direct sunlight, the room is comfortably cool. I can imagine myself spending hours in this place. I¡¯ve always been a book person after all. Seeing all these books surely brought back of some memories from my original world. But, before I could indulge myself into the knowledge of this world. There¡¯s something I must do first.

    First, I need to learn their language...

    I glanced at the leather bracelet which still wrapped around my wrist since I first got it. Although it looked tough, I have to think the worst situation when I lost it. I can''t rely on that.

    Hmm¡­ maybe I should ask Miss Rhoselyn later¡­

    We spent almost an hour walking around the manor. We visited almost all places except the floor where the main family¡¯s resting chamber was positioned. Muria told me it was on the highest floor of the manor. Now, we strolled around the backyard garden outside the building.

    ¡°¡­the garden is Miss Rhoselyn¡¯s favorite place. She loves viewing the flowers. Especially this one.¡± Muria gestured at the purple lavender-like flower but smell like roses. These flowers were planted all around the backyard. Elly seemed to like the flowers too. She put her nose close to sniff it and she was delighted.

    ¡°By the way, Muria¡­ Does Miss Rhoselyn has any other sibling?¡± I asked out of curiosity. When we were touring around, I¡¯ve only seen servants and the patrolling soldiers. Mr. Pierr did tell Rhoselyn that the lord is in the city. But, I assume she has more family.

    ¡°Yes¡­ Miss Rhoselyn has an older brother, Mr. Richatt roy Easton. But, he is currently not in the city.¡± Muria promptly answered.

    ¡°I see¡­ How about their mother?¡± I continued.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ I heard that she had passed away when they were young¡± Muria answered as her eyes glinted with sympathy.

    ¡°So, I assume that Miss Rhoselyn is always alone in the manor?¡± I stated and immediately got a positive reaction from Muria. She leaned closer as she bobbed her head up and down.

    ¡°Yes! The Lord and Mr. Richatt are always out on duty. Miss Rhoselyn looked so lonely whenever they do. But, she never complained because she understands that was their jobs. She studies hard for every day in order to aid them in the future.¡± Muria started babbling her admiration toward Rhoselyn.

    She seemed to think very highly of Rhoselyn¡­

    ¡°¡­she excels in everything! She can speak other races languages, she can cook and sew, her dance is elegant, her poets are beautiful. What¡¯s most amazing is that she learned the healing magic. She''s not only talented, she''s very diligent" Muria talked with excitement.

    "Hmm... Is it difficult to learn healing magic?" I bluntly asked Muria. Her eyes widened as a reaction.

    "Yes, of course! It isn''t about the ''healing magic''. It is ''magic'', overall." She squawked but then she cleared her throat. "Ahem- Not only you need to have a whole lot of mana in disposal, you have to master the control too. Controlling mana is the hardest part for a magic user but also the most important basic." Muria spiritedly explained.

    "You are a magic user, aren''t you?" I asked. Muria sighed at my question and she put on a wry smile as she nodded. But after the nod, she vigorously shook her head to deny her earlier nod.

    "I-I don''t have the talent like Miss Rhoselyn" She panicked and avoid meeting my eyes.

    "But, you did that... butterfly thing" I reminded her of what she did. Her face slowly turned pink as she quickly covered her face with both hands.

    "T-That was nothing compared to Miss Rhoselyn..." She continued stuttering and getting so bashful by these words.

    "Elly like that!" Elly suddenly stomped closer as she simply jumped in the conversation. Elly tiptoed and pull the hands covering Muria''s face down and stared into her eyes. "Elly want to see more!" She beamed her a big wide smile and Muria got surprised. She awkwardly pulled herself away while fidgeting on the place.

    "Yeah, I want to see it too" I agreed with Elly. I didn''t have the chance to observe how she did it. I might as well learn something from her. Muria looked at me and Elly, back and forth. She couldn''t resist the stare from Elly and finally spoke, "O-okay... Just this once" She uttered.

    Muria gently raised her open palm up to her chest level as she slowly breathed in. She whispered some words under her breath while her eyes focused on mid-air. The mana started gathering and slowly turned into a visible butterfly. It was tiny and near transparent, like the butterflies I saw before we entered the city. She sent the butterfly off and it hovered around Elly. Although it was formed by mana and her imagination alone. One wouldn''t know it was not a real butterfly without close inspection.

    From what I observed, the mana which formed the body of the butterfly didn''t come from her. She formed it out of the surrounding mana... Maybe, I can do that...

    After flying for a while, the butterfly slowly faded into thin air and disappeared. It didn''t last long. Muria sighed at it, "That''s all I can do" She muttered as she put a disappointed expression.

    "I think you did great, Muria" I tried encouraging her. Muria was taken aback by my words as she quietly glanced at me.

    "...The detail of the butterfly is amazing. I believe you have trained a lot" I added.

    Muria was confounded. She didn''t expect those words. She was stunned for a few seconds before she stuttered and her face boiled pink again, "E-E-Ehh??" Muria covered her face with her hands again. I assumed that was her habit when she felt embarrassed.

    Actually, I didn''t know if other people in this world can also do that or not. Little compliment won''t do any harm, right? I need to gain her trust before I can ask some internal questions...

    "Did you mean it?" She asked me while peeking from behind her hands.

    "Yes" I answered. Muria slowly lowered her hands as she calmed down a bit. She looked at me with doubt but she''s interested.

    "You are very kind..." She uttered as she bashfully smiled at me.

    I guess she¡¯s not that hard to handle¡­

    ["Yuu... Look at your North-West direction... But stay behind the shrub"] Elly suddenly barged into my head. She sounded serious. I immediately did as she told me to. I fixated my eyes toward the direction.

    Nearby the mansion back entrance, there are two men standing while talking to a maid at the door. The maid pointed at our direction and their eyes followed the finger. It was Erol and another guard uniform man. Erol turned around facing our side but haven''t seen us because of the trimmed shrubs nearly blocking us. But, I can see them clearly from my position. Once that another person turned around, I was surprised.

    That man is the one who saw my face back at ''The Hell Gate''.

 Chapter 28: Identity

    The man in guard uniform who is standing beside Erol was the one who saw my face back at ''The Hell Gate''. His head turned to my direction, I quickly hid behind the tall shrub.

    Erol... I knew that he is suspecting me but he''s quick for sure. Should I avoid them? But, I will have to walk past them if I were to leave the backyard. We will meet regardless. Currently, the witness thought I was a woman. He indeed saw my face but only for a split second. The painted picture of me was quite detailed but not one hundred percent of similarity.

    "Oh! Sir Wynford" Muria exclaimed as she now noticed Erol. Erol and the guard now walking in our direction knowing us being here. I stay facing opposite direction from them while thinking.

    ["What are you going to do?"] Elly questioned to me telepathically. She seemed to be worried. I need to think calmly.

    The guard didn''t see Elly''s face. But, if he recognized me. The only clue they have from another person, the height, will be as obvious as the clear sky.

    "Elly... doesn''t your feet hurt from all the walk?" I asked. Elly looked confused for a sec but then she spoke.

    "Aaah, Yes, my ankle started to feel hurt!" She huffed as she shook her injured leg and then she opened her arms wide directing at me. "Piggyback!" She requested.

    Glad she understood what I meant. Elly is pretty quick-witted sometimes

    "Are you alright, Elly?" Muria asked while looking concerned at Elly. I crouched on the ground, facing my back to Elly.

    Elly gave Muria a smile while she nodded as she rode on my back, "I''m okay! I got brother Yuu, hehehe." I straightened my legs up with Elly on my back. Despite the upcoming matter, she was thrilled when I raised her up. She swung her legs cheerfully. "Yuu... Go! Run Run Run!" She exclaimed while playfully pointed forward.

    Good thing that she''s light weighted...

    "I think we will head back to the room for now" I suggested to Muria and she immediately agreed.

    "Ahh, Yes, we don''t want Elly to force herself, do we? Let''s get her to rest" Muria agreed and we started walking toward the backyard entrance. Erol and the guard were walking toward us. I started feeling a little bit of tense as my eyes had met the guard. His eyes were scrutinized upon noticing me. But he looked unsure.

    "Good day, Sir Wynford" Muria greeted and bowed at Erol as we now standing face to face. I nodded at him while Elly was lying her cheek on my shoulder and peeking from my neck. Erol didn''t say anything except lightly jutting his chin toward my direction hinting to the guard. The guard lightly nodded and stared intently at my face. Muria realized the strange atmosphere currently happening. She was confused but regardless, she stayed quiet. Erol observes the expression of that guard, waiting for a reaction.

    "Uhm... Is there anything I can help with?" I broke the silence and asked. The guard was staring quite intently. Any normal person would have asked about it. The guard was surprised by my sudden speech. He stepped back as he glanced at Erol. But, still looking unsure.

    I guess, he imagined me quite womanly, didn''t he? Now that I have dressed properly instead of that baggy guard uniform. My body didn''t look as feminine as the effect of which the oversized clothing gave to me.

    "This is Rogerdo, he''s the witness of the criminal" Erol explained and the guard named ''Rogerdo'' nodded to us but his eyes screamed suspicion.

    "I see... did you find the wanted criminals?" I bluntly asked him.

    "Not yet" Erol shortly answered. He paused for a while and continued" I told him that you looked like the criminal that''s why I brought him to meet you" He spoke while his sharp cold eyes still glued on my face waiting for a reaction.

    He is trying to stir me

    "I thought so too, could ''she'' be my lost twin sibling?" I talked back and smiled jokingly as though that ''she'' is someone else I don''t know.

    "Did you know? That the criminal''s partner is someone as tall as Elly?" Erol continued.

    He''s not giving me any break huh

    "Really? Could it be a dwarf?" I answered.

    I remember seeing that painting in the hallway during the tour. A short, child height adult with a majestic beard who looked like a dwarf straight out of a fantasy book. Although I can be wrong, the possibility is 90%.

    "Dwarf?" Erol frowned and his eyes widened as he repeated my word. Muria and the guard also looked surprised.

    Okay, so... it''s the 10%

    Elly suddenly smacked on my shoulder as she exclaimed, "Geez... Yuu, it is a ''Dwarfin''¡­ Nobody says ''Dwarf'' nowadays!" She explained.

    "Ah yeah, sorry" I awkwardly smiled as I continued, "I mean, it could be a Dwarfin." I shrugged it off. Almost messed up. It would be troublesome if he found that I know nothing of this world. I mean, type of races is what a normal commoner should be aware of, right? Erol didn''t deny, in fact, he seemed to have thought of that as a possibility too, which is a good sign.

    Alright, I am on the right track

    "Or¡­ it could also be a human child with a battle sense like Elly¡± Erol tried stirring the topic again. He¡¯s persistent. The guard now staring at Elly who¡¯s peeking from my neck.

    "Yeah... there''s a lot of possibilities. Hope you will find them soon. Well then, I will excuse first" I answered and implying on leaving the place. The more I stay, the more the guard will be aware of me being the actual person. I can''t afford to let him further recognize me. I stepped away with Elly still on my back. Muria also excused herself and followed us. At the moment I walked past him. Erol stopped us.

    "Wait." He said. I turned around as a reaction, to see what else he''s going to say. Erol looked at me solemnly as he continued with his usual deep voice.

    ¡°Do you know¡­ that Ray is dead?¡± Erol declared.

    Ray?

    It didn¡¯t take long for me to remember about this person he called ¡®Ray''. Whom we said the person we visited and also got our uniforms from. I don¡¯t have any clue about this ¡®Ray¡¯ at all. I thought Elly forged the story.

    "Huh?" I acted as though surprised by his declaration. If ''Ray'' is a friend of us, I should be shocked and probably not going to be straightforward believing his saying. While my hands were carrying Elly, I poked my finger to her legs. Hoping to get an explanation.

    ["Actually, Ray is the soldier I killed, Yuu. I overheard the other guard calling his name"] Elly realized and immediately informed me.

    "Ray is dead" Erol repeated his statement. His sharp eyes remained as observant as before.

    "No, you''re lying! He was just fine yesterday!" Elly screamed beside my ear acting all agitated.

    Good job Elly

    "Yes, he looked healthy and lively the last time we met" I questioned him with an unbelieving tone.

    "He was killed by the criminals we were searching now" Erol continued.

    "What?? Nooooo" Elly started to sob, in fact, she was the killer herself.

    I stayed silent. Partly, because I didn''t know how should I react toward this matter. Another side, I believe there are people who choose to grief inwardly. Somehow, I was relieved to know that ''Ray'' is the dead soldier. If not, we will be exposed if Erol actually searched for the person called ''Ray'' in that place. I tried to be shocked externally. Hoping my face won¡¯t give me up. A moment later, the quiet Erol suddenly grinned.

    I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this¡­

    Erol stepped closer. His hand slowly traveled to his waist, touching the sheath of his sword. ¡°How did you get that uniform again?" He asked. I could feel Elly getting tensed up from my back. Her grip on my shoulder tightened. She stopped sobbing.

    "What are you implying." I spoke.

    "That ''Ray'' person didn''t have his uniform on when he''s dead." Erol stated with a not so friendly tone.

    "Why was that?" I asked while briefly glanced throughout the area. My mind started to think about possible escaping route. Behind the mansion is a whole forest. Instead of going toward the city through the long-exposed road. Hiding in the forest is the best option.

    "Well... I thought you might know why." Erol uttered.

    At that moment, the wind conveniently came whirling through the backyard. Muria pressed her puffing skirt down. While our hairs fluttered into a mess. The guard suddenly widened his eyes. As though the wind sent him an inspiration. He raised and pointed his finger at me.

    "I-It''s her!!" He exclaimed. Erol smirked as he swiftly pulled his sword out. Elly bounced off my back and stood in her usual fighting stance, ready to pounce. The guard shouted again while he saw Elly. "I remember that stance! T-That short person!" He added and worsen the situation.

    "Eh? Heh???" Muria yipped in confusion.

    ["Killing time!"] Elly leaped forward but Erol just smirked.

    He was just testing us!!

    "Elly!! Wait!!" I shouted at Elly. Everything went so fast. Erol dodged and swung his sword up.

    "STOP!!" A familiar sound resonated throughout the backyard. The wind unnaturally swished in between them and causing both of them to jolted back. Erol looked surprised. He knew who did it. I looked at the source of the sound. A few meters away, Rhoselyn was standing with her white staff pointing at us and a displeased expression put on her face.

    "Erol, explain the situation!" Rhoselyn moved closer as she questioned Erol in anger. Erol glanced at me as he clicked his tongue. He then walked toward Rhoselyn and quickly heed her question.

    "Miss Rhoselyn, they are the wanted fugitives!" He exclaimed.

    "What proof do you have?" Rhoselyn bitterly asked. As they were talking, I beckoned Elly over to my side.

    "The witness, he recognized them, Miss Rhoselyn" Erol confidently answered as he signaled the guard to speak. The guard stood forward and bowed at Miss Rhoselyn.

    "Can you tell me that you are one hundred percent sure?" Rhoselyn questioned the guard. The guard stuttered as he nodded, "Y-Yes, Miss Rhoselyn"

    "Do you know that giving false accusation will be punished with death?!" Rhoselyn, with an intimidating gaze, she stated. The guard seemed to be surprised and he started to waver. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

    "Are you... one hundred percent sure??" Rhoselyn repeated the question again. The guard was flustered. He glanced at me and Elly. His eyes darted left and right in confuse.

    "Answer me" Rhoselyn further pressed on the guard.

    "I-I..." The guard stuttered.

    "Miss Rhoselyn, we have other proof that has yet to collect. The truth will be cleared after that" Erol cut in to ease the guard and proudly declared as he now glanced at me, coldly.

    Proof?

    "Answer me first" Rhoselyn ignored Erol and questioned at the guard again. He was silent for a while and then he peeked at Erol. Erol was giving him a threatening glare. The guard looked back at Rhoselyn.

    "I-I... I am not one hundred percent sure" The guard finally stated and Erol wasn''t pleased with his statement. He glared at the guard and the guard gulped anxiously. His survival instinct wavered his mind. It was clear that the guard is more afraid of Rhoselyn than Erol. But I can see the guard also won''t go unscathed after giving away on Erol. He''s standing on a thin ice.

    "Alright, what is your proof, Erol?" Rhoselyn smiled at the guard and now questioned at Erol formerly statement.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "It was the uniform, Miss Rhoselyn" Erol spoke.

    "And why is that?" Rhoselyn asked.

    "Yuu and Elly were wearing a guard uniform when I met them in the forest. They said that the uniform belonged to their friend, Ray. At the crime scene, two guards, one killed which is their friend ''Ray'' and another one fainted without their guard uniforms on. The fact is that both guards have different body size and so were the missing uniforms. If what Yuu said is the truth, we can find the uniforms they wear and see if they were both belong to one person or not..." Erol explained and now turned to me.

    "Where did you put the uniforms?" Erol interrogated at me.

    Right, the uniforms... they are in that house. I should''ve burnt them. Damn.

    "The uniforms... they are on the way here" Rhoselyn stated.

    Huh?

    "And I believe that they were innocent" Rhoselyn continued.

    Great... Now, I have to think of an escape plan.

    "I also told them to investigate the uniforms count of the deceased guard ¡®Ray¡¯. To check if his uniforms really missing. There are numbers marked on the garments, aren¡¯t they¡± Rhoselyn added. Erol smirked as he was satisfied with Rhoselyn¡¯s action.

    ¡°Yes, indeed, Miss Rhoselyn¡± Erol agreed as he confidently glanced at me.

    ¡°They will come report to me this evening. Let¡¯s wait before jumping to any conclusion first.¡± Rhoselyn suggested as she now walked toward Elly. Rhoselyn held Elly¡¯s little hands in her palm as she gently smiled at her. "It will be alright." She said. Elly was surprised at first. But then, she nodded and reply her a smile.

    ¡°Yep!¡± Elly cheerfully answered.

    ¡°Come with me Yuu, Elly¡± Rhoselyn asked us to go with her.

    ¡°Erol¡­ I will inform you when the information come¡± Rhoselyn stated.

    ¡°Yes, Miss Rhoselyn¡± Erol bowed. I looked at Elly.

    We need to leave before the information come...

    As though she read my mind. Elly sent her thought, [¡°Yuu, It¡¯s okay. Trust me. Let¡¯s go with Rhoselyn for now¡±] She said. I was confused. Elly stared at me. [¡°Trust me¡±] She added. Her eyes showed confidence.

    Okay¡­ If she said so¡­ It¡¯s better than standing around Erol¡­

    Erol and the guard parted with us. Erol gave me a glare while the guard had an unsure expression on. We followed Rhoselyn back into the building leaving them behind.

    We walked into the West Wing of the mansion and into a room that seemed to be a workshop plus study. At the left, there was table consist of glass with many glowing liquids like the one Muria gave us earlier. At the right, a few tall bookshelves covered the wall forming a mini library. At the inner center, there''s a desk placed before a tall clear glass window. While at the center of the room, there¡¯s a magic circle painted on the floor.

    ¡°Welcome to my research chamber¡± Rhoselyn spoke and signaled the maids to wait outside. Muria and Fetallina both bowed and moved back to the outside of the room. When the door was closed, Rhoselyn expression changed. She stood in front of me as she uttered.

    ¡°I believe you are confused¡± Rhoselyn spoke in a solemn way. I stayed silent to see how thing goes.

    ¡°To be honest, I knew the fact that you are not from this world, Yuu¡± She confessed.

    Huh?

    I started to tense up and subconsciously glanced at the closed door. Rhoselyn noticed me and continue, "Please don''t be alerted. I will not put any harm on you. Instead, I will help you out in this case, Yuu" She explained.

    I guess¡­ There¡¯s no reason for me to pretense anymore.

    ¡°How did you know and what is your motive?¡± I asked without denying.

    ¡°It was my fate to help you, Yuu.¡± She casually answered while gently smiling like she usually does.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any reason for that.¡± I stated.

    Rhoselyn walked to the center of the magic circle. She spoke, ¡°This is the reason.¡± She closed her eyes and muttered a spell under her breath. The floor was glowing and shining so bright under us. Rhoselyn opened her eyes and looked at me as she declared, "...Hereby I open the gate to Sylph!" My head went blank.

    ¡°Arrghh!!¡± I grunted as my head was ringing so bad that it hurt. I clenched on my temple. My vision was replaced and I saw myself in the vision. I saw a green mythical bird in a forest. ¡°Come-¡± The green bird spoke but it was cut off. The vision abruptly faded as Rhoselyn stopped her chanting.

    ¡°What did you do to me!¡± I yelled while my vision adjusting back to the current room.

    ¡°Did you see him?¡± She calmly asked despite my aggression.

    ¡°Who?¡± I asked as I gradually calmed down. The ringing in my head has gone away.

    ¡°Sylph, The Wind Spirit¡± She answered.

    What... Spirit?

    ¡°The bird?¡± I asked after a short ponder. The green mythical looking bird which flashed into my head just now.

    ¡°Ahh, so you can see him!!¡± Her eyes sparkled as she leaned closer. She held both my hands up and clasped into hers. Rhoselyn excitedly stated. ¡°It is true after all!" She seemed to have forgotten her manners and jumped in excitement around the room. She went to Elly and hug her so tight that Elly gasped, ¡°..Y-Yuuuuu¡±

    ¡°I succeeded! No. What''s important is that I knew I was right!¡± Rhoselyn happily declared.

    ¡°Please explain?¡± I straight forward requested. Rhoselyn realized and cleared her throat. She calmed down and back to her usual facade.

    ¡°I apologize for my unsightly manner. I will explain. Why don¡¯t we take a sit first?¡± Rhoselyn suggested as she now moves to her desk.

    Wait¡­ what about the earlier case.

    Before I opened my mouth, Rhoselyn stated. ¡°About the uniforms, it¡¯s alright, I had arranged everything. You will be fine. Even Erol will be convinced¡± She spoke as she smiled playfully.

    ¡°I understood¡±

    After that, Rhoselyn started explaining. She said that for the past year. She had been frequently dreamed of the same thing. In the dream, she was standing in the forest and a sound called her. She couldn¡¯t see but she heard the voice whom he claimed himself as ¡®Sylph¡¯ The Wind Spirit.

    ¡°¡­But, I couldn''t hear what he was trying to say. It was not clear. Sometimes I can hear a word or two and the rest were hazy" Her eyes were looking straight into mine, "...Until I met you" She said.

    "Me?" I questioned.

    "Last night at that village when I was in deep sleep. You appeared in my dream although I never saw you. The voice is the clearest on that night. I can hear what The Wind Spirit was saying..." Rhoselyn said.

    "What did he say?" I solemnly asked.

    "He said, ''Rhoselyn, my child, please aid this man and bring him to me''..." Rhoselyn answered and I stayed silent. But, in fact, I was quite interested.

    Why would a spirit of this world want to meet me?

    "But, how did you know that I am not from this world?" I asked. I was suspecting that she might have the same perception as Elly.

    Is that a common ability in this world? But from the way the others react, including Erol, they didn''t seem like they know about me coming from another world.

    "That is because, Sylph, The Wind Spirit, he also told me about your real identity..." Rhoselyn uttered.

    "So, The Wind Spirit told you that I am not from this world?" I tried to confirm but Rhoselyn gently shook her head.

    "No, it wasn''t like that. In fact, he told me that you are ''that person''¡­" Rhoselyn paused, she took a long inhale in before she continued.

    "You are The Moonlight Sorcerer..."Rhoselyn declared.

    "Huh?" I couldn''t process what she said about me being a sorcerer. I don''t remember having any kind of that fancy title on me. "What do you mean?" I asked again to reconfirm what I heard. Elly also looked as clueless.

    "I am not sure but I am certain about Sylph calling you The Moonlight Sorcerer..."

    "Wait, who and what is The Moonlight Sorcerer. What is Sylph exactly." I bombarded her with questions she seemed to have expected about. "Why do I being The Moonlight Sorcerer have any connection with you knowing where I came from?" I added again. Rhoselyn chuckled while looking a bit overwhelmed.

    "Because, The Moonlight Sorcerer himself came from the other world, Yuu..." Rhoselyn stood up from her seat and walked to the bookshelf. "¡­in this world, we called your world ''Alteius'' and the people who came from that world were called the ''Alte''..." She browsed through the book and finally found what she wanted.

    "Did you actually believe what Sylph tell you? I can tell you for sure, that this is my first time arrived in this world while myself don''t have any clue about why I ended up here at all..." I honestly explained to Rhoselyn.

    "Yes, of course. His words are absolute. Every living in our world will bow before The Spirits, even The King himself. They give blessings to the land and the races. All of the resources that we have enjoyed until now were all thanks to the blessing of Spirits..." Rhoselyn said.

    "They?" I asked.

    "Yes, there are many spirits reigning all over the lands and the sea. But, only four spirits actually communicated with people and they also held the highest authorities of all the spirits. They are Sylph, The Wind Spirit... Undine, The Water Spirit... Igaea, The Earth Spirit... and ...Faiya, The Fire Spirit" Rhoselyn explained.

    "But still, I don''t have any recollection of this world at all..." I stated. Rhoselyn slightly frowned. "Hmmm..." She indulged in deep thought, she opened the book she got earlier and searching through the seemingly old book pages.

    "¡­After bringing peace to this world, the heroes were vanished and never seen ever since¡­" Rhoselyn softly read the line in the book. "Old rumors said that they lived a peaceful life in a faraway small village unknown by people... some said that they returned to their own world ''Alteius''¡­ other said that they were dead after the last fight with the demon king... hmm..." Rhoselyn muttered and now glanced at me. She looks puzzled.

    "Well, regardless, it was The Wind Spirit, Sylph himself, addressed you as The Moonlight Sorcerer. That can''t be a mistake. Maybe... we should go to The Wind Temple. He might reveal himself if I bring you there. Yes... That''s it!" Rhoselyn was getting pumped up. Whenever she talks about the spirit, her eyes brimmed with excitement.

    Now that it has come to this... I might as well as told her about everything happens in the caves, including the children corpses found below that waterfall. She might know something and about the other people that came with me too.

    "Rhoselyn... I-"

    *knock *knock *knock

    I was interrupted by the sound at the door. Rhoselyn fixated her eyes to the door behind me. "Yes, come in" Rhoselyn gave her permission. The door opened and Fetallina walked into the room.

    "Miss Rhoselyn, The Lord has returned to the manor and requested to see you." Fetallina explained.

    "Father?" Rhoselyn reacted and she stood up from her seat. "Yuu, Elly... I am sorry, I have to go first. I will find you later and we will continue what was left." Rhoselyn daintily smiled. But, then Fetallina interrupted.

    "The Lord also requested for Mister Yuu and Miss Elly to come with you, Miss Rhoselyn" Fetallina added and immediately got a puzzled respond from Rhoselyn, she awkwardly glanced at me as she let out a weak, "Eh?"

    That was not a good sign, wasn''t it?

 Chapter 29: Under The Moonlight

    Elly and I walked down the hallway led by the maids and Rhoselyn. As we reached The Lord''s study, Erol came out from the room and our eyes met. He fixated his eyes on Rhoselyn as he greeted her. Rhoselyn pursed her cherry lips as she stared at Erol.

    "What... did you say to Father?" Rhoselyn asked, with a hint of anxiousness.

    "I reported the incident happened on our travel to him." Erol solemnly answered. Rhoselyn seemed to be concerned as she peeked at me.

    "Did you tell him about the kidnapper incident?" Rhoselyn asked again, although with a masked smile.

    "Yes, I did, Miss Rhoselyn." Erol casually answered.

    "...and about the wanted criminals?" Rhoselyn asked again, she was staring quite hard at Erol. Erol sighed. He knew what she was worried about.

    "That will be after confirming with the evidence..." Erol explained as he gave me a cold eye. Rhoselyn raised both palms to her chest as she exhaled in relief. "Alright then..." Rhoselyn turned to my side as she perked a smile on her cherry lips. "...Let''s go in" She uttered.

    Two maids in front of the room opened the tall door. If I can only use a word to describe the room, it would be ''extravagance''. Every furniture in this room screamed luxury. Gold adorned every corner of the room and they sparkle. Aside from that, the person sitting at the desk caught my attention the most. He was a fat middle-aged man wearing a silky-smooth crimson colored suit whom I assume is The Lord himself. Mr. Pierr also in the room standing beside him.

    "Father, welcome home." Rhoselyn greeted him as she now stood before the desk, Elly and I stood behind Rhoselyn. The Lord cleared his throat as he stared at us. He seemed to be the uptight kind of person similar to Erol. I see no resemblance between Rhoselyn and her father. Maybe the eyes... they are the same hazel colored.

    "They are Yuu and Elly, Father." Rhoselyn introduced us. Elly and I stepped forward and bowed. But the lord interrupted before I could open my mouth.

    "Welcome to Easton!" The lord suddenly smiled and spoke. I didn''t expect him to be friendly and neither Rhoselyn too. She has a dumbfounded expression put on her face. She looked at his father while obviously confused. The lord stood from his desk and moved to my direction. He patted my shoulder really hard as he grinned so wide flaunting his golden tooth.

    "Do you like this place?" He asked.

    I don''t know what''s going on here, but I will see through the end first...

    "Yes, you have a lovely mansion, my lord." I answered. He pulled his hand back from my shoulder and leaned himself on the desk behind.

    "I''ve been expecting you..." He said.

    Huh?

    "Eh?" Rhoselyn got even more confused as she looked at me trying to find an answer. Elly also looked clueless.

    Does he also know that I came from another world? But, Rhoselyn doesn''t seem like she knows that.

    "A young silver haired man will arrive at the full moon phase, which is tonight. His arrival will mark the successful start of my plan. That''s what ''he'' said and it was indeed true... Hah-hah-hah" His laugh resonated throughout the study. Nobody seemed to know what he was talking about. Not even Rhoselyn. She looked at me quizzically.

    ¡®He¡¯¡­?

    "Young man... Please don''t hesitate to request anything you wanted. Whether it is money or women." The Lord continued as he offered. "As long as it is within my grasp. Hah hah hah!"

    "I am sorry, but I did nothing worthy of your kind offer, my lord." I said.

    "Your presence alone has brought fortune to me. So, go on request... Don''t be shy, young man! Talk to Pierr if you want something." He said.

    I guess it would be rude to refuse... I can use that...

    "Yes, my lord." I nodded in acceptance.

    "Pierr, please get them the best quality clothing and also accessories. My fortune star can''t be looking that simple, no?" The Lord ordered.

    "Ah, this is fine my lord. I found this clothing comfortable. Thank you for your kindness." I hastily stopped Mr Pierr.

    I don''t want to wear that silly silky sparkling suit like the lord. That''s... too much for me.

    "Alright, if you say so young man. Hah-hah-hah-hah" The Lord accepted as he laughed.

    "Father... you seemed to be in a very good mood today. Did something good happened?" Rhoselyn asked.

    "Yes, it was something worth celebrating... Pierr, tell the cooks to make something special for tonight. Prepare Ailiura meat for them." The Lord ordered.

    "As you wish, my lord." Mr. Pierr humbly replied.

    "Young man, your name is Yuu right?" The Lord asked.

    "Yes" I answered.

    "You can stay here as long as you want. He said that you will be going on a journey and at that time... I shall aid you as much as I can. So, don''t worry..." The Lord explained.

    Going on a journey? Just who is that person¡­?

    "I am sorry my lord, but can you tell me who-"

    Toc toc toc

    The sound interrupted my attempt to ask. Right behind the tall glass window, a blue dove-like bird pecked on the glass and got our attention. The lord turned away and move toward the window. He opened and let the bluebird in. The bird rested on his hand with a rolled paper tied around its claw. The lord grinned as he retrieved and read the letter. He scrunched the piece of paper into his pocket.

    "Pierr, prepare a carriage. I am going out." He ordered.

    "But father, you''ve just returned." Rhoselyn said.

    "I am sorry my dear Rhoselyn. Make sure to treat our guest well." The lord walked toward the door while Mr. Pierr followed him out.

    "It''s nice to meet you, young man... Have a good day." The lord walked out of the room after the parting words. Muria and Fetallina quickly bowed down as the lord went past them.

    I glanced at Rhoselyn. She was sighing with her eyes looking down. After a moment, she raised her head up and face my direction as she masked smiled. "Well, at least he likes you." Rhoselyn said. I can feel the that she wasn¡¯t smiling from her heart. She looked disappointed.

    I guess, she does feel lonely huh¡­

    "Rhoselyn¡­ The lord mentioned a person who told him about my arrival. Do you know him?" I asked Rhoselyn the question that''s been on my mind since The Lord first spoke. Rhoselyn mulled over it for a while.

    "Hmm... I am not sure myself but recently, I often saw a tall man walking in and out of this mansion..." Said Rhoselyn as she still looking deep into thought.

    "How did he know that I will be here?" I asked.

    "I don''t know..." Her brows furrowed down. Rhoselyn looked clueless and curious. "But that man gives off an ominous vibe to me... I don''t really like him. His meeting with my father always seemed to be so secretive. Father also never introduced him to me... That man only interacted with Father." Rhoselyn explained.

    "How does he look like?" I asked.

    "He seems to be at the same age range as Father. He always dressed in black cloak covering almost all his skin. The hood is mostly covering the head so I don''t really get to see clearly of his face. But, there is something about him that have caught my attention..." Rhoselyn paused as she runs her mind.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "...It was... his hair and eyes color." Rhoselyn glanced at me. "They were both black colored."

    That looks normal to me¡­ in my world though¡­

    "Are black hair and black eyes not common?" I asked. Rhoselyn immediately shook her head.

    "No, it wasn''t that the color is uncommon. But, having both colors as black is quite rare. Normally, people will have either black hair and blue eyes or brown hair and black eyes. But, I heard there are cases where some people were born both black colored. It''s just, my first time seeing it in person..." She explained.

    "YUU!!"

    Elly suddenly shouted at me and got a prompt reaction from both of us. Her cheek was puffed up like a hamster. She looked annoyed. Rhoselyn was surprised too.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Don''t ignore meeeeeee!" She exclaimed. That''s when I realized that she has been tugging my sleeve since earlier. But I was too caught up questioning Rhoselyn.

    "What is it?" I asked.

    "I am hungry." Elly confessed. The room turned silent for a moment reacting to Elly.

    "Ah, right, it is near evening now..." Rhoselyn glanced at the window. The sun has started to set. Part of the sky was tinted in an orange hue. "Let''s go get some food, shall we?" Rhoselyn offered and Elly hastily bobbed her head up and down. "Yay! Food!" She cheered.

    "Fetallina, please go check on the dinner. Tell me if it is ready. We will wait on the balcony." Rhoselyn ordered.

    "Yes, Miss Rhoselyn." Fetallina, the ginger-haired maid, she bowed and excused herself away. While we headed to the balcony lead by Rhoselyn and Muria following behind us. It was not far from the dining room. In fact, it was connected to it. The balcony was spacious and grand.

    Elly immediately runs toward the fence as we stepped into the balcony. We were on the second floor of the mansion but we can see the view of the town as the mansion was built uphill. The view was amazing. The wind is quite strong here.

    "What is it like in your world, Yuu?" She asked as she looked at me with bursting curiosity.

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    Speaking of my world... how am I going to return? My only lead is those missing people... I wonder where are they...

    "Rhoselyn..." I called.

    "Yes?" She promptly replied.

    "Who is in charge of ''The Hell Gate''?" I bluntly asked.

    "It was a property of Tesoviel Kingdom. Therefore, it is run by The King. Why do you ask?" She questioned.

    "You know right? That''s where I was summoned to... from my world."

    "Yes, I have guessed it." Rhoselyn lightly nodded.

    "Do you have any clue of who summoned me?" My question put Rhoselyn into a puzzled look.

    "Uhm..." She muttered.

    "Could it be Sylph, The Wind Spirit?" I asked.

    "There''s only one way to make sure." She stated.

    "Do you mean¡­ Find The Sylph?" I asked.

    "Yes, he ordered me to bring you there after all. You might find your answer at The Wind Temple." She said.

    I glanced at the city view through this very balcony. Elly is walking along the fence while looking at every direction. Although she was once afraid to go out. She looked so carefree right now.

    "There''s another thing I wanted to ask." I turned to Rhoselyn and said.

    "Yes, what is it Yuu? I will help you as much as I can." She offered.

    "To be honest, it was not only me who was got summoned to your world, Rhoselyn. There are hundreds of other people coming with me..."

    "Ehh??" She gasped in surprise.

    So... she didn''t know.

    "...Something happened and I was knocked unconscious. The next thing I know, they had gone." Rhoselyn still looked surprised. She couldn''t process what she just heard. She left her mouth hanging open while her droopy eyes bugged wide.

    "I wished to return to my own world." I confessed.

    "I see...¡± Rhoselyn paused. She looked up to the orange tinted sky. ¡°Well, I do understand how you would feel, after all, to be summoned into another world away from your own homeland is a terrifying thing. I wouldn''t stay as calm as you do, Yuu." Rhoselyn smiled wryly thinking in my place.

    "Do you know how can I get back to my world?" I asked.

    "Well... that''s..." Rhoselyn paused while looking troubled. It was as expected anyway.

    "Gate summoning ritual is one of the hardest magic spells in this world, not mentioning about summoning ''Alte'', the human from another world..." Rhoselyn explained.

    "But, there are still some ways right?" I asked.

    "Yes, there are two ways to be exact. The first one, it was to gain the blessing of all spirits of this world. Which mean, the summoner has to be approved by the spirits. The summoning itself isn''t that bad but to be able to communicate with all of the spirits are the most difficult...

    Average people don''t even get to see a spirit in their whole life after all. But, some people do get the blessing from the spirit. I am one of them..." She explained while she smiled heartily at the end.

    "The Sylph?" I asked.

    "Yes, I am blessed with the power of The Sylph... It is my greatest blessing and I feel fortunate for that." She smiled.

    "So... your magic affinity is the wind?" I asked.

    "Well, you can say that''s true. But, as you see, I can also do some other magic like healing. Being blessed is different with the magic affinity a person shared. One major difference between being blessed is that I can do chant less magic as though a natural user."

    "I see... Is there anyone ever got blessed by all of the spirits?" I asked.

    "In the history, yes, it was the princess of the old Tesoviel kingdom who had all spirits blessing and she''s also the one who opened the gate and summoned the ancient heroes. Beside her, there is another person..." Rhoselyn explained as her eyes fixated on me.

    "¡­and that person was The Moonlight Sorcerer." She stated while eyes didn''t avert from mine."...it was you." She said.

    ¡°There must be a mistake¡­¡± I said.

    I never came here. I don''t even understand any of this. The spirits, mana, magic, and those creatures in the caves. It was indeed my ''first time'' experiencing them.

    "Can you tell me more about this world?" I asked.

    "Yes, of course. It will be my pleasure." Rhoselyn humbly agreed.

    "Miss Rhoselyn." A voice called from behind us. It was Fetallina.

    "Ah, yes Fetallina, is the dinner ready?" Rhoselyn asked.

    "Yes, Miss Rhoselyn." The ginger-haired maid answered. She raised her head up and stepped aside.

    "Food!?" Elly came running toward us as she noticed Fetallina appearance.

    "Alright. Let us go to the dining hall." Rhoselyn smiled at the exciting Elly.

    The dinner was extravagance as what the Lord has told them to prepare. The meal was delicious. The way they served the food was quite the same as of my own world except for the ingredients. Some color looks off but the taste was heavenly. Especially that dark blue colored meat. The appearance itself will normally be treated as something poisonous or not edible in my world. Rhoselyn said it was the meat of an ''Ailiura'' fish. But it tastes more like beef/chicken than a fish though. Elly was slurping appetizingly at everything that was placed on her plate.

    "...In Allius, we have six major races. We are the ''Human'' and so are you. But you are special. We called you the ''Alte''¡­" Rhoselyn explained.

    "How about the other five?" I asked.

    "The human kingdom, Tesoviel, populated the center and the east part of Allius. ''Elfin'' lives in the further East Allius where the woods were the thickest. ''Dwarfin'' lives in the West Allius. The ''Beastman'' lives in the North Allius. While the ''Demon'' lives in the South Allius..." She explained.

    "Demon? Don''t tell me that the human race is currently in the war with them" I straightforward asked.

    Please don''t say that was the reason I got summoned...

    "It ''was''. Allius has been at peace for thousand years. The evil demon king was defeated by the ancient heroes. The demon race never attacked human since that¡­¡±

    "I see... how about the sixth race?" I asked.

    "¡­They are the ''Meurima''."Rhoselyn answered while looking a bit unconfident.

    Meurima?

    I looked at Elly. She was chomping her fluffy white cake but I bet she noticed what Rhoselyn had just said. It must be her race.

    "Meurima... It is the general term for their race. The male is usually called a merman while the female is called a mermaid... But..." Rhoselyn paused and took a sip of her drink.

    "You will see many races around the land but you will not see a Meurima. They lived in the Eternal Sea. Rumour said that they have no legs in replace of a fish tail. Their skin is blue in color and some other people said that they enjoy eating human flesh¡­

    Nobody really knows how a Meurima looks like. They are shrouded in mystery. Because they don''t come up to the land and we also don''t go to the sea..." Rhoselyn said.

    If she knew that Elly is a Meurima... I wonder how would she react.

    "Why is that?" I asked.

    "Meurima is well known as a solitude race. They don''t need any resources on the land so they have no reason coming up nor communicating with us. That''s what my father told me..."

    "Have you ever go to the sea? Does nobody try to seek for them?" I asked.

    "No, we can''t do that. Even the Elfin and Demon race who had a naturally strong power would have trouble going into the Eternal Sea. As for Eternal Sea, it is what we call the border of Allius. It is also well known as ''The Sea of No Return''." She said.

    "Is the sea that bad?" I asked while imagining the worst sea I could think of.

    "At a glance from the shore, the sea looked inviting. Bluewater, white sand, and never-ending horizon. The view is breathtaking. It is when a person tried going further in, they will be greeted by the ''Seducing Fog''." She said.

    "Seducing Fog?" I questioned.

    "It is a thick fog lying above the Eternal Sea. They were spread all over the sea. Whether it is North, East, West or South. The fog always lies beyond the sea. The fog is rumored to be the work of the Meurima. Some also said it was the work of the Water Spirit. But, mostly¡­ people believe that is where the Evil Demon King was sealed at. The demon was once to be known in close term with the Meurima after all...¡± Rhoselyn explained.

    ¡°I see¡­ By the way, since we were interrupted earlier. What was the second way of doing the summoning ritual?¡± I asked. Rhoselyn went from smile to an unsettling look.

    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s¡­¡± She looked hesitant. ¡°Actually¡­ the second way isn¡¯t something a common people would have known. It was a knowledge I learned from Father.¡± She said.

    ¡°Is it a forbidden spell?¡± I asked. Rhoselyn nodded.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s. No sane people should do it that way. The preparation is terrible.¡± She said.

    ¡°Children sacrifices.¡± I muttered. Rhoselyn looked at me shocked.

    ¡°That is true. But¡­ actually, it is known to need the human sacrifices. What made you think that they were ¡®children¡¯?¡± Rhoselyn looked at me quizzically. I glanced at Elly. She was still requesting on filling her probably the tenth plate of the blue meat. I was reminded of the children corpses lying below that cliff.

    ¡°You see, Rhoselyn¡­ I have a feeling that we were summoned by the second way¡­¡± I said.

    ¡°What made you think like that?¡± Rhoselyn asked. Her eyes looking straight at me, seeking for an answer.

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s beyond ¡®The Hell Gate¡¯?¡± I replied with a question to confirm how much she knows about that place.

    ¡°In my knowledge, that¡¯s where the ancient heroes defeated the Evil Demon King. The demonic beast of the Evil Demon King was sealed in that place. It was built to guard the gate. It is also known as the ¡®Underworld¡¯.¡± She explained.

    I see¡­ so, those monster are demonic beast huh¡­

    ¡°Have you ever visited the underground of that building?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s strictly forbidden for commoner or even my father, The Lord of Easton himself. No one can go in without the permission of the King¡­ Breaking this rule means dead punishment. But no one would be foolish enough to visit the demonic beast anyway.¡± Rhoselyn stated and then she leaned closer as she whispered. ¡°¡­How is it looked like in there?¡± She curiously asked.

    "That is not a place for normal human...." I muttered while thinking back of those beasts. Especially that three-headed hound. Rhoselyn smiled wryly and nodded. "...You must have gone through a lot." She said.

    After the dinner and before we separated to each of our own chambers. I asked Rhoselyn whether she can teach me the language of Allius since I have only understood their conversation thanks to the magic bracelet. I also need to learn to read. Rhoselyn agreed and she will also teach me about the magic knowledge starting tomorrow. To be honest, I was feeling a bit excited.

    This is weird... Why does my heart beat so fast at the thought of learning about this world...?

    Elly and I were in the room. She went straight to the bed after taking her bath. She seemed to enjoy her fluffy bed and fast asleep. I looked through the tall window. The Lord said that tonight will be the full moon. I was curious about how it would have looked like. So, I opened the window to gaze at the night sky. It was indeed brighter than last night.

    "Hah..." The wind is strong at night. I bobbed my head out and looked at the moon. It was round and big. Tenth times bigger than the full moon in my world. I was dazed. The colorful sparkling stars were even brighter too. I looked at the surrounding. The moonlight reflected the area and created a glowing atmosphere all around the place.

    The balcony was just below us... I see... wait...what is that?

    There was a figure standing in the middle of the balcony. Reflected by the moonlight. The person was cloaked in black as he walked toward the fence. He stopped there and turned to my direction. The person raised his head up and staring straight at me. His black eyes reflected under the moonlight seems so lifeless.

    Huh?

    What is this feeling?

    I dashed out of the room. Running through the hall. Heading to the balcony.

    *thud

    I tried opening the door but it was locked. So, I gaze through the glass window. But, no one is around. I scanned once more but still see nothing but empty glowing balcony reflected by the moonlight. So, I went back to my room. I looked through the window again but that person has vanished.

    Am I seeing things?

    I couldn''t help but think of the eyes of that person and the weird feeling his gaze gave me. But after all, I was defeated by the fluffiness of the bed and gone to sleep.

 Illustration 2: Yuu and Elly

    Hi there!

    Here''s another illustration for Yuu and Elly~ I hope you like it.

    I drew this just for the cover, to be honest, lol~

    Thank you for following the story up until now ^^. Really appreciate that~~This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    By the way, I am thinking about changing the synopsis to a more suitable one to my story? Maybe a more interesting one.

    Drop some comment below and tell me what you think. hahaha~

    See you around ^^

    Just to fill up the word counts lol:

    Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly YuuElly Yuu Elly YuuElly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly YuuElly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu Elly Yuu

 Chapter 30: The Artificier

    "This is... this is..." Rhoselyn stared at the diamond shaped crystal I held on my hand. I was told to concentrate some of my mana to the crystal. It is now shining so bright with a colorful mix of lights brightening Rhoselyn''s research chamber. Elly stares at the crystal with her blue eyes reflecting the light. She looks amused. A while later, the crystal cracked. As if thunderstruck, the crystal split and shattered into thin air. Not leaving even a speckle of dust.

    "Poof!" Elly voiced a sound effect when everyone was silent-struck.

    "No way... I mean..." Rhoselyn seemingly can''t find the words to describe her thought. She stared at me confounded.

    "What does it mean?" I asked.

    "I''ve been expecting something more. But, I didn''t expect you to be this...this..." Rhoselyn looked at me straight as she jumped closer. "This is amazing!" She exclaimed right in front of my face. Excitement lightened her eyes. She was thrilled.

    "So... what is my affinity with magic?" I asked.

    "I- am not sure..." She replied.

    "Didn''t you say that the crystal will show my affinity?" I asked.

    "Well... That''s true. It will be shining green if it is wind... blue for water... brown for earth... Red for fire... yellow for light and purple for dark. If the user has two affinities or more, the crystal will take turn blinking the color relevant to the affinities the user shared. But you..." Rhoselyn explained and paused as she looked at me.

    Does it mean I have all?

    "So... what does it mean when the color is all mixed and whitish?" I asked before jumping to conclusion. Rhoselyn moved to the bookshelves and browse through her books. She raised her head up, scanned at the top row and seemingly found what she was searching for. She raised her hand up and with a swing of her hand in the air, the book was pulled out and dropped down right to her grasp.

    Magic sure is convenient huh...

    She quickly turned the pages of the book while eyes darting from left to right, reading the lines until she finally spoke. "I knew it." She said. I walked to her and peeked at the page she stopped at. She closed the book with one hand and glanced at me.

    "In Allius, we have two types of magic user, which is The Natural and The Norm. You know, right?" She asked and I nodded.

    "Actually, there was another type of magic user..." She said.

    "What is it?" I curiously asked.

    "The Irregular... Yuu, when was the first time you use magic?" She asked.

    The first time? That giant spider... Was it me?

    "I am not sure..." I said.

    "Hmm... Let me change the question. How did you feel after using your ''mana''?" She asked again.

    "My... mana?"

    "Yes..." She confirmed.

    "I think... I felt fine?" I answered.

    "Okay let us try something. But, we will have to go outside. Just in case..." She said while looking at my hand which the crystal shattered. I nodded in agreement and thus we walked out of the chamber and went outside. I didn''t see The Lord or Erol around since the morning. Elly and I followed Rhoselyn to the back garden of the mansion. The weather seemingly nice today. The wind is nice and warm. She leads us to a spacious outdoor hall nearby the servants building.

    "Yuu, can you do something with your mana?" Rhoselyn asked.

    "What do you mean?" I asked her back, she pondered.

    "Hmm... Try casting any spell you know. Can you do it?" She said.

    Any spell? I don''t think I''ve ever actually ''cast'' a spell... I''ve been doing them subconsciously...

    "Hmm..." Her question brings me to ponder. I was thinking about pushing the force out like that night I separated Elly and Erol in Paltia Village.

    ...and I destroyed a house that night. No, I can''t do that here...

    I looked around the area. The servants were mostly in the main building while a few guards could be seen guarding and patrolling at the back. Both Fetallina and Muria were standing behind Rhoselyn looking at me until Elly interrupted, probably for her magic butterfly. But, there''s no way Muria will do it for Elly as she is currently on duty around her master.

    Wait... that''s it. I can try that. It should be harmless, right?

    "Have you think of anything Yuu? If not, I can guide you." Rhoselyn offered.

    "I think I have one." I stated.

    "Alright." She said. Rhoselyn, Elly, and the maids cleared out the way just for countermeasure.

    Okay... How did she do it again?

    I closed my eyes and tried replaying the moment Muria made the mana butterfly. The way she formed it and the way that mana butterfly hover around.

    They are tiny, nearly transparent and...

    A blob of golden light hovered above my palms. They are the mana I have gathered. I tried reshaping them to resembles the butterfly as close as possible. The golden light shattered and these butterflies immediately spread away. They have turned out better than I have expected. I can see Muria mouth hung open seeing what I did. I focus back to the butterflies and make them fly around the area.

    This is easier than I expected

    "Butterflies!" Elly jumped and cheerfully dashed through the swarm of butterflies. Rhoselyn looked surprised as I flung those butterflies around her. She was dazed and so were Muria and Fetallina. Especially Muria, her face kind of flush red.

    "More!" Elly cheerfully requested. I heed her request and made more of these butterflies. One by one they appeared in the air as what I wanted. It was effortless. The whole area is now surrounded by my butterflies. They have gained great attention from all of the people around. The guards and maids seemingly stopped what they were doing to look at the commotion I am causing.

    Okay... I can''t afford to be too showy. I think I''ve shown enough...

    "¡­"

    How do I remove them?

    The butterflies keep appearing one by one even without me trying at all. I tried imagining them to go away but their numbers doubled up quickly.

    What the hell is going on??

    "Hyaa!" Fetallina shrieked as a swarm burst toward her. The butterflies were overcrowding the area. Fetallina and Muria immediately led Rhoselyn away from the swarm.

    "Yuu?" Rhoselyn realized my confused self and seemingly concerned by the uncontrolled spawn of those butterflies.

    "Please stay away from me" I suggested as I stepped back from them. I quickly observed at the butterflies which does not seem like to be in my control anymore.

    Just how did they still spawn without my consent? Or... wait... why am I glowing?

    Beneath the overcrowding transparent butterflies, I found myself reflecting warm golden colored light. I looked at those butterflies. In a split second, I could see a small strand of light connecting to every each of the butterflies from myself. The strands were sending a pulsating little blob to the butterflies. Another second, that vision disappeared.

    ["Calm down"]

    Elly?

    She has the same gaze Rhoselyn and the others gave to me. Elly looked as confused as them but more to the clueless side.

    It was not her. Whose sound is that??

    The butterflies weren''t stopped spawning at all. They have now covered the whole field and obstructing my vision even though they were near transparent. The swarm blocked my line of sight and blurred the surrounding

    area.

    "Ahh!" Rhoselyn yipped and followed with a ''thud'' sound.

    "Rhoselyn??" I couldn''t see what''s happening to her.

    ["Listen carefully"]

    That voice again.

    Nobody is around my line of sight and that voice also doesn''t feel like Elly''s. I can be sure that wasn''t from her.

    "Who are you?!" I bluntly shouted.

    ["Direct your mana into the magic stone you wear on the wrist"] The voice resonated in my head again. But, not to answer my question.

    Without complaining, I did as the mysterious voice told me to. I directed the mana into the bracelet''s stone. The stone shook strangely and gave me an ominous feeling. Not stopping the mana direction, I also quickly took off the bracelet from my wrist and threw it away as hard as I could muster. The butterflies were as though chained, they were pulled to the direction I threw the bracelet.

    BOOMM!

    The article exploded mid-air like a firework and the butterflies instantly vanished. My vision of the surrounding is cleared once again.

    "...Rhoselyn!!" A familiar man called from behind. It was Erol. Rhoselyn was sitting on the ground with a pained look plastered on her face. I quickly rushed to her side.

    "Rhoselyn... Are you hurt somewhere?" I asked her but she gave me a blank look. Erol crouched down and hauled Rhoselyn up in one swoop. He seemed to be worried while also glaring fiercely at me, obviously blaming me for what happened.

    "???" Rhoselyn talked to Erol and seemingly urging him to put her down.

    Ahh, the magic bracelet... I blew it.

    "I am sorry. The bracelet... I lost it" I talked to them but of course, they were no longer able to understand me except Elly. She helped me translate to Rhoselyn who is now standing on the ground with a hint of red flushed on her face while looking at Erol.

    "Rhoselyn...?" I called her as she didn''t respond to Elly. She was then finally reacted. She turned to me while looking dazed and after a moment later, she was snapped out as she jumped to me.

    "There is somewhere we need to go!" Rhoselyn grabbed my hands while talking in the language I don''t understand. I looked at Elly. She quickly helped me translating.

    This is why I really need to learn their language fast.

    After a brief explanation from Rhoselyn, the bracelet was actually specially crafted by an artificer in the city. It''s expensive and graded ''Rare'' because of the material, especially the magic stone. The good news is that Rhoselyn has the stone. So, we can just bring the stone to the artificier. Apparently, that artificier is also one of her magic tutors.

    ["Both ''Natural'' and ''Norm'' though having different way of controlling mana. But, they share the same way of mana consumption. Which is from within the user. In fact, every user holds a different amount of mana, it is not unlimited. Which mean, the user will not be able to cast any spell when they are running out of mana... Of course, the mana will recover but on a period of time.

    While, you, the ''Irregular'' can be constantly receiving the mana from surrounding. You are bound to have unlimited mana. It seems like a good thing. But, it can also, be a curse."] Elly translated as Rhoselyn explained.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "So, what I need is to learn the control of it?" I asked.

    ["Yes, that''s what I think of... Although I can''t help you with that. The artificier will be able to. I will accompany you there."] Rhoselyn suggested.

    "No, I can''t let you go" Erol stated.

    "But-" Rhoselyn mumbled.

    "Please rest in your chamber Miss Rhosleyn. I can''t let you go while you''re injured." Erol strongly suggest. Nothing seemingly can change his mind anymore.

    "But, it was just a small bruise on the hand." Rhoselyn waved her hand at Erol. He caught the hand in a hairbreadth and open her palm with the bruise and cut she got when she fell down.

    "Please..." Erol looked into her eyes straight. Even though they are the same pair of cold eyes. But, his gaze toward Rhoselyn is different. Rhoselyn was caught off guard and awkwardly pulled her hand away while stuttered.

    "A-Alright... But, you will be accompanying them in replace of me. I can''t let them go alone to meet ''that person''. You know why..." Rhoselyn seemingly has agreed to Erol request. Erol looked a bit hesitant at first but then he sighed in agreement.

    Rhoselyn also gave us a letter with Easton family seal on it to be given to the artificier. It seemed like the artificier is a top-notch magician in the city who doesn''t just accept any customer without prior notification. But, with the letter, apparently, we will be having a special exception. After parting with Rhoselyn, Elly and I rode a carriage into the city accompanied by Erol. He was staring at me all the way. But, then he suddenly called on Elly.

    "Hey, you" Erol spoke to Elly.

    "It''s not you... I have a name, Elly!" Elly complained.

    "Alright, Elly... Let me ask you something..." Erol paused briefly and Elly stares at him. She listened but didn''t react much yet. "...You are not a human, aren''t you?" He asked. Elly almost flinched. But she calmly replied.

    "Of course, I am... What would I be if I am not a human?" She confidently answered.

    "¡­" Erol silently observed while looking straight into Elly''s blue eyes.

    "It''s not like Elly has long ears like the elf or fluffy tail like the beastmen..." Elly continued her denial.

    "Alright, I have another question..." Erol continued. Elly gave him a cold stare.

    "...Have you ever heard of ''Salarres'' ?" He asked.

    "Huh?" Elly surprised. Her eyes opened wide and her little mouth hanging open. She froze for a second but enough to let Erol detect her different fa?ade. "I don''t know." Elly quickly denied. The corner of his lips perked into a smirk.

    "I don''t know why The Lord and Miss Rhoselyn were both so welcoming and trust in you both, especially your friend..." Erol spoke as he glanced at Yuu who''s been listening but obviously doesn''t understand. "Since the Lord strongly favored you both, I will not look any further about the incident you caused at The Hell Gate. Even Rhoselyn had prepared such a perfect evidence to clear your name..."

    "¡­"

    "I believe that your friend will not cause harm to Easton, but you..." His voice is clear and deep. Erol faced Elly straight and with downcast eyes. "You should know why I can''t trust you..." With an intimidating voice, he whispered. Elly was speechless. She stared at Erol.

    "Elly?" I called her as she looked a bit dazed after some talk with Erol. She turned her face to me as she snapped out from her daze. She beamed her usual smile in just a blink and immediately lift away the awkward atmosphere. The carriage that has been carrying us also stopped.

    ["We''ve arrived! Let''s go Yuu!"] Elly quickly descended from the carriage.

    Did she just avoid me?

    I followed her down and glanced at Erol. He and Elly kind of acting weird. Especially Elly. I wonder what''s she thinking right now. She mostly behaves like a child, which is what she supposed to be. But sometimes, she acts like she''s not.

    Just how many secrets she''s still keeping from me...

    The building of our destination looked peculiar. It''s not as grand as I expected it to be. But, it was rather a unique and weirdly standing out store. From what I''ve seen on the road, the houses were mostly brick, wood and stone colored. But, this building was painted in bright orange and yellow in between two stone colored houses.

    Ring ring

    A bell sounded as Erol opened the front door in. It was a hall full of unique looking decoration hanging all over the wall. At the end of the hall stood a bright yellow colored door with a weird spiral sculpting on the surface. Erol looked hesitant while he stared at the door.

    I wonder what kind of person is the artificier... Rhoselyn did mention that person is a bit to the eccentric side...

    "Welcome to Nuh cuuuttteeee little store!"

    Huh?

    I turned around as that''s where the sound came from. Elly was caught in ''that person'' hug and struggling on releasing herself out. A brown-skinned child wearing bright furry and fluffy clothing, she hugged Elly in her arms. Her silver bluish hair is unnaturally long for a girl in her age as it dragged on the floor.

    "Oh my, oh my, what a peculiar guest we have today..." The girl has an adult voice unfitting her appearance. On top of that, I understand what she said.

    "Ngg... Yuu" Elly looked uncomfortable.

    The girl then stared at me. Her eyes were bright, silver and glow in contrast to her brown skin. Both sides of her cheek have streaks of red paint. That girl tugged on the glove Elly is wearing and immediately alerted Elly.

    "Hey!" I dashed toward them but she disappeared from my vision.

    What the

    "Nuh is hereeee... Where are you looking at?"

    Behind?

    I turned around again but she vanished. Now standing in front of Erol.

    "Oh my, oh my... Lady''s little boy is here too! Is this a gift from Rhoselyn?" She asked Erol while stroking Elly''s head. Erol wordlessly hands out the letter Rhoselyn entrusted. The girl then released Elly from her hug to reach the letter. Elly immediately ran to my side and peek. She exhaled in relief.

    "Ahhh I see I see... So, the boy broke the gift I gave to Rhoselyn" She glanced at me with her glowing silver eyes.

    "Where is the stone?" She suddenly stood right in front of me and caught me off guard.

    She''s been doing that since earlier... Just what on earth is that. Magic? Which one is she... Natural? Norm? I don''t think she''s using any magic tool... So, she''s The Natural?

    In another blink, she already had the stone on her hand. I patted on my pocket. It was indeed the stone I had.

    "So... you wanted me to create another of that bracelet, huh..." She asked as she glanced at me after the stone.

    "Yes, please..." I answered.

    "I can''t do that" She straightly rejected while she blinked to Erol''s side again. "Maybe... if you agree to stay the night today. Then... I will reconsider!" She continued.

    "I am sorry, but I cannot fulfill your request Master Nuh" Erol immediately rejected.

    Wait... why am I understanding Erol

    "Nuh little store is language barrier free, little boy..." She answered my confusion as though she read my mind and then she continues nagging at Erol. But, he is not moved any bit.

    "It is an order from Miss Rhoselyn, Master Nuh."

    "Stop, stop, stop calling me Master! That made me look old. Just call me Nuh... tsk" She complained.

    "We need you to make the bracelet, Master Nuh." Erol continued.

    "Ahh... alright, alright, Mr. Loyal Knight. I heard you. But, I really can''t. You see... I don''t have one of the most important material on hand..." Nuh explained.

    "Please tell me what is the material... I will retrieve it for you." Erol offered.

    "It is the Bori leather." Nuh smirked as she looked at Erol surprised. After a while of pondering, Erol finally spoke.

    "Fine... I will go get it-"

    "Eiittss... wait wait... I don''t want ''you''¡­ I want that boyyyy to get it for me." She pointed at me.

    "I will be accompanying him-"

    "Hushh... no, I want him to go... alone." Nuh pointed her finger at Erol''s mouth. Her tone of voice changed. She meant it. Erol struck silent as he glanced at me.

    "What is a Bori?" I asked Nuh and she blinked in front of me again.

    "You don''t know what''s a Bori?? Oh my oh my..." Nuh looked surprised but then she smirked. "You will go find out yourself then."

    "I can''t let danger befall on him. Miss Rhoselyn will be on my neck, Master Nuh." Erol spoke.

    "Goshh... I told you to drop the Master! Kids nowadays..." Nuh complained. "...He will be alright if he''s like what Rhoselyn stated in the letter. Also... Roshelyn is recommending him to be my student, which isn''t a part of the contract. So, I am free to test his ability to decide whether he''s worth it... or not." Nuh explained. Erol looked at me with doubt and then he sighed.

    "Fine." He agreed.

    "I am going too!" Elly voiced her thought but then got caught by Nuh again.

    "No, you will be staying here with me my dear..." Nuh hugged Elly tight as she struggled in annoyance.

    "Noooo!! I am going!" Elly shouted while struggling.

    Just how powerful is Nuh to be able to restrain that monstrous Elly. She''s not someone to be taken lightly of.

    "Rabi!!" Nuh shouted and a blob plopped out from the door. Right through the wood as though the door never existed. A blue rabbit hopped into our line of sight. Well, actually, it has the ears resembled a rabbit but its body is rounded like a bun while no limbs could be seen. It moves by hopping and bouncing.

    "Biiih!" The bun squealed.

    "I will let Rabi lead you to where Bori resides and accompany you too. So, don''t say I am heartless, okay?" Nuh smirked as she looked at Erol. Erol can only helplessly stared at her.

    "Alright, discussion dismissed! Let''s go little girly..." Nuh turned around while dragging the struggling Elly.

    Will it be alright to leave Elly with that person?

    ["Trust me boy... I won''t say anything"]

    Nuh glanced at me while pulling Elly away. She winked her eye at me as she went through the door with Erol. Leaving me standing confounded with a bun rabbit at the hall.

    What was that? Does she know what is Elly?

    "Bi!" The blue bun hopped on to my shoulder from the floor despite its round body, it has quite an amount of strength to be able to bounce that high. Rabi pointed its ear toward the exit repeatedly.

    Alright then... I guess I will go get some Bori huh

 Chapter 31: Familiar face

    "Bori..."

    Just what kind of creature is it? I don''t have any clue at all...

    I started to regret not asking just what is a Bori. The size, their ability, strength or weakness. I knew nothing at all. And here I walked in the middle of the forest with the blue rabbit-like blob pointing the direction with its ear.

    To be honest, although strange, that creature is cute...

    "Biih bihh!" Rabi jumped off from my shoulder and started hopping away.

    "Hey!" It hopped away so quick, thus I ran following it. "Rabi??"

    Damn, he moved so fast.

    The sun is up and shining brightly. Through the foliage, it created shades on the forest ground. The weather here feels like spring and here I am running in the middle of the forest, chasing a blue rabbit.

    "Wait!" I called at Rabi who''s hopping fast and away from my line of sight.

    "Bii!" I can no longer see his figure except for its squeaky sound from in between the trees. The shrubs were getting thick around this area.

    "Did he go through here..." I mumbled as I weaved through the shrubs. The light aggressively blinded my sight as I walked throughout the shrubs. I shade my eyes to get a good look at what''s in front of me. The path ended here, we were at a cliff side. The blue sky and blanket of forest entered my vision. Rabi was bouncing on the ground while facing me.

    "What is it Rabi?" I asked him as he seemed to understand my speech all along. Rabi turned around and hop to the far edge of the cliff. His ears were pointing down.

    Don''t tell me...

    I moved closer to the edge as carefully as I can. Looking from the horizon, I can say that the cliff is pretty high up. Falling down from the cliff is the last thing I want to do in another world. I peeked down and saw a protruding area from the cliff wall. There''s nothing on the surface though.

    "I don''t se-"

    *thud

    "???" Something squishy and firm bumped my back hard. I was thrown off balance and tripped toward the cliff end. "Rabii???!" I complained as my whole weight is already out of the cliff falling sideways. Rabi is at the cliff edge looking at me with its small rounded red eyes. Somehow, I wanted to pull back the thought of him being cute.

    He''s trying to kill me!

    Falling down like this sure brought back the memory of the day I fell down from the school rooftop. The bright blue sky in vision and the wind pressure on my back. Maybe... I will wake up in my bedroom after this fall. Maybe this is all a dream.

    No...

    "Arrghh!!" I shifted my body weight to barely faced the ground. I thrust my hand directing the inching close surface.

    WHOOSHH

    My body decelerated as I successfully obstructed the speed with a sudden gust of wind opposite my fall. "Agh!" I thumped down the ground but it only felt like falling from the bedside. I positioned myself sitting on the surface while controlling my messy breath. "Hahh..."

    What the hell just happened

    "¡­.bbbbBBbbiihhhh!!"

    I looked up. "Ugh!" Rabi landed on my stomach as though a cushion and knocked me down to the floor. Seeing the blue rabbit appearance, I hastily stepped away from it. "Bii?" He voiced a confusion. A moment later, Rabi hopped away from me and left me wondering.

    He pushed me on purpose, didn''t he?

    I raised up from the ground, "Hey-" I called and followed him, what I saw as I turned around to his direction was a big cave entrance. I have then realized the situation. While Rabi jumping up and down below the cave entrance, "Biih bihh biih!" He innocently called me.

    Why the hell is a cave entrance positioned at a cliff wall? I can safely assume that Nuh knew it from the start... But, did Erol know this too?

    Rabi and I exchanged stare. But, he seemingly didn''t feel any guilt at all. Instead, its ears tilted to side signaling confusion. "Haah..." I sighed helplessly.

    Well, there was one good thing tho... Just now...

    I raised my hand facing the wall beside the cave entrance.

    BOOM! The wall dented and cracked. "Bih!!" Rabi was surprised and quickly hop away in the opposite direction. I was thrown backward by impact and fell to the ground.

    "..."

    I think... I somehow learned something interesting... Maybe if I...

    After thinking for a while, I opened both hands with palm facing up. My heart started pounding with the thought of what I am about to try next. The thing every child probably ever thought of. That is to...

    "...fly"

    "¡­" A moment passed and my feet still stood firm on the ground with Rabi watching. His eyes gleamed with curiosity but I had failed his expectation.

    "Biih?" Rabi questioned as I slightly cringed at what I just thought about. Somehow glad that this place got no people around. Anyway, who would just casually visit this secluded area? I looked at Rabi. He''s looking straight into my eyes as though waiting for my next move. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I moved past Rabi and started entering the cave. "What am I thinking..." I mumbled.

    The cave gave me a familiar feeling of the place I first traveled in this world. The glowy substances covered the ceiling while giving the tunnel a dim light. My nose was filled with its typical muddy scent and the temperature here is slightly lower than outside. The more I walked into the tunnel, the drier my skin get because of the cold. Rabi didn''t seem to be affected by it though. I instructed Rabi to be as stealthy as we get closer to the target. He seemingly understood what I meant. Hopefully.

    "...bihh..." Rabi suddenly stopped before the turn and fidgeting on spot. His whisper alerted me thus I tiptoed to the side of the wall. Slowly peeking through the turn, I saw a big rounded black thing curled in the middle of the cave. Shiny black fur gleaming with blue sheen reflected of those glowing icy ceiling. Its body constantly moving as it breathes thus I can assume it is a living creature, which is probably the ''Bori'' I was looking for. It has a size of an elephant and seemed to be fast asleep.

    "...Bori?" I questioned and got a nod from Rabi''s ears. I looked back at the Bori creature while contemplating what to do next. But the cold is getting on my nerve. The cave where the Bori resides was especially cold.

    Better finish it quick

    Slowly, I stepped into the icy cold cave. My nose is getting stuffy from the cold thus I breath through my mouth. While hand preparing the gesture for the blast. The cave itself got other two tunnels branching to somewhere else. Rabi hopped on to my shoulder while staying as quiet as it can. Calmly, I closed our distance to where I can safely assume that my aim won''t be off to elsewhere. I raised my hand targeting at the creature whose face I''ve not seen yet.

    "bih!!" Rabi suddenly hopped away from my shoulder.

    "Hey!" I whispered. Rabi hopped back to the previous tunnel while peeking from there. I was glad that it didn''t make any loud noise that would wake the creature up. Staying still at where I was, I looked around the area but didn''t see any suspicious movement. The creature seemingly still fast asleep.

    "!!!" A voice resounded from the other tunnel. I was alerted but it was too late for me to hide away. A girl ran out from the tunnel and our eyes met. A face that was familiar to me. The girl looked at me with eyes bugged wide. I took a few steps closing to her. But she yelled. "!!!"

    "Roooaarrrrr!!"

    I looked up and caught off guard by the standing high Bori, with its claw ready to pounce on me. I jumped to the side.

    Slash

    The girl in front of me blinked to my side and made a cut to the Bori. "..Grraaahhhh!" It squealed with pain. I quickly back away from the area.

    "...Kisaragi??" I called on the girl whom I familiar with. She glanced at me as though a stranger.

    Why is she here??

    "!!!" She said something but I didn''t understand. She looked battered and tired.

    "What happened back there?? Why are you here?" I aggressively questioned at her but she gave me a confused look. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and dashed to my front, she blocked a claw attack from Bori with her long thin sword. She turned to me while yelling something again. I didn''t understand but now is not the time for interrogation. I dashed to Bori''s side and aimed my hand at it.

    SPLAT!

    Its head exploded after a success blast from me. The body went limp and thumped down to the ground. Its blood splattered all over her surprised expression. After a moment, she ran toward me and stood behind my back. She grabbed on my shoulder and pointed at a tunnel in front of us.

    "There''s more!" The girl shouted. Although I didn''t understand, I could feel that she''s implying something is about to come out from that tunnel. I braced myself, aiming at the tunnel while listening to the roaring echo out of the tunnel.

    GRAAAOOOOOO

    Three Bori came out of the tunnel front facing me, they have a face looked like bear except that they have a bulkier body and crazy long sharp claws. Looking at their dead kin lying cold beside us, the Boris roared in anger before one of it dashing fast toward me. I quickly shot a blast and got another successful splat. The Bori thumped cold to the ground. Two Bori behind them whined and seemingly thinking of retreating. While glaring at me, the Boris turned away and ran back to the tunnel, leaving their dead kins.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "Hahh! Finally! Screw you! Go away and don''t ever come back!" The girl behind me cheered and sighed in relief. I turned around and grabbed her shoulder. She was startled.

    "Where have you been?? What happened to the others??" I started bombarding her with questions. She looked at me with a frowned face and then smacked my hands off her shoulder.

    "What the hell are you saying?? I don''t understand!" With an irritating voice, she complained to me. I stepped back while looking thoroughly at her. Although they share the same face, she gave off a different vibe. But her eyes... her big brown eyes had the same gaze as Kisaragi. Now that I closely observed, this girl in front of me has a bright red colored hair while Kisaragi is deep black.

    "Hey... you''re starting to creep me out" The girl mumbled as she glared at me with total suspicion in her eyes. I probably stared too much.

    "I''m sorry" I apologized as I looked away but couldn''t help peeking back at her. Even twin had different features, but the face this girl has one hundred percent of similarity with Kisaragi. Is that even possible?

    The girl stared for a while before she turned around to the dead Boris body. She casually pulled out a small knife and started skinning the Bori which reminded me of my very first purpose of exploring this cave. I looked at the tunnel where I came from and found Rabi still peeking from there.

    "Come here..." I beckoned and he immediately hopped to my side sticking close to me as he peeked at that girl. I moved toward the headless Bori while eyes glued to the girl. That girl stared at me from the corner of her eyes while effortlessly skinning the Bori.

    I should be doing the same right?

    I walked toward the girl and stood behind while observing her skinning the Bori. The girl quietly doing her job but then she turned around with an irritated gaze on me.

    "Alright, alright, I will share with you okay? You helped me after all..." She mumbled. "So, stop staring at me..." The girl turned back and continue slashing the Bori open.

    "Bihh!" Rabi hopped to the top of the headless Bori and opened its mouth so wide as it jumped up.

    "Eh?"

    In a swoop, Rabi sucked in the headless Bori into its mouth. The Bori magically disappeared into its tiny body, leaving me bewildered. "Burph!" Rabi bounced down to the empty ground and looking satisfied.

    "Heeehh??" As if voicing my thought, the girl sounded surprised with eyes bugged wide. She looked at the empty ground, which the Bori supposed to be lying, back and forth to Rabi. I can assume that this is not ''normal'' at all by her reaction.

    After gulping down a whole elephant-sized creature, Rabi started hopping away from the cave and into the tunnel we came from. "Wait!" I tried stopping Rabi, but it seemed like as if he was programmed to go back as soon as his duty fulfilled. I looked at the girl who still stood surprised and clueless with a lot of questions about to throw at me.

    "What is your name?" I asked out of nowhere. She didn''t understand as expected.

    What am I doing...

    I canceled my thought. Although, she got the same face. But, she''s a different person indeed. There''s no use for getting know with her anyway. Not like I will be meeting her again. The girl said something but not that I would understand. So, I bowed at her and parted farewell. After that, I went after Rabi leaving the girl staring at me from the cave.

    ***

    "Ahahahahahhaha! Really??"

    "bih... Bibibihh!"

    "Oh my, oh my..." That brown-skinned girl, Nuh, grinned at Rabi''s report while I sit next to Elly and Erol in her working chamber. This place of her has a special smell. Leathers, muds, and minty herbs. Although weird, it was pleasant to breathe in. Somehow calming my mind.

    There are lots of those blue rabbits in this chamber. They are working for Nuh I guess. A few of those blue rabbits jumping up and down on a big wooden bowl, crushing some purple herbs with their squishy bottom while drops of liquid dripped through the bottom of the bowl into a container. The sight gave a frown on my face.

    "You should have told me." I spoke as I now fixated my gaze on Nuh.

    "You didn''t ask me" Nuh confidently answered. She was grinning ear to ear. I inwardly sighed. What annoyed the most is that she didn''t need any of the material at all. When I returned, she casually said that she actually still has enough materials to make another one.

    Hah... She''s definitely making fun of me

    "Yuu... have you hurt anywhere?" Elly innocently asked my well-being. She probably sensed how tired I actually felt. Not mentioning climbing back up to the cliff. Actually, I didn''t ''climb''.

    I stared at Rabi who''s still ''biih biih''-ing with Nuh. I truly, never thought, that the blue squishy furry blob can actually ''fly''. Yes, and that''s how I was suddenly carried back to the cliff ground while I thought I had to climb. It was my mind, that felt a bit tired, falling and flying up unexpectedly.

    "I am fine..." I smiled at Elly. She has been quite since earlier. I wonder what happened when I was away. Erol also looked uptight.

    "Are all those blue creatures'' have that ability? To fly..." I stated while recalling the absurd ascend earlier. Rabi bit my shirt collar as it hovered up with its small pair of white wings which amazingly able to hold up to my weight. But, this creature can also gulp in a whole elephant-sized creature into its small body anyway. I shouldn''t be surprised.

    "No, no, no... Rabi is a special Tuzi..." Nuh promptly denied as she stroked Rabi''s head. It seemed to enjoy her patting on the head. "¡­She is a special Tuzi kin..." Nuh explained. She had a confident smile perked her lips as she grinned and glanced at me with her sharp gray eyes.

    "She?" I quizzically asked.

    "Rabi is a ''she''¡­" Nuh answered, simultaneously Rabi stared at me as though telling me that she felt ''insulted''. How do you differentiate their gender anyway? They looked all the same to me. I brushed it off with another question.

    "What make hi- her a special Tuzi kin?" I asked. Rabi''s stare getting more intimidating thus I avoided eye contact with it.

    "Rabi has the ability to ''learn'' spells her ordinary kin couldn''t. You know that most beasts got fixed skills and abilities, don''t you?" Nuh explained as she raised her eyebrow and questioned in doubt.

    "I see... Yes, I know..."

    Actually, I didn''t know about that.

    "...does it mean that Rabi learned ''fly'', a skill which is not common for her kin?" I added.

    "Yep, correct."

    "...and that ability to seized a whole Bori?"

    "Actually... that is one of Tuzi''s original ability. But normal Tuzi can only store in twice their own size." Nuh answered with a bored face and then she stood up from her seat. "...Alright! Enough question. Follow me... and you guys, can leave now." Nuh said to Erol who''s been observing for a while.

    "Yuu here, Elly stay too!" Elly stood up declared to Nuh. She dashed to my side and stick close to me. Nuh ran her fingers through her long silver hair as she exchanged a stare with Elly. A while later she smirked and said, "Alright, alright, alright..."

    "Wait... are we staying here?" I asked as I threw a glance at Erol. He didn''t seem to be surprised.

    "What... Didn''t you want to be my disciple?" Laced with seriousness, her eyes straight to me. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable with this person. She''s been staring oddly at me for a while. Can I trust her?

    "Yes, absolutely... Thank you for having us, Master Nuh." With no more hesitation, I answered. I didn''t think Rhoselyn will put us in any harm. For now, I should trust Rhoselyn words.

    "I will be taking my leave then..." Erol stood up and bowed at Nuh before he walked away.

    "You can stay the night too if you want... you know..." Nuh playfully teased at Erol but he didn''t budge and keep walking until he''s out of the room. Nuh voiced a tedious sigh as she watched the door Erol pass through. Next, she turned around to me and smiled playfully. She slowly moved across the room to me and suddenly swung her hand toward Elly.

    "Y-Yuu!" Elly suddenly flung away through the wall and disappeared.

    "Elly??" I immediately followed but the wall is solid as I pounded at it. "What did you do to her!" I turned and shouted at Nuh.

    In a hair-breadth, Nuh blinked and now just an inch away to me. She placed both her hands on my side while my back lay flat on the wall. She was floating mid-air with her long hair fluttering on air. Her eyes positioned on the same level as me. Her face is close to mine. Her breath felt unnaturally cold to my skin.

    "Well, well, well..." She whispered. "Now that we''re alone..." In a tempting tone, she continued as her cold fingers crawled through my neck, slowly sliding down.

    "...Why don''t you show me what you got here..." She smiled.

 Chapter 32: Seeking the truth

    She smells like Peppermint...

    That''s what I thought when she is close. It was the same smell emitted from within the room and it was supposed to be dormant and calming to the mind. Instead, it caused an opposite effect. Her being close and the overflowing smell made my hearts beats... oddly fast.

    "What do you want" I tried to be calm despite my heart pounding weirdly. It gets stronger the longer she stared into my eyes. I can''t help but wanted to stare back. Her gaze was like a drug to my mind, eating away my consciousness. I quickly averted my eyes the moment I realized something''s weird. A sultry smile formed on her lips as she slowly back away from me. She hovered backward to the nearby table and lightly sat on it as though sitting on a fluffy sheep. I don''t know what she''s up to, but I secretly gathered the mana into my right hand. Nuh noticed as her gaze traveled back from my hand.

    "Oh my... oh my... Don''t be so uptight boy... I just want to have a nice... little talk... Just between us..." Said Nuh with a teasing smile.

    "What did you do to Elly."

    Elly has flung away and through the wall by Nuh. Since then, I didn''t hear anything from her, not even telepathically. Did she put some kind of barrier around the room? Now that I looked around. The Tuzis also disappeared. Are we in a different dimension? It is a magical world after all. With the minimum knowledge I have for this world. I can only guess.

    Nuh bugged her silver eyes wide and followed by a grin, she spoke, "She''s fine... don''t worry about her..." She paused for a while, "...Anyway... How did you end up here boy?" And ended it with a weird question. Which she should''ve known why. Still, I answered.

    "It was Miss Rhoselyn, who recomme-"

    "...No... That''s not what I meant boy..." She cut off my words and suggestively smiled. She ran her fingers through her silver long hair, intertwined them in between those slender fingers.

    "You aren''t a human of this world, are you?" She straightforward asked with a confident smile in the end. Her eyes gleamed in curiosity. Waiting for a reaction from me.

    How did she know? I did request Rhoselyn for keeping shut about my identity. So, I don''t think it was her.

    I was a bit surprised by the question. But then, I tried my best hiding it from showing up on my face. Which is what I''ve been accustomed to. I can say that I have always got a naturally flat expression on my face. But, Nuh has keen eyes.

    "¡­What do you mean." I denied. Her smile grew wider while her eyes still glued to me.

    "Well, nevermind... It''s alright if you don''t want to admit it..." She blinked and still smiling. As if she had seen me through. She knew that I was trying to hide the fact. In fact, she did hint about knowing what Elly is. She might be able to somehow identify the race of a person. But, after all, it could be a trap. She might not be knowing anything and just taking guesses.

    I will avoid the topic as much as I can.

    "...Come here boy." Nuh beckoned me over. I was hesitant at first but then I moved closer to her. She crossed her arms while observing me from bottom to top and then her eyes narrowed when it reached my face.

    "Do you know that Erol also, once my student?" Suddenly, Nuh started a conversation out of nowhere.

    "¡­"

    "Come on, don''t be so quiet... Talk to me for a little bit... Can''t you see that I''m so lonely here? Living in solitude only accompanied by the Tuzis..." Nuh sounded dramatic as she whined like a child. But her adult like voice, even when she raised it high, didn''t fit her appearance at all. Although she has a body size of a child. Her attitude is more like of an adult.

    "...All of the customers were just some old... sleazy men lately. It was no fun at all. Haaah..." Nuh sighed desperately. She hopped off the table and came closer to me. With her cold fingers, she touched my cheek and raised it up to face her tiny face feature. She pulled herself close to me.

    "Now, now... Let''s see what you got..." She whispered.

    In a sudden, her lips pressed against mine. A strange feeling welled up in my body. Something in me swirled like a hurricane. I can feel my chest raised in temperature as something flowing up straight through my throat. She forced open my mouth with her tongue and forcibly took over space behind my lips with it.

    What the hell??

    I immediately pushed her away, with all the strength I could muster. "Hahh..." It drained me quite a bit.

    Just what did she do to me??

    Nuh knocked back to the table after being pushed away. But she can easily balance herself up while putting up a smug smile. Not even feeling awkward by her deed.

    "Oh my, oh my..." With a fake surprised look, she wiped her mouth and smirked. Then, she grinned from ear to ear.

    "Let Elly go, we are leaving." With a threatening voice, I demanded her.

    "Ahahahahah!" Nuh started laughing not even flinched by tone.

    She is clearly taking me lightly

    "Oh my god, I thought that you don''t have any other expression. But... you did actually give a decent reaction... Hahahaha" She continued laughing her heart out. Now, that she''s laughing openly, she kind of finally acted more like of a child. All of the suggestive feels from her has been muffled by her laughter.

    "...but it''s not any better than Erol''s. His reaction still the best so far." Nuh kept laughing and laughing until a little bead of tears formed under her silver eyes. Those are the tears of laughter. It was more genuine than any expression she gave since the beginning. But it was annoying to my ears.

    "You did something to me, didn''t you."

    "Hmm? Of course, I did..." Nuh answered and raised her hand to touch her lips. "... I just smooched you, didn''t I?"

    "¡­"

    Just what am I doing here...

    "Oh my, oh my, stop staring at me like that..." She paused briefly and then covered her mouth with both her hands again. "Oh my... was it... your... first kiss?" Her eye bugged wide but obviously, a made up. She acted as if she was concerned by what she just did.

    "¡­"

    This is stupid...

    "You know what, it was Erol''s too and so did little Rosy... I''ve been stealing everyone''s first kiss!" Nuh started reminiscing about the past incidents.

    I can see why Erol can''t stand around her now

    "Oh, oh, oh! There''s one funny part. When I told Erol that I''ve stolen little Rosy''s first kiss. He looked so frustrated! But he turned into a tomato head right after I said... ''Which mean you''ve indirectly kissed her''... Ahahahahah... That was the best! " She laughed and laughed for a while before she settled down.

    "Did you draw my mana out?" I ignored her blabbering and asked the question. She finally stopped and stood upright facing me.

    "...alright, don''t be so boring looking boy... I was just having a little observation through your... lips. That was one of the ways to inspect a person''s mana... closely... hehe"

    "One of the ways?"

    "It was the most interesting way to be exact..." Nuh casually answered as she licked her lips. I inwardly sighed.

    I can see why Rhoselyn viewed her as an eccentric person now

    "Rhoselyn did mention that you were one of the ''Irregular''. The one who has an unlimited bound of mana... But, I doubted it when I first saw you. You know... you looked a bit... A bit too normal." Nuh finally started talking about something worth hearing.

    "Then, how is an Irregular supposed to be like?"

    Nuh turned to silence as she thinks about my question. She looked at me straight in the eyes but simultaneously her gaze felt distant. As if she was seeing someone else in me. The teasing smile slightly faded from her lips. Her silver eyelashes fluttered for a moment.

    "...Because the Irregular ones are usually... crazy in the mind you know..." Nuh pointed at her temple when she said ''crazy'' as she smiled wryly.

    "So... there are other Irregulars?" I asked. She looked hesitant to answer me but she did anyway.

    "Well, there''s one Irregular I knew who ended up... you know..." She mumbled. A hint of sadness painted on her face for a few seconds before she suddenly grinned again.

    "What happened t-"

    "Nevermind that!" Nuh suddenly shouted to my surprise. She abruptly cut my question and continued.

    "Whoaa boy... You really are an Irregular. Now, I understand why she sticks close to you..."

    "She?"

    "Because you''re an unlimited source of food! Ha-ha!" Nuh laughed.

    What she said has caught my attention. Who did she mean? Rhoselyn? No... Is it Elly?

    "What are you talking about?" I asked and waited, but the answer never came.

    Nuh ignored my last question as she hopped down from the table and started walking to the wall where she flung Elly away. She touched the wall and moved her palm across the surface. The wall turned transparent and Elly fell down from the sudden disappearance of the wall.

    "Yuu!" She cried. Elly quickly ran toward and hugged me. After that, she turned around and hissed at Nuh.

    "It''s alright, Elly..."

    It was a bit reluctant to have said that. But, it calmed Elly down. Fighting against her is something we shouldn''t do. I can feel it. In addition to experience, she''s also much stronger than us. Moreover, she seemed to be someone who holds an important position in the city of Easton as I remember her conversation with Erol before. That part when she said ''contract''.

    Did she have some sort of contract with the lord?

    While I was thinking. Nuh walked to Elly and bend down slightly to face her straight in the eyes. "Oh, my... Did I scare you? I apologize for that... Here." Nuh softly apologized to Elly as she pulled out a candy.

    She waved it in front of her face with Elly''s eyes clearly sticking close to the object. It was a cherry red colored rounded candy on a stick, resembles a lollipop. Elly looked at the piece of sweet with sparkling blue eyes. But she hesitated for taking the candy. Elly peeked at me like an innocent puppy. Thus, I nodded as a green signal. Then, she swiftly snatched the stick over and plopped it into her mouth with a satisfied looking face.

    "Good girl..." Nuh smiled and glanced at me. I smiled wryly at that. Seeing an adult like child interacting with another child sure is weird.

    "Rabi, show them their room..." Without me realizing, the Tuzis were all already back into the room, continue doing what they were doing before. Pounding on those herbs, like they had never disappeared. Nuh realized my confusion but she only smiled.

    "¡­Rest up boy!" Nuh paused and smirked playfully. "...It''ll be rough days ahead, hehe... I will see you next day." Nuh started walking away from us. While Rabi hopped to us ready to lead us away.

    "Wait"

    "Bye!" Nuh walked out of the room after the parting word, to be exact, she disappeared through the closed door. I followed after but only to discover an empty hall as I opened that door.

    "...She''s gone" I mumbled while staring at the empty hall and the darkness outside of the window.

    Well, I''ve got plenty chance to ask her anyway.

    I closed the door and followed Rabi to our room. Before I sleep, the face of that red-haired girl flashed across my mind and thus I drifted away to dreamland.

    It was a silent night, it was always quiet in the night. Despite the title of ''Merchant City''. Easton never was a lively city when the moon hung up high in the sky. The day was too hectic for the citizen and in the night, most of them tucked in their own home and rest peacefully. But of course, there are few places in the city for those who yearned for some drink before starting a new day.

    Located in a small alley away from the main street. A cheerful crowd can be heard from inside that brightest store of the area. All kind of people were enjoying their glass of cold ale and little snacks while chit-chatting with their mates. Most of the people were middle in ages, muscular sized body, seemingly soldiers and adventurers, except for a one feminine looking person in cloak sitting on the counter.

    A red-faced bald-headed man, seemingly half drunken, noticed the person on the counter and started scooting close to her. He whistled at her face and harassed her.

    "...Hey...missy...This is not a place for a little... girl...you know." The drunken man stared at the girl with sleazy eyes. The girl ignored and quietly took a sip of her ale. She faced away from the man.

    "..ayy? Ignoring me?"

    ''Bam!''

    The man thumped his tightly curled fist on the counter surface and it caused a sound which is loud enough to attract the surrounding eyes. It was only for a moment before those eyes moved away though. This kind of scenario, it happened all the times.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "Tsk" The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance. But, it was heard by him. The drunken man glared in fury, not satisfied by her reaction, he attempted to grip her wrist. The girl noticed his intention and flawlessly countered with an arm twist.

    "Argh! Ayy Ayy Ayy!" The man whined. Afterward, she thumped his face down on the counter while locking his arm behind his big body. The crowds started staring at them again. Some people whistled at the girl''s bravery and the others cheered at them. Except for the two men sitting in the corner of the room, they whispered to each other before started leaving the table.

    The girl who has been secretly observing those two for a while. Knowing that they probably left because of the commotion. She clicked her tongue again. "Damn it" She whispered.

    "Fuucckk! How dare y-" Haven''t finished his words, the girl whacked his neck with the side of her palm. The drunken man instantly became a fainted man. The girl threw a few coppers to the counter and wordlessly dashed out of the bar, following the two men who just got away from her sight.

    It was a dark and narrow alley. Standing in front of the crowded bar, the girl turned her head looking left and right, fortunately, she caught a glimpse of a shadow at the turn so she quickly dashed after the shadow. Those two men who realized that someone was tailing after them, they agreed to split and started going opposite direction of each other.

    "Shit" The girl cursed. She remembered meeting her eyes with one of the men earlier. Thus, she chose the path where that taller man took to the right.

    "Hah- Hah-" The tall man ran as fast as he could, simultaneously, calculating the best route possible to shake off the chaser. Fortunately, he has fast feet and managed to put a pretty good distance away from the chaser''s eyes. As he made a sharp turn, he quickly slipped into the dark, one-person wide crack between the flimsy houses. He started regulating his breath while listening to his chaser''s steps.

    Tap tap tap tap

    The steps grew closer and closer. His heart pounded like crazy as he shut his mouth tight. He waited in the cramped crack until the steps faded away. It was a moment of silence afterward. The chaser seemed to have gone away in the wrong direction. It was a chance for him to escape. He exhaled in relief.

    "Fuck! I must tell master..." The man whispered in anger. Nobody should''ve known their timing and location. Not only that they didn''t see the person they were supposed to meet. They''ve also been tailed.

    "What a shit day." The man muttered as he got out of the crack, exposing himself under the moonlight. There was nobody in the alley except for himself. He quickly turned and run.

    Thud

    "What th-" Something hit his back thus he turned around. The thing dropped and rolled onto the ground. It was rolling until it met the shoes of another person standing not far from him. That person wasn''t the chaser so he yelled in anger, "Hey!" But, he realized that the chaser could be on his tail at any moment so he canceled his intention, "I will let you go this time. I''ve no time fo-"

    His eyes stuck on the thing that hit him earlier. His heart pounded eerily. It was a head. A head with the face of his ally. Who he thought should''ve gotten away safe and sound. Instead, his head now lying beneath the shoes of that person, still with a terrifying expression on and fresh blood pouring out of his neck.

    "Wh-w-Who are you!" The man shouted in surprise. Before he could see the perpetrator''s face in the shadow, he turned around and dashed away. "Shit that girl got another companion!" The man cursed as he ran for his life.

    He ran and ran without turning his head back. There was no sign of the perpetrator chasing him. So, he finally turned to look at his back. Seeing no one tailing, he smirked as he fixated his gaze back to the front.

    "Gaahh!!" As he faced forward, he bumped into a person and fell down on his bottom. It was the white cloaked man who chased after him.

    "S-shit"

    "Who are you" The white cloaked man asked. Slowly, he walked out of the shadow and the moonlight finally hit his face, exposing his dark blue hair below the white cloak he''s wearing and his glowing green longsword, ready to slash at any moment. His gray eyes were glaring indefinitely at the guy who''s started cowering.

    "W-Wynford?!" The man sounded surprised while calling out his name and it seemed to have roused the sword-wielding man''s interest. Seeing the sword, he was reminded of his own''s weapon. He pulled out the dagger he had. ''Clank!'' The man swung his longsword and swiftly tossed the dagger away. Looking at his dagger far from reach, he gulped.

    "So, you know me huh?" While pointing his sword at the victim''s chin. He asked.

    "Don''t kill me!! I will tell you...e-e-everything!" The man on the ground pleaded his life.

    "What''s your relation with Arex." Wynford, which is Erol''s surname, started asking his first question.

    "Arex? I-I don''t know who is h- hearghh!" Erol mercilessly pierced the blade into his shoulder, causing the man to shrieked in pain.

    "He- He is a bounty killer t-that master hired! I really don''t know anything else!" The man blabbered as his hands clapped into a begging gesture. "Please spare my life!" He pleaded.

    ¡°Hhh!!¡± The man squealed as Erol pulled out the sword from his shoulder. His face scowled in pain but he gritted his teeth and endured. Erol swiftly aimed it at his neck, blade lightly but threateningly pressing on the skin. "Who is your master and for what purpose he attempted on kidnapping Rhoselyn! " Erol started getting impatient and throwing questions hastily.

    "Actually, H-he is-"

    *stab

    "A-aerhghgd!" A knife stabbed into the throat of that man. He squealed in pain while blood started bubbling out of his mouth. He raised his hands touching the blade in his throat before he helplessly dropped down to the ground.

    "Who''s that!!" Erol shouted as he scanned throughout the dark alley. Judging from the direction, the knife should be thrown from above. Without hesitating, he jumped on to the closely distanced walls back and forth until he was reached above the houses.

    Not far from his position, his eyes caught on a cloaked person jumping off the roof. So, he quickly followed after. He jumped down at the exact same place and landed on the alley crowded with homeless people lying on the ground. He shifted his eyes left and right but he couldn''t trace the person''s footstep because of the noise here. After a while of focus, it was faint but he finally caught in some footsteps thanks to his wind ability. Erol dashed to the source of the sound. It was away from these people. Still in the alley but empty.

    CLANKK!!

    A blade aggressively swung against him but Erol managed to swiftly blocked it. They parried for a few times before Erol finally slashed his mana filled sword. ''Whoosh!!'' The girl in cloak barely dodged with a back jump. But the slash got her hood, exposing her scarlet hair under the moonlight. The wind flashed across the alley and caused a loud ''BOOM''. The girl landed with hood uncovered but her face is hidden behind a white mask.

    "A... woman?"

    Clank!

    The girl threw a short knife at Erol but he easily blocked it. He dashed toward the escaping girl and finally cornered her back into the wall with his blade on her neck.

    "Who are you. Why did you kill him! What''s your relationship with them?!" Erol started bombarding her with questions. The moment he attempted to uncover her mask. The girl started whispering, "...in the name of Faiya..."

    "Shit!"

    "Explosion!!" The girl shouted and a red circle surged in between them.

    BOOM!!

    "Cough! Cough!" Erol jumped away quite far to make sure he didn''t get caught in the blast.

    "Damn it" He mumbled as he still coughing out the smoke he inhaled. It wasn''t a powerful blast. In fact, it was more like of a smoke bomb.

    The smoke was thick and choking. It is also perfectly blocked his vision in addition to the sparse light the alley had originally got. His ears were ringing because of the exploding sound. His head felt like splitting from the endless ring on his ears.

    ''Whoosh'' Erol slashed his sword and a gust of wind instantly cleared out the smoke. He darted his eyes to the surrounding. But the girl has disappeared into thin air. He couldn''t catch the sound of her footsteps as his ears were still ringing. He punched his fist frustratingly on the wall beside him.

    "Red hair, fire magic, also, a sword wielder..." He muttered to himself and pounded his fist on the wall again. "¡­I will find her¡­ I will kill whoever that master person is¡­ and I will protect Lady Rhoselyn..." He whispered. His eyes glared at distant, full of hate and frustration.

    ¡°Hmm¡±

    At the moment he was about to leave the area. A sparkle entered his vision and thus he stopped and turned around. Looking at the ground where a piece of necklace lying. With no hesitation, he picked up the necklace and inspected it close to his eyes.

    The link was broken by a sharp swift cut

    Which reminded him of that time he cut through the hood of the red-haired woman. It must have gotten caught by the slash and broke the link. Behind the pendant, the letter ¡°N¡± is carved on its silver plating and in front of it is a murky colored red stone.

    ¡°¡­¡± Erol silently smirked at his founding. Because the red stone isn¡¯t something that common people would normally have. It is a middle-grade stone use for magic enhancement. A middle-grade stone means it needed to be worked by a skilled crafter, a magic artisan to be exact. By finding whose craft is this. One can already narrow it down to the buyers and starts searching from there.

    Although still budding with frustration, Erol gripped the red stone tight and then he pocketed it into his shirt. Before long, he walked away and left the area with confident expression plastered on his face.

    It was a long night.

    It was an especially long night for the red-haired girl in the white mask. She dashed through the forest of the Eastern Easton with a sole destination on her mind. The only place she called ''home'' and also the place where her master resides. Hidden in the deep forest and inside an ordinary looking cave. She scanned at the surrounding before entering it.

    "What a shitty night" She muttered and contemplated at the earlier scene as she walked into the cave which led to maze-like tunnels. But, she already had it mapped on her head anyway. It was an easy breeze toward the place she''s heading to. The girl lit up a torch as she walks to where her master resides. After a while of walking, she finally arrived the place she''s looking for. She stood in front of the muddy wall where a hidden door built behind it. It will be just another wall to the normal person''s eyes.

    *knock *knock

    "Niz here" She said at the wall. After a moment, a sound of door unlocking surfaced and it creaked open by a guard of this place. As the door fully opened, she quickly dashed forward and knees down on the ground in front of a fierce looking middle-aged man standing inside. He is the person whom she called ''master''.

    "Master, I am terribly sorry, I failed..." The girl in cloak knelt and contemplated. He has an athletic body and his tan skin is covered with scars. He looks like a person who''s been through a lot of thick and thin. His face looks rugged and he didn''t seem to have bathed for a while.

    "Explain the situation." The man demanded, while head still facing low, the girl started explaining.

    "I was at their meeting location waiting for the target. But, the target didn''t show up and thus they left the place. I chased after them... but... Erol Wynford appeared." The girl explained.

    "Wynford? Are you sure?" The man questioned. He looked somewhat surprised at the name.

    "Yes, I am sure Master. He almost got ''his'' name from his underling. But, I managed to shut him up before he spouted anything." The girl said.

    "Good job, Niz... You made a good call on that." The man complimented. "It wasn''t your fault that the target didn''t show up." Said the man.

    "Thank you master..." The girl proudly accepted his forgiveness.

    "Erol Wynford shouldn''t know about ''him'' yet. It will ruin our plan." The man muttered. His fist tightened as he thinks about ''him''. His eyes gleamed with resent and anger. But, he managed to calm himself down for a greater cause.

    "I will make sure he pays for what he did..." He whispered as he moved closer to the girl. "Stand up, Niz" He commanded while eyes downcast at the kneeling girl.

    "Yes, Master." The girl stood up in command. She looked up at the face of her master, who is now smiling wickedly.

    "I''ve got another mission for you." He announced.

    "I will not fail you this time Master." and the girl happily accepted her master''s command.