PART 13 :-
WE ARE BUDDIES
MC perspective :-
Aaahhhhaàaaaa… It's no use. No matter how hard I try, I can't make any sense of Heka or feel anything about it. No matter how much or how hard I meditate, I don't receive any sign of it.
"Maybe you're running in the wrong direction…"
"But it's you who told me this is the way."
"Look, I told you about your destination. I told you one way to get there. There's no guarantee that it's the only way or the correct way. The thing is, you have to find it on your own."
Find it on my own!!? Then why is he here for!???
"I'm here to guide you, not to tell you everything. You have to find that on your own. If you can't do that, you may never surpass your surroundings."
That lecture again!
"Forget that. Tell me, how's your life going!??"
"Hmm… It's actually at a complicated stage."
"Do you share your thoughts with everyone!?"
"No. Not yet. I haven't talked with either Dex or Mini. I can't tell them anything without knowing what they think.
"Ohh… I forgot to tell you that Mini's birthday is coming soon. Suggest me a present for her."
"Ah… I'm actually bad at this kind of thing."
"Bond said the same thing. I don't know what I should give her."
"How about asking Dex about it? He may be able to help you. And besides, this way, you can have a proper talk with him."
Well, that's a good idea. I should ask him about that.
"Okay, see you soon."
I left the place after saying that.
.....
Dex perspective :-
The sunset looks good today. Ahh… it's so quiet and refreshing.
"Hey there."
Come to destroy my peace.
"What do you want now!???"
"Aaaa… some sort of advice."
"Hehhh… what kind of advice in the world could I give you that adults can't!???"
"As you see, Mini's birthday is coming up soon. And I want to give her a present. And you are the only one who could help me."
[There is a certain pause at that moment.]
"What's with that look!!??"
"Who gave you the idea that I would give you a better suggestion!??"
"Ummmm… everyone."
Hahhh… all of them are hopeless. Hmmm… a gift for a princess.
"You can give her a necklace or maybe a hairpin because she has long hair as well. It might be useful for her."
"Ooohhho… that's a great suggestion. Thanks, buddy."
Buddy!!!!?? He thinks of me as his buddy!!
"Hey, if you learned that you might die if you stayed with me, would you still want to be in the same group!??"
"Die!!??"
"No, I mean, think about it. If I might kill you in the future, or you might die because of me, wouldn't staying with me be a foolish thing to do!?? And also, you hate me, so…"
"I know you more than anyone in the group. Before I even gained my senses, I learned that you are a disaster for living things. You are the reason for many people's deaths. Everyone wanted you to be dead. I still joined the same group as you. Why!??? Because, somewhere inside, I also know the feeling of being alone and not knowing about your parents. We may be on different sides of the coin, but we are still the same coin. I knew staying with you was dangerous, but I'm still here because I don't abandon anything, even if I hate it."
"Oohoo… you are much smarter than me. And mature as well. I will never forget your advice."
He leaves after saying that.
The reason I want to stay with you is because I want to acknowledge you, accept you. But I can't say that to you, at least not now.
Aahhhaaa…. The sun has already set. He wasted my time.
.....
PART 14 :-
THE INVENTION
Iras perspective :-
[At Lyra's Vault.]
"Hey, you guys."
"Oh, Mini! How are you doing?" Bright asked my lady.
"Oohoo, aunty is here too."
"Why are you both here at this hour!? Usually, you two never come at this time."
"My lady wanted to come here."
"My father is organizing a party at our palace. I came here to invite you all."
"Ooo… A party!!!!! I'm super excited…"
Sagurd immediately started showing interest.
"You're too old to be there." I grabbed his ear and started pulling it.
"Party!!!?"
"Yeah. Father asked me to invite you guys as well."
"You mean in that huge palace, where the entire royal family will be there? Are we really allowed to be there!!??? After all, none of us even know our actual clan."
"It's okay. This party is specially for my celebration, and I can invite anyone I want. And there's no fun if my own group isn't there."
"Yeah!!! Then we'll definitely attend the party."
My lady seemed much more confident than before.
[Iras past memories]
[At the royal palace.]
"You're drinking again, Valen!!! It's not good for your health if you drink this much."
"Oohh… come on, don't stop me. My girl's birthday is coming soon, and I don't even know how to celebrate it."
"Yeah, I know that much. That's why I told Bright about it. I'm sure he'll create a great memory for your daughter."
"Who!!!??? That boy!!! Hell nahhhh… He stole my diamond from me… uahhaaaha!"
He was completely drunk now.
"Stop crying. You're a grown, mature man."
"But…"
"Then how about organizing a party for her birthday? Invite her group members as well and have a proper talk with them. That way, you can celebrate her birthday and get to know that boy as well."
"That's a good idea… A very good idea. But would she agree to it!? I mean…"
"Ohhh—come on… You're her father. The head of your clan. Who's going to oppose you!!?? It's not like your son's birthday was never celebrated."
——
[At Minidra's room.]
"Father!!! At this hour?"
"Oh, my lady. Your father wants to tell you something."
"What is it!!!?"
"I realized that we didn't celebrate your passing of the ritual. And your birthday is coming soon. So, I'm thinking of organizing a party for you."
"A party… for me!???"
"You can invite your friends as well. They can be there. After all, you're free to invite anyone you want."
Minidra was quite shocked. Well, she certainly hadn't expected something like this.
"Alright."
Valen started to leave.
"Father… thank you very much."
He stopped and turned around.
"Are you happy!!??"
"Hmmm… I'm so happy, Father."
"I see…"
He didn't say anything more and left the room.
Well… he still wasn't completely sober. Maybe he was afraid that, in that state, he might have shown his true emotions.
Fathers and their love for their daughters!!
[In present time]
She was so excited to invite them. It had probably been a very long time since she last celebrated her birthday.
.....
PART 15 :-
CELEBRATION OF DEATH
[In the forest, a group of royal soldiers rode their horses, searching for something they probably shouldn't have.]
"Oohhh, man… This is so boring. Just because someone showed up at the ritual and said something like that, we have to find them and finish them? There are plenty of lower-ranked soldiers who could handle them."
"Cut it out, Lemon. The Supreme sent us on the king's orders. That means we have to do it."
"But still… I mean, come on. We're the last stage, the highest rank. Is this really the kind of thing we have to do!!!!!??????"
"We're not the highest…"
"Yeah, yeah… I understand. But still, man…"
"It looks like Lemon is really frustrated."
"Ohh… Boss, why did you agree with him?"
"Cut it out. It won't take too much time."
"Okay…"
He replied in a disappointed voice.
"Hey, Boss. The negative Aura that appeared that day has disappeared from here. There's no trace of it anywhere."
Another guard informed their leader.
"Hmm… That means they can conceal their presence from the beginning. But why would they decide to do it here? Or…"
He looked around the dense forest.
"…did they want us to come here?"
"This doesn't feel right."
"But Boss, we're deep inside the forest. It feels like we're close to the center. Only a few people can even reach this far."
"We can't take them lightly. Jelly, contact every guard and have them form a barrier. Then start searching the area."
"Lemon, use your senses and see if you can find anything."
"Yeah, yeah. On it."
[Lemon closed his eyes and concentrated.]
"Three o'clock from here… The density of the forest increases much more unnaturally than the surrounding area…"
He paused.
"Wait… The density suddenly vanished."
He slowly turned his head toward the center.
"The farther I sense toward the center, the more… Wait…"
His eyes widened.
"A house!!!"
"There's a house in the center of this giant forest."
"Can you sense inside it!? Is there anyone there!?"
"On it."
"What!!!!!…"
Lemon suddenly stopped.
"Hahh… hah… hah…"
"Lemon, are you alright!? What happened!?"
"I can't sense anything inside."
"What?"
"It's like there's a barrier… A barrier much stronger than ours. Even my sensing ability can't penetrate it."
He swallowed nervously.
"I've never sensed anything like that before."
"Is that what made you this terrified?"
"No…"
Lemon looked toward the distant house.
"There is someone inside."
"What?"
"He let me sense his presence. Just for a moment."
His voice became quieter.
"I've never sensed anything like that before."
"Boss, we shouldn't go there without a proper plan and—"
"Cut it out. There are fifteen of us. There's no way one person can overpower us."
"Something even Lemon's boon can't sense through means we shouldn't take them lightly."
Jelly looked at the others.
"But you're right, Boss. There are fifteen of us. We shouldn't give them time to prepare."
The boss nodded.
"We attack them at once. Don't give them any time to prepare."
———
[Inside the ruined house.]
Two shadows stood in the darkness, speaking to each other.
"Hell, they've finally arrived. Shall I go and finish them?"
"No… They haven't sent their strongest yet. Facing them now would be beneath us. Send some Shadowbound instead. They should be more than enough for them."
"Understood…"
"Wait."
A voice stopped her before she could finish her sentence.
Another shadow emerged from the darkness.
"It'll take more than a few Shadowbound to defeat them. We should make them understand exactly what they're dealing with."
"You just want to go there for fun, don't you, Risveil?"
"Come on, Hell. I haven't killed anyone in months. They came here themselves, looking for a hunt. I want to celebrate the death game."
"Alright. But you're not going there in person."
"You think I need my physical form to defeat them? It's not like I can leave my physical form from here because of that barrier."
A sinister laugh echoed through the ruined house.
"My shadow is more than enough…"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
———
[Outside the ruined house.]
The soldiers finally reached the place they should never have entered.
"The trees are completely gone… It's almost as if this house has been standing here for ages."
"Lemon, do you sense anything unusual!?"
"No… I can't sense anything inside that house. But I'm sure I sensed a terrible presence earlier."
"Hey, Boss! There's a powerful barrier surrounding the house. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Then we attack at once."
[All the guards drew their respective swords, preparing to attack.]
"We can't take any chances…"
"Formation Seven—The Drop of Acid!!!"
[The fifteen guards launched a combined attack against the barrier. Their Aura and heka merged together, channeling the power of their two respective elements—Light and Acid.]
"What!!!??"
The barrier didn't even tremble.
Not a crack.
Not a ripple.
Nothing.
"Hahahahahahahaaaaa…"
A deep, sinister voice echoed through the area.
"Is that all you've got!!??? You people are disappointing me."
A pause.
"Hell was right about you."
"Where did that voice come from!!!??"
"I can't sense where it's coming from… but it's the same presence I sensed before."
"You're all such fools…"
The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Even after realizing that we used our presence to lure you here, you still came without making any preparations."
The darkness beneath the ruined house began to move.
A shadow slowly emerged from it.
Two deep-red eyes opened within the darkness.
"Who are you!!?? What are you!!!??"
"What's the point of telling you?"
The shadow tilted its head.
"You're going to die anyway."
"It's the same presence from before…"
"Hagahgahagahaha…"
The shadow's laughter grew louder.
"If you're already this terrified by my presence…"
The red eyes narrowed.
"…what do you think will happen when you finally sense Hell's presence?"
"Hell…!?"
"You talk too much."
[Without warning, one of the guards lunged forward and slashed at the shadow.]
"What just happened!!!!??"
The guard froze.
His own body had been cut cleanly in half.
The slash had never touched the shadow.
It had somehow been turned back upon him.
"Hahahahahaha…"
The shadow stared at the remaining soldiers.
"You came here without knowing what you were walking into."
Its smile widened.
"It's almost like a party."
The shadow spread its arms.
"And I love parties."
A dreadful silence followed.
"So…"
"Let's celebrate."
Its red eyes gleamed.
"Celebrate everything…"
"…before the sadness arrives."
A sinister laugh echoed through the ruined forest.
"Welcome…"
"…to the celebration of death."
.....
Lemon's perspective :-
[After some time.]
What just happened!!!!!? I can't understand anything.
[He is terrified after watching all of his teammates being brutally killed in front of him.]
"Boss…"
I have to escape, no matter what. After all, it was the last order of my boss.
[He tries to escape, but his shadow beneath him moves against his will and traps him, stopping him from running.]
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHH—WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Do you really think I'll let you escape?"
"Stay away! Stay away! Stay away! Stay away from me, you monsteeeeerrrrr!!!"
[The shadow raises its black hand, ready to kill him.]
"Huh…?"
What happened!!!? Where did that chain come from!?
A golden chain emerged from the ground and wrapped around the shadow, forcing it down.
It had done something none of us could.
"Have you forgotten what I told you before?
Leave him. I want him to spread the word about us. Let everyone know who we are… and let them fear us.
If you choose to disobey me, you already know what happens next.
Now, the celebration is over."
"You're a lucky boy… I just don't want to die… at least not at Hell's hands. It's the worst thing ever."
I couldn't properly make out what he was saying. I didn't care anymore.
I just needed to get away from them.
But… what are they!!!!!!???
[Lemon started running toward his house. The moment he saw an opportunity to escape, he left the place immediately.]
.....