Stella froze at what Jaster said.
"What do you an, no?" Jaster looked at Stella with a stoic expression.
"I have to kill the snake." That’s all he said to her without giving further context. Stella stood there, her face shocked.
"Do you think you’re Superman or sothing? This isn’t fiction Jaster. We have to get inside!" She tried grabbing his hand, but he pulled back.
"No, I have to..." Jaster then ran off toward the bloody street again, trying to find more people, broken glass crunched beneath his shoes as distant screams echoed through the ruined street.
Stella just stood in front of the café, her face remained unchanged.
The kid tugged at the girl’s school uniform.
"Big sis... Let’s go inside..." She asked Stella with a soft, concerned tone. Stella thought for a while. She looked at the kid’s eyes and furrowed her eyebrows. She took a deep breath and looked at the kid again.
She bent down to et the little girl’s height, then rubbed her hair while smiling warmly at her.
"Go inside kid. I have to help my ’friend’ over there." She pointed toward Jaster, who was searching for more humans under the rubble.
The little girl’s eyes widened, and she leaped forward to hug Stella tightly.
"No... Please, big sis... Don’t go!" She pleaded, trying to restrain Stella with all her small strength.
But Stella remained adamant. She noticed the waitress waiting outside the café. The waitress’s eyes wandered around, trying not to look suspicious.
Stella stood up. "Can you please bring the kid to the café?" She asked the waitress with a stern, stoic expression.
The server was surprised but nodded without saying another word. The kid begged Stella not to go, but it was futile. After handing the kid to the waitress, Stella started sprinting toward Jaster, leaving the kid in the safety of the café.
---
Jaster kept removing big piles of rock from the rubble with the crowbar.
"Damn it. If there isn’t anyone with ’THAT’ animal, then I’m screwed!"
While he was complaining, he felt soone touch his shoulder. His eyes shot up, and he turned around imdiately, but it was just Stella.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her. Stella didn’t know why she was here either. She could have just stayed inside the café, safe from the serpent. But sothing deep inside her heart told her to help Jaster achieve his goal.
"I want to help you... defeat the monster!" She answered confidently. Jaster just stared at her with his usual stoic face.
"Okay." That’s all he said as he continued digging through the rubble.
Stella tilted her head, trying to peek at what Jaster was doing. "What are you searching for?"
Jaster accidentally threw bits of rock in her direction. She had to dodge multiple pebbles her body going right, left, under, all of that.
"I want to find soone with a specific type of spirit animal."
Stella was even more confused. "And... how is this supposed to help us defeat the beast?"
Jaster sighed heavily and lifted his head from the rubble. He brushed his white hair back, his breath heaving.
"It’s complicated..." He couldn’t exactly tell Stella about it. In their world, it probably wouldn’t make any sense. He knew Stella was an extrely observant person. If she found Jaster suspicious, she’d definitely keep following him until she got her answers.
Just then, they heard the snake screech. Both of them flinched at the loud sound.
"Quick, hide inside!" She pointed toward a building with a broken window. They went inside and hid behind a large rock embedded in the ground. Dust drifted slowly through the air, illuminated by flickering lights from outside.
"SHRAKKKKKK!" The sound tore through the city like thunder, shaking debris loose from nearby buildings.
The basilisk finally revealed itself, slithering around the center of the city. For so reason, Jaster could sense the bad energy radiating from the snake.
"Is it mad?" He asked himself, while Stella rubbed her head nervously.
"It’s probably mad about what I did last ti..."
"What did you do?" Stella proceeded to explain everything that happened when she went outside to save the little girl.
Jaster let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Did I do sothing wrong?" Jaster shook his head at Stella’s question.
"No. I understand that if you witnessed the little girl’s death, it would forever haunt you. Because you couldn’t stand being a bystander when people needed your help... Right?"
Jaster was spot on. It hit Stella directly in her core. She felt an overwhelming sorrow after hearing him.
"You’re right... I can’t just stand there when I could have done sothing. It’s a win-win for everyone. I help them reach their goal, and that makes not feel bad about myself."
Jaster knew this was supposed to be a heart-touching mont for both of them. But he couldn’t help but roll his eyes internally.
"One more question. Did you happen to et the snake’s eyes?" The question left Stella confused. She thought for a while and then nodded.
Jaster was left bewildered. "Wait, you’re serious?" Stella just nodded without saying a word. The girl was confused why Jaster looked so distressed.
"What? Is there sothing I should know about?"
Jaster shook his head. He didn’t want Stella to know anything about the basilisk or his true purpose in defeating it.
While Stella tilted her head, Jaster looked visibly worried, biting his nails.
Curses! If what Stella said is true, then the Azure Basilisk doesn’t follow Greek mythology?
Just as Jaster’s thoughts spiraled, a loud siren cut through the sound. They both looked at each other, eyes wide.
"Is that...."
"The police." Jaster finished Stella’s sentence.
"SHRRAAAAK!" The basilisk saw the blue and red flickering lights and decided to slither toward them.
The white-haired boy was hit by a sudden burst of bravery. He went out of their hiding spot to look at the Azure beast. He was shocked to see a whole team of SWAT surrounding the basilisk.
"Everyone, release the net!" a man commanded to the other SWAT mbers. They all grabbed machinery shaped like machine guns.
They raised the weapons and pulled the triggers. Instead of gunfire, a giant net shot forward, expanding midair as it flew toward the basilisk.
The basilisk got caught in the net and shrieked loudly at the SWAT team.
The commander stepped in front of the snake and looked at the trapped beast. He lifted the visor on his helt and smirked at the creature.
"Another evil spirit for research." He teased the beast. But sohow, it felt like the snake understood what he was saying. It closed its eyes and opened them again, this ti, its pupils dilated to the point they covered its entire eyes.
The commander’s expression froze after looking into its diamond-like eyes. Then, in an instant, the commander’s lower body slowly turned into diamond.
Jaster watched the commander’s legs crystallize. The man didn’t even scream, he just stared at his own body like it belonged to soone else.
The diamond spread from his legs to his stomach, to his neck, and up to his hair—completely turning the commander into solid diamond.
"COMMANDER!" one of the SWAT mbers shouted, raising his weapon. Before he could fire, his arm froze mid-motion. Diamond spread up his sleeve like ti-lapse frost.
Another tried to run. His boot touched the ground, but slowly got crystallize and beca stuck. Then his ankle. His knee. His waist.
One by one, they fell silent. Twenty soldiers. All standing frozen like museum statues under the flickering streetlights.
Jaster watched the whole thing unfold, his mouth gaping.
The basilisk’s scales burst with spikes that erged from its body. The spikes were sharp tallic, shining brightly in the night. They cut through the net, freeing the snake entirely.
The colossal beast rose up again, then retracted all its spikes. Its eyes returned to normal.
Jaster’s mouth was so wide it could have reached the deepest depths of hell. anwhile, Stella watched everything from behind him, her eyes widened in fear.
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