[Saber's POV]
The underground basent echoed with the sound of our daggers clashing.
Lukas and I faced off, and each of us locked one another in the intensity of the match. The crowd, consisting of kids around us, cheered, their voices mixing with the tallic ring of steel on steel, enjoying the show as much as we were.
The air between us tensed as I gripped my blade. I could feel Lukas studying my every movent, waiting for the smallest opening.
I made the first move, sending my dagger flashing toward him with precision. Lukas managed to dodge just in ti, twisting to the side as my blade grazed the air where he had been. He countered almost imdiately, but I sidestepped his strike effortlessly, keeping my grin intact.
"You're fast," Lukas muttered with a hint of surprise in his voice.
I couldn't help but grin wider, my eyes glinting with a mischievous spark. "Of course I am. After all, I have an assassin class," I said, effortlessly deflecting his next jab. "We're shadow demons, born with stealth abilities."
Lukas raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard for a mont.
"You know daggers quite well," he said, a touch of admiration creeping into his tone.
"Well, you'd have to, wouldn't you?" I shrugged nonchalantly, spinning to deliver a quick swipe. "A half demon''s life isn't exactly peaceful."
He laughed, and I felt the tension shift. We weren't just fighting for fun anymore; we were enjoying the challenge, the thrill of sparring with soone who could keep up.
Then Lukas shot a grin. "Maybe you use that ability to save too."
I chuckled, spinning my dagger in my hand as I circled him. "I don't see that happening. In fact, I can already see that you can escape from here anyti you want but purposefully stay here to accompany us."
Lukas just smiled and attacked instead of answering.
.....
Despite Lukas's friendly behavior, I couldn't bring myself to trust him. The talk about the quest was still suspicious. I wasn't naive enough to assu and believe his words without any facts.
I had spent a chunk of ti getting to know people. My mother had been harassed by demons, and people who smile friendly in front of us always talk behind our backs.
The naivety of my parents was what led them to eternal doom. If demons were the epito of deception, humans were the masters of it, both having their ways of hiding their thoughts.
Moreover, sothing inside made feel unsettled when I was with Lukas.
Then one night, he spoke, "You find it hard to cope with , don't you?"
"What...No? I don't!" I freaked out, wondering how he knew my thoughts.
"It's okay...I know I am being suspicious. And also, you are right, I don't have any quest to save you."
"What?" I opened my lips to scream, but fortunately, Lukas closed my mouth and asked to keep silent.
After I cald down, Lukas spoke again, "In fact, the reason I am here is to ask you for help."
"Help?" I tilted my head in confusion.
Lukas then looked up at the ceiling, a habit that I have seen him doing the most when he let his thoughts wander.
"You know how dangerous the world is right now, but the truth is the real danger is about to descend. What we are seeing right now is just the tip of the iceberg before the world heads toward destruction, and to prevent it, powerful people need to gather."
"How do you know that? And what does that have to do with ?" I asked, starting to get a bit afraid.
Lukas then turned towards with a smile.
"You are soone with good potential. Soone who is going to die here with his potential buried along with this entire town."
My eyes widened in shock, and horror made look at him as if I were watching a ghost.
"How do you know that? Are you a regressor? Or did you see the future?"
"It's neither," Lukas firmly refused.
"But just think of it as knowing so things ahead, so listen carefully now because you need to play a very big role."
I didn't know how to respond when he shoved a ring at .
"What is it?"
"It is a storage ring. In it, there is an axe and the Scroll of Eternal Blessing of the Goddess," he answered, pushing the ring to and then whispered,
"Use it to sneak attack when the chance appears."
...
I was in a dilemma after hearing Lukas's words. At first, I scoffed it off and ignored it until…
The tragedy struck just as Lukas anticipated.
After Lukas blasted the bomb as we escaped, I saw several corpses lying around, so of which died due to stampedes.
When everyone fell into illusion, I was the only one who managed to maintain my sanity, but it seed I wasn't the only one, as Lukas was alright.
He shot Chris, scaring the shit out of , but to my shock, the child was dead and possessed by a specter. Everyone couldn't believe it and tried to fight Lukas.
Gremlin lost his sense. And why won't he?
Chris was an admirable kid, a lovable demon with a cute look. And Gremlin was the one who assud the role of the guardian. Also, we didn't know if it was real. In anger, Gremlin pushed Lukas.
I intervened.
"It was a specter," Lukas said coldly, but his words did nothing to ease the mistrust in their eyes.
They were about to erupt when I stepped between them. "Everyone, stop!" My voice cut through their anger. "You all know Lukas. He's not reckless. He wouldn't do sothing like this without reason."
I turned to him, "Lukas, is this real?"
Lukas nodded, seemingly certain of what he did. Yet still, doubt clouded the faces around . And then, a soft, eerie laughter broke the silence, and we all turned. Chris…no, the "boy" was rising, slow claps echoing as he grinned, his form beginning to warp and twist.
"What a good show," he sneered. "And you ruined it. I wanted you to turn on each other, but alas…"
He morphed, shifting into a ghastly shape that towered above us, eyes gleaming with malice.
Then under everyone's gaze, Lukas stepped forward, pulling out his weapon, feeling the gravity of the mont settle on .
"Everyone, run! I'll hold him back," Lukas commanded, not willing to lose anyone else tonight.
I hesitated a bit before following the others, but thousands of thoughts arose in my heart.
Still, now, I can't believe in him, and his thoughts made terrified, so a part of wanted him to die.
But…
No matter what, he tried to save and jumped into that hell hole. We might be dead if he wasn't here.
He might be a bit distant, but he seems like a genuinely good guy. He readily mingled with everyone and smiled a lot, but when alone, I saw his deep, dark face filled with gloominess.
Like a lone, poor soul with no one to lean on.
So, I decided…
If my destiny is to lend a hand to save trouble in the future, that's what I should do instead of running away.
Reviews
All reviews (0)