Obliterate: The Open Curse

Chapter 2

While they were training, Eyana lay down on the grass to catch her breath. Seeing how exhausted she was, Krone excused himself for a moment to fetch her some water.

Shidow glanced at her before quietly walking over and sitting beside her. He wiped the sweat from his face with the towel draped around his neck, then leaned back on his hands and stared up at the sky.

"Why do you train so hard, Eyana?" he asked calmly. "What are you trying to prove?"

Eyana looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I'm not trying to prove anything," she replied. "And if you think I'm doing this to get my brother's attention or praise because I want to be like you... you're wrong."

She let out a quiet sigh before continuing.

"The reason I push myself until every bone in my body aches... is because I want to stop the explosion. I want to become strong enough to prevent it. If I become stronger, I can save people. I can save families."

Her voice trembled.

"If I can stop that cursed explosion from ever happening again, then there won't be any more victims."

She slowly clenched her fists.

"I may be young now, but I'll grow stronger. Much stronger. I'll stop ACA. I'll hunt it down... and cut off its head. That's why I train. That's why I let my brother push me so hard."

She looked directly at Shidow.

"I'll save them, Shidow. Believe me."

Shidow stared at her for a moment before a faint smirk appeared on his face.

"You can't save them, Eyana."

She immediately stood up and glared at him.

"You're too small to aim that high."

"That's exactly why I'm making myself stronger!" she shouted.

A brief silence followed.

"Eyana," Shidow said quietly.

She froze.

"I believe in what you can do."

The teasing had vanished from his voice.

"And I'll help you stop ACA. I promise I'll be the one to cut off its head. I won't let your hands be stained with blood. I won't stop until I kill whoever is behind all of this."

The breeze gently swept through her hair as she stood speechless.

A warm smile slowly spread across her face. She extended her hand toward him.

"Then shake on it," she said softly. "A symbol of our promise."

Shidow looked at her hand for a moment before taking it firmly.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he said. "And I will never break my promise. Trust me."

She smiled as they shook hands.

"I trust you, Shidow. Even if you never tried to convince me... I've always trusted you."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The next second, he teleported several meters away after sensing Krone's presence approaching.

"What took you so long?" Shidow called with a grin. "Come on. Your students are waiting."

Eyana laughed.

"Hurry up, Brother! Let's keep training!"

Krone looked back and forth between them, confused by their sudden excitement.

"I like the enthusiasm," he said with a chuckle. "But... care to explain what happened?"

Eyana floated lightly into the air.

"Isn't getting stronger exciting enough, Brother?"

Krone looked up at her and smiled.

"I suppose it is."

"Then hurry up!"

The three of them resumed their training in the open field two hundred and fifty meters away from their house.

---

Four years passed.

Shidow and Eyana became exceptionally powerful. Unknown to Krone, they had secretly prevented massive explosions from occurring. Knowing he would never allow Eyana to risk her life, they kept their missions hidden from him.

Over the course of four years...

They stopped 998 bombs.

And that was enough to enrage ACA.

No one within the organization knew who had been dismantling their operations across the world. Eventually, a meeting was called, and ACA's leader addressed the matter.

Instead of showing anger...

She laughed.

She slowly swirled the wine inside her goblet, a smile forming on her lips.

"So he's as strong as he was before," she murmured. "Exactly what I expected from him."

Her smile widened.

"I never imagined I'd see you again, Blacko. After all these centuries... fate still brings us together."

A man quietly stepped behind her. He brushed a kiss against her neck as his hand slid across her waist.

She caught his wrist before it could move any farther.

"Are you mocking me, Chrollo?" she asked coolly.

He smirked as he gently raised both of her hands above her head.

"I'm not mocking you," he whispered. "I just suddenly felt the urge to take my anger out on someone."

He leaned closer.

"And right now... that someone is you."

A faint smile curved across her lips.

"How thrilling."

He guided her back onto the couch as their voices faded into silence.

---

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Shidow and Eyana lay beneath a sky filled with stars.

"We're really doing it," Eyana said with a gentle smile. "My dream came true. We're saving people. It's not just a dream anymore."

Shidow never took his eyes off the night sky.

"This was never my dream," he said. "I don't dream. I set goals."

He turned his head toward her.

"Your dream became my goal. And together... we made it happen."

She quietly looked at him.

"Now there's only one thing left."

His eyes sharpened.

"The head of ACA."

"Whoever is behind it... I'll kill them."

"Because that's your dream too."

Eyana smiled as her fingers slowly intertwined with his.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time, Shidow. I..."

Before she could finish, someone suddenly appeared in front of them.

Krone.

His smile sent a chill down her spine.

"Were you about to confess to Shidow, my little minion?" he asked lightly.

"I hope not."

His smile remained gentle, but his eyes were serious.

"I don't want him taking you away from me."

He sighed softly.

"Call me greedy... but you're still my little sister."