Moon's lie

Assailant

Alon was looking at the message window with dazed eyes. Moon was no longer to be found, and he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

Just as he was lost deep in his thoughts a new message popped up.

[Journey to the Demon world is commencing]

"W...Wait! Moon?" Alon asked while stammering.

[Coordinates have been determined, you will now be deployed]

Before Alon could take in what was happening he felt his body being pulled into the very window. No matter how hard he tried to resist, it proved to be futile.

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Inside the window, he felt like his body was no longer his. He found himself so heavy that even opening his eyes felt like hard labor. Amidst all the discomfort and pain, he fainted.

***************************

"Ugh! My head"

Alon felt his head splitting from the pain and vomited as soon as he regained consciousness.

He tried to get up only to not find his balance. He felt the world going round before his eyes.

After a few failed attempts, he gave up and decided to rest till he felt okay.

Hours went by and finally, he woke up.

He stretched his body and opened his eyes. He was greeted by the chirping of birds, sunshine, and the gentle morning breeze.

As soon as he woke up, the memory of yesterday's 'travel' passed by his head, making him shudder.

"Never am I ever doing that again, at least not with my own consent." He said in a dejected tone.

Alon stretched his arms a little and observed where he was.

A long stretch of greenery, tall trees, wildflowers, and fresh air. He was in a forest.

Now that he knew that he did not know where he was. He sat back down.

'Is this really the Demon World? It seems too beautiful to be a den of demons.'

'I wonder why Moon wanted me to start from here.'

In his train of thought, he remembered the missing someone.

"Moon," He began to panic and called out to Moon but to no avail.

Alon fell down on his bottom, feeling betrayed for some reason.

He knew Moon said that he would not come with him, but he could have at least taken him out to dinner before abruptly sending him here.

For the past three years, he has trained to the point that he felt like dying each day so that he would no be a burden on Moon. But now he was meant to journey in a different world alone? He found it more ridiculous than what Moon had told him when they first met.

Alon felt helpless. In a world alien to him, he was left alone. Just thinking about it, he felt compelled to hit Moon in the face, but he also remembered the expression Moon made while sending him here.

After lamenting his misfortune for some time, he calmed down and started to move.

He went on for three days without water or food. His lips were torn, his steps unstable.

After his training with Moon, he could go weeks without food or water. But right now his mental fatigue was too overwhelming than ever before.

"That bastard Moon, I'll kill him the next time I see him, I swear," Alon said so, but every time he thought of Moon his mood would be greatly elevated.

After walking for one more day he reached a road going through the forest. He was ecstatic to find the road but his fatigue dampened it wonderfully.

With no more energy to go on, he sat down with the support of a tree and dozed off before he realized it.

*Clip-Clop*

He must have closed his eyes only a few minutes before he heard the sound of horses approaching and jolted awake on his feet.

'Finally.'

Alon thought to himself.

But before he could move, someone pulled on his cloth from behind.

A chill went down his spine.

After all the training he went through he was confident in his senses. He was confident that no one would be able to sneak up on him from behind without him noticing.

But now that he found himself in this absurd situation, a memory flashed in his head.

"Alon you are strong now, but always remember that the world you are about to enter is one filled with ridiculous methods. You might die without even knowing, so never find any kind of situation impossible or ridiculous. Rather before falling into the 'how could this happen' thought, think 'what to do next."

Moon's words were like cold water falling on his head.

He calmed down and the light in his eyes changed. He cautiously and slowly turned his head.

And just as he was about to make a move…

"A…A child?"

There was a child behind him. He wildly looked left and right thinking that this might be a trap. But all he found was a snotty brat.  Alon felt his legs go weak from the turn of the event and all he could do was laugh in a self-mocking way while looking at the child holding onto his shirt.

"Don't go there, they're bad." The boy said in his childish and a bit sobbing voice.

Alon looked at the child's big round eyes, the tear marks on his cheeks, and the dried blood at his feet. Before he could decide, his body was already moving to the boy's pull.

The horses arrived; Alon and the little boy were hiding behind the tree.

Alon paid close attention to the pack.

There were about twenty horses in total. And all the riders were wielding blades in their hands. Their blades were dripping blood. At the end of the pack, there was a cage being pulled by two horses.

And in the cage there were…

"S…Sister."

Slaves?