Another World Story

Day Thirty: Disappearance

Running towards west, is a lone man wearing metal armor covering his body, a single pole with a sharp tip is the only weapon he carry.

"Just how far a place, that John person is..." The man muttered as he looked around, there were corpses of black that can be seen from time to time, and the farther the man go, the greater their number becomes.

"Just what happened here?" The sheer number of corpses that the man saw, made him doubt his eyes, but remembering the state the girl was in earlier, he shook his head.

"I don't think anyone would've survive this number of Night Wolves, even if they're one of the top rank of the guild" He muttered to himself.

"That is only if we search in the village's guild, Mason" Hearing another voice, the guard, Mason, immediately turned his head towards the voice.

"Mr. Krill, you caught up faster than expected" He greeted the man, Krill, a man quite older than Mason, yet still active in the adventurers guild. A man in the rank of Gold. A man with white hair and green eyes, he surveyed the surrounding.

"I gotta say, this is one hell of a sight" He said, as he look infront.

"I wholeheartedly agree"

Mason, seeing what the veteran saw, nodded his head. The adventurers who caught up to the two, eventually saw the surreal sight infront of them.

They couldn't believe their eyes as they saw, dark something enveloping the plain, dark red blood, covering the greenery, and the smell of burnt meat.

"Ugh..." Eventually, the most weak willed among them, threw up.

"Just what kind of monster did this?" One of the adventurers spoke up.

"It doesn't look like a dragon, if it was, there wouldn't be a single corpse left"

"There are dragons who can't turn things into ashes though"

"I want to meet those one"

"I don't"

The adventurers eventually began to talk amongst themselves as if to distract their thoughts from the reality.

As if having enough of the noise, Krill, the highest rank of them all, spoke up.

"Listen up! We are here to locate someone! We don't know what that person looked like, but if you saw anyone, even if it's a burnt corpse of a human, notify me immediately! Whatever monsters did this, I doubt we would survive if we encounter it! So we gonna do this fast!"

The Adventurers, nodded their heads as they listen to Krill, and after the speech, they immediately move without needing for directions.

They scatter, here and there. Turning the corpses of the Night Wolves over, to see if someone is stuck. Going further towards Seira forest. And Eventually Looking inside it.

"The sun is setting once again" Mason muttered. It's been the second day since their search, and the day is the final day they would search before going back, they are currently inside the Seira forest.

"We couldn't find anything at all, besides the corpse of those Night Wolves, and their tracks, that lead to more corpses" Krill spoke as he sat down besides Mason.

"I don't know what I would say, if she woke up looking for that person" Mason replied.

"Just tell her you couldn't find anything, I think she already knew what happened even before she asked for help. The way the two looks, it looks like they went through hell"

"All we found was this bloodied piece of fabric"

"At the very least, we found something, unless they are higher in level than those Night Wolves. I doubt anyone would've survive the sheer number of those bastards, especially during the night"

"Yeah..."

"Cheer up, you finally found her"

"I will, thanks"

Krill gave a full smile before standing up.

"Alright! Pack your things! Tomorrow we're heading back!" he shouted.

"At last!"

"I can finally eat good food!"

"Its only been two days, but I don't want to stay here much longer"

"You said it"

The adventurers became much rowdier than before, leaving the accursed forest and returning back to their loved ones is surely better than staying in a place where you would not know where death is watching.

Mason, looking at the scene smiled bitterly, his days as an adventure were no longer, as he became a father, he decided to protect them, along with the whole village.

'I won't lose you again...' He thought, as he looked at the bloodied fabric in his hand.

-----

Saharan Village, part of the southern area of the Kingdom of Memphis.

A village known to prosper in the past. A place that stopped its growth due to a single mistake from the lord that oversee their region.

A mistake that killed almost 2000 innocent civilians in the past, and left untraceable scars to the survivors.

The pile of corpses that the mistake created, lead to the frequent attack of monsters, creating fear in the hearts of the merchants that once traded with the southwestern villages.

And now, after a decade has passed, the main source of the mistake, the true reason for the deaths of thousands of innocent civillians, has returned.

"Lara..." a trembling voice of a woman reverberated inside the room.

She, with long, honey-blonde hair, trembling cyan colored eyes, is looking at a wounded young lady lying in the not so shabby, not so fancy bed infront of her.

"Just what happened to you..." her trembling voiced reverberated once again inside the room as she held the hand of the sleeping girl.

Tears eventually began to pour from her eyes as she held the girl's hand tightly, but not enough as to hurt her.

The rough feeling of the once before small and soft hands of the girl struck her. The callouses of the hand made her doubt the years she spent waiting.

'10 years? 15 years? I don't know anymore...' she thought as she scan the body of the girl once again.

The body that once was bleeding was now covered with bandages and oinment she created herself.

'I could close the wound, but I can't do anything about the blood she lost... *clench*'

She clench her fist tightly as she remembered the day she was once again reunited with her child.

A few days ago, as she was watering the plants she cared for, holding unto the hand of her second daughter, she heard a familiar voice called out to her.

As she looked around she saw her brother running towards her, carrying something.

And as he got closer, she noticed that it was not something but someone. Knowing the reason her brother brought the person to them, she immediately went back inside, her second daughter intow.

She prepared the materials she would need. Healing ointment, bandages, needle, magic strings, hot water, and other things.

"Mama, another patient?" her second daughter asked.

"Yes, would Laer want to help mama out?" she asked.

"Uhm! Laer want to help mama!" the adorable, brown haired, cyan colored eyes little girl, spoke.

"Then would you wash this towels here?"

"Uhm!"

As she watched her adorable 5 years old child, she smiled. She still remembered the days when her first born, Lara, would help her do the chores.

And as if waking her up from the dream she yearn to see. A slightly husky voice called out to her.

"Alice! I brought someone!" the voice was from her twin brother. A man towering almost 2 meter tall, with honey-blonde hair and, cyan-colored-almod-shaped eyes, with slightly skinny body.

"What's her conditio-" Turning around she looked at her brother standing at the side of the open door, gasping for air then turned her head to the person he's carrying.

Bloody. Was what she would call the sight. The girl lying at her brother's arms covered in wounds and none of it seems to stop from bleeding. But the most noteworthy thing that made her stop was the girls' face.

Pearl-like white skin, slightly oval shaped face, and long honey-blonde hair.

She, Alice, couldn't believe what she is currently seeing, even though a decade has passed, the images of the young girl, in a blue dress, passed through her mind.

The day she was taken from her, the years she spent looking for her, the agony of the days thinking of 'what ifs', like a soft flowing river, it passed through her mind continuously.

Until she finally saw her.

She couldn't hear the voice of her brother any longer as she point to the direction of the patients' bed.

Her brother immediately lay her down, and she quickly but thoroughly clean the wounds before applying the healing ointment and sealing the wound using the needle and magic threads.

She spent hours and hours to finish the job, the number of deep and small wounds on the girls' body eventually became covered with bandages.

And now after that day, she spare no time at other things aside from looking after the sleeping girl, Lara, and taking care of the little girl, Laer.

"Mama~ is big sister going to be fine?" the little girl, Laer spoke, as she worriedly looked at the sleeping girl infront of her.

"She will Laer, she will. We just need to pray some more to the gods to make big sister wake up faster" she replied, holding the two girls' hands.

She already told the little girl, Laer, about Lara, even before the day she met her. She told stories about her older sister, and the little girl would listen as if, listening to a fantasy story.

Alice, added some things to the story, making Lara, the strong big-sister that Laer wanted, the sister that would protect her from bad things, and she would protect her in return.

That's the story Alice tell Laer before bed time, as if to remind herself not to forget her first born. The little accepting the story as is, would always smile brightly whenever the story is told.

"Mama, is Mr. Rabbit going to be okay?" Laer asked, looking at the lying at the other bed besides Lara.

"Don't worry, Laer, big-sister, and Mr. Rabbit are both strong, they would be okay, they are just sleeping" Alice answered.

She meant it when she said that the rabbit sleeping at the other bed, is strong. The strong mana inside the rabbit, made her doubts her senses, but as a former adventurer just like her husband, she could feel the presence of mana inside the rabbit, and it was a huge amount to boot.

She heard from her brother, that the rabbit could talk, but as it was currently unconscious, she couldn't confirm it.

-----

Time passed, and Mason the guard, Krill, and the other adventurers were able to return back to the village.

Mason, ignoring the call of Krill, immediately rushed towards his house.

"Alice! Laer!" shouting the names of his wife and daughter, Mason, looked around the house.

He couldn't see them, not Alice, not Laer, not even Lara.

Cold-sweat run down his back as he looked around the house once again, but he still couldn't see them.

'Maybe they're in danger!' thingking so, Mason, rushed out of the house. But, before he could take another step, he heard a voice calling him.

"Mason! Dear~!" A soft, gentle, but slightly loud voice. A very familiar voice.

Mason immediately turned his head towards the voice and there he saw them.

"Alice, Laer..." he muttered.

Tears slowly accumulated in his eyes as he slowly walks towards them.

And before long, warm tears flowed out from his eyes, he run towards them and stopped infront of one of them.

Gazing at the electric blue eyes of the person infront of him. He wasn't able to keep himself anymore.

*Thug*

"Lara... Welcome home..." his body trembling, tears keep pouring from his eyes as he hugged her.

"Uhm! I'm home! Papa!"

Rabbit watching the two, father and daughter finally reunited, smiled. He then looked at the adventurers that the man was with, before closing his eyes.

"John..." he whispered to the wind.