Chapter Twenty-Five: Not of the Heroic Breed Either...
1383 Words
Wreigner G Hyle
-Stats-
Wreigner summoned his adventurer’s card mentally, and within seconds the screen appeared before him, showing all his skills and achievements since he logged the quest.
He quickly raked through the words and titles sprawled in a golden shade of brown when a peculiar blue and black stat caught his attention.
{Petrified +???}
Petrified?
He had never met an opponent who added a negative stat to his screen before, not to mention the absurd question marks?
Did that mean the beasts’ level was overly beyond his?
The screen buzzed then tuned itself off even before he was through with his question.
-Stats!-
He tried to summon again, but there was no response this time.
Was it because the beast was closer than it had been before?
F*ck! How would they run?
His blood felt as though it would turn to ice under the fright he felt, yet still, he maintained his sanity.
A sound coming from the tower caught his attention.
A woman ran across the field, her clothes in hand, indicating her experience, and shortly after, a man followed, rather, ran after her.
“Wait, you f**king b-!” the man halted his words when he saw what the desperate woman did not.
But as he tried to run back into the tower, the beasts’ attention was already on him.
The black and neon blue floating monster appeared behind him in the blink of an eye.
“Wait!” the man cried, still in his motion. “Wait, I have the mark please wai-!”
Those were his last words as sharp and long talons from seemingly nowhere on the beast's body pierced the man.
Something black and misty oozed from the man and entered the candle the monster held, and without another sound, the man’s body fell to the ground.
Wreigner’s heart was louder than his brain now, and if everything functioned normally within him, he was sure tears would have wet his face.
The man did not even stand a chance.
A piercing scream erupted from the lady who stood paralysed in the middle of the field.
Gods’ but she should have run!
The woman turned her back to the beast and sprinted down the field, as far away from the monstrosity as possible, but like before, it teleported before her, causing her to skid and fall on her track.
“S-stay away!!” she yelled as she crawled backwards, “STOP!! get away from me!!”
The woman threw what she could find on the ground at the monster.
“STAY AWAY!!” she screamed even louder, then turned towards their general direction “H-Help me!! I- I see you, help me please!!”
She cried to their silhouettes because that was what he could see of her, just her silhouette. Surely, her view had to be the same.
Surely she would not haunt them for their immobility?
“Why are you not moving!! Help me!!” The woman cried as she continually backed away from the beast.
Why could they not move? Why were they paralysed while the girl was still in motion?
The answer hit him with surprising clarity…the melody they had heard before.
The petrification was its effect!
The beast raised its hand, shifting its form to three long curved swords that, as before with the man, used it to lift the woman as though it was a fork and she a piece of meat.
As with the man, the woman’s essence fueled the candle.
Neither of them put up a fight, such that Wreigner had a hard time believing they were adventurers.
Gods…. they were next.
The beasts' direction changed to theirs, and instantly panic gripped his stomach.
Gods but what a short life he had led.
The only time he felt truly alive was when he held his sword, yet…how often was a weekend in comparison to five, sometimes six days of torturous existence?
The candled beast appeared before them.
It was their turn now.
It neared three metres in height and smelled foully of death and decay.
The beast bent down then zeroed in his face.
Its face was hollow, its eyes, nose and mouth merely dark abysmal cavities that, for some reason, let out screams that only echoed in his head.
He was terrified to the point of tears, yet its damn stats did not let up. It did not even grant him the luxury of the relief that often comes from weeping, at least as his last courtesy.
It c****d its head to the side, then turned to Ruben, who held Kat, then slowly to Breca, then Alden before instantly disappearing from their sight.
The instant the beast vanished, the wind stilled, and the fog lifted.
The five of them, without another word, collapsed to the bare, blackened ground.
*
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Lady Arusei E. Alpensa
“Aha…this is it.” I smiled at the only tree still holding its essence.
It had to be the one that gave me its last life.
I placed my hand firmly on the tree; despite the fog surrounding Bleakfen, it is the strong wind that agitates my nerves most.
It is hard to focus on testing whether the tree was alive when even mother nature was against me; what if a stray branch smacked my head?
Still, I took a deep breath then closed my eyes.
I could feel it, the joyful life the tree lived in a forest too lush for its own good, all until…a woman… long blonde hair and a white gown fell from the tower.
The tree showed me its memories from the time it germinated until it turned into the largest in the entire forest, which was hard to believe, considering it was a twig that my hands caressed, not a lush and thickened bark.
Still, the tree did not know the woman’s origin, where she was from, who she was, how long she had been in the tower, whether she had been alone.
It was as though the tower itself appeared, out of nowhere. Same with the woman who fell from it, yet everywhere the blood from her corpse flowed, darkened.
Her blood extinguished all life it touched until Bleakfen itself…died.
The tree told me that the entire essence of the forest, the other plants and animals, were left with it.
‘Restore my land.’
The tree pleaded.
“I am not a hero, nor am I a saint.” I answered loud, past the whooshing sounds, “I was not bred for such a role.”
“It is not from the point of self-pity that I tell you this, but from the point of honesty. I hate this world too much to aid you purely. I am sorry.”
To fight darkness, one must become the embodiment of light.
How can I restore what I no longer see beauty in?
Though an apology escaped my lips, it was merely out of formality than honesty.
“Even If I heal you, feed you, this entire forest, with my mana the way you did me. All my efforts will do is provide more feed to the tower.”
Not to mention beef with the guild.
‘Then take my life….’
The tree's wish was clear, yet I needed to breathe deeply before considering the act.
“Okay,” I said after too long a pause, then directed every bit of essence from the tree to the Yggdrasil mark on the back of my hand, giving it a more definitive glow than before.
A light green glow flowed towards me, and after a time too short for any transfer, the tree turned to ash, leaving a bitter feeling settling at the pit of my stomach.
One I wished to repress.
No…
One I need to repress.
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“So let me get this straight?” I said in the carriage back to town as soon as the group woke up from their slumber, “It's nuts when I pee in the woods, but falling asleep in enemy territory is the ‘in’ thing?”
“Wait, you think we fell asleep?” Ruben asked groggily.
“I carried all of you to this carriage; I know you fell asleep!" I insisted, "You freaking weirdos."
- Writer
