Chapter 39

“Angen!”

“Angen!”

“Angen!”

“What!? I thought we’re going in!?”

“We’re not ready!”

“I thought Ellen said we’re ready?”

“I’m asking if we’re all ready-”

Screeeeeeeee! a second scream appeared from inside the room. A thread of black magic, mimicking the color of the torches, streamed out from inside, floating from underneath their feet. Not having any other option, Elerina and the rest went in.

A humanoid figure waited for them inside, floating at the center of a large circular room. Unlike its surroundings, most of the figure was colored white and glowed, giving little light into the dark room. Behind the figure was a row of black swords, arranged in a half circle with their sharp tips pointing outward. Their color hid them well, the only giveaway is the faint glow they gave out in the darkness.

“... Are we supposed to fight th-”

“Angen, watch out!” Memorus jumped in front of Angen with a shield, blocking one of the swords flying straight her way. The impact pushed him several centimeters backward.

“Memorus, you alright?”

“I’m fine, Nicholas. Can you see from over there?”

“Yes.” The torches inside the room, albeit having that black color, allowed me to see what was happening. At the roof were also several cracks of varying sizes that allows light to stream through.

“Elerina, can you fight while holding the remote?”

“It’ll be easy.”

“Just let it go if you need to.”

The drone took flight. It wasn’t armed with anything that might be helpful, but it made a pretty good distraction. I maneuvered it in front of the figure, and let out a gasp. The drone hovered in place. Despite not being lit up, I could tell the figure’s features pretty clearly.

“Nicholas?”

“It’s your father, Elerina.”

The same man that appeared in my dreams. A frown appeared on Elerina’s lips as she looked back and forth between me and him.

“Elerina, I need you to touch him!”

“Le- Leave it to me!” She leaped forward, holding the rifle in the ready. She took aim and fired toward the swords floating behind him. The sword shattered upon meeting the bullet, but they reformed immediately after, making it pointless. Yet she continued firing while running straight at him. Sensing her as a threat, countless swords ran down on her.

She leaped right and left, dodging as it smashed the ground and shattered. Their glow was faint, their speed fast. Their movements barely visible in the action camera’s footage. She closed the gap and reached out, but before she could reach him, a sword came down on her.

A ball of flame flew through the sky, landing straight on the sword. Despite looking solid, the sword dispersed upon making contact, reforming back behind the figure. The figure himself dodged out of the way, teleporting a few meters backward, away from Elerina’s reach.

Elerina took aim, and fired two bullets straight to the head. I was surprised to see her going for the head, but those shots didn’t connect. In less than a second, two sets of swords covered the figure’s head, blocking both shots from hitting his face.

“Support her!”

“Yeah!”

I tried using the drone as a distraction, but it didn’t work. He ignored it, maybe because he knew the drone wasn’t a threat. Memorus sprinted with his shield, but before he could get a chance to swing it, two swords departed from the figure’s back and shot straight at him. The swords stabbed right into the shield, but they didn’t pierce through. Still, their force was strong enough to knock Memorus back.

Angen fired off a fire spell on his right flank, but even then, his swords managed to block them. It looked like the swords had a mind of their own, as the second the fire attack dispersed, the surviving swords followed up with an attack.

“Angen watch out!” I shouted. Angen brought her wand forward, a wall of flames appeared on the ground, behind it a wall of dirt. The swords stabbed right through, breaking her spell apart. One sword slipped past, heading straight for her neck. She swung her wand down, meeting the blade. The force knocked her away.

“Akh!”

“Angen!” Memorus shouted in panic, but he didn’t have the chance to rush to her side, as two more swords came flying his way.

“I’m… I’m alright!” Angen pushed herself up. Before she could get far, her eyes caught the sight of two more swords coming her way. She wasn’t ready, and the rest weren’t close enough to her.

My fingers moved, pushing the joystick and sending the drone into the sword’s path. While it wasn’t affected by dark magic, it was affected by the twin swords flying its way. My camera-feed cutout, and I could hear a thud coming from the audio captured by Elerina’s action camera.

“Nicho, I owe you one!” Angen shouted, returning to firing her magic. Now that the drone was gone, Elerina let go of the remote, and I set it aside. She didn’t use both hands on the rifle, but instead unsheathed her sword.

Elerina fired numerous shots, trying to hit what was supposed to be her own father from various angles. But time and time again, the sword would come to the rescue and protect him from any attack.

After she emptied the magazine, she jumped back. Memorus noticed and moved in front of her, protecting her from the pursuing swords. The swords on his shield would shatter after a while, but each blow continuously pushed him back. A quick look on his shield also tells you that the swords aren’t to be taken lightly.

There were cracks forming on the shield’s center, where most of the blades landed. The same could be said about Angen’s wand. Despite being intact, you could see the cracks.

Elerina reloaded as fast as she could. The rifle helped prevent most of the swords from reaching her, but one managed to fly past. Elerina pulled up her blade to block. The sword smashed into the blade. She held her ground, but her sword was sent flying away.

“Elerina, you alright?”

“My hand hurts, but other than that, I’m fine.”

She tried to go for her sword, but the figure’s sword came and blocked her path, forcing her on the defensive.

The battle turned fierce. I cursed the fact that I couldn’t do anything to help. All I could do was watch. I couldn’t even warn them, thanks to how chaotic things had become. Anything I said would just be a disturbance.

Their attacks couldn't even reach the figure. Every swing missed, every bullet intercepted. Sweat poured down their heads. Angen and Memorus were panting, while Elerina was shaking. The battle had taken a toll on her. I tried giving her a can of energy drink, but a sword flew her way before she could take it.

“Damnit,” she gritted her teeth. Her gaze was on the figure’s face. She brought up the gun and fired at it. Black swords came from various directions, intercepting it and destroying it middair.

There must be a way…

I stared intensely at the picture shown on my phone. Maybe I could spot something, something that they missed…

I did spot something, but it wasn’t something I liked.

“Elerina!”

Elerina glared at the swords protecting the monster’s face… completely oblivious to the one hiding flat on the ground. Only its tip was visible on the camera, and it shot forward. There's only one way to save her. I let go of my phone, grabbed her hand, and stood in front of her.

I couldn’t see it coming, but I could feel it. I shut my mouth, struggling through the intense pain. Something warm poured out of the hole on my stomach. I feel nauseated, feeling like I could vomit. I looked down. The sword, that shouldn’t be visible, had entered the mid-world and stabbed through me. A puddle formed underneath my feet.

“Nicholas!” A shout came from behind me. The strength in my feet dispersed. I lost my balance and stumbled, someone holding me from behind, keeping me from collapsing completely. That was the last thing I knew before I closed my eyes.

•••

What I saw wasn't a world of black and white, nor was it a scene from a part of the world I had never been to. Rather, it was the front garden of a familiar mansion, albeit in a much better condition than when I last saw it a while ago. There was no town behind me. A white wall limited my vision to just the garden and a portion of the entrance. I could see only two people, both of which stood in front of me.

Their faces felt… familiar, like I had seen them before. That shouldn’t be the case. My interaction in this world was limited to Elerina, Memorus, and Angen. There’s no way I would be able to remember anyone else, especially since I didn’t interact with them.

Wait, aren’t those…?

The young man looked similar to the humanoid figure we're fighting, but he wasn't clad in just black and white. His face was full of life and color, his blue eyes as clear as the ocean. He had his yellow hair cut short and his long ears looked sharp.

A little girl ran around in the garden in front of him, a bright smile radiating from her lips. She had similar features to the man, so they're probably related.

“Dad, when will mom be coming back?” she ran over and asked all of a sudden, looking up at her father's eyes.

“Mmhmm… Well, mom is busy right now, but she should be back before the sun sets.”

“I want to show her the spell I learned!” The girl said excitedly. The girl turned her attention to a small sapling not too far from them. She chanted a lot of words. I wasn't all that familiar with them, but I could tell that it's magic. Nature magic, to be precise.

The sapling began growing at a rapid pace. It had been barely thirty centimeters tall before, but now it towered at over three meters. The father stared upward in astonishment.

“Im- impressive.”

“I know.” The young girl laughed. She looked so bright. You could tell a great future awaited her.

“But unfortunately, you know how this story would end, don't you?” The father turned to me. I would be lying if I didn’t expect it, and I wasn’t as startled as I expected myself to be. His voice was similar to the sounds I heard when Elerina touched those shrines. This time, however, it felt more direct, stronger, like you’re speaking to him directly. This is not a recording repeated over and over again like the voice of those shrines.

The father stood up and left his now frozen daughter and took several steps toward me. I was wary of him, but something prevented me from stepping backward. It was less of a physical barrier, but more of something… indescribable. I knew I had to confront this person.

I took a deep breath. “My name is Nicholas Albert, and I’m Elerina’s husband.”

“And I’m Duke Willeherima Monterez. As you expected, I’m Elerina’s father.”