09. Signs of Regret

The danger posed by the vampires was no more, but instead, another unknown entity made their presence deeply felt. Before them, the whole city seemed like a mere ant's nest.

Still not moving, both the ashen horse's and the dark knight's gaze became fixed on Yumino. Not being able to see his face only deepened his unease. Slowly, his vision started turning dark, his consciousness slowly fading away as silent screams reverberated through his mind.

"Do not fall asleep!"

Once again, the voice of the ghost resounded harder than any other, giving Yumino the power to stand his ground—but he could do nothing more than that, as he did not dare point his arrows at the flying knight.

The staredown continued until Yumino's consciousness fully returned. Although, his courage was still nowhere to be found.

As soon as the elf regained his footing, the knight turned away. The ashen horse began to gallop through the air, leaving a trail of dust behind as the two vanished into the moonlight.

"You've done well," the voice praised the elf.

Yumino breathed a sigh of relief. He was at his limit, hence why he fell backwards and hit the ground.

"Are you ok?" Nima asked as she rushed to grab him.

He signaled the girl he was fine, but his gaze was fixated somewhere else.

"I've... killed them, right?"

Pain could be felt in his voice. Yumino took someone's life again. This time, it was not by mistake. Actually, it felt right. 

"Yumino... You had no choice... It was either us or them."

But the words spoken by Nima didn't reach his pointy ears. Instead, something else captured his attention.

Out of thin air, two faint silhouettes appeared next to the fallen vampires. They were half as tall as them, and their voices were easy to recognize.

"Thank you, hero!" the silhouette resembling a girl said.

"And next time, remember to listen!" the silhouette of a boy continued—the same boy Yumino had met in his dreams before.

"By now, I guess you understand," a third ghostly voice, the most familiar one, intervened. "You've done this for them; you've set them free."

Yumino decided to forget about his deed, if just for a second, and look at the two little ghosts.

"You… You were the one who told me to bring that arrowhead."

"Haha! Busted!"

"And you, you were the one who told me about Morena's weak spot!"

"Hihi! Maybe I know her better than you would think," the girly ghost answered with a wink.

"I guess it's time for us to leave. Thank you again, mister! We will tell everyone in heaven about you!"

"Ah... so you really are..."

"Yumino, who are you talking to?" a confused Nima asked.

"Don't scare the girl!" the little ghosts said together.

"We'll be going now, bye!"

Yumino was left waving his hand at the ghosts, who slowly dispersed.

"Nima, I think I need to lie down for a second..." he said as his vision turned dark, leaving the girl to carry him to his bed.

*****

The next time Yumino opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a familiar, even nostalgic, ceiling. He slowly got out of bed and looked around.

"This room..."

It was a room he was all too familiar with—the one where he’d spent his childhood.

"Could this make any less sense?"

Even with his mind clouded in confusion, Yumino couldn't help but let out a relieved smile.

He got out of his room and went downstairs to see his parents, just like he had done for so many years.

"Mom? Dad?"

But nobody was there. In fact, every room of the house was empty.

"I guess they went to work... What day was today?"

The bliss of not having to count the days, and just living his life with nothing to worry about came over Yumino like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. He was once again living the best days of his life—his college days, when the norm was relaxing and hanging out with friends that disappear once you graduate.

"Well, no matter. Let's see what the boys are up to."

He picked up his phone with calm moves. Absolutely nothing could get the young man to hurry on such a calm day. He turned on the screen, but before putting in the password, he noticed his palms were stained.

"What the..."

He gently put down his phone and went to the bathroom. But before he got to open the door, he saw something that made his blood freeze in his veins. On the door handle, there were red stains that he had not noticed before.

Yumino gasped at the shocking image.

"Is anyone around?"

His question came as an attempt to confirm something he feared he already knew the answer to.

With no answer reaching his ears, Yumino had no choice but to enter and check the situation for himself.

After taking a deep breath, the boy pushed down on the handle and entered the bathroom.

Nobody was around.

A slight tremor ran through Yumino’s limbs. He took one more step and placed himself in front of the sink.

Under the flowing water, Yumino tried his best to wash away the red stains on his palms, but they just wouldn't go away.

His heart was beating faster and faster, and in frustration he hit the wall with his dirty palm, just to leave another stain similar to the one on the handle.

The towel didn't solve the problem either. 

He took a shower, but the water would just turn red by the time it reached his feet.

"What the hell is going on here..."

Before he could even try to process the situation, a couple of voices resounded from his room—voices of kids he felt like he knew.

Yumino did not waste another second as he ran straight to his room, forcing himself to ignore the stains that were everywhere.

With a strong push, the door flung open, and it revealed the source of the two voices. There, in the center of his room, two elven kids were dancing around, singing a song whose lyrics could not be deciphered.

Yumino knew those kids.

"Hey, Mister Hero! There you are!"

"We've been searching everywhere for you!"

"No...what's going on..."

"Hey, Mister Hero, what is up with that photo?" the boy asked while pointing towards a painting that Yumino didn't recognize.

On closer inspection, the picture seemed to have been inspired by the Forest of Alenrius. In it, goblins holding hands were depicted. It looked like a happy group photo.

Only, something was wrong with those goblins; all of them were pinned to trees by arrows made of fine wood.

"No... No... NO!"

Refusing to look at it anymore, Yumino turned back towards the two kids. However, the kids were not there anymore; in their place, Alen and Morena were holding hands while dancing and singing.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Yumino snapped and ran out of the room, but in his crazed escape, he bumped into someone else and fell to the floor.

"Stay away!"

With no answer, a pair of hands gently grabbed his.

"It's okay. They're all gone."

When Yumino looked around again, the house and everyone inside it had disappeared. What was left was a beautiful lady with brown hair holding him.

"You! You are..."

"Yes. We finally get to meet. Call me Gauntmere!"

Her voice, even clad in kindness, gave her away. She was the one who had been speaking with him in his mind.

"What is going on here? There were dead goblins, and blood, and children, and..."

"I said it's okay. Look. There is nobody else around. Everyone you saw is long gone, and to those children, you are a hero."

"Gone... A hero..."

Yumino fell to his knees.

"Those goblins. I didn't mean to..."

"Yet, you had no other choice..."

"But it's still wrong! Those lives, all ended in an instant..."

"Yumino..."

"A bow should not be used to take the lives of others! My hand just slipped!"

The lady crouched down and put her hand on Yumino's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"No, dear Yumino, it didn't slip," Gauntmere interrupted the elf. "You did what you had to do to survive."

"But I never meant to kill them!"

"So I gave you a push."

At the lady's words, Yumino's face froze. Deep down, he prayed that he misheard her. It was the one wish Yumino clung to with all his being. He wished his naïve trust would not be broken.

"You... you what?"

"Back then, you let go of the arrow because of my intervention."

"You...you were the one who..."

"An action made for your sake. I will not hide what I did, because I don't consider it wrong."

A volcano of emotions was fuming inside Yumino, and now, anger came spewing out.

"You've made me take the lives of others!" Yumino exploded.

"And you've taken more lives without my intervention tonight. This is what survival comes down to. I just had to give you the first push..."

Words were spoken, but he wouldn't hear them.

For the young elf, too much was happening at once. His head felt like it might explode. Fear, regret, sadness, and now anger all succeeded on the thin thread that kept the man together.

He had not signed up for any of this. He wouldn't have his hands stained by blood for the sake of others. 

"No more trickery. No more lies."

Yumino got up and pushed the lady's hand away.

"Take me out of here..."

"Yumino..."

"I said take me out, NOW! You said you'd let me sleep in peace! I have nothing to talk with a murderer."

"As you wish. Only, let me warn you of one thing."

"What is it now?"

"The path of revenge is long and bloody. Please, do not continue blaming others for your deeds!"

"Tsk! Right back at you!"

Those were the words Yumino left behind before slowly fading out of his nightmare.