Lydia: The Role Of A Big Sister

Lydia's thoughts were a mess of conflicting emotions as she and the rest of the guild girls continued running through the streets, rescuing the missing family members.

Mary was a demon?

Lydia still couldn't believe it.

The girl who had spent the last month with them, the kind, sweet, and cheerful Mary they had all come to know and love, was actually a demon?

Lydia glanced over at Leafy as they continued running. The brown-haired girl had barely spoken since Mary's revelation. She looked shaken, her expression still carrying a mixture of anger, confusion, and fear.

Lydia understood the reason behind the girl's violent outburst earlier toward Mary.

To learn that one of your closest friends had secretly been the queen of the very people who had killed your family when you were just a little girl was enough to leave anyone feeling heartbroken and betrayed. Lydia wasn't sure how she would have reacted if she had been placed in a similar situation. But wanting to rush into an attack, brought on by blind rage, was another thing.

Although she understood the reason behind Leafy's actions, she was pretty sure that Mary wouldn't have simply stand there and let herself be attacked.

That's why Lydia had stopped the girl from committing an act she would never have been able to take back. Whether or not Mary had evaded the attack or fought back, Leafy would have actively tried to harm a friend. A former friend who had been hiding a big secret, yes, but a friend nonetheless. Lydia simply couldn't let the girl have that on her conscience.

"Guys, listen," Snowpoppy called from behind as the group continued running through the streets. "You really should try to understand what she might have gone through. See this from her perspective."

"See it from her perspective?" Maria shot back. "How are we supposed to do that when our friend and sister, someone we've known for almost a month, had secretly been the enemy all along?"

Maria's voice rose as she continued.

"But not just the enemy. The freaking queen of the enemy!"

"I'm sure she wanted to tell us sooner," Snowpoppy replied.

Lydia found the space to chime in.

"Yeah, she should have," the elven girl began. "But honestly, I don't know if it would have helped us digest the news any easier. Saying you're not really who you claim to be is one thing, but saying you're actually a demon from the Demon Realm is another."

"So what? She stops being our sister now? She stops being one of us now?" Snowpoppy shot back, her expression shifting into a scowl.

Lydia glanced at Snowpoppy. The Snow Bunny looked genuinely angry. She must have figured out the truth about Mary being a demon long before the rest of them, and had been helping the girl keep it.

The group briefly fell silent as they continued running through the streets.

"We'll talk about this later, Snowpoppy," Lydia replied. "For now, let's just focus on saving the remaining children."

***

"That's the last of them," Lydia said as she handed the two children they had rescued over to the guards at the central plaza. The knights standing watch by the door quickly took them inside.

"Won't you girls come in too?" one of the guards asked. "It's getting pretty dangerous out there."

Lydia briefly glanced back toward the streets they had just come from. The demons were still running wild throughout the town, causing further destruction and chaos. The sounds of fighting and magical explosions reverberated throughout the small city, causing entire rooftops to tremble.

For a moment, she briefly considered giving in right there on behalf of the group. They were tired, worried for their safety, and had already spent a lot of time running back and forth amid the chaos. But in order to truly complete the mission, there was just one thing left to do.

"No. We need to get back to the guild and let everyone know that their families are safe. Besides, we'll have a better chance of making it back together than if we split up."

"Okay," the guard replied. "You girls just be careful."

"Right!" they all responded.

The group turned and began running down the streets toward the Adventurers Guild once more.

For a moment, it almost seemed like they were home free. They hadn't encountered much resistance along the way, and the guild gate was just up ahead.

However, before they could reach the halfway point, another demon, larger than any of them had ever seen, suddenly dropped from the sky, landing directly in front of them and slamming into the cobblestone.

The girls stopped in their tracks, nearly crashing into one another.

"Girls, are you okay?" Lydia called out, turning around to make sure none of them were seriously injured.

The monster in front of them was big. Very big. Easily twelve feet tall, with horns as tall as Lydia's arm, and bulging muscles as large as wine barrels.

"Humans," Lydia heard the monster growl, smoke pushing out from its nostrils. "I hate humans."

The demon carried a weapon that resembled a sledgehammer. As it prepared to lift it, Maria, who was slightly behind the group, shouted.

"Lydia, quick! Throw one of your vials at it!"

"Right!"

Lydia quickly regained her composure, but when she dug her hands into her handbag, she was shocked to find it empty.

"I-I'm out!" she called out in panic.

"What?" Maria shouted.

"Then come on, this way!" Snowpoppy called.

The snow bunny quickly tried to lead the group in the opposite direction, but just as they turned, another large demon landed on the cobblestone behind them, boxing them in.

The girls were trapped. Their entire bodies trembled with fear. Lydia, especially, was filled with nothing but regret. Regret that she had brought these girls out to help with the rescue mission. And now, because of her, they were all going to die.

"Uh-oh," Minimo squeaked.

"Is Chanchan going to be murdered?" the bat girl cried out softly.

However, just as the monsters drew closer, lifting their weapons to butcher them to pieces, something unbelievable happened.

...

...

...

A beast emerged from the darkness, leaping from somewhere below onto a nearby roof. The girls gasped at the sight of it, and even the two demons attacking them momentarily stopped to look up.

It resembled a mixture of a lion and a cat, much larger and more ferocious than the demons currently flanking them. Lydia noticed its foot-long teeth, glowing red eyes, and claws that were so long they practically resembled curved knives.

Great. As if dying by two scary demons wasn't already enough.

"...!"

Before Lydia could even finish her thought, the beast suddenly leaped onto the street, dropping onto one of the two demons and tearing it apart.

The girls held their breath in collective shock at the sight.

The lion-like cat relentlessly tore into the demon, pinning it down. The creature was no match for the thing's overwhelming strength.

"Wait, aren't they on the same side?" Maria whispered loudly.

Lydia did not answer. She was too frozen with shock to do so.

Then, without warning, the creature suddenly turned its attention toward the second demon after it had finished with the first one.

With a powerful jump, it launched across the street and over their heads, slamming into and landing directly on the other demon that had been blocking their escape.

Just like it had done with the first one, it quickly overwhelmed the second demon with its ferocious biting and clawing until the demon was unable to fight back.

Within moments, both demons had been defeated.

The girls remained frozen in place, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"Should we run?" Maria whispered over Lydia's shoulder, her voice trembling with panic. "Because I feel like we should run while it's still distracted."

"All right. Good idea, Maria," Lydia whispered back. "Now, everybody. On my mark, start moving back slowly."

The girls nodded in unison and carefully began retreating from what was clearly another beast from the Underworld, this one so hostile it couldn't even tell apart the enemy from its own kind.

The creature remained distracted, feasting on the fallen demon.

They had almost made it far enough to escape when Minimo accidentally bumped into the demon's corpse behind them and stumbled, falling to the ground.

The sound immediately caught the beast's attention, and the lion-like creature jerked its head in their direction, its crimson eyes locking onto the girls.

"Oh no," Maria croaked.

"Run, girls! Run!" Lydia shouted, but it was no use.

Before they could move even a single inch, the lion-like beast let out a deep, barking growl. A powerful shockwave radiated outward from the creature and toward them, knocking all the girls off their feet.

"Ow!" they all grumbled as they fell back to the ground.

Lydia quickly regained her bearings and pushed herself back upright.

But the moment she looked up, she froze.

The lion-like beast was right in front of her.

Its face was only inches from hers.