Act One: Issue #3-Chapter 6

As Dilara failed to look for her solution, she also gave up, wondering if this was the end for her and her family too. After all, nobody dared to save them, none.

Dilara would be crying too if she was Mother. She was about to zone out as there was no way for her to rescue her family or even escape for that matter.

Then the same woman's voice called Dilara's name and made Dilara alerted above. She glared at the ceiling above her.

"Oh, and jus' what do you even want now? Tryin' to 'help' me? Well, don't even bother tryin'! You're simply no help, at least the guards were!" Dilara roared, making her sisters wonder who the hell was she talking to.

"Go get the rock on the floor behind you," the same woman's voice echoed. "Hurry!"

Dilara put her head down. "Go away!"

"But-"

"I simply said, 'Go away!'"

After that woman's voice sighed, her voice stopped echoing for a while. Dilara sighed out of relief when she stopped hearing that woman's voice. She was relieved that woman was gone for good at long last.

Then something bumped onto Dilara's heel and she turned her head around. She saw the big, gray rock behind her heel.

"Use this rock to throw it at the monster. Hurry before they get killed," the same woman's voice echoed. "I'll help you find more rocks against it."

Dilara turned to the ceiling and the rock back and forth, before she picked it up from the floor. She couldn't wait to throw a rock at that woman if that woman showed herself, once she got done with this. 

Hearing Shakila and Ingrid's screams, Dilara quickly turned her head towards her family and that monster. That monster was close enough to her family and Dilara was getting ready to throw it. Shakila and Ingrid shook and begged Mother to wake up, yet Mother refused to do so, already zoning out.

Alright, Dilara. Here goes nothin'!

Once the monster was trying to swing its claws towards her family, Dilara threw the rock at the monster's face. The monster moved to the side a bit near the fire, yet it wasn't burned alive.

As the monster shook its head sideways to regain focus, Dilara waved her hands in the air. "Over here, you big bastard!"

The monster roared at Dilara in anger while Mother no longer zoned out, turning to Dilara with her daughters out of shock. "Now, what does that servant girl think she's doing?" Mother asked herself when the monster flew towards Dilara.

"Dilara's gone mad, Mother," Ingrid said.

"Uh-huh," Shakila agreed.

"Get out of here, you three! I'll distract it from you!" Dilara shouted while the monster charged its claws at her.

"Absolutely not! I'm not leaving here without my servant!" Mother roared, trying to head towards Dilara. Dilara truly believed that this woman has indeed gone mad after all she'd done to save her and her stupid ass sisters' lives.

"Mother, wait!" Shakila put her hand out, failing to try to grab onto Mother as Ingrid prevented her from going after her. She turned to Ingrid. "Ingrid, what are you-?!"

"We'll have to go get the soldiers in here to save Mother and Dilara!" Ingrid shouted while she looked at Mother and Shakila back and forth. "Mother's too stubborn to listen to us anyway!"

"What?! No way I'm staying here! There's no-" Shakila tried to chase after Mother, yet the invisible wall blocked Mother from advancing any further.

"What?! What is this?!" Mother asked when she touched the solid invisible wall, turning to her hands and Dilara dodging the monster's attacks while it chased after her. "An invisible wall? And to think it's already difficult to get my servant girl back."

Ingrid let go of her sister's arms and dashed after Mother. "Never mind that, let's go get Mother out of here and send the guards in here to save Dilara."

Shakila shook her head. "Got it!"

When Ingrid and Shakila chased after Mother, they grabbed onto her and pulled her back. "C'mon, Mother! Let's let her be! She'll be fine in here for now; she even told you to leave so she can distract it."

Mother turned to Shakila out of shock in disbelief. "Shakila, how can you say such a thing?! We can't live without our servant girl!"

"We'll just send the guards in here to save her! It's going to be alright! Just leave her here already!" Ingrid suggested with her and Shakila's eyes begging Mother to leave with them, while Dilara distracted the monster.

Mother turned to her daughters and Dilara back and forth as Dilara signaled Mother and her daughters to leave out of here. "Well, I suppose you're right, ladies." Her eyes darted at her daughters. "Let's go!"

Her daughters grinned at her and gasped out of excitement as they and Mother exited the building; Mother turned to Dilara one more time before she returned to her destination.

Dilara turned back to her family and the monster while dodging the monster's attack. She sighed out of relief and remained focus on it, as they finally escaped, especially Mother. This gave her an opportunity to fight off that monster before it went after her family again.

"And you can thank me, Dilara, for putting an invisible sphere in front of that woman and I now broke the spell," the same woman's voice echoed around Dilara.

Ah, so it was her all along, huh?...interestin'...

"Thanks for helpin' me," Dilara shouted while she threw a couple big rocks at it. "Wish you'd help me sooner. Why didn't you do so earlier then?"

"I had to help someone else in a distance, so I had to disappear to confront them," the woman's voice answered.

Huh, figures…

As soon as all the rocks were bounced off in the fire, Dilara searched everywhere for the rocks to throw at the monster, but couldn't find any. Even when she tried to search everywhere, yet she still managed to fail to find any.

Dilara shivered and darted her fearful eyes onto the monster, taking a couple steps backwards with the fire behind her. She frowned at it all the sudden, wondering what she would do now.

"Careful now, Dilara. You're about to step onto the fire and burn to death," the same woman's voice echoed.

Dilara stopped moving and turned around, seeing the fire stand before her. She widened her eyes when she saw it. That was the close one and she thanked the gods for that one. 

Dilara turned back to the monster as it chuckled and raised its claw up in the air, viciously grinning at her. It was flying halfway towards her.

"Now aim your palm at the monster and chant, 'Darozum,'" the same woman's voice suggested.

Dilara raised her shaky palm up at the monster. Her heart pounded faster and harder from fear.

"You're still panicky. Always remember to remain calm," the same woman's voice advised before her voice began to fade away from her. "Now if you excuse me, I'll assist someone else again."

Dilara frowned when she looked up at the ceiling and the monster back and forth. 

She can't be serious…how many people does she need to assist?!

Once Dilara remained focus on the monster, her hand was still a bit shaky. She chanted the spell very slowly and it had no effect on the monster. So she tried again two more times and it still has no effect on the monster. The monster got close to her and swung its claws downward at Dilara, as soon as she was trying to hold onto her arm.

Unfortunately for the monster, Dilara managed to dodge its attack and it instead swung against the air around the fire. She ran away from it a couple more times as she turned to the opened doorway, then back at the monster. She gave up fighting and decided to escape Castoria.

As Dilara tried to escape from the building, the monster noticed it and flew towards the doorway quick enough to block her exit. Dilara stopped running for a moment and looked up at the beast, leaving her frustrated at her situation.

When the monster raised its claw up in the air, it swung its claw against Dilara and Dilara jumped backwards a bit, making it miss its target.

Moving backwards, she aimed her palm at the monster again, this time with her hand grabbed onto her arm performing a magical spell. The monster was dashing its way towards her.

After she chanted a spell a couple times, the magic still had no effect against that monster as it got closer to her. Confused, she was doing so well with her new magic spell last time, yet she couldn't do it now all the sudden, despite being in danger. 

Then she looked up at the ceiling and wondered when that woman would help her with her fight against the enemy. When the monster swung its claw against her, the blue force field protected her from its attack and made it bounced backwards.

The monster stopped itself from flying backwards any further and shook its head sideways. It saw the blue field disappear in front of Dilara.

Surprised, Dilara moved her eyes around, wondering what the hell happened. "I saved your life, Dilara," the same woman's voice echoed above Dilara.

Dilara turned back to the ceiling. Oh, she finally got her distractions resolved, huh? About damn time too! "Thanks for savin' me."

"You're welcome, Dilara."

Once the monster roared at Dilara, Dilara's alarmed face returned to it and watched as it quickly charged its claws against her. She panted panically and failed to come up with anything to destroy the monster.

The same woman's voice echoed the same advice from earlier, causing Dilara to glare up at the ceiling. "I already tried that already and it no longer works, even when I held my hand still!" Dilara roared. "You got to save me!"

The same woman's voice tsk-tsked Dilara while the monster was getting close to Dilara. "You still aren't calm, aren't you? Close your eyes and take a deep breath while you aim your palm at the enemy."

"But-"

"Do you want to get out of here or not?"

"Well, yea, of course, I-"

"Then take my advice then, and you should be alright. I promise you that."

Dilara sighed. "Alright, I'll do it." She took that woman's voice's advice and remained calm. She vowed to herself that if her advice failed to help her, she would immediately stopped listening to her because she was tired of that woman completely wasting her precious time.

"Steady…steady…steady…" That woman's voice vibrated when the monster was getting too close towards Dilara. It was about to swing its claw at her.

"Now!" That woman's voice commanded as Dilara opened her eyes and chanted her magic spell. The white beam of light appeared out of Dilara's palm and the monster widened its eyes out of shock with its mouth open.

Screaming in agony, it disappeared in black dust as it failed to dodge Dilara's spell. After that, the white beam of light disappeared and Dilara gasped and grinned out of excitement. She finally defeated the monster and can finally exit the ball out of search for her family.

Dilara turned to the ceiling. "Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome, Dilara. I sense five people coming in here," that woman's voice echoed as her voice faded away again.

Dilara turned to the doorway and wondered who it could be. Dilara's family and a couple soldiers arrived by the doorway, with her family calling out her name. The soldiers searched for the monster but couldn't find it, while Dilara dashed towards her loved ones.

"Uh, are you three sure there was a monster, 'cause I sure as hell couldn't find one in here?" the guard questioned.

"Yea, me too," his colleague agreed.

Mother and her daughters also searched for the monster and couldn't find it either. "Why, yes, that is strange. It was here a few minutes ago and now it's gone," Mother answered when she turned to Dilara. "What happened to that monster, child?"

After Dilara explained to her family of what happened, her family laughed at her in disbelief.

"Oh, you servant girl, there was no way you used your spell against that monster. You know no other magic besides healing."

"Oh, really?" One of the puzzled guards asked when he turned to Dilara's family and Dilara back and forth.

"Oh, yes. It's quite true," Shakila agreed.

"That's right," Ingrid also agreed.

"But I did use magic against that monster. It was true," Dilara cried.

Then another guard swung his hand in the air and chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I guess you two are right." He and his colleague chuckled at her.

Once their laughter ended, one of the guards said, "Yea, sure. There has to be something else that made it disappear, but either way, we're all glad you're safe and now we must go to the entrance gates of Castoria."

"Right!" Dilara and her family agreed as they followed the guards' lead. Dilara glared at everybody in the body.

Dilara wished everyone would just believe her, a servant lady, about the incident but no. They just only listened to Mother and her stupid ass sisters, would they? What a joke after all she'd done for them, and they still treated her like absolute shit!