Volume I. Chapter VII. - Its Awakening

The rock misses us and hits a house further behind us. I’ve completely overlooked the fact that there’s still a fight going on as well as my legs being nearly out of juice. Just getting here was enough of a stretch.

“We need to get him out right now. It’s too dangerous to wait for someone else to help.”

Charlotte stands up and carries the boy on her back.

“I will get him out of here and look for help. You go get Hidiku.”

She says before carrying Enmei away. Isn’t he heavy? I only turn around for a moment when I hear the soldier’s voice.

“Watch out!”

Who is that directed at? I point my gaze toward the boy; he’s looking Charlotte’s way as the armless demon flees and heads in her direction. It’s not letting her get away easily. Charlotte is frozen in her tracks as she watches the beast rush towards her while rapidly regenerating its arm.

“You’re wide open!”

Just before my elder sister's eyes, the young soldier descends on the beast's back from above, forcing it to fall to the ground. He then slashes the beast's head off. The cut was precise and the sound of the blade sliding through the thick flesh was satisfying to hear. Dust briefly blanketed Charlotte and Enmei as a result of the hit, but the demon's severed head continued to move through it and gently tapped Charlotte's foot. She panics and drops flat on her butt.

“So its brain was in the head after all…..Good job girl, you made it much easier for me to slay it.”

Says the boy as he stands on the body of the freshly deceased that’s now slowly disintegrating into ashes. A kind of weird thing to say. Where else was it supposed to be?

“Does that mean we are safe now? Oh right, I still need to get Hidiku. Wait, Charlotte, how is Lena?”

I stress over our friends out of sight. The threat may have been dealt with, but the fact my friends are still in a bad condition remains. Not to mention the sun has been down for some time now. I didn’t realize it until now due to adrenaline making my blood boil, but it’s cold out here. They could get sick on top of everything else.

“I don’t know. She was breathing, but I can’t tell how bad her condition is.”

My older sister gives me a straight answer. We are just that helpless. I hear slow-moving footsteps behind me. It sounds almost as if someone is limping toward us, and I'm right. It's Hidiku, now about to fall over. I catch him as gently as I can; he's gasping for air.

"What are you doing?! You shouldn't be moving!"

I reprimand him with concern. He asks a query in response. A situation I’ve never dreamed of finding myself in is now present.

"How’s… my sister?"

Should I be truthful in my response? He's already in poor condition, so it could wait until later, right? No, even if I wait, how am I going to tell him his sister has died? As I pause to brainstorm for an appropriate answer, Hidiku pushes on.

"Yuuna... Where is she?"

Anxiety begins to rise within me yet again. I'm not too fond of this feeling. I don't want to be the one to tell him. Before I know it, I give him the first words of comfort I can come up with.

"Don't worry about her. We need to get you patched up."

"Yuuna, answer me! Where is my sister?!"

Hidiku aggressively grabs my collar as he raises his voice. I'm startled, unable to give him a straight answer. Instead, I look at the ground in silence and fear combined.

“I’m sorry.”

That’s the only thing left within my chaos-struck mind, repeating itself over and over again.

“Hidiku. This way.”

With those few words Charlotte stole his attention and I’m released from his grip. I can see the discomfort and grief leaking through the serious face my sister is trying to put up. She took over the role I’m unable to fulfill. Both of them head back as I observe with the soldier.

I’m sorry, Charlotte. Why did things have to end up like this? I sink to my knees and stare up at the pitch-black sky, overcome with regret. If it weren’t for that single Demon, we would have been peacefully sleeping in our beds right now. Wait, what about mom and dad? Are they alright?

Soon enough my thoughts are interrupted by a cry in the distance. He found her. I can't bring myself to look his way. I couldn't even bring myself to lead him to his sister or comfort him. What a friend I am. And so I quietly pronounce a single sentence, only to be heard by myself.

"I feel pathetic."

After which, two watery droplets, one from each eye, come running down my face. My vision begins to dim and soon enough I black out.

———

Black. Pitch black. That’s all my eyes discern. I gaze into the darkness, but no matter how hard I look, no light is present. Where am I? What happened? I can’t see my legs. The only thing assuring me that I’m standing is the sensation I’m feeling at the bottom of my feet.

“Charlotte? Hidiku?”

I call out to the two I recall being with the most recent but get no response.

“Is anyone there?”

Still nothing. There’s no echo, and I’m not being kept in some kind of empty room. That’s the most I can make out of my situation because I'm still perplexed. My mental condition is steadily being overtaken by fear. I take each step cautiously and gently, moving forward. I keep walking, but the trail appears to go on forever. My footfall is the only sound I hear for some time as I stutter through the pitch-blackness. Suddenly, I detect another noise.

What was that? The closest way I can think of to describe it is the sound of chains dragging across the floor. It's become clear that I’m not alone. The din is all around me. I scan every angle of the space but can't find anyone. What's more, I no longer remember where I was heading. Wandering around in the darkness wasn't the best idea.

“Who’s there?”

I let my voice resonate through the open space, with no response. Instead, I hear a peculiar hissing sound. A cat? Or maybe a demon? I get the feeling that it's hostile. I take a few careful steps back before suddenly going blind, although briefly. I soon get my sight back, and to my astonishment, I see light shining down on me.

I’m so confused. What the hell is going on? Where is that light coming from? There’s no source visible whatsoever. Once more, I hear the rattling of chains echoing around me, which makes me feel more uneasy. Let me out. I don’t want to be here. I’m scared. As soon as these thoughts run through my mind, I spot a pair of crimson dots resembling eyeballs glowing through the layers of darkness. A chill runs down my spine.

My first instinct is to run, but a single step back is all I make when I see the illuminated edge of the glowing circle surrounding me. I feel secure here. I’m not keeping an eye on whatever is hiding in the shadows, and upon realizing it could be lurking up on me this very moment, I frantically begin searching for the entity.

I scan the area from left to right until I spot the creature again. It doesn't make me feel any more at ease. It begins to move. The two red pupils first descend to a point just above the ground, then they furiously zigzag around the area. As panic sets in, I take a few steps back out of instinct. My anxiety is peaking. I then lose control, trip over my foot, and land on my butt.

Just before entering the circle of light, the silhouette vanishes, leaving no trance. Alright, Yuuna, calm down and take a deep breath; my heart is racing. I’ve almost left the lit-up area, I was sitting on the edge of it. Am I safe? Where did it go? Unable to comprehend the situation, I continue to stare ahead.

“Time’s up.”

A sinister voice whispers into my ear. It startles me and forces out a reaction; I quickly direct my view toward whoever just spoke to me. Once more, the two red eyes meet mine, this time point-blank, staring. I startle awake when I open my eyes and find myself gasping in terror. It was just a dream, a nightmare. I cross my arms over my chest and clench my hands; the chills are not at all comfortable.

But of course, it’s chilly, It’s still spring, and I’m outside, cold, probably around where I was just earlier… wait, what happened? Have I passed out? And what am I laying on? I wonder because, unlike rocks or soil, the surface seemed strange but soft. I look to my right and find Lena right next to me.

She's sleeping, facing away from me, leaning against a wall. It seems I’ve been taking a nap on her legs. A sudden light beam comes into view, forcing me to cover my eyes. The sun is rising, blinding me while revealing Lena’s right side from the darkness. I stand up and walk over to my older sister in an effort to rouse her up. I don’t want her to catch a cold out here, so I grab her right shoulder and gently shake her.

“Lena, wake up. You will get sick sleeping out in the cold.”

I release my hold on her, and she stumbles to the corner of the wall. I approach Lena to pick her up, but I have a strange feeling about her. The upper portion of my sister’s torso is shaded by a structure blocking the sun's path. Lena’s body is entirely exposed as soon as the light passes over the building.

The left half of her face is detached from the flesh, ultimately revealing it while hanging on to the right half only. My legs lose all of their power, and I find myself on my knees. My blood pressure increases and my breathing becomes uncontrollable. My head is starting to spin.

“Lena?”

My eyes begin to tear up as I firmly grasp my hair. I think I'm going crazy.

“This isn’t real. It can’t be!”

I finally give in to the rage that has been building up inside of me the entire time, and in tears, I begin to yell from the bottom of my lungs while facing the ground.

“Why?... Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why Lena? Wasn’t Himari enough? How many more are you going to take from us? How much more are you going to make us suffer? What have we done to deserve this? To hell with God! To hell with Heaven! I bet you are enjoying this, aren’t you? To hell with your gifts! They are useless! They… I’m… I’m so powerless.”

Overcome with dread and driven by hatred, I curse God together with the holy powers has given us. I’m breaking down.

“Lena, Himari, they didn’t deserve this. So why, God? Why have you forsaken them? Why have you forsaken us?”

I have so much more that I want to say and so much rage that I want to express, but at the same time, I’m exhausted. All the squealing is making me tired. And so, with just tears by my side, I come to an end of my diatribe. Or so I think.

“Yuuna.”

I’m still trembling, struggling to breathe when I hear a crooked voice calling out to me. What was that? It doesn’t sound in the least bit human. And the tone, it’s as if it’s trying to sound friendly but can’t disguise its sinister tone. I take a look at Lena; I’m sure it came from behind the corner of the wall she is leaning on. I go cautiously in the direction of the towering wall since it doesn't appear as though the creature intends to show itself. Is it the demon? But it was defeated. Is there more than just one of them? If there is, it might as well take my life too.

That's not the case, though. More than I could have imagined, what I discover around that corner completely petrifies me. A tall and slim figure, the body, resembles a demon’s. Its abdomen is open, allowing the intestines to protrude. But its head is what grabs my attention.

Its face closely resembles Himari. It's in the same condition as when I last saw her lifeless, decomposing body. Why? why can’t you just let her rest?

“Yuuna, it’s me. I’m back.”

It says, even giggles, and gives me a smile at the end. The thing is trying to impersonate her. I still didn’t get a break to catch my breath, my lungs are being pushed to work even harder than before, yet they are already at their breaking point.

“Yuuna. Yuuna, what’s wrong? Yuuna.”

Shut up! Please! Make it stop! I’m left standing there, unable to inhale properly anymore, just gasping aggressively as the creature repeatedly calls out my name. And when I’m about to pass out, I open a new pair of eyes again, then jolt up. Just this time, I find myself covered in tears, screaming uncontrollably.

“Yuuna, calm down! It’s me!”

I don't have time to take in my surroundings before I'm instantly offered a firm hug. I temporarily stop sobbing as I try to comprehend my predicament.

“It was just a nightmare. Everything is alright now.”

This scent. That’s Lena’s voice and she’s alright. Somehow I can tell this isn’t a dream. This is real. I'm so overcome with relief that I start crying again, but this time my tears are more subdued and less dreadful. They are tears of joy. Then someone else comes up behind me and pats me on the head.

“There, there, no need to worry. You are safe here.”

It’s Charlotte. I can finally rest with ease knowing that my two sisters are next to me, hugging me tightly.