His pain writhed inside his burning heart.
Each bristle of grass around him was painted black from the beast's goo. His sister was right there, in front of him, standing in place.
"Get your hands off of him!" Aletha exclaimed as she hoisted her arm upward, preparing to attack the beast.
Yet the creature hadn't reacted, nor had it moved. It stood in a stagnant position, shifting its hazy glare at Aletha. Only the wind could be heard for a moment because of how silent it was.
To take full advantage, Aletha crouched down and tried to sneak her way to her brother without being caught by the monster's gaze.
One. Two. Three seconds pass. The creature's growls and croaks echoed over the whistling forest. Aletha was just centimeters away from her brother's grasp.
Four. Five. Six seconds more, and Aletha's feet barely skimmed the metal arm on Asahi's hand.
(Just a few steps away.) Aletha thought quietly.
Although it had been roughly a minute since encountering the beast, Aletha had yet to catch a good sight of the creature because of how dark it was. She turned her head toward the monster and held her rampant breaths, fearing not to alert it.
But the sight that would be presented before her eyes was almost just enough to make Aletha scream.
The beast looked like a lizard with an abnormally large body and a tail, covered in a strange otherworldly black substance. Its entire body was covered in spikes that resembled claws, and its eyes were as big as two silver coins.
Its face was similar to a human, but instead of lips or a nose, it only had a single slit-like opening that ran across the top of its face.
Its most noticeable feature however, was its massive wings. Longer than a human's torso, surface smooth and glistening, it could tear anything in its path with just one flap.
Every small stride Aletha took caused her heart to rush.
She knew that her entire body was exposed to the monster's sight.
Quietly, Aletha pulled her hair back and grabbed her brother's wrist, dragging him slowly away from the pile of dirt. Asahi held back his cries, and just before the monster could see them, he fell on the ground, feeling the gentle grass bristles support his back.
As she slowly lifted herself up, glaring at her wounded brother, she leaned over to Asahi's ear and whispered.
"You will be alright."
Without warning, the creature slashed at Aletha with its razor-sharp claws, digging into her skin like sticks poking through the sand.
Aletha's breath caught in her throat as her legs shook under her. She let out a short yelp
"AHHHHH!!!"
The sound of flesh tearing was audible as Aletha fell backward onto the hard ground, holding her injured shoulder.
Her vision went black for a brief second after she hit the ground, but when she opened her eyes again, she saw the creature flying away from them in the distance, heading straight for the sky.
Aletha was too afraid to get up, her heart thumping rapidly.
Instead, she clutched her shoulder tightly as she looked up at the sky.
Asahi was still lying on the ground, completely unconscious, breathing heavily, his face pale white. Blood poured down the side of his face, making his wound look even worse.
"Asahi!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't die on me..."
She began to shake violently, unable to control herself anymore.
The swirling thoughts in her mind became a blur as she stared blankly at the ground below her.
"Why? What did we do to deserve this? Does the world... hate us now?" Aletha sobbed. "I… just want a peaceful life."
Her voice grew distant, echoing over the trees.
But then, just before she thought she was safe, the winged creature flew down and tried to strike Aletha, swooping down and digging its sharp wings through the dirt.
Luckily enough, Aletha hurriedly rolled out of the way and dodged each strike, furious about the creature's decision.
Yet as she stood still with a confident pose, Aletha completely took the beast off guard and immediately fled away from it, through the bushes toward a secluded area away from the monster.
However, her plan didn't last for very long.
While Aletha was running away, the monster had finally found its target.
The beast lunged forward, snarling, aiming its claw-like hands at Aletha.
(It's coming right for me. I'm going to die…) Aletha thought desperately. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't move.
All she could do was stare at the beast that loomed over her, ready to attack.
"No, anyone but my brother."
Then suddenly, after she blinked, she found herself to be transported to an entirely different area, several meters away from her original position.
. . .
"H… Huh?"
Her heart palpitated, silence entered around her. Even with the sudden calmness, her breath grew cold in realization that her brother was in danger.
Aletha could hardly imagine what grim stuff could be done to her brother, making her stressed beyond comparison.
In panic, she hurriedly ran over through the bushes, in search of Asahi, but to no avail, she couldn't find him.
Struck with horror and stress, Aletha cried out to the seemingly endless forest.
"Where am I?"
Yet only the wind answered her.
When she looked at her pale hands, she was reminded of the times she used her blade.
A thick, glittering, long blade coated in the color of black and white, with pale dots shimmering across its sleek and sharp surface. A pattern that matched her attire.
She remembered delivering blows with this powerful weapon.
To slay even the largest of enemies with just one strike. The blade was perfect.
('It would be a relief if I could use it now.) Aletha thought as her eyes darted over to her palms.
But unfortunately, that thought had only lived inside her imagination. For she couldn't find her sword no matter what she did.
This was the worst position to be placed into, being devolved into nothing but a measly human now.
Frightened on what would happen next, Aletha froze still and prayed.
"Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me..."
As she heard leaves rustled around her, a man stood a few steps away from where she had been, calling out as his eyes widened in shock.
"Hey! What's going on here?"
To Aletha, the man appeared to be a brown blur because of his swift movements. And so, her superstition bested her, thinking the man was with the monster.
She charged at him with all her strength, arms wide open, yelling, "I'll kill you!"
But just as her hands were about to skim the man's attire.
"Whoa whoa whoa, I'm not the enemy here!" The man called out to her as he held up his hands in defense. The intensity of the situation immediately died down as the mellow rays of the sun shone on them.
Although the man was a stranger, Aletha had no choice but to stop attacking and listen.
It wouldn't be long for him to add on, "If you don't want my help, then so be it. This will be the only time I'm doing an act of kindness. So please, don't disregard it."
A silence formed in between them.
Aletha had indeed been trying to attack the man, but it was only after hearing what he said that she stopped herself.
And when she saw his face...
"...A human?"
At first glance, this man looked like a regular person—not just any person but someone who could pass for a commoner or even a peasant.
His long brown hair covered his entire head and fell down his back, his eyes were a deep green color, and a small mustache and beard framed his lips. The skin on his face was smooth and cleanly shaven.
He wore black pants and a plain black suit that hung loosely off his shoulders. There was a belt wrapped around his waist where his sword and knife rested. It was a simple outfit, nothing fancy, flashy, or ostentatious.
There was something odd about his appearance, though.
For some reason, he seemed familiar.
Perhaps it was his looks, or maybe it was how he carried himself?
Or perhaps both?
Regardless, Aletha ignored him and started swinging at him in full force, despite the warning.
"Why are you here?"
Her weak and thin arms flew around the man like the wings of a hummingbird.
Yet after each strike, the man quickly deflected each hit with his bare hand.
In fact, it didn't take much effort for him to block her attacks. As Aletha's panicked swings began to die down, Brich stood in a straight posture and smiled confidently, taunting her.
"Heh. Is that all you got?"
Not a dent was seen in him, even after all she did. Not in his shoes, pants, shirt, or hands, nothing relating to injury was seen upon the man. Aletha's heart paced in shock, disbelieved that the man remained unharmed.
After the man brushed the dirt off his attire, he shook his head and sighed, asking her.
"Do you want me to help you or not?"
When Aletha realized that the man wasn't going to hit her, she immediately lowered her guard down and stared at the man with her mouth agape. Tense about the situation, she quickened her pace and screamed.
"Who are you?! And, why did you attack me? "
Brich wasn't at all phased by her blunt reaction. He just pushed that silly act aside and shrugged his shoulders, answering Aletha casually.
"My name is Brich. I attacked you out of self defense. Look, I'm trying to help you, here!"
Immediately after, Aletha reacted with a rude and offended tone.
"Well then, Brich, how about you don't scare me like that again!" Her body was still tense, afraid to look at Brich again knowing that she was weak. The best thing she could do was stay quiet.
As she heard the monster's menacing growls resound over the forest, her eyes trembled, she took deep breaths, and she clenched her fists, mumbling with a desperate tone.
"Please… just help me."
The only thought that came up in her mind at this very moment was that there was no other choice than to trust this man right now.
After all, she thought, if she tried attacking him again, he would surely win against her.
Silence after silence, as the seconds of Asahi's demise ticked away, Brich offered his hand to Aletha and pulled her back on her feet.
"Finally. Follow me!"
He then turned his head over to the patch of greenery where the monster was and mumbled as he saw Asahi's body resting against the dirt.
"That beast..."
Aletha felt sick looking at the corpse. She wanted to vomit at the sight of Asahi's torn apart remains. But before she could make another move, Brich grabbed her arm and led her behind a thicket of bushes.
They hid themselves inside the dark and dense foliage.
"I'll protect you," said Brich.
As Aletha held tightly onto Brich's sleeve, they watched from afar as the creature approached the dead body.
"Don't worry, I have this under control," whispered Brich, patting Aletha's shoulder. "Your brother... will be fine."
Aletha's heart stopped in horror and shock.
"What do you mean? H... How..."
She couldn't finish her words, she was beyond terrified seeing her brother, the most powerful being she knew, scattered in chunks of dust and flesh; it made her sick to her stomach.
"This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be real..."
Aletha repeated the same phrase over and over until her voice ran out of breath.
And so Brich decided to comfort Aletha, who was losing hope.
"It's alright. Everything will be okay. I promise."
A gentle smile graced Aletha's lips.
"Okay." She nodded, gradually starting to feel the sense of security. Thank you."
Aletha placed her hand on her chest and breathed deeply.
"I don't even know who you are, and yet... It feels as if you are my friend already." She said as she looked into the dirt. "How will you help? Your magic? Your sword?"
"Oh it's not me who will save you." Brich said with a prideful smile. "But someone else."
Before anymore could be said, his entire existence vanished into light particles.
* * * * * * * *
It seemed like hours had passed since Brich disappeared into thin air.
In all actuality, it had been only five minutes.
He had been gone for such an extended amount of time that Aletha became restless and worried. It didn't seem like Brich was coming back anytime soon. She wondered what happened to him while she waited anxiously for his return.
Without warning, Aletha found herself in the same place the creature was; defenseless and afraid. After she felt a slimy grip on her ankle, Aletha was thrown into the air and slammed into the ground, getting gnawed and torn by the monster.
"Weak."
That word streamed into both their minds. Aletha gritted her teeth, and despite being in pain, she whipped a branch at the creature and screamed.
"STOP!" She said as she shuddered. "Where in the world is Brich?"
Before she could even wield it, the twig shattered into pieces; all the attack did was angered the beast even more.
. . .
Heavy pressure forced both of them to the dirt.
The creature drooled and scraped its legs over its backs. That same word burst in them as they felt their life spill out.
"WEAK. WEAK. WEAK..."
Birds chirped, the winds whistled, and insects hummed.
Even in this circumstance, the world wasn't focused on Asahi and Aletha, as if their lives were worthless.
Disbelief flew in both of them.
Was this what it came to?
To be defeated by a battle with the unknown, to awake to what COULD be their world, lose their powers that made them gods in the first place, torn and shredded by a monster…?!
"UNLEASH PURNIMO ULTIMATUM!"
Suddenly, a massive lavender beam of light struck the monster straight in the face, launching and shriveling its first layer of goopy skin into oblivion.
The beast let out a painful shriek.
It unleashed its two tongues but shrieked even louder as the purple light continued to burn it, bringing it to fall down onto its stomach.
A second later, another purple ray shot through its torso, finishing and reducing the creature into nothing but ash.
Moments later, the creature fell flat on the ground, leaving with it a huge dust cloud in its tracks.
As the dust lifted, it unveiled a silver-haired boy with two cat ears perched on his head.
Asahi and Aletha were paralyzed in shock, not just from pain, but the inability to clearly identify the mysterious person that unleashed that powerful beam.
In seconds, they saw the enemy that almost killed them effortlessly disintegrate from a beam of light.
"Brich, ESCORT the strangers to the hills, now!"
A familiar brown-haired man rushed to both of them and carried their dust-covered bodies on his back. The mysterious boy and the man ran through the forest toward an open grassland.
But as Asahi and Aletha's vision slowly faded into darkness, the wounds and cuts on their bodies swiftly healed from a faint green luminance, and the mysterious two placed them soundly against their shoulders.
The same tranquil voice yelled as he heard loud growls from each corner.
"Get the carriage. It should be a kilometer away…."
"On it, Sadiki!"
The silver-haired boy turned to Asahi and Aletha, rubbed their heads, and whispered to them with a calm voice and an uneasy smile.
"Y-You two… will be alright…."
As Aletha got escorted away from the forest, she caught sight of a mysterious young woman veiled in a dark mist standing behind the deceased creature. The eerie and threatening look on her magenta eyes made Aletha's heart stop, forcing her vision and senses into darkness at a speed so quick, time slowed down. Then, the moment Aletha blinked, the sight of the mysterious figure eerily vanished; as if she was never there at all.