SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
I was shocked. Crap! He just kissed me! That was my first! I was kissed by a devil! I took the book on the table that he forgot and hurriedly went home. I tried to calm myself.
To move on from what happened, I sat down on my bed and got my phone. A long time had passed since the last talk I had with Aunt Cecilia. Speaking of her, did she know about my parents' true identities? I forgot to ask about it to Mom. I dialed her number but it could not be reached. I called her many times but still, she was unavailable. Did she shut her phone off?
"Scarlette." I was surprised when all of sudden, Aunt Wart appeared in front of me, wearing her serious face. "Let us go." I felt nervous. "To where, Aunt?" I asked. "Hetarnia." She held my wrist and I felt I was brought to another dimension. Everything I could see was white light. A little longer, we were inside the center hall of the kingdom.
Asher and the other goddesses were there, together with someone who was wearing pure white. That man was hugging Mom. Mom tapped his back when she saw me. The man faced in my direction and I got froze on my track when I recognized who he was. He still looked the same since the last time I saw him. He did not age at all. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I ran towards him and hugged him. "I missed you, Dad," I cried. Mom was teary-eyed, too. "I missed you, too, Scarlette."
After the tight hug, I wiped my tears with my hands. "H-how? How are you able to escape—" Someone cut me off. "Nel helped us." Automatically, I shifted my gaze to Asher and gave him a meaningful look.
"Yes, and that young man was acting like a hero," Tita Heta madly said. "But I am safe, Mom. No need to worry," Asher reasoned out. "Mom, let us talk about this some other time." Tita Heta kept on murmuring but she stopped after a while.
"We need to get ready," Dad said. My eyebrows furrowed with the mixed anxiety and confusion I felt since Aunt Wart's arrival. "For what?" He patted my head like how he usually did when I was a kid. "Because of what happened earlier, it gave them a signal to start the war."
"Damn it." I looked at Mom. Did she just curse? "Heta, bring half of the knights on Earth. The rest will remain here to fight with us," Mom commanded. "Wart, all the souls, bring them to the Etah dimension for them to be safe. Go!" Aunt Wart and Tita Heta left immediately. I meant, they disappeared. She was scary this time. Even as her daughter, I wanted to run away! My mother was covered with heavenly authority.
"I think, they have already figured out how to break the spell of this holy place. Damn it!" she cursed again. "Max, lead the knights. Asher, make sure all living animals and plants would not be destroyed. And Scarlette," she stared at me, "accept the Hetar sword. Now is the time. You cannot say no." Her face softened. "You will fight with me." My heart sank upon hearing that. 'This is a real war.'
We got interrupted by a loud crash. Something heavy was thrown away from the large window above.
My body froze when I saw a bloody dead body in front of us. It got stabbed from the back and in his chest. I gasped when I recognized him. It was Nel . . . lifeless. I just talked to him earlier. I looked away.
"Damn it! I would have helped him if he did not stop me," I heard Asher hissed. I could sense his guilt about what happened. "It is not your fault," Dad spoke. "He chose not to let us. He chose to let us escape. He wanted to end it."
In a split of seconds, my head was aching. It felt like my brain was going to explode. "Ugh!" I felt Mom, Dad, and Asher holding my both arms to give support. My sight was turning around. When I closed my eyes, I saw visions. I saw Durlen and Rhode, together with a huge army of demons. Durlen was chanting something that I could not understand. His right hand was raised and a portal was slowly opening. "They are coming," I warned. It was almost a whisper. The pain was gone in a snap but along with my consciousness.
GODDESS ER'S POINT OF VIEW
Luckily, all was in place before they finally arrived. Wart and Max were with me. Heta was on Earth together with the knights to ensure the safety of all living things. Many knights were scattered around the kingdom too.
Scarlette fainted after she saw some visions. We tried to wake her up but she succumbed to deep sleep. It seemed like all her energy was drained. She was in her room right now with Asher.
"I hope this sword would not fail me," Max told as he readied himself. He tried to hold the Hetar sword earlier but it flew away by itself. It did not like Max to be his holder anymore. It had acknowledged Scarlette as its new holder.
We got alert when we felt large forces coming. They appeared in front of us.
Durlen was smirking like hell itself. "It has been a long time, Er." I gave him a sharp look. "Yes. It has been a long time since you betrayed us," I said in a low voice. I was very itchy about killing him. I could not help but clench my fists.
"And it has been a long time until I finally know how to break the spell of this place. Thanks to my beautiful daughter who studied this spell." He referred to the girl beside him. It must be Rhode. He evilly laughed. "I did not expect that it was simply scrambled letters! H E T A R A T E H E A R T R A E A R T H – a stupidly clever code for a spell!"
"Are you just here to talk and talk?" I asked, annoyed by his froggy laughter. He stopped laughing. His expression turned dark. "I officially declare the war!" Both sides started to attack. I smirked. "You will regret this, Durlen."