The day has become too peaceful after the verendus caused an amok to the inn; countless people have lost their lives. At that time, a lot of them mourned and were swallowed by pain and despair the day they created a blood bath in town. It was unpredictable and unstoppable, which put the citizens unease.
"How's Garion?"
Khalid had asked while taking a shed under the tree.
Ever since he had woken up from a deep sleep, Khalid had never dreamed of taking a nap. It's as if he had drank a gallon of coffee the day he met the real owner of the body, Khalid del Urchtdorf.
There was just a weird feeling that prevented him from falling asleep; he always watched the sun rise and set every time, and a feeling of aghast would clench inside his chest if he ever missed a chance.
"After his wound has been treated, he's been asleep."
Reinhardt stated while looking at the field, standing beside Khalid, who was looking from afar.
He never answered back, but after seeing his expression, Reinhardt was curious about what had occupied his mind the whole time. Khalid was always quiet and short in words if he ever spoke, but this time his silence put Reinhardt in a way where he could feel anxious at the same time.
'What would Garion do now? that the person he cherishes the most will be the one who puts an end to this world? '
He thought before Erwin came rushing in their direction to inform them about Garion's condition.
His face was covered in distress as Erwin made his report.
They might have met Garion in an unexpected way, but they've become good companions in the way that it never needs to take years or ages to trust each other because even a friendship that builds over the years can crumble with one mistake, and it could never bring back the perfect picture of a broken frame.
As they watch Garion shiver and soak the bed with his sweat, his body almost fills the room with hot steam coming out of him as he keeps uttering the same name in his sleep.
"…Liena…"
His voice has gotten quiet and weak; who could ever expect that he would become so imbecile in the way that he almost killed the people in town.
Just then, Garion's eyes suddenly snap wide open as he keeps on panting while catching his breath, his arms reaching the air as if he had let go of something.
He then let out a deep sigh while putting his hand on his forehead with such a disappointed look on his face, that he didn't even have time to notice the three of them standing beside him.
"I think it might be better to leave him alone."
Khalid suggested as the two followed from behind, but before they reached the doorstep, Khalid gazed back at him and nodded towards Erwin as they got out of the scene.
As Garion simply pulled back his hair, he couldn't seem to look at his hands; there was something on it he could not seem to miss; he even embraced it with his warmth while crystal clear water filled his eyes. It was almost like spring, the way he burst into tears as the memory he had lived on gave him a feeling of needles prickling his chest that made his heart sting.
Then all the memories of her flooded his mind. She looked just like a goddess of love, with a pair of pure, captivating pink eyes that were like lotus flowers that just bloomed in July. They were pure and innocent as if there were no malice behind them.
"Liena!"
His eyes were filled with a joy that was too ineffable for a simple word to describe.
Garion can't seem to let go of the woman's wrist in front of him; even the way tears rolled down her cheeks made him want to keep her in his arms.
"Oh God, Liena, I'm so glad to find you."
His voice whispered in her ears as he gave a kiss on her forehead while feeling each other's warmth on the cold, rainy night, as they were both soaking wet in the rain.
"Uhmmm…."
The room was covered in a deafening silence while both of them were sitting on the sofa.
In front of them was a child with the same figure as her, watching her fidget for a minute while keep stealing a glance at them.
"Is she mommy?"
Lily asked, which made them look at each other and smile.
While Lily was looking at the two of them smiling, her eyes brightened as Liena stretched out her hands and called the child with her angelic, mellifluous voice. Even the way she moves is so elegant that it could catch someone's eye.
"Come here, my daughter."
She even patted her head as Liena hugged her tightly, which made Lily light up with the brightest smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, Lily. Can you forgive Mommy this time?"
She stated this and dampened her lips on Lily's cheek, which made her filled with joy.
"I've always loved mommy!"
She screamed in happiness while stretching her arms up in the air.
That day, Garion was full of ease while picturing their happily complete family without knowing that there was an exchange for the happiness he had achieved.
Hours have turned into days, and days have turned into weeks. The same nightmare keeps visiting the inn, putting the people who live there in distress.
Every night when the night owl hoots, the people always wake up with the different corpses of different people who have been living in the inn, which makes Reinhardt anxious for Khalid's safety.
He even tries to ignore it, but his instinct that keeps preventing him from falling asleep has led him to the main suspect in the murder. Reinhardt even tries to rub his eyes many times, but it is useless; his instincts cannot lie, and his eyes won't lie either. He just finds himself hiding behind the wall while looking at the woman wearing a simple kimono with an elegant appearance walking straight into the man.
He didn't mean to bug and watch what they were about to do, but seeing Liena make out with the random man in the inn made his face gloomy. She didn't just make a fool out of his husband but also of his companion.
'I thought she was a virtuous woman; I had misjudged the cover of the book! '
Reinhardt couldn't seem to look at them anymore as he decided to leave the scene before he even felt more disgusted when he suddenly heard the man scream in pain, which prevented him from taking another step. After that, the man's blood splashed everywhere in the area where he could see Liena devouring his heart with her bare hands.
"Ah, this is not enough for my babies."
She complained as he could feel a shivering cold run down his spine that almost made him feel like a statue.
'This is dangerous! '
His mind went all over the place, and his body started to quiver. It was not the first time he had encountered a monster, but there was just something deadly about her that kept him from his position.
"I smell a rat."
Her voice has turned cold, which makes her a different person.
Reinhardt felt an intimidating aura that gave him intense pressure, which stopped him from breathing.
He decided to just close his eyes while tightly gripping the knife in his pocket as if he were ready for the thing that was about to happen.
He even trembles when he sees her shadow slowly walking in his direction, but before he can take a little more step closer, a loud noise comes outside the window when a bat hits it.
"Ugh! This useless thing!"
She shouted and squished the bat dry and flat with only one hand.
'If I wasn't lucky that day, then I could have died.'
He thought.
Reinhardt's face has turned paler than the ghost's without knowing that he has been called out by Garion many times.
"Are you alright? Your complexion didn't look good; it's as if you have seen a ghost."
Garion teased, but that didn't make him laugh; instead, his expression got serious and worse.
"You seem to be so happy this day."
The tone of his voice put Garion in an awkward spot.
"I have no idea that my family would be complete again; is that so obvious?"
He answered back, but instead of getting a smile from his companion, a serious gaze with a hint of worry and disappointment could be seen in those eyes.
"So, is there a catch?"
Garion's smile fades, and he is left lost for words before he leaves Reinhardt inside the room.
The day had passed, and what Reinhardt had said to him seemed to have such a great impact on his mind that he doesn't even know if he was just dreaming or if Garion has already lost his mind, while seeing his wife taking the lives of some people in the inn with his own eyes, standing in front of him with a remiss expression on her face as if she doesn't care about what was about to happen or she doesn't give any shit about Garion finding out her secret. She was just standing there while the fire behind her grew swiftly in the blink of an eye.
Garion stood there while his mind went blank as a sheet of plain paper, as he started shedding tears in his venetus-colored eyes that were deep as an ocean.
"You should have killed me earlier, so I wouldn't live to see this!"
He grips his hands tightly, and his nerves and veins start to pop out as if they were about to explode, but then Liena gives him a smug smile on her face.
She laughed before she answered.
"I never let the cat get out of the bag, Garion."
She walks closer to him while caressing his face with such fake warmth.
"You always knew that this would happen sooner or later, but you just kept your eyes blind to the situation. So isn't this your fault?"
She added as she continued to play at him, caressing him with such care as if it were real, saying fluttering things, she did not mean that Garion believed it was leal, while the pure innocent gaze on her bright, cerise-colored eyes that he had admired made him feel like there was a rope strangling him on his neck.
"I never wanted to do this; I love you, Garion, and so does our family, but I think it's time to stop."
After stating her words, Garion's face has gloom, as if he can't seem to look at her manipulating eyes, with the thought that he might get sirenized if he looks at her once.
"Please...
"Please tell me at least a part of it was real!"
Just then, Liena put her hand on his chest as she formed a petrifying grin on her lips while staring into his eyes so deeply that Garion felt suffocated.
When the blow of the wind got stronger, the smell of the blood that was all over the room filled the place, making him feel disgusted that even the fire got bigger and bigger.
"Heh, do you want to know which part of it was real?"
She asked as she elegantly swung his dress towards him, making a great distance between them.
"She's dead! Pfttt-Puwah hahaha!"
She laughs, and that's when Garion explodes like an erupting volcano and punches the table between them.
The breath of the air has also gotten colder when the window behind him suddenly gets opened by the wind.
"Now, why are you looking at me like that? Don't you love your wife anymore?"
When she was about to reach her hands towards Garion, he immediately slapped her so hard that her expression turned bleak, causing the atmosphere to become heavy.
"Stop acting like her! Even how many times you act like my wife, you would never be Liena! You're just a parasite living in my wife's body!"
Just then she snapped and pointed an arrow at him; it was a poison flame that she didn't even lift her hand to throw such a deadly arch at her target. Liena simply pointed it at Garion without lifting a hand or reciting a chant; her power only proves that she was a verendus with just compelling ability.
"KILL ME…"
Garion looked at her straight in the eyes before he noticed that her eyes had gotten a little swollen and reddish at the same time, frowning in front of him while clenching his teeth out.
Liena just sneered and turned her back at Garion, as she purposely missed hitting him with an arch that accidentally hit his left eye before she left him inside the burning inn.
Even though Garion tried to catch up to her, she was so fast, and the blood kept flowing out of his eye, making his vision blur as it was covered with blood. He never decided to give up, but it was all too late, and Liena just left him kneeling on the ground.
[End of flashback]
"Papa, please get well soon."
Garion came back to his senses when he felt a sudden feeling of warmth coming from his daughter.
It was so warm that reality started to hit him, making him realize his mistake.
'What would you choose, Garion? Would you protect your daughter or put an end to this world.?'
Khalid thought while gazing at the sun.
'…I need to protect our daughter; that person is not your wife anymore, Garion, but rather a monster that needs to be killed! '
Even though it's hard for him to accept the truth, he decides to create an oath to protect the people he loves while remembering the sweet smile on her lips that made him feel remorse in his heart while he was gently embracing his daughter in his arms.
"Don't worry, Liena, I will protect our daughter no matter what!'
Meanwhile, Garion has now taken an oath to himself, while Liena, who has a gorgeous appearance, has been giving birth to the hideous monster by her mouth in the dark. It would come out as a tiny ball at first but then grow bigger than a tree after cracking inside its transparent, rounded shell that was like marbles.
"Your majesty, it's almost time for a war."
Stated by a man that made him smirk while sitting on his throne in the dark.