Somehow, the darkness around the two of them seems to be changing.
As thought they were traveling between reality and illusion.
'Am I hallucinating now?...sigh...'
There were times when it was so dark that he could see nothing, and there were also times when it was just as dark as a shade under the tree during midday.
However, only when it was shaded dark could he see that strange swirling entity with red circle eyes around them appeared transparently.
'In the end, I can't escape from thinking what my eyes were indeed seeing were all real.'
This made Juan, who, despite his soul age, could still feel what fear was like.
Living beings, no matter who, what, or how old they are, can't escape their real nature.
Life fears nothing but the unknown.
Juan's body couldn't help but stiffen from fright. His heart seems to have fallen into several degrees of negative fahrenheit.
He could feel himself unable to work out any strength to even move or let out any sounds. Even breathing felt laborious.
It was his instinct telling him that doing nothing was the best way to survive.
'Ceth, please don't move or say anything. Only in this way could we not attract more troubles to come.'
If he could do telepathy, this wouldn't be a problem at all. Unfortunately, imagination is free, while reality keeps shattering those fantasies.
Juan could only hope for the best outcome right now.
'Garu hasn't noticed, huh. Now that I have thought about it, This is my third time encountering this monster. It's scary but also... somewhat exhilarating.'
It's been a while since anything happened, apart from the change in his surroundings. So Juan was perplexed by his current situation.
'Although I'm fearful right now, It wasn't as bad as my previous encounters. Could it really be true that once bitten, twice shy? '
'Did I raise my resistance after all this encounter? Am I courageous now? Or is this just my arrogance, knowing nothing bad will happen to me?'
For Juan, getting used to the presence of monsters means a higher chance of being alive when meeting one.
After all, when a person is in fear, he won't be able to think clearly, nor can he move his body.
By then, death awaits, or maybe he will be lucky and live another day.
But clearly, such things can only happen once or twice, just like back then when he was drifting in the river.
'My encounters with all these monsters, aside from stiffening or running away in panic, Nothing seems extraordinary that actually harms me.'
'Could I be blessed by luck? Am I really extraordinary? Just that, I can't clearly see that. However, assuming things will just get me disappointed in the end.'
In the end, Juan stopped thinking about this all as he closed his eyes after a while.
Creak—
A while later, a sound of a door opening came into his ears. This made Juan, who was conscious and half-asleep state, suddenly sober up.
Opening his eyes, he saw Garu, with a torch in hand, opened the door and step inside.
When the light of the burning fire came, brightening the room, the shadows receded like the ocean tide.
The indescribable entity that swirls around his vision with its two round red eyes also follows.
There was neither a majestic roar nor any strange ear-piercing noise when the entity retreated. However, it's eyes seem to convey a meaning.
"Done playing? Hmph!"
Garu also saw that, so he waved his torch around and pushed the red-eyed shadow away with every step.
Seeing this, Juan said nothing but sat up. There are unused torches beside the bed, which he put there before in case he needed them.
Though they become useless since he can't light it up when the torches on standby have no flame burning up,.
While leaving the bed and Ceth in his arms, Juan picked up a torch below before pointing it at his father-in-law.
There was no need for communication; just the gesture and object alone are enough to convey what Juan means.
After lighting up the torch with the one in his hand, Garu looked at Juan and then at Ceth in his arms before he breathed out in relief.
"What happened?"
Garu asked, seeing nothing too abnormal around.
He moved around the room, replacing the already-used torches with new ones before lighting them all up.
"I....slept."
There was no need to hide what his lazy self did since doing so would just complicate things. Juan even doubts if Garu will even believe him if he lied.
Not to mention, he had a spy by his side. If Ceth has to take sides, Juan will surely lose.
"Hm..." Garu stopped what he was doing and stared at Juan in the eye for a while.
However, he saw Juan never dodge his eyes, which made him wonder if he was the one at fault instead.
Although inwardly, Juan felt a little trembling in his heart.
"Juan...no."
It seems Garu wanted to say something but ended up shaking his head instead. He observed his daughter.
She is safe but seems to have no intention of letting go of Juan's embrace. Judging from the occasional trembling when the thunder outside sounded,.
Garu immediately realized that she was just reacting because of her fear of thunder. The situation right now seems to have no effect on her.
"Juan, Ceth, you should take turns sleeping if you're drowsy. Learn your lesson this time and avoid getting the torches from burning out."
Rumble—!Rumble—!
The two nodded before Garu left and returned to his room.
In the end, it might be because the shadow monster really poses no threat aside from pranking and some occasional scare that Juan was left off with just those words.
Or it might be because there is already enough trouble that Garu simply can't waste time and energy on Juan's fault.
"Father might be angry and disappointed with me now."
Juan looked down and spoke softly, facing Ceth's gentle eyes.
"Hmm, it's true."
Hearing her affirmation, Juan doesn't have any reaction.
"Scared?"
Ceth asked softly in his arms.
Facing that indescribable entity just now and this heavy rainstorm that might lift off his roof anytime. Juan wasn't panicking, nor was he afraid at all.
"Strange, but I'm not."
He replied. But Juan did indeed have some ripples when Garu asked him about his crime just now.
"Really?"
He faces the 'I don't believe you' look of his wife. Juan finally relented.
"Just a little."
Then Juan felt a soft pinch on his chest. His eyes were asking why she would do that.
"Punishment."
The rainstorm raged outside while lightning flashed. What followed to resound the world was thunder that shook the whole land.
"Sleep first; I'll wake you up when I really can't take it anymore."
Juan saw that Ceth didn't say anything but used action instead of words as her answer.
Leaving his arms, Ceth took hold of Juan's palm before she found a spot to lie down in bed before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
Gripping her soft hand gently, Juan made use of his other hand to cover his wife with the blanket while caressing her cheek and hair along the way.
This day, Juan saw more of Ceth, which can't be seen in normal times. This made him feel closer to her and more affectionate.
'You might be the reason why I'm not afraid of facing the monster this time.'
...
Looking at the fire burning upon the torch within his reach. Juan was in a daze, seemingly thinking elsewhere.
'I don't know what to do anymore. Nothing will change, even in this place. I can't do anything that I really want to do.'
'If only I could have some power just like those in fantasy anime. Unfortunately, this is reality. No, this is a new reality.'
'There is a high chance I can realize I have one in the future, but right now. I'm powerless. Just how long will this rainstorm and night will end?'
There was nothing to be done other than looking around and turning dazed from time to time.
Even the drowsiness he had before has long since left him since Garu's arrival. It looks like his drowsiness dares not fight in the face of his in-laws.
Hmm?
'Since I have nothing to do, why not have something interesting to pass the time? Let's see, what interesting things should I do.'
A second later, he looked down and found his two javelins below the bed. Juan didn't think much and just picked one up before he placed the blade edge on the fire.
'Burning things has always been everyone's hobby. Humans have a strong affinity for and tendency to destroy things. It's just that to avoid chaos, there is a law to restrict everyone's nature.'
'Humans are such curious beings. Being one myself, I found it hard not to explore what will happen next in the process of being burned by flame.'
'There are times when I think of burning my house; what will happen next? When the fire grows until it reaches a height maybe ten times mine, it will surely be beautiful, right? '
'However, thinking that I already know what will be the end of it, I know not to follow my desire and create trouble for myself just because of momentary happiness.'