"Dion?" I manage barely managed to speak from how hard I am gritting my teeth, my eyes still fixed on the bloody mess in front of me. He looks up at me for a short moment with a sickly pale face but quickly looks back down again when his eyes accidentally wander to the bodies. "Yeah?" "Hold me back." He frowns at me. "From what?" My jaw tenses as I meet his gaze with nothing but pure rage in my eyes. "From forgetting the task at hand and going on a manhunt instead."
His eyes widen and we silently stare at eachother for a few moments. "What? You can't do that now, I thought you wanted to find your friend." I can feel my fingernails digging into my palm as I'm gripping the handle of my sword with a strong grip. ".... I'm going to fucking kill him if you don't stop me.... If all the people here are dead already than....what if Eloria is dead too? She's defenceless in a city full of monsters, how high is her chance of survival without me?....I-I don't know what to do without her." Dion grips my hand. "Don't say that. You can't loose hope, not now. Hope is the most important thing in situations like this. There's still a chance that she's alive. You can safe her, I....I know I'm not a big help but I'm still here to", he stops for a moment like he can't believe what he's about to say, "...help you. And if she really is dead then don't you want to atleast see her body? It would be awful to never know what happend to her."
"I know but....", I drag a hand down my face, "Fuck, I hate that you're right. Eloria is most important right now. I'll chase after that monster once I know that she's safe or you know, at least know that she's....not." Dion firmly nods. "Good, now let's search for your friend and then you'll bring me to my house." "Oh, right, totally forgot about that part" I chuckle slightly as he narrows his eyes at me. "No, of course I'll do it but..... I'm just wondering why are you even agreeing to help me find Eloria before bringing you to your house...? I thought you would complain about it but you've actually been surprisingly nice and helpful." His face turns suprised and he looks to the side. "I-I mean it's the least I can do for your help, right? I would probably be dead like everyone else if you hadn't agreed to let me tag along." Hm, he does have a point, I guess he's right again. It still surprises me though that he's so cooperative."Well, I'm glad you're so reasonable, and you really are helping me. I always thought you're a annoying asshole but maybe you're not that bad. Anyway, it's time to continue our search, we don't have time to waste."
The both of us sneak through the narrow alleyways as best as we can until we reach Eloria's house. As through a miracle, there's no monster near. Maybe the gods didn't leave us yet, maybe there really is a chance that Eloria is safe and sound. I knock on her door. "Hello? It's me, Khestri." Silence. "Eloria?" Silence. Please, gods, no. I knock again. "Please! Somebody open the door!" I give up on knocking and start to rattle on the door handle but it's locked. My fists slam against the wooden door in frustration and disbelief. "Fuck, why is nobody answering?" Dion puts a hand on my shoulder. "Let's find another way in, maybe they just can't hear us." That's what he says but I can see in his eyes that he's lying, he thinks they're dead like everyone else in this cursed town. Liar. How can he tell me to stay strong and continue to hope for something surreal if he doesn't believe it himself?! Maybe he really is as cruel as I originally thought.