The Night of Elios's Third Day
The forest, smothered by an oppressive darkness, transformed into a maze of threatening shapes and lugubrious whispers. Glen and Dilo, hidden in the shadows of the bushes, had been following a human trail for days, and this tracking finally led them to a decisive turning point.
In the bushes...
Glen, breathing short, pointed to a wooden shelter.
"There. Their hideout. Something serious must have happened here recently. Look around... everything is calcined," he whispered, a veil of worry in his voice.
Dilo observed the surroundings in silence, his piercing gaze probing every detail.
"Yes, I see..."
He noted, to himself, that the survivors had tried to disguise the damage. Even the smell of flames seemed to have been eradicated by an unknown process. Fortunately, my senses allow me to discern these subterfuges.
"These humans have no respect for nature," he finally spat, his voice charged with contempt.
Dilo nodded before murmuring: "The shelter is rather small."
"Barely enough for two people, maybe less. So far, I've only caught one human scent," Glen responded, his eyes fixed on the shelter.
"How do we act?" Dilo asked, fear in his voice.
"If there are only two humans, we have nothing to fear. No need for a plan."
The two companions approached the shelter. Through the branches forming the structure, Glen spotted a young human, alone. "An easy prey," he said with a smirk.
"Haha, it will be even simpler. I don't see the other... no matter, let's enter."
But at the moment he advanced, his instinct screamed at him to turn around immediately. He preferred to remain motionless, frozen by a presence he felt behind him.
A heavy silence settled.
Then Glen, heart pounding, turned towards Dilo.
"Dilo?"
His gaze froze, breathing short, as he realized the situation.
A silhouette was gripping his unconscious companion.
Glen cried: "Who are you?"
The moonlight, until then hidden by clouds, was absent, concealing the individual's identity. But when the clouds finally moved, the moonlight finally revealed his face.
"Mer... Merlione!??"
Merlione, who was watching over her protégé, stood before him, her golden gaze shining like metal under the moon. The shadow in which she stood only accentuated the danger she represented. Dilo, knocked out, lay on the ground, unconscious.
"Glen, you've grown well. It's been a long time," Merlione murmured, her voice resonating like an echo in the night.
"I thought you were dead... General..." Glen stammered, his face turning pale.
"No, as you can see."
"I now understand this ingenuity of discretion," said Glen.
Glen's gaze was lost in Merlione's eyes, then turned towards the sleeping human in the shelter.
Glen, with an uncomprehending look at Merlione: "Explain yourself. What does all this mean?"
Merlione's silence was more eloquent than any speech.
"You betrayed us," Glen said. "How could you? And why all this? You were supposed to be dead!"
Merlione continued to look at him without a word.
"If the boss learns that you betrayed us, that you're alive and protecting a human..."
Merlione, impassive, continued to stare at him.
"I understand that you are the only ones who know, then."
"Hmm, you're going to eliminate us, aren't you? Yes, you'd better, because if I get out of here alive, I can't guarantee your survival, nor that of this human."
"I'm not going to kill you, even though I could in no time. I'm going to let you go, but you won't come back here and you won't say anything."
"You believe that? You think I'm so sensitive?"
"Yes," she said simply.
Glen, with a troubled look: "Your past with me has precisely disappeared since your supposed death. I don't owe you anything anymore."
Merlione's face looked more sad than worried about the situation.
Glen, angry: "You knew I had feelings for you for a long time!
Yet, you never looked at me as anything other than a simple disciple.
When the boss announced your death during the border attack, I was devastated. Now, you're living with a human! What is this story?"
"Even if I explained, you wouldn't understand."
She slowly returned to where she always stood to watch Elios, leaving Glen in a muted rage.
Glen carried Dilo on his back.
"I won't talk. Not because I have feelings or anything, but just to pay homage to you for saving my life before."
He looked around.
"Living here, far from the city of Ebony, advantages you, but know that we, the Oni, you have abandoned us."
Merlione stared at him, disgusted, with a look of pity.
Glen continued: "This abandoned forest is our territory. You might cross paths with others of ours, so I don't give much for your skin. And seeing you, I sense that you've been weakened for a while. The next time we cross paths, it will be different."
Glen walked away, the weight of his choices heavy on his shoulders.
Merlione, leaning against a tree, contemplated the stars.
"This world will never change..." she thought, remembering the little Glen she had saved from Palladium's armed camps.
Then her gaze fell on Elios, asleep, peaceful. And she said with a slight smile: "But I believe there is still hope."