"Seinhorn Tribe? You mean the famous tribe from the Lannister Territory?" Skyler muttered in confusion.
She had a mix of emotions that were gripping her. Maybe it was the anxiety, excitement, and hostility that were mixing together inside her and making her feel a twinge.
From what she knew, the Seinhorn Tribe was a village that resided in the southeast of the Eastern Continent. Despite her knowledge of demihumans, she had not had the opportunity to see one in person.
So seeing a demihuman do a pirouette and talk to her as if everything was normal was something astonishing to her.
"Ooh, I see you know a lot about my people. So, what do you think of our ballet? It was passed down in our village by my father. Too bad King Fladeus doesn't appreciate it, he obviously has no good taste." Elijah wagged his tail enthusiastically.
"I can understand why he doesn't appreciate it." Skyler narrowed her eyes and asked. "Well, can we just put off the ballet and tell me where exactly we are?"
"We're in a ruined tower. We must complete the Trial or we'll die, and I am too young to die in a place like this."
"Trial? What Trial are you talking about? Is it about Daredevils?"
As soon as Skyler asked the question, Elijah quickly jumped back, landing his feet on the first steps of the stairs.
At that same moment, a burning yellow light illuminated the ground beneath her. She could see that the light was gradually illuminating the writing. Skyler stepped back, leaned her back against the stone wall and looked at the writing on the ground that read.
"Welcome, brave adventurer, to the Tower of the Sovereign Mother of Heaven and Earth. Within these ancients and ruined walls lurks a Cursed Beast that resides in the central part of the tower. You have but two hours to complete the Trial by defeating the beast. Steel your resolve, for time is ticking, and the fate of all hangs in the balance."
"Tower of the Sovereign Mother of Heaven and Earth? Cursed Beast? Trial? What does that mean?" Skyler was puzzled.
In disbelief, shocked by what she read. As the light continued to illuminate the stone walls, Skyler gasped. Like she was about to go into hyperventilation, she glared at Elijah who was looking at the writings with a surprised expression.
"Incredible, you've the same Trial as me. That means we can work together to get out of this alive. How lucky." Elijah exclaimed.
"This is crazy, I have never seen anything like this in my life before!!"
"You've never heard of the Trials? But who knows what world you live in? So that means you read the grimoire without even knowing you'd end up here?"
"Well... I… I have."
Skyler looked away. She wanted to say something, wanted to retort Elijah's words, but nothing came out of her mouth.
After all, Elijah was right. Skyler got baptized by the church and read the grimoire without even knowing she would end up in a place like this. She couldn't blame him if he called her reckless. On the other hand, everything she had done was the kind of reckless person who acted without thinking.
"Eh, I don't believe it. You seriously read that without knowing anything about it? You sure are a weird witch."
"Stop it! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm human and not a witch!?" Skyler yelled at Elijah.
"But you admit that you came here without knowing anything, right?"
"Yes, I admit it! I read the grimoire without knowing I would end up in this tower. Are you happy now?" Skyler tilted her head up.
She loudly admitted the truth to Elijah who was open-mouthed. Gritting her teeth, frustration was getting the better of her. She didn't know the reason behind it. Maybe it was because Elijah called her a witch. Maybe it was because she realized she was a fool. Skyler could only look down and frown.
"There's no other choice, look what I have to do... come with me. We've to reach the central tower before time runs out." Elijah said.
Hearing this, Skyler glanced at Elijah who began to climb the stairs, torch in his hand.
In the air she could smell a strong rancid odor entering her nostrils. It was so pungent that she quickly covered her nose with her hand.
Skyler sighed faintly and began to climb upwards with him. The higher she climbed, the faster her heart beat. Even though the situation was unnerving for her, Elijah seemed far too calm for her, as if he was used to such things while Skyler was not.
Elijah turned his head to Skyler. "What's your name?"
"Skyler, Skyler Hall!"
"Skyler Hall, huh... very interesting name. Are you from the Republic of Steatha by any chance?"
"Yes, I'm from there."
Skyler replied composedly to Elijah who looked at her with a smile. As Elijah's torch lit up their faces, she felt somehow relieved. From those few words they exchanged, something in her was being born.
Maybe he wasn't a threat. Even though he had been rude to her at first, she felt she could trust him. However, there was one question that was plaguing her.
"Listen, do the Cursed Beasts really exist in this tower?" Skyler asked sensibly.
"Unfortunately, yes. It'll be pretty tough to defeat it with all these monsters around."
"But I... I thought the Cursed Beasts only existed in tales and legends."
Skyler was shocked to hear those words. From what she read in the popular Prestwich City picture books, the Cursed Beasts were evil creatures that existed over 2,000 years ago who terrorized the world, but were defeated by brave warriors who were not afraid to die.
Although they were popular stories among the citizens of Prestwich City, she wasn't thrilled about them.
"I thought so too. My father told me their legends when I was still little, but he also said that they really existed, only that they were in a different world than ours, and that the only way to meet them was to read a grimoire." Elijah expressed.
Skyler put her other hand to her nose. "Who would've thought that this would be the place where they reside. I wish I knew what kind of world this is."
"Agree, that's what I'd like to know, too. Man, this place stinks worse than a swamp."
"You are absolutely right."
After Skyler agreed with Elijah's words, Elijah turned his head forward, his back to Skyler. The rancid smell grew stronger as they climbed higher, and she could only resist the urge to vomit with her might.
Of course, she never expected that she would speak to a demihuman for the first time in her life, much less that she would discover that the Cursed Beasts actually existed.
"We finally reached the top." Elijah exclaimed wearily.
Upon hearing that, Skyler looked up, seeing a large red light illuminating the top of the tower. Reaching the top, Elijah delicately picked up a silver sword from the ground and stood beside the stone wall.
As Elijah peered through the arched entrance to the tower with furry ears raised, Skyler blinked several times in shock. Seeing his serious expression, she could only remain cautious. After all, as Elijah had said, the tower was full of monsters, and she couldn't afford to do anything foolish that would lead to her death.
—She could hear their screams right up to her eardrums.
Skyler swallowed hard. "They're… out there... the monsters... right?"
"Yes, and quite a few of them." Elijah turned his head to Skyler. "Do you know how to use a dagger?"
"No…" Skyler shook her head regretfully.
As soon as he heard Skyler's words, Elijah pulled from inside his robe a dagger with intricate gold patterns on the blade.
"It doesn't matter, take this. I'll hold off these monsters while you run to the central tower. You must not stop for any reason." Elijah suggested, raising his dagger.
Skyler took the dagger from Elijah, and held it in her hands. She felt like her heart was going to explode at any moment. Her legs shook as she took a few careful steps toward the entrance.
In her field of vision, she glimpses the infamous monsters. They were a cross between humanoids and aquatic creatures, about two meters tall with four large tentacles instead of legs. Their arms were unnaturally bent, and their ribcage was split in two, exposing their rotting organs in pure ugliness. From their backs sprouted slender gray tentacles that waved in the air, and from their rotting grayish-white skin oozed a sticky, nauseating dark red liquid that dripped onto the ground.
Disgust got the better of Skyler, and the feeling of wanting to vomit ran up her throat. She quickly turned her head towards the wall so as not to attract the monsters' attention.
Her delicious breakfast that was in her stomach for a short time, was what was coming out. Emptying the contents of her stomach onto the wall, Skyler vomited the contents until her stomach was empty.
"Are you done throwing up now?" Elijah asked in a whisper.
"Yea... I'm… really pathetic, eheh." Skyler mocked herself, wiping her mouth with her pajamas.
"Try not to die in front of me, human girl."
"The same goes for you."
After Skyler responded with a slight smile, Elijah pulled a yellowish-black parchment from inside his robe, and extended his arm toward Skyler.
"Take this too. It contains very powerful spells that we can use against the Cursed Beast later." Elijah whispered.
Skyler nodded dutifully and took the parchment from Elijah's hand. Then with a narrowed gaze, she scanned the surroundings. She could see the central tower rising majestically up to the red sky covered with scattered grayish clouds.
A long stone bridge with many cracks connected the central tower, however, crossing it would be a challenge. After all, it was filled with monsters that seemed to be hungry for blood.
"As soon as you reach the central tower, immediately cast a spell against them." Elijah whispered.
Skyler nodded. "Alright. You can count on me."
In the next moment, Elijah quickly leapt forward brandishing his sword. The monsters quickly turned, and quickly rushed towards Elijah.
Elijah swung his sword and slashed horizontally at the first monsters, slicing them in half. Dark liquid spilled onto the ground, and Skyler swallowed hard, trying not to vomit again.
Taking advantage of the fact that all the monsters were attracted to Elijah, Skyler sighed and ran as fast as she could towards the central tower, tightly holding the dagger and the parchment in her hands. Her straight hair was tousled by the wind and her teeth gritted together.
Whoosh!
Elijah swung his sword downward, and bending his legs, he quickly leaped forward. A monster, however, swung its tentacles at him with disarming speed, as if they had suddenly transformed into a blade ready to pierce.
With a quick movement, Elijah slashed upwards, severing the monster's four tentacles. But the monster's remaining tentacles erupted with reddish-black spines that shot straight at him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Forming a satisfied smile on his lips, Elijah acrobatically jumped onto the stone railing, and with a leap upwards, unsheathed his sword high in the air, aiming for the monster's ribcage. The sword penetrated deep into the rib cage, and the monster let out a heart-rending shriek and then perished with a dull thud on the ground.
As soon as he pulled his sword out of the monster's remains, the other monsters immediately rushed towards him, screaming, like they wanted to take revenge on one of their comrades who had fallen in battle.
Meanwhile, Skyler reached the central tower out of breath. She watched with tight lips at the monsters crawling toward Elijah. She had no time to waste, she had to do something, or they would kill Elijah.
Glancing at the parchment, she realized there was only one thing she could do. She had to cast a spell at the monsters.
Skyler looked at Elijah and shouted, "Quick! Run over here right now!"
Elijah nodded, and without wasting time he quickly ran towards the central tower with the monsters chasing him, waving their tentacles.
In that instant, Skyler unrolled the first layer of parchment with shaking hands, noticing phrases written in the ancient language of Creria.
She let the layer of parchment float in midair and recited in a firm voice, "Oh, God of Beasts, purge the eternal evil with your burning fire. Grant me the strength to fight evil with your beastly spirit. In your name I command evil to perish."
Whilst Skyler came to recite the spell, the words written on the parchment suddenly caught fire. The yellow-orange flames then began to fly through the air, and transformed into a large, glowing white fireball that hurled itself fiery toward the bridge.
Seeing a wave of flames heading his way, Elijah quickly threw the torch on the ground and rolled forward a couple of times, nimbly dodging the flames as they set the bridge and the monsters ablaze.
The burnt monsters crawled in agony towards the central tower, shrieking incessantly. Their screams were like stings that sent a terrible pang through Skyler's chest.
Skyler and Elijah watched in dumbfoundment at the monsters slowly burning to death as the red sky painted their heartbreaking end.