บท 37: Chapter 37: Abandoned Mess
The whole town was in chaos, and it got worse as a gigantic figure showed up. It revealed his fangs along with a million teeth, ready to grind anything that can fit its mouth.
His black hair that shouted evil, emitted black mists in every direction. Its presence is enough to scare off anyone in its range, but that never satisfied it and roared on top of its lungs.
"T-The Cerberus is coming!"
With that loudest noise of threat, the people of Zentra ran as far away from the creature as possible, screaming and crying for help. They didn't have time to face and defeat, since they already predicted that they couldn't be able to.
"Run!"
Now that the residents fled for their lives, its next target was none other than the enormous silver tree in the middle of the town, glowing against the fire. It started dashing towards it at great speed.
It was named Gion Tree not because of its origin to give life to the town, but because how it stayed so strong after thousands of years growing at the same spot, didn't get bothered by any obstacles. Can it also stay strong once the Cerberus will attempt an attack?
"Elder!" A familiar voice of a female was heard beside the Gion Tree in between the panics, which turned out to be Pholly. Behind her was a herd of black dogs, ready to follow her orders anytime, and a group of tendrin warriors.
She turned around to one of the road paths leading towards them and saw the gigantic dog approaching their position with intense red eyes. The oldest man in the town, known as the Elder, also witnessed the great nemesis, but never showed fear.
"Go back to the evacuation area! Please!" She said at the old man, her face revealed seriousness. She admitted that she never been a great female warrior, unlike those who passed by through generations, but her bravery and will are enough to entitle her as one.
"But the Gion–"
"I'll take care of it."
The elder's words were interrupted by Pholly's, much to their surprise. No one had ever stopped him from his speech or conversation, and yet, she had the courage to do that.
One can see the shock in her eyes as she spitted it unknowingly. She really hated pessimism that she even refused to listen to the ones older than her. But she shoved it off in an instant, as she noticed that the enemy was still rushing towards them.
"Don't worry." She said, tried to calm the elder and reassure it about what's gonna happen. But still, his eyes were still filled with concern, and it's not just about the safety of the sacred tree.
He was about to run away from her and towards the evacuation area at a nearby mountain, but then, he turned around once more, giving the last message for a while.
"Please be safe, all of you." He said. The girl and the others nodded as an agreement, thus, letting the old man vanish at the site.
Now, they started to realize that they were facing a dangerous enemy. With their army of black fierce dogs, they knew that it wasn't enough to take the giant demon down out of defeat.
They knew that her plan would fail with just the smallest mistake, that's why too much pressure weighed them down. Her heart started pounding as she gulped, waiting for the Cerberus to reach them.
But… no matter how risky and lethal the plan may be, at least the sacred tree will survive and stay strong, protecting the whole town once more.
Meanwhile, beside the running Cerberus, stood an exhausted blonde tendrin, begging for air as her steps started to get heavier each time.
Dalary didn't want to sacrifice her energy like this, but she didn't want the sacred tree to fall. For some reason, she was concerned.
After a while, the monster was about fifty meters away from its target. She could finally see the figures standing in front of the tree, trying to protect it.
At first, they were both familiars and unfamiliar to her, but she caught a glimpse of Pholly standing fiercely.
As she saw her younger sister full of determination and responsibility, she couldn't help but be ashamed of herself. Ever since that terrible experience she had, she started to despise tendrins and anything connected to it.
But she didn't realize that it separated her from anyone, from the once she loved. She lost her image as a tendrin, and she can't think of a way to bring it back.
Once she was lost in her own train of thoughts, the Cerberus suddenly stopped from running. She also did the same. All she did was to watch what it was doing with a raised eyebrow.
The dog opened its mouth, showing a million teeth it was used to grind. Anyone would be scared at the intimidating sharp fangs, but what it did next wasn't expected.
In the middle of its mouth, a ball of lava and flames started to form, and it became bigger as time went by. The fireball had now become a giant in no time, and everyone's eyes widened at the emission.
No one was prepared for this threat, as they were informed in the books that the Cerberus wielded no magic at all. There was no way that a certain creature can use magic over time unless a forbidden spell was used.
But that wasn't the problem at hand, as the fireball finally released from the mouth of the monster and aimed towards the sacred tree.
Based on how large the ball is, it might destroy and kill anyone surrounding the target, even the brave warriors that were stunned at the presence of the unstoppable bullet.
The ball started to get closer, as they tried to defend the tree using the weapons and armies they could get, but one knew that it wasn't enough, and just standing there was suicidal.
Dalary knew about the outcomes, and imagining her fellow tendrins getting burned by the flames broke her heart into tiny pieces. She grasped for her chest, as if what she thought started to come true. Her friends that she cared for since birth, her sister that looked upon her every time, she was scared to lose them.
"No!!"
***
Several slashes of swords can be heard echoing in the middle of the dark dead forest, but neither of them got killed.
They still attempted to take a blow at each other until now and yet, both of them failed. Instead, the grasses and leaves got cut off by their futile attack.
This took minutes to gain up the result until the daminon landed a kick at Cainne's stomach. The latter felt intense pain, causing blue blood to come out from his mouth.
The force coming from it threw him out further away until he landed on a tree. He spits more blood as his injured back touched the spiky trunk. He felt even more pain in different parts of his body.
But he hadn't focused on it anymore, as he took a glimpse of his opponent's face, smiling widely up to the ears, enjoying the victory he got. He was irritated. He couldn't believe he was too weak to receive such an attack.
"Cainne!"
Much to his surprise, Meria managed to catch up to the incredible speed of the blow and not to mention, it was a great distance between the position they were once were and the current one.
"Let's go!" She said. She helped him stood up, putting his arm on her shoulders and marching away towards a pile of bushes at a slow pace.
Compared to other creatures, encantors' bodies were lighter than what they looked like, but his weight was too heavy for a weakling like her. After experiencing how hard to carry a person, she was now determined to train her fitness as well.
Once they made it and satisfied with how they hide, she started treating her wounds– tearing another piece of her skirt and adding it to the bandages on his back. But it seemed like she wasn't determined to heal, as her face was filled with sorrow and guilt.
She lowered her head after finishing and clutched her fist. Her hands were stained with blood, but it never bothered her.
"I-I'm sorry. T-This… this is all my fault." She spoke, which made Cainne turned around to see her. He expected her to blame herself for this, so he wasn't surprised at all. As she felt that he was looking at her, she averted more. "If I didn't stay here in this town, then… everyone would be safe."
Everything became silent and only the crickets made any noise. The atmosphere was heavy but that didn't bother them.
"Well…"
The silence broke as Cainne spoke a word, in which Meria raised her head to hear what he had to say. Her black eyes were watered, about to fall some tears.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Not just you, not just anyone else. Everyone does. Everyone was making a mess." He said with a warm smile, glowing more in the darkness. "That's why, if you make a mess, then you have to clean it up. Don't just leave it and regret later."
"And besides, you're not alone. I'm here with you. We're here with you." He added. "Dalary, Kandani, and others, they're here to help you."
Meria didn't say anything and just continued to stare at him. Despite the injury he had taken, he still attempted to smile in front of her. She was indeed mesmerized by him– on his speech, his persistence, and his angelic presence.
But the wholesome moment was interrupted by a slash of a sword on the bush beside them, completely revealing them. In front of them stood Kairos, still smiling maniacally like that of a serial killer, ready to kill his prey.
"Found you!"
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