Chương 52: I’m not safe even inside the city?

I didn't have any more leads, so I just walked around. Maybe I shouldn't have acted on such haste. It would have been more practical to learn more about the legends first. And yet I neglected all that. I walked around like a withered tree.

That's when I saw a familiar face. It was a face, I wanted to forget but I couldn't. It was also the face that haunted me for the longest of times. She was just standing there in the middle of the road. She looked at me, her expression emotionless.

My heartbeat accelerated faster than sound. I breathed as though I didn't have my lungs. I screamed as though I had lost my mind. I might as well have. "Alicia!"

However, she didn't even look at me and went inside an alley. Maybe she is just a lookalike. I consoled myself but couldn't control my emotions.

"Hey! Wait!" I followed: more like barely managed to stay on my feet. The alleyway was dark and felt somewhat isolated from reality. I could feel the bloodlust in the air. In fact, the air smelled of fresh blood. But something else was on my mind. "What are you doing here? How!?"

The person in front of me was a red-haired girl with average looks, good intelligence, and whom I long thought to be DEAD. She had bright brown eyes with large pupils. She was also my younger sister. "…"

At first, she was silent. After a brief pause, she burst into laughter. A laugh so sinister that I began to doubt my senses. "You're not her, are you?" She's dead… she's dead… she's dead…this can't be… she isn't real! Although I appeared calm on the outside, I was breaking apart on the inside.

"Took you long enough!" she said and burst into laughter again.

Just from the laugh it was clear this person was not my sister. Besides, she had died three years ago. None of this made any sense.

"Who are you?" I controlled my emotions.

It wasn't a normal situation. My sister was dead but she died back in my world. Someone couldn't possibly pretend to be her, not in this world, without actually knowing her from before. That meant the person in front of me knew my sister in my own world. And therefore it was clear that she knew I was not from this world. Which consequently meant that she had the answers I was seeking.

"Oh! You forgot me already?" She transformed into something that resembled the demon that attacked me in the sacred forest. Honestly, I was glad that this thing wasn't my long-dead sister. So you're the twin of that monster.

I needed answers. "How did you imitate her?"

She giggled around. "Hmm… how I wonder?"

"Stop playing dumb!"

"There's no need to shout!" The demon teased.

I knew getting all heated up would get me nowhere. So I played cool and tried to control the situation. If I play my cards right, I might be able to get at least some answers from her. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

"Don't worry; I have not come to take you back this time."

Not here to get me? Then why? It didn't make sense. These sisters came after me twice already and all they wanted was to take me to their country or something. But this time this one wasn't here to take me? Which meant, it had something else on its mind.

"I have come to end you for once and for all," she chuckled. "My lord has lost interest in you. But after how much disrespect you showed, it would truly be a pity to let you live. And you have no idea how much humiliation I've suffered because of you and my sister." Her voice slowly turned violent.

You should blame your sister for that, not me. I had already drawn my sword. The new sword and armor gave me new confidence.

"Don't think it will end like that time…." The demon gave me a solid glare. I could spit back those words right back at you. The feeling was mutual, I suppose.

She had a similar weapon like her twin but only in appearance. This particular weapon was a spear. Still black in color and it reeked of death.

She came swinging. I prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. I'd recovered but my skills were not enough to go on toe to toe with something like this monster. I had to win this with intelligence, not with brute force. If I could just lure her out then the guards-

But before she could come even a single meter close to me, the sky turned black. Time slowed and there was a shadow behind her. A shadow so sinister, my initial instincts were to get down on my knees and beg for a reason which I didn't yet know. My feet shook on their own and I almost groveled at my feet.

The shadow appeared instantly and I could vaguely make out a shape. The female demon sweated as she appeared to be paralyzed. The same pattern again? Which meant that hooded guy was here?

"B-But… W-why…" she managed. She couldn't turn. Although her skin wasn't all that colorful, it turned rather pale.

Then there was silence. Or perhaps the world was so afraid of this shadowy figure that it forgot to make any sound.

"You've served your purpose. Both of you are a letdown. Why couldn't you have been more like the third?" Words poured out of nowhere. They were human words but not the shadow's. I looked around for the source and saw a small kid at the road, dazed: the words had come out of the kid's mouth but those weren't his. The shadow impaled the demon from behind and then gazed upon me. "This is a rude way to meet but let us begin." The kid's trance broke and he ran away screaming tearing the flesh of his face.

Now there were only two of us face to face. It or he said some words which took me some time to decipher. The female demon fell on the ground and continued to bleed without making any sounds. I almost felt bad for the thing.

"WANDERER, I BELIEVE THIS IS OUR FIRST MEETING. I AM THE RULER OF THE GALBATIAN EMPIRE. I GO BY THE NAME NAMCHA MIALLIANES. PLEASE EXCUSE MY SERVANT FOR DISRUPTING YOUR DAILY LIFE," he said in a sinister voice that felt like it pierced my very soul. It wasn't high-pitched, it wasn't low-pitched and yet it made me tremble. It was the same voice I heard back in the woods.

The voice was dreadful yet had some sort of charm to it. I was frozen stiff yet felt warm and shook (How's that for a contradiction!). I really didn't know how to describe these feelings in words. My heart raced faster than it ever did in my entire life. I could even hear the individual beats as though time had slowed.

SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
Nr_Yet1208

This is where we meet the big bad. I don't know if it's too early or if it doesn't make sense to you but this is the plot, deal with it. And ps. remember that conversation in one of the interludes between a hooded guy and a demon? I wonder who those two were XD

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