Chương 30: The Young Elf Girl’s Dilemma
*Get out of here, you demon!*
They were words Sylphiette heard over and over again.
*Haha! Look! The demon's so weak!*
Ridicule. Pain. Humiliation.
She couldn't understand it. Why did they make fun of her? Why her?
*Oh! Let's throw the demon into the woods!*
*Yeah! The others will thank us!*
*Let's go!*
They took her. Carried her against her will while she struggled and ran deep into the forest. Then they left her there and ran away.
Cold. Hungry. Thirsty.
Sylphiette was lost and scared. The day turned to night and night turned to day again. And if not for the fact that she had her father's lunch with her, she would have starved.
She didn't understand.
Why were they like this?
Her father said that they were just afraid. But she couldn't do anything to them, so why were they afraid?
Her mother said that she would find someone who would accept her for who she was one day.
And Sylphiette believed her.
But it looked like that day wouldn't come.
Her clothes were caked with mud and grime. She was hungry because she finished all of her food.
And she was terrified.
Something was following her.
She wasn't sure what, but something was following her through the forest.
At first she thought it was just something small. A tiny animal.
But it wasn't.
She could see it through the mist.
A towering shadow slowly moving after her.
So she ran. She ran away from the shadow, hoping to lose it. But no matter how fast or how far she ran, the shadow didn't disappear. And it was always slowly approaching her. Slowly getting closer.
"Please, go away. Please go away...!" Sylphiette muttered under her breath as she sprinted through the forest.
It was misty, white obscuring her vision except what was directly in front of her.
A few times, she heard people nearby. Villagers calling out for her. But every time she answered back and ran towards them, they would suddenly run away.
She didn't understand.
Were they with the other children? Did they want her to disappear too?
It was cruel.
It was scary.
She didn't want to disappear! She didn't want to leave her mother and father! It wasn't fair!
A crack. Sylphiette didn't see a tree branch and then tripped. But since she was going so fast, her foot bent at a weird angle.
Pain.
Sylphiette collided on the ground and rolled a few times before coming to rest against a tree.
It hurt all over. She cried and then huddled up against the tree. "I want to go home...! Mommy! Daddy!"
She cried out. But no one came.
Instead, the shadow got closer.
And when it did, Sylphiette could finally make out its features.
A bear. And not an ordinary one. This bear was the size of a small tree, lumbering through the forest. Crimson eyes and a maw with foaming drool dripping from it... The bear looked feral.
But there was a light in those eyes that showed it wasn't mindless.
Looking at Sylphiette, the bear trembled. Its shoulders heaved up and down, as if it was laughing. And then it lumbered forward.
Sylphiette tried to back away. But she couldn't. When she moved, the pain in her ankle stopped her.
Even then, she knew.
She couldn't escape it.
Despite the heavy fog, despite Sylphiette running away the entire time, the bear caught up with her.
There was no one coming to save her.
There was nothing that could save her.
"No...!" Sylphiette backed up and then screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DISAPPEAR!"
A shrill and desperate plea for help.
The bear's shoulders shuddered again. The bear... No, the monster laughing at Sylphiette's plight.
And then it froze.
"...So Hitogami is this desperate, is he?"
A cold male voice.
"E-Eh?" Sylphiette turned to look towards the voice.
It was a man.
A long white coat and silver hair. Sharp eyes and a stern face... He was a man that seemed set to go against the entire world. And there was a presence around him that gave off that aura. That he would cut down any and everything in his path.
Sylphiette gulped.
He was scary. The man was scary.
...But compared to the bear, he didn't seem that scary...?
The man turned to look at Sylphiette.
Sylphitte froze, afraid that the man would be like the others who wanted her to disappear. But a strange emotion flashed through his eyes.
Before Sylphiette could figure out what it was, the man turned towards the bear.
"A magical creature this powerful shouldn't exist here at this time. Are you a result of an apostle's meddling?"
The bear stiffened. No, it went on guard. Rising up to its hind legs, the monster snarled.
The man held out his hand causing and said, "No matter." He glanced back to Sylphiette and said, "Sylphiette Greyrat... No. At this time you are just Sylphiette... and I suppose you may not become a Greyrat in this timeline. That will depend on his decision..."
"...Mister?" Sylphiette tilted her head, confused. "Um... A-Are you saving me?"
"...No." The man shook his head. "I can't save you. Not this time. But someone will be here soon that can. For now..." The man swept his left hand across the air, causing a crimson katana to emerge.
The bear snarled and ran forward.
The man smirked. "You should try something else, Hitogami. Direct attempts to change the future like this won't work." He swung his sword.
Sylphiette gasped.
It was beautiful. A crimson arc swept through the air. And where it moved, space cracked.
Like the area in front of the man was a picture etched in glass, hundreds of crimson lines spread out, tracing out what looked like a tree.
And then it broke.
The sound of glass shattering echoed in the air, followed by a muffle explosion. With those sounds, the man vanished, along with the fog.
But in his place...
"Owowowow..."
...A young boy appeared.
Light brown hair and bright green eyes. A handknitted gray scarf wrapped around his neck and fluttering in the wind. Neatly tailored white dress shirt and black pants, tattered around the edges. A wand with six glittering stones held on his waist.
He stood up from a small crater in the ground, shaking his left hand. As he did, light spilled down from the hole he made in the forest canopy.
The boy was different from the man. Compared to that person, his demeanor was lighter. Friendlier. And not only that, but where the man looked invincible, the boy looked weak and small.
But he was warm.
The boy lowered his hand and looked back at Sylphiette. When he did, his eyes lit up and he let out a bright smile. "You must be Luffy!" He turned around and laughed. "Great! I made it in time."
"U-Um..." Sylphiette blinked, unsure about what was happening.
First there was the bear, then the man, then the boy... Was any of this real?
She was starting to think that it was all just a dream. That this was just an illusion she was seeing from not being able to eat or drink for a day.
But then the boy reached her and held out his hand. "Here. Let's get you back to Mister Laws... Oh wait. You're probably injured. One sec." He lowered his hand and then grabbed his wand, waving it.
The moment he did, Sylphiette felt a warmth spread through her body. The pain in her twisted ankle vanished. Not only that, but the chill and fatigue she felt disappeared as well.
"There." The boy smiled and held his left hand out again. "Now come on."
Sylphiette looked at the boy's hand, hesitating. And then she saw the bear behind the boy and pointed. "Behind you!"
"Oh. Right. Should probably take care of that thing." The boy muttered and turned around.
And in that time the boy turned, the bear arrived, swinging its claws at the boy's head.
Sylphiette screamed and covered her eyes, not wanting to see the boy get hurt.
But nothing happened.
There wasn't any tearing sound. No splashing of blood. No scream of pain.
Even the bear's snarls were gone.
Realizing that, Sylphiette slowly opened her eyes. And then they widened when she saw what was in front of her.
The boy was fine. The bear's claws were inches away from his head, but no more. And the reason for that...
"...Whoa. Stacking ice magic is scary."
...Was the dense ice completely enveloping the bear's body.
The boy walked forward and then reached out with his wand, lightly tapping the ice on the bear. When he did, the ice shattered, turning into white dust.
But that wasn't the only thing that shattered.
The bear broke apart as well, turning into red mist that flew off into the distance.
"...Yeah. Definitely scary." The boy shook his head and then turned back to Sylphiette. "Anyway, danger's gone." He smiled and held out his hand. "*Now* let's go."
Sylphiette blinked.
The bear's attack happened in an instant. So fast that Sylphiette thought for sure the boy would die.
But he didn't. Not only that, but he easily beat the monster without being scared. Throughout the entire thing, he was completely relaxed. If anything worried him, it was Sylphiette. But he was never worried about his own life.
Seeing that, Sylphiette could only say one thing.
"...Cool."
"Huh?"
Sylphiette blushed and turned away.
The boy blinked. And then he laughed. "Nice. I like puns. They're fun."
Sylphiette giggled.
The boy smiled and said, "So... You coming with? Ah, I'm Rudy by the way."
"...Sylphiette."
"Eh?" The boy... Rudy blinked. "Wait, so you're not Luffy?" He started to panic. "W-Wait. Th-Then... Did I get the wrong person? Oh crap. Um..."
Sylphiette giggled again and took his hand, pulling herself up. "No. My parents call me Luffy too."
"Phew." Rudy lowered his hand and sighed. "Almost gave me a heart attack there, Luffy. ...Luffy?" He frowned and said, "...Know what? I'm calling you Sylphy. Luffy is too weird for a cute elf girl."
"C-Cute?"
"Anyway, let's go." Rudy started walking, leading Sylphy along. "Mister Laws- I mean, your dad should be coming this way... Wait. Maybe not? I ran off without him... Er... Let's send a signal flare. That should let him know."
Rudy held up his hand, causing a magic circle to appear. And then a loud *boom* echoed, along with a surge of flames.
But even though they were in the forest, the flames didn't touch a single leaf.
Seeing that, Sylphiette... No, Sylphy nodded to herself, confirming something.
Rudy was amazing.
And like that, she forgot all about the strange silver-haired man who appeared before Rudy did.
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