章節 49: Hope....Is Not Reality
𝘔𝘖𝘝𝘌 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙. 𝘔𝘖𝘝𝘌 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙. 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘗𝘐𝘌𝘊𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘛. 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙. 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙. 𝘍𝘈𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘙.....𝘖𝘏 𝘚𝘏𝘐𝘛!
I quickly duck as the body of a Forest Tiger flies towards me. After it passes overhead I immediately take off again toward Taleena.
𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘐𝘛 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌. 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘐𝘛 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌. 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒𝘌𝘕 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘐𝘛 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘐𝘔𝘌!
I couldn't tell how severe the injuries Taleena had at a distance, but I knew she wasn't in a good spot. She had stopped moving since I started my sprint toward the platform, dodging bodies all the way up. The demon was much more powerful than Snarf. It was like an adult fighting children. If it weren't for their numbers advantage and high maneuverability due to their size, I'm pretty sure they all would have been turned to paste by now.
"MOTHER! PLEASE BE OK! GET UP! I KNOW YOU CAN!"
I can hear Fiona screaming as I dodge the body of Tarman coming at me. As I start forward again, I hear quick footsteps behind me. I turn around and see the Forest Tiger from earlier running back, I grab it by its mane as it runs by, and let it drag me to the platform.
"HAHAHAHA!!! GLORIOUS! GLORY BE TO DEMONS! NOW LET THE NEXT ONE COME THROUGH!!!.....WHAT IS WRONG?!? WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG THIS TIME?!?"
I can hear the masked woman's scream. It seems the portal will continue letting more through, but for some reason the next one is taking longer than expected. I start to feel the familiar sense of fear welling up inside me again. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴.... 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰?
Time slows as I'm being dragged by the Forest Tiger, I look at where Fiona is chained up. If I look closely it looks like one of the chains is partially damaged, Taleena must have done something when she was up there. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭?
I didn't have any better guesses or ideas, this was all I had to go on. I blinked and the world returned to normal, then I reeled back my arm, and threw my scythe toward the damaged chain link. When it hit it, it seemed to get stuck for a second, but after a moment it forced its way through and severed the chain. 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢l𝘭, 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥.
"NOOOOOO!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!!"
The fiery portal began to flicker and then quickly collapsed on itself. The red moon receded, and all that was left was the bright white of the full moon.
I released my grip as the Forest Tiger passed by Taleena, and slid over to her. I look over at Fiona and seem safe for now. My minions have the demon and mask wearers busy for the moment. I look down at Taleena and I lose my breath. She has a gaping hole in her chest, it was a miracle she was able to yell anything to me with this injury.
"Taleena! Can you hear me? I'm here, I'm late, I'm fucken late, but I'm here."
I put my hand on her cheek and tried to gently nudge her, trying to get her to open her yes. Slowly I see them open, and she looks up at me with a small smile.
"....I....knew....you....would....make it."
"That's right, I made it, here take my blood to heal up! Then I'll bring you over to Fiona."
"...t-too late.....too....much damage.....dying...."
"NO! YOU CAN HAVE ALL MY BLOOD! JUST TAKE IT! FIONA IS RIGHT THERE! WE DID IT! DON'T STOP NOW!"
Tears well up in my eyes as I start to scream at her to just take it all from me. I started to try and take her to Fiona, but I felt a gentle tug as she stopped me.
".....you owe me remember.....you said you would....so please just take my blood....."
My voice lost strength as I looked into her dimming eyes. She lifted her hand and placed it on my cheek. It felt ..... cold, the gentle warmth she normally exuded was gone.
"....promise me...take care of....Fiona.....protect her...."
I tried my hardest to hold back my tears and looked at her. I don't know why I felt so much emotion from her death, I had just met her after all. Even though our time was short.....it was probably one of the happiest of my life, how pathetic is that?
I wanted to cry and scream more, but I realized that wasn't what I should be doing. I needed to put her at ease and send her off with as much happiness as I could. I put on my best smile.... 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
"I promise."
"....thank...you.....I'm sorry....I couldn't fulfill....my.....prom....ise....."
I could hear the sounds of battle, the roar of the demon, and Fiona's screams behind me. At first they were muffled as I gently placed Taleena back on the ground. As I closed her wide open eyes with my hand, the sounds snapped back to full volume.
"Reaping Scythe."
I resummoned my scythe, and ran over to Fiona. She looked up at me, shock and despair on her face.
"Mother.....mother.....mother....she....she....."
"I'm sorry."
That was all I could say, there wasn't time for anything else, and I wouldn't know what to say either. I hacked and slashed at the remaining restraint, and finally she was free. Fiona blinked a few times before she realized she was free, and then immediately scrambled to her mother.
I didn't look at her as she went by, I didn't have the courage to look at her in the eyes again. I shifted my view to the demon and worshippers. The battle was.... not going in my favor.
"Blood Needles! Blood Needles! Blood Needles! Blood Needles! Blood Needles! Blood Needles!"
This was the first time I had seen my [𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬] not able to completely go through an enemy. This demon was by far the strongest thing I had faced up until now. I tried throwing my scythe at it, and the demon quickly deflected it with a swipe of its hand. It then immediately went back to defending against my minions. It looks like it doesn't even see me as a threat right now. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰? 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?!? 𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴?!?
As I was bemoaning my own existence the demon turned as it tried to swipe at a rabbit, and I saw a large wound on its lower torso. Up until now nothing I threw at it did much damage, but then where did that wound come from? My minions definitely weren't showing the ability to deal that much damage so that only leaves.....I turned my gaze to Taleena.
She must have been strong in her transformed state, strong enough to deal a heavy blow to the demon. This also might be another reason my minions were lasting so long, it was fighting with a large injury. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 ...
A thought I knew I shouldn't consider came to the forefront of my mind. Everything that I cast [𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞] on was strong, stronger than when they were still alive. If Taleena did that much damage before, then if I brought her back it would give us our best odds, but if I did that.....I'd be defiling her corpse and enslaving her.
Fiona would probably curse and hate me.....I would curse and hate myself as well. I didn't want to do this, I shouldn't do this, if I had a choice I wouldn't, but right now..... I had very little options left. I couldn't do enough damage myself, I could feel my mana starting to run low, and at this rate we'd all die here. 𝘐 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥i𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘐? 𝘍𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵....𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘍𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦.
I hurried over to Taleena's corpse. Fiona noticed me coming and looked at me with eyes of anger and caution.
"What do you want?!? Just leave me alone with her! You just let her die! You can let me die here with her too!"
Those words...they cut me to the bone, she was right, I had let Taleena die. I had lost myself for some reason, and I had let her fight alone. This was my fault...but I would face my punishment after I had made sure Fiona was safe. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.
"Move."
I grabbed Fiona by the shoulder and tossed her aside.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! CAN'T YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!!! LEAVE HER IN PEACE!!! LEAVE US ALONE!!!"
I grit my teeth and ignored the young girl. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦....𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢.
"Arise and serve me."
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票