"Hmm, pathetic." The familiar one stood in the air, simply smiling at Kiya and Cameron.
"This guy is here again?"
"Seems so. Reminor…"
"You couldn't defeat this… thing? Pathetic."
"What?"
"…"
"I guess I will have to help you, by the master's wishes."
"Is he going to aid us in battle?" Kiya asked.
"I don't know; he may."
They watched on as turbulent wind came from Reminor's direction, forcing them to take a step back. As Reminor slowly cruised down the air, Kiya and Genzo prepared themselves, trying not to falter this time. His feet moved with the wind, gracefully and with elegance. This motion was that of a butterfly, flying smoothly through the angered wind. His feet came down and touched the ground.
As soon as Reminor's feet touched the ground, Kiya and Genzo felt a massive pressure crushing them, similar to earlier.
"Shit, I'm feeling it again; it feels like I am getting crushed by a massive boulder," Genzo spoke in a struggling manner.
"Me too."
Kiya and Genzo could not even speak; even if they tried to, it was a struggle. They looked at the gracious demon walking towards them.
"Still can't withstand my greatness?" Reminor said to Kiya and Genzo.
Both Kiya and Genzo were kneeling in front of Reminor due to the pressure.
"Get up." As soon as Reminor said these words, the pressure seemed to weaken and completely vanish in mere seconds.
"Oh… God." Genzo gasped for air; Kiya repeated this.
"Are you… helping us?" Kiya asked in a polite manner but with hostility.
"As I said, I will be helping you… Only due to the master's wishes."
"Master?"
"Yes, by the master's wishes."
"Why would he want to help us?"
"I don't know, but my best guess is that he is playing with his food."
Fearing that Hitleck only wanted to keep them alive for later, they wanted to disagree but could not because of this monster standing in front of them. This monster was far greater than the abomination that attacked them.
As Kiya thought of the abomination, he wondered where its attack had gone. He looked at Thomas; only weak flesh remained.
"Is it dead?" Kiya asked.
"I guess so?" Genzo tried to hide his inner delight.
"What? Is it already dead? I guess you won't need my help then." Reminor turned around before speaking.
Kiya looked closer at the flesh, spotting a face; it was motionless. Soon, the dead flesh started to turn grey. Turning into dust slowly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But you killed my friend."
Kiya watched the dust crumble. It crumbled with the earth and would crumble forward with time. But something felt wrong; even though the creature's skin crumbled right in front of his eyes, he felt as if it were alive, maybe deep inside, inside its heart.
Kiya then recalled the last two, on which he rained demise. They did not crumble or turn to dust; the humanoids lay there motionless. He looked in the previous humanoid's direction. Kiya smirked; their body was also gone.
"Guess my intuition was wrong for once."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Kiya's feeling did not stop; his uneasy feeling did not stop whatsoever; it clung to his mind and heart like spiders to their prey.
Every art had to have its end, even if in decades, even if in seconds.
"Something is not right. I have this weird feeling that the creature is still alive, that Thomas is still… alive."
"We can't be too sure."
Kiya looked around, spotting none. The monster was still flinging its tentacles while Reminor was standing in the air.
His earlier assumption about the creature being smarter came to mind. Kiya's heart skipped a beat; he looked up. He started sweating, and his ears started to ring. He saw a light, a light so bright that it could blind him. His open eyes captured the liquid dripping down. The liquid entered his eyes, making him immediately close them.
Kiya rubbed his eyes, trying to get the unknown liquid out.
"What happened?"
"Rain, I guess; a droplet fell into my eyes."
Genzo looked up; sure, there were dark clouds and thunder all over, but no rain. Even if it was raining, a droplet wouldn't be this thick and drippy. Genzo looked at Kiya's face; his theory of it not being a droplet was proven—the amount was too much to be rain.
"I think it's not raining. Are you crying?"
"No, I am not."
"You have the right to cry."
"I am not crying… Something ACTUALLY fell into my eyes."
"Well, you two can have fun chatting; I am going up. Master will greet you." Reminor went away with a suspicious expression and gave them a smirk.
Reminor again started levitating; this time, the rocks followed him too, only for a brief moment.
Kiya again looked up; the light was gone. — Weird! He thought. The saliva again made his eyes itch. How annoying! Kiya wondered what the light was, even though his eyes turned light red from all the scratching. He pondered his before realising he had no lead and leaving it behind.
"I am feeling thirsty all of a sudden. I guess I would after walking and not drinking water for one and a half days."
"Mm, me too."
Kiya also felt thirsty. Having read a small number of novels, he remembered a scene where a tiger stands overhead the victims without their knowledge. But after a while, a drip of saliva falls on the ground, making them realise that a predator was atop them.
This scene came to Kiya's mind. Although without any concrete evidence or any type of knowledge. Kiya, with a delusional mind, thought of the tiger as similar to Thomas. If Thomas were the latest version of a humanoid, he would be the most powerful among them. This could mean that Thomas can also learn.
Reminor, only halfway to the stadium, turned to glance at Kiya before quickly dismissing the action.
"Hey!" Kiya yelled so that Reminor could hear him clearly.
"Oh? What?"
"I need a favour."
"A favour? Why should I help a slave?"
"It's just a question."
"Do ask then."
"Did Thomas possess a Melanix before he got captured by Hitleck?"
"Oh? You seem to have found out that Thomas was a human. Great, I didn't expect that from you."
"…"
"I can say that Thomas did not bear a Melanix, but I can confidently say that he was a Levythin worshipper; he could manipulate things."
"A Levythin?"
"Not A Levythin, it's just 'Levythin.'"
"What's that?"
"With your odd future, you will find out soon enough. If you don't get killed by the master." Reminor flew again, this time fast; he reached the seats before Kiya could blink.
Kiya thought that everything got too calm all of a sudden.
As The Legends Say, It Was The Calm Before the Storm