"Aurelia, what are you doing?"
Aurelia puts herself between us two. I am still processing what happened, how Kathri was just confessing to me.
I feel the tension in the air and how much I am getting angry at Aurelia for threatening her.
"If you hurt her..."
"Tch... What? Is a pretty face enough to make you blind?" Aurelia doesn't look back at me, keeping her eyes locked on Kathri. "This Kathrina girl... I don't trust her."
"What is wrong with you? She is helping us, and she is a friend!"
I place my hand on Aurelia's shoulder, trying to push her aside.
"Leave her alone!"
"Don't be a fucking fool!"
Aurelia turns her head and looks at me over her shoulder. Her voice came out like a loud bark, and her eyes were shining red.
"Don't you think she is acting odd?" Kari says.
"Y-you too?!" I look at the spirit.
What is happening?!
"I don't know her from before seeing her here, but tell me if I am wrong... From how you described her, she seemed to be peppy and over-the-top happy to jump into action. She seems more shy and flirty."
I look at Kathri for a moment, who is looking at us. She is afraid, using her sword as a shield in front of her.
"S-she was brought here by force! She must still be a bit shaken and-"
"Yeah! I am too scared!"
My ears flatten. What the... That sounded weird.
"She didn't present herself; it was you who did it," Kari added.
What?
"I-I did...?"
"Yeah... She barely spoke about herself... And when you met her, she was all happy to speak about her objectives and job." The spirit continues.
"I suppose the spirit is attempting to make you see sense... And there is another thing."
"D-don't listen to them!" Kathri screams, stomping her foot. "T-they are trying to confuse you! We are going on adventures together, right?!"
Seriously... What is going on?! She is Kathrina! I see her!
"You said she is a Holy Warrior, right? She has not used any of her skills during combat. She even ran to attack the Guardian that went for you... Where are the holy spells?"
"Lies! They are lying!"
"What deity do you serve?!" Aurelia asked Kathri
Kathri took a step back when she was asked that question.
"What kind of question is that?!" Kathri asks. "I am... I am..."
She looks at the ground... But never answers.
"Heh... You don't know... Then tell me." Aurelia points at me. "What is her name?"
Kathri looks at me... And her expression flattens, tilting her head.
"Her name is..." She pauses. "Her name is..." She places her hand on her head. "I-I know it! Her name is...!"
"K-Kathrina! What is happening?! Y-you know my name!"
"Y-you... You wanted to go on adventures together, didn't you?! We were going to travel... Didn't we?!" Kathrina covers her face with both hands... And starts to cry. "I thought we could be something... I thought you were cute when we met... I wanted to know you better..."
I take a step back.
I don't know what is happening to her.
My whole body is shaking. I feel a shiver hit my whole being when I see her crying against her hands.
"I trusted you..."
She raised her face.
She was crying.
And was giving me a creepy smile.
But that was not the worst part.
No.
It was something else.
Her tears.
They were a black goo that started to leak from her eyes and down.
It was coming out of her mouth, also.
"Ah!" I yell in surprise.
What the fuck is happening?!
Why is Kathrina like that?!
"That is no longer your friend... She is-"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Kathrina screamed. The three of us recoiled. Kathrina started to hold her head and thrash it around, like she was in pain.
"H-help!" She screams.
"Huh?!"
"Amber! Help! PLEASE! Help me...!"
"How can she-?" Aurelia is in disbelief.
"It hurts... Help me..."
Kathrina looks at me... And this time is fear, and suffering
The crying does not look fake this time. She is sobbing, like she is in pain.
"Please... End it..."
Her body falls back. I am in shock, not sure what to do. Even Aurelia is left speechless.
"Kathrina!" I manage to scream and run towards her.
"N-no!" Aurelia tries to grab me.
When I am getting close, several tendrils fall from the ceiling and take hold of her arms. Like fast whips, they swirl around her arms from the sky of the room and take a tight hold of her.
The tendrils pull her up. Her body is limp, almost boneless, and just gets carried up. Kathrina's expression is unreadable. I am not sure if she is still alive or not; the black blood is pouring out of her eyes and nose.
I take Bloodless out and look up.
That is when I see the giant eyeball looking down at me from the ceiling. Its body was a mass of dark sludge and tendrils that moved in a chaotic manner. It has no defined form; it molds around, like it is liquid.
"W-what the fuck?!" I yell. My legs give up and I fall sitting on the floor, trembling.
Whatever that thing is, a monster that I have no idea what it is, has my friend hostage and is holding her as a taunt towards me.
"[INFERNO]!" I yell while stretching my arm, casting that spell and hoping my spell was enough.
The cone of fire bursts from my hand and hits the eyeball directly. It barely does anything to it.
In retaliation, after receiving damage, it shot one of its tendrils towards me.
Aurelia pulled me from the back of the shirt and got me out of the way of the tendril. The attacks bounce after breaking the tile on the floor. She managed to block it as it bounced directly at her chest.
I fell a couple of meters back. I look up immediately. And I see her, like a taunt against me, a sick joke. Her eyes are off, no expression on her face. Just those eyes that are looking at me right now. And I feel she is, in that state, looking at me.