Thousands of stars shining in the open sky, the scent of flowers mixed with fresh blood, the roars of monsters filling the silence of the night and a boy running around while slaughtering monsters like picking flowers in a meadow.
''.... he's really strong,'' said Blaze, who saw Zev finish off the group of monsters alone without even getting his clothes dirty.
"That's right," I replied.
Zev has been a real help since he joined us. We don't have to worry about food because he can hunt quickly. Furthermore, if a monster attacks, Zev can immediately slaughter them with a single swipe. Moreover...
HIS LEVEL IS HIGH TOO!!. He's on par with Uncle Sacha. I knew it was the best decision to have him join us.
Well.. that's what I thought if only...
''Oi ZEV. How long are you going to play around, leave some for me too!'' Blaze shouted then joined in killing the monsters.
Blaze still can't get along with him. In fact, they often fight. However, at least my brother is starting to accept his coming with us. Even though they sometimes try to kill each other.
But... even so I see an opportunity.. Blaze can't use magic and relies on his swordsmanship while Zev can't use a sword and relies on his magic. Honestly if the two of them could work together they would be a great combo by covering each other's weaknesses.
Besides... the reward if they can get along also makes me think...
Red thread. What does that mean? Ai often uses words that I can't immediately understand. Like before, Ai said I was successful and got spicy candy, but in fact I didn't get any candy. That's why I think the candy Ai meant wasn't literally candy but something else... although at this time I still can't be sure what I got that day.
''AGH!..damn!. why didn't you leave more for me!'' Blaze grumbled
"You're slow," Zev replied flatly.
''What did you say!''
They started again..huft...well.. for now let's just leave them be_
Oh?!..
''baze..zev.. dicana..ada cecuatu'' (there is something there) I said while pointing at something that caught my attention
''um?... another monster huh?'' said blaze then we went there to check it out and what we found was really unexpected
''swords?'' said Blaze, seeing supplies and several swords that seemed to have been left behind on purpose.
"There's some here too," said Zev.
''Is there perhaps an adventurer nearby? But why did they leave their equipment behind?'' said Blaze.
''.....their footprints are messy. "It's possible they left in a hurry," said Zev
Adventurers abandoning their supplies and weapons and fleeing in a hurry is clearly suspicious. If it weren't for an emergency, they wouldn't have done such a reckless thing.
"This place is dangerous. Even though I don't know what's going on, judging by the situation here, it seems like something's wrong," said Blaze while carrying me.
"Let's get out of here," he continued, which was met with a nod from both of us.
We left the place and continued our journey until...
"The fog is getting thicker, we should spend the night here now," said Blaze and then put me down.
''.... no, we should continue our journey,'' said Zev.
"Huh? Can you walk in this thick fog? And it's already late at night. We should rest," said Blaze.
''This fog feels strange,'' said Zev, who immediately fell silent after Blaze.
"Strange?" I asked confused.
''My instincts tell me to run away from here,'' said Zev.
??? What is animal instinct? If I'm not mistaken, animal instinct is sharper...
''What are you talking about? Are you afraid of me?'' said Blaze, who stopped when he saw someone from behind the fog.
''um? Baze?''
"That's... impossible..." said Blaze with wide, shocked eyes. Because I was curious, I turned to see what Blaze was looking at.
From behind the fog, a mature woman with beautiful white hair was seen walking towards us slowly.
???..Who?
"Ma...ma," said Blaze, which clearly made me jump in surprise.
''No way... that's mom... mom... is still alive,'' said Blaze then started trying to approach the person.
''baze..'' I called, trying to chase him but was immediately stopped by zev.
''Don't go there.'' said Zev then immediately ran there and pulled Blaze away from him then slashed the woman's head which of course surprised us all.
''!?!....WHAT DID YOU DO!. WHY DID YOU KILL MAMA!'' Blaze got angry and pulled out his sword but Zev immediately signaled Blaze to stop.
''Is your mom a monster?'' asked Zev.
''huh!?..what do you mean. Where_''
''Take a good look. Is that your mother?'' Zev asked and of course we immediately looked at the corpse and the surprising thing was that it was a terrifying monster.
''!?!..what..how is that possible'' said Blaze in shock
"That's how it's been since the start," said Zev
''Yeah?...you knew from the start?'' asked Blaze to which Zev nodded in return
''It seems like this fog is the cause,'' said Zev.
Illusion...like in the movies. They disguise themselves as people close to us and kill us..!?!.. don't tell me the reason the adventurers disappeared was because of this fog.
''This is dangerous. Come on, hurry up,'' said Blaze, who stopped and looked at me in shock.
???...why is he looking at me like that
''Lia...there are two..'' said Blaze in surprise.
Huh?...
I shifted my gaze to the side and saw a figure that looked very similar to me. He even made the same movements as me as if trying to imitate me perfectly.
No wonder he's trying to confuse people by pretending to be me.
''baze...she's fake'' I said while pointing at her but she also did the same thing as if she knew what you were going to do and say
''.... so funny'' said Zev then approached us and suddenly slashed the fake me until it finally changed into its original form
''Trying to imitate Lia. But in my eyes you are still a monster,'' said Zev.
"Zev..." I said, touched that he could immediately recognize me.
"...I can see the true form of this creature. Leave these monsters to me," said Zev.
"Okay," said Blaze, then picked me up and ran away. Meanwhile, Zev followed behind us, remaining alert for monsters that might sneak up on us in the fog.
***
Zev
..... this fog really makes me uncomfortable.. it feels like I'm slowly suffocating..
If a bad situation occurs...
....''I just need to protect Lia, I don't care about the man with her'' I thought while following them
....no..why did I think of protecting her in the first place?..even though I wouldn't get anything from the start. I have no reason to stay with them.
"If I stop...they will surely die by themselves in this fog," I thought as I stopped walking and looked at their backs as they started to move away.
....Why...
"If that's the case... do you want to play with Lia?"
''Why did I accept her offer?'' I muttered while looking at my palms.
.....I don't understand...why...lia...something is wrong..I'm not like myself...
!?!...hypnotic?
I see.. since the beginning I've felt suspicious.. something invisible seemed to try to tie me down when I was off guard, every time the child talked to me I felt it trying to pull me in. as if he was the only one on my mind.
''hee... interesting...'' I muttered and right at that moment a monster tried to attack me but was immediately cut neatly by my magic.
Thanks to this fog, her magic is weakening, then. Isn't this a good opportunity to kill her?...
***
Rosalia
''um?..ah!..baze..wait'' I said stopping Blaze's steps
"What's wrong Lia?"
"Zev...you're here," I said while pointing behind me.
"What?" Blaze immediately looked back and saw that Zev had completely disappeared.
"Where did he disappear to? Don't tell me he was attacked by a monster?" said Blaze as he put me down and took out his sword.
''Lia, stay close to me,'' said Blaze, which I replied with a nod, but
*WUSH!!....*BUAAAGH!!!
!?!.. suddenly a fast attack hit Blaze and made him bounce far enough to disappear in the mist.
!?!"BAZE!''I shouted
What was that just now?...a monster attack!?...so fast...
What's this... Blaze and Zev aren't here. If that monster attacks me...
Ah..no..wait..why am I becoming so spoiled..if they both aren't here then what?.will I just sit there and cry because no one is protecting me?.don't joke!. Why am I relying on others to protect me. I'm not a weak girl like that
I opened our travel bag and found a dagger inside.
*I just need to protect myself* I thought to myself while gripping the dagger tightly
Scary....I'm not sure where the monster will come from and besides, my strength won't be able to win...
*whoosh!
!?!... there!?
*CLANG!! *AAGH!..*BUAAAGH!!
The moment I felt the figure that wanted to kill me, my body moved by itself and warded off the attack, but because my body was too small, I was actually thrown by the pressure that was applied.
''AGH!...cakit..'' I groaned while trying to get up and when I tried to get up I saw a pair of feet standing in front of me which suddenly made me look up and see a figure I knew.
''zev!'' I exclaimed
He came....thank God he's okay..
*tes...
Huh?...
I glanced at my arm and found a scar from the attack just now and what shocked me was
*scratch marks..* I thought when I saw my scars
Don't tell me...Zev..was the one who attacked me?
''..you avoided it well'' said Zev while looking down at me
!!??.... ''zev?..''
(NEW MISSION!)
(Taming the wild dog that went berserk)
(reward of success: eye of truth)
(Failure: tragic death)