Bam! Bam! Bam!
Tintless, in total awe, watched Mr. Freak land three vicious punches to a nightmare. It was sent flying into a hill with a thud.
Before it could even scream in pain, Mr. Freak appeared and, using his hand, pierced through the nightmare's body.
An echoing sob left its mouth as its hands desperately scratched his arm, trying to remove it and end the agonizing pain. However, the efforts were futile.
With a stone-cold face, idel moved his hand even deeper into the nightmare, dismissing its cries. He then pulled, blood splattering on his face in the act.
The nightmare's eyes rolled, and then it fell, disintegrating mid-air.
Idel, paying no attention, looked at his hand. A glowing black core, too big to be fully held in his hand, sat gracefully.
He looked at it for a while before turning to Tintless and tossing it up.
The boy, seated on a hill that had a surface big enough to accommodate him and Shifty, clumsily stood up and cupped his hands.
He watched the core arch and, as it got closer, realized just how big it was.
'Yikes.'
He tried to form a new shape with his hands, but due to been under pressure, failed to complete the simple task: he ended up cupping one hand, and as should occur, the core…
"…" He gapped as the core missed his misplaced hand—by an unreasonable amount of inches.
Shit! If the core were to fall into the dark reddish clouds below, he would never find it. Mr. Freak had repeatedly reminded him of the matter.
Without hesitation, and probably any sense of reason, he jumped after the core. His eyes were wide, looking at the core intensively.
He moved his left hand, but could not grab it. He increased his speed a little and, in the next attempt, with his right hand grabbed it.
'Yess!' His eyes lit… only for a moment, though.
As, in the next couple of seconds, he realized that he was falling. His eyes widened, and as though he were competing in a tournament to crown the most dumbest being in the cosmos, flared his arms and flipped them.
To stop the inexplicable act, Shifty grabbed the boy's leg as he himself grabbed onto a ridge of the hill surface. With a certain difficulty, he pulled up the boy and threw him on the hill.
'Ouch.' He slowly got up.
A moment later, Shifty was on the hill once more. His was no longer lifeless this time. He looked at the boy, and his carefree face appalled him even further. He silently walked over and got the core, then placed it on a pile of cores.
"That makes it four, Mr. Freak. Two more to go!" Shifty said to idel, who was on a hill lower than theirs.
Almost all the hills in these parts were significantly short when compared to where Shifty and Tintless sat.
This was not always the case though, at least not when they arrived. The memory was still fresh in Shifty's head. Mr. Freak commanded a hill to increase in stature, and it abided.
Deep down, he thanked God that this man was on their side. Dealing with the nightmares he was effortlessly taking care of would have been impossible.
And, of course, he was not the only one he was thankful to. The clumsy, "talkative," and somewhat brain-dead boy had protected him back in the village, killing the nightmares that dared to approach. At the end, they stopped attacking. Shifty had never seen or heard of such until then.
With a slight smile, he turned and extended his hand and helped up the boy.
"There are three remaining, not two."
Shifty shook his head and said, "I can only sense two more remaining, and Mr. Freak, at the start of the hunt, said the total were six."
Tintless paused, lost in deep thought. He looked down and saw the seemingly thick dark reddish clouds. He wanted to say something but stopped himself.
'Was all that drama really necessary? If he wanted, he could have just manipulate the size of his arm.' Idel shook his head.
Almost a second later, he heard a nightmare screech. He tilted his head and saw it moving towards him in a frenzy.
He turned and moved as well.
Bam!
…
"What do you think he's doing?" The boy's emotions were mixed as he looked at idel.
He sat, cross-legged, on the middle part of the hill surface where they all were. His eyes were closed, and his breathing played a uniform rhythm.
Shifty took a couple of seconds before he answered, in a clueless movement of hands, "Couldn't tell."
The duo watched him pick one orb after another and seemingly absorb it in his hands, during which the redness of the area deepened and his aura flared.
It was quite a sight to behold, and after a while, the entire process was done.
He slowly took a deep breath. He had now increased his demonic energy. Meaning, he could sustain the Labyrinth for a good 30 minutes, hence giving him more time to prepare for what to do next: prepare for the next step.
He lifted his head to look at the duo, and after a pause, using his hands and voice, said, "We got less than 30 minutes before my Labyrinth ceases, and after which we will be back in the village. Back to a reality of great peril.
I'm sure I need not remind you just how dangerous nightmares can be, especially those of the upper ranks. Many lives have been lost today, and I have a feeling that the nightmare is far from over…"
He stopped as Tintless lifted his arm as though he were in a class.
"Yes."
"Question, Mr. Freak. What exactly is this place? And if I heard you correctly, you said 30 minutes from now we will be back in the village. So are we practically floating in some kind of a balloon? And if so, why has the baby nightmare not popped it?"
'Balloon, really?' Idel thought as he spoke. "The knowledge of this place, I'm sorry to say, cannot be shared with either of you. And I would appreciate it if you guys don't tell a single soul after all this. And don't worry, the nightmare can't pop it."
The boy sat back and, with a grin, crossed his heart. Shifty, with a simple nod, also gave a sign of assurance.
"Thanks."
"Mr. Freak, before you say any further… I would like to know if… if…"
"What? Are you having trouble adjusting to your ability to talk?" the boy asked mischievously.
He ignored him. He took a deep breath and finally spoke. "Is the Hitter still alive? He couldn't possibly die, right? I mean, he's among the strongest throughout the kingdom, and surely he's still out there."
The Emontarion, with each word, grew more loud. At the very end, he was no longer asking idel; he was talking to himself, trying to convince himself of an impossible reality.
'Clinging on to our ideal reality is at times good and at times painful. What determines which of the two, however, is the case of fate. How obnoxious.'
Shifty was still looking at him with a tense expression.
He smiled. "Of course he most likely is. When I left the forest, he and Snappy were fending off a grade 2 nightmare."
"Even Snappy?"
"Yes."
Tintless sighed in relief as he looked up.
"Who is Snappy?" Shifty asked.
The boy stole him a glance.
"The other Anger Emontarion we came with at the swamp."
He instantly wore a face of realization. He dropped his head and muttered, "What a crazy day. Even the man famous for all the wrong reasons decided to help out. And all they have to show for is me. The last survivor. Me of all people." Sounds of sobs slowly took form.
Tintless patted his shoulder. He looked up and found the smiling boy.
"And your duty from now on is to make sure their efforts are not for nothing. So don't die. You have a great story to tell, my man."
"Yeah." He wiped his tears. "I won't die." He turned to idel. "All of your efforts will amount to something, I swear."
Idel gave a simple nod as a new fire ignited within him. The Hitter and Snappy's sacrifices would not go to waste as long as he managed to protect Shifty and Tintless.
He thought before he spoke. "So here is the plan…"