Chapter 2: CHAPTER 2
One night, while preparing for sleep in the embrace of his mother, he overheard a conversation between both of his parents.
“How can you hold that thing as if it’s your own child?”
His mother’s words expressed a warmth that sharply contrasted his father’s coldness.
“He is my child, and I embrace him because I love him. I’ll protect him from anything in this world that tries to harm him.”
“That is not our child! Our child was likely killed when that ‘thing’ entered your body! What we saw back then was its true form, and what you’re holding now is only a Human-shaped shell containing it! Its existence spells our very doom! Why can you not understand, Terra?!”
“Please keep your voice down. He’s trying to sleep. Besides, I don’t believe that nonsense about the ‘Cursed Child.’ No one is born into this world just to cause its destruction. The laws that have been passed, to allow such barbarism towards children, is what will bring ruin to Demkil. Please heed my words…”
“Unlike you, who sits protected from any danger, I’ve seen the terror of these Monsters firsthand! They’ve played tricks like these before! For now, its docile, but while you’re protecting it, it will devour your soul and grow stronger, strong enough to topple everything I’ve spent my life protecting! I’m trying to save you as well, Terra. You have to let me kill that thing.”
Then, there was silence, long enough for Axis to finally drift into sleep. Too young to know or understand the context of their argument, all he could do was sleep as his mother wished him to. However, just before his consciousness faded, he heard his mother say one last thing…
“I’ll continue protecting him, even if it kills me.”
#
Axis suddenly opened his eyes, waking up startled by a sudden sound as loud as a thunderclap. As he attempted to observe his settings in a slight panic, all he could tell for sure was that he was on the floor, his arms and legs still chained; rather than being in a dungeon, however, he seemed to be in a small empty room within the mansion. The space was too small to be anything more than a closet, but Axis still had enough room to stretch his body and stand up.
He slowly approached the door, and before bothering to try and open it, he gently pressed his ear against the door. In spite of the sound that jolted him awake, he couldn’t hear anything outside of the room at all. It was completely silent, as if no one else was bothered by the noise.
Maybe it’s just storming outside… Still, lightning must have struck pretty close, for it to be that loud.
Just as he was about to pull himself away from the door, the sounds of clashing metal, battle cries, and property damage grew steadily louder. Axis already had an idea of what the commotion could have been about.
It can’t be her… Would she really try this twice on the same day? The security had to have increased since earlier, so she’s putting herself at way more risk than earlier. Is she stupid? Is she dumb? Is she an idiot?! Wait, why am I so bothered by this? If she dies trying to save me, it’s her own fault. I didn’t ask for it, and she should have known that it would be impossible…
As the noises were gradually becoming louder, signifying that the commotion was drawing closer to Axis, he could feel his heart rate increasing. As much as he denied the possibility of his rescue, he remained standing at the door, anticipating its opening. Who would be on the other side: the Dark Elf attempting to save him, or a Slayer acting to prevent that outcome? Before he was truly prepared, the noises of battle suddenly ceased, replaced by gentle footsteps approaching slowly. They stopped just before the door, and the doorknob slowly turned, and as the door slowly opened, Axis’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I found you.”
The Dark Elf stated while breathing a sigh of relief, and then stood before Axis, smiling confidently, as if proud of a recent achievement. Axis, ironically, had the very opposite expression as he responded.
“What were you thinking?!”
“Huh?”
The Dark Elf tilted her head in confusion, wondering why Axis was reacting in such a way.
“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d return for you…”
“Yeah, that’s exactly the problem! How were you able to get past all of the guards?! I bet you didn’t kill them, right?”
“Of course, I didn’t! I simply led some stray creatures here to distract them. I had to knock out the ones I directly encountered, though. It won’t take long for them to notice, since it seems they’ve routed the distractions, so we should leave here quickly. I’ve already freed everyone else, so after I get you out of here, this mission is as good as accomplished.”
Axis could only stare at her in complete shock; he realized that her goal wasn’t just to save him, and the message she gave applied to all of the prisoners she left behind. He was embarrassed by his own mistaken assumption, and almost wanted to apologize for thinking she was a fool. However, there was still a grievance he couldn’t let go of…
“If that’s the case, you should have left me here and escaped with everyone else. If you take me with you, they’ll hunt you to the ends of Eva.”
The Dark Elf argued, expressing her emotion in whisper.
“No way! If I left a child behind for those perverted freaks to do only the Gods know what, I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully for one hundred years!”
“Only one hundred, huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘only?!’ Humans can’t even live that long! At least, not in this current age…”
“Yeah, but I know for a fact that Elves can live that long. Multiple times that, even.”
“Whatever! That’s not an important detail! Anyway, we don’t have time to argue right now! Come on, before we get found out!”
“No, seriously, you need to leave me behind. If you take me with you, you’ll endanger yourself and anyone else you’re with. Just go, and forget you ever met me.”
“I told you, there’s no time! Don’t make me drag you out of here!”
The Dark Elf proved to be stubborn; so much so, that Axis felt that it was stupid to argue any further. However, he couldn’t get rid of the ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was the same feeling he had on the day his mother died…
Then, they heard the alert from outside.
“The remaining prisoners have escaped! That Dark Elf returned while we were distracted! Spread out and hunt them all down! If they resist, then kill them, but make sure Nexus returns!”
Just like that, their time was cut short.
“Shit! We’re leaving now, Axis Demkil!”
Before Axis could even respond, the Dark Elf swiftly cut off the chains restricting him and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him along as she started running. Axis’s argument died in his throat upon feeling the warmth of her hand; the last time he felt such warmth was from his mother, so he felt compelled by it to go along with the Dark Elf. Unfortunately, that did not aid against the anxiety that built up within him.
Suddenly, the path they headed down proved to be the incorrect course, as there were knights coming around the corner. However, the Dark Elf showed no signs of changing course. She released Axis’s hand to draw her blades and confront the knights, all before they even noticed her approach.
Too slow to react, the first of the three knights were knocked to the ground as the Elf pounced, while swinging her blades to sweep the other two away. Bursts of wind were released as she swung, forcing them back against the wall and disorienting them long enough to knock the first knight unconscious with a kick to his head, hard enough to knock their helmet off. Before the other two could stand back up, the Dark Elf rushed to them, and knocked both of their heads against the wall, knocking them out as well.
She turned back to Axis and smiled at him victoriously.
“The path has been cleared. Come on.”
Axis couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed; she dealt with them as if Demkil’s forces weren’t a problem! She had proven her strength, and that should have dispersed any doubts that he had. Still, Axis couldn’t shake off his intuition; something problematic was about to occur, and they had to be prepared for the worst. Regardless, when she offered her hand to him, he reflexively took hold. She smiled warmly, happy that he was finally cooperating, before turning away, and they were on the move again.
A few corridors later, they found themselves in the main hall. Axis turned towards the front door, but the Dark Elf pulled him in the opposite direction. It made sense, of course; there was likely a whole legion of Slayers and knights awaiting them outside the front, so the smart decision would be to take the rear exit. However, Axis couldn’t help but wonder…
Wouldn’t they expect us to take this route…?
Once again ignoring his instincts, he did not speak a word of warning to the Dark Elf. He believed that she had already accounted for such a possibility and was prepared in advance. After all, she was definitely experienced. Axis could see with how she fought the knights they encountered just moments ago, and even the ones from earlier that day; with her unique sword skills, she used her blades to defend herself, and used powerful blows to render them defenseless. She could easily kill them with her techniques, but she instead cleanly dispatched them by making them unable to fight further.
How foolish she was for her mercy, and how foolish he was for his trust.
They were able to make it to the exit without further trouble, but the moment they stepped outside, they found themselves surrounded by a large group of knights, at a rough guess twenty strong, visible in the dark of night only due to the torches some of them carried. Axis was worried, but he looked up at the Dark Elf, expecting her confidence to be steadfast. Unfortunately, upon glancing at her expression and hearing her troubled tone, Axis only felt more concerned.
“Shit… This doesn’t look good.”
… What?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone