The trees around me turned less dense, the gaps between them becoming larger quickly. I saw dark silhouettes in front of me, dancing behind the trunks, and I heard the sound of blades.
I stepped into the scene. “Holy hell,” I whispered.
Oris stood straight, awake and alert now. A large group of imps stood around him, with wooden clubs and metal daggers in their hands. The creatures were a brownish-green in shade, with reflective scales all over their bodies.
The Knight on the other hand, was still bound by his chains of light, but that had not deterred him. He had a sword in his hands, pointing it up to the sky. He’d somehow managed to keep these creatures back, even though he had a pretty big handicap.
A super unfair one, I thought.
I saw bodies fallen before the circle of imps, bodies of their comrades that had tried attacking the knight in vain. Their blood was spilt over the forest floor, and coated the dry leaves.
That’s what I smelled, I realized.
I noticed a dark shadow right behind Oris, collapsed to the ground, and I immediately realized that this was Viola. She was unconscious, and the knight seemed to be…
Protecting her? I frowned.
Nevertheless, I rushed to the center of the exchange, stepping in front of Oris, and facing the Dragon Imps.
“High time you got here,” Oris muttered. “It’s not the easy fight these things off when you’re chained up.”
“I know.” I glanced at the Imps, and used my Analyze skill on them quickly.
DING!
Race
Dragon Imp
Health
7790
Level
531
Mana
2510
Element
None
Stamina
6370
They’re not too strong, I said.
“But their numbers are very high,” Nyx said. “We could use some help.”
“Really now?” Oris looked at me. “You’re still not going to get rid of these bonds?”
“The elf is the only one who can remove those,” I said. I glanced at the Imps. Should I use a Magical Art or a sword attack? I wondered. I realized it’d be best I didn’t draw attention to myself, and the Magical Arts skills would do exactly that.
“Stay here,” I said and shot forward, rushing to the imps. The creatures quickly scattered. Or at least tried to.
I slashed at them before they split apart, and sent Dawnbreaker through every single one within reach of me. I heard yelps and cries fly into the air, but I was utterly merciless. Blood splattered onto my clothes, drenching them in red, but I kept pressing forth, sending strike after strike into bodies.
A clash sounded from behind me, and the sound of metal on metal rung in the air. I turned around to see Oris fending off a strike from a sole imp, expertly blocking the attack even though he was bound tight.
I pressed down on the floor and shot to the creature. I sunk my blade into it and slashed its body into two before it could land its next strike onto the Knight’s blade.
“Wow,” he mumbled, watching the pool of blood flow from the decapitated body. I looked around me, and realized that the imps were slowly backing away now.
Didn’t think they’d get scared that easily, I thought.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated Dragon Imp Horde (Lv. 562)! Reward: 6000000 XP. Reward: 9800000 Sol.
What’s going on? I asked, closing my screens. Why are the Imps backing away?
“Zoran?” Nyx asked. “Where’s Viola?”
I jerked my eyes down, only to see that the girl’s form no longer lay on the floor. I looked back up, just in time to see the imps turn around and break away from us.
Dammit, I muttered. These creatures had tricked us.
“Zoran, where are you?” Acnologia asked. “I will be there in a minute.”
I’m leaving Oris here, I said. You should be able to find him. I’m heading after these imps. They’ve still got Viola.
“Understood,” the Dragon said.
“Stay here,” I turned to Oris, right after making sure all the imps had disappeared.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re just leaving me alone?”
I grabbed him by his wrists and spoke a word in silence. A flame of black emerged from my hand, and immediately set the young man’s wrists on fire.
However, they did not burn him, and instead cut through the ropes of light that bound his hands. He pulled his arms apart as they snapped, feeling his sore wrists.
“What did you do that for?” he asked. “Do you trust me all of a sudden?”
“You are an expendable resource, Oris,” I smiled. “I don’t want you to die from something as simple as a weak creature attacking you. If you die there needs to be a better benefit to me.”
“Fine,” he said, as I began walking away from him. “You don’t think I’ll run away and come after you?”
“Oh, you’re not going anywhere,” I chuckled as I looked into the forest. “Even you know not to defy the will of a Dragon.”
His eyes widened. “Eh?”
I shot forward, surging through the trees around me. I heard noises come from ahead, about a mile away. These creatures move fast, I thought.
“They’re an odd bunch,” Nyx said.
In seconds, the beings made their appearance before me, huddling around as they carried a form over their heads.
Viola. I grit my teeth.
I quickly pushed off the ground, jumping high above the treetops, and came back down. I broke through branch and leaf as I dropped to the ground, and landed right in front of the imps. The creatures all gazed at me, and I caught sight of their eyes in the scarce rays of moonlight. They were a solid black, the color of death.
More than half the cohort immediately stepped back. The others pressed forward, but their resistance did not last long. I targeted every last imp in front of me, and bathed the forest floor in their blood as I slashed through them all.
I turned around when I was done. Or at least when I thought I was done. I heard impish chuckling coming from my right, and I shifted my gaze, just in time to see one of the imps standing next to a tree, with Viola resting unconscious against it.
I walked up to him, and this idiot didn’t notice my approaching presence. I pushed my blade between him and Viola, blocking his sight of the woman. His eyes immediately widened, and he turned to me.
Dawnbreaker’s blade went clean through his neck, and threw his disembodied head far into the forest. The headless imp dropped to the floor, dead.
“You realized it’s redundant to say a headless imp died, right?” Nyx asked.
How do you know? I asked. Maybe there’s headless necromancy or something.
“Sure,” he said. “Why not?”
That’d be a major gag if it was real, I knelt down to the young woman. The art of raising headless beings from the dead. Can you imagine how much fun one could have with that?
I grabbed her wrist, checking for her pulse. Her eyes fluttered open just then, making my job more convenient. She looked at me, then at me holding her wrist. Her eyes widened immediately. She jerked her hand back and slid away from me, pressing her body harder against the tree trunk.
“Well that was…awkward,” Nyx said.
I sighed, and looked at Viola with a smile. “Still can’t look at me, can you?” I asked.
She stayed silent.
I stood up from where I was, and looked around. Do you think Acnologia found Oris by now? I wondered. It probably wouldn’t be too long before he got to us.
“It isn’t you,” Viola’s voice squeaked.
I looked at her, and a part of me reveled in amusement. At the start of this journey I had questioned letting this woman into my village, for trusting her and being betrayed was not something I was going to let happen a second time. Yet here I was, happy that I’d finally heard her voice after what felt like months upon months.
I knelt b
efore her, not looking into her eyes but at the ground beneath me. “What is it then?” I asked. “If it’s not me, then what is it?”
“I…I’m sorry.” Her voice was impossibly soft. I saw a drop of water fall to the ground before me, and I could tell she was crying. Nevertheless, I kept my gaze fixed to the forest floor, and gave Viola only my ears.
“I didn’t mean to turn against you back then,” she said. “When that happened…when they told us you were the Phantom Lord…it was hard to accept it as truth. I just thought there was no way that was the person you were, a man who took away lives like they meant nothing.”
Hitting a little too close to my insecurities here, I smiled, but kept silent.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I haven’t talked to you, not because I hate you, but because every time I see you, I’m reminded of how I turned against you. Back then I was pushed between two sides of the tale, I was forced to choose between my friendship with you, and my loyalty to my faction. I was either your friend, or I was a Lumina Knight. I could not be both.”
By now, Viola’s tears flowed in plenty, and quiet sobs had weaved into her voice. I finally looked up, gazing at her tear-ridden face. At last, I saw her eyes, gazing at the leaf-green color after what felt like ages.
I leaned forward and put my arms around her. Viola hesitated and then did the same, resting her head on my shoulder, her tears wetting on my clothes.
“It’s…fine,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if even I entirely believed that. Am I really okay with how I had been treated? Nevertheless, a part of me was certain this was the right thing to do, regardless of what I felt about the past.
I of all people should know that what kind of a person one was in the past did not dictate who they will be in the future.
“Ah,” A voice sounded as I heard thumps come from behind me. “Did we come at a bad time?”
Viola lifted her head up, and then quickly pulled away from me. I turned around, and glanced at Acnologia, with Oris at his side. I stood up and walked to them.
“So, did you try anything funny?” I smiled at the Knight.
Oris’ eyes were fixed on the ground around me. “That’s…a lot of blood, Phantom Lord.”
Ah, I thought, but had no response. He was right. That was a lot of blood. And I’d spilt every little drop of it myself.
“You know, you need to get yourself some new clothes,” Acnologia said. “Imp blood is quite acidic. Especially Dragon Imp blood.”
Nyx, find an outfit for me, I said. I probably have some tunic or something in there from when my inventory expanded. I’ll change later.
“Got it,” the spirit said.
“The woman.” Oris’ voice was soft. “Is she okay?”
I nodded. “Thanks to you,” I said.
The knight blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You saved her back there, didn’t you?” I asked. “You could have run away to save yourself, but you didn’t. You were standing over her fallen body, defending her with a sword, even though you were bound up yourself.”
“I did not do it out of compassion, Phantom Lord.” His voice was monotonous. “I do not want to the people that put me in this mess to die without taking me out of it.”
“So you still think it was all their fault.”
“And yours as well.”
“You’ve got a lot of guts,” I chuckled. “I’ll give you that much.”
A few flames emerged from behind the Shadow Dragon, and I saw the Volcanic Fire Bears make their way to us, with Freya and Raffyr leading them. The priest ran down from his steed and toward Viola immediately, hugging her as they met.
He must have been really worried, I smiled. A few moments later Irmeia made her way back to us as well. She’d realized her route was not leading her anywhere and had decided to find us.
“It’s impressive that you found your way here to us exactly,” I said. “That’s pretty accurate.”
“It was nothing,” she chuckled. “I simply followed the scent of blood.”
“She what?” Nyx said, his tone deadpan.
I looked around. Just how much blood did I spill?
The Volcanic Bears suddenly glanced into the forest, not in any one direction, but in directions all around.
Another Imp attack? I wondered, and gripped Dawnbreaker tight.
Suddenly, a loud howl rang through the forest, and strong gale burst through, like a twister getting ready to form. The sky darkened, as though the very moon and stars had turned away in fright. Silhouettes of darkness emerged around us, forming humanoid shadows that trapped us within their circular ranks.
“Hmmm.” A voice spoke from behind me. “You know, I know someone just like you.”
I turned, and in front of me, staring into my eyes, was the helmeted head of a man I knew far too well.
"Holy hell," Nyx said, echoing my thoughts.
"The name’s Diablo," the man chuckled. "Have we met before?"
***
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
You know how you have those moments when you wonder what you used to be, when you find yourself curious about a time you no longer remember, wondering who you used to be, what you used to do.
I felt no such thing anymore.
For as long as I could remember — which was only a few months of this new life — I had always been curious about what I was like before I had been sealed away. And yet, in the face of an opportunity to satiate my curiosity, my desires had vanished.
Am I afraid of finding out? I frowned.
This Phantom Lord looked at me, amusement in his gaze. Darkness seemed to grasp the space around us, as if it was reacting to our presences. The men of shadows stood still around us, no attacking intent in their demeanor.
I sighed, and a wry smile curled onto my lips as I looked up at the man. “I am Zoran.”
“How odd,” he tapped the inner-side of his helmet. A hissing sound came through and the lower section expanded a few inches. He pulled it off, and locks of grey flowed down his head. He flicked the strands from his eyes and looked at me, the flecks in his silver eyes glistening under the dull moonlight.
“We have quite the resemblance,” he chuckled, and walked around, studying me as though I were a specimen.
“Indeed, we do,” I said, following his movements with my gaze. I caught the glances of everyone else from the corner of my vision. I could tell that they were completely astounded at the moment. And I did not blame them. There was no normal way to react to such a development. In fact, I myself was not quite sure how I was staying calm in this situation.
The past me snapped his fingers, and the ground rumbled. I tensed. An attack? I blinked. Could I actually take myself on if that were the case?
In the end, two circular pillars of rock simply rose from the ground, with dust and mud falling of their circular sides as they did. The pillars lifted to just below our waists, and stopped there, with the tremors freezing up as well.
“Sit,” past me said, leaning back and taking his seat against the pillar. He looked behind me, toward everyone else. “Come.” He snapped his fingers, summoning more pillars of stone beside me, arranged in a semicircle with the inner side facing him.
They all hesitated for a second, but I gestured at them to join me and they slowly made their way toward us.
“Ah, I am sorry, Acnologia,” past me said. “But I do not have a seat for you.”
The dragon chuckled. “I need no such thing.”
“That is good,” he replied.
I froze, and I could tell that the Dragon felt the same way as well. I hadn’t even opened my mouth to become his muse and yet the past me was already conversing with him.
“Did this guy just hear what Acnologia said?” Nyx asked. “That’s never happened before.”
“You’ve also never met another man with a Spirit King Ability.” A new voice entered my mind, only this was a voice that I recognized.
The past me grinned, with an amused expression in
his eyes. He was messing around here, and we both knew it.
“Okay everything is just going to hell now.” Nyx sounded very confused.
“Using such words is never a good thing, Nyx,” he chuckled. “Especially when considering the circumstances around us, such a thing can literally happen.”
“He can hear Nyx?” Freya’s voice whispered softly. I couldn’t tell if she was asking me or just voicing out her astonishment, but I nodded anyway.
“So,” past me said, and sat with one leg atop the other. “From what I gather, you are me — not just some attempt at a shoddy remake like I had presumed. Now given we are immortal, I cannot tell how old you are. I will say however, I do not recall a time when I was so weak in strength. So you are from the future then, I presume.”
I blinked. “Y-yeah,” I nodded. He hit the nail right on the head.
“Time traveling was never my thing,” past me sighed. “Why are you beings here then? Especially with a Dragon as well.”
“We have no idea,” I said. “We found her unconscious.” I glanced at Irmeia. “And when we were attending to her, she suddenly started glowing with a bright light. Moments later we found ourselves here.”
“Or more precisely, in a cave far off,” Freya added.
“So you, Eternal,” past me looked at Irmeia. “You are the one they are talking about, correct?”
“She nodded. “I have no recollection of what happened. I was only told of what I did by Diablo himself shortly after I awoke.”
“Interesting,” past me grinned and turned back to me. “So all you saw was light, and you were here.”
“Pretty much,” I said.
“Very well, I’m intrigued enough to help.”
“Diablo.” Freya frowned. “Though we do require help, and though you are willing to provide us with some, I must voice my concern. We are already meddling much with the threads of time.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I will not go fight your battles for you. Doing so might cause some effects on your present. But as is I will be simply guide you given what I know. Such a development will not mess with anything.”
The Eternal: Transcend - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 3) Page 15