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No one would believe that I am holding a mortar and pestle in the middle of war. While it was not the most efficient way for fast alchemy creation, it was certainly better than nothing. Good thing the elves brought with them some alchemy equipment for me to use. And they brought along some alchemy ingredients that had I needed to make my bomb potion. Jasmine, Lavender and Snake plant was all I needed.
All of the elves looked at me curiously at what tactics I was planning to use to break through those armoured soldiers. I told them that I will be making a sleep bomb potion. All of them had their eye raised when I told them about it. I had always used this when I had trouble sleeping albeit in small amount. I use mine as a candle and the effects were quite effective. For my bomb, all I had to do was make it more potent and the soldiers will be sleeping on the ground. I will be making it in liquid form so that it can be absorbed through the skin. Of course there will be odours as well but for faster effect it would be better to just rain it on those soldiers. Fingers crossed that this would help us to break through all those soldiers.
Thankfully there was just enough ingredients to make around twenty potion bombs. I will do my best to reduce some soldiers first and then the elves will toss the potions and shoot them mid-air. Some of the elves helped me in creating the bombs which sped up the process. Time is of the essence here while we sat around doing nothing but glare at those soldiers.
I sent Rick back to the east to inform the soldiers to come over to the south instead. No point in continuing the siege battle when we can just storm in right after I incapacitate those soldiers.
***
It took me about two hours to finally get all those bombs completed. As much as I want to rush alchemy, a slight mistake can end up creating something with a completely different effect instead. Imagine it ended up being a nuclear bomb instead of a sleeping bomb. While it might not be that drastic but it is not something that I am willing to risk.
All is set, time to set things in motion. I walked out of the forest towards the armoured soldiers alone. Some would call it “Likka boss” but I like to keep things modest. I had Concentration activated just in case a cannon ball started flying towards me. I would have enough time to react with Concentration active.
The soldiers noticed me and stood ready. No wonder the elves had difficulty in breaking through. All of them were heavily armoured and wielding a great shield. They look like some metal robots. There is definitely some mechanical support helping them to move otherwise there is absolutely no way those human soldiers are strong enough to move even an inch. That is just how big and armoured they are. The height of those armours are perhaps around 270cm as I walked closer to them. Their shields are even taller. Perhaps only John can move without mechanical support while wearing that armour.
All of them stood closer to one another blocking the entrance entirely. Not even a small gap remained for you to squeeze through. I definitely would like to know who created this suit of armour. It is definitely one of the most effective way to defend the city.
I stood in-front of them and tilted my head. Are they.. not planning to attack me at all? Is their only objective to prevent anyone from entering? Why though? I deactivated Concentration begin negotiation.
“Soldiers, take me to the Queen. I surrender,” I held both my hands up for them to see.
Silence was the only answer I got. Are they even humans in those armours or did the elves mistaken these as just a mechanical armour?
“Soldiers? Aren’t you going to arrest me? I’m unarmed here. Do you want me to get down on my knees and tie my hands?” I asked them.
Again no response. I was starting to think there was no humans inside. In that case, using cannons to break apart this mechanical armours is the least of my concerns. I was close to giving the signal to ready the cannons to fire upon them until I heard someone coughing and another person sneezing.
“I am here on my knees with my hands held up to you. I would suggest that you take this opportunity to capture me and end this war. Who knows when the elves might decide to shoot cannons at you guys. Even with all that armour, I doubt any of you can survive constant barrage of cannon fires,” I said to all the soldiers.
“Will really come peacefully? No tricks, alright?” said one of the soldiers.
“No tricks, I promise,” I said while still sitting on my knees.
The soldiers started easing up. They were still cautious but the formation was dispersing now. One of them walked slowly towards me in an attempt to bind me. How he is going to do with his huge shield and armours is beyond me.
One of the soldier stood in front of me while I was still sitting on my knees. It was like God looking down upon me. That is the size difference between me and these armoured soldiers. The soldier kneeled down in an attempt to tie my hands. I can hear the groaning sound of the mechanical screeching when he kneeled.
“No tricks,” he said.
“Yes, no tricks… only spells,” I activated Concentration and casted Fear.
The soldier in front of me fell backwards while screaming. There were a few other soldiers at the back that tried running away but started tripping and falling. Those armours were certainly not meant for running. Another soldier despite being scared still managed to shout the words “E… Enter formation!”. A number of them were trying to get back in position. I must not let them.
I stood up quickly and summoned Tengu-kaze with my left hand. I concentrated power on it and swung it horizontally. I used wind power instead of pressure to knock the soldiers off-balanced with the strong winds. A lot of them lost balance and fell to the ground. I am certain they will need time to push themselves up.
I quickly gave the signal and leaped backwards. Immediately potion bombs started flying towards the soldiers with arrows hitting them with pin-point accuracy before it landed on the ground. This would ensure that the sleeping fluid will rain on those soldiers and absorbed through their skins. It will be much faster than just the smell alone. Soldiers were dropping like flies. Those that were able to push themselves up ended up falling again or were rocking around like a timber ready to fall. Anytime now more of them will be falling over.
Success! We had broken through these armoured soldiers and can finally push into the city. Both Noah and Violet came over to pat my shoulders. Seems like they are impressed about my tactics. However, no time to celebrate. I need to check what is going on inside the city.
I told Noah and Violet that I will head in first to check on the status of the adventurer’s guilds. All they needed to do was to incapacitate the remaining soldiers that were miraculously still standing and tie all of them up. Then they can finally storm into the city to help out. Hopefully Rick had made it to the army on the east and inform them to come over to this entrance instead. Then we can officially begin the war inside the city.
I covered my nose, held my breath and jumped over those armoured sleeping beauties armoured that were lying on the ground. To inhale even a little would start to make me sleepy and that is not what I need right now. I need all the adrenaline in my body to push myself through this war. My first stop, the secret hideout located in the west.
***
Something is definitely not right. Why are there so many dead bodies of civilians, adventurers and soldiers? There was absolutely no need for the adventurers to act so aggressive and start killing soldiers when they are strong enough to incapacitate them easily. Then what about the civilians? I don’t like the look of this. I need a situation report ASAP.
I kept to the dark alleys and shadows to get a bearing on the situation. There were many people arguing with each other. Some were threatening others to stay away while those who were too scared just hid in the corner and shivered. And these were just civilians behaving this way. I didn’t see much of soldiers or adventures around. Where are they?
I reached the hideout and took a peek. There were two person guarding the entrance. Wait, is that Lily and Rose? Why are they here? I approached them cautiously with my hands up.
Both of them saw me approaching and were surprised but immediately changed their expression.
“Stop right there, Zen. Answer the question truthfully, before coming closer. Please,” said Lily.
“What is going on? Why are there so many dead civilians, soldiers and adventurers around? It’s like the city is in complete chaos,” I asked both of them.
“Answer the question, please! When was the first time we held hands together?” Lily asked me.
I was caught off-guard by such a question. But I am certain something bad is going on that required them to ask me such personal question.
“When you blessed the elven dagger for me,” I answered truthfully.
Rose looked at Lily to which she gave a sigh of relief and nodded to her. They wanted to come greet me but I stopped them. Now is my turn to verify.
“Now it’s my turn. How far had I gone in relationship between the both of you? Go,” I pointed to Rose.
“H.. huh? Umm.. we.. kissed?” answered Rose which I then moved my finger to point at Lily.
“We.. slept?” answered Lily while she covered her face.
I gave a sigh of relief. I guess these two are the real Lily and Rose. Strange for them to be guarding the hideout though when they should be doing something that is more important.
“Geez, onii-chan. This is serious! Not the time for jokes!” shouted Rose.
“So am I. I am the instigator of this war. The worst case scenario now is that I ended up getting stabbed in the back by my little sister. Now, give me a sit-rep of what is going on with the city,” I said to them while walking into the hideout.
There were barely any adventurers inside. Too little as a matter of fact. As I approached the underground guildmaster hideout and saw John and the Elementalist inside. John immediately stood up with amazement. The Elementalist on the other hand remained seated with a smirk.
“Zen, you made it! H.. How did you manage to break into the city this quickly? Wait, you are Zen, right?” asked John while he kept looking between Lily and Rose to which they nodded.
“The elves helped me tremendously in breaking through from the south. Now, can someone tell me what is going on with the city? Why are they so many dead bodies of adventurers, soldiers and even civilians? I was expecting the cannons to stop firing by now but it seemed like that went to hell. What is going on?” I looked between the four of them.
John started by mentioning that everything went well during the initial evacuation. Adventurers brought a lot of the civilians to the safe zone. It was not until some of the adventurers started killing civilians that all hell went loose. Even civilians were attacking one another. The adventurers had to kill those adventurers and civilians that went made. Then the horror appeared when the body morphed back into demons. They were among us from the start. It was then that chaos erupted. Adventurers were killing each other as well as civilians. No one were able to trust one another in fear of them being a demon in disguise. All throughout the city deaths were either occurring due to mistaken identity or fear of being stabbed in the back.
I made a small thump on the table with my gripped hand. No wonder there were no adventurers who helped me with the cannons. They could barely even get a grip on who is what. They can only trust themselves and not even their companions or loved ones.
I asked about the status of the Paladin and Dark Lord. The Elementalist mentioned that both the Paladin and Dark Lord are going around the city to help out in identifying those in disguised. It is not easy and takes a lot of time to identify but they have some spell that can help them. It is going to take them forever to sort this out seeing as the city is in such disarray and not everyone are demons.
I slumped back on a chair. There was a moment of silence as I looked between the four of them. I can see the reason why John and the Elementalist are here trying to sort out a plan and figure out what they can do.
Damn it. The Queen had planned this all along. No wonder she did not bother about her soldiers and was just stalling us. All she wanted was for us to kill each other instead out of fear. At the end of the day, humans are the one losing their lives more than the demons. Even if we invade the city, the army is going to start killing themselves as well. I need to stop the army from coming into the city before it is too late.
I looked at Rose while I was racking my brain. She was reading a book while leaning against the wall. Is it really the right time to be reading a book right now? Oh, she cut her hair shorter. Reminds me on how she used to look. Lily had washed away her blond colour and it’s back to her silvery green hair colour. Ah, I miss that silky hair of hers.
Damn it, Zen! Keep it together and focus on the important things right now! What other way is there to bait the demons or reveal them quicker? There must be a way.
Wait a minute, the Queen. If we all attack the Queen, the demons will surely come to her rescue. Why didn’t I think of this before? The Queen is the most important piece of this war and I am certain the demons will do anything to prevent her from dying or captured. With that said, it would mean that there should be plentiful demons inside the castle defending her. Damn it, my army is outside of the city now and I can’t bring them in if we can’t figure out a way to expose those demon imposters. I continue figuring out a way when Lily told me something that sent chills behind my back.
“Zen, I know now is not the time but I feel you should know this. I am sorry if you don’t wish to hear this but… we found Rick. He.. didn’t make it,” she said with a sad expression and tone to me.
My eyes widen. I immediately rose up from my chair and grabbed her by the arms.
“Lily, are you one hundred percent certain that it is Rick?!” I asked her hastily.
“W.. we checked the body and face. I am fairly certain it is Rick,” he muttered.
“You are certain it is a human and not a demon disguised as him?” I pestered her with more questions as I started to panic.
“On that I am extremely certain. I know he means a lot to you so I made sure that it was really him,” she answered with a serious look on her face.
“What’s going on, Zen? You don’t look like you are grieving over his death. You are panicking over something,” asked John.
“Shit, shit shit shit.. I….. I had an imposter following me around without me even knowing it? How… did that demon even know where I will be after escaping from the castle? Did the Dark Lord not know that the Rick was an imposter and told him that information or did the demon somehow found out that information through some other way? He said that the Dark Lord ordered him to protect me in this war. What else does that demon even know?!” I started grabbing my hair unknowingly.
“Calm down, Zen. This is what the Queen is trying to do to you. To ensure that none of us can trust each other and distance ourselves. Run us through on what is troubling you,” said the Elementalist with a soothing voice.
“What if you are an imposter as well? I do not even know whether you are the real Elementalist talking to me. That Rick imposter was so real. He was asking questions that the real Rick would be asking. He acted the exact same as Rick. Just asking questions alone is not enough to prove that you are an imposter,” I started to panic and move closer to the wall.
As I looked between the four of them, my mind started to think of the possibilities. What if all of them are demons in disguised? Asking questions alone does not prove that you are not a demon. I started to sweat profusely and hyperventilate. How much do the demons know about the plans for this war? Was that why the Queen was so confident that she is able to win this war easily? Information is key in winning a war and the demons had the most advantage with their deceptions. Damn it, I can’t even think straight anymore.
John and Lily started to walk closer to me to calm me but I stopped them. I told them that no one should getting close to each other under any circumstances until we are certain that none of us are demons. They retaliated and ensured me that they are not but I argued back and told them that I was certain that the imposter was Rick with the way he acted. We continued to argue back and forth.
BOOK!
Someone closed a book loudly. Is that why we call it a book? Because of the sound effect of shutting one? It was Rose. She had closed her book one-handed and glared at me. She then walked straight towards my direction without any hesitation. I told her to stop coming close to me but she ignored. I unconsciously took out my dagger hidden behind in the back and pointed at her. She lifted her hand and I thought that she wanted to slap me. I closed my eyes and braced for the slap but both of her hands clasped my face cheeks instead. We looked at each other directly which made me look noticed her face features and imperfection. She looked so much more beautiful now after four years but she still had that small mole on her neck. She then gave me a passionate kiss which lasted longer than it should have.
The kiss was awkward and out of sync. It was the exact kiss we had before. This calmed me somehow and Rose smiled at me. She looked as bright as the sun to me.
“Onii-chan, do you really think a demon is capable of kissing you so passionately? I’m your little sister, don’t you recognise me? Don’t let the Queen get into your head. We must not let her win. You can beat her. You are Zen Hawthorn, my onii-chan,” Rose said to me while still holding my face with her hands.
I stared into her eyes. Her pink coloured eyes were unmistakable. This is indeed my little sister, Rose. I gave her a hug to calm myself further. After some time, she continued with her explanation.
“And besides, I just happened to find something that can give us an advantage to win this war. Time for us to turn back the tide of the battle,” Rose held out the page of the book that she was reading. Written on the page was “Revelation” on it.
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No one would believe that I am holding a mortar and pestle in the middle of war. While it was not the most efficient way for fast alchemy creation, it was certainly better than nothing. Good thing the elves brought with them some alchemy equipment for me to use. And they brought along some alchemy ingredients that had I needed to make my bomb potion. Jasmine, Lavender and Snake plant was all I needed.
All of the elves looked at me curiously at what tactics I was planning to use to break through those armoured soldiers. I told them that I will be making a sleep bomb potion. All of them had their eye raised when I told them about it. I had always used this when I had trouble sleeping albeit in small amount. I use mine as a candle and the effects were quite effective. For my bomb, all I had to do was make it more potent and the soldiers will be sleeping on the ground. I will be making it in liquid form so that it can be absorbed through the skin. Of course there will be odours as well but for faster effect it would be better to just rain it on those soldiers. Fingers crossed that this would help us to break through all those soldiers.
Thankfully there was just enough ingredients to make around twenty potion bombs. I will do my best to reduce some soldiers first and then the elves will toss the potions and shoot them mid-air. Some of the elves helped me in creating the bombs which sped up the process. Time is of the essence here while we sat around doing nothing but glare at those soldiers.
I sent Rick back to the east to inform the soldiers to come over to the south instead. No point in continuing the siege battle when we can just storm in right after I incapacitate those soldiers.
***
It took me about two hours to finally get all those bombs completed. As much as I want to rush alchemy, a slight mistake can end up creating something with a completely different effect instead. Imagine it ended up being a nuclear bomb instead of a sleeping bomb. While it might not be that drastic but it is not something that I am willing to risk.
All is set, time to set things in motion. I walked out of the forest towards the armoured soldiers alone. Some would call it “Likka boss” but I like to keep things modest. I had Concentration activated just in case a cannon ball started flying towards me. I would have enough time to react with Concentration active.
The soldiers noticed me and stood ready. No wonder the elves had difficulty in breaking through. All of them were heavily armoured and wielding a great shield. They look like some metal robots. There is definitely some mechanical support helping them to move otherwise there is absolutely no way those human soldiers are strong enough to move even an inch. That is just how big and armoured they are. The height of those armours are perhaps around 270cm as I walked closer to them. Their shields are even taller. Perhaps only John can move without mechanical support while wearing that armour.
All of them stood closer to one another blocking the entrance entirely. Not even a small gap remained for you to squeeze through. I definitely would like to know who created this suit of armour. It is definitely one of the most effective way to defend the city.
I stood in-front of them and tilted my head. Are they.. not planning to attack me at all? Is their only objective to prevent anyone from entering? Why though? I deactivated Concentration begin negotiation.
“Soldiers, take me to the Queen. I surrender,” I held both my hands up for them to see.
Silence was the only answer I got. Are they even humans in those armours or did the elves mistaken these as just a mechanical armour?
“Soldiers? Aren’t you going to arrest me? I’m unarmed here. Do you want me to get down on my knees and tie my hands?” I asked them.
Again no response. I was starting to think there was no humans inside. In that case, using cannons to break apart this mechanical armours is the least of my concerns. I was close to giving the signal to ready the cannons to fire upon them until I heard someone coughing and another person sneezing.
“I am here on my knees with my hands held up to you. I would suggest that you take this opportunity to capture me and end this war. Who knows when the elves might decide to shoot cannons at you guys. Even with all that armour, I doubt any of you can survive constant barrage of cannon fires,” I said to all the soldiers.
“Will really come peacefully? No tricks, alright?” said one of the soldiers.
“No tricks, I promise,” I said while still sitting on my knees.
The soldiers started easing up. They were still cautious but the formation was dispersing now. One of them walked slowly towards me in an attempt to bind me. How he is going to do with his huge shield and armours is beyond me.
One of the soldier stood in front of me while I was still sitting on my knees. It was like God looking down upon me. That is the size difference between me and these armoured soldiers. The soldier kneeled down in an attempt to tie my hands. I can hear the groaning sound of the mechanical screeching when he kneeled.
“No tricks,” he said.
“Yes, no tricks… only spells,” I activated Concentration and casted Fear.
The soldier in front of me fell backwards while screaming. There were a few other soldiers at the back that tried running away but started tripping and falling. Those armours were certainly not meant for running. Another soldier despite being scared still managed to shout the words “E… Enter formation!”. A number of them were trying to get back in position. I must not let them.
I stood up quickly and summoned Tengu-kaze with my left hand. I concentrated power on it and swung it horizontally. I used wind power instead of pressure to knock the soldiers off-balanced with the strong winds. A lot of them lost balance and fell to the ground. I am certain they will need time to push themselves up.
I quickly gave the signal and leaped backwards. Immediately potion bombs started flying towards the soldiers with arrows hitting them with pin-point accuracy before it landed on the ground. This would ensure that the sleeping fluid will rain on those soldiers and absorbed through their skins. It will be much faster than just the smell alone. Soldiers were dropping like flies. Those that were able to push themselves up ended up falling again or were rocking around like a timber ready to fall. Anytime now more of them will be falling over.
Success! We had broken through these armoured soldiers and can finally push into the city. Both Noah and Violet came over to pat my shoulders. Seems like they are impressed about my tactics. However, no time to celebrate. I need to check what is going on inside the city.
I told Noah and Violet that I will head in first to check on the status of the adventurer’s guilds. All they needed to do was to incapacitate the remaining soldiers that were miraculously still standing and tie all of them up. Then they can finally storm into the city to help out. Hopefully Rick had made it to the army on the east and inform them to come over to this entrance instead. Then we can officially begin the war inside the city.
I covered my nose, held my breath and jumped over those armoured sleeping beauties armoured that were lying on the ground. To inhale even a little would start to make me sleepy and that is not what I need right now. I need all the adrenaline in my body to push myself through this war. My first stop, the secret hideout located in the west.
***
Something is definitely not right. Why are there so many dead bodies of civilians, adventurers and soldiers? There was absolutely no need for the adventurers to act so aggressive and start killing soldiers when they are strong enough to incapacitate them easily. Then what about the civilians? I don’t like the look of this. I need a situation report ASAP.
I kept to the dark alleys and shadows to get a bearing on the situation. There were many people arguing with each other. Some were threatening others to stay away while those who were too scared just hid in the corner and shivered. And these were just civilians behaving this way. I didn’t see much of soldiers or adventures around. Where are they?
I reached the hideout and took a peek. There were two person guarding the entrance. Wait, is that Lily and Rose? Why are they here? I approached them cautiously with my hands up.
Both of them saw me approaching and were surprised but immediately changed their expression.
“Stop right there, Zen. Answer the question truthfully, before coming closer. Please,” said Lily.
“What is going on? Why are there so many dead civilians, soldiers and adventurers around? It’s like the city is in complete chaos,” I asked both of them.
“Answer the question, please! When was the first time we held hands together?” Lily asked me.
I was caught off-guard by such a question. But I am certain something bad is going on that required them to ask me such personal question.
“When you blessed the elven dagger for me,” I answered truthfully.
Rose looked at Lily to which she gave a sigh of relief and nodded to her. They wanted to come greet me but I stopped them. Now is my turn to verify.
“Now it’s my turn. How far had I gone in relationship between the both of you? Go,” I pointed to Rose.
“H.. huh? Umm.. we.. kissed?” answered Rose which I then moved my finger to point at Lily.
“We.. slept?” answered Lily while she covered her face.
I gave a sigh of relief. I guess these two are the real Lily and Rose. Strange for them to be guarding the hideout though when they should be doing something that is more important.
“Geez, onii-chan. This is serious! Not the time for jokes!” shouted Rose.
“So am I. I am the instigator of this war. The worst case scenario now is that I ended up getting stabbed in the back by my little sister. Now, give me a sit-rep of what is going on with the city,” I said to them while walking into the hideout.
There were barely any adventurers inside. Too little as a matter of fact. As I approached the underground guildmaster hideout and saw John and the Elementalist inside. John immediately stood up with amazement. The Elementalist on the other hand remained seated with a smirk.
“Zen, you made it! H.. How did you manage to break into the city this quickly? Wait, you are Zen, right?” asked John while he kept looking between Lily and Rose to which they nodded.
“The elves helped me tremendously in breaking through from the south. Now, can someone tell me what is going on with the city? Why are they so many dead bodies of adventurers, soldiers and even civilians? I was expecting the cannons to stop firing by now but it seemed like that went to hell. What is going on?” I looked between the four of them.
John started by mentioning that everything went well during the initial evacuation. Adventurers brought a lot of the civilians to the safe zone. It was not until some of the adventurers started killing civilians that all hell went loose. Even civilians were attacking one another. The adventurers had to kill those adventurers and civilians that went made. Then the horror appeared when the body morphed back into demons. They were among us from the start. It was then that chaos erupted. Adventurers were killing each other as well as civilians. No one were able to trust one another in fear of them being a demon in disguise. All throughout the city deaths were either occurring due to mistaken identity or fear of being stabbed in the back.
I made a small thump on the table with my gripped hand. No wonder there were no adventurers who helped me with the cannons. They could barely even get a grip on who is what. They can only trust themselves and not even their companions or loved ones.
I asked about the status of the Paladin and Dark Lord. The Elementalist mentioned that both the Paladin and Dark Lord are going around the city to help out in identifying those in disguised. It is not easy and takes a lot of time to identify but they have some spell that can help them. It is going to take them forever to sort this out seeing as the city is in such disarray and not everyone are demons.
I slumped back on a chair. There was a moment of silence as I looked between the four of them. I can see the reason why John and the Elementalist are here trying to sort out a plan and figure out what they can do.
Damn it. The Queen had planned this all along. No wonder she did not bother about her soldiers and was just stalling us. All she wanted was for us to kill each other instead out of fear. At the end of the day, humans are the one losing their lives more than the demons. Even if we invade the city, the army is going to start killing themselves as well. I need to stop the army from coming into the city before it is too late.
I looked at Rose while I was racking my brain. She was reading a book while leaning against the wall. Is it really the right time to be reading a book right now? Oh, she cut her hair shorter. Reminds me on how she used to look. Lily had washed away her blond colour and it’s back to her silvery green hair colour. Ah, I miss that silky hair of hers.
Damn it, Zen! Keep it together and focus on the important things right now! What other way is there to bait the demons or reveal them quicker? There must be a way.
Wait a minute, the Queen. If we all attack the Queen, the demons will surely come to her rescue. Why didn’t I think of this before? The Queen is the most important piece of this war and I am certain the demons will do anything to prevent her from dying or captured. With that said, it would mean that there should be plentiful demons inside the castle defending her. Damn it, my army is outside of the city now and I can’t bring them in if we can’t figure out a way to expose those demon imposters. I continue figuring out a way when Lily told me something that sent chills behind my back.
“Zen, I know now is not the time but I feel you should know this. I am sorry if you don’t wish to hear this but… we found Rick. He.. didn’t make it,” she said with a sad expression and tone to me.
My eyes widen. I immediately rose up from my chair and grabbed her by the arms.
“Lily, are you one hundred percent certain that it is Rick?!” I asked her hastily.
“W.. we checked the body and face. I am fairly certain it is Rick,” he muttered.
“You are certain it is a human and not a demon disguised as him?” I pestered her with more questions as I started to panic.
“On that I am extremely certain. I know he means a lot to you so I made sure that it was really him,” she answered with a serious look on her face.
“What’s going on, Zen? You don’t look like you are grieving over his death. You are panicking over something,” asked John.
“Shit, shit shit shit.. I….. I had an imposter following me around without me even knowing it? How… did that demon even know where I will be after escaping from the castle? Did the Dark Lord not know that the Rick was an imposter and told him that information or did the demon somehow found out that information through some other way? He said that the Dark Lord ordered him to protect me in this war. What else does that demon even know?!” I started grabbing my hair unknowingly.
“Calm down, Zen. This is what the Queen is trying to do to you. To ensure that none of us can trust each other and distance ourselves. Run us through on what is troubling you,” said the Elementalist with a soothing voice.
“What if you are an imposter as well? I do not even know whether you are the real Elementalist talking to me. That Rick imposter was so real. He was asking questions that the real Rick would be asking. He acted the exact same as Rick. Just asking questions alone is not enough to prove that you are an imposter,” I started to panic and move closer to the wall.
As I looked between the four of them, my mind started to think of the possibilities. What if all of them are demons in disguised? Asking questions alone does not prove that you are not a demon. I started to sweat profusely and hyperventilate. How much do the demons know about the plans for this war? Was that why the Queen was so confident that she is able to win this war easily? Information is key in winning a war and the demons had the most advantage with their deceptions. Damn it, I can’t even think straight anymore.
John and Lily started to walk closer to me to calm me but I stopped them. I told them that no one should getting close to each other under any circumstances until we are certain that none of us are demons. They retaliated and ensured me that they are not but I argued back and told them that I was certain that the imposter was Rick with the way he acted. We continued to argue back and forth.
BOOK!
Someone closed a book loudly. Is that why we call it a book? Because of the sound effect of shutting one? It was Rose. She had closed her book one-handed and glared at me. She then walked straight towards my direction without any hesitation. I told her to stop coming close to me but she ignored. I unconsciously took out my dagger hidden behind in the back and pointed at her. She lifted her hand and I thought that she wanted to slap me. I closed my eyes and braced for the slap but both of her hands clasped my face cheeks instead. We looked at each other directly which made me look noticed her face features and imperfection. She looked so much more beautiful now after four years but she still had that small mole on her neck. She then gave me a passionate kiss which lasted longer than it should have.
The kiss was awkward and out of sync. It was the exact kiss we had before. This calmed me somehow and Rose smiled at me. She looked as bright as the sun to me.
“Onii-chan, do you really think a demon is capable of kissing you so passionately? I’m your little sister, don’t you recognise me? Don’t let the Queen get into your head. We must not let her win. You can beat her. You are Zen Hawthorn, my onii-chan,” Rose said to me while still holding my face with her hands.
I stared into her eyes. Her pink coloured eyes were unmistakable. This is indeed my little sister, Rose. I gave her a hug to calm myself further. After some time, she continued with her explanation.
“And besides, I just happened to find something that can give us an advantage to win this war. Time for us to turn back the tide of the battle,” Rose held out the page of the book that she was reading. Written on the page was “Revelation” on it.
