Second Story: The Sunset monster
Chapter Seven and Last: Mother and Daughter Forever
Raen angrily threw a rock at one of the windows of a destroyed house. He was upset about going down to the basement, and as he threw rocks, he muttered, "Why always me... Ugh!" The rocks hit everything in front of him until he spotted an insect crawling on the wall and aimed for it, hitting it. Then, he threw another rock towards a distant flower and said, as he hit a group of spiders, "Still plenty of time until sunset. I'll enjoy myself here."
But moments later, his feet froze, and the ground around him shook. A powerful Azer had heard him, making him so frightened that he wet himself. At that moment, the Arcomor jumped from between the trees towards Raen, who was watching, as though the movement had forgotten him. The Arcomor struck the stone armor, causing Hans to crash into a nearby wall. He couldn't move, and his heart began to beat at an incredibly fast pace.
The Arcomor was in front of him, sniffing his scent, and then launched an Azer towards Raen's face. Raen had seen his only sister, Mirai, before the Azer struck, causing bleeding in his ear and eyes, making his heart explode with fear. Mirai saw the scene, ran, and threw rocks at the monster, while Colt aimed his bow at it, though he was a filthy lowborn, death was not an option for him. However, their hits did not affect the Arcomor, which began to get bored of their attempts and quickly approached them.
His body was completely destroyed, but he opened his eyes to find the Arcomor heading toward Mirai and Colt. He raised his hand with difficulty, feeling as if his wounds were weighing it down. He let it hover in the air as he contemplated the situation and thought to himself, "Is it over? This is the Green Writer, the shattered hope." Then, he caught Mirai's tear-filled eyes, as she said goodbye to her brother, who had fallen beside him. He muttered to himself, "Even you failed to save him."
His thoughts raced, unsure whether to surrender or keep fighting. A numbing feeling overwhelmed his feet, yet he tried to lift himself. He grabbed his notebook and began writing. Smiling as he read what he had written, he whispered, "It's too early to give up, coward. You must save them." Then, he stood, threw the paper into the air. It landed on a broken wall and morphed into a spinning cone shape. The speed of the flight was stunning, and it attacked the Arcomor, who couldn't avoid it. The strike hit his massive arm, tearing it apart, and the pain made him unleash a thundering Azer.
Mirai and Colt fell to the ground, but Hans, despite his physical bleeding and total destruction, stood smiling. The blood of the Arcomor was on his face, but he didn't care. He threw several papers he had prepared earlier, which transformed into water waves like swords, with a thunderous lightning smell, as if he had been cooked. He looked at the Arcomor falling, laughing loudly, then placed his foot on its body and said, "Killed one, still a damn girl in the forest."
But his injuries knocked him to the ground, and he quickly lost consciousness.
Colt awoke, feeling the weight of his battered body, sitting up and glancing at the massive Arcomor corpse lying in front of him. Above the body was Hans, still in place. Colt smiled and said, "So, I'm the one who killed the Arcomor." He stood, pushed Hans aside, and stuck his arrows into the beast's corpse. He placed two in its head, a few in its stomach, arms, and eyes. After finishing, he felt satisfied but noticed with his single eye that Mirai was still unconscious.
He approached her, dragged her into the house, and placed her on her bed. He smiled a bitter smile as he saw his own features twisted from exhaustion and conflicting emotions. "The Arcomor is dead, and Mirai is my wife…" he whispered. He removed his iron arm, took off his shirt, leaving his chest bare, and then approached her, kissing her gently, thinking she felt nothing.
But suddenly, Mirai awoke from his action. She was shocked and bit him, then punched him. Colt tried to hold her hands, but he didn't stop kissing her, causing Mirai's tears to fall. Still, she pushed him away, and instinctively, her hands moved to defend herself. In a moment of uncalculated anger, Colt lost his balance and began hitting her, sitting on top of her, his voice trembling with fury. "Why don't you want me? I'm your husband, I'm older than you, you should respect me!" He repeated the words as if they were binding his thoughts.
At that moment, Mirai exploded in anger, pulling away from him, her hand going to his one remaining eye, causing him to scream like an Azer. Colt fell to the ground from the pain, while Mirai broke down crying.
Mirai grabbed a dagger from the table and started stabbing him repeatedly. She didn't care about the number of stabs or what he might do; she just wanted to release all her fury, and Colt's features became disfigured from the many stabs. She threw the dagger to the ground, sat in internal pain, holding herself and trying to calm her raging emotions. She felt disgusted with the place and with herself. She stood up, wearing the last clothes of her father, a long-sleeved linen shirt, loose pants, dirty and worn, but it was the only thing she could wear for modesty.
She left, searching for her brother, but found no tears to shed. Her eyes were dry from crying as she walked toward the family cemetery. She dug a grave for her brother, burying the dead while the others watched, but no one cared. Hours passed, and before morning, she finished digging. She buried her brother in silence. She felt dry, hopeless, and not a single tear came from her.
Once finished, she returned to Hans, who was still in his miserable state. She tore Colt's shirt and began cutting the fabric to make bandages for him. She brought water and started cleaning Hans' face, body, and arms, while he was still immersed in pain. She took his shirt and coat and mended them in silence, as the hours passed slowly. Every time she looked at Hans, she saw herself in a mirror of pain, but she kept working silently until morning approached.
Hans opened his eyes, feeling exhausted and destroyed. He felt his body to discover that he was bandaged. He stood slowly and found Mirai watching him quietly. She spoke softly, "Where to?"
Hans replied while dressing, "There's a damn girl in the forest. I want to kill her to get out of here."
He took the bag Mirai had mended, his clothes more comfortable, and started walking. He limped slightly, and Mirai, watching him, asked, "Do you want help?"
Hans stretched out his hand, saying, "No, I don't. I'll manage, I'll kill her."
He continued walking slowly, but his resolve was strong. He felt tired of sympathizing with Merith and decided she must die. As he walked, he began writing many papers. When he reached his target, he threw three of them, turning them into fireballs that burned the spider webs and flowers. Among the flames, Merith appeared holding her dagger. Hans threw another paper, turning it into a fireball, but quickly, with her sharp dagger, she tore the ball apart and vanished.
Hans knew this was a new problem. He threw an explosion stone to make her retreat a bit and increase her pain, but in the end, he saved his life. He screamed, "Your dagger from the Fa! I've never seen anything made of iron sands! Magic breaker!"
Merith responded angrily, "Coward!" as she ran toward Hans. Hans used the vanishing stone and threw the explosion stone far away. When she turned, he placed an electric paper behind her, striking her hard. She tried to stand, but he placed his foot on her chest to knock her down again.
Hans said softly, "Child, you're not even grown up, and you think you can defeat me?"
Merith replied with difficulty, "Coward! You think you're a hero, and you left a girl, what if she were your sister? Why did you leave her?"
Hans stepped harder on her, saying, "You're the last to say that! Siren is alive, and Colt didn't kill her? And you stayed here, afraid of revenge, sending the Arcomor I killed."
He continued stepping on her and then kicked her face before turning and leaving. "Where's your mother? I want to break the curse and get out of here."
Hans entered the hut where there was a room filled with roses. Merith mother, with long orange hair as silk, was lying in the corner. Hans picked her up and threw her out of the hut, while she watched him with fearful eyes.
Hans smiled wickedly and said, "You're a child, look at your mother. Enjoy her second death."
Merith, despite her injuries, ran, took her mother in her arms. "Kill me, but don't kill my mom, I don't want to see her die again."
Mirai pulled Merith back, looked at her with a cold smile, and said, "Do you recognize me? I'm your friend, Mirai."
Tears welled up in Merith's eyes as she ran to Mirai, embracing her with deep sorrow, and said, "Mother, don't kill her."
Mirai looked at her without any expression and said, "Every night, I cried and screamed for mercy, and you didn't care. Now you want help?"
Mirai smiled mockingly and stabbed her with her dagger. The stabs were successive, representing the number of her family members. She then placed Merith next to her mother and said to Hans, "End the suffering of our town."
Hans threw a paper, which turned into a black spark that touched the bodies of Merith and her mother. Their bodies began to sink into black flames, while Hans sighed and said, "Finally, it's over... Goodbye now, Mirai."
He continued walking, leaving the town, limping. After a while, he felt something behind him. He turned to find Mirai holding his coat, and she said softly, "I have no one but you. I want to stay with you."
Hans walked on, with her following him, both in a state of psychological and physical destruction, heading toward an unclear destination, while silence enveloped them.
Theend.