Chapter 8: Dimension Doors
"Going to the market again?" Sieghart asked.
Jin scratched his head. "Yeah, I've realized that we ate too much yesterday."
"I'll do that," Arme appeared and grabbed the basket from the fighter. "Probably you will use the money for junk food."
"Hey, I actually bought meat yesterday!" Jin retorted.
"I believe I should do that. You can sit back and relax."
"I'll come with you if you won't mind," Lass appeared behind the mage, almost startled her. He took the basket and headed straight to the door. Arme followed behind him.
"I'm starting to worry about Ronan and Elesis. They haven't returned since yesterday." She said.
"They're in Kanavan, genius. It's their hometown." Lass stated.
"Umm, Lass?" the mage glanced towards him. "Don't you have any plans to go home?"
""I… haven't thought about that lately.."
Arme laughed. "Time sure flies fast. I couldn't imagine what would we be like in the next few years~"
Lass chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You're one hundred years too early to think about that." He received a pout from the mage when she changed the topic.
"You better not be stealing again, Lass! How many times do I have to tell you that?!"
"I got that already," Lass chuckled when he froze on his tracks. His expression completely changed from the scenario happening in front of him and Arme doesn't seem to notice it.
"Hey, what gives?" the mage complained.
"Arme!" Lass shushed. Before Arme could say a word, he pulled her wrist and dragged her away.
"Lass, what's wrong? What did you see?" She finally decided to look towards the direction he's looking at. And what she saw made her heart stop.
An army of clone Gaikoz is attacking the village.
Somewhere in Eryuelle Island, a place located in the eastern part of the Elven Forest, a tall figure stood in his haven. He looked through his window in silence. He then put his gaze on a small picture frame with the image of a young girl with golden locks and a pair of green eyes. The frame sat on his bedside table next to his lampshade. He is then startled by the sound of a knock on the door. He went to answer it.
"Master Ladmir, where's your sister?" an Elf, a troop from the Elven Corps, stormed inside his room.
"She's with her elite group – "
"She was here!"
She was here? Ladmir cringed. "Where did she go?"
The Elf troop replied, "She just left…"
Ladmir stared at him wide-eyed. "She's in danger, we're all in danger! The Elves – of all kinds – are greatly affected by this catastrophe!"
The troop's eyes widened. "What catastrophe?" Then Ladmir remembered.
Nobody knew. Marina, the sole witness and I… we knew. But everyone else…
"What is it, sir?" the troop's question left Ladmir silent. He felt a tight knot in his throat. Now he couldn't look at him straight in the face.
"THE FOREST IS UNDER ATTACK!" Thankfully, the yell of an Elf saved him from the awkward silence. He stood up and headed towards the door.
"Sir – "
"Evacuate the residents, quickly!"
"Arme, c'mon! We have to get out of here!" Lass tugged on her arm but the petite girl didn't move an inch. She was mesmerized from the aura she sensed from those clones. It was fierce and terrifying compared to the one that they defeated in the ghost knight's castle.
This can't be.
"He… he resurrected and multiplied! But how?!" she found herself blurting out those words.
"Lass, Arme!" Although Jin and Sieghart were able to catch up to them, Arme remained mesmerized. She couldn't believe what she is seeing and realizing.
"Let's put on a show." Sieghart wielded his rapiers after unsheathing them from their scabbards.
"There's too many of them. We can't take them down all at once!" Jin cried.
And he was right. The clones are multiplying. But where are they coming from? Lass decided to do something as he separated from the group with Arme calling out for him. But he continued his pursuit in inspecting the area.
"Tch, humans."
The striker froze. A pair of dark horns suddenly caught his gaze.
What the…
"What are you looking at?" the owner of those horns caught him staring. He had magenta-colored hair with his horns protruding from his head. He had a pair of pointed ears as well. From the color of his skin, it is certain that he is definitely not a human and not an Elf.
"You have to stop knowing what's best for me."
Get a grip, idiot. That asscake just got carried away!
"It's past noon…" she mumbled and sighed. Myrielle had gone home shortly after lunch. Now she's all alone.
Speaking of which, the place she's staying in is definitely an isolated domain. It seemed that the architect responsible for this intentionally made it secluded. Despite its paradise-like structure, Lire felt that something is not right. The place is quiet. Too quiet.
Her sensitive ears are craving to hear peculiar sounds. Is this really the period of peace that the people have been longing for?
No. she thought. That's not my concern.
She couldn't hear the birds, the trees rustling, the wind, the crickets… Looking at her clothes, her attention suddenly averted. Her clothes seemed to be worn out and ripped.
Come to think about it, the tube-like top has its edges ripped and her skirt as well. Paying attention to her hair this time, it has grown longer and had the instinct to have it tied into a ponytail and bind it to keep the strands secure.
"Ooh, suddenly I'm in the mood for some berries~" she simply laughed and skipped excitedly towards the woods. As soon as she is several feet away, she is confronted by screams, wails and peculiar sounds.
"Have you decided?" He remained silent for seconds.
I'll think about it. He can't say that response to the Great Leader. Considering his physique and condition, the Leader of the Druids is no longer capable to fight. He had to support himself with a cane in order to stand still.
"You are among the few who made it but nobody wanted to continue the legacy and accept my teachings. Ryan, I know you can do it even if you still have many things to go through…"
"After this, what am I going to do?" Ryan asked.
Magnus Dan sighed. "Lead your people. Lead everyone. A new threat has just begun."
What? The Lich was defeated just a moment ago!
"I believe that this will be the greatest siege after the five-year war," the Leader stated. "They have spread all over Bermesiah. The Elves – all of us – residing in the forests of Bermesiah have been personally set target by Kaze'aze herself. There are other Dark forces besides her. Worst of all, she targeted this forest, the Elven Forest and the places near it because she knew that the Elves are stronger than humans and have more advantage. And our civilization has the strongest warriors."
Lire…
"The forest is under attack!" one of the Druids yelled, alarming everyone else.
"Who is it this time?" Magnus Dan asked.
"Same monsters, sir, but they're unbelievably violent."
The Leader turned to Ryan. "Do what you have to do."
The young druid wordlessly ran. Away from them. The Sentinels and Vikens who saw him called out to him but he ignored them. His mind is centered around Lire. He has to get her away. Escape from here. He didn't dare to take his glimpse of them. Ryan went straight towards their hideout. To quicken up his pace, he morphed into his wolf form, allowing him to move in all fours.
And then he saw her.
She is there, wielding her dual crossbows and moving with grace. Her graceful and agile movements put him into a trance, attracted.
Lire headed towards where Myrielle went. To her surprise, a furry creature leaped overhead and landed on its paws in front of her. She gasped and aimed her arrow towards it. In front of her, the wolf heaved an abrupt sigh and came forward, showing its distinctive green eyes to her. Lire blinked in surprise and out her bow down.
"Ryan?"
Get her away from here.
"Ryan, what's going on?" the archer asked.
Can't you already see? Ryan grimaced as he turned away from her to run.
"Hey, where are you going?" she demanded and ran after him. She did not know where he is going to take her. All she knows is that they're running for dear life.
He's taking me… home? To her shock, Ryan turned right. Another right then west, leaping over a giant boulder and leaving Lire utterly confused. She did a somersault jump over it and landed on her feet expertly.
"Where are you going, Ryan?!" she ran after the druid who is a few feet away from her. This time, she is not going to let him get away – whatever he is trying to hide. She cried out his name once again yet, for her, he seems to be ignoring her on purpose, triggering a bit of annoyance for her.
"Kyah!" She felt her foot slipping as she fell sideways to a gravel-filled earth. A burning sensation is felt on her knee, making her wince in pain. Lire managed to strain herself to stand up for just a bit. Looking down to her knee, she spotted rosy circles and deep red scratches. But worse of all…
She's about to fall.
Off a cliff.
Pieces of gravel clattered down towards the dead end.
Lire strained to pull herself to a safe area when she winced. She looked at her wound only to see sanguine fluid flowing and trickling down her leg. She closed her eyes, not bearing to look at it.
She then felt a warm touch on her bicep and her arm.
She looked up.
Ryan, reverted into his Elf form, knelt down and helped her get up. She is covered in dirt but he didn't mind it any longer. The wound on her knee is his concern. He took her in his arms and carried her, careful not to touch the wound.
"Don't go too fast…" she mumbled.
"Sorry." Ryan responded as he transformed into a nephilim, opening his wings and ascending from the earth.
"Ryan!" Sigh.
Despite her expertise in leaping into great heights, she still had not conquered her fear of actual heights. Ryan suddenly had the urge to kiss her – the same way he did when they were being attacked by the ferocious black wendy. He found it quite arousing…
His pondering didn't last for long. For now, he has to find them a new hideout. And he has to heal that wound. Fast.
Bingo.
He descended towards a tree-surrounded grove. As soon as he made his landing, he gently put Lire down and laid her on the soft grass. Ryan turned to look for leaves. But before he could do so, Lire suddenly clung on his arm, a sign telling him not to leave.
"Now what's wrong?" he asked.
"…where are you going?" she mumbled.
It's clear that she definitely doesn't want him to move a single step.
"I'm going to look for leaves, okay? Unless you want that graze to get worse."
"Don't leave."
There she goes again. This is the side of her that he knew. The calm demeanor that she usually possesses isn't shown when… she's with him alone. She is different. She becomes child-like and somehow… vulnerable. Unlike when Elesis and Arme are around, she is matured and more composed.
Ryan understood. Underneath her calm demeanor are traces of loneliness and sadness, very similar to his situation.
"Do you want to spend the rest of the week dragging your leg behind you?"
Lire lowered her head when she wordlessly shook it.
"I'll take you there," the druid carried her in his arms again, bringing her to what seemed to be an abandoned tree house. It looked deserted, though. Ryan confirmed it when he saw dust and cobwebs along the corners.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Lire asked.
"It's the only hideout I could find." The sentinel replied as he left.
"Cure!"
"Arme, stop it. You're wasting a lot of mana."
"I have to heal you, you know!" the mage retorted, chanting a fast healing spell from the magic of her pot. Lass is getting tired of it.
"Just distract them. I can handle this!" the striker fired back at her but Arme didn't listen.
"Lass," she said. "Who was that?"
"I have no idea."
"I know what he is! He's a demon from Elyos! But what's he doing in here?"
Lass rolled his eyes. "Save your genius stuff for now – look out!" He pushed Arme down as chunks of concrete flew over them, crashing against the wall behind them. The striker shielded Arme from the falling debris.
"I knew the barrels are bad hiding spots!" the mage yelled.
I wish she'll shut up for just once. Lass hoisted her up and placed her on his shoulder. Arme wailed and flailed her arms aimlessly.
"Where are you taking me?! I just ate macaroons."
"You've barely eaten anything this morning."
"Oh wait, croissants, I mean. I had some with me, nyehehehehe~"
Lass scowled from the tone of her laughter.
"It's a good thing that I have !"
What the hell?
"Lass!" the striker jerked his head towards his right. Leaning against the concrete wall is Ronan.
"I thought you're in your castle!"
"Well, supposed to be!" Ronan replied. "But these dimensional doors have been appearing all over the place."
"Dimension doors?" Arme blinked in surprise when she gasped. "Oh no."
"Ronan, we just saw a demon around here," Lass said. "I don't know what his business here is. But I have a feeling that he's up to something."
"That was Dio…" the spell knight said.
"Can we explain that later because we've got a projectile coming right at us!" Arme exclaimed as they evacuated the area.
"Have you seen that pepperhead and that immortal dork?" she asked when they hid inside a tent.
"Uhh… no," Ronan replied. "And I haven't seen Elesis, either, in case you might ask."
"What do you know about that demon?" Lass asked as he put Arme down.
"He's Dio, the current leader of the Burning Canyon demon clan," Ronan explained. "He went here to destroy the dimension doors that are helping the demons from Elyos get here in Aernas. Despite a citizen of the demon world, he just wants his people to stay in their world and not to trespass to anywhere else."
"You've talked to him?" Arme said in shock.
"There are books written about it. Dio is from another world and possibly older than our modern ancestors."
"Elyos, huh? I'll be raiding the catalog cards now…"
"But what about those dimension doors?" Lass asked eagerly.
"Kaze'aze has affiliated with the dark forces, enabling her allies to put on a show. And here we are." The spell knight shrugged. And he was right. The portals are the works of the demons. Kaze'aze was able to go this far – thirsting for destruction and domination. It suddenly dawned on him that he was once under the grasp of the Queen…
His eyes snapped open. Things are now falling into place.
The terror in the land of the gods.
The five-year war.
Dimension doors.
The siege, the one we have right now.
"I knew it!" he cried, causing Lass and Arme to glance at him. "We all have to send everyone else to cooperate with us. The Chase can't do this alone so I contacted someone to do it for me."
"Who?" Arme asked.
"In your kingdom, Miss Edel. In Kanavan, I sent my subordinate."
"Edel..?"
"She's a knight from Serdin," Ronan's reply made Arme gasp but he continued. "Nowadays, Serdin is inhabited by mages. But the knights, with Edel among them, residing there wanted to maintain the chivalry and the swordsmanship. She will contact the guilds, with your Violet Mage Guild among them, and other acquaintances from your kingdom. Harpe, my subordinate, will do the same."
"Umm… about that demon we saw, I think we should go help him out.."
The asmodian slid the back of his wrist across his forehead. The portals just kept on coming. What angered him is that the demons from his world grew obsessed in entering Aernas for personal reasons.
Curses. During the years before he was made the leader of his clan, the demons felt threatened when they saw the progressions of the Elves, Dwarves and the humans in magic, technology and chivalry. So in order to maintain their reputation, they engaged in warfare.
"Cloud Kill!" That's just great.
Humans.
"Who are you?" Dio asked the three humans who are clashing their weapons to the portals. The girl with purple hair eyed him.
"We're the Grand Chase and uhh… we fight evil!"
Terrific. Looks like I could need some help.
"Ow!" Lire winced as she dabbed her wound with the grounded leaves that Ryan found. She squeezed the dew out of them as every drop stung her. She heaved a sigh.
"Press deeper." Ryan said while rummaging in her bag containing sanitary things and weapons. Lire didn't mind since there was nothing special in it.
"Where did you find these leaves?" she asked.
"I got them from the trees just beside a lake. I've learned about them." The sentinel replied. He inherited the medical knowledge on herbs and plants from his sister, Lian.
"Are you sure these will work?" Lire asked.
"They will. Just press harder." The boy looked over his shoulder. Lire is dabbing her wound carefully, conscious of the sting that will be inflicted on her. He heaved a sigh.
"Allow me." He took the leaves and did the work for her before Lire could even protest. He endured the shouts coming from her as he pressed deep into the cut. He stole glances at her, whose hands are covering her face and not bearing to look.
"This is the only way."
There is silence. Lire uncovered her face and gave her wound a pale gaze. It became soupy as pale-colored blood trickled down her leg. She reached for her bag when Ryan stopped her.
"Don't cover it."
She didn't protest any longer. Covering the wound would mean making it worse.
"Ryan, what's going on?" she went back to her initial question.
"Didn't I tell you about that last night?" was his reply.
"No, I mean, what's happening around here?"
The sentinel then explained about the perpetrators advancing their threat for the whole civilization of the Elves.
"But… why the Elven Forest?" Lire asked.
"That's all I want to know." The boy stated grimly.
She twitched seeing the dark look on his face. According to the members of the Chase, Ryan wasn't like that. Before she got to know him better, he would goof around and tell jokes. He habitually pulls pranks on everyone especially Lass and Jin. The three became an inseparable group, teasing one another and creating havoc. Ronan soon tagged along and served as the big daddy. Ryan always possessed a bright aura and is the ball of sunshine.
Lire happened to see that other side of him. The personality that he shouldn't display openly.
"I think we should go back," she said.
"With those freaks coming right after us?" Ryan's response is abrupt but he had a point there. The monsters have spread like wildfire.
"Anyone can see – or even hear – us from here! Shouldn't we go help everyone out?"
"Considering that?" the boy pointed at the soupy wound that made Lire go back to her almost-fall on the cliff. She lowered her head as her golden bangs shadowed her eyes.
"I've cooked lunch for you…" her voice is barely a whisper that is loud enough got Ryan to hear.
"You mean these?" Lire looked up. He has her bag in front of him and on the floor are two tupperwares. She blushed madly.
"Y-Yeah…" her blush grew when she caught Ryan smirking at her.
"Two lunches?"
"I-In case we get hungry, I…"
The sentinel inched closer. "Thanks."
The archer flashed a smile. "Well, I just ate with Myrielle. So you can just dig in."
"We're eating lunch together." The boy's tone relented, making Lire's heart soften. She chuckled and took her lunch, silently declaring it as her "midday snack".
They ate in silence, not minding the environment. Lire simply plucked some grains of rice and baby shrimps and shoved them into her mouth. They used pairs of chopsticks as dining utensils. She blushed madly because it is her first time eating with a guy – with her brother Ladmir as an exception.
"You do really know me, don't you?" Ryan said.
"Huh?"
"You knew that I like seafood. Next time, we should go for crabs."
She blushed again. "Umm… yeah! I'm sure there are a lot of crabs in here that we can catch."
Ryan gazed towards the window pane. "There's the Kerrie Beach. Maybe we can go there."
Ahh, the Kerrie Beach. Lire always loved the smell of the ocean, the fresh air and the white sands. She along with Elesis and Arme had fun in there once.
"Yeah," she nodded and stared also on the window.
"Lire," she looked at him, his beautiful green eyes staring at her solemnly. But his mouth is composed of a straight horizontal line. A straight and solemn gaze.
"When all of this madness is over, I'm taking you out. Just you and me."
Lire's eyes glistened and her cheeks flushed. She smiled shyly and gave a slow nod. Her heart spun when his hand went through her golden locks, right behind her head and pulling her close.
And then he kissed her. It was a smooch.