Evangelyne spurred her Dragoturkey, pushing it to top speed.
The breeze whipped against her face as she closed the distance with Amalia, who had stopped to admire an old tree with a wide trunk and gnarled roots.
“I see you learned absolutely nothing from the last time you ran ahead, Amalia,” Eva commented with mild sarcasm.
“Remember, we’re on our own.
And whenever something goes wrong, I’m the one who has to bail you out.”
“Excuse me?” Amalia looked annoyed.
“I’m perfectly capable of defending myself, Eva.
Or did you forget that I caught those thugs who tried to ambush us?”
Evangelyne let out a cuckle.
“Ah, yes, those thugs…
If I remember correctly, I’m the one who took them down with my arrows.
You just tied them up once they were already on the ground.”
“Well, if you hadn’t been so quick on the draw, I would’ve immobilized them myself.
And I hope you haven’t forgotten that without my abilities, we would’ve gotten lost in that forest we passed through.”
“Yeah, yeah…
Every time we argue, you bring up that incident.
You need new material, Amalia.”
“New material?!
If I recall correctly, you…”
The argument dragged for a few minutes until they finally spotted the village gate.
But suddenly, before they could pass through, a thunderous roar ripped through the air.
The Dragoturkeys whinnied and reared back, but the girls spurred them forward.
A sharp crack made them whip around just in time to see a hole getting torn out in village’s palisade wall.
The few guards at the entrance fled in terror as a dark presence emerged from the splintered wreck.
And then, from the dust cloud rose a monstrous creature.
It resembled a giant humanoid with grayish skin and a third eye in its forehead.
Its mouth spikes.
A pair of pointed horns jutted from its skull, framing a long orange mane that rippled with its every move.
Its laughter echoed with a cavernous boom as it wrecked everything in sight.
“That’s the way, Dally!” the monster roared.
“Look what I can do when I’m the one in control!
You couldn’t pull this off in your wildest dreams!”
Amalia tensed.
She bit her lip, trying to hold a scream, and yanked the reins of her mount as she trying to back away.
It was too late.
Her Dragoturkey panicked and shrieked, drawing the monster’s attention.
The demon tilted its head, all three eyes glinting with malicious amusement.
“Oh, what do we have here!” it exclaimed.
“Looks like we’ve got an audience, Dally.
What can I offer you, ladies?
Any chance you’d be interested in a show of violence and destruction like nothing you’ve ever seen?”
The monster lunged at them, laughing gutturally.
Amalia’s Dragoturkey stumbled and she lost her balance, crashing to the ground.
Completely vulnerable.
Eva reacted instantly.
She steered her mount toward Amalia, reaching out to drag her away from the battlefield.
But before they could escape, the beast launched itself with a brutal leap and landed right beside them.
With a single swipe it grabbed the tail of Evangelyne’s Dragoturkey and hurled it through the air as if it was a rag doll.
The animal slammed into a nearby house and collapsed, motionless.
Eva and Amalia tumbled to the ground, rolling across dust and gravel.
The monster approached with an evil smile on his face.
“Well, well…
Looks like the little Cra has some fight in her.
I wonder how long it’ll take us to crack her skull.”
Amalia scrambled to her feet and rushed to Eva’s side.
“Evangelyne!
Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, Amalia…
It’s just a scratch.”
She tried to stand, but the blow had been harder than she expected.
Her leg bucked and trembled under her weight, throwing her back on the ground.
Amalia didn’t hesitate.
She knelt beside her friend and placed a hand over the wound as she began to channel life energy.
A warm green glow enveloped Eva’s leg, healing it within seconds.
“Thanks, Amalia,” the Cra tried to smile a smile, “but get back now.”
The monster was already charging again.
Eva acted fast.
She shoved Amalia aside and, with in the blink of an eye, vaulted onto the creature’s back and leapt up to a rooftop.
There, she drew her bow and pulled back the string.
The demon, still slow to react, could not stop its charge and slammed against a nearby wall.
Taking advantage of the demon’s disorientation after its failed attack, she fired three arrows in rapid succession.
The projectiles sank into the beast’s back, making it roar with roar of pain.
But the monster was nowhere close to defeat.
Its gaze fixed on her, and a sadistic smile spread across its face.
“Oh, this is going to be more fun than I thought…
Get ready to die, girlie.
I’m going to enjoy ripping your fragile little body apart.”
Eva held her breath.
Her arrows had barely scratched it.
The demon stepped back, bent its legs and became ready to jump.
Eva locked eyes with Amalia.
She didn’t need to say a word.
The Sadida understood immediately and, with a sweep of her hands, thick roots burst out from the ground and tangled around the monster’s legs.
Eva seized the opening.
She leaped from the rooftop and sprinted toward the heart of the village.
“Amalia, don’t just stand there!” she shouted.
“Run!
We can’t beat this monster!”
“Got it!”
They took off, leaving the demon behind.
When they reached the village center, Amalia, still breathless, asked her friend with worry.
“Eva…
What was that thing?”
“A Shushu,” Eva replied.
“I wasn’t sure at first, but the third eye and its behavior give it away.”
“A Shu-what?”
“A demon from another dimension.
They’re violent, destructive, and nearly impossible to kill.
Normally they’re sealed inside objects, but if someone releases one without knowing how to control it…
well, you saw what happens.”
Amalia let out a nervous laugh.
“Great…
A demon.
We’re just so lucky sometimes.
Traveling together was the best idea we’ve ever had, right, Eva?”
“Wait until we’re actually safe before you say that, Amalia.”
Eva had a point.
She’d barely finished speaking when another roar shook the air.
She turned and saw the creature barreling toward them in a frenzy.
Chaos erupted across Emelka as villagers fled in every direction, filling the square with screams of panic and the frantic sound of footsteps.
Eva gripped her bow and scanned the surroundings.
A few meters away, the village tavern still buzzed with activity.
It was clearly packed to the rafters.
They need to get out of there now, she thought.
If we don’t warn them, this will be a massacre.
“Amalia, get into the tavern and warn them about the monster.
Get them to evacuate!
I’ll keep the Shushu distracted.”
Amalia hesitated for a second, then nodded.
“Fine, but don’t you dare die out here!” she warned before darting toward the entrance.
Eva stood her ground in the square, facing the beast as it moved towards her with heavy, menacing steps.
Its roar rang out with a mix of rage and glee.
“They’ve treated us like a dog, haven’t they, Dally?” the creature snarled.
“Let’s give them what they deserve.
This village has so many things to smash…
It’s going to be an unforgettable show!”
Eva wasted no time.
She whispered words in an arcane language and fired an arrow with lethal precision.
The projectile struck the monster square in the face, and a layer of ice spread across its grayish skin which left it frozen and stunned.
Now was the moment sto strike.
She fired three more arrows, each aimed at a vital point.
The projectiles pierced the beast’s back, wrenching another roar from it.
But instead of falling, the creature smiled with sadistic satisfaction.
“Is that all you’ve got, archer?” it purred.
“I’m going to pluck your arms off like a bug.”
Eva felt a chill down her spine.
That wasn’t enough.
Her attacks had barely slowed it.
The monster drew back, flexed its muscles, and prepared to lunge.
But something wasn’t right.
No…
no…
no…
Her blood ran cold as she realized her mistake.
The Shushu wasn’t going for her.
It was heading straight for the tavern.
“No!” she screamed, trying to get its attention.
Too late.
With a colossal leap, the creature rammed the tavern wall and reduced it to rubble.
The wood groaned, the beams buckled, and the wall collapsed in a cloud of dust and splinters.
A shriek of terror erupted from inside.
Eva cursed under her breath.
Now we’re in serious trouble.
While chaos was engulfing the village, the commotion inside the tavern was so loud that nobody had noticed what was happening outside.
It was just a joyful day like any other, and it seemed nothing would go wrong.
At that time, Yugo was still hard at work, running between tables and delivering plates with ease.
In the rare moments he had a break, he couldn’t help playing with the strange ability that had awakened within him.
He watched in fascination as magical circles appeared in the air.
They seemed to be linked portals where anything that entered one exited through the other.
This is incredible!
he thought.
I can do so many things with this ability…
A mischievous idea crossed his mind.
What if I use it to prank Dad?
He’ll definitely get mad, but it’ll be worth it.
His prank was cut short when a young brown-skinned girl burst into the tavern, gasping for air and covered in dust.
Her face twisted with fear, she let out a desperate cry:
“A monster!
There’s a terrible, horrible monster in the village!
Get out of here before it’s too late!”
The silence lasted barely a second before the tavern erupted in laughter.
The diners exchanged amused glances, and one of them, a heavyset man with a nose reddened by drink, staggered to his feet and let out a mocking laugh.
“A monster?
Here?” his booming voice filled the tavern.
“Sure, sure, young lady.
What’s next?
Dragons in the forest?
Go on, get lost and stop talking nonsense.”
But while most of them were laughing, Yugo looked at the girl’s eyes.
They were wide open, full of a terror too real to fake.
“Wait,” he said aloud, causing the laughter to die down.
“What kind of monster are you talking about?
Who are you?
You don’t seem to be from this village.”
Amalia felt overwhelmed.
The confusion and disbelief of the crowd made her falter.
Too many voices, too many questions.
Her mind raced, thoughts tumbling over each other until she couldn’t think straight.
She took a deep breath, forced herself to focus, and finally gave a response:
“Look…” She swallowed hard.
“We were arriving at the village when, out of nowhere, a creature attacked us…
It was horrible, huge and monstrous…
We ran as fast as we could, and if it weren’t for Eva…
Eva saved our lives.”
Her explanation only earned more skeptical stares.
Frustration began to build inside her.
I’m blowing this.
Eva trusted me and I’m letting her down.
Panic threatened to take over, but then she thought of her friend, still fighting out there alone against that beast.
She clenched her fists and her expression shifted.
Now, she only had determination in her eyes.
“What matters is that a monster is heading this way, and if you don’t leave now, it will kill every one of you!
I swear by Sadida!
Please, believe me!”
From the kitchen, Alibert heard the commotion and entered the main hall.
His presence commanded respect, and the crowd parted as he approached the girl.
“Now, now, calm down, miss,” he said in a patient but skeptical tone.
“I’m sure you just saw a wild Gobble.
There are no monsters in this region, and even if there were, they’d never attack this village…”
Before he could finish, the tavern wall exploded into a thousand pieces.
The crash silenced the crowd, who watched in horror as a cloud of dust and debris rose into the air.
Once the haze cleared, all could see the terrifying Shushu before them.
As it stepped through the remains of the wall, a cruel smile spread across its face when it spotted Amalia.
“Ladies and gentlemen, “, the monster roared.
“Get ready for a show you’ll never forget!”