Chapter 31 Chapter 31
Aurora peered outside, waiting for her father. Her wristwatch wasn't working in that area, so she didn't know what time it was. Today, she and her father were heading to Tenebris Agro, where her mother was, according to her father's story.
"Aurora!" A knock on the window caught her attention. She quickly went to the window and peeked at whoever was there.
"Papa!"
Her father gestured not to make a loud sound. "We're leaving now. Are you ready?"
"Yes..." she whispered in response.
"Then let's go."
She turned and picked up the bag she would take for their departure. She was about to go to the door when her father shushed her.
"Don't go that way. Come through the window. Hurry!"
Though curious about her father's command, she chose to obey. He knew what he was doing, so all she needed to do was follow his orders.
She carefully climbed through the window, forcing her body to fit through the wooden frame.
"Do you have the sword from the cave?"
"It's in my bag, Papa."
"Give it to me when we're out of this mountain. Come on. No one must see us leave. Did you talk to any of your friends?"
"N-no..." She didn't know why she lied to her father, when in truth, she had spoken to Leora.
"Good then. Come on. Don't let anyone suspect we're leaving. Walk normally."
"If you don't want anyone to see us, it would be better if we took the river out of this mountain," she suggested. Even without looking at her father, she knew his brows were furrowed.
"Is there a passage in the river leading to the mortals?"
"Yes." She took her father's hand and concentrated on going to the cave. It was no longer difficult for her to go to the cave because she had been there once. That was the importance of teleporting. Once a place has been visited by those with the ability to teleport, it becomes easy for them to travel there through their abilities, even if there's a barrier or the place is difficult to reach.
They appeared at the top of the cave, which was the only part not submerged.
"Where do we go since all I see is water?" her father asked in amazement, so she couldn't help but think negatively, but she dismissed the wrong thought. She shouldn't feel doubt towards her father, lest it cause their failure. She has to give her full trust to her father. That's the word—father. He is her father and she should trust him.
"We'll swim into the cave." She gave her father the mask she had Ryuk make for her.
The mask she held was similar to an oxygen mask, but theirs was better than an ordinary oxygen mask because magic was used to create it. It covered their entire face, so even if they stayed underwater forever, they wouldn't run out of air.
The next thing she gave her father was the overall diving body suit. Ryuk had also given it to her. When you wear the diving suit underwater, you won't get wet. You can also move easily, as if you're on land and walking. The suit also adjusts to the water temperature, so even if you dive in Antarctica, you won't feel cold.
"What's this? Of course, it's an overall suit. What's the use of this?"
"It'll keep us dry and comfortable. Put it on so we can leave."
After putting on her diving gear, she plunged into the water, followed by her father. She was even more amazed because their suits glowed under the dark water.
"Follow me." She could also speak clearly because of the mask. It's very helpful.
The young woman swam into the cave, followed by her father. She also remained alert because they didn't know what could happen before they exited the passage.
As she swam, she couldn't help but recall the past. Those beautiful memories that made her a strong person today. Those memories with her family.
When she entered her true world, she thought everything would be easy. She just needed to save her parents from a sorceress who had no weaknesses. When she saw her father, it was so different. At first, she was happy, but that changed when she didn't feel her father's love for her. Her father treated her just like an ordinary acquaintance. She couldn't find the love she felt for her daddy within herself. She didn't want to compare the two fathers, but she couldn't help it.
And then, there's Fiel; she left him without him knowing. She didn't even check on the young man once, so what right did she have to say her feelings for the doctor were real?
When he doubted her, she saw the pain in his eyes, but Fiel didn't say anything against her. He just stood there and waited for the King's guard to capture him.
Tears fell down her cheeks, and when she closed her eyes, flickering lights appeared from nowhere.
She felt dizzy, and her body was stiff, making it difficult for her to swim. Added to that, her head felt like it was exploding from the pain.
"Papa..." Her attempt to shout turned into a whisper, especially when darkness almost completely enveloped her. But she still tried to swim upward. She moved her arms and legs, even though heavy stones seemed to be pulling her down. "P-papa..." She tried to raise her hand again when something wrapped around her right foot and pulled her further down. When she looked to see what was wrapped around her foot, she saw a tail with black scales.
The serpent!
Aurora tried to do what she did in this cave the last time she faced this creature, but to no avail, her mind and ability didn't want to cooperate.
The serpent's head came closer and closer, its large mouth ready to swallow her whole when a new creature appeared from the bottom of the water and decapitated the serpentine. The creature approached her and stared at her. It even tilted its head while studying her, then smirked. The new creature waved her hand in front of Aurora, and her consciousness went black.
"AURORA... Aurora... Wake up..." Along with the voice came the shaking of the young woman's shoulder, so she opened her eyes. She coughed up water before finally regaining her senses.
"L-Leora?" she asked her friend in confusion. She didn't know why she was there and wearing a diving gear just like her.
She looked around and realized they were by the side of a stream. The air was already polluted, so she knew they were out of the mountain.
"Are you okay?"
She cleared her throat before answering. "I'm okay. What are you doing here? Where's Papa?"
Her friend frowned and laughed as she looked at her. There was an incredulous look on her face when she looked at her again.
To her surprise, she laughed and laughed until she fell to the ground, but her friend, now holding her stomach, didn't stop laughing. In other words, she was writhing in laughter, and Aurora didn't know why.
"What the heck?! What's happening to you?"
Her friend wiped the tears from her eyes.
When her friend recovered from her antics, she sat down, but a smile still played on her lips.
"How did you know?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"How did you know I was Leora?"
She became even more confused by what she said. She scratched her brow because of her friend's weird behavior.
"Where's Papa? And you, what are you doing here?"
"Okay!" She raised both hands as if surrendering. "Let's undress this suit first because it's losing its poise."
They both took off their diving suits. She also adjusted the bag on her back and the sword.
"So, start telling me why you were laughing as if Gray tickled your crotch?" the young woman asked sarcastically. She scanned her surroundings again, but there was no sign of her father. "For the nth time, where's my father?"
"So, you're only seeing now that it's me?"
"What?" Her mind was blank, and she became even more blank because of what her friend was saying.
"Since we left the mountain, I've been with you."
Instead of being enlightened, she became more confused by her friend's answer. "Please, just tell me directly, okay? Otherwise, I might go crazy thinking about it after you."
"Have you forgotten what I am?"
"Hybrid..." She smirked at her friend. They were already walking towards the road.
"I'm a product of a wolf and an Earth Demon."
"So?"
"Earth Demons are good at imitation, so it's easy for me to copy Sapiro's appearance. No one can see our true nature once we've copied our prospect, well, but there's always a first time they say."
She gaped at Leora's revelation. "What? So, it was really you who was with me since we left the mountain?"
"That's correct."
"Why did you have to pretend?"
"I know it's maybe rude, but I don't trust your father. I don't know, he seems different."
"He told me about betrayal, Leora. Maybe that was the reason why he changed."
"Maybe... I don't know. When did you realize it was really me?"
"When I woke up. I thought you just followed us."
"Nope. I was afraid you'd be in danger if you went ahead with your plan to go to Morgana's lair. Your boyfriend is also worried about you. Fiel is worried about you." She looked at her, and their eyes met.
When her lover's name was mentioned, she felt guilty. "Is he angry with me?"
"Does a worried person get angry? Don't be stupid. He loves you even if—"
"I betrayed you?" She blurted out the words herself. "I chose Papa over you. Sorry."
"It doesn't matter if you side with family, friends, or even enemies, Aurora. What matters is that you're on the right side. Tell me honestly, did Gray really attack you?"
She looked straight at Leora. "Yes. I don't need to lie to you. I have no reason to lie."
"I believe you..."
"But?" she asked her.
"But I don't believe Gray attacked you."
"Wait, I'm confused..." she admitted to her friend.
"It's really confusing when someone interferes. If only your ability had manifested earlier, you would have seen who really attacked you."
"My ability?"
"Hmmm. Let's see what other abilities you'll manifest during our journey." She winked at her. "What happened to you in the river, by the way? I was already on the bank earlier, but you still weren't there, good thing I plunged in and found you unconscious underwater."
"Ahh, yeah, that..." She shook her head. "A serpent wrapped around my foot when I sank. My mind suddenly blacked out earlier while I was swimming. Good thing someone helped me." She recalled the appearance of the creature in the water earlier.
"A human?"
"Wait, I'm still trying to remember..."
A creature with long white hair and half-human and half—
Holy shit!
She must be dreaming then...
"What is it? You look like you're about to have a stroke."
"A s-siren..." She turned to her friend, her eyes wide.
Her friend laughed at her again. "The Kataw of the Seventh Sea haven't existed for a long time, Aurora, so what you saw is impossible. You're just stressed. And even if it's true that you saw a kataw, you wouldn't remember it, or worse, well, only they know what happens to their victims."
She didn't answer her friend because what happened wasn't clear to her either.
Not far away, a creature had been listening to the two hybrids. It smirked as it watched them.
"I have news for Morgana..." it whispered and disappeared into the tree where it was hiding.