They walk down the stairs. Even the slightest noise made them anxious. Who knows what hid in that darkness.
*step*
"We are almost there, be ready."
They reach the basement at the end. John used pyromancy for a bit of light. After the area is lit up, they can't believe their eyes.
"Angela! What is this??"
They see that the basement is empty.
"How is this possible?! My intel was correct!"
"You made a mistake Angela! No one is here. I don't sense any mana."
Angela avoids eye contact, her voice cracks as she speaks.
"But its not possible. I don't get it…..how?!"
Daniel's jaw tightens, he grabs Angela's wrist with a harsh grip.
"I don't care how! Tell us what to do now?!?"
John intervenes.
"Hey Daniel! Leave her! You don't have any right to accuse her! She just made a mistake."
Daniel leaves her wrist in an instant and rolls his eyes away from them.
"Angela….what are we supposed to do now??"
Angela's gaze is stuck at Daniel. Tears shedding from her eyes.
"Why are you like this Daniel?"
"Like what?"
With a dim voice she says.
"Why don't you ever talk to me nicely?? You are always too harsh!"
"I have been doing everything…just so we…."
Daniel grabs her in his arms firmly.
*hug*
With a voice full of regret he says.
"Listen…..Angela. I might be a little harsh, but I am doing this for us all. I don't want to lose even one of you."
(I already did one time.)
"I know Daniel….."
He wipes her tear and looks at her numb eyes.
(These eyes...)
"See Angela...right now we have a mission."
He kisses her soft forehead before continuing.
"And if we need to succeed in it...I need to be harsh. I need to take responsibility."
(If I won't then who will??)
Angela lies her head on Daniel's chest with a sense of comfort.
"Daniel….promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"Don't ever leave me. Be on my side…forever."
"I will…"
(Even if it means killing all commanders.)
She hugs him tightly.
(Even if it means killing those gods.)
She feels Daniel's heartbeat that might be beating just for her.
(Even if it means killing the calamity)
"Daniel…..I lo-"
Before she could say it, air behind Angela starts to warp. A dimensional rift appears behind Angela and John.
"What is this!?"
It happens too quickly. Even Daniel didn't get enough time to react.
(What hell is happening?!?)
Angela and John start to get suck into the rift. Daniel in rushes towards them to prevent them from getting sucked into the rift.
Within the blink of an eye. Another rift appears behind Daniel. He starts getting sucked as well.
(So this was a trap all along!?)
"Angela!!! Listen, wherever you teleport….make sure you go where light only reaches at night!!! I will be there. And John take care of-"
Daniel's voice fades as John and Angela enters the rift and it closes.
After a while, John finds himself in his room.
"Huh?? Am I….in my room??"
John starts inspecting the situation. Today's date is XX/YY, three months after the 200th chapter was uploaded.
"So I….it was all a dream huh??"
(I can't believe it! I was asleep for...three days??)
(Well today is Sunday so mom and dad must be back from work. I should go look for them.)
He looks in their bedroom, kitchen and dining room. No sign of them.
"Where are they??"
He hears some movement in his room.
(What is that sound??)
He went to his room. Just to see something he couldn't even imagine to see.
He sees two bodies hung with a rope. They are his parents'. His body starts trembling, his heart starts to crumble. Tears shedding through eyes. Feet getting numb. He can't move his body.
He can't do anything except watching his parents' dead bodies.
(This can't be…..m-my parents. W-what happened!?!)
He finally moves his head a bit more up. It took effort. He sees their dead faces. Their dead eyes, they looked like there were no tears left to shed. No words to speak. No will to live.
His heartbeat kept raising.
(NO!)
"Did this happen.....because of me??"
"Yes, the reason they did this was because they couldn't find something or someone. It was so crucial to them that this seemed to be their last option."
A voice with no sign of humanity in it. The only thing that John felt at that moment was pure fear.
He looks to his left and sees a dark shadowy figure walks through the door.
His numb eyes widened as he saw the Demi-God walk up to him.
"You look as pathetic as you looked back when I killed you."
"They couldn't find someone….m-me??"
"What do you think John?? They were left all alone…..no child they could live for. YOU gave them no choice."
"N-No!"
"They waited. Every day. At the door. Until hope became heavier than rope."
"NO!"
He screams in agony and as looks up again he sees tears droping from his parents' eyes.
"Why did you leave us, Johny??"
"We did everything for you and this is how you repaid us!?"
John screams in agony.
"I'm sorry Mom and Dad. I was-"
"John….Oh you poor fool."