My mind raced, as she was fine before, and now she was choking in front of mine. What had suddenly changed?
Is it because I deactivated the shop's skill? If it is, there must be some sort of magic around here. I need to reactivate it again…
I needed to see it.
I shut my eyes, focusing my will, and activated the gift Lilith had given me. The eyes that could see what was mana. My vision shifted. The shop was fully dark. A massive, suffocating aura, darker than blackness itself, was pressing inside the shop. An invisible weight my normal eyes couldn't perceive. It was crushing her.
She is coming…Nice timing…
I didn't waste any second. I slammed my will back to reactivate the shop's skill in my mind. ACTIVATE.
In a flick of a finger, the change was instantaneous. The invisible and crushing pressure vanished into Orla. As Orla was on the floor pulling in a ragged, shuddering breath that sounded more like a sob. She rolled onto her side with coughing and trembling. Her eyes pulled shut as she was trying to process what had just happened.
I rushed over to her and checked around her. "Are you okay right now?"
Orla slowly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with confusion and fear. She nodded weakly, still struggling to catch her breath. "I…think…so…"
I helped her sit up and offered her some water, trying to calm her nerves.
Orla took a few sips. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I just need a moment to collect myself." I sat beside her in silence, giving her the space she needed to recover.
"What was that?" She asked. "Suddenly, I couldn't breathe, as if this room were a void… It wasn't just that… I felt like something was watching me, like a presence in the room... That presence was so overwhelming, it felt suffocating. It was... it was everywhere... a presence so powerful... In my entire life, I never experienced anything like it." Orla shuddered, her eyes darting around nervously. "Do you feel it too?"
I shook my head. "I didn't feel it. Not like you did." I hesitated, kneeling beside her. "But I... I saw it. You were right. There was a presence, an overwhelming dark aura... it was crushing you, not you but this shop..." I stood up…
She seemed confused about what I had just said. "What do you mean by 'saw it'?"
I tried to ignore her question and just said, "You just need to brace yourself… It is your moment. Your objective. Your order. The reason you are in here…" I walked towards the front door.
I could feel her eyes on my back as I left, the weight of her confusion heavy in the air. As I stepped out onto the balcony…
I raised my head and saw the source of all of it…
A massive, crimson creature was descending from the sky. The wings were moving the air even from a distance. It was Varania, in her true dragon form. And there, lying casually on her head as if it were a relaxing lounge, was Lilith.
That suffocating aura Orla felt, the one I had seen. It was just her, existing, unaffected by my shop's skill.
I could see Lilith waved cheerfully from a distance…
As I could hear walking behind me, Orla had managed to pull herself to her feet, her hand braced against the counter, and walked towards the front door.
"You said... it was crushing the shop," she said, her voice strained.
"I was wrong," I replied as I pointed at Lilith and Varania. "It was just her approaching."
Orla's eyes widened again, processing the horrifying implication that the demon lord, Lilith, was in front of her eyes. Her objective. Her order. To know about her.
In a moment, Varania lashed out to the balcony at the speed of a fighter jet. Orla stumbled back, fear evident in her eyes. Her foot could not hold her any longer, and she stumbled to the floor. As Varania was flying in front of the balcony, Lilith jumped out to the balcony. Right now, in front of her was her mission, why she needed to live in here. As for Varania, she immediately transformed to her human form and jumped to the balcony.
Orla was still on the floor, pushing herself up onto her elbows. Her face was pale, yet her eyes, wide with a terror and dawning realisation, were locked onto the Demon Lord. This was her mission, her objective, standing right in front of her, and she had just experienced a fraction of its true power.
"Darya!" Lilith said, her voice bright and cheerful, completely ignoring Orla on the ground. She dusted off her dress as if she'd just stepped off a carriage.
"Yeah… So why do you come here?" I asked…
"Why dost thou ask that? Of course, I am come for thy drink and food. (Why are you asking that? Of course, I am coming for the drink and food.)" As she wanted to take a step to go inside, she finally glanced down at Orla, her head tilting with mild curiosity. "Hooo, what have we here?" she crouched down. "Is she well?" Lilith asked…
I saw Orla couldn't open her mouth in front of Lilith. She just stared, her body locked in a paralytic tremor. I sighed and stepped between them, answering for her. "She'll be fine…"
"Is't so?" Lilith raised an eyebrow; somehow I saw her seem to try looking closer to Orla. She stood up, brushing a speck of dust from her dress. An amused smirk played on her lips. She glanced back at me. "So Darya, I heard thou didst visit the human realm… How interesting. Care to share thy tales? (So Darya, I heard you visited the human's realm… How interesting. Care to share any stories?)"
"It's better to tell you inside than here… How about we come inside first…" I said…
As Lilith and Varania went inside, I offered my hand to Orla to get up… As Orla took my hand and stood up, yet her feet couldn't walk. I noticed a look of concern cross her face as she struggled to move.
So this is how humans in this world stand before the Demon Lord. Cera is actually smart to choose my place for the meeting between Lilith and her. As Lilith is in here, I need to tell her and ask her about the meeting. Hope she accepts it.
As I half-guided, half-supported Orla through the door, Lilith suddenly called me, "Darya!"
I answered while I tried to help Orla walk to the back section, or no-shoe area, where he could lie down, "Yeah?"
"What is this upon thy counter? (What is this on top of the counter?)" She asked.
She must be asking for the omelette. It was the only thing left on the counter, so I replied, "That's an omelette…. Just wait for a moment…"
I helped Orla to lie down and brought her the big pillow for her. I said to her, "Just lie down and rest!"
I left Orla in the no-shoes area, her pale face half-buried in the pillow, as she watched me with wide, terrified eyes. I walked back to the counter.
"So," I began, moving behind the counter, "that omelette was for her…" I took it and walked towards Orla again to bring it to her, as she hadn't eaten it yet. As I put it onto the table beside Orla, I said, "You need to eat this…"
Orla weakly nodded, still looking visibly shaken. Before I walked back towards the counter, I said to her softly, "There is nothing to be scared of or worry about…" Orla managed a small smile, but her eyes still held fear.
I went to the counter as Lilith and Varania were already seated.