Tap! Tap! Tap!
Idel ran to the exit of the village, towards the nightmare he sensed back at the station.
'The energy appears to have gotten stronger; has it already devoured Emontarions? And judging by the thunder strikes, I would assume that the Hitter has engaged in battle with it.' He gritted his teeth. 'Something is off; I need to get there fast.'
Candidly speaking, given the situation, his best bet was to run in the opposite direction: the desolate mine plains, just as they planned to do back at the station.
But Idel had an inkling that this attack by the nightmares was too calculated. Not only did they block the forest, but he could also sense a lot waiting still in the mine plains… waiting for anyone stupid enough to approach.
Even if he did manage to fend those stationed in the mine plains and escape, they would likely attack the village and leave no stone unturned. He didn't want others to suffer because of him, after all; he might have been the one they came looking for… and to think they went as far as doing this was beginning to jar him.
How lucky they were; if only he had not to keep his Labyrinth a secret, he could summon it and kill every single one of them.
'Wait, that's not right. My Labyrinth as of now can only consume a space of two middle-class houses; furthermore, the more Emontarions are enclosed within it, the faster my demonic energy depletes, as what happened earlier. I just have to rely on my strength and speed for this one.' He looked on either side of the village and saw no Emontarion. 'Sigh, good job, Officer.'
Back when he was at the station, as they stood on the threshold of escape, when he and Snappy sensed the nightmare, they had two options: run away or, as Idel suggested, warn the chief officer of the incoming calamity.
The latter, after some seconds of debate, took the victory, and with the help of Snappy, they broke the iron-clad door, and Snappy explained the situation to the officer. Fortunately, he too had sensed it… would have been exhausting trying to convince him if that wasn't the case.
Shortly after that, Idel suggested that the officer round up the small population and confine them in the station; that way, the nightmares, even if they tried to attack, would have difficulty pinning down the population's exact location.
And to further increase the success of that plan, to make sure the Emontarions do not exude any emotions of fear so that they cannot be tracked, Idel's idea was to first make an announcement that everyone had to gather at the station and get free food and money. He was pretty sure that would work, and sure enough, after the mustached officer did the bidding, everyone gathered with smiles plastered on their faces, coming to get the free food and money… also, to their ignorance, a shelter of safety.
The doors were shut, and though Idel knew it was not a great plan, it was at least something... he only needed it to give him some time to go towards the nightmare who he thought was in charge and then either defeat it or make it run after him, hopefully leaving the Anger Emontarions alone. But there was a complication…
'These two fools. Why decide to follow me after I inconspicuously left the station? The plan was for you to stay and let the Hitter handle the situation.' He discreetly looked either side of him.
On the left, with a face that was surely scared, was Snappy with a rucksack, trying to keep up with Idel's pace. On the right, having no difficulty keeping up with Idel, was Tintless.
'Bravado and insouciant.' Idel, in the middle, with his cloak, prepared himself for the coming battle.
A while later, after crossing the long bridge that connected the village to the other side, the trio arrived, and greeting them was a scene that only belonged in horror novels.
The atmosphere, under the thunderous clouds, was shrouded in a smog that carried scents of blood and sweat. It offered little to no clear image, with the only thing visible being a black sea on which a feminine figure stood close to a swimming man, trees that had black glowing eyes from which disfigured beings clawed out and moved towards a spot where lightning continuously hit.
It took a while for their eyes to become attuned to the scene, after which Snappy's breathing pace increased, Tintless slightly twisted his head, and Idel gritted his teeth.
He had never seen a number of nightmares this high, and especially a female. The energy coming off her was similar to the suffocating energy he sensed.
Here it was even stronger. It caused a clammy chill to creep down his spine; Snappy, on the other hand, could not take it—he lowered his head and vomited.
"What's wrong?" the boy turned to Snappy.
Though Snappy could not understand sign language, he could easily tell the boy was worried for him.
He smirked. 'Come on, this is no time to act all scared. Are you gonna let two outsiders fight for your people? No.' He lifted his head with great difficulty and looked at Idel.
Something was different about him; he looked not all tired, but focused. No… to be honest, he became like this ever since the two sensed the danger.
'Shit, so cool.'
As he pondered, he suddenly felt a huge ominous presence hit him head-on. He turned his head, and his bones quivered from the inside.
The female nightmare had turned to face them with her deep black eyes.
"…"
She looked at them, then suddenly wrinkles of apparent disgust could be seen. As she seemed to lift her hand, Idel moved in a flash, and seconds later was back, and this time on his shoulder was an Anger Emontarion: Shifty.
The act was so fast that it left the female nightmare and Snappy in dismay.
He handed Shifty to Tintless.
" Cross the bridge and stay with him; let the adults handle this."
He turned, and he and Snappy stood face-to-face with the female nightmare.
The fight was about to commence.