The dark sphere became bigger and bigger as Erin ran towards Mother Night, using all her senses to try to find any trace of the quadruplets. The tension inside her didnt stop, her guilt growing out of control.
"BOYS! GARB, BASTIAN, NAM, MARON! ARE YOU HERE?! DAMMIT!" Erin screamed with all her might, the smoke complicating the rescue operation even more. Coughing and beginning to cry, Erin raised the neck of her trenchcoat, trying to hold the breath.
The flames were beginning to revive thanks to the wind that accompanied the storm, because although the sphere was keeping the rain away ... for some reason, the wind and cold were becoming more intense.
"What a... coff ... coff ... combination..." Cold by the wind, heat by the flames... a personal hell that if for a giantess like her was so intensely, a human would be in a situation a hundred times worse. "GUYS, PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING!"
The giantess burst into tears, as she began to run back to the cave when they had found the MotherNight. A thousand and one times Erin cursed the moment when the "King of nothing" had broken the seal of Apodemus, releasing his first star in the heavens and infected the lands with the cursed crystal. And although Erin was only 10 years old at the time, now with 20 years old, the giantess was able to remember perfectly that week.
The race through the flames was eternal, not knowing exactly how far she had progressed, the trees with which she was oriented that morning were completely destroyed... more and more numerous and in a worse state as the giantess progressed.
Stopping to take a breath, Erin crouched in front of one of the trees, examining it wounds: The blows were reminiscent of clawing, only at a size many times greater than normal... as if a gigantic paw had been hitting it with rage for a short period of time. But what really called her her attention was the burn marks, covering all the trunk, without following the path of the claw.
"It's... it's as if that monster had first hit themselves against the trunk... And then he would have smashed it with his claws?..." Looking towards the forest, Erin swallowed hard to see a large stone stained with cross-shaped mud... one that she and the quadruplets had used to mark the Mother Night cave.
She was so close... and there was still no sign of the quadruplets... Erin didnt want to put herself in the worst feeling, but fate was doing everything possible to make it.
A few dozen steps, Erin stood in front of the cave, where that morning they had faced the infected bear. No sign of the quadruplets, which if they had managed to get here... they had only a place to go... down.The giantess looked around, looking for a stick that could light like a torch, finding all the ashes around her. Pressing her right fist to her chest, Erin closed her eyes, reciting an advanced spell so she doesnt have to worry about keeping the concentration... or rather trying, the situation was far exceeding her, diverting her mind.
"Come on Erin!" She said to herself, and letting her mind go back to the past, her teacher's voice echoing in her head.
First, you must choose the material with which you are going to weave the spell, because as a painter chooses his colors, a magician must choose wisely the appropriate material for each occasion.
"Charme de lumière" Erin said in a loud voice, covering her arms with an ephemeral shine, a sort of whitish flash unable to overshadow the violent flames.
Let the magic resonate with you, let it flow through your body until your mind is able to glimpse ... And in that moment catch it! Shape it, mold it and weave it to your liking!
"Luminosité..." Erin's voice trembled, because her mind was unable to stop imagining what awaited her below.
A great magician does not stand out for the power or the gross amount of his magic... today any imbecile with a lot of money could buy a necklace of accumulative crystals or an amplification staff. No, what differentiates a magician from a legend is the agility with which he shapes his dreams and his mind! For the speed with which he weaves the right spell at the right time!
You are able to make a difference, Erin... my precious girl... your parents and your grandparents expect a lot from you because we know you can give it, so dont be afraid! We will be-
"SHUT! UP!" Quickly, Erin's memories turned dark... filled with hatred and rage. She tried to control herself, grabbing her head with both hands; ignoring all the extra magic that was building up in her arms.
"YOU'RE NOT HERE!" Erin shouted with all her might, so much that anyone in 100 meters in the round would have heard it. "I AM ALONE! YOU PREFERRED ... YOU PREFERRED A RULE OF 300 YEARS AGO TO ME!" Clenching her fists, Erin pointed both hands forward, screaming even louder.
"LUMINOSITÉ DES LUCIOLES!"Hundreds of small flashes of light came out of Erin's arms, floating towards the cave and illuminating it. Recovering her breath, Erin gritted her teeth, moving steadily inward.
"Ten... ten thousand?" Takun asked confused, not straying far from the adventurer.
"Is not enough money?? I can pay more, I wouldnt mind. You and your wife should focus on rebuilding your life... and the other marriage sure will also want to start again very far from here and what I want is worth more than ten thousand miserable Blue Orbs!" The adventurer said offering his hand affectionately, a hand that Takun declined with an attempt at elegance that was nothing worth his current appearance.
"Why... why? We dont even know if the MotherNight is still whole..." Takun sighed, imagining the mansion he could buy with so much money... never again working, just living calm and happy... it was something too appetizing after such a fateful night.
"Believe me, the MotherNight does not attract my attention nor the least, although I'm willing to pay to make sure it's destroyed... it's the other part of the deal that interests me! Let's do this, I raise it to fifty thousand Blue Orbs for the four of your, and another fifty thousand so you can start businesses and sustain your lives... is there a deal?"
Takun froze, managing to sweat the cold drop still surrounded by flames and ashes. "It's a joke?"
"I never joke when it comes to money, friend Takun!" The adventurer laughed, turning to him and offering his hand again.
"If I accept it ... you promise me to take good care"
"YOU PREFERRED A RULE OF 300 YEARS AGO TO ME!" A cry in the distance shook the forest, one strong enough for the sound of burning to be completely obscured.
Both men stopped immediately, and while Grimm was frozen trying to look for dangers, Takun was quick to recognize the voice "THAT'S ERIN! WE HAVE TO HELP HER!"
Takun shouted, trying to run away in the direction of the scream, only for the adventurer to grab his pants.
"You should not worry, the other beast is not what made her scream like that" the adventurer said calmly, reciting silently. Suddenly, roots as black as coal came out of the ground, enveloping Takun and lifting him up.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
The adventurer floor hard, taking off his helmet again and closing his eyes. "Give me a single second of silence, if you are so kind"
Takun obeyed, the roots returning her to the ground and vanishing. The adventurer opened his eyes again, his expression this time much more serious. "I need you to confirm if you accept the deal, Mr. Takun"
"Eh? We shouldnt first-"
The adventurer replaced his helmet, reciting again. This time, a black light enveloped Takun's entire body, making him float next to the adventurer. "We must hurry... and I need to know that you have accepted the deal..."
"Okay okay! I agree with the deal! Where should I sign? Please help her!" Takun begged, unable to move.
"Nice to know it. That means I have a reason beyond pure kindness to get going" He said in an adventurer before running off at an inhuman speed, with Takun floating behind him
With a thud, Erin fell to her knees, unable even to cry. As the giantess had supposed, the quadruplets had managed to get to Mother Night.
"Please...nooooo... please..." Crawling on the floor, unable even to coordinate her own limbs, Erin came to one of them... who of them was would be impossible.
Calcined…
Shattered...
Dismembered...
Erin took in her hands what should be the body of one of them, the bottom completely torn apart. The tears of the giantess fell incessantly, struggling to recognize who was in her hands from among the blackened remains.
"WHY?! You didnt need you to come here! It doesnt matter to an infected animal if you attack Mother Night that infected him or not!" Screams worthless, without going to anyone directed... deep down, she didnt matter if someone listened to her either.
Looking up, Erin looked at Mother Night's crystal, glowing with an almost insulting bluish tone. Around the glass, dozens of bat carcasses lay scattered. As Erin supposes, the monster must be a bat of the group, one that resisted the corrupting effect of Mother Night long enough to transform. The trees felled and incinerated were the result of the newly transformed bat struggling to retain control of its instincts... and the attack on the village the result of the infection of MotherNight having dominated the poor animal completely.
Gritting her teeth, Erin got up (as much as the cave would allow), taking the corpse in her hands. "They deserve it... they tried to do what they think was the right thing" Erin told herself, leaving the corpse next from the entrance of the cave. With great sorrow in her heart, Erin took the next one, and the next, leaving for the brothers closest with each other covered with ashes so that the monster didnt notice them
They werent the first corpses that Erin had to see... and surely they werent the last ... but neither that thought helped her.
With the four brothers buried precariously, Erin grabbed the largest rock in the place, heading towards the MotherNight.
"I dont know... what the hell you are, I dont know the reason Apodemus hated humanity so much to create you..." Erin said, lifting the rock at eye level. "BUT I SWEAR THAT I WOULD DESTROY AS MUCH MOTHERNIGHT AS I FOUND ON MY WAY" Again and again, Erin hit the glass with the rock. A succession of blows with all her strength... but even so they didnt nick the glass...
With an immense crack, the rock crumbled at the impact, bursting into a thousand pieces and causing Erin to lose her balance, falling on her knees in front of the glass."No ..." The giantess cried inconsolably, first picking up two pieces and beating MotherNight with them... and when both broke, she started hitting the glass with her own fists.
"Die!... Stop being so hard! Disappear! You've already done enough damage!" Sobbing silently, Erin didnt notice the first tremors.
"HYAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" A bestial scream brought the giantess out of her trance, seconds before the cave's roof collapsed on her. Erin closed her eyes, casting the most basic barrier spell on her.
Dozens of rocks crashed into the barrier, building up on the sides of the barrier as the dark light of the sphere filled Erin's senses. A gigantic almost demonic claw, covered with flames, hit the barrier, managing to break it and grab the giantess by the head.
Erin fought with all her might as the monster lifted her into the air. There, suspended under the cursed sky, she could see his captor completely.
If before the creature was a bat, at this point it was impossible to recognize it. His body was too big, more than 10 meters minimum to be able to lift her up so easily. The wings had mutated and lengthened, too large and heavy for the creature to fly, tying him to the ground. His arms had become a kind of elongated claw, incinerated and almost skinless. His head had lost all reason for being, two giant eyes completely crystallized, unable to move... and a mouth from side to side, covered with grotesque fangs inward.
A distorted being, without reason to exist more than causing pain... Erin could have even the grief of the bat, if it were not the grief suppressed by the pain constantly
"HYAYAGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" Squeezing the claw, the beast threw Erin against the trees. Between the shattered trees and the weight of Erin, four trees were torn off on impact, falling to the ground and serving as a cushion for the giantess.
"Please..." Erin opened her eyes in pain, only seeing the beast staring at her while her entire body covered with flames. The beast began to scream in pain, a scream so loud that Erin could only cover her ears. Consciousness left her, leaving only one last thought before closing her eyes waiting for the end. Her family, devastated when they hear her destiny...
"No... I dont want... to end like this..." Erin cried as she fell unconscious.
"AHYAAGAGAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!"