Chapter 20: Blood (1)

Two days have passed by since Airi arrived here, it hasn’t been very eventful since she covered my arm either.

The voice is mostly quiet now with no real signs of anything happening with my arm either. We have the room fairly lit up to keep any Zierel from coming in.

I honestly don’t know how to fight without the help of the infection since I haven’t had an awakening yet. That is the worst part about this situation.

She did make it clear that she’s here to help me with my awakening but I don’t know when that’ll be.

I can feel a slight tug on my shoulder before I turn around.

“It would probably be best to get moving,” Airi suggests.

“That sounds like a good idea,” I reply in agreement.

With that I help pack up whatever we need before we leave behind the house. It is definitely interesting to be traveling alongside someone who carries a light with them.

Navigation through the streets is definitely a lot easier now but I kind of wish I didn’t have it.

Blood is all over the place with remnants of bodies. It is definitely quite a gruesome sight to take in as we continue to move forward.

“Don’t focus too much on it. It’ll make it harder to keep going,” Airi says with a calm tone.

“It sounds like you are used to this, but I definitely am not,” I reply with disgust in my voice.

“Killing Zierel isn’t going to be easy if this bothers you that much,” Airi says while continuing to lead the way.

Countless homes around us are empty without a single soul in sight. Only death lingers about in these streets now, not that it matters.

Eventually Airi ends up bringing me to some sort of old church like cathedral. Inside a bunch of old paintings of the sun seems to be sitting around.

Only one in particular caught my attention… It is one with a woman holding the sun in place as the darkness surrounds a planet resembling earth.

“What are all these paintings?” I ask with curiosity.

“People used to believe that a goddess held the sun in place so they made many different paintings to depict it. But the goddess is real and something happened with the sun, thus bringing light bearers into existence,” Airi answers with a bit of sadness in her voice.

“I wonder why this goddess isn’t just capable of bringing the sun back altogether,” I say while scratching my head.

“I’m sure it isn’t that simple. One day we’ll find out, but for now we need to deal with the Zierel,” Airi replies with certainty.

The Zierel are definitely part of the main problem but won’t they keep coming back without a permanent source of light? The boundaries aren’t enough to wipe out the problem.

So I wonder what kind of permanent solution can be put into place. If we don’t find one… We’ll be forced to fight the Zierel for the rest of our lives.

But that voice did say something interesting before Airi showed up.

Become the strongest, become a monarch. Something like that… I think it was along those lines. Will becoming a monarch mean that the world can be saved from this darkness?

“Airi, do you know what a monarch is?” I ask with curiosity in my voice again.

“No one really knows about a monarch or what it is, just that it is someone powerful enough to do what needs to be done. They are said to be one step below a god or goddess.” She responds while pacing back and forth.

“Would a monarch be capable of handling this situation?” I question.

“Without a single problem,” Airi answers without hesitation.

She doesn’t know a whole lot about them but somehow knows that one can handle this situation easily. I feel like she isn’t telling me the full story here… but I’ll find out at some point or another.

Probably before anyone at the academy can do anything about it.

I spend the rest of the day helping Airi clean the cathedral a bit since this is where we’ll be staying. Luckily it didn’t have any blood for us to clean, unlike a lot of what I saw outside.

It is definitely quite spacious in here with plenty of room for two people to stay.

I found a room with very little in it besides a bed, that of course is my room now. I don’t have a whole lot with me so this is kind of perfect for me.

Taking a seat on the bed made me realize that everything is still real.

I often think that I’m just stuck in some crazy nightmare but it never turns out to be the reality. I’m in hell with no way to get out of it.

Airi is nice to be around so far, not that I want to have someone with me at all times. It does make me wonder what Tess would think about Airi.

Tess definitely could’ve been a great addition to my travels out here but I don’t want someone getting hurt on my behalf.

Step. Step.

I look up to see Airi standing in my doorway.

“You look like you’re thinking about something again,” She says with a small smile on her face.

“I often find myself wondering if this is all real or if it is some sort of nightmare, but I’m always forced to realize that it is real,” I reply with disappointment.

“Something happened with you if I remember correctly, it haunts you,” Airi says as she enters the room.

“My family died because of me,” I reply with sadness in my voice.

She takes a seat next to me on the bed and I can feel her place a hand on my shoulder.

“You aren’t the reason they died,” Airi says with a serious tone.

“Then why does this feeling consume me so much?” I question.

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