NEL'S POINT OF VIEW
"Come on, Sir. Let us get out of here." He seemed to be weak to run. I held his hand and supported him. "We do not have enough time." Exactly, Asher rushed in and closed the door. He was breathing heavily and full of sweat. His clothes were stained with blood. "I cannot handle them anymore!"
I immediately raised my hand towards the wall. A portal appeared. "Get inside." The two of them ran inside the portal. I was about to enter too when I felt a sharp thing stabbed in my back. Max and Asher looked at me and they were also surprised. They tried to help me but I waved my hand dismissively as I closed the portal and made it disappear.
"I sincerely apologize for killing you in the past, Mister Max. And Asher, good luck. Tell Scarlette to do her best as well." I gave them a sad smile even though they could not see me anymore. "The war is going to start. Go back to Hetarnia," I whispered.
"How could my only son betray me?" Dad asked from behind. He was raging in too much anger. I was hurt because he was still my father. "Dad, your evilness sucks." My mouth tasted rust because of my blood. I smirked at what Asher said earlier. He said that my blood tasted sweet but it was not true. "You are now playing hero. You are still evil." I could not move. The memories were refreshed again when he ordered the young me to kill people. I clenched my fists in both sorrow and anger. "But not as evil as you are."
"Hi, Half-Bro!" Rhode—who was smiling widely—appeared in front of me. "H-help me, R-rhode," I begged. "Sure." She took the knife which was placed at the side of her waist and stabbed it in my chest. "Sorry," she uttered as she laughed like an idiot. I glared at her. "Damn you, Rhode." I thought she would not mind me being dead but her real voice spoke in my mind. 'I apologize, Half-Bro. We feel the same. I also want to betray him but I have no choice. I do not have the courage to do so. I still want to live.'
Before my vision became blurry, I saw tears fall from her eyes. Gone was the smile on her face. 'Take their side. You will be saved.'
SCARLETTE'S POINT OF VIEW
I was shocked. Crap! He just kissed me! That was my first! I was kissed by a devil! I took the book on the table that he forgot and hurriedly went home. I tried to calm myself.
To move on from what happened, I sat down on my bed and got my phone. A long time had passed since the last talk I had with Aunt Cecilia. Speaking of her, did she know about my parents' true identities? I forgot to ask about it to Mom. I dialed her number but it could not be reached. I called her many times but still, she was unavailable. Did she shut her phone off?
"Scarlette." I was surprised when all of sudden, Aunt Wart appeared in front of me, wearing her serious face. "Let us go." I felt nervous. "To where, Aunt?" I asked. "Hetarnia." She held my wrist and I felt I was brought to another dimension. Everything I could see was white light. A little longer, we were inside the center hall of the kingdom.
Asher and the other goddesses were there, together with someone who was wearing pure white. That man was hugging Mom. Mom tapped his back when she saw me. The man faced in my direction and I got froze on my track when I recognized who he was. He still looked the same since the last time I saw him. He did not age at all. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I ran towards him and hugged him. "I missed you, Dad," I cried. Mom was teary-eyed, too. "I missed you, too, Scarlette."
After the tight hug, I wiped my tears with my hands. "H-how? How are you able to escape—" Someone cut me off. "Nel helped us." Automatically, I shifted my gaze to Asher and gave him a meaningful look.
"Yes, and that young man was acting like a hero," Tita Heta madly said. "But I am safe, Mom. No need to worry," Asher reasoned out. "Mom, let us talk about this some other time." Tita Heta kept on murmuring but she stopped after a while.
"We need to get ready," Dad said. My eyebrows furrowed with the mixed anxiety and confusion I felt since Aunt Wart's arrival. "For what?" He patted my head like how he usually did when I was a kid. "Because of what happened earlier, it gave them a signal to start the war."
"Damn it." I looked at Mom. Did she just curse? "Heta, bring half of the knights on Earth. The rest will remain here to fight with us," Mom commanded. "Wart, all the souls, bring them to the Etah dimension for them to be safe. Go!" Aunt Wart and Tita Heta left immediately. I meant, they disappeared. She was scary this time. Even as her daughter, I wanted to run away! My mother was covered with heavenly authority.
"I think, they have already figured out how to break the spell of this holy place. Damn it!" she cursed again. "Max, lead the knights. Asher, make sure all living animals and plants would not be destroyed. And Scarlette," she stared at me, "accept the Hetar sword. Now is the time. You cannot say no." Her face softened. "You will fight with me." My heart sank upon hearing that. 'This is a real war.'
We got interrupted by a loud crash. Something heavy was thrown away from the large window above.
My body froze when I saw a bloody dead body in front of us. It got stabbed from the back and in his chest. I gasped when I recognized him.