22 Sylla the Lone Druid

It was a rainy day, on the morning she headed to school and at a certain traffic light she noticed a couple arguing at the side of the road. But she recognized this event. She looked at the other side of the road, and as she expected there was a truck which moves over-speed. She tried to yell and warn the two yet her voice won't come out, and her body move instead her voice. She bumped at the two and she ended up to be the one the truck hit.

She can feel the sensation of raindrops on her face. The world around her slowly become dark and darker as if the world's devoured by a massive darkness. Feeling she couldn't resist her heavy eyes, she closed it slowly.

The next moment she opened both of her eyes, she was right in front of her house. Feeling anxious, she touches the door handle; she took a deep breath and slowly open the door. When she gets inside, someone was there, with a smile a woman greeted her, the woman looked like a young mother even though she was at the middle of her 40.

Feeling relieved, she raised her hand to return the greet. But, before she could do so, the smile disappeared on the woman's face as she showed her lifeless eyes and depressed faces. This made she showed a shocked face, and the word to greet her stuck at her throat. She closed both of her eyes gripping both of her hand so hard. She tried to gather her resolve and say something to the woman but,

The moment she had her resolve and opened her eyes, the one before her was not the woman. It was the lump of light that takes a man form even though it was just a lump of light she could see at the face part of the light have a crescent'd moon smile on its face.

Looking at its smile, she couldn't help to feel anxious as she takes a few steps back. And she was tripped when she took the steps, she closed her eyes as she embraces herself to hit the ground but the thing she expected never came, feeling even more anxious she opened both of her eyes and found herself still standing.

Once again, she feels relieved when she opened her eyes, the thing that awaited her was a veracious smile from a ponytail girl. Feeling glad, she steps closer to the ponytail girl as she stretch her hand to touch the girl. But before she can reach the ponytail girl, she blinks her eyes and the girl's expression changed 180°, the ponytail girl's crying in desperate while expanding her hand at the girl in front of her.

She lower her hand she lifts to touch the girl, she can feel her heart's broken slowly each time she blinks her eyes. She tried to endure the pain on her chest with gripping her hands tightly, lowering her head while bitting her lips. Feeling she couldn't hold the pain anymore, she let it out by shouting out her voices in frustration.

***

When she came to, Runa doesn't immediately opened her eyes. She realized she was lying down on something; it doesn't feel soft and subtle, so it's not a bed. Feeling curious Runa opened her eyes and noticed she was lying down on a straw.

She looked around and realized she was inside a stable-like room. She tried to remember what happened and why she was there, but it took times because her memory's still cloudy.

"Good morning, how do you feel?"

When Runa heard the voice, her body twitched as she startled because she couldn't sense any presence around her at all. When she looked at the source of the voice, she spot an old man sitting at the corner of the room while holding a cup.

The old man looked like around his 70, he has white hair and beard. His body was tall that you can compare it to Yamato, his was about 194cm. He wore a plain white shirt with a cheap necklace hanging around her neck. Pair of blue eyes that really looked like a person that live for a long time, a wise and keen pair of eyes that gave off a feeling of powerful. He has this eyes due to his experience through his long life.

"Who are you?"

Runa said it while being wary toward the old man in front of her. Quietly, she activated her projection with a weak voice.

"Don't need to be so wary, I am just a passing by old man." he paused a moment and took a sip from the cup "And turn off your skill too, the current you won't be able to land a scratch on me."

When Runa received the warning, she acts as she was told to. From the gaze alone, even Runa realized that she can't win against the old man.

"I am sorry for my rudeness" Runa paused for a moment while slightly bowed her head. "What happened to me? I can't remember, my mind's all blurry."

As soon as the old man heard so, he moved his mouth and mutter one word,

"Church."

The same time as Runa heard that, all the blur on her memory's gone. She recalled the thing that was happened at the church, when she remembers Shizuku are in danger, her body tensed up and with a desperate voice she say.

"I.. I have to save her."

Runa get up from the straw and walk toward the door near the old man.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Runa stopped just with a few words, she wasn't stopped because of the words. She was stopped because of the pressure she felt from the old man, the amount of the pressure wasn't a joke because a chill ran through her whole body the moment she feels it.

"I won't let you go to a dangerous place when you have that kind of face."

The old man sip the cup once more and took a peek at Runa.

"Face?" Runa asked

"Yeah, I won't let a youngster go to a dangerous place with a face of someone who's ready to die."

"I am ..."

"I know you don't have any intention to die, you're just scared to the extent you think its fine to sacrifice yourself unconsciously."

"..."

"let's sit for now."

Being told so, Runa take a seat next to the old man. She doesn't know why, she feels like she can believe this old man.

"Are you frustrated, young girl?"

"Yes."

"If it's okay with you, you may tell me your problem."

"I just... start to detest myself more and more lately."

"And why is that?"

"Because I am so powerless, and useless. I couldn't even protect what's dear to me."

Runa bowed her head, gripped her hands tightly that she clearly feel the pain.

"I was so weak, to the extent I have to receive my enemy's pity twice."

Tears start to falling down from her eyes, she was lamenting at how weak she was repeatedly. She even secretly curse herself inside her heart.

"I want a power... a power that will let me protect the person dear to me... the power to reunite me with the people I hold dear."

She spit out all of her wish, it was a small wish of a girl that was separated from the people she holds dear. She wants a power that will let her stand and have fun alongside her friends, she wants a power so she can reunite and spend her live with her mother, she wants a power to prevent her soul from breaking in this ruthless world before she can fulfill her wish.

"Then, shall I tell you how to become stronger?"

When she heard that, hope returned to her. Just like a dark room until the switch to turn on the lamp's flipped. Runa looked at the old man with her eyes radiating, just like a child.

Seeing Runa's face the old man couldn't help but smile gently.

"Don't look at me with that eyes." the old man said it as his smile's gone. "It might change your personality you know?"

There was no respond at all, Runa kept on looking at the old man with the same radiating eyes as if saying "That doesn't matter,".

"You will come to learn about despair you know?"

"..."

"You may no longer a human after that you know?"

"..."

"Your way of thinking might change you know?"

"..."

"I see." he paused for a moment as he smiled and use her finger to point his head, "You are screw loose at this part too 'huh?"

"Pfftt."

There was a respond from Runa, she returned the smile from the old man and laughed for a while.

"That might be true, this part of mine's already screw loose a long time ago."

"Well then since it's decided, let start with..."

Runa gulped and with a serious face she speaks.

"With..."

The old man showed a wide elderly smile that gave off a warmth feelings.

"Self introduction."

"Ha?"

Runa was shocked with her eyes opened wide and her mouth left agape. But not long after that she showed a smile befitting her age and began to laugh cutely while wiping the tears at the tip of her eyes.

"Haha, sorry for my rudeness. Come to think of it I haven't introduce myself. My name is Haruna."

"I am Sylla the Lone Druid, and you can call me gramps from now on, since I'll treat you as my granddaughter from now on, Haruna."

"What's that? it was my first time seeing someone requesting themselves to be called gramps."

"What's wrong with that? Aren't I a full-fledged an old man deserved to be called gramps?" He smiled while rubbing his beard, "I'll call you Haru since Haruna is too long for an old man."

Runa calmed down because of the conversation with Sylla. She smiled like a granddaughter toward her grandfather and shrugged her shoulder a little thinking it couldn't be helped.

"Okay, Gramps." (Please refer the gramps as Jii-san.)