Chapter 42: Loss

Gray smoke afloat in the open air. Below it is the ruins of various buildings and facilities. King Jerome's once beautiful nest is now a broken wasteland. Fires can be seen all over the place. Right above it is a large number humongous aircrafts, roaming the area like a moths.

At the center of the destroyed city there stood the Sentient Lord. His right hand outstretched as he held Juha's unresponsive corpse. All around him is a massive horde of undead. He stared at Juha's limp body before tossing it aside towards the nearest debris.

A lone general approached his form from behind before kneeling.

"My Lord, it's of great shame on our part as we are unable to eliminate the supposed king of this nest. He along with his pest have been able to escape our grasp due to his sudden awakening. It seems that he has the ability to produce flames that are dark as abyss and is similarly lethal."

The Sentient Lord was silent as he remembered the dark flames he saw on the forest.

"...No matter. He is of no concern to me right at the moment."

He turn around and faced the kneeling general.

"Gather our forces. Today we start the extermination of those annoying peasants."

"It shall be done."

As they both started to walk towards their respected aircraft. The Sentient Lord suddenly felt that something was wrong. A second later, the entire area is slowly letting out a series of white steams. He and the general grew alarmed at this and immediately tried to flew upwards. Just as they took off, the entire nest is suddenly being incased in ice. Fortunately for him, he was able to get away just a few distance from the attack. The undead army and the generals however where not so lucky. All of them have been caught and are now white as a crystal. The Sentient Lord is absolutely livid. He looked down and saw Juha's corpse among the frozen wasteland.

"Even in death, you still dare defy me? JUHA!!"

His scream can be heard from above as he rages on by completely disintegrating the entire frozen nest. Soon Jerome's nest is no more however his scowl is still present on his face.

"Damn her. Half of my army is now gone, along with a few of my generals. It seems my plan will be postponed...for now."

...

I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sight of Whity's face looming above me. "Whity? Y-you're alive?" I said in disbelief. I felt a smile slowly forming on my face. To think that he's alright despite the state he was in before.

No matter, at least he's fine now. I looked at our surrounding and realized that we are inside a big cave. Judging from the height from here. It seems that it's big enough to shelter both of us with still enough space to spare. Just where are we? Juha should know...wait where is she? I looked around and saw no sight of her. I tried to stand up but I immediately fall flat on my face. Ow...huh, pain. I raised my head from the ground and looked at myself. The first thing I noticed is that I'm totally naked. My eggplant is right there is dangling, alright... However when I looked at my skin, it's no longer a bit pale like before. It's totally brown now. I couldn't help but grew anxious. Am I...human again? If my body is like this now which means my face...

My hand immediately touched the upper part of my head. It then went to my nose...wow...is it all gone? Is the rotten part of my face finally gone? My hand traced my cheek...yes finally it's all- my hand traced my teeth and noticed the lack of lips...

Son of a b-

"Arf! Arf!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Whity's barking. I turn around and saw a small group of crawlers heading in our way.

Crap. My body still felt weak. I could barely even stand. Meanwhile Whity is already pouncing in the nearby crawler. His sharp teeth tears through the poor thing's flesh like butter. It's comrades tried to jump him but they all meet the same fate. Unbeknownst to him, I saw a lone crawler slowly approaching me. This thing must have used it's own friends as a distraction to get to me. That sly little bastard. I heard his pointy legs making soft noises to the ground as he approached me with obvious hunger. I tried to move but my body is too weak. I saw him now at least a few feet away from me. Oh hell no. I ain't dying today. I slowly gathered what little strength I have and tried to form my black breath attack. I saw him leap towards me and in that moment I released my black breath attack. However, instead of the familiar black purple liquid coming out of my mouth, it was flames. Dark flames to be exact. The mysterious fire immediately wrapped the crawler and in mere seconds, it was turned to ashes. The fire dissapeared soon after.

Whoah...what was that? That flame...how did I get that? I turned to see Whity all covered in crawler blood. Looks like he's also finished there.

Just what happened to me? All I remember is talking to that punk before he suddenly vanished from my sight. I didn't,'t remember anything after that.

As seconds go by, my confusion is slowly being replaced by anxiety. I instinctively touched my neck. Did...did I die? N-no, I'm here right now along with Whity. I still can't see Juha from anywhere. Speaking of which, where is she?

"Whity? Have you seen Juha?"

All I got was a whimper in return. No, something isn't right. Before I know it, I felt dread. My mind is slowly turning into a mess. I'm confused as to where is she. Back at my nest, we were surround by a group of generals and a large horde of undead. Multiple aircrafts are also floating above us. Back then, I know escaping was already an impossible task. Not to mention that both of us are surrounded by undead that are certainly more powerful than any undead we've ever faced...so why am I here? Why is Whity here? How did we escape?

Where is Juha?

My eyes went wide in realization. No...no. This cannot be. I refuse to believe it. Not before long, I saw myself denying a grim reality. I know for sure that thinking like that right now could be detrimental for my mental health but I just can't seem to control my thoughts. There is just no possible way for us to escape right there. Even if Whity managed to get up, I just don't see him battling a group of those generals and come out winning. Which means that someone has to stay behind...

No...

No!

NO!

I CANNOT ACCEPT THIS!

"Whity? Where is the direction of the nest?"

I saw his snout point on a certain direction. "Take me there." He is understandably alarmed at my request.

"Please."

With great reluctance, he nodded in affirmation.

"Thank you."

I really am. What I'm doing right now is obviously an epitome of stupidity. I could even endanger our lives of those guys are still there but right now...I just can't seem to care. I'm purely walking through my emotions right now. I know I'm so gonna regret this but what's done is done.

Without further ado, Whity picked me up and ran towards a certain destination. It took awhile with a few of those undead being always trying to ambush us but Whity made a short work of them. Soon enough, we've reached our destination. Whity had put me down to the ground and sat next to me.

I looked at my nest expecting it to be in ruins but what I saw made my heart sank. Even Whity was flabbergasted at the state of our nest.

There's nothing.

No buildings, no broken roads, not even scattered drones, it's just...nothing. What I saw before my eyes is a humongous hole where our nest once stood. The hole is deep and it seems to be endless. Starring at the state of my nest, I already knew that Juha is dead. It's just imposdible. For all the power Juha had, I knew that even she are unable to carry out destruction of this magnitude. Which means that the only one that has the power to do so is that so called Sentient Lord.

I stared in silence at the place I had build for the last few months. Juha's memories are dancing in my head. I can't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I just can't...

"Most certainly, my name is Juha Bara. I am a sentient just like you but unlike everybody else, I wish to serve someone that has the potential to change everything."

No...

"In all my years, I have never saw someone who has progressed as fast as you."

Juha...

"That's one of the reasons why I like you. A cautious king. Someone of your caliber would maintain their position at the top. Ah~

You are just so insatiable~"

I couldn't...

"Good work. As expected of my future husband."

I didn't notice the tears that flowed through my cheek, I didn't notice the tremble in my hands, I didn't notice my scream as I look at the sky with hollowed eyes...

But...

"Please accept me, my king."

What I did notice is the undeniable despair that I feel right now...and absolute anger towards the one who had taken her from me.