Chapter 19 - Overcoming trials and obstacles makes us stronger.

Man! My accidental confession and the biggest scare of my life, all at the same day! Unbelievable! But on the bright side, at least I escaped from that topic! Err, I mean, we escaped from that thing.

Still, that is really scary...

"What is that thing Kaoru...?"

"That's the Grim Casket..."

"The Grim Casket?!"

"Yes. It's a very strong boss monster. Seeing one brings misfortune and loneliness. Fighting one brings death. That casket it's dragging is its weapon. It uses it like a mace or a battering ram, smashing its victims with incredible strength. But you know the scariest part? They say that the casket is for the one who saw the monster first. The Grim Casket will never stop following the one who saw it until that one has been put into the casket... We are very lucky that we just saw it and escaped."

My eyes and mouth are wide open...

"Lucky?!! You call that 'lucky'?! You're the one who's lucky! How about me?! I'm dead! Dead, I say! Please step aside, dead man walking through!"

"Oh please, Lionel, you're exaggerating. Yes, tough luck for you, but don't worry. Scary as it is, as long as you don't get yourself caught, you're fine."

She smiles as if everything's going to be alright...

"How am I going to sleep? With that thing following me around, it can put me in a coffin at any moment!"

"Hush now, fearful cat. The Grim Casket may be powerful, but it is a super slow monster. It will never catch us."

"But... no place is safe..."

"Oh come on, Lionel! You defeated 16 Undeadwoods! You can beat that Grim Casket too! I think..."

"You just said 'fighting one brings death'"

"Oh, did I say that? Silly me! I'm terribly sorry."

Silence...

"No place is safe... Even if we're in a walled city, it'll just pass through..."

She laughed.

"The Grim Casket cannot pass through walls! What do you think the Grim Casket is?"

"A ghost..."

She laughed again.

"It's not a ghost, silly! It's just a boss monster. It can't even climb walls! Look, Lionel, as long as we're far from that monster, everything's okay, got it? Sooner or later, it will lose our tracks and cannot follow us anymore! I'm just kidding, Lionel! Don't take it seriously."

I still have my doubts.

"So... The things you said about the casket are just a joke...?"

"Nope."

"Kaoru!"

"It's true! But look at me, Lionel."

I looked at her.

"Everything is going to be alright. I got your back!"

I truly hope so.

After walking for a long while, we finally reached the end of the forest. Everything in sight is clearer and brighter now because almost all of the trees and shrubberies are gone. But there's still something big that's blocking the light out...

"Is this the Exosfir?"

"Nope"

"Where are we, then?"

"We're still in the Trofosfir."

"HA?! After all that walk, we're still in the Trofosfir?!"

"Yup. But, don't worry. After entering that, we'll be nearer to our destination!"

"What is that anyway?"

"It's a cave."

"A giant, rectangular cave?"

"Yes. Weird isn't it? But what's important is it's also a shortcut!"

"Okay... A shortcut leading to where?"

"It leads to the second part of Trofosfir!"

"Oh..."

I looked at the giant rectangular cave again...

"It's quite dark in there..."

"Yes. Yes, indeed."

"And we're going to enter it...?"

"Yes."

"Uhmm... Is there any other way?"

"None. It's the only way..."

"Okay..."

I looked at it again...

"It's definitely big..."

"Yes. Yes, it is. So, what are we waiting for? Let's go..."

She did not move.

"You can go first, Lionel."

"Okay..."

I did not move.

"Are you scared, Lionel?"

I am scared!

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not!"

I'm really scared but... I don't want to look like a coward... Not in front of Kaoru... So I drew out my sword and took a fighting stance.

"Let's go!"

"Aye, Aye Captain!"

"Stay close to me."

"Yes sir!"

I can't show that I'm scared, never. But my hands and sword are trembling... I tried to relax myself... Breathe in... Breathe out... Okay... Let's do this!

We slowly walked towards the cave. There are only little patches of light inside so I've got to be very careful...

We're entering the cave now...

Something touched my sword!!! Oh, wait, it's just vines. Big, flat, glass-like vines... Weird... I pushed it aside and finally entered the cave. Wish I had a torch or something. It's really cold in here...

We continued to walk inside very slowly. I really don't know what to expect. I need to be alert. I really hope there are no monsters hiding in the dark. How can I protect Kaoru if they attacked us?

"Hmmm... I think I'm forgetting something..."

"What is it Kaoru? - !!!"

And then it happened.

I stepped on something, I'm really not sure. It happened so fast. Strong streams of cold water came rushing forth in every direction! It hit me really hard, I was almost knocked down. I'm really confused. I can't see anything. I panicked. With closed eyes, I swung my sword in every direction. Nothing happened. The jets of water didn't stop. I'm soaking wet now, and it's hard to breathe. Strong torrents of water hit my face. If I didn't move, I'll surely drown. I can't even swim! What do I do? What am I going to do?!

In this kind of situation, there's only one thing to do...

Run!!!

I ran as hard and as fast as I can. It's very slippery and I don't even know where I'm going but its better than drowning. Thankfully, the streams of water weakened as I got farther into the cave.

"Glad that's over... - !!!"

I spoke too soon.

After that stream of water, a strong jet of bubbles came rushing forth. I'm assaulted in every direction. Panicking, I slashed with my sword in every direction. Again, it didn't work. Man, I'm helpless.

For a few seconds, the whole place is filled with bubbles. It's up to my neck now and there's also a pile of bubbles in my head! I can't see clearly! The bubbles are stinging my eyes as they pop and it really hurts! It tastes horrible too! I thought they'd taste like candy, even though it could drown me, it smelled really nice and sweet. They have pink and white colors too! Man! I was so wrong! The taste is indescribable! It was so wrong! It tastes like poison! Before I get killed with these bubbles, I ran away as fast as I could, madly swinging my sword in front of my way!

After a few moments, at last! The bubble assault was finally over...

Oh no! Not again!

GAAAASH!!! This cave is playing tricks on me! I'm wet! I'm tired! I'm confused! But this cave just won't stop! It doesn't have any pinch of mercy for me! First, it shot out strong jets of water, second, it shot out bubbles, and now this?! You've got to be kidding me!

But if you think about it, that cave is nothing out of the ordinary.

Water, bubbles... No doubt about it... This cave is an entrance to the sea.