Chapter 2: Grandma

Hearing those words tumble from Alice's lips, Erina's eyes blinked at her, her heart racing. She swallowed hard, her throat dry from anxiety. The illness troubling her could make it worse out of fear she was feeling from Alice.

"What, won't you talk now?" Alice's voice dripped with disdain, and she took a step closer. "Do you think you're something special because of the news that reaches you?" She grunted, her frustration tinged with hurt.

"I... didn't ask for those shares!" Erina replied, her voice quivering. She knew that Alice's visit was prompted by the same reason others had approached her: to inquire about shares she wasn't even aware had been allocated to her.

Her explanation would remain the same for anyone seeking answers regarding the mysterious inheritance.

"Then who? How?" Alice's Confusion was evident as she brushed her hair aside, her focus intense as she turned and paced back and forth.

"Erina!" She Shouted. "Why, damn it, why wasn't you that night, why was it someone more treasured than you?" Alice's voice trembled with disappointment.

"Sigh..." Alice said, her voice heavy with resignation. "Pick your things up. As your guardian, I will be taking you back."

"Alice, I don't want to. I mean I gave up on the Lukes a long time ago." Erina made a nervous move, gently placing her hand on Alice's arm, her fingers clutching tightly.

She won't and never be a 'Mark' to that place, a place where the hungry wolves waited to rip her to pieces.

"I don't need the inheritance or the share." Erina had been once known as a woman of High class and she knew all too well what it felt to be defamed and left for the wolves.

Inheritance was nothing but a trap, a cruel lure back to the riches, and a heavy burden of guilt for something she never did.

"Hey!" Alice turned around reflexively at Erina, whose eyes were filled with fear. "Get your hands off my body," She commanded.

Erina turned to her hands and hurriedly backed off. It was just a reflex, a movement she did without conscious thought. "Sorry," She utters softly.

Alice turned back, not paying much attention to the apologetic gesture. "Don't think too much into this; everything will be resolved faster when you return."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry; no one wants you there either. It's just unpleasant to still have things with your name that need to be taken care of." Alice continues to explain to the woman cryptically, pausing right in front of the old, frigid lady. "Get her needed stuff within thirty minutes."

"I won't take no for an answer, Grandma!" She forced a pathetic smile, her false face full on display, as she walked out.

"Hah, what a psycho," Murmured the Grandma.

"You alright?" Erina rushed to the old woman, trying to help her up.

The woman grabbed her hands quickly, saying, "Don't worry about me now. What's your plan? Are you going to do what you promised?"

Erina clenched her lips tight, her hands trembling as she held onto the lady's. "I have to!" Her voice quivered. "I won't forgive anyone for that night, whoever it is!"

The night that shattered and shackled their lives wasn't something she would easily let be forgotten.

"Erina!" The Grandma's voice shook. "You lack enough force to fight those people, and you're someone with a debilitating illness. How will you manage, huh?"

"Come what may, I have taken the oath to ensure that person experiences a fate similar to that 'Night'."

Erina stood on her toes, dusting off the dirt from her drab clothes.

"What about the Lukes? How will you handle those savage monsters?" Grandma implied her tone as a blend of concern and exasperation. "I've trained every one of them in that, Erina. You won't survive the monsters; they have chewed up even their mother!"

The old woman faintly rose from the ground, her grip on Erina's shoulder tightening. "Listen, I've been a woman who's always abided by the rules, but those children are different. They'd challenge anything, especially a toy that's easily disposable."

She shook her with all her might. "Is that what you wish for, to become just another disposable doll?"

Erina weakly smiled, gazing into her Grandmother's eyes filled with concern. A woman who had once been a great inspiration now appeared dulled with scars.

"But isn't the choice yours, Grandma? Shouldn't I be a doll that scares them even just a little?"

"I'm a Luke too, you know." Erina's clouded eyes showed bitterness, "...So I'm your bloodline too."

As the Grandma's gazed, "Ha!" A burst of laughter escapes her, revealing how resolute her granddaughter was.

"Right, right!" Grandma nodded, her agreement simple yet heartfelt.

Erina grinned at her Grandmother's reaction and gently tried to release herself from the Grandma's clutches.

"I don't have anything worth taking from here. As you suggested, I am going back."

"Then help me burn everything that you found fault in!"

The Grandmother silently stared at her granddaughter as she spoke with firmness.

A vivid memory, etched indelibly in her heart, of the little girl once consumed in fear and naivety. Now, she has transformed into a woman who, while still battling her fears, carries within a profound determination and an unexpected sense of purpose that burns brightly.

Within minutes, Erina reached the outer periphery of the place, spotting the car, which stood out as it didn't seem to belong in the rural setting, more akin to a village or similar areas where she had lived for three years.

Alice, who was leaning on her car, straightened up as she noticed the lady walking toward her. She grinned and checked her wristwatch before quipping, "You're two minutes late."

Alice spoke, "How should I consider this, a disrespect to your elder?"

"I'm sorry," Erina quietly uttered.

"Ah! It's what you've done for the past sixteen years, apologies, apologies!!" Alice's frustration was palpable as she folded her arms, her sight revealing her weariness. "Don't you get tired, or are you trying to get on my nerves?"

"Let's get going. Loon!" Alice said, opening the car.

As tension reached its zenith, a single word, "Yes," calmly escaped from Erina's lips.

Then, as if on cue, an earth-shattering explosion rents the air. The ground quivered beneath their feet as a nearby house crumbled with a deafening BOOM.

Dust and debris shot skyward, engulfing the scene in a dark, billowing plume. Panic and chaos swept through the small crowd as the earth trembled beneath them.

With a thunderous explosion that reverberates through the air, leaving a high-pitched ringing in Erina's ears, she clutches her head in a futile attempt to muffle the sound.

"Grandma!" Erina feebly called out, but the throbbing headache and dizziness left her disoriented, and inaudible to the world around her.