Curse Activated

[Note: May your Destruction cause Salvation, oh Angel of Destruction.]

'Angel of Destruction?' Cole repeated within his mind, the time still slowed to a point where he felt like it was unmoving.

'Is that going to be my nickname? Modifier? Epithet? How people will describe me? I wonder about it… No, I don't have to wonder. I will surely be called that.'

Suddenly feeling a source of pitch-black energy rising within his body, Cole couldn't help but think that his deep desire to awaken magic powers ended up being a curse, a curse that would supposedly grant him that wish.

Fwoom~

The world, standing still.

Cole, unable to move, and yet, his thoughts were trailing as quickly as a river's water.

The wind lady was still looking at him in deep worry.

The average-looking guy, stuck mid-air while jumping over an obstacle was still staring with a slacked jaw.

The rest of their party was hidden in different positions.

The giant monster reached the height of a house, its maws were unnaturally widened from the dark flame escaping them.

That very dark and scorching flame was inches away from Cole.

And that very same Cole, still stuck in place, heard it.

"Now you owe me." 

A voice, so deep and terrifying–goosebump-inducing even– whispered as a dark veil of shadow materialized out of thin air, and in the next instant– 

Ka–

Piya–

Boom–

"Kgrha!?" 

The world returned to normal and Cole flew back through the air from the shockwave that just appeared out of nowhere, stopping the dark flame that was about to end his life.

Wall after wall, Cole finally came to a halt as debris clicked and clacked by his side.

"Kg–" 

Clutching at his chest from the impact he suffered, he breathed with difficulty, dumbfounded at the situation.

"What the… fuck just happened?" 

Through gasps, Cole couldn't help but curse out words of confusion.

Why did he suddenly get blown away?

What was that shadow?

What does Cole owe it?

Did it save his life?

"Nothing makes sense ever since that appeared!" Cole whispered in frustration as he stabilized himself on his feet, making his way towards the battlefield again, his mind slightly worried about the people there.

"What exactly is going on–"

"White-haired, you're alive!?"

As soon he neared the plaza again, a voice through his whispers, halting them in half.

"Y-Yes! What about the monster?"

Slightly taken aback by the 'normal' treatment that the wind lady showed towards him, he replied with a stiff stammer and then quickly questioned about the enemy.

"About that… It must be said that I, or rather we, have no clue." 

The wind lady ended her sentence with awkwardness lacing her voice.

"What do you mean you got no clue?"

Cole asked with a deadpan expression, unable to comprehend if she was joking.

"It's honestly the truth, the moment the fire spell of that Corrupted Gargrim was shot towards you, something we couldn't comprehend happened."

'So that monster's name is Gargrim, huh… Why haven't I heard of it considering it's such a powerful one?'

"And what of your party members, what are they doing?"

"They're currently scanning the battle area and scavenging whatever scales could've been lost around the ground."

"Oh, I see."

"Anyways, it's weird to see a lone human on these sides– You're an adventurer?"

The wind lady raised her right brow unconsciously as she scanned Cole's face, his body, his hands, and the hilt at his hip.

Realizing that's the only occupation that may explain his position right now, Cole gave a slight nod of his head and worded, "Correct!"

"Makes sense, do you have any, like, sort of special powers? You've got such special features!" 

Her eyes twinkled as if they were stars while she closed the distance between her and Cole.

"Erm…"

Trailing off awkwardly as she closed in and in, she couldn't help but question, "Can I touch your hair?"

"Sigh… Feel free to do so."

Not wasting a single second, she quickly stretched out her arms, her frail-looking fingers running through Cole's snow-white hair.

'She smells good…'

Cole couldn't help but think that as he breathed in the sweet and soft scent exuded from the wind lady.

"It's weird, though. How does a guy have such pretty hair compared to me and my dark blonde, ugh?"

"I don't know, I was regarded as an anomaly in this town since my birth."

"Huh?"

"What, did I say something weird?" Raising his brows in curiosity, Cole stared at her changed expression.

"Did you just say this town?" 

The aloof mood was suddenly nowhere to be found. Pure seriousness took over her face and voice.

"Yes?"

"I see. Makes sense."

"Huh?"

"You don't have a clue what's going on?"

"No… Wasn't the town destroyed by that monster earlier?"

"..."

A dead silence followed and stretched out as Cole's words trailed off.

"What's up?"

"Sir–"

"Cole." 

He disrupted her sentence, exposing his name.

"Yes, Cole. I hope you won't be too taken aback but this town's been… destroyed for months now."

"Huh?"

"..."

She didn't say anything more, and yet, Cole seemed to realize that it was the truth without wasting his emotions in biased disbelief.

'There were only a few dead bodies, the buildings, and their construction material were also quite weathered, including the grass growing in different nooks and the main street.'

"Sigh… I see."

'That thing, that blood-sun that touched my eye, what exactly happened to it then? It was as big and wide as the whole world…'

"Or rather, it was only big enough to swallow Elyndor and the friendly regions…" With a lip in his mouth, Cole came to such a realization.

"You're the sole survivor of this town, Cole, you must come with us. I'm surprised you haven't noticed the changes the world has gone through during your travels."

"I see… I'll be counting on you to tell me of these so-called changes in details then–"

"Aeliana, we've managed to reach a conclusion regarding the monster's disappearance."

'Oh, so her name's Aeliana, huh?'

Focusing on that detail, the average-looking guy approached them, butting in on the conversation.

"Oh, what might it be, Brander?"

"Well… After researching the ground and finding a small part of the Gargrim's limb, we can only assume it was fully eaten."

"Fully eaten?"

"Yes, as if space itself opened and swallowed the monster from its existence."