Chapter 4: Abandonment

I stared deeply into aunt Mary's blood-red eyes. There was no trace of emotion or care. She just sat there motionless, apathetically returning my stare.

As I attempted to rearrange my thoughts, I was distracted by the thought that Aunt Mary and my Mother shared an uncanny amount of resemblance.

Aunt Mary sat on her chair in an elegant purple dress. She had similar jet-black hair to my mother's, however, her long and straight hair was elegantly combed to the left side of her neck, exposing her nape. She had a slim figure and a pretty face, but what contrasted this was her dark red eyes.

As I went further into my delusion, I imagined my mother stroking my hair, and caressing my face gently. All I could see was her body and hands, and we were playing happily in our garden. My mum slowly brought her hands down my face, before suddenly jerking my head upwards to face her. But what I was met with was Aunt Mary saying the same haunting words like in a hellish nightmare.

'Your parents are dead'. That sentence was repeated again and again and again in my mind. Each time the phrase was repeated, the words began to sound less and less tangible and distorted.

'Yes, that must be it, this reality isn't real.' was the conclusion I had arrived at.

The expression on my face became grim, my eyes began to dilate and become cloudy, and the world started to seem like it was warping and closing in on itself.

Slowly, the plain but modern office I was in, became dimmer and quieter, and a constant high-pitched frequency began ringing inside my ears. The visible shadows became blacker than black, and numerous slimy hands reached out from the abyss within those enlarging shadows.

As I looked forward, I could just make out Aunt Mary observing me with a strange expression.

The air started to feel chilly and dense, constricting my throat every time I attempted to inhale.

Rapid, sharp intakes of breath were all that I could manage.

It was suffocating.

Without being able to think, I got up and pushed away my chair, stumbling and nearly falling down. Holding on to the table in front of me, I decided to run out into the hallway. After exploring for the whole day, I had thought that I knew this place like the back of my hand.

But now, it felt like I was trapped in a closing labyrinth.

I looked around me desperately searching for someone, anyone, who could help me.

While using all of my efforts to keep my balance, I just kept running.

Running away from that suffocating room.

Running away from the suffocating reality.

Running away to anywhere else but there.

Black spots started to cloud my already blurry eyesight and tears dripped down my face as I cried inside silently.

'Mum... you promised... you promised that you would come to get me back again...'

Eventually, all I could see was the endless void. And just like that, my body collapsed.

*****

That same very day, a few hours ago.

"WE MUST FIGHT THOSE DEMONS!"

"THEY HAVE SULLIED OUR PRIDE FOR ALL THESE YEARS! THIS IS THE DAY WE FIGHT BACK!!" shouted the patriotic soldiers.

'I guess this is it, I need to think of a plan, and fast.' Naomi told herself.

Currently, behind her, were thousands of soldiers, all equipped in heavy metallic armour. Having been a day since it was decided they would fight the demons, everyone had gathered at the frontlines, waiting for the commander's order to travel through the border and into the demon realm.

The Human and demon border was in the middle of a vast green field, with no trees or obstacles, possibly obstructing the Human's magic.

It was a magnificent sight to see, being able to unite humanity against one common enemy. Except there was one problem, Naomi could not kill the love of her life, even if she was forced to.

Once she crossed the imaginary line in front of her, she could never change her decision.

Hesitating, a voice called out from behind her.

"Hero Naomi, it is best we quickly deal with the demons, and finish this long war."

The girl who called out and advised her was named Arabella Steelheart, a powerful wind magician who could take on 50 people at once, only at the age of 20 years old. Known as the Steelheart prodigy, she even had an immense mana reserve by the time she was 12. To acknowledge this, she was given a custom-made black sword, with the emblem of the Steelheart family embedded on it.

Furthermore, she also happened to technically be Naomi's niece, as she was the adopted child of Lady Mary - Naomi's sister.

"Haaaa... Yes, I understand"

Repositioning herself, Naomi decided to put the armour on her slim figure and chanted a quick wind barrier spell, strengthening it.

She had a plan.

Under her breath, she also muttered another spell for herself.

"𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘴' 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴"

A gust of wind began to gather around her feet, and slowly, she began to feel much lighter.

"Alright everyone, the plan is, all of you go to fight the incoming demon soldiers, while I will risk my life, fighting the Demon King," she announced to everyone. People began to cheer in excitement.

Finally, Naomi stepped past the barrier, and her soldiers followed.

The war had officially started.

As expected, the demons had been waiting for them, releasing a vicious ambush towards the human soldiers. Chaos ensued. Sparks of lightning flew everywhere, electrocuting anything it touched. Fire burned on the swords of the soldiers, and blood-curdling screams came from both the humans and demons alike.

Pushing through, Naomi slipped through the battle and managed to reach the castle within a few minutes. Thinking that things were going too well, she looked around trying to see if anyone was going to attack. Soon enough though, she decided to step inside.

The demon castle from the outside looked like a huge, monolithic cathedral amidst a barren wasteland. However, on the inside, it seemed like a fairly nice place to live. The door and wall were refurbished with modern-looking materials and were extremely clean. However, she couldn't take too much admiring things here; she needed to reach the demon king, and escape.

Quickening her pace, Naomi climbed to the top of the castle and reached the only room that was on that floor. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself. Inside lay the love of her life, 'Desmond Valier'. Slowly, she pushed the door forward and met eyes with the Demon King.

Within a split second, they both rushed towards each other and embraced, enjoying the moment.

'Babe! You... actually got here!' cried Desmond with tears of joy. Naomi nodded silently, with a huge smile beaming across her face. It was only at times like this that she truly felt like a little girl again.

She slowly gripped him tighter, enjoying every moment. And then, she heard the sound of everything falling down.

BOOM.

The floor began to shake violently, and during that, the door to the vast room creaked open.

"I'm sorry... Naomi." A split second after, Naomi felt a sharp pain near her chest. She looked down in horror, seeing a dark black sword wedged between her and Desmond.

The sword was coated in a gust of wind, increasing its sharpness greatly. The only reason why the sword had not fully passed through her, was because it was also wedged through the chest of a Demon. With the demon's natural strength and endurance, they also had extremely hard skin, meaning that the sword could only be that sharp.

'The only person with a black sword and uses wind magic' she deduced...

"ARABELLA, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

And those were her final words, but before she blacked out, she felt a tear drop fall onto her face. Consequently hearing Desmond mumble something to her ear.

"Naomi... I... love you."