My Servant Is An Elf-Knight From Another World

Chapter 35

Ria maintained a constant silence throughout our search. Not a single screech on the third floor, not even a caw on the fourth. Just the whistling wind rustling past her golden feathers, her smoldering wings radiating a soft glow that painted the halls and floors with our shadows.

It gave me time to think.

I was never a strong believer in coincidences, much less ones that bordered on the realms of mystique and fantasy.

First time - that Elf in the dumpster. Yes, perhaps it was a coincidence that we met that day. Back then, I thought nothing more of it.

Second came the stern yet sensuous succubus. Okay... I could still deal with that, I could still brush it aside as nothing.

But the snowball just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Two Matriarchs came confronting me... then a phoenix was sent hurtling my way.

It hasn't even been a month, yet somehow I managed to surround myself with not just one, but five separate different beings that were literally not of this world. It was almost as if someone was trying to hint at me on something.

If that weren't enough, what about that dream? What about Asteria? Kronocia? How on earth did I know about Leonardo and Terestra when I've never heard of them before in my life?

Vampire venom. Amelia mentioned in her enraged state that no one is capable of breaking out of it. So how was it that I suddenly became the only exception to that fact?

Then there was Adalia's continuous insistence on me. Why was she so adamant about the fact that I was Terestra? I told a lie, yes, but a baseless, hesitant one could not possibly inspire such strong unwavering belief in it. Adalia, as unhinged as it was back then, surely had good reason for her persistence.

A reason that I was starting to believe in as well, especially after that entire fiasco with Ash. Just one single shout in the midst of panic amongst many others, yet that was the one that got her to stop in place, if only temporarily.

Shit, there was so much more that I probably missed. So many signs, indicators.. some guy was practically waving the answer in my face. And here I was still asking the same questions.

Why did I take everything that has happened so far all in stride? Why did it feel so normal to me? Why wasn't I freaking out over it all? And strangest of all, why did I feel as if I belonged in their company when I so obviously didn't?

Coincidence just didn't feel like a valid explanation anymore.

Fifth floor now. Seemed like the perfect time to finally break the long-standing quiet between us. There was only one floor left to search in, after all.

"Ria," My voice was quite leveled uttering her name, suddenly I was quite comfortable with it now. "I'm related to Terestra, aren't I?"

The phoenix soared on through, gliding past another labyrinth of empty hallways with not a soul in sight.

"That 11/10 of yours," I continued. "That was it, wasn't it? You knew all along. Don't know how, but you knew. That's why you're so interested in me."

Up a flight of stairs, we reached the sixth and final floor. Here we are, right back where we started. So this is where it's going to end, huh?

True enough, far into the distance, there sounded the echoes of battle. I heard grunts, growls, roars, and even the clangor of heavy metal. Somewhere in one of these rooms... everything will end.

Ria gradually slowed in pace. Clearly, she wasn't keen on rushing ahead without a proper plan. So, for my part, I decided to let her in on mine.

"If I let the frenzied feast on my blood, what do you think will happen to her?"