Verde Crows: Lost In Another World (completed)

Vol. 2 Chapter 19: Demons And Gods (1)

"Claire,"

I whispered, a tinge of regret coloring my tone as I gazed helplessly at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

There, suspended in the sky, was a winged figure with a grotesque appearance. It bore a pair of wings crafted from flesh, adorned with thousands of eerie, unblinking eyes.

Behind it, heavens bore a gargantuan scar, a hole that seemed to rend the very fabric of the sky itself. From within that rift, numerous entities swarmed out, their numbers beyond counting. They spread like a plague, covering the skies with their overwhelming numbers, casting a shadow of dread and despair.

Furthermore, my sensors that I mostly ignore since my arrival continued to report extensive damage throughout my systems. Multiple components were now beyond repair, and even my once-trusted nano repair system struggled to cope with the overwhelming extent of the destruction I had endured.

However, despite the surreal nightmarish sight that would have broken the spirit of most, I remained steadfast. There was no anger or emotion within me, just a profound emptiness.

My mind drifted back to the last time I had seen Claire, a memory etched into my data bank. She had been so different then, her innocence radiating like a beacon of hope. Her twin tails had swayed gently in the violent gusts of wind, and her body had been adorned with gray living metal pulsating with a dark and ominous aura.

'Hey Liam, can we go out sometime?'

I remembered her words vividly, the memory of the adventurer who had been isolated and avoided by many throughout her career. She had worked alone, an exception among her peers, and even managed to smile angelically. Yet, beneath that smile, there was an unmistakable sense of loneliness, sadness, and distance. Little did I know at the time that those words would be the last I would ever hear from her.

If only I had known what would happen, I would have taken her hand without hesitation and gone wherever she wanted to go.

These thoughts consumed me, the haunting "if onlys" that now seemed so futile. We had only known each other for a short span of time, just twice to be exact. The first was our brief conversation when we first met, and the second was our sparring session.

In reality, she was practically a stranger to me, not like Sistiene, whom I had grown fond of over the past few weeks, or Charlotte and the other knights who had become our companions. I felt a deep sense of frustration, equally pissed to what I had experienced when I had seen the deplorable state of the Olandian princess.

"MerCEnarY! HAWhaKHw." A garbled, incomprehensible voice resembling static noise emanated from Claire's body.

Her mouth was moving, but the words were so disjointed and random that it didn't seem like she was speaking coherently. Probably, it was likely the result of magic or the fuckers who had stole her body.

"I'm sorry,"

I uttered, my voice filled with regret as I stood amidst the wreckage, my limbs broken and electrical systems going haywire with noisy, frying components.

"I'm really, really sorry,"

I repeated, it's my failure. I should have taken her hand, I should have done something.

What was I? What was the purpose of my existence? Why had I been so complacent? These questions tormented me, and I couldn't escape the overwhelming feeling that it was all my fault.

"Ago... Speaking...." She uttered those words, and they came out clear, no longer garbled. Yet, her mouth remained closed, just like Noel when she communicated using magic without moving her lips.