Venator : Devil's Moon

XLIV The Angel Rises

"Thank you," Laura said as she dug deeper into Sebastian's chest. Then she looked up and her eyes met his.

"Thank you, Sebastian, thank you for being there for me. But I can't risk losing you anymore," Laura said. Her eyes were still wet. Lines of tears that trickled down her cheeks shone in the pale moon light. "This must not go on," she said.

Sebastian wondered what she was talking about. What knowledge followed his revival was a thousand times worse than what caused his destruction. The truth behind her existence had terrified him. It put him in a kind of daze; his mind had become numb.

But not numb enough that he'd miss a scream.

"What was that?" Laura asked, her eyes colouring with fright.

"Pamela!"Sebastian said and saw her face turn even paler.

They didn't need to exchange another word. Soon they were running along the long stretch of the lake, ignoring the tiny stones cutting in their feet. It hurt him to see crimson glitter in moonlight as Laura made her way through the treacherous terrain. Her breaths were shallow, her steps painful but a strange determination lingered in her glassy eyes.

There was another scream and Sebastian was certain Pamela was in serious trouble. She wouldn't scream. And she wouldn't scream twice if she was attacked by a lowly demon.

They quickly left the well established track that led to the cavern and decided to rush through a risky short cut.

"We shouldn't have left Pamela alone," he whispered as the slope grew steeper and the mouth of the cavern rose in his vision.

It was hard to make out what path would bring them down the terrain toward the cavern; moonlight wasn't enough. They'd no time to search for another route. Neither could they just jump in the darkness. One wrong step and they'd fall right in the Scorched Vales, a fall that'd shatter them into a billion pieces.

There was another scream, and Sebastian gave up searching for another track and decided to jump into the darkness.

Fortunately he landed on a rock, slippery, yes, but safe. A thud made him look here and there frantically.

"Laura, stop!" He said when he noticed Laura following another path; one that ran parallel to his but far more dangerous than his. 

"Laura!" He shouted, but she wouldn't even look in his direction. There was something odd about her.

He called out to her one more time, hoping she'd respect his desire of her staying out of whatever mess Pamela was in now. But Laura paid no attention to him.

Without caring whether Laura's path would lead him to death, Sebastian decided to follow it. He couldn't just let her slip in the infinite darkness. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to her, or Pamela.

"Lau-"

Before he could yell he heard a snap and Laura disappeared, the cavern vanished and he found himself stranded in an ocean of darkness.

Then, in less than a second, there was another snap and he was back in the troublesome reality, struggling hard not to slip over the rocks.

He paused for a moment, wondering what just happened. However he didn't have luxury of time.

"Laura, stop!" He shouted one last time when he saw Laura at the mouth of the cavern.

Sebastian hurried after her. The difficult part of this short cut had ended and he could speed up.

When he got to the cavern, he pulled out a soulblade from a belt which was attached to his hip. Then he finally entered the cavern, and what he saw surprised him beyond imagination.