"Let"s get going. It"s getting late."

Mrs. Parker looked at the single moon in the sky that illuminated the night. On her side, Eth was wiping his tears with the handkerchief she gave him.

Holding hands, both of them walked while enjoying the silence of the night.

Eth had poured out all the feelings he had bottled up and cleared his heart. Now he only needed time to recover completely.

But he had steeled himself. He was going to leave his new family. He didn"t want them to bring trouble onto them.

"Just this once. I"ll leave after this."

He gripped Mrs. Parker"s hand tightly.

Mrs. Parker not knowing the decision he had made, quietly toured the park with him.

Eth was feeling relieved and thankful that Mrs. Parker didn"t leave him when suddenly both of them were pulled into the bushes on the sidewalk.

"Who is th-Hmph Hmph!"

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The culprit who pulled them into the bushes covered Mrs. Parker"s mouth before she could make any sounds.

Only after she calmed down did the culprit remove her hand and let her speak.

"Mia? Is that you?"

Mrs. Parker was the friend of Mia"s master. Oftentimes, she will meet Mia when she went to meet Mia"s master, Miyamoto Yui.

Through the years, Mia and Mrs. Parker became good friends.

Noticing Mia"s troubled face through her purple hair, Mrs. Parker grew concerned.

"Did Yui send you here?"

With great difficulty, Mia nodded her head.

"Master told me to subjugate the Elves who sneaked into this city. I was following their trail and came here…"

"Is this area going to become a battlefield?"

Quickly reading between the lines, Mrs. Parker understood why Mia was having a conflicted expression.

Elves" specialty was spirit magic. Every single Elf was like a one-person army as they were able to control spirits.

With their strength, Mia will have trouble fighting them if she were to protect someone.

"Should we leave?"

Mrs. Parker was only an Lvl15. Awakener. She will be of no help in a battle involving Elves.

"Y-Seventh Form: Deadline"

Click-!

A subtle clicking sound echoed and the next second the tree next to them fell.

Arrghh-

The tree"s skin molted and grew into a mouth. The tree started shouting before crumbling into specs of lights.

"I"ll clear a path to the gate. Run!"

Mia instantly vanished and a few seconds later, sounds of clashes and explosions rang out in the surroundings.

Mrs. Parker picked Eth and started running at her full might. Along the way, she noticed that the park was scarcely populated.

She realized that Mia had been evacuating everyone before the fight started.

Mrs. Parker had taken Eth to a deserted area so that he could relax and talk. Probably this was why Mia missed them as she evacuated everyone.

Kriiiee-

A 30 feet long bird dived straight at them. Its long talons tore the air and were aimed at their necks.

Bang-!

A gun appeared in Mrs. Parker"s hand and she accurately shot the spirit"s eye. The spirit crashed and disintegrated.

"Huff.. huff"

Mrs. Parker continued to shoot the spirits that came their way.

Realizing that the levels of spirits that reached her were always lower than her, she understood that it was Mia"s doing.

Mia was fighting while, making sure that no dangerous spirits reached them.

Mrs. Parker"s feet sped up. Elves have large mana reserves and favor drawn-out battles.

The longer they took to escape, the more will Mia"s energy reserves dwindle, further reducing her chances of winning.

Whoooo-

A large behemoth spirit appeared before Mrs. Parker. It was in the shape of a mammoth and as big as a three-story building.

Bang-! Bang-!

She repeatedly shot at the spirit but it covered its eyes every time.

Roaring, as if declaring murder, the spirit ran to crush them.

"Seventh Form: Deadline"

Click-!

Before the spirit could reach them, it was suddenly beheaded and then disintegrated into specks of light.

"You guys …are…slow."

Mia looked different from earlier. She was breathing heavily, her clothes were torn and blood covered her arms.

"Ruby, listen to me. Run to the central area and hide there. With your stigma, as long as you hide, no one can find you.

Mrs. Parker was about to protest when she realized that she was holding Eth in her hands. She didn"t want to leave Mia alone in the condition she was now to fend for herself.

"Don"t worry about me. There is no way these c.o.c.ky b.a.s.t.a.r.ds can kill me."

"Don"t lose."

Mrs. Parker bit her lips and ran back.

"Humans believe in companionship and team effort the most. But isn"t running away and leaving others to fend for themselves a form of cowardice?"

Long brown hairs that touched the grounds, sapphire eyes that looked no different from a holy lake, a slender figure that would make anyone drool, and long pointed ears.

An elf came from the direction of the exit.

"You finally showed yourself."

Mia pointed her sword at the elf and held it with both hands.

"I don"t have time to deal with you. So, I"ll end it quickly."

In reply to Mia, cl.u.s.ters of lights gathered behind the elf. As the cl.u.s.ters solidified, dozens of spirits formed.

Mia"s brows furrowed. The spirits were all above Lvl40!

Although every spirit was at least mid Enma-rank, Mia didn"t cower and dashed ahead.

True to her words, Mia used the strongest move in her a.r.s.enal.

"Genesis Style, Third Form…"

Dark clouds gathered in the sky and rumbled. Cluttering of metals echoed as everything flew from the strong gales and….

"Thunder G.o.d"s Descent"

A gigantic thunderbolt descended.

***

"You should hide here."

Eth grabbed the hem of her clothes before she could run back.

Tears gathered around his eyes, and he struggled to hold them back.

"I"m sorry. I..It"s because of me."

"I told you. You are my lucky charm."

Mrs. Parker crouched and wiped the blood that fell from his lips from biting them too hard.

"If you weren"t here, I wouldn"t have been able to help my friend when she was fighting strong enemies."

She told him why she was leaving him and running back.

But Eth understood.

The big sister, called Mia, was strong. A lot stronger than her. There was no way she will be of help to her.

"N-No, don"t go."

He refused to let go of her.

Eth blamed himself. It was him. It was because of him.

If only he had chosen not to speak. If only he had chosen some other place. If only he was not unlucky. If only it was him who died six months ago.

-Flick!

Mrs. Parker flicked his forehead.

"Dummy. I can hide if I can"t help. Don"t look at me with those eyes."

Mrs. Parker used her stigma [Reality Veil] on Eth after calming him down. A thin, transparent veil covered him.

With her stigma activated, Mrs. Parker was relieved. As long as it was above him, no one could find him.

"Be safe and live."

She was about to leave when Eth again grabbed her clothes.

"You will return. Promise me please, m-mom"

Her eyes widened when she heard Eth, but she knew that Eth, who never knew the love of parents, regarded her as his mother.

She was happy that she could hear the word from his mouth at least once.

"It"s a promise. So, you shouldn"t leave the veil too."

Caressing him one last time, she left.

Throughout the night, Eth could hear the sounds of explosions and metals clashing.

Several times, there were great flashes of light and horrified screams.

He covered his ears and shut his eyes.

Tears spilled through his eyes whenever he heard a human scream. Every time his body shook thinking that it was Mrs. Parker.

But he preserved through the nightmare.

He knew that as long as the veil was there, Mrs. Parker was alive.

And as they say: After every dark night comes a bright day.

Sun rose through the depths of h.e.l.l overthrowing the night away. The screams and explosions that kept happening throughout the night were no longer there.

"She"s okay."

Eth cried in happiness when he realized that the veil was still there.

Crucnh-

"Eth, are you there?"

At that exact moment, he heard Mia"s voice. He jumped out and ran to her. His body shook for a moment as he saw them.

"Mom!"

Mia was carrying Mrs. Parker on her back.

"E-eth?"

Ignoring her confused voice, Eth hugged Mrs. Parker after Mia put her against the tree.

"You are okay, mom! Thank G.o.d, you are okay!"

Tears spilled through his eyes as he cheerfully shouted while hugging her.

"Eth."

Mrs. Parker hugged him back and spoke to him while caressing his back.

"I"m sorry. I …couldn"t keep my pro-mise."

"Why are you lying? You are completely fine. See, isn"t she alright, Miss Mia?"

Mia turned her head away as if she couldn"t watch the scene.

Tightening her hug, Mrs. Parker continued.

"But you will.. keep your promise, right?"

Thud-

"Miss Mia, why is mom lying? Is it funny to tease a kid? You shouldn"t do something like this to someone who had come out of the hospital."

"Mom, you too. Why are you sleeping? Is it because you are too tired?"

"Then I will make the breakfast for Bell today. Let"s go home, mom."

"I guess you can"t walk? It"s okay, your son will become your legs."

"Stop"

Mia put her hand on Eth"s hand. But he smacked her away.

"What do you mean by stop! Is it that much if she doesn"t have a lower body! I said I will become her legs!"

"She"s dead."

"She isn"t. She *hic* isn"t dea-d. Mom promised*hic*."

A new day did come for Eth. But there was no longer a sun shining on him.

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