Chapter 17

A cool breeze moves over the trees. The autumn leaves chase after it. On the ground, against a big rock, Alsi's eyes became irritated at the light that kept on picking at him. His eyes opened up to Serena's calm smile and Ceal's introvertive back turned to him. 

      "Wha-wh- what happened?" 

      "We're outside the dungeon portal. We completed the mission…" 

      Serena's answer is what brought back Alsi's memories. He sat up properly and rubbed his eyes. The dungeon portal was up ahead, still active. Mr Milgran seemed to be sending off a hawk that beared a scroll at its feet. As it went flying off Alsi stood up.

      "Wait…what time is it?" 

      " We only took 30 minutes. Surprisingly time moves slower out here than in a portal dungeon." Said Serena as she stood up, passing her hand through her hair.

      "Well then let's get going. I've had enough dancing with monsters for one day."

      "I have to agree with Alsi. It's better to get home as soon as possible." Ceal stood up and stretched. 

      "That being said, this is farewell, Mr Milgran. It was a pleasure meeting you."

      "The pleasure was all mine." Ceal and Mr Milgran shook hands with friendly grins.

      "You should come and visit me soon. I'm usually in the nearest town to your father's work." Said Mr Milgran.

      "We probably will, right guys?" Ceal turned to Serena and Alsi who were behind him. 

      "Sure thing. We will definitely come and visit you." Said Serena with a smile on her face. Alsi didn't respond, he only leaned back with his hands behind his head. They said their farewells and started off on their journey back home. Their house was to the south, across the river that divided the farm lands from the commercial towns in the outskirts of the kingdom. Waterfalls were occasionally spotted as one got closer to the river. However, the waterfalls were more common nearer to the centre of the kingdom.

      Alsi, Ceal and Serena trekked the lands covered by the spirit of autumn. They were still fatigued from their encounter with the teleportive dungeon boss. Their clothes were a bit dirty and they had a few bruises here and there. But even so, the raid was worth it. Of course, they weren't allowed to get all the loot but they got their fair shares. Mr Milgran was going to send the rest of the profit from the minerals and other precious items in the dungeon to them in about a week or two. Guess being a Ginknight is worth the risk it carries. 

       The sun was still up in the sky. Alsi was in deep thoughts over what happened in the dungeon. Of course he didn't think of it as some life changing experience that would haunt him forever. If anything, he already compared the dungeon boss to an Enderman from Minecraft.What was really eating at his mind was his final attack. Though Alsi had grown over the years in strength and skill. He wasn't really acquainted with water kine. The types he did gain some skill in were wind, lightning and fire, of which he was the most accustomed to. 

      'Agyro said that necklace enhanced my mastery over kine whenever I put it on. But then I didn't even have it on me this time. So what could have caused that sudden release of water?' 

      With his hands in his pockets and his head faced downwards he pondered.

      'Eh…guess I must be OP.' 

      For someone who made fun of every nerd he came across he was suspiciously familiar with these kinds of things. 

      "Hey Alsi, I thought you said you couldn't use water kine.." Ceal didn't mind striking the nail. He was a straightforward kind of guy. Truth be told, it was a common trait within the family. It's what made Alsi fit in with them so well, there was nothing to hide except for a few stolen peaks at Serena. Alsi couldn't help it, especially now that he was going through puberty twice over.

      " I can't. It just happened to burst out when things got out of hand. By the way, now that we're on the subject, I still haven't received a thank you. You ungrateful idiots owe me for saving your lives with my godly power."

      " What the heck are you saying, if I didn't take down all those skeletons you'd be half way through joining them." Ceal argued.

      " Those things could have revived themselves anytime they wanted. There is nothing you did except show off by shooting hand farts like a retard." 

      "-sigh- I was going to commend you on your feat, Alsi, but your ego makes it so hard. '' Said Serena as she walked ahead of them. 

      "Well anyway, we got a lot of cool materials for our weapon crafting. I mean just look at this…" Serena revealed a red glowing little cube from her pocket.

      "I got this from the dungeon boss before we got out-"

      "Hey! That's not fair! I killed it, I should be the one to get it!" Alsi protested.

      "Ha! Don't make me laugh. First of all you used MY daggers to kill that thing. And this is also what you get for almost blowing everything up and burying us alive!"

     " Whatever! You can keep it if you want it. It's just a stupid cube anyway." Alsi pouted as he looked to his side.

      The group of three continued to walk for quite a distance. They finally crossed the river and were on their way to their house. Alsi admired the vast fields of rice as he passed by. The locals were just preparing to go home for dinner after a day of hard work. By the time the moon night lighted the sky, they managed to get home. As they strolled the path they could see a humble house that stood calmly over the grassy plains of the area. It was a good feeling to be home again, especially after the fiasco they had just been through.

      As they got closer to the house they chatted casually. But suddenly they all came to a stiff halt. The expressions on their faces became dark. Their muscles started to shiver, not because of the wind that grew colder. They felt a sinister presence, a pressure that engulfed their bodies and pushed down on their souls. The horrible feeling they all shared at that moment sent chills up their spine.

      Serena was the first to break free from their frozen state. She dashed towards the front door, Alsi and Ceal followed behind closely. 

      "DAD!?" She called out with a worried expression.

      When she got close to the door she noticed that it was slightly opened. She didn't let it bother her so she just opened the door slowly. 

      *CREAK…*

      The door made a loud creaking sound as she opened slowly to avoid exactly that. The bad aura enveloped them the moment they got into the house, causing their fear to grow. Ceal let his hand caress his katana as the atmosphere became so thick with tension it could be cut with a knife. 

      "Dad?!" He called out as he moved slowly into the house, Serena ahead of him, Alsi behind him. They tread softly, as they entered the nightmare-like scene. The lights were off. A dead silence invaded the house. Usually the fireplace would be burning by now but the ash was cold instead. Alsi knelt down at the fireplace and looked around after inspecting it. The air suddenly became even colder and the vapour could be seen as Alsi exhaled. Serena started to rub her hands for warmth. 

      "Guys!...I hear something." Ceal said in a hushed voice.

      "It's coming from the crafting room."

      Alsi looked to his right across the floor and noticed that Ceal was correct. He could see little rays of light penetrate through the wooden planks. Serena proceeded to grab the handle and open the hatch. There were stairs leading down to the crafting room. A faint light could be seen at the bottom. Thoughts were running through their minds. They felt like they were in for the shock of their lives. But maybe they were wrong and the fatigue from their mission just caught up to them.

      'There is no way that Old man could be harmed. I mean the guy deals with missions adventurers don't even dare to touch.' Alsi assured himself nervously as cold sweat began to tease his confidence. The same thing was going for Ceal and Serena. 

       'But what if he's actually hurt…or even worse…'

      The answer to his question waited at the bottom of the stairs. When Serena reached the bottom, she saw a dark silhouette seated against the wall, its head facing downwards. It looked like something was standing over it, but its figure wasn't as solid as that of the one against the wall. It seemed like parts of it were evaporating off of its body. The light of the furnace shined brightly, the scent that filled the room suggested that some weapon crafting just took place. Serena pulled out her staff and rushed towards the source of this immense sinister pressure.

      "DAD!" She said as she attempted to hit the figure that stood over the solid one. But it suddenly vanished like that of ashes disappearing with the wind. When she saw that it was gone, she looked to the right. Her expression became fearful the moment she did so. Alsi and Serena rushed to her side. She knelt down next to Agyro who sat there lifelessly. Blood running down every opening on his face. His mouth left open and his once deep blue eyes were bloodshot. His mouth hung open and he held his favourite sword in his right hand.

      "DAD! DAD! DAD PLEASE WAKE UP!!" She started to shake her father awake while tears started to roll down her face. Ceal and Alsi seemed to have entered a trance. They could not believe what they just saw in front of them…

      'Wait…is that Agyro? Why does he look like that? That's not a face a man like you should be making. This is a prank right?...right?...righ-'

      Alsi was awakened from his trance when he heard the sudden sound of the ceiling above them breaking apart loudly. This made him and Ceal jump up. 

      ' What was that?' He thought as he looked upwards, witnessing the gaping hole in the ceiling. He then just noticed something…

      ' Wait…where is Serena?'

      He started to look for her pink-ish white hair but couldn't see it. He looked where she was kneeling but only to meet with the most diabolical grin he had ever seen in his entire existence. Agyro who had being laying there lifeless, was seated comfortably in a different posture. His arm above his knee as he tightly grasped his sword. His hair looked messier. His blood shot eyes now had a red glow from his pupil. He didn't know who this was…

but it was a farcry from Agyro…