Ella's Secret

Blake was resting his head on the table by midnight when the door burst open. He was already vigilant, so he woke up instantly. However, it was not an enemy but Scarlett.

"What are you doing here? It is already midnight," Blake said while stretching.

"I went to Alyssa's house, but her computer was stolen fifteen minutes before I arrived," Scarlett said and peered deeply into Blake's eyes.

"Does that mean I will be expelled?" Blake said and relaxed his back on the chair.

"Tell me, how did you know that our previous conversation was being eavesdropped on?" Scarlett asked solemnly.

"A random guess," Blake said nonchalantly. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that Hecate, a soul remnant of a demon goddess, informed him of someone eavesdropping on their conversation.

Scarlett stared at him for a while. It was evident that she didn't buy his answer.

"I hate people lying to my face, at the same time treating me like a fool," Scarlett said coldly.

"You want to hear the truthful story?" Blake asked with a straight face.

Scarlett just stared at him quietly, but her unspoken affirmation was obvious.

"Fine. I'm a clairvoyant." Blake sat up and restricted his voice to a whisper to get dramatic and mysterious. "I sat down, and I saw the plot unfolding in my eyes like a cinematic movie, and I told—"

"You think I'm a fool?" Scarlett snapped at him angrily.

"That's what you want to hear. The truthful answer is that I guessed. Telling you to check Alyssa's computer is just to confirm and prove my guess. Or else, how would I know? Except if you intend to hear another greater, fantastical, and unbelievable lie, then you would ask for the truth again." Blake lied with a straight face. Scarlett thought, before believing.

"As for your previous question, there's a chance to get out of here. The dark syndrome mission is starting now. The date was brought forward. Here are the two crystal awaken cores you asked for. Follow me," Scarlett said before walking out.

Blake followed her without a word.

On the way, she explained calmly, "The mission was shifted closer due to the target noticing some abnormalities. So, we need your help. I talked to them and we agreed. You would help us turn off the elemental alarm, and you're a free man. But you might die in the process. That's the issue."

"Then why did you bring me out if I might die?" Blake asked with a scrunched-up face.

"Jasper already got you. Moreover, you have no choice. There is no awaken with a powerful reaction and awareness as you, so you are the first choice," Scarlett said while opening the door to a long truck.

"There is an armored suit in the truck. I saw the skill you took, so I bought a sharp sword made of hyper-steel," Scarlett said and folded her arm across her chest.

Blake entered the truck, wore the armored suit after battling with it for a while, and carried his sheathed sword in its black, plain scabbard. The sword was a one-sided, sharpened sword (single-edged blade) that resembled the katana in length. However, it was straightened like a chokuto. It was painted all-black like the armor, except for the sharpened, single side.

When Blake reached outside, he asked, "Why is my armor made of strange scales?"

Scarlett replied quickly, "It is made from an elemental beast. Less questioning, more actions. We need to finish the mission before dawn."

"Like I'm shooting a movie; action!" Blake muttered before he joined Scarlett on her bike.

The bike was like a regular bike until she used a retina scan to turn it on.

Blake kept a little distance from her as she sped along the quiet street.

She passed the main gate before stopping at the border of the forest. When she hopped off the bike, she threw Blake a strange stare.

She thought he was going to take advantage of her on the bike, which she was ready for; however, she prepared a truckload of advice for him when they reached their destination. Unfortunately, everything was wasted because Blake did not follow her predetermined script. Now, she is beginning to doubt her charms and beauty.

They walked stealthily and briskly, disappearing into the thick forest. Blake followed her until they got to a deep pit. He saw all the people at the meeting, standing in the pit.

Blake was surprised to see Ella, dressed in the same body armor as him, but armed with a bow instead of a sword. He was more shocked to see that he was some meters from the mouth of the cave. He kept shut at first until Jasper said something infuriating.

"Allow me to explain the mission. You go in there and turn off the elemental detector. Mission complete!" Jasper said with a smile.

Jasper brought out a device that looked like an electrical changeover switch; it was just a larger version. "This is the elemental detector, and I'll show you how to turn it off," he explained as he demonstrated the process.

After Jasper's rambling, Blake finally exploded. "If you want to kill me, do it properly. I'm not going into that death cave. Even if I take in a thousand awaken cores, I won't be able to beat that ape. That thing squashed your son into minced meat!" Blake growled, shocking everyone. He didn't care that talking about Jasper's son's death might infuriate him.

Blake knew that they were all powerful, but he had yet to see them truly display their abilities. To his eyes from the prior meeting, Jasper had simply transformed into a human torch, while Raymond had conjured frost seemingly out of thin air, like a magic trick from the 21st century. In contrast, he had witnessed the terrifying power of the ape firsthand.

While many people fear the unknown more than the known, Blake has seen a 'known' he considered being far more terrifying than the unknown.

"You have big guts," Jasper said with an evil smirk.

"Have you ever seen a scared walking corpse? Even desperate, small animals don't give a f**k about a lion!" Blake said defiantly.

"Alright, enough! The ape's body is over. So, the ape shouldn't bother you," The man in yellow said while pointing in the direction behind Blake.

Blake climbed out of the pit and was greeted by the sight of the massive, lifeless body of the ape. His eyes widened in disbelief, and his brain took a while to process what lay before him.

'Oh, sh*t! They are more terrifying than the ape,' Blake thought, feeling a sudden bone-chilling cold penetrating his marrow as he recalled the way he was growling at them.

When Blake returned to the pit, he became quiet.

"Okay, you will go in and turn the elemental detector off. Take the digital map and go," Bob said calmly.

Blake walked in front, while Ella followed behind. When they entered the cave, Ella greeted Blake.

"I didn't know you were so powerful. Miss Scarlett even asked for your help." Ella initiated a conversation with a whisper when they entered the cave.

Maybe walking silently in the dark might be boring, so a conversation might help.

"Hmm!" Blake just mumbled, ending the conversation.

"Hey, why are you angry at me?" Ella asked, noticing Blake's indifference.

"Nobody likes being treated as a fool," Blake said aptly and casually, not wanting to extend their conversation. He just focused on walking in the cave with his sword unsheathed. The cave was gently sloped downwards.

"Being treated as a fool?" Ella asked, her confusion evident in her tone.

"You have almost maxed out your awaken core. I don't know which type you even absorbed. You pretended to be weak," Blake said calmly, which made his emotion indecipherable.

"I… I… I didn't lie. Furthermore, I never said I was weak. I just said I was mocked by the school for scoring zero. I… difficult…" Ella stuttered while rubbing her hands nervously, but her point stumped Blake.

She never told him she was weak. He was the one who inferred her strength from her character.

"Fine." Blake surrendered weakly, which cheered Ella.

"I'm Ella—" Ella bumped into Blake, who had stopped abruptly, cutting her speech. She rubbed her head to ease the pain.

"Stop being weird. Of course, I know your name," Blake said and continued walking deeper into the cave. They were using night goggles to see in the dark.

"You could have said that without stopping. Your armor is hard," Ella said with a cute pout that Blake missed due to his concentration.

"It is my first time wearing armor. Sorry about that." Blake apologized awkwardly.

"Where was I? Yeah, everybody knows that I'm Ella Brian. But only a few people know that my name is Ella Davis," Ella said proudly. However, a bump into a hard surface disrupted her ecstasy.

"Can you please stop doing that?" Ella growled with her tiny voice.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard," Blake said awkwardly, before asking, "Why are you proud? Is it because you used a fake surname?"

"You don't know the surname Davis?" Ella asked in shock.

"I know a few Davis: Tom Davis, Dick Davis, and Harry Davis. Hell! I don't know the specific surname," Blake growled, trying to keep his voice down.

"You don't know Scarlett's surname, do you?" Ella asked, which made Blake abruptly stop. But this time, she was ready. She stopped almost instantly.

Blake turned around this time and asked, "From Miss Scarlett to Scarlett? Seriously? Let's forget about that, but what has Scarlett's surname got to do with you? Wait! Don't tell me…" Blake's voice trailed off, and he took a closer look at the smiling Ella.

"No way!" Blake exclaimed in a low tone.

"Why do you think it is impossible?" Ella asked with a proud smile.

"Because your characters are way too polar, secondly, who sends their lovely siblings into a dangerous place? Except you have an awful relationship," Blake explained logically.

"Our relationship is great. Moreover, who said this place is dangerous?" Ella's voice was just like the cue for the arrival of danger.

"Grrr!" a deep growl echoed in the cave, and a beast three times the size of Blake suddenly speared him into the cave wall by the side with an incredible force.