Even for just a little, as long as you can smile for me, I will become a knight of dusk and devote to you my all... — Pray, Mizuki Nana
xxxxxx
The last of the enemies were taken down and destroyed. The path heading home should have been opened after that. But it never did. It made everything worrisome for both Stinger and Hammie who seemed to have become stuck in that realm.
Not that they actually expected to be sent there while fighting. And yet, here they were. Unable to get out of the trap that they fell into, they could only hope at that moment that someone would come to help. For sure, their disappearance wouldn't go unnoticed to their teammates.
Though tired and in the middle of catching their breaths after running a certain distance, Hammie managed to nod as a reply to Stinger's question. In her opinion, however, she should be the one asking that question if she were to consider his own state at the moment. In the end, she chose not to.
She looked around for a while before facing him. "Do you think we managed to escape them, even for a while?"
Stinger chose to look around, as well, like ascertaining their situation from their position. "I don't think they were following us. But we still need to stay alert. Even when it seems that we were only transported here and that monster doesn't even know how to control everyone it would absorb to this place, I don't think they had the guts to follow us here. Especially since we defeated most of those who tried to attack us..."
He had a point, and it was enough for Hammie to finally take a deep breath and lean on a large tree near where she was standing. "Thank goodness... I don't think I'd be able to move properly for a little while after that."
It was just for a short while, but it looked like Stinger smiled after she said that. Despite the fatigue, it seemed that the gesture was enough to make her smile, as well. With their current situation, it shouldn't be like that. And yet, she couldn't help feeling something as if a load was lifted off of her shoulders, as strange as it sounded.
"Can you still walk? We still have to find a way out of here. But perhaps an area where we can rest is something that we need at the moment."
Hammie looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was about to set. Though it looked normal, both of them knew that something was off about it. Only that they couldn't determine what it was in the meantime.
"I can. And I think we have to hurry. For some reason, that sun doesn't look like a normal sun to me."
"You noticed it, too, huh?"
With both of them coming into consensus, the two warriors started running once again --- towards the dark forest. But for some reason, the fear they should be feeling for being in such a strange place didn't come to hit them.
Instead, there was assurance --- one that both of them never thought they'd feel while they were together in that trap world.
xxxxxx
At the moment, both Stinger and Hammie would be like sitting ducks waiting for whatever trap to consume them or attack them. But it looked like the strange world they were thrown into was almost similar to that of their usual world --- or at least, the Earth that Kotaro was from.
Then again, there was also the sun that they had to worry about. And now, both of them knew the reason why that sun felt strange the moment they laid their eyes on it.
It was the monster's eye in that other world. They only came to that conclusion when they managed to finally get a place to rest and hide from the other entities and monsters of that place.
"For now, I think we'll be safe here. It looks like that weird sun is the only eye that the monster could use here," Stinger stated after a long silence between them.
"You think so? I mean, it's possible. But can we even rest here? Even if it's just for a while."
"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't. We need all the energy and strength we can have to make sure that we can fight when the moment calls for it."
With a sigh of relief and a nod, Hammie told Stinger that she wanted to sleep even for a little while. Even he could see how tired she was. He, too, was feeling tired. But he decided to stay awake and watch over his teammate as she tried to take a good rest in that weird location.
On a usual, normal situation, he had a feeling that he wouldn't have done this to anyone. But in this case, Hammie wasn't just anyone. He had known that fact for a while now. It had been lingering in his mind for possibly longer than that, as well.
Minutes later, Stinger could already hear Hammie's steady breathing --- indicating that fatigue had already taken over his teammate. He couldn't help smiling at the sight. He looked at her sleeping figure for a few more moments before facing the view outside the cave. The sun had almost set and they still hadn't made it out of that realm.
But even so, it didn't matter at the moment. Even with the possible lurking danger, his priority was to ensure their safety as they both take a good rest and recover their lost energies. This way, they would be able to fight off those goons and at the same time, the monster itself.
"Rest for now. Don't worry. I'll make sure I'll be able to protect you. I won't let you die on my watch."
Stinger could only whisper those words as he looked at the sleeping Hammie. But for now, it was better that he was the only one who heard them. Maybe one day, he'd be able to say them to her without hesitation.
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