Chapter 9: Cost Of Sorrow
In the place where Shazmeen, Kael and Ankara are located, the atmosphere of eerie darkness enveloped the room, empty empty only strands of darkness and flashing lights add to the impression of how horrific the place. Shazmeen felt very scared.
"Hey Kael I want to get out of here! where is the way out tell me? you son of a bitch!"
Kael responded coldly but soothingly, " if you could only find your own way out, I didn't bring you here on my own."
Shazmeen looked at the old man who had been sitting, both of them either Kael or Ankara they were very cold. "Sir, can you get me out of here, this place is terrible!"
The response was not given at all by the two, until finally Shazmeen cried in a corner of the room that was pitch black
Shazmeen's tears echoed in the empty room. His voice sounded small, almost swallowed by the darkness that seemed to be alive, creeping around him.
The overhead light spotlights flicker again, creating shadows that seem to move by themselves on the damp old walls.
Kael and Ankara remained silent. Ankara, the old man sitting in the corner, just looked blankly forward, while Kael crossed her arms, her face remained expressionless.
"Damn you guys! I don't want to be here! Let me out!!"
Shazmeen struggled, trying to stand up, but somehow his body felt heavy. Something pressed against his chest—a suffocating fear.
Kael finally nodded. "Stop crying. That won't change anything."
Shazmeen looked at him sharply, anger and fear mixed together. "I don't care! I just wanna get out of this fucking place!"
Until at the end Ankara tells Kael something there you will fight with Coguku and her two comrades later she will save five people who are friends of Shazmeen "Kael, let the girl, come here I get another flash of the future!"
Kael immediately headed for Ankara and said coldly. "What are you saying? don't you try to fool me again! Then what's the matter with the five of them, with me!"
"in the future those five people could become your allies, fighting alongside you!"
"I don't need that, I can do it myself!"Kael said coldly.
"If you don't save the five of them, one of them named Lirien will be killed."
Hearing Lirien's name Shazmeen was shocked and stopped crying which made him immediately stand up and get angry with Kael.
"You!!!!, why did you mention my friend's name, what is your relationship with my friend that jawabb!!!"Shazmeen held back the tears and his anger exploded uncontrollably, his graceful demeanor just disappeared.
"I told you no, crying won't change anything!"
Shazmeen was very upset and wanted to slap kael in the face, but Kael grabbed his hand. "tchh.....bitch, let go of me, what are you really hiding from me, you son of a bitch!"
Ankara began to tell him what really happened, "Shazmeen, you'd better cool your short-circuited head first, let me explain to you what really happened."
Ankara sighed, her wistful eyes like looking at something far beyond that room, penetrating the time dimension. "I know you're confused, angry, even scared. But listen to me carefully, Shazmeen. This is not just a coincidence. You're here because fate brought us together."
Shazmeen clenched his fists, his face still filled with anger. "Nonsense! You kidnapped me, brought me to this horrible place, and now you're talking about Destiny?"
Kael who was standing near Ankara snorted coldly. "Believe it or not, this is not my problem. But if you want to know why his name is called, listen to Ankara to the end."
Shazmeen returned Kael's gaze with hatred. "You bastard! If this isn't your problem, why are you keeping me here?!"
Kael only smiled sarcastically, before Ankara spoke again.
"All of you-you, your friends, and even the people you have always trusted-are walking towards the brink of destruction. And Lirien..." Ankara paused, looking at Shazmeen with a look that was hard to explain. "If nothing changes the course of fate, he will die."
Shazmeen's heart seemed to stop beating. The words pierced him like a cold, sharp knife.
"No... that's not possible. Lirien is not dead. Not so fast!"
Ankara shook his head slowly. "I wish I could say the same, but in the flash I saw... his blood was flowing among the ruins. His face froze in fear. He will not survive if something is not done."
Hikani Beach is now a battlefield filled with flying sand, waves raging behind them, as if to feel the violence of this battle.
On the other hand Lirien, Sylvaine, Rainer, Erik and Duncan are fighting to the shores of Hikani Island. They were bounced away by my Coguku's incredible power. Rainer, who was usually calm, began to show his anxiety because he had never fought a very strong enemy like Coguku.
"Asshole..." Rainer wiped the blood on the tips of his lips, staring at the giant figure standing before them.
Coguku a creature of enormous stature, with eyes shining red like embers, walked on the water as if the laws of nature did not apply to it. Each of his steps caused ripples of energy that made the sea water Rumble.
Coguku Road on the water, he really became a very terrible monster for the five of them, "he.... him....monster" said Lirien who was already getting weak.
"He's... not human anymore," murmured Lirien, his eyes widening in fear.
"Are you afraid, Lily?"Erik's voice sounded in between the hissing of the waves. "You are not someone who is easily frightened."
Lirien swallowed. "I'm not afraid of death... I'm afraid we can't stop it."
Duncan laughed a little, although his face was full of wounds. "Are you kidding? We've come this far! If we die now, everything we do will be for nothing!"
Rainer nodded. "We have to think fast. My cogs are too fast to fight one by one. We need an attack that can lock it in for at least a few seconds!"
Sylvaine, who had been more silent all this time, finally opened her voice. "Rainer is right. We cannot win if we fight alone. But if we combine our forces ... maybe we can make a gap!"
Duncan gritted his teeth. "In that case, I will be a shield. I can withstand the attack, but I need you to launch the attack after!"
Erik clenched his hands. "Okay, I'll use the distraction technique. If we can split the focus, it'll give us a chance!"
Sylvaine looked at Rainer and Lirien. "I can create an illusion for a moment, make him confused. But I can't keep it up for long."
Lirien took a deep breath. "In that case, Rainer and I will give the final attack. The most powerful attack we've got."
From a distance, my Coguku looked at them with a disdainful smile.
"Are you finished talking, man? I can't wait to hear the screams of the helpless," he said in a tone full of pride.
Erik grinned, his eyes full of anger. "Tch! Who will scream? We'll prove it later."
"Hohoho, it looks like this is going to get even more interesting. Boy, give me a nice ending show!"my Coggin's voice sounded full of mockery.
Without waiting any longer, Duncan advanced quickly. "I'm starting!"he exclaimed as he ran towards my Coguku.
Coguku watched him intently. "What are they planning this time?"he murmured in his heart.
Duncan leapt high, his fists already reinforced with stones darting profusely towards his opponent. The blow was much stronger than before.
"ROCK FIST!!"
Coguku crossed her arms to hold back, but this time her facial expression changed—surprised.
"Khee, this is much stronger than before..."
However, he only smiled obliquely. "You're getting serious now, aren't you, boy?"
With one quick movement, my Coguku smashed Duncan's stone arm and instantly broke his bones. Duncan screamed in pain before his body was hit so hard that it was thrown far off the coast.
"AARRGGH!! Damn it! It hurts!"Duncan grimaced, trying to endure the pain in his broken arm.
Meanwhile, my Coguku stood on the water, her eyes still watching the others. However, suddenly...
"Huh?! What is this?!"
The thatch from within the sea gripped his leg, holding him in place.
TAP!!!
From behind, Rainer appeared and hit Coguku's body with a hard punch, making him bounce several meters back.
"HEXCRYSTAL IMPALE!"
Right at the point of that blow, a pattern of black marks appeared on my Coguku's body.
"What... what is this?! Don't play games with me, you son of a bitch! I will definitely kill you all!!"My brother is really angry.
With a quick movement, he grabbed both of Rainer's hands, intending to throw them away. But before he could do it...
CRAKKKK!!!
From the black mark that appeared, a giant crystal beam exploded out, piercing his chest and destroying most of his internal organs.
"GAAAHHH!!"
Blood spurted from his mouth. His body weakened instantly. However, Rainer did not waste the opportunity. Quickly, he unsheathed his katana, turning its blade into a diamond crystal.
SLASH!!
One sharp slash instantly destroyed Coguku's right arm—which he had unknowingly turned to stone from holding Duncan's previous blow.
Rainer stood up straight, looking coldly at his opponent. "Good attack, Duncan," he murmured inwardly.
However, before he could continue his attack, Coguku swung his left fist quickly.
"Dumppp KIDD!!!"
DUAKKK!!
The brutal blow hit Rainer hard, throwing him far away.
My Coguku staggered, blood continued to flow from his body. However, his eyes were still filled with hatred.
"Like you guys... it's impossible to beat me... Damn it!!"
He looked at Erik who was now standing on the rock, looking at him with a sharp gaze. Erik ran towards him.
"You think I'm scared, kid?!"
With burning anger, my Coguku swung his fist at Erik. However, the blow only hit the air.
"What?! Illusion?!?!"
Suddenly, the surroundings changed. The world went dark.
The image of himself was reflected everywhere, as if he was trapped in a dimension full of reflections.
"You... you... you're playing me, boy!!!"
My Coguku's screams echoed, her body began to lose balance.
But before he could understand the situation, a strong blow from Lirien hit him from behind, shattering the illusion.
"TAKE THIS, UGLY!!"
DUAKK!!
Coguku bounced hard to hit the rock behind him.
However, as Lirien tried to continue his attack...
KRAKKKK!!!
With one quick movement, my Coguku broke his leg.
"AAARRGHHHHH!!!"
Not stopping there, Coguku pulled out a crystal block from his chest and thrust it into Lirien's stomach.
"LIRIENNN!!!"
Frantic screams were heard from his comrades.
Lirien coughed up blood, his face paled.
My Coguku who was now covered in a black aura looked at them all viciously.
The air suddenly became heavy. The atmosphere around changes dramatically.
"I'm so fed up with all of you..."
The terrifying Aura emanating from him grew stronger and stronger. A deep black fog enveloped the battle area. The sound of the waves became more distant, as if their world had been moved to another place.
Erik felt a chill creeping into his bones. Sylvaine gulped, trying to make sense of the situation.
"This... it was no longer an ordinary fight..."Erik muttered, his eyes widening.
My cogu smiled broadly, his eyes full of madness.
"This time... I'LL FINISH YOU OFF!"
BRAKKKK!!!
Coguku's huge fist struck Sylvaine from the air, sending her tumbling violently to the ground until a large crater formed where she landed.
"AAARRGGHHH!!"blood gushed from Sylvaine's mouth.
Duncan who saw it directly hit the ground with the rest of his energy.
"EARTH SHATTER!!!"
The sand turned into towering stone pillars and tried to pierce my Coguku. However, the monstrous creature simply swung its hand and destroyed all the pillars with a single slash of Black Energy.
Rainer sped slashing using his katana sword but what can I do, Coguku is currently very strong sword slashing that has become a crystal can be easily held with one hand, and stepped on it until he was unconscious.
Sylvaine who saw that couldn't do anything about it, her energy had run out, even she almost lost her consciousness, then she also saw that Lirien on the beach had not moved with the crystal beam in her stomach.
"Time to sleep."I underestimated all of them .Just when my Coguku wanted to cut off Sylvaine's head using Rainer's katana suddenly....
TIIIING!!!
An unusually fast slash deflected Rainer's katana. Kael came fending off the sword that Coguku was going to use to execute Sylvaine, she also brought Shazmeen there.
My Coguku who saw Kael was there was surprised, "finally this bitch boy came too huh!"
Instantly all the Aura created by my Coguku faded making him upset because his ability was successfully broken by Kael. "This fucking kid? he can break my juncture?"
Shazmeen who was there to see the condition of his friends immediately immediately helped him with his eyes welling up, "Sylvaine!!"with screams and tears.
Sylvaine opened her eyes, "Hey you better help Lirien first."
then Shazmeen saw Lirien who was not far from there and immediately went to himself to help him.
Previous
The night wind blew softly, carrying the salty scent of the sea and the land wet with blood and tears. A small fire was still burning dimly in the distance, casting shadows that danced on the faces of those who remained.
Ankara stood up straight, her gaze piercing towards Shazmeen who was still kneeling on the ground, her face wet with tears and mixed anger.
"My cogaku ... he's one of the core members of Nythragael, an organization you've probably never heard of, isn't he, Shazmeen?"
Shazmeen turned his head, his eyes still full of anger and fatigue. "Nythragael? Organization?"his voice was hoarse. "To my knowledge there are only a few criminal organizations so far that are in Valhalla. And so far everything can be overcome by my father!"
Ankara sighed deeply. "Not at all. Nythragael is not in Valhalla or any other country. I also don't know where their specific location is, but clearly, until now I haven't discovered their true hiding place."
Shazmeen looked at him in confusion. His eyes were getting puffy, tears were still flowing. He lowered his head, biting his lips enduring the pain raging in his heart.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kael saw it all.
For a moment, his heart sank.
The memories came again.
The girl ... Shazmeen... the expression on her face…
"She... she was like my mother... crying will leave me."
Kael clenched her hands, trembling slightly. The heart that had been locked tightly began to crack. He turned to Shazmeen, and for the first time he really saw her.
"She's ... beautiful."
However, not only beautiful.
There was something in that look. A wound that will never heal. It was the same pain he had felt before.
Alone.
Helpless.
Betrayed by the world.
Kael lowered her head, realizing something. He knows what it feels like.
Ankara sighed, before speaking again.
"I'm not going to tell you all about this, I'm just going to tell you, Shazmeen. Take Kael and save all your friends when noon shows you're about to lose."
Shazmeen raised his face, his red eyes filled with confusion.
"Why not now, old man?! They're in danger!"Shazmeen's voice broke, full of despair.
Kael finally stepped closer. "Enough."
"I told you, don't blame him, for whatever reason."
"YOU ARE NOISY!!"
Shazmeen exploded.
All his pain, all the anger he had endured, finally came out unstoppable.
"ALL THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU GOT ME INTO THIS! ALL MY FRIENDS ARE IN DANGER! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!"
The crying broke out. His body shook violently. Tired. Helpless.
For the first time, Kael didn't know what to say.
He just stood there, staring at the girl who was now completely immersed in her grief.
Shazmeen clasped his chest, trying to regulate his gasping breath.
He has tried his hardest.
He has done everything.
But still…
...everything he loved was almost gone from his grasp.
Kael clenched her fists. Guilt began to grow in him.
He sees himself in Shazmeen.
Pain.
Fear.
Despair.
And he knows…
I hate that feeling more than anything.
Kael stepped forward.
He doesn't talk much. But something in his eyes changed.
Pity?
No.
A sense of caring.
He won't let this girl be ruined like she used to be.
Kael held out her hand to Shazmeen, trying to calm her turmoil.
However, Shazmeen just brushed off the hand.
"WHATEVER YOU WANT!!"
He turned around, trying to avoid Kael's gaze.
Kael looked at his rejected hand, then let out a long sigh.
However, instead of being angry or annoyed, a small smile flashed on his face.
"You're stubborn, yes..." he muttered softly.
But behind it all, he knew one thing.
He won't leave this girl alone.
It's not what it used to be.
Not like his mother.