THE LUSTING WORLD - Season 3 Episode 59

“Is this for me, grandma!!” Excitement bubbled in her voice as her gaze appraised the curved sword. “Yes. It’s so nostalgic. This was the sword I used to train with when I was your age.” Kate carefully passed on the handle to the girl, who extended her eager hands with stars in her eyes.

As Darla rubbed her fingers along the sharp edge of the blade, Kate continued. “I had wanted to pass it to Damon, but he turned out to be a complete muscle head. The only thing he understood was to brute force he was through all the obstacles. This blade was not meant for him.”

A blade her father was not worthy of? What more she had to hear? She wanted to rub the cold flat metal on her face, that’s how much her adoration for the sword grew, in a matter of minutes. “I understand. But ain’t I the same? Well, at least mom thinks like that.”

“Haha.. they are not completely wrong. Yet, while there is a part of you who is like Damon, you can be flexible if the situation demands. Listen carefully girl, what happens to a branch that is too stiff?” “It breaks.”

“Yes. It will break. Sure it will take a great force to overwhelm it, however, if it lacks flexibility, time will come when it will eventually break. Damon resembles that branch. That’s why I don’t want you to follow in his steps. You might be his daughter, but it doesn’t mean you have to grow up with his disadvantages.”

“Hnn… I don’t understand. How can I be flexible? Do I need to fall back if I can’t win a battle?” Kate chuckled but didn’t refute her. “It’s only one of the aspects of it. You will get it with time. Anyhow, if the time comes, always value your life. Remember it always. You can always return, much stronger. You don’t have to be bogged down by the useless pride.”

“Hmm? You say that, grandma. Even so, what other thing is more dear to us, centaurs than our pride?” It was a curious question and Kate was not at all surprised by it. After all, most of the kids in their tribe were brought up with this same thinking.

She kissed the girl’s red cheeks, her arms wrapping around her waist. “For your father, there certainly is nothing. But do you think the same? Are you sure nothing is more dear to you than your pride?” Darla looked in the flashing eyes of the lady. Her deep vortex-like pupils remind her, the wrongs in her mentality.

She was not Damon. Her family, that was the thing that trumped pride for her. What good is an honor if it can’t save her family? And what about the budding love in her heart? She needs to be strong, not only for herself but for the people surrounding her.

“Train harder. Give it your best shot. Become stronger than your father, not just to defeat him but to save his sorry ass in case he finds his match one day.” Suddenly, Darla’s heart was filled with roiling emotions. This new goal made blood rush in her body. Kate was right. Defeating Damon is secondary, how good will it feel if he needs to be saved by his daughter one day?

“Thanks, grandma. Sorry, for being so dumb previously. I can see everything much more clearly.” “Haha… Nice. Hopefully, I didn’t bore you that much.” Darla shook her head. “How about you show grandma some of your moves? Maybe I can give you some pointers.”

The little centaur was much too happy to comply. Jumping out of the pool, she began swinging this new sword. Under the clear night sky, she spun her blade, following the pointers from the older lady.

The contaminated soil that Naila had brought to Kate had helped her do some divination. That added with the changes in the night sky made her convinced that this demonic presence was growing stronger with time. With how strong it already was, there was not much time left before this word was going to feel its raw wrath.

Hopefully, it was just a being who picked up some demonic techniques of the extinct species. Goddess forbids, if it’s a real demon that escaped extinction and survived until now, the world will see an apocalypse never seen before. This time, there were no angels to bear most of their onslaught for them.

***

Ryu returned home, much to the delight of his family. He can’t help but notice how silent Ruby had been throughout the dinner. Later, the boy followed the woman back to her room. “Hmm? Are you planning to sleep with me tonight?”

“Hehe.. who else will I sleep with then?” Despite the desolation in his heart, he tried to smile for this sister of his. “Huh.. your maids are back. I thought you would have liked to spend time with them.” She gently placed her child in the crib, leading up with a soft kiss on her forehead.

Not returning to him, she went on to stand against the window, staring out in the distance. “Not planning to sleep?” Ryu sat in the bed. “Don’t feel like it!” Her words made him a bit uncomfortable. The next minute, his worries came true.

“Did grandma tell you anything?” He can’t hesitate, despite the growing tension in the air. Worse, her face was away from him keeping him in dark about her motives. “She told many things, what do you..” “About James, tell me what she told you.” Her words interrupted him midway through his sentence.

If it was up to him, he would have liked to avoid the topic. Ruby had been a true sweetheart all these days but today she seems to have enough. “She…” No amount of prior preparation would have helped him in this situation. Expectedly, his voice broke up.

“She told that..” His lips dried up because Ruby had turned around and he can see her tears rolling down her cheeks. It was a heartbreaking sight. He was not ready for this. Hoping to his feet he took the girl in his arms, embracing her as tightly as he could. “Why are you crying, sis? Everything will be okay.” His hands rubbed her back, leading her to break into sobs.

He can’t lie to her anymore. Ruby was not stupid. From her cries, it was clear that she had figured out a few things on her own. “Tell me.. what did she say?” Ryu held cupped her face, wiping the tears off her face. Before he could utter a word, the girl put on a bitter smile.

“You are such a bad lair, little brother. The second day you came to meet me after James disappeared, I knew something has gone horribly wrong.” More and more tears spilled out from her red eyes. “Not wanting to be a jinx, I kept silent. I wanted to wait for grandma. She was the only one who could tell me the truth. But even she avoided the topic when I tried to talk to her in the morning.”

Emily didn’t tell him any of this. “Please tell me what should I do? I am so scared.” Ryu found her shivering in his arms. There was no escaping the reality. “Sis, look into my eyes.” He had to forcefully shake her awake as she fell through the cliff of despair, losing her senses.

“Brother James is no more. That’s the truth.” With their foreheads touching, the boy revealed the matter at last. Ruby felt her knees go weak, falling on the floor.

Ryu held her all the way, making her sit down. She had a premonition like this. However, listening to confirmation of her worst nightmares was way more painful.

Her eyes had lost focus, remembering the boy she fell in love with and eventually married. Such a happy family, they even had a girl now. Everything was destroyed in a matter of days. “How did it happen?” She had to know. What caused this tragedy in her life?

Ryu took a deep breath, organizing his chaotic thought. “Vines. He lost his life saving his fellow brothers from the assault of the Krypto vines.” Ruby looked at him in bewilderment. “What are you talking about?” As a commoner, she had never heard of anything like that.

The boy took his time explaining how it was a well-kept secret. There was no point hiding any of it since it will be revealed tomorrow morning by the town’s chief nonetheless. The more he told her the wider Ruby’s eyes became. She was still losing tears, but her face lacked any expression.

“You are telling me that James lost his life on the plantation and no one could save him?” In her mind, she had imagined that the man must have been sent on a mission outside of the town when disaster befell him. Now her heart pained even more when she realized how close they had been when all this happened.

Ryu took the time to explain the matters further. Why the existence of the vines was kept a secret, how they are supposed to fight them on regular basis, he told her everything except his encounter with that demi-god being. The fact that her family fought such strange creatures on a regular basis while she was completely oblivious to it, made her extremely sad.

She seems to have lost all her tears when Ryu’s monologue ended. “Please be strong, sis. Grandma will not let brother James’s sacrifice go in vain.” He was saying that when Ruby’s head fell backward as she lost consciousness due to the built-up grief in her heart.

Picking her up in his arms he placed her in the bed, tugging her under the blanket. He laid beside her, holding her in his arms all the while until opened her eyes many minutes later. No words were exchanged between the two for the rest of the night.

**Next day**

“What is going on? Why are we being called on such short notice?” Amelia asked Jeff as she walked towards the town hall, along with her family. “No idea. I too know just as much as you all.” Behind them, Ryu held onto Ruby’s hands as they followed behind their parents. Not long after his family met with his uncle’s, as both of them took the walk together.

Reaching the town hall grounds, it was already started getting packed with people from all over the town. The scene was very similar to what Ryu had witnessed during his awakening ceremony. Once again, the chief’s family was seated over the raised platform. In addition to them, he found old man Lyod as well, with Sophia beside him.

The girl had noticed him and probably wanted to get off the stage, only to be stopped by the old man. Ryu didn’t take all this to heart, anxiously awaiting the announcement that was sure to cause a ruckus among the masses.

Several minutes passed and Ryu kept silently holding Ruby close to him. He wasn’t in the mood to engage in talk with anyone, and his family too got the clue, not making him part of their discussion. “Ahem… I believe most of us are already here.”

A voice boomed over the stage, echoing over the people interrupting their chatter. It was old man Lyod, who had come forth to deal with the situation. “All of you have my apologies for calling you here early morning. However, the issue we are facing needs to be brought to the attention of the people.”

His words sparked another set of discussions among the group. “Please listen closely to what the chief had to say, next.” Everyone fell silent once again, waiting for Eric to take over the stage. It must be an important matter when every person who held any influence in the town had been invited over.