Knight Page 4

  “Hey! Wait for me!” She exclaimed, feeling somewhat nervous about going in alone.

  Seraphina had her hands around the hilt of her sheathed sword—a weapon that nobody fortunately noticed—and was bent slightly on a pose that signaled her readiness for any kind of attack. It was as though they were infiltrating the enemy base . . . which was oddly true.

  “Valeriana, if you see something strange, alert me immediately.”

  “B-but, how am I supposed to know? There are all sorts of scary things in here.” She stammered.

  “We should check this door.” Seraphina walked towards the door to their right and placed a hand on the knob.

  “W-wait, I don't think you should.”

  The lady slowly pushed the door open, letting it hit the wall.

  “Holy mother of—” Valeriana broke into a loud scream before she could even finish talking.

  The sight was gruesome and horrifying alright. The girl could not hold back her reaction even after landing a mere glance.

  In the lobby was a dying woman lying on the couch, sprawled helplessly while covered in her own blood. The crimson liquid had dried off around her mouth and even more seeped through her painted lips. There was another character in the scene, feeding on the innards of the open stomach of the woman. The monster's appearance was barbaric, with a pointed set of teeth stained with blood and bits of flesh falling out from his mouth.

  ”H-help . . . me . . .” The woman reached out towards them.

  When the monster saw both girls, its blood red eyes glistened with bloodthirstiness and started running for two. Valeriana jumped from where she stood and grabbed the knob instinctively while Seraphina drew her weapon. With a loud bang, she shut the door close and took off running with the woman in tow.

  Her heart was beating so fast, it felt like it would burst from her chest. Her hands, as well, were trembling uncontrollably and her knees felt unbelievably weak.

  Even after shutting it close, the monster kept banging on the door.

  “Why did you leave her alone? We should help her!” Seraphina exclaimed.

  Valeriana focused on calming herself. “Listen,” she told the woman as she took in deep breaths. “None of that was real.”

  “But . . .”

  “You won't believe how great special effects are.” She continued. “That woman had great acting too. Really. I felt like I just died a gazillion times.”

  “It wasn't real?”

  “That's the point of a Horror House. To scare, but not harm people. It's for past time and entertainment.” Valeriana wiped off the sweat on her brow while panting. “So you have to keep in mind that you can't just draw that thing recklessly or you'll probably kill innocent people doing their job.”

  Valeriana pointed to the fully drawn, gleaming sword Seraphina held professionally with her two, swift hands.

  “You have to promise me that you will not draw that thing against anyone here. I didn't lead you here to murder someone after all. Now for Pete's sake, please put that away.”

  Seraphina hesitantly followed Valeriana's instructions and sheathed her weapon back in place. She seemed almost disappointed and troubled as she did so. As it slid smoothly into the scabbard, Seraphina released a huge breath and began to contemplate how on earth she was going to accomplish her task without hurting one person. Include the fact that she had to distinguish which was a demon, and which wasn't. The future was starting to look bleak for her.

  “I'm going to have to proceed without drawing my weapon against anything at all then.”

  The mere thought made her feel helpless.

  “I'll try not to unless I am sure who my true enemies are.”

  Valeriana nodded at her statement in satisfaction. “Alright. Now we're clear.”

  “Let us go.”

  Valeriana tried to keep herself perfectly calm as they continued, checking out numerous doors which led to plenty of different terrifying scenarios. They sent her screaming and practically running for her life—that was what she felt wanting to do rather. Spending a few more minutes would cause her to lose her life from all the skin-crawling scares she just received. This Horror House truly wasn't something for the faint of heart.

  A few minutes later, Valeriana found herself hiding behind Seraphina as they were opening their ninth door. The fact that everything still wasn't finished made her think that fainting was starting to sound like a great idea. There probably would be some people who would carry her out without trouble.

  “W-where the heck are those demons you're talking about?” She asked. “Can you just find them and get it over with already?”

  “Although I appreciate you taking me here, Valeriana, seeing no sign of them makes me think they aren't here at all.”

  “What? You kidding? I went through hell coming with you here and they aren't anywhere around?”

  “Perhaps this door.” Seraphina told her, opening the one they were facing.

  They were greeted by the sight of a beast chained against the wall, lying helplessly on the floor. His breath was heavy and soft growls escaped through his rows of narrow-edged teeth. A few steps away from him was rotting meat.

  Valeriana stared at the beast in silence, intimidated by the aura about him.

  It roared so suddenly, eliciting a shriek from the girl as a result. It pulled on the chains cuffed around its arms and feet as it attempted to lunge for the two.

  “Close the door! Close it! Close it!” Valeriana exclaimed, panicking.

  Seraphina hurriedly did as Valeriana said and took a deep breath as the door slammed shut. “I've seen things worse than this, but I have to admit, your people are quite convincing.” The lady trembled slightly, but did not show any signs of fear. “It's pretty unnerving.”

  “I know.”

  “Is this the human idea of demons?” She asked.

  “There are various other concepts, really. Demons are mostly related to religion. This should be an embodiment of how we imagined them to be, based on traditional beliefs or something. Either that or the Horror House just wanted to make it scary enough to frighten the heck out of people.” She told her. “There are just times when it can be a bit exaggerated.”

  “I see.” The woman whispered. “Well, real demons are actually far worse than they are here. There are times when the flesh is not what they eat, but the soul.” She made a heavy pause. “Sometimes they even eat the victim whole, leaving nothing—not even the flesh or bones.”

  “So much for mercy.” She commented. “What about the negative energies?”

  “Those demons—”

  “Row, row, row your boat . . .” A child's voice sang, wet footsteps ringing throughout the corridor they were walking through. “Gently down the stream . . . merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily . . .” The pauses were too heavy to ignore, include the fact that the tone seemed soulless and solemn too. ”Life is but a dream.”

  A chill ran down Valeriana's back. In fear, she jumped from where she was and clung to Seraphina for her dear life. “I don't want this anymore. Please, just find your demons and let's go!”

  The wet footsteps continued and got even louder. “Row, row, row your boat . . .”

  Valeriana restlessly looked around, but the voice seemed to be coming from behind them. “Come on! Let's go!”

  A rush of cold air swept past the two and a black shadow passed over their heads. Valeriana caught sight of it from the corner of her eyes and reacted instantly, shrieking and jumping in fright of the new surprise.

  “You know, that was a lot scarier than the others.” She muttered. “The cold blast of wind adds a good touch, too.” Valeriana added.

  A form creased between her companion's brows. She looked at Valeriana with a pair of questioning eyes. “The temperature's still the same. There's no blast or whatsoever.”

  Her teeth chattered. “You've got to be kidding me. Even my hands and feet are frozen cold!”

  Seraphina reached for Valeriana's hands. Indeed, the girl's h
ands were freezing. “Perhaps you got too scared?”

  “That may be one reason.” She nodded.

  The air around them got genuinely heavier. It was different from all the other elements making up the Horror House, really. It was almost as though she could sense an ominous presence lingering around them.

  Seraphina's eyes narrowed. “So it finally decided to show itself?”

  The woman looked up at the ceiling, a swift figure of black swiftly making its way overhead. Its presence stood out despite the dim lighting. Valeriana, as well, caught sight of a pair of glimmering red eyes from where she stood.

  “Okay . . . is that it?” She asked.

  Seraphina didn't allow herself to be distracted, but answered, “Yes. Probably.”

  “That's not so scary.”

  The demon turned to her, its body made of nothing but black smoke. It coiled its body, flying effortlessly in the air. It seemed almost nonexistent by the way it moved and how it appeared, but it was there.

  It opened its jaws and shrieked at the two of them, the high-pitched sound bouncing off the walls.

  Valeriana cowered and hid herself further behind Seraphina.

  “It's some sort of miasma demon, no doubt by the crude scent.” The woman's nose flared as she took in the smell the creature carried with it. “Try not to inhale too much. It's poisonous.”

  “How are you going to—”

  Seraphina abruptly broke into a sprint, her sharp movements flashing in front of Valeriana's very eyes. With a quick jump, she used the wall as a stepping stone and flipped backwards skillfully, drawing her blade and swinging for the demon. Her sword made a whistling sound as it cut through the creature, causing it to burst into flames like what happened before with the Loupe Garou.

  With nothing but a mere bat of the eye, the demon was eliminated.

  “—kill it?” Valeriana finished, her voice trailing off. “I didn't even see how.” She muttered.

  “If one is near, the others are around.” Seraphina told herself, landing flawlessly on the floor. “Come on.”

  The woman ran ahead, leaving Valeriana behind to follow.

  The girl made no protests and ran after Seraphina. They encountered the singing girl from a while ago, her sudden appearance catching Valeriana by surprise. Although she didn't get a good look at the ghost, she was dressed in stained, white overalls with long, black hair that dripped wet, hanging like messy curtains in front of her face.

  The demon hunt had started.

  -*-

  Although it was confusing trying to figure out which was a real demon and which wasn't, Seraphina slowly got the hang of being able to distinguish between the two.

  The human girl felt like they were playing hide-and-seek.

  They would exterminate one demon, search for the next, and repeat their first action. It was a seemingly never-ending cycle.

  Fortunately, the two didn't encounter that many people while on the job—much.

  Seraphina was facing a lizard-like creature this time. It crawled on the walls with swift legs that it almost felt impossible to catch up with—at least for Valeriana. Anyhow, she was only tagging along. She never really did anything, though somehow the tiredness was nagging at her muscles.

  The lady knight was quickly taking out the demons one by one that Valeriana hardly had any time to react whenever they appeared. Seraphina landed a strike on the lizard with the pommel of her sword and it fell on the floor on its back. Seeing no other way to fight, the lizard stuck out its long tongue and attempted to throw off the weapon Seraphina held. It failed however, and even had its tongue cut off by one of the lady knight's quick swings.

  Within seconds, it vanished into nothingness, flaring into flames before disintegrating eventually.

  Was there no end to these things? They've been running around for at least half an hour. It felt as though these demons were all headed to the same direction . . . but for what reason?

  “I hope that's the last of them.” Valeriana told her companion, panting.

  “Far from it.”

  She dried off sweat with the back of her hand, giving Seraphina a questioning gaze. “Huh?”

  A wall of silence settled.

  Seraphina looked around warily, unsettled by her surroundings. They somehow managed to end up in a strange room filled with nothing but doors. Doors, doors, doors, on every corner. Valeriana herself did not feel at ease.

  All so suddenly, the doors flew open with a bang and heavy currents of wind rushed in.

  “To think that a Celestial Knight would even come so far to seek me out, my do I feel important!” Said a heavy voice.

  “A Formorian. I should've known.”

  The blood drained from Valeriana's face as the words echoed all around them. “Please say this is part of the show. Please say this is part of the show.” She chanted under her breath.

  “Valeriana. Stay behind me.”

  Valeriana moved to do as Seraphina told when a gust of wind blew past them. It was a movement so swift that Seraphina herself had trouble seeing what just happened. It just suddenly occurred to the woman that she had an open wound just above her elbow.

  Seraphina hissed, feeling a sharp jolt of pain travel up her shoulder.

  Formorians were feared for their incredulous speed.

  “I admit I was expecting something more from a Celestial Knight like you. You'll regret ever stepping into my territory.”

  Think again. Seraphina thought to herself.

  Valeriana looked around, scared out of her wits. The ominous presence was bothering the heck out of her, too. When she saw that Seraphina was wounded, she knew this was not just any game the woman was playing.

  “You got me, demon.” Seraphina muttered as she broke into her usual fighting stance, ignoring her injury. “But I won't let it happen for the second time.”

  “Then, let us see.”

  “Valeriana! Get down!”

  Right after instructing the girl, the two of them were assaulted on all sides from every direction. Those attacks originated from the different doors that surrounded them, but Seraphina somehow managed to instinctively avoid most of the heavy blows, leaving small scratches throughout her entire body.

  When the attacks ceased, Valeriana could not help but feel relieved. “A-are you alright?”

  The Formorian wasn't harming the girl in anyway, fortunately. It didn't seem to consider her as a threat.

  “I'm fine. Are you hurt?”

  “No. I'm good.”

  “That's a relief, then. Do you mind standing back?”

  Valeriana reluctantly did as Seraphina instructed.

  “So much for your big talk, Celeste.”

  “Holding back was a mistake on my part.” Seraphina tried to compose herself and took in a deep breath. “Alright, I've no time playing games.” She said. “The sooner I get this done, the sooner I leave.”

  The lady knight closed her eyes and waved her weapon in the air in swirling patterns. Considering that she wouldn't be able to use most of her abilities, she had to improvise.

  “S-Seraphina! Behind you!” Valeriana warned her, sensing the demon coming for the lady knight from one particular direction.

  Seraphina instinctively turned, her arms making sharp movements it would've been considered inhuman. It was so fast as well that all Valeriana could see was her afterimage. If it weren't for the fact that the woman was from another world and skilled under the area of killing demons, she would've started freaking out. Instead, she was feeling very relieved.

  The woman pierced her sword straight into the heart of the Formorian. Valeriana could only land a short glance at its grotesque appearance before it burned into nothingness.

  She didn't even know how it got there.

  Sure the creature might've been fast. But Seraphina was far faster that it was scary.

  “You keep on boasting yet you're not even that strong.”

  Valeriana was speechless. “You make your job look so easy.” />
  “I have to do that every day for the last two decades or so. You can't blame how experienced I am dealing with these situations.” With that, she sheathed her sword and relaxed. “Let's get out of here. These doors should lead somewhere.”

  As Valeriana opened her mouth to speak, Seraphina silenced her by raising her hand in a motion that told her to keep quiet. She looked between each doors, as though contemplating which path they should take.

  “What? How old are you when you started doing that? Three? How old are you anyway?”

  “Never mind that.” Seraphina said. “I sense a breeze blowing through this one.”

  She confidently went through her choice without hesitation, leaving Valeriana to follow her out. Despite having to go through a considerably scary room, both of them were able to reach the main exit of the Horror House soundly without any further demonic encounter. The human girl could only breathe out in relief at this thought.

  They came out to an open yard, where people were huddled in small groups, discussing what they experienced from inside. Some girls and younger victims were crying and trembling within the arms of their companions, apparently unable to handle the intensity of the scare they got. Well, if Valeriana was any younger, she would break down crying too.

  Both left the premises and started traveling farther down the sidewalk.

  “So it's over.” The human girl breathed.

  “So it is.” The lady knight replied. “But there may still be others in your city. Considering how big it is, they might just not be staying in that Horror House.”

  “You mean there are more of them?”

  She then pushed Seraphina to the direction of the nearby park, needing some space where she would be able to breathe. After what just recently happened, Valeriana ought to relax at a place where she felt comfortable.

  It was really dark out, though. There weren't many people outside now, and the park was basically deserted.

  “Do tell me that this won't happen again.”

  “I can't guarantee that.” Seraphina told her, looking disappointed herself. “The whole kingdom is currently unstable. It makes it easy for demons to escape into your world. Even now, some of the other knights are hunting them down.”