Deranged Writer's Afterword

“Okay”, I said blankly.

Georna got up and left the room leaving me alone with my thoughts, her advice didn’t help all that much since I wasn’t planning on fighting Luna…she was way out of my league.

Luna Caerus, in terms of strength, was on par with Dina, the weakest angel. That in itself was amazing but she had even more potential than Dina…now that she had spent this much time within an S-Class dungeon, there was no telling just how strong she was, so fighting her was out of the question

Meeting such a powerful individual was risky but I at least had some insurance as I had Lydia with me. Lydia's black fur was proof that she belonged to the former chief's bloodline.

I’m sure that she wouldn’t hurt Lydia…I mean….I hope so.

Anyway, now isn’t the time to doubt myself, it’s the time to prepare.

~~~~

Five hours have passed and the preparations are complete.

I wore a sweater and topped it off with a jacket made out of wolf fur, I also wore a beanie made of wolf fur along with gloves to protect myself from the cold. Lydia on the other hand just wore a sweater, she didn’t really need that much protection from the cold as she had her thick fur to protect her.

Aside from that, we also prepared a bunch of other stuff as well, food, extra clothes, extra gear, a tent, and even a heat orb, it was an orb that emitted heat. Lydia accompanying me also helped me a lot since I still couldn’t use my skills, if I did I would be under immense pain as a result of my surgery.

Even if using my skills increased the rate of energies settling in, the pain was too much, so I had restrained myself from using any of my skills since using them against Max during our fight.

“ Take good care of yourselves….”, Georna said, staring at the both of us apologetically.

During the past five hours, Georna and Lydia had talked a lot, seemingly settling their differences. Lydia was still not back to her usual self, but she wasn’t completely ignoring Georna now. In response to Georna’s concern, she gave her a curt nod and left, turning her back towards us.

“ Well…we’re off. “

I followed behind her bidding Georna farewell, we were going to meet up with Augustus since he would be giving us directions to the portal leading to the dungeon. As we walked towards the previously informed meeting point, Lydia remained silent.

“ You could have at least properly said goodbye…this could very well be the last time we see her.”

Hearing me, Lydia doesn’t turn to look at me, instead, she closed her eyes and sighs deeply,

“ I know, but I’m tired….I’m tired of all the lies…I’m going to find the truth for myself, she knows that and that’s enough…for now.”

“ I see…”

We stop as we reach the chief’s house, we knock on the door and it soon swung open revealing Augustus.

“ Ah…you’re late, come inside.”

Augustus wasted no time as he led us straight to his dining room, where we found Leo waiting for us, sitting comfortably on a chair that was way too small for his gigantic body. Seeing us, Leo acknowledged us by nodding. The atmosphere enveloping the room was tense as Augustus spread an old mad on the table.

“This is a map of the whole village.”, he said, blowing at the map to remove any lingering dust.

The map looked ancient, Augustus pointed at a tiny spot on the map and said,

“ We’re here.”, he then continued to point at a different point marked with an ‘X’ on the map, ‘This is a restricted mine, most believe that the mine is haunted but the truth is that this is where the portal appeared all those years ago…”

“ It’s five kilometers east of the village.”, Leo added with a serious look on his face.

I nodded and got up, there was no time to waste. As the both of us bid them farewell and started heading back Leo’s voice made us stop,

“ Be careful….and don’t worry about us, I’ll catch the culprit even if it’s the last thing I do..”

The animosity in his eyes was a sight to behold, I nodded and gave him one last smile before heading out. The hate Leo seemed to have for the killer seemed to have increased tenfold, it’s only natural since he was probably close to those children.

Speaking about the children, they're still probably alive, I don’t understand why the killer would keep them alive but the reason was probably something horrifying. All the more reason why we need to make haste.

Playtime is over.

~~~~

As we got out of Augustus’s house, I couldn’t help but feel like I was forgetting something important….

What is it?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Well, if I forgot, it couldn’t be anything that important.

As we started to follow the path mentioned on the map leading to the mines, a troubled voice stopped both of us,

“ Mommy !”

…..

Turning around, I saw Rhys running towards me, behind him Georna slowly walked her eyes on Lydia.

‘Oh…I forgot about Rhys…’

I roll my eyes and stare at the sky,

“ Making me forget someone every time isn’t funny, carrot man.”

Lydia looked at me weirdly, but I paid her no mind.

Seriously, I mean this isn’t the first time this has happened, it’s happened with Lecia and Max as well….it’s becoming a little repetitive, isn’t it?

Change it up a little.

“ There…there, I’m sorry I left you there.”, I said consoling a dejected Rhys.

As I continued to console him, I observed Georna and Lydia from the corner of my eyes, they seemed to be talking, they had moved away for privacy so I didn’t really know what they were talking about but I hope they make up since I can’t have Lydia distracted while we’re in the dungeon.

~~~

Lydia’s POV:

As I saw my grandmother slowly making her way toward me, I couldn’t help but remember all that time that we had spent together. She’s been my everything since I was born, she was my mother…my father…she meant everything to me.

I know that she must have had her reason for hiding the truth but that isn’t enough to quell this flame…that’s raging inside of me.

All my life, I’ve tried my best to be good, I wanted to persevere and become the chief to prove once and for all that I’m…worthy…of what?

Now that I think about it…why do I even want to be the chief?

To be worthy of these people’s love?

These people shunned and mocked me for something I couldn’t even control…something that wasn’t my fault...

Everyone’s been lying..all this time, ever since Adam killed Max….the lies had slowly started to unravel…

When I meet my mother….I can finally know the complete truth.

No more lies.

“ You can’t stop me…”, I said, gearing myself up to run away at a moment’s notice.

Grandma sighed, she looked tired…defeated.

“ I know…I’m not going to stop you.”

“ Then..why are you here ?”

My grandmother was not one to beat around the bush, but surprisingly enough she seemed to be struggling to convey her feelings.

“ I knew this day would come….no one can hide the truth forever..O-”

“ Then why did you lie ?”, I ask, cutting her off.

I could see a variety of emotions flickering through her eyes trying to spit out an answer that would bring us close once again,

“ I….didn’t want to lose you too, no….I couldn’t lose you, I wanted you to stay as my little granddaughter for some more time…I did it knowing that it was selfish…so you have every right to hate me….but please stay safe out there. I-”

I couldn’t keep listening to her so I did the first thing that came to my mind, I hugged her.

“ I don’t hate you….but I’m going to guilt-trip you forever for lying to me.”, I say, separating myself from her.

I’m pleased to see her eyes widen in shock.

I was angry at her….that’s true but I could never hate my grandmother, as I said she’s my everything.

Turning around, I walked toward Adam who was waiting for me with an impatient look on his face.

“ I’ll see you soon, grandma.”, I say, my back towards her.

“ Are you okay ?”Adam asked seemingly worried but who knows…

I can’t tell what’s going on in his little human brain, but for now, I think I’m going to be okay.

“ Let’s just go.”, I say, moving past him.

It’s time to meet my mother.

~~~~