Hello everyone and happy new year a few hours in advance!

I hope that I'll be able to write a lot more next year, but that's just a wish of mine...

Hope you'll enjoy the chapter and don't hesitate to leave a comment!

Enjoy !

* * * * *

Shina’s vision distorted for a very short instant forcing her to close her eyes.

Skulls, gigantic demonic beast crushing humans like if they were ants as they begged for mercy. A river made of lava where demons were bathing as they enjoyed the screams of the slaughtered ones while drinking a few cups of blood…

Some demons of the size of a mountain crushing villages with a single step and undead rising behind who would follow this madness and hunt the livings.

A horror so terrifying that Shina would be unable to sleep at night… was not what she saw.

The sight of a beautiful valley was reflected in her eyes, the water in the rivers was untainted and one would even be able to clearly see the fishes peacefully swimming.

The majestic trees were for the smallest a few dozens of meters tall, the tallest almost surpassed the two hundred meters. Yet, despite their tall size the forest was perfectly illuminated giving the impression of one arriving in heaven.

Shina couldn’t hide her surprise as she looked up in the sky, the normally blue sky had turned into an unnatural light red one with a beautiful purple sun similar to a perfectly round amethyst.

‘Is the name ‘Darkened’ coming from this red sky?’ She thought as she glanced at the beautiful scarlet sky.

Appearing from the door, Mystel walked through with the childish smile of a child who just played a prank. Imagining Arsal’s reaction made Shina sigh as she was forced to give up on going back home; unless her mother wished to, it was impossible for her to go back on her own.

Glancing at the horizon, Mystel smiled as she felt that a lot of time passed since the last time she visited this realm.

“The village changed quite a bit, there seem to be more resident than before.”

Mystel’s smile suddenly stiffened as it landed on a small mansion and her eyes sharpened before returning to her childish face.

‘I’ll have to ask Listae and Fortiem about this later.’

Glancing at her environment, Mystel chuckled.

“Shina, listen closely. I’ll use this opportunity to give you a lesson.”

Hearing her mother’s words, Shina looked at Mystel with a clueless expression, not understanding what she was talking about.

“Lesson number 1, whatever happen, you must never drop your guard and think you are safe. You never know if a rat isn’t following you and waiting for you to release your attention.”

As she spoke, a dark arrow flew across the forest. With a speed even faster than thunder yet as silent as a small breeze, it rushed toward Mystel’s neck who didn’t seem in the very least impressed.

Lifting her hand, Mystel lazily grasped the arrow without any difficulty. The dark aura surrounding the arrow tried to devour her but it was useless, it was like a toothless baby trying to bite a horse.

“Still too naive…”

Just as Mystel was going to crush the arrow in her hand, it suddenly exploded in a bright dark light.

“You’re mine!”

All of a sudden, a dark clothed figure appeared out of nowhere with a dagger. Armed with a blood stained dagger and surrounded by a bloodish aura, the figure attempted to pierce Mystel’s spine.

Appearing unfazed, Mystel laughed as she didn’t try in any way to block the dagger. Piercing through her spine all the way to her chest, Mystel laughed as Shina appeared shocked by this display.

As she was about to scream, Mystel’s hand landed on Shina’s head, patting it as if trying to reassure her.

A smiling doppelganger of Mystel appeared from the shadow twenty meters away.

“Unless you are as strong as me, you must always be aware of your surrounding.”

“Tch, an illusion?” The dark clothed figure said in a frustrated tone with a smirk also formed on his face.

“But I already knew it from the beginning.”

Four figures dark clothed suddenly appeared beside Mystel, encircling her as four daggers abruptly rushed toward her body.

Mystel’s expression wavered as she realized that he had seen through her and had been standing in a trap.

“An attack this slow will never touch me!” She said tried to jump, but the black clothed figure widely smiled like everything had been planned.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Spatial Disorder” The four figure said simultaneously.

As the word exited his mouth, the space around Mystel shattered and the daggers suddenly accelerated, giving no time for Mystel to dodge as the daggers almost instantaneously pierced through her body.

“Did you perhaps forget about my power?” The four dark figure said with a cold laugh.

“Right, the power to manipulate the space around you, such an annoying ability… Ah, you got me…”

The dark clothed figure’s eyes narrowed as it found Mystel’s reaction strange. Within a short instant, his expression suddenly darkened.

“Shit!”

Realizing it was a trap, the figure suddenly used his ability to vanish as Mystel’s body exploded within a short area, burning everything aside from her to ashes within a black flame.

Shina who had been watching the fight going on felt dizzy, everything just happened in an instant and she didn’t even understand what was going on. Her mother was pierced then a clone appeared who suddenly exploded leaving no one behind.

Analyzing his surrounding, a strange thought suddenly traveled the black clothed figure’s mind. Remembering a previous similar battle, a sly smile formed on his face.

‘The last time I tried this strategy, she literally burned down the whole forest without a second thought. Why is she lowering her strength?’ He thought as his eyes fell on Shina.

‘Because of that brat?...’

Full of killing intent, his figure vanished before one of his clones appeared right beside Shina. His hand tightly gripping his dagger slowly rushed down on Shina in an attempt to drag Mystel’s true self out.

Shina was utterly unable to react as the dagger slowly approached her neck. But just as she closed her eyes, the dagger suddenly stopped. Within an instant, his hand was stopped by Mystel’s first ‘illusion’ who grasped his arm. A red flame emanated from her scarlet eyes as the sound of bones breaking echoed in the forest.

‘It was her true self from the beginning!’ He thought as he appeared at her back with a blue long sword in hand slashing down at her.

Being unable to see Mystel’s expression, the black-clothed figure laughed as the thought of winning appeared in his mind.

“Is tHaT FunnY?”

He felt his body shivering as an alarm kept ringing in his mind, telling him to immediately get out of here before it was too late. His killer instinct kept telling him that he was in danger as a terrifying cold chill emanated from Mystel’s back.

But just as he had given up on his blow and tried to retreat, he found that he couldn’t activate his ability. The space all around the area was frozen, it was as if the world itself was terrified and unable to react.

His clone withered as if drained of life before vanishing under Mystel’s hand. Her hand suddenly rushed toward his neck.

Trying to block it with his sword, he found his weapon being crushed just like a twig not offering even the slightest resistance as she grasped his neck.

The dark clothed figure’s face suddenly froze as his eyes caught Mystel’s expression. Her eyes coldly glaring at him yet a bloody flame emanated from her bloody pupils.

While he knew that Mystel hadn’t been serious all along, he hadn’t expected that Shina would be her reversed scale.

“...Wai-..guuh-”

Just as he tried to say something, Mystel’s hand didn’t give him the right as her grasp over his throat tightened. Her facial expression lacked emotion as she gradually tightened her grip, the black-clothed figure’s arm kept trying to force her hand to let go, but the difference of strength was the same as a chick going against a bull.

“M-Mom?” Shina hesitantly called out while gripping Mystel’s dress with her frail looking hand.

Right when he was right about to lose consciousness the unmovable hand finally let go, making him fall down on the ground, his eyes still popped out as he unconsciously tried to make some distance between Mystel and himself.

Mystel looked away with a wry smile, unwilling to look at her daughter’s expression.

“Are you scared?...” She asked with a small voice.

Shina looked at her mother’s lonely figure, she felt that she was on the point of crying after showing how scary she could be to her daughter.

“Let’s go back...”

As she was about to wave her hand, Shina’s small hand prevented her from forming another vortex as she rushed in front of her mother.

“I'm fine, see?” She said with a wide small devoid of fear as she grasped Mystel’s cold hands in an attempt to warm them up.

“Now that you’ve brought me here, I refuse to leave without you showing me the surrounding”

Seeing Shina’s earnest smile, Mystel felt at loose as her eyes moistened.

“What a capricious daughter of mine.” She said with a heartfelt smile.