Angel Monarch-Chapter 599: Strange Glass

Naomi never considered herself a great fighter. Her father and her trainers all spoke about her like some prodigy, but she always felt that her brother always overshadowed her.

From the moment she was born, Sorath became everyone's favorite. This didn't mean her parents loved Naomi less, but they clearly expected her brother to carry on their family's legacy.

However, everyone was quick to realize that while physically Sorath was more adept, Naomi inherited the brains between the two.

Her brother wasn't stupid, but when it came to plans and strategy, he lacked quite a bit. He also didn't carry himself with the same gravitas and proud presence as Naomi, making her the supposed heir of their family.

Soon, a new realization set in Naomi's mind, though. While she liked to lead, she would rather become an expeditioner than one of Sorruin's leaders.

That's when her rebelling spree began, and after a couple of long rotations she ended up here, on a battlefield fighting a horde of monsters. The thought of the horde should've frozen her body in fear, yet... only a light chuckle escaped her lips as she stepped up beside her brother...

A light breeze blew through the area, making the soft ground dance around them.

Naomi's dirty blonde hair rhythmically moved. It barely reached her shoulder, with its ends graying and dead.

Nobody in her race, regardless of gender, never could grow their hair longer than their shoulder. It must've been related to their so-called curse too, at least that's what Aralim told her.

While thinking and waiting, she glanced behind at her friend. Her mostly hidden face showed lots of different conflicting emotions. She didn't care much about her own life, but... Aralim was someone innocent, whom she never wanted to see hurt, or even worse, dead...

There was something heavy pressing on her heart. She wanted to tell him something important, but when it came to feelings, all her bravery left her body.

A light giggle echoed from her as she thought this horde might do her a favor and end her life... That way, she wouldn't need to confront her emotions...

However, soon the lightheartedness turned into sadness and determination. If she died, then so would Aralim and Sorath... Now, that was something she won't let happen!

The roars echoed from even closer. The horde was barely a few seconds away.

Aralim bound his foot using a scrap of cloth, then he tried standing with little to no success. After a few more tries, he gave up and instead began crawling towards the object that cut his feet.

Before he reached it, the first monsters jumped into the lantern's threshold, causing the twins to burst into action.

These beasts were called Blazing Cockatrices. A creature with the torso of some massive bird and the back half of a dragon. It had a pair of mostly useless wings and long talons, dripping with venom.

Each had a pair of beady black eyes, which would've frozen anyone's blood from terror. Their feathers and scaly parts were covered in flames, which looked dark in both twins' vision.

It would've been an actual struggle to fight these creatures if they had regular eyesight. However, this time, blindness gave Sorath and Naomi the advantage. The Cockatrice's fear factor didn't work on blind people!

Their talons were still quite dangerous. It took only one slash and they would die in agony, but the twins didn't let a few measly Tainted endanger their lives.

Naomi swiftly ducked under a pair of talons. She slid on the soft ground while spreading her metal fan, raking open the Cockatrice's chest.

A few meters away, Sorath used his massive warhammer to break the bones of each attacker. He didn't even need to defend or evade blows. His offensive capabilities were truly terrifying.

The first dozen monsters died in a couple of seconds, but the problem with hordes was their number. Even after swimming in their blood, the beasts kept pouring into the lantern's area.

Another issue became apparent after killing a few more creatures... They were getting stronger!

The first dozen were Tainted of Tier 1 and 2, but the more time passed, their Tier increased. It had been about half a minute since their fight began when the first Rotten appeared, and suddenly both Naomi and Sorath needed to fight defensively.

All the while, Aralim continued crawling. He didn't even seem to notice his friends fighting for their lives. Instead, he came ever closer to the strange, sharp object.

He heard a faint buzzing, which mesmerized the teenage boy. The world seemed to disappear around him, leaving only the faintly reflective object in his line of sight.

Seconds passed. The twins grunted as their bodies tired, yet they continued the endless battle, regardless of the outcome. For each other and Aralim's sake, they would never give up!

However, everything changed once Aralim reached the object...

With deep curiosity, he gently lifted it out of the soft ground. It looked like an unimpressive piece of broken glass, covered in the grainy specks he laid upon.

The edges were sharp, and he could clearly see where the glass cut his feet. The blood hadn't fully dried yet, so it tinged Aralim's hand as he brushed away the sand-like substance, and stared at the object in confusion.

He gazed at its surface, yet only pure darkness stared back. It wasn't normal glass, which one could see through, but something more special...

Aralim continued examining the glass when he saw something moving in its depths. Like the images of blazing fires he had seen in texts, the strange glass revealed a creature moving closer.

For a moment, he continued staring in confusion, then he felt it... the heat burning his bare feet!

Immediately, Aralim turned his body, revealing a lone Cockatrice trying to peck at his bleeding foot.

A sudden terror gripped the young boy's heart. Even though the creature's beady eyes couldn't hurt him, the mere presence of the beast was enough for Aralim to freeze and pee himself in fear.

The Cockatrice glanced at him after the sudden movement. It must've believed Aralim was already dead, but upon realizing he was alive, it grew excited!

The beady eyes glanced at his face, then moved and stared into the strange glass he clutched in his hands. Its eyes focused, and with a loud, horrified screech, the creature ran away.

Still trembling, Aralim watched it go with a dumbfounded expression. He glanced down at the mirror again, but he saw nothing but the reflection of other Cockatrices and sometimes his friends...

There was one problem with constantly living in darkness... one could never see their reflection. Aralim had no clue how he himself looked, and this strange glass known as a mirror would never reveal his face.

Yet, it seemed luck or maybe fate was on his side. In the lantern's artificial darkness, the Cockatrice's blazing feathers and scales provided illumination. With their help, the reflection revealed itself, and he recognized instantly how the object worked.

A sudden excitement took hold of his limbs. Naomi and Sorath both fought for their lives, while protecting Aralim's own. It made him feel guilty, and he decided to help.

The idea he came up with might wouldn't work, yet it didn't stop him!

Slowly, he struggled back to his feet, then with stumbling steps he approached Naomi. She fought against two 1st Tier Rotten Cockatrices. They could nearly keep up with her bursts of speed, and it didn't take long for her to get overwhelmed.

She fell on her back while the beasts came rushing to rake her chest open. However, just before they jumped on her, their beady eyes glanced up and gazed into the shaky mirror in Aralim's hands.

They shrieked in terror and ran away, which immensely confused Naomi. She believed her life was over, but as she glanced up, Aralim's pale face gazed down at her.

He tried to smile, but soon his expression took on a greenish hue, and soon vomit dripped from his mouth. Luckily, Naomi dodged the disgusting bodily fluid, then jumped back to her feet.

Sorath also closed the distance, standing near the pair. They formed a triangle with their backs to each other. Naomi brandished her metal fan, Sorath his warhammer and Aralim hid behind the mirror.

The Cockatrices poured into the lantern's threshold, surrounding the trio. When about fifty monsters gathered, they began rushing towards them, which caused chaos to erupt.

All the monsters on Aralim's side glanced at their reflections. Strangely, they themselves weren't immune to their death stare, which brought fear to the Cockatrices' hearts.

The large crowd became smaller, and a few monsters began fighting each other. This caused the beasts to pile up, and as more rushed towards the trio, the chaos grew even larger.

The teenage group glanced around in confusion. They were like a tranquil boat in the center of a giant storm's eye.

The Cockatrices fought each other, killing whoever got in their way. At some point, they seemed to lose interest in their group, and instead found pleasure in killing their own kind.

Sadly, the trio couldn't just slip away. They were still surrounded, and after a few minutes, the infighting began dying down.

Time was running out when Aralim noticed something strange. It felt as if he was getting shorter.

"What is this?" asked Sorath in shock while making wild movements.

"We're sinking!" said Aralim after realizing the situation.

Suddenly, a cold, sweaty hand grasped his and Sorath's. They both glanced in Naomi's direction as she shot both boys a confident smile.

"Whatever happens... don't let go!" she said, just as the ground broke and they found themselves free-falling...