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Once we walked back to the Inn, we were welcomed again by the Inn Lady, our rooms were ready as we left them prepaid beforehand. We moved upstairs and took a bath like we did back then, relaxing while eating the terrible food we were given as small snacks before the big meals.
After taking a bath in separate cabins I made up using whatever I had available, I started to prepare things for dinner, bringing out the many cooking utensils and beginning to cook up many delicious dishes.
Everyone was rather happy and relaxed, today was a day where we able to unwind a bit and including Nia and Celes. Tomorrow, we might raid the Dungeon and start things, probably provoking a chain reaction that'll make things very chaotic.
So, before that, we have to gather all the energies we can and-
RUMBLE!
"Huh?"
Before I could even think what was happening, our surroundings started to distort, as weird, miasmic energies started creeping out of the stone walls of the Inn, everything was consumed by an endless void.
.
.
.
One second Celes was preparing himself for a tasty dinner while his mother was drying his hair, and the other, everything was blackened, as he and everyone else in the room were consumed by an endless void, transporting them elsewhere!
RUMBLE!
"Ahhh! W-What?!" Nia was the first to panic, without realizing what was happening. "Where are we?! I-Is this the Shadow Realm of Lady Maria?!"
"E-Eh? We were dragged there?" Wondered Celes, wandering around the darkness.
"Wait, Celes!" Her mother panicked, as she saw something unnerving, something that never would happen within the Shadow Realm of Maria.
Countless of black tentacles emerged from amidst the darkness, red eyes opening up, and jaws revealing sharp fangs, an aberration made of darkness had summoned itself, right in front of the unsuspecting boy!
"CELES!"
"Eh?"
The blue-eyed boy wondered why her mother screamed so much as she ran towards him, seconds before the tentacles wrapped around the boy, covering his eyes and mouth!
"Hmmggh?! Hmmmggghhh…!"
The boy tried to scream as the tenebrous horror took him!
"Who are you?! Give me back Celes! Let him go!"
Nia screamed, grabbing the spear she had luckily carried along, and imbuing what little Mana she had, leaping into midair and pointing the spear downwards, piercing the tentacled beast's tentacles!
CLAAASH!
"GRYYEEEH! That hurts, you damn whore!"
The monster groaned in anger rather than much agony, quickly revealing itself as two smaller red eyes emerged from the darkness, the figure of an old man with short gray hair and a decayed-looking face, with sharp fangs and red eyes emerged!
"W-What…?!" Nia cried, noticing that the tentacles emerged from the old man himself!
Beneath his black cloak, a mass of miasmic flesh emerged, with many eyes, jaws, and tentacles, which were grabbing the child and not letting him go!
Yet, they were not killing him either, they wanted him alive for some reason.
"You're sure annoying." The old man muttered, Blood Energy and Darkness Energies surging from his old, skinny hands, his long and nasty-looking nails looking like claws. "You're the boy's mother? I have to thank you for taking good care of him… But now, you're no longer needed. His soul is very precious! We'll be taking him from you now, hehehehe…!"
"Y-YOU BASTARD!" Nia roared, rushing towards the old man as she grabbed her spear back up. "Give me back my child!!!"
"SCRAM!" The old man roared, moving one of his tentacles as he imbued them with energy, and controlling the tentacles as if he were a puppeteer with thread-like energies coming from his fingers!
BAAAM!
"ARGH!"
BAAAM!
"UGH…!"
BAAAM!
"AAAGH…!"
Three powerful strikes reached Nia, dislocating her left arm, breaking some of her teeth, and then crushing her down into the ground, breaking one of her legs!
"HMMMGGHHH!" Celes tried to scream, but with his mouth covered, he could only groan, tears flowing from his eyes.
"Hehehe, that's what you get for trying to get in our way." Laughed the old man. "The Warlocks of the Underworld shall use your son as a good material. His soul is the Essence we've been looking for this entire time! With it, our great lord, the Dark Pest can be fully revived!"
"U-Ugghh…" Nia groaned. "C-Celes… Celes…!"
She suddenly started to muster strength from her love for her son, slowly standing back up, even with a broken leg, and using the spear as a support.
With a swollen, purple eye, she could only see with her left eye, glaring at the old man, as she slowly started making her way towards him.
"Give me back… my son…!"
"So unsightly…" The old Vampire sighed, glaring at her with a disgusted expression. "I'll kill you quickly so you stop annoying me… Don't worry, the rest of your friends here are all trapped and won't be getting away until their souls are consumed by our great lord! Gyahahaha! Now, DIE!"
His tentacle swung towards Nia, gigantic and sharp, it reached her body and attempted to pierce her chest!
"GRRRHHH!"
However, in that very moment, Celes started biting the tentacle wrapped around his mouth, his tears beginning to float in midair, as more and more water materialized around him!
"Huh?!"
The old man suddenly lost his concentration, the tentacle about to pierce Nia's chest failed its trajectory as it ended hitting the ground instead, all while countless of blades made of water started cutting his tentacles, freeing Celes in the process!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"GRUUAAGH!"
The old man gave an agonizing shriek, stepping back, completely perplexed to see the child floating in midair, an aura of Divine Spiritual energies overflowing from him, as his eyes shone as bright as sapphires!
"Leave us ALONE!"
With a scream filled with frustration and tears, an enormous concentration of water emerged in front of him, like a wave of the sea itself!
"W-What…?! Has he awakened his powers to such an extent already?!"
SPLAAASH!
The oceanic wave pushed away the old warlock, as Celes ran towards his mother, his hands gathering his emotions and desires to heal her, as spring water covered her wounds once he hugged her tightly.
"Mom! Mooom!" He started crying, his tears working as a healing potion as well, as her mother's wounds slowly regenerated!
"C-Celes…! My wounds?!" Nia reacted in surprise.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!"
However, the old man had yet to be gone, gigantic tentacles rushing towards mother and son!
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