Any word can be a weapon and once formed into a sentence, could be fatal, turned into a paragraph? It can end a world if used correctly. An entire conversation? enough to crush the hopes and dreams of anyone.
But I wasn’t going to do anything drastic. I just needed to talk our way out of this misunderstanding, well, hostile interaction, if I may.
“Let’s talk this out,” I said.
“Why should I listen to you, Demon Lord!?” The woman accused me of being the “Demon Lord” what the hell was that even.
“I am not the Demon Lord, nor am I here to harm you or your little sister,” I explained.
“Shut it!” She raised her dagger further. “How do you know we’re related?”
Eh, the little girl called you her big sister!
“Because your little sister called you big sister, am I wrong?” I said.
The woman pondered for a moment and then shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of something in her mind.
“What do you want from us, Demon Lord?” She still insisted that I was the so-called Demon Lord. Did I really look that ugly in the eyes of these people?
I let out my slight frustration in the form of another sigh before continuing my attempt to persuade the young lady.
“What can I do to prove my innocence? Again, I am not the Demon Lord. I don’t even know what the hell a Demon Lord is in the first place!” I pointed out.
The woman wasn’t buying it, though what I had been saying was actually the truth. These people are quite distrustful but I couldn’t really blame them. From what I could piece together, these two were separated. The little girl and their mother were kidnapped to do whatever the hell this cult was trying to achieve. They were now practically orphans if they also had no father.
A father huh.
“Then how come everybody inside is dead?” She asked me.
I crossed my arms and looked at her straight in the eye.
“I killed them,” I bluntly said.
“You killed the people who were summoning you? What kind of Demon Lord are you?” She said as she raised her left brow.
“Again, I am not the Demon Lord. I killed them because they killed that little girl’s mother. Judging by how you are most likely related, I avenged your mother for the both of you,” I made my intention back then known.
She had this confused look on her face again as the little girl loosened her grip on the woman’s legs ever so slightly. The little one was getting more relaxed so at least there was some progress.
“If... if you’re not the Demon Lord, then, who.. who are you?” She asked me. She was afraid and I knew why. I had just casually admitted to killing every single person behind me not to mention I smashed through a few dozen floors in a few seconds and then floated in the air as soon as I arrived here on the surface.
I could sense her fear. She was being convinced I was indeed not the Demon Lord but the fear of the unknown still made her psyche cower behind her weak mental defenses. She had a weak mental state I could tell but she was also willing to push herself past the limits to protect what she loved. She was an open notebook full of cursive writing to my eyes, a psychic like me could read almost anyone.
I pitied her as well.
After pondering for a second, I decided to answer her question as honestly as I could without revealing too much. Besides, trust was a good stepping stone into a cordial relationship especially since I needed them for the time being.
It was almost as if I am indebted to them.
I wondered. I never really had a personal name to call myself, I was always given nicknames by those around me. I hoped this was, in no way, detrimental.
It was time to use my words.
“I am someone not from here but somewhere far away,
I am someone with no name as far as I could say.
I am here to help and not to harm.
I am here not to cause any kind of alarm.
I am not the being you accuse me to be.
Let’s calm down, peace is better between us, don’t you agree?”
They both stared at me. Eyes wide and mouths agape as their brains tried to process what I just said. What I said was simple but unlike normal humans, a psychic’s voice is accompanied by a tinge of psychic force. The voice, once it has been heard, would echo not just in the person’s ear canal but reverberate inside their minds, depending of the psychic’s intention, it could either calm or drive someone insane.
Voices and words themselves are powerful.
The voice and words of a psychic? Deadly.
But I was not here to kill them.
After a few seconds of blankly staring at me. The woman lowered her dagger as the little girl let go of her sister’s legs, stood straight, and looked at me. The young lady then grabbed the little girl’s left hand and looked at me with teary eyes.
My intention was to calm her, not make her cry. What the hell did I do? Did I screw up somewhere along the lines I said?
“I am Nina,” She placed her left hand on her chest. “And this is my younger sister, Yuna,” She looked at the little girl.
I gave them a mild smile and bowed my head slightly.
“I apologize for what transpired a few moments prior and I also apologize for not realizing your relationship sooner,” I said. I wasn’t sincere but I needed them to trust me.
“It’s... fine. I also apologize for attacking you a few hours back,” She replied.
I nodded.
“Now that you mention it, did you try to kill me while I was asleep? Don’t worry, I am not mad, just curious,” I asked. I wanted to know if she was the one who tried to harm me when I was out cold.
She shied away from speaking for a bit, turning her head away before she answered me.
“Yes, I tried to stab you, a couple of times,” She admitted. I was relieved to know that it was her, it would have been slightly disturbing if another person came into the fray.
For a split second, I checked my passive to see how many times exactly did she try to stab me. She tried seventy-two times. She really wanted me dead.
“It’s okay, no need to be afraid,” I said, reassuring her that all was alright with me. I then turned around to look at the collapsing structure behind me. The large doorway that led directly to the underground complex was collapsing under its own weight because I took out several pillars during my rapid ascent.
I could just punch another hole after everything settled down but I figured none of us were going down there anytime soon.
“Are you a magician?” Nina suddenly asked. I turned around to face them and she was biting her lower lip. Her heart was beating too fast, she was going to pass out at this rate!
“Hey, calm down. Your heart is beating too fast,” I stepped forward. She began to palpitate. She let go of Yuna’s hand and knelt onto the ground. I walked over and knelt down beside her. I grabbed her head and gently placed it on my right lap as little Yuna grabbed her right hand, calling out to her sister.
She was cold. Too cold.
Using my powers, I formed another barrier around her to regulate her body temperature and to calm her heart. I then used my enhanced sense combined with psychic sense to see what was wrong with her.
It turned out that she was fatigued and too cold. Her muscles had begun to cramp and her lungs were having trouble breathing in oxygen. Thankfully I managed to stabilize her just in time.
The little girl was getting teary again. I was getting tired of seeing her cry, she had gone through too much.
“Don’t worry,” I looked at Yuna. Her eyes swollen after facing so much sorrow in such a short time span. She was traumatized, I was sure of it! But I needed her to be strong.
“Your big sister will be fine, I promise,” I told her. She gave me a nod and proceeded to gently massage her big sister’s right palm.
Nina then turned to face me, her eyes were also teary.
What happened to both of you. Just why.
“You will all be fine, I promise,” I said.
I always kept my promises.
“The nightmare has ended, please rest, you too, Yuna,” I said.
They needed time to heal. They needed peace. As the two of them fell asleep, I began to think and wonder.
What kind of nightmare was this world?
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