135 Forced reunion

Part 1

Chloe was sitting in a chair inside a waiting room just trying to process the day she just had while the hospital staff took care of Evlin's friends.

She was holding her face with both hands while looking at the floor and revisiting her memories.

First, she was informed by Evlin that today they would not be able to meet for their weekly appointment.

She was always aware that Evlin wasn't all that fond of the idea of taking therapy sessions, but she always felt that the two were making a lot of progress every time they saw each other. She could feel Evlin had a lot of baggage to unpack and while the woman always tried her best to avoid going into details about the subject, she always had an easy time expressing herself about her feelings.

Chloe overall always looked forward to their meetings in the hopes of eventually one day getting Evlin to actually say what happened to her.

But then, shortly after their call, Chloe found herself being threatened by some kind of wooden monster that just barged into her office out of nowhere just because it heard her talking with Evlin on the phone.

The emotions mixed inside her head at such a crazy pace that the woman didn't even know what she was feeling. Confusion, fear, pain, curiosity, nothing about her years of study ever prepared her for this kind of situation. It was like being mugged by a robber while being attack by a wild animal at the same time.

Right after that, her client appeared to save her. Evlin, looking like nothing Chloe had ever seen before, stormed into her office as well and began to brawl against her attacker right in front of her.

Not only that, the two even took the fight to the streets of the city, or rather the skies of the city, where the poor woman started to partake in some kind of aerial game of tag while playing the role of Evlin's backpack.

She finally managed to get away from all that craziness after Evlin's friends showed up and started to help her deal with the beast. Chloe just assumed she could leave the rest to them and forget this whole thing ever happened, but she suddenly ended up meeting with her daughter's best friend, Ellie, Evlin's niece, who stated that she was also going to take part on all that nonsense.

Chloe couldn't just leave a little kid to join such an insane situation, but the girl ended up saving the lives of everyone in the process as she somehow managed to block the monster's attacks. Not only that, she ended up turning into some kind of metallic object and used by one of Evlin's friends to shoot the beast and defeat it.

Chloe had... so many questions right now...

"Huh... Excuse me, miss?" Said the voice of a man who was standing right in front of the curly-haired woman. It was a doctor wearing a white lab coat with glasses and a stethoscope around his neck. Chloe was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice that man appearing.

"Ah, yes?" She said as she lifted her face and looked at the man with her amber-colored eyes.

"One of the individuals you brought has woken up... I think you should see her" he said.

Chloe followed the man towards the room where the woman with long black hair she brought had been placed in and she spotted her walking around on her feet while searching the room. She was investigating inside the closet, under the bed, behind the tv, and even inspected the window. Chloe assumed she would have spent the rest of the day sleeping due to all her injuries, but the woman seemed much more resistant than she imagined.

"Where is my son and my sword?" Said the woman once she spotted Chloe and the doctor staring at her from the door.

"You should be resting," said the man in a white coat while holding both hands trying to signal her to calm down.

"I don't have time to rest! I need to help my team fight against the monster!"

"... Huh..." The doctor became speechless.

"It's taken care of," Chloe said as she noticed that the doctor would be very confused right now, not that Chloe herself was doing much better.

"What??" said the woman.

"Evlin's little niece and one of your friends already dealt with it..."

"... I... Will leave you two alone..." Said the doctor while looking at the two women as if they were crazy, which at that point, Chloe might as well be. He closed the door while slowly backing away from the room.

"What happened? Where is Evlin? Where is Daren and Lance? What about the monster??" The woman approached Chloe and began to launch several questions at her. Chloe started to feel annoyed since she herself had questions as well.

"Please... Try to remain calm... You need to rest."

"I told you! I don't have time to rest!! Mia and the dryad could be attacking at any moment now! I need to protect them!"

"What...? Who's Mia? What are you talking about?"

The woman then glared at Chloe.

"I don't have time for this..." she said as she raised her arms and lifted Chloe from the floor by her collar. Her arms were small but had very defined muscles once Chloe took a closer look at them. This woman was very strong.

"P- Please don't hurt me!! I'm Evlin's friend!!" Chloe said while shaking her body "I was just trying to help, she asked me to take you to this hospital!!"

The woman took a good look at Chloe's expression and finally realized how terrified she was.

"Sorry..." said the woman as she began to put Chloe down "These have been some stressful days..."

"I... Can sympathize..." Chloe said back while adjusting her shirt.

"But please, I really need to find my team! They need me! And I'm really worried about my baby!!"

"Ok... But... You need to explain to me what's going on... You answer my questions and I'll answer yours... Ok?"

"Very well..." the woman said showing that they were on the same page.

"My name is Chloe, by the way..."

"Lilith. Now, please take me to my friends, my family, and my sword!"

Part 2

Xadi slowly opened his eyes as his consciousness started to return and found himself locked inside some kind of box.

"Mmm...? What the...? Where am I?"

The box was transparent as if it was made of glass but the edges had metallic pieces covering it. He looked outside of the box and found himself on top of a building surrounded by massive structures made of concrete that he didn't recognize.

He was unfamiliar with this world's architecture so looking at all these buildings was filling him with uneasiness.

"What's going on...?? What country is this??"

His body was completely see-through. He was wearing some ragged old clothes as if he was some kind of hobo and his lower half was completely gone. Where his legs should be there was some kind of tail instead.

"Ah... That's right... I died..." He said while looking at his transparent hands.

The last thing he remembered was being stabbed by Evlin's blade and then being trapped inside some kind of prison surrounded by many other souls who were screaming in agony and despair.

He had heard tales about this before. About a black sword belonging to the demon leader who could absorb the souls of those he killed. He assumed that prison was inside the sword, but the one who was using it wasn't the leader, it was his mortal enemy, the crossbow mage girl.

He assumed he would be stuck in that agonizing place forever, but all of sudden he was free again. He remembers seeing Evlin in the demon kingdom with two huge wings behind her back and hair drenched in white. The sight of her face filled Xadi with so much anger and hate that he could not stop thinking about methods to kill her in the most painful way possible.

As his hateful emotions continued to overflow, he suddenly found himself turning his deceased soul into a vengeful spirit as his essence mixed itself with the released cursed energy of the kingdom.

He also vaguely remembers encountering Mia again and receiving several orders from her. He didn't want to work with that insane carnage-hungry kid again so he tried to ignore her, but his body, or rather, his soul wouldn't obey him for some reason.

His mind started to fill itself with commands. Find Evlin, attack Evlin, find Evlin, attack Evlin. He began to follow these commands like a dog, but at the sight of the crossbow girl again, his rage began to reveal itself again, and the commands were altered to kill Evlin, take revenge on Evlin.

Right now was the first time he could finally feel his head being able to think with clarity again. He could move and say what he wanted and how he wanted. He was sure that whatever was controlling him before was gone now.

"Morning sunshine..." Said a voice coming from outside the box that Xadi was trapped in. He turned his head and saw her, the source of all his hate.

"YOU!!!" said the spirit while glaring at the crossbow girl who was covered in golden fur. She looked a little older right now but it was definitely her.

"Yeah, me... Long time no see big bro..." Evlin said while having her arms crossed and showing an annoyed expression with her eyes half-closed as if she had no desire to talk to him.

"Wraaaagghhh!!! I will ki- Aaahhhh!!! What is this???" Xadi began to scream and launched himself at Evlin, but the moment he touched the glass of the box his ghostly hands began to burn.

"Blessed energy. Worst enemy of monsters, demons, and yes, even spirits. Courtesy of my sweet little niece!" Evlin said while pointing at her left with her thumb and showing a young girl who was hiding behind her leg.

"Huh... Hi..." Said the girl while waving her hand at the ghost mage. Lance was on her free arm trying to eat her ponytail.

"Oh, perfect, there are two now... Little girl now turned into big girl and got herself a little brat..." Xadi said while shaking his hands to make the pain go away.

Evlin just rolled her eyes to Xadi's usual annoying way of talking.

"Lovely... Look, I need some answers big bro... And You will be giving them to me." Evlin said while approaching the box and leaning on it.

"Bite me..." Xadi said while glaring daggers at her.

Evlin simply ignored his comment and continued, "Where is Mia, Xadi?"

"Who knows... Maybe I'll tell if you jump into a puddle of mud and lick a dog's ass..."

"..."

Evlin then began to send healing magic to boost the strength on her arms and raised the box Xadi was trapped in with her hands. Xadi felt the glass moving and tried to float higher to avoid getting burned again.

"Hey, hey!! Careful!!" He said.

"Where is Mia, Xadi?" Evlin asked again, this time her half-open eyes had turned into a glare.

"Go jump off a cliff and turn into a ghost as well, then we'll talk..."

"..."

Evlin then started to shake Xadi's box up, down, and sideways as if he was a snow globe. Xadi tried to avoid the glass but he wasn't fast enough and could feel his body receiving several burns from the blessed energy.

"Stop!! Stop!! Stop!!!" Xadi begged.

Evlin took a break from shaking his new house and tried asking again, "WHERE! IS! MIA???"

Xadi simply looked at her glare that was staring literally into his soul. He realized that she wasn't just older, something about her had changed.

"What happened...? You usually try to make some stupid jokes about my appearance or how you're going to enjoy beating me up... Are you really the little girl?"

"Little girl is gone... There is only angry girl now..." Evlin said while slamming the box on the ground and making Xadi burn himself again from touching the top of the box, "So stop wasting my time, and tell me where Mia is!!"

"..." Xadi was at a loss of words. He could tell this wasn't the same Evlin from before. Evlin was always angry at everything, but she was never cruel. Trying to torture someone to get information out of them was something that Xadi himself would do. He was honestly a little impressed with her.

Ellie on the other hand was getting anxious. Looking at her aunt tormenting this imprisoned spirit felt slightly out-of-character for her. Even Lance was looking at Evlin a little scared.

As the three continued looking at each other, they all suddenly had their attention grabbed by a source of light appearing right at the edge of the building they were standing on.

"Oh, for the love of God... What now???" Evlin said, wondering if she would ever take a break from things just dropping on her lap out of nowhere.

The light started to extend towards the ground like a pillar and began to become wider. Evlin then understood, this wasn't just a random source of light, it was a portal.

"... Ria...?" She whispered, wondering if the rest of her friends were going to show up to provide some support on her quest.

But instead of Ria, what appeared were several individuals dressed in hooded white robes with red marks drawn all over them and carrying staffs made of wood. Six total, three women and three men.

Evlin, Xadi, and Ellie just looked at them with no idea of what was happening.

The six men and women stood in parallel lines as someone else emerged from the portal, a woman who had slightly more detailed lines on her white robe, and started to approach Evlin. She had tanned skin, blond hair that reached all the way to her shoulders, and eyes of the color of chocolate. She was also taller than anyone present.

She had a staff just like the rest of the people surrounding her, two of them, in fact, one in hand and one tied on her back. Her staffs had tips in the shape of a dragon head and their mouths had a huge piece of absorbing crystal as if they were trying to swallow it.

"Are you Evlin, the crossbow mage of recreation?" said the woman with dragon-headed staffs.

"Huh... That depends... Who wants to know?" Evlin said while slowly hiding Ellie behind her.

"We are the fire mages followers of the new church of the goddess of the East. I'm Leona, their leader." Said the tall woman.

"Ok..." Evlin answered while looking concerned.

"Under the command of the new goddess of the East, we have come here to make you her new champion for the trial to elect the new superior diety that will rule over all the gods."

Xadi and Ellie just looked at Evlin wondering how she was going to react. The woman herself simply processed the words Leona said and answered in the most natural way possible for her.

"... Eh...?"

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