Chapter 60 - Death (Part 2)

Panting sounds echoed through the forest as a young blonde long-haired teenage girl was running through the trees. She would stop every once-in-a-while to take a peek behind and check if any of her pursuers have caught up.

She could hear their angry shouts from the distance. Multiple ones.

Back in the house, after Lily managed to eliminate 4 out of the 5 invaders, the last one escaped back and alerted the rest of the group. Lily saw him running and let him be, as she needed them to come, otherwise the event would play out differently. She was already worried that she changed the events too much and would fail the trial.

'Doesn't matter. I will not let them come to harm. I… I just can't! I will take her place!' she muttered to herself with determination. If the scenario will only end if someone dies during the escape it will be her and not her mother. No. She can't lose her again, even if this is just an illusion.

She felt extremely tired. She kept relying on the strange new sensation, this new source of energy she found within herself. This potential, this power. It helped her greatly so far, but it did take out a lot from her as well. After dealing with the first 2 groups, she felt that at most she had 1 more 'magic shot' in her.

Lining up her next arrow, she aimed at the distance where a group of clustered people were angrily making their way through the bushes while shouting various rage-filled curses.

There was one last phrase she hasn't tried yet. It was time to test out the third prayer.

Closing her eyes, she recalled the distant memory once again. She was once again standing in front of the high priest, who was on her knees, praying to the chubby figure of the Goddes of Nature, mother of all elves, Naone the Everloving. The prayer was once again, gibberish to Lily in this dream-like vision, apart from 3 words. "Dennui tho inneth!".

Once again, as she focused on these 3 words, the words of the prayer naturally flowed into her mind. Closing her eyes, while stretching the string, she whispered the prayer to the wind.

"Oh Naone, gentle and kind mother of all elves, please bless this arrow and guide it to the hearts of our enemies! Please let this unworthy one stand strong against our enemies! Dennui tho inneth!"

As she said the 3 words, she released the string and watched as the simple wooden arrow whispered through the air, towards the unsuspecting assailants. Halfway through the distance, the arrow started to, once again, bathe in an emerald green light, but this time seemingly nothing else happened. It simply continued to traverse to its intended destination, while coated in the unnatural light show.

The leader of the group that was pursuing the girl, noticed the strange light that was quickly making its way towards them. Recognizing that it's the same magic that annihilated his previous group, he immediately shouted while ducking to his right side.

"WATCH OUT! MAGIC ARROW!"

However, the group did not understand and therefore couldn't react in time. They were too late to notice the incoming green energy beam and it made contact with the first guy behind the leader who was already on the ground.

The green light beam exploded on contact. The green light expanded and covered a huge area around the impact point, completely covering the group that was pursuing Lily. In the next moment, the energy bumble vibrated, and with an incredibly loud rumble, burst apart.

For a while, nothing could be seen as the released energy run rampant. The mixture of white and green light that still covered everything, hid the carnage that happened.

---

The sound of the explosion could be heard from miles away, alerting both the rest of the invaders back in the village, who also saw the green light deeper in the forest. They gathered up and started rushing towards the scene, leaving only a few people behind. Not that it mattered anymore, the villagers were almost all finished off.

In another direction, Madelaine and her daughter also heard the explosion. Looking back, they also saw the green bubble in the distance. She had her mouth wide open with astonishment.

'She could use this one as well?!' Looking at her daughter, who was also looking at the direction of the explosion with worried eyes, Madelaine shook her head. 'No, that can't be…'

Her daughter, the Kid-Lily, looked up at her mother, and with a shaking voice, she asked.

"Mommy, is she okay? What was that sound?"

Madelaine kept her gaze on the disturbance. She didn't completely understand, but tears started forming at the edges of her eyes, sadness, and worry bubbled up in her heart. Why did she care so much for this girl? Was it because of the sacred prayers she also knew? Could she be a distant relative from her clan? Lightly patting her daughter's head, she remained silent for a few seconds before eventually she sighed and replied.

"Let's hope so. We have to keep moving, we cannot waste the opportunity she gave us through all this effort. Come, let's go, honey, we are not that far away!"

---

The light slowly faded away, and after the smoke vanished into the air, it finally revealed the results of the carnage Lily's prayer had brought forth. A moderately sized crater centered around the point of impact. The group of assailants completely vanished, not even a trace of blood remained. The vegetation was also annihilated, and only splinters remained where once the tall and proud trees stood. It was complete and utter destruction.

Panting, Lily leaned against the trunk of the closest tree and sat down. Her newfound energy was completely exhausted, and along with it, her stamina was also all used up. She was tired, she simply couldn't continue forward.

Even though she knew that the invaders that were still looting and murdering in the village heard the explosion and was probably coming towards her direction, she still smiled. She accomplished what she wanted, and gave more than enough time for her mother to escape.

She looked up at the night sky, and albeit tired, she happily giggled.

"Ehehehe… I did it! I hope I was faster than brother, so I could claim my reward!"

Several minutes passed in silence before the first sounds of the newest wave of pursuers could be heard coming from the direction of the village. Lily tried standing up, only for her legs to start wobbling and falling back on her butt.

"Well, this is as good of a place as any…"

Looking back at her quiver, she saw that she only has 3 more shots before she is out of arrows. Smiling, she picked one and readied it in her bow.

"Let's make this last 3 count. I may not have any power left, but I can take a couple more with me."

The string stretched to its maximum, she aimed at the distance, looking for the first head to pop up. She was ready.

---

Opening her eyes, Lily found herself back in the pocket world, standing before the strange old hermit, that guided her and her brother to the trial grounds. She quickly checked her body, and upon seeing that there's no cuts and bruises, she fell to the ground with a sigh of relief.

"*Huff* *Huff* I was the first, I was the first to return! Ehehehe! The reward is mine!"

The hermit with his eyes closed, slowly turned her head towards the girl that just returned. After a few brief seconds, he opened his mouth, and in his raspy, tattered voice, addressed the returner.

"Congratulations… You passed the... first part... of the trial. Please wait... for the other applicant... to return."

Lily didn't get up from the ground and just kept gazing at the starless scarlet sky. She did it! She met with her mother and managed to save her. Even if it was just an illusion, she still felt that some part of her finally got the closure it desperately needed. She overcame her demons, she conquered her fears, and now, she got the closure she wanted and even faced death itself, saving her mother in the process.

She felt that a great burden was lifted from her heart…

---

"Huh, who would have thought, Lily was the first to complete the trial." Said Number 3, then she sipped from her tea as she kept musing at the crackling fire.

"Yes. Still, did you expect that she will sacrifice herself instead of letting the events end the same way? Was that your plan?" asked Granny. As ever, she was worried about the little girl. This test was very cruel, facing the darkest moment in her life, Granny feared that Lily would crumble.

However, Lily successfully conquered the trial, and with a result that she did not expect!

"I couldn't be sure. Her trial would still be successful if she would have just let the events play out as they were supposed to. Her changing it and sacrificing herself to save the others, was a welcome change. That little girl has more secrets than we expected. For a half-elf to win the blessing of the elven goddess and even be able to successfully use it…"