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(Fate) Chapter 135: Hey, wait a minute, am I getting charmed by a little girl?
🕑 Added 2024-09-10 16:29:38 +0000 UTCAs the torchlight illuminated the dark labyrinth and Helen held onto Promise’s hand, leading him forward into the maze, the boy finally reacted belatedly.
Promise glanced at the trembling Helen, who clung to his hand despite her visible fear.
She was genuinely walking into the labyrinth, fully aware of the monster lurking within.
Her body was shaking constantly, it was the fear that could not be concealed, but even so, the girl just held onto his hand tightly, refusing to back down.
And it was Helen who held up the torch.
She raised it high as hard as she could, trying to illuminate the darkness ahead for Promise.
…Not only did I get charmed, but I’m also being protected by a little girl now!
Promise didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But at the same time, the look in his eyes when he looked at Helen had softened a lot.
After all, no matter what the reason, how many people can really be like her, muster up the courage to face this "inescapable labyrinth" out of sheer faith in someone else?
What kind of respect and trust is it?
"Hey, Helen... it’s really dark and quiet here, isn’t it?" Promise said this with a smile, and exerted a little force to break free from Helen's restraints.
Just as Helen was stunned and looked up at him in confusion and panic, afraid he was leaving her behind.
But before she could say anything, Promise took out a painting, and from it, a golden lyre fell into his hands.
“Helen, let’s play some music together. Let’s use it to banish the darkness and light up everything around us!”
Promise smiled warmly at Helen, who was now staring in amazement.
With a gentle motion, he strummed the first note on the lyre.
And the moment that note resonated, the labyrinth was bathed in light.
Helen’s eyes widened as she watched the pitch-black labyrinth fill with warm, radiant light.
Even the eternal darkness of the underworld had been brightened by this boy’s light, guiding him through the shadows.
Promise closed his eyes, playing the lyre with a peaceful expression.
The notes echoed through the labyrinth, dispersing the darkness and illuminating the way forward.
Soon, Theseus, who had subconsciously covered his eyes with his hands, and was wandering aimlessly, saw the light that should never have appeared in this dark maze.
Just when Theseus didn't know what was happening, the light came with beautiful piano music and enveloped him.
But the music and light didn’t just reach Theseus.
Such a sudden change naturally alarmed the existence named Asterios in the deepest part of the labyrinth.
He stood up and followed the light... No, to be exact, when he found the light coming, he was panicked and at a loss at first.
He had always longed for the cool breezes and lush forests bathed in sunlight, but when the light suddenly appeared in his dark world, he was filled with panic and subconsciously fled deeper into the shadows.
Asterius wanted to reach out to the light but was too scared to embrace it.
However, as the light closed in, he soon found himself cornered, unable to retreat unable to escape.
Eventually, the light enveloped him, and the gentle melody reached his ears.
He was stunned for a long time, then stretched out his hands, clenched his fists, opened them, and clenched them again, as if trying to catch the light.
While he was astonished, the long and resounding sound of the piano was like a clear spring, clarifying his heart and soothing his emotions.
For the first time, he felt something other than rage and hunger—a deep sense of peace.
So naturally, Asterios followed the direction of the sound of the harp.
He started out walking slowly, then walking faster, and finally running quickly.
His movements and the terrifying brute force made the entire maze tremble.
Similarly, Theseus, who was wandering in this maze, naturally followed the sound of the piano and the light and walked towards the direction of Promise.
When Theseus finally came to the source of the sound and saw the young man sitting there, playing the lyre and the beautiful Helen beside him, he was not happy.
He even sat down with a bitter look on his face, sighed, and said:
"Ah, it seems that it is indeed a dream before I die. After all, seeing Promise and Helen again… it can’t be real.
Well...I guess only dreams can satisfy me.
"But before I die, I can still hear the sound of Promise's piano playing, so it's not a loss!" After saying that, Theseus simply leaned against the wall of the maze, closed his eyes and rested.
Helen blinked as she watched the situation.
However, just when she was about to say something, she found that Promise had opened his eyes at some point and was blinking at her, signaling her to stay quiet.
So she did not say anything and simply stood by, quietly basking in the soothing melody and the sunlight that now illuminated the once-dark labyrinth.
Her eyes locked onto Promise as if she wanted to engrave this serene moment into her memory.
But after a long time as the ground’s trembling grew more intense, Theseus snapped out of his daze, standing up with a serious expression.
Helen subconsciously clutched Promise’s clothes, leaning against him for comfort.
Then, Asterius appeared.
Promise also stopped playing and looked up at the fearsome Minotaur in front of him.
The two looked at each other; although Asterios's scarlet eyes were like those of a wild beast, and he could not speak, but could only roar.
At this moment, Promise saw something else in Asterius’s gaze—gratitude.
So, he smiled.
“You monster, even in my dreams, don't even think about harmi—”
On the side, Theseus, who didn't even have any weapon but was readying himself to defend Promise and Helen barehanded with a clenched fist, could finish his sentence, Promise pointed at Theseus with a grin.
“If you want to thank me, go ahead and beat him up for me.”
“...Huh?” (x2)
Helen tilted her head and looked at Promise.
Theseus was equally confused by his words.
No way,
Isn’t this a dream?
Why is Promise in my dream so harsh to me?
Asterios was also stunned,
He looked at Theseus and then turned back to look at Promise in confusion.
"Yes, beat him!"
The latter nodded and said calmly and seriously: "You're welcome, as long as you don't beat him to death... Helen, if you don't feel relieved, you can still do it yourself."
“…Huh?!”
Now, not only Theseus but even Helen herself was confused.
Although she kept hearing Brother Promise say along the way that he would definitely beat Theseus up, Helen always thought that he was just saying that in anger.
After all, aren't you good friends?
However, while she was thinking this,
Asterios let out a roar, then jumped up, and caught Theseus who was unable to dodge under Helen's dull gaze.
So a war broke out.
As fate would have it, Asterios battled Theseus!
However, because he always thought it was a dream and the incident was sudden, Theseus was soon pinned down by the Minotaur.
It took several punches and slaps before he reacted.
This is not a dream!
Hiss—it hurts!
"Wait wait, Promise, I was wrong, I was wrong, please save me!"
"Helen, Helen, save me!"
Without any weapons, Theseus was no match for Asterius.
Coupled with exhaustion and starvation from all these days he was completely overwhelmed in the fight, unable to put up any resistance.
"Th-this... Brother Promise, Brother Promise, that’s enough! Really, it’s enough!" Helen, deeply shaken by the sight, finally pleaded with Promise.
"This is enough already? Helen, you’re not mad at him anymore? Let me tell you, this guy is pretty tough—he can take a lot of hits, don’t worry about it."
"No, really, it’s fine now!" Helen nodded quickly and shook her head at the same time, saying. "I’m not mad anymore, I’m really not mad anymore!"
"Tch, what a pity... Alright, that’s enough, Asterius, you can stop now." At Promise’s words, Asterius obediently let Theseus go.
Promise then walked over to Theseus, who blinked in disbelief, still trying to process what was happening.
"This… isn’t a dream?"
"It’s totally a dream, isn’t it?" Promise replied with a smile. "Guess the beating wasn’t hard enough…"
"No, no, no, I'm awake, I’m fully awake now, really!" Theseus’s eyes widened in panic—whether this was a dream or not, he definitely didn’t want to get hit again!
"......Speaking of which, Theseus, where did you go after abandoning Helen? Why didn't you come back?
Do you even know how much trouble she got into because of you?" Promise scolded, glaring at Theseus.
Still dazed and unsure if this was real or not, Theseus answered honestly,
"I went to the Underworld."
"The Underworld?" This time, Promise was genuinely taken aback. "What were you doing in the Underworld?"
"I wanted to get Pirithous to stop chasing after Helen, so I went with him to the Underworld to find Goddess Persephone. He said he wanted to capture this goddess and make her his wife..."
Theseus explained everything truthfully and was feeling depressed when he thought that his friend was still in the underworld and might never come back.
When,
*Smack!*
Promise suddenly kicked Theseus hard in the face.
Damn it!
As Theseus looked up with a puzzled look on his face.
"Trying to kidnap Goddess Persephone? Really, Theseus? You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that!" Promise laughed angrily and said to Theseus with gritted teeth:
"Do you know how much the goddess Persephone takes care of me on weekdays?
She's like a big sister to me!"
"And here I was thinking I misjudged you after clearing up the misunderstanding with Helen. Turns out, you’re just out here causing even bigger messes!"
"It turns out that kidnapping a little girl wasn’t enough for you—you had to kidnap a goddess too, huh? Stealing someone else’s wife, no less!"
"Asterius, get back here and beat him down again."
"This time I want to see him in a state of despair!"
Asterius was stunned for a moment, but when he saw the warmth in the sunlight and heard Promise call his name, his eyes suddenly became very firm.
Alright, more beating it is!
So the next second, as Helen couldn't help covering her face, unable to bear to look directly at the scene, but still peeked through her fingers out of curiosity, a mixed doubles match took place on the scene
A chaotic brawl between a man and a beast.
Promise mostly just added to the chaos, but without him keeping things lighthearted, Asterius might have actually broken Theseus for good.
After a long while...
"Umm… Theseus, are you okay?"
Helen, feeling a bit guilty, crouched next to Theseus, who was lying on the ground, and gently poked his bruised and battered face with her finger.
Theseus tried to raise his head and muster a smile, but as soon as he did, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out cold.
Helen was so frightened that she stood up suddenly and took several steps back,
Then she tilted her head, her eyes darting between the terrifying sight of the unconscious Theseus and the calm figure of Promise.
She thought to herself, *It turns out that Brother Promise is not that gentle... Ah, no, no, Brother Promise is the most gentle, it is Brother Theseus’s own fault for causing trouble!*
Helen said this in her heart firmly and secretly made up her mind that in the future, she would always be a good girl around Promise and never lie again.
She couldn’t imagine facing the anger of someone as scary as he could be.
Meanwhile, Promise ignored Helen and Theseus.
Instead, he turned to look at Asterius, who now sat obediently before him, with his head down awaiting instructions.
The once ferocious creature was calm, even peaceful, under Promise’s gaze.
After a long silence, Promise finally asked, "Asterius, do you wish to leave this place?"
Asterius seemed puzzled, staring at Promise before shaking his head. But then, after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded slowly.
"I see," Promise said with a warm smile. "In that case, let me grant your wish."
He then took out his pure white feathered canvas and began to paint.
In Asterius’s eyes, the dark and gloomy labyrinth faded away, replaced by a beautiful sacred forest.
Streams flowed gently, lush greenery thrived, and butterflies danced gracefully around him. Stunned by the serene beauty, Asterius stood motionless, taking it all in.
In reality, Promise strung his bow of light and drew a glowing arrow.
"It’s time to rest now, Asterius…"
He whispered before releasing the arrow, letting it pierce straight through Asterius’s heart.
Comments
Naga
Aww man not my poor friend asterius
