The Demon’s Bride

As Elise was trying to absorb the same person the creature had mentioned was Caleb, she knew she should hurry and tell her grandfather and father about the demon's appearance. Truth to be said, Elise couldn't see Caleb as an enemy. From Ian's memories, she could tell that although the demon had spend less time with her husband, they had bonded over the pain they only both of them understood at the time.

Caleb appeared to be a person who would protect his promise and treasure the small relationship with respect. However, the ultimate problem wasn't Caleb. It was the man who was behind all of this, Ernest.

Elise pulled her brows together. She had many questions about the man since they met. Caleb had once directed her to the village where Mila once lived in, the same village where Arrah once lived, and the sam village that Ian had destroyed. Was that a warning from Caleb himself? She couldn't consider it as a mere coincidence. Perhaps Caleb was leading her to the traitor who was living amongst them. 

If her guess had been correct, it would also be save to assume her second meeting with Caleb, was his second warning. Why would he warned them if he was willingly working with Ernest. And why even though he had put a deadly mark on Lilith's hand, he didn't kill her and instead retracted the magic in last second? Elise knew the answer. It was because since the beginning, Caleb hadn't put the deadly curse on Lilith to control her. Instead, Caleb had helped Lilith to escape from the dark sorcerer's hands.

The next question was why instead of coming clear to Ian or her, Caleb had chosen the roundabout way of warning them?

"The curse," whispered Elise to herself, "The curse Caleb placed on Lilith is also somewhere in his body! Can you turn around the boat?" 

The creature frowned while looking at her. "Turning… around in the mid way across the Black Sea is death, woman. Once someone like you had came and regretted her choice. She chose to turn around and it has cost her life. More so…" the creature delayed his words, his eyes then looking forward, "We are now in the middle of the sea, the deadliest location. Be cautious to you surrounding unless you wish to cease exist."

With her hands holding the edge of the wooden boat that was narrow, Elise turned her head toward the sea across her, seeing what seemed like lightning started to crackle on the sky, the cloud that was black was inked with a deep purple color. The boat begin to shake along with the sea that rumble in hunger, the water of the sea shakes, wetting her dress as it spilled inside. The creature waved his paddle to throw the water away when Elise saw in front of them a snake-like creature lurked out of the sea.

The head of the snake pushed the water in half. The largeness of its shadow engulfed the shadow. Elise's blue eyes met with the snake's glaring purple eyes when its mouth snapped wide. 

To be eaten was the last thing Elise needed on her plate. She reached out her hand to the sky, summoning Jett who crystallized itself on to a black sword. Elise rushed in front of the creature, swinging her blade, letting Jett to choose where to cut the snake at. 

The snake didn't manage to escape the deadly slash and immediately fell on the sea. Black blood splattered over Elise's red dress. Even though it had only occurred in seconds, Elise could feel her breaths shortening. She looked at the creature, "What was that?"

"What… does it look like?" The creature asked and Elise couldn't help but sigh. Would she asked if she knew? "Those are the guardian of this sea. The one who only devours the alive as soul and flesh is what filled their stomach."

"They are targeting me?" Elise inquired the creature who shrugged his shoulders. The tremors of the boat made it difficult for her to stand without holding tight to the sides of the boat. The fogs that had covered her surrounding thickened around them, doing the opposite favor of calming her down.

"That… is what mostly happened. However, this is strange…" The creature raised its head, looking at the sky that continue to frizzle as the glaring white veins crawled over the black sky. "The sky is crying… something terrible has happened in abyss."

Elise looked around the sea that begin to scare her. With how the fog had clouded most part of the sea, it was difficult even to see where the other person on the boat was doing. She then squinted her eyes when she noticed a scaly body slithered underneath the water.

"How many are those guardians in the sea?" Elise questioned the creature with her face slightly tilted over the creature, while her eyes were glued on the spot where she had seen the scaly figure early. 

"Ten… they have multiplied but most of them had been killed not long ago due to their uncontrollable hunger. The one you had killed… must be the last one," answered the creature who still rowed the boat as if it was the only thing matter in such a time. He wasn't scared not the slightest concerned of his surrounding. 

Elise shook her head. She trusted her eyes and what she had seen earlier which was similar to the body of the snake which she had killed earlier. "Are you certain all of them had been killed and what I killed was the last one?"

"Yes… but," the creature added his words slowly, adding the suspense. Elise's heart raced against her chest. "I suppose there are still the last one… the head of the guardian. The sea serpent."

Bell tolled on the back of Elise's ears. The swayed harder in time as if the sea was pushed away as a large creature pushed itself from the stomach of the sea. Water splashed all over Elise's face as though she was standing near a waterfall. A hiss followed, the hiss that made one chill with his high pitched it sounded. 

In time, Elise was face with the serpent's head. It's scaly green head compliment its red eyes in a way it was terrifying. It stared at her as if deciding how to prey on her and where to begin.