Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

55. Mother Of Flames

When I heard Hiraya's message, I snatched him away and hurried towards camp. Yuki and the twins were following behind me as well, and they were all concerned about what had happened. Because of my anxiety, a slew of thoughts entered my imagination. And for some reason, I couldn't get my mind off of the massive moth from earlier in the mountain. What if it was the one who started the fire at the camp?

On the way back, I glanced at Hiraya, expecting that he might be able to tell me more, but he had fallen asleep. When I was on the verge of falling because of the terrain, I couldn't help but curse. Nevertheless, I bounced about, almost breaking the trees as I used them as a foothold, but I soon recovered my footing. Ah, right. I felt horrible for doing such things in the forest, especially since that mountain contains Fuyumi's life force. But I have to get going!

"We're almost here. Please wait on a minute..." I mumbled to myself as I continued to jump like a cat.

When I realized that the slope was smooth, I slid down it as quickly as I could to get to the foot of the mountain as soon as possible. I placed Hiraya on the ground and began sprinting at full speed. Yuki ran even faster with a look of concern on her face. She appeared to be on the verge of crying, but she didn't seem too surprised by what happened. Then she knows all about this...

I was going much too quickly when I realized what was occurring, so I slowed down immediately. There was a big hill of flames directly in front of us, and it was very terrifying. It seems like everything has been reduced to nothing, and there is nothing left of it but ashes. There was a huge moth perched on top of the ash heap...

The moment Yuki fell to the ground, she burst into tears and held on to the ground as she struggled to regain her breath while weeping. When I glanced at the twins, they were merely staring in front, their faces contorted with surprise. However, they were not looking at our camp. The moth lady, who was perched on the flames, caught their attention instead.

My jaw fell wide as a result of my inability to fathom what the heck was going on. When I remembered that Freya had the capacity to see things from the memories of living things, I reached out and touched a weed on the ground to try and see what would happen. I closed my eyes as memories started to flood back into my consciousness.

As a moth flew across the sky, it captured the attention of the warriors in our camp, who were mesmerized by its beauty. When the moth came out, it made glittery things that spread throughout the shelters and among the people. Instantaneously, blazing flames erupted from every direction, consuming everything in their path and eventually destroying everything.

"The mother of flames!" everyone shouted as they tried to escape.

What in the world am I witnessing here...?

As the flames started to consume them, the individuals shouted in anguish. Some committed suicide to alleviate the agony, while others attempted to rescue themselves by diving into ponds and wells. Everyone called for Yuki, but I don't believe they were spiting her for not being present. They sought her assistance, but they ultimately gave up. Instead, they expressed regret for not being able to protect the camp.

In the same way their bodies started to dissolve into thin air, their spirits gently ascended towards the sky. Surprisingly, they seemed to be at ease. It was as though the day they had been looking forward to had finally arrived. They didn't seem to be in any discomfort at all, though. In fact, they were smiling as if they had nothing to worry about.

After seeing everything, I fell on my knees, still unable to comprehend what I had just seen. The moth was the one who set fire to everything, but what in the world could have motivated it to do so? I couldn't think of anything as I stood there, just watching the camp go into a cloud of smoke that would never be recovered. I couldn't help but feel weaker and weaker with each passing minute.

"Oh?" the moth exclaimed when it noticed us.

The moth, which had previously seemed to be an insect, appeared to have transformed into a person. It still had the crimson and black wings, but it had changed its appearance to that of a lady. She had long, jet-black hair, and she seemed to be someone I knew from somewhere. She reminded me a lot of Kasai in appearance...

Because I was staring at her, she turned to face me. She had an uninterested expression on her face that gave me the chills. We were grateful to it for providing us with warmth in the mountains, something I now regret. Wow, I can't believe I was deceived by this person. Despite realizing something was wrong when it vanished, I did not anticipate that it would set our camp on fire...

When I realized the moth was closing in on me, my breathing became labored. I realized she was heading straight towards me, so I took a few steps back. However, since I was moving slowly, it swiftly stopped me. I could hear Kai and Sai calling my name, but I couldn't move since I was paralyzed. The moth kept me in place as she glared at me with those piercing, lifeless eyes of hers.

"Threat..." she whispered, her grasp on my arms becoming more firm. Her nails scraped into my flesh, causing a few little bruises. "Must eliminate..."

"No..."

I winced in agony, knowing that I would never be able to break free from her hands. My magical abilities had ceased, and I could not perform any spells to save myself. I bit my lower lips when I felt my legs turning to jelly as I cowered in fear in front of her. I wanted to scream for help because I could feel a fiery blaze racing through my veins, threatening to consume my whole body.

Just when the moth was ready to consume me and convert me into a ball of ashes, my gaze fell on Yuki. Her demeanor was gloomy as she charged forward for the kill. The moth, who was completely oblivious of her existence, was unable to avoid Yuki as she clawed her back. Finally, she released her grip on me, causing me to tumble to the ground. I was bleeding excessively...

Blood...

When I glanced up, I saw the moth hovering over me, her eyes wide open as she attempted to incinerate me once again. But I suddenly transformed and unleashed a massive quantity of elemental force, which caused her to be completely blasted away. I could hear her agonizing cries from where she had come to rest, but I couldn't care less about them.

When I saw the moth, I was overcome with a great desire for revenge, which led me to come after her. I have no choice except to kill her for the sake of the slain soldiers. They had done nothing to deserve to be killed in that manner. Those warriors wished for nothing more than freedom, yet these people continue to trample on their efforts. That is something I can't simply sit back and do nothing about.

I took a jump and raced for the moth. When I finally got to her, I strangled her neck, gradually inflicting bruises on her skin due to the thickness and roughness of my claws. She clung to my hands, desperately attempting to break free of my grip. However, she could not escape due to the tremendous burst of strength that had risen inside me.

In order to hit the moth's heart, I pinned her to the ground and created a dagger of fire in my hands. It seems to have realized that I had no intention of letting it survive and had given up attempting to get away from me. A sneer came on my face as I prepared to stab her with the dagger in my hand.

That is until I heard someone scream from behind me, attempting to prevent me from murdering the person underneath me. On the other hand, the moth was simply looking at me as if she were waiting for death to arrive. Even after she had taken a large number of lives, she maintained her apathetic demeanor. But even in the thick of it all, I couldn't bring myself to kill her. It seemed as though something inside me was trying to prevent me from continuing...

"Ivory, please..."

"Stop..."

"No! That is definitely not your mother! Can't you see?! This being in front of you is a result of the kings' experiment on the people!"

The corners of my lips dropped open as I slowly regained my composure. The moth saw this as a chance to escape from me. As she struggled to walk because of her injuries, she staggered slightly. I could kill her right now, but my feet were firmly planted on the earth. I clenched my teeth as I stood there watching her go away, unable to move or communicate. Yuki stepped in and threw her sword straight into the moth's heart because of my inability to kill her.

I looked at the twins, who were on their knees as they peered at the moth, who attempted to fly away with a sword embedded in its heart. They seemed to be in shock as if they were witnessing the death of someone close to them. And it was at that point it occurred to me that the moth was their mother. That's exactly what I overheard them saying earlier in the discussion. But...how is this even possible?

Yuki made a rapid motion with her hand, and her katana was instantly restored to her grasp. The moth wailed in agony as she clutched her bleeding wound in her hands. Oh no, that's a bad idea. It certainly wasn't a robot! As I stared at Yuki, who didn't appear to be bothered by anything, I let out a gasp. I'm not sure what to make of this, but she doesn't seem to have changed at all. I am well aware that the twins wouldn't leave her no matter what...but after seeing her murder their mother with no trace of regret, I'm not so sure about it anymore.

"It's not over yet..." Yuki murmured under her breath as she prepared to unleash another assault.

"Please don't do it, Yuki..." Kasai pleaded.

Kasai attempted to get to his feet. He stumbled as he neared Yuki, unable to stand the way she was behaving at the moment. I gritted my teeth when he hugged Yuki from behind, gripping her katanas tightly in his hands to prevent her from committing another crime. Amid his sobbing, he was muttering phrases that would calm her down. On the other hand, Enkai was constantly reaching out for his mother, who was trying to escape.

"Mama!" Kai repeated like a kid over and over again by him. His unsuccessful effort to get her back included even addressing her by her given name. "Akaki! Mama! Please respond..."

"Akaki, huh..."

"Mama, please..."

"Let me go! Sai, she was the one who murdered everyone! That isn't your mother!"

"It is my mother! If there's someone who should know who she is, that is me! I know her more than you do!"

"Then you should be aware that the person you believe to be her is not who she really is right now!"

My chest tightened as I took in the scene in front of me. We're all breaking apart, and although no one was pointing the finger at Yuki, I knew that it was what they had in mind. After promising to change, we were all upset to see that Yuki failed to follow through on her commitment. She was well aware that this would happen, but she chose to remain silent about it. I couldn't make out what she was saying anymore...

"She's trying to escape!" Yuki screamed as she struggled to free herself from Kasai's hands.

Akaki, the moth, was finally able to fly away. She was still in a state of instability, but she was able to flee. We were all aware that she was a threat, yet we had no choice but to let her go. I had the option of killing her right there and then to put an end to this terrible ordeal, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. Because if I did, we would have been absolutely demoralized. Yuki and I would have been entirely abandoned by the twins, and I would not have been able to endure it...

Yuki eventually gave up attempting to sprint after her, but I could see how tight she held on to the sword with both hands. She looked at me, and I could see how enraged she was that I had refused to follow her orders. Of course, I knew she would be upset, but that didn't bother me at all. That one choice would decide whether or not we would be forced to surrender in this battle. All of Yuki's family had vanished, and the only people remaining on her side were the twins and me. I don't want her to face this battle on her own...

I took a few steps back as Yuki marched towards me, her face contorted with rage. Her gaze was fixed on mine as she grabbed the collar of my shirt. With both hands up, I tried to tell her that I had no intention of retaliating. Nonetheless, I did not take my sight away from her because I wanted her to understand what she was doing. I wanted her to realize that she would see that she was changing into someone who was not herself.

"What were you doing in the first place? You had the opportunity to kill her right then and there! And here I was under the impression that you wanted to avenge our fallen comrades?!"

"Yuki..." Kasai attempted to stop her, his voice sounding as though he was exhausted as f**k.

"I'm not talking to you."

"Yuki, please stop blaming her. You are well aware that the kings are the ones behind all of this. Please, just stop..." Enkai pleaded with her as he grabbed her arm.

"Ivory did not act accordingly! She refused to follow my orders! Why are you suddenly blaming me?!" Yuki retorted back.

"Because you're the one who has to be blamed!" Kasai yelled, and we were all taken aback by his words. When he regained his composure, he quickly walked away. "Forget it..."

Yuki's eyes were wide as she glanced at me. "What...?"

"You're not Yuki..." I told her as I removed her hands on my collar.