World's Last Hope-Chapter 62: Reunited
"They’re coming!" Eric cried in happiness as he saw them coming closer and going toward him.
Seeing them, he stopped throwing his sword around as there was no point anymore and waited.
His heart rate increased, he was getting nervous.
"Shit," he cursed as he tried to fix his hair, not that he knew if he was successful as he didn’t have a mirror.
He stood up and began to clean his armor... well, clean was a strong word as the dirt was hard to get off, especially with the metallic gloves on.
After about a minute, the monster that Aria and Olivia were riding reached him.
"Hello," he spoke, holding back tears of happiness.
"Good to have you back," Olivia spoke as she offered her hand.
Taking it, he climbed on top of the creature.
Shifting his gaze to Aria, he realized she was staring at him.
’Shit, I must look terrible,’ he thought as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Hello," he said with a smile.
Only to be startled as Aria immediately rushed in to hug him.
"I... might stink a little, sorry about that..." he spoke awkwardly.
Though Aria didn’t seem to mind as she muttered, "Glad to see you alive."
"Hey, Aria, I think you’re bending my arm a little," he spoke, feeling pain, it seemed that Aria hadn’t yet adjusted to using her strength as a Grandmaster.
Letting go in panic, she apologized,
"Never mind that, can I get some water... like, right now?"
He felt like he was moments away from dying from dehydration.
Aria, nodding, summoned a glass bottle that had the ability to create cold water, and he immediately brought it to his lips.
It was honestly like a dream, the taste, even though it shouldn’t have any, was otherworldly.
As he finished drinking, Aria put her hand on Eric’s forehead, and in the next moment, his injuries that he had accumulated in the dangerous area were healed in an instant.
Putting a hand to his face, he sighed, "God, this feels so much better."
"All right, the sooner we get done with liberating the second cathedral, the better, as we should have to spend less time in the death zone," Olivia spoke as she glanced at Aria.
Aria nodded, understanding what Olivia was trying to convey, she got the reins back in her hands and commanded the monster to take to the air again.
"So, are you going to explain what you learned now or later?" Olivia asked.
Eric took some time to appreciate the view from the back of the flying monster as he spoke with a sigh.
"It’s better to get it done with sooner."
Sitting comfortably on the back of the creature, he began.
"First, you probably know that the more we approach the cathedral, the bigger the things around us seem to be getting. This doesn’t include only nature but also the monsters."
He took a moment to think about how to phrase the words.
"The two monsters I witnessed in the forest were a spiders and, later, butterflies."
Pointing with his finger at the large trees, he continued.
"The spiders seemed to be the main predator in the forest, as most of the area was covered by their cocoons. Not only that, but they showed the ability to climb the trees, so..."
He shifted his gaze to Aria.
"I think it’s possible for one to climb until reaching the top of a tree and then try to jump us, so I recommend we get even higher."
"Even if that is the case, there is danger in going too high in the sky."
Eric raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Well, let’s just say there are beings in the cosmos that seem to get angry if we humans get too high in the sky," Olivia explained.
Eric, not knowing how to react to that information, simply shook his head, deciding that this was something he was going to ask about later in greater detail.
"Well, anyway," he continued, "the biggest spider I saw was probably around 200 meters, and I will not be surprised if there are larger ones somewhere deeper in the forest."
"How did you survive?" Aria asked, not shifting her gaze from the path ahead.
"Let’s just say I’m good at hiding," he replied.
"And then there are the butterflies, which seemed to be enemies of the spiders."
This was pretty much all he could say, as he sadly didn’t have much time to learn anything, as he was too busy hiding to save his life.
"Oh, by the way," he added, "the spiders have acid blood that is able to pass through armor."
Olivia was lost in thought, while Aria asked her,
"So, the cathedral?"
"Is probably around the center of the forest," she replied instantly.
"How much longer?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not much... a few kilometers at best."
"I see..." Eric glanced toward where Aria was sitting and got closer to her, while Olivia was diligently scanning the surroundings for incoming monsters.
"Is something the matter?" Aria glanced at Eric for a moment as she asked.
"No, I just wanted to get a closer look at you," Eric spoke.
Aria grinned but didn’t say anything.
Suddenly feeling weight on her, she shifted her gaze, only to see Eric had fallen asleep on her.
It seemed that the feeling of safety, plus the exhaustion of the adrenaline in his system, overwhelmed him. And he drifted to sleep.
Finally, after about a week of pure hell, Eric was finally able to get a good night’s sleep, as he didn’t have nightmares.
*****
Feeling that his vigor had been restored, he slowly opened his eyes as he adjusted to the surroundings.
The first thing he saw was Aria, who didn’t seem too happy.
"What happened?" he asked, realizing they weren’t on the back of the flying monster anymore and were instead on the ground.
"I think it’s better to see for yourself," she replied as she pointed with her finger.
Sitting up, Eric followed her finger, only for his eyes to widen in surprise.
He couldn’t help but mutter, "What the hell?"
