?Slap!
Slap! Slap! Slap!
"Wake up, filthy demon!!" A youngster slapped Ralph's face.
Groggily, Ralph opened his eyes and saw himself chained to an altar.
'Hmm?' He wondered.
"Oh look, he woke up! Call Father!" The youngster said.
A minute later, a man with a white beard rushed to the area and looked right at Ralph.
"Oh lord, the demon is indeed alive. In the name of Saint Selena… I seek the guidance of Light…"
The man began chanting something which Ralph felt was a protection spell.
And he was right about it.
A golden film covered the man's body and he walked right in front of Ralph.
Holding a silver cross chain, the man stared Ralph in the eyes and showed him a gemstone.
"Demon, do you know this man?"
There was a picture of Dennis on the gemstone.
Ralph's eyes flickered momentarily, but he didn't answer and stared at the picture, contemplating things.
The momentary change within his eyes didn't go unnoticed by the priest and he took note of it.
After some thinking, Ralph said, "I do not."
The priest squinted his eyes. "I see. If you don't, then it's a pity that we have to sacrifice you immediately."
Ralph had no change on his face and continued to stare at the priest.
He roughly understood the situation from this small interaction itself.
These guys belonged to a church and they were probably targeting Dennis because he was a Vampire.
That being said, they found him as well as Ralph so easily. This meant that there was something within the teleportation magic circle that gave off their location.
So many things were deduced instantly by Ralph.
His intelligence was never to be underestimated!
Now, Ralph concluded that this guy was trying to make a connection between him and Dennis.
If it was to be known that they were friends, then Ralph could be used as a hostage to lure Dennis out.
Ralph did not want to put him in such a situation. He cared about his friend and would not wish any harm on him.
In any case, despite hearing that he would be sacrificed, Ralph was unbothered.
He knew that he had shown a moment of surprise and guessed that the priest definitely caught it.
It was for this reason that he threatened Ralph for the sacrifice and tried to see if he could get some more answers from him.
Unlucky for him, if it was a matter of wits, Ralph would never lose!
The priest gave another look to Ralph, then turned his back and walked away.
After returning to his chamber, he turned on the gemstone and said to the Archbishop,
"They are definitely connected, Your Holiness!"
"Okay. Then start torturing that demon and do a live broadcast of him in all our cities. This would lure that dark creature out and we can start with the next process."
The priest bowed. "Glory to Saint Selena!"
"May Light be with you."
…..
Chirp. Chirp.
Under the shade of tall trees, the sound of flowing water faintly resonated in a little girl's ears.
"My dear, it's time to wake up…" A soft voice called out.
The little girl's eyes blinked and she then felt a warm hand on her forehead.
"My dear, wake up." The voice called out again.
At this point, the little girl's hazel brown eyes opened up and she saw a gentle face of a smiling black-haired lady.
"Mum…ma?"
The lady smiled softly. "If you continue to sleep, you'll miss watching papa fail at catching fish, fufu!~"
With that being said, the little girl was woken up by her mother.
The lady held the girl's small hand and took her to the nearby river where a burly man with brown hair was sitting in an open shirt and loose shorts, wearing a hat and fishing while chewing on a twig.
"Dear, did you catch any fish?" The lady asked, as she neared him.
Noticing the lady and the child come near, the moment knitted his brows and spit the twig.
"It seems that the fishes are being swept by the river's strong current. I think I should try fishing in some still water." The man said shamelessly.
The lady softly giggled while the child looked curiously at the two people.
The man turned to look at the little girl and then back at the lady.
"Why did you wake little Miwa up? It's still noon, she could sleep some more." The man said with a gentle tone.
The lady smiled and walked towards the man, handing the little girl to him.
"If she sleeps, then who'll help me set up the barbecue?"
"No way you just woke her up to use her for labor!" The man hugged Miwa in his embrace and exclaimed.
"Tee-hee!~" The lady made a cute playful face and then took the fishing rod from the man.
"Let me try my hands at fishing today."
"You'll not find any catch. As I said, the water is runny and—"
FWISSSHHH!
"Gotcha!"
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!
A fish flapped itself intensely as it struggled to breathe in the open air after being caught by the fishing pole.
The man's jaw dropped as he watched the scene and said, "What the—Okay, you simply stole my catch, I think. After so many minutes of waiting, I might've just gotten one catch and you took it!"
"Hahaha! Sure, sure, honey!" The lady laughed.
She dropped the fish in a bucket and after adding the bait, dropped it back in the water.
"Let's see if it's luck again—Oh, I feel something!" The lady exclaimed.
FWISSSHHH!
"Wooohooo!"
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!
"Caught another one, haha!"
"Impossible!" The man exclaimed. "I think you only caught the fish this time because a group of fish is passing by. Wait, let me try it myself and prove it to you! Here, hold little Miwa for a second."
Miwa was swapped for a fishing pole and was now sitting by the river, on her mother's lap.
Looking at the scene, Miwa couldn't help but wonder, 'I am alive? No, I'm still at the same picnic area? Wait, was it all a dream?'
Many questions popped up in Miwa's head.
She tried to think of what had just transpired, but was unable to properly recall anything.
She remembered just bits and pieces of her dream with the end being that she was killed.
Looking at her daughter think of something deeply, the lady couldn't help but caress her head and ask, "Is something up, my dear? Did you have a nightmare?"
"Huh? How did you know?" Miwa accidentally asked.
The lady chuckled softly. "Mumma will of course know about it. I saw you make a very troubled face, so I thought I might as well wake you up."
"Oh…" Miwa said softly.
'So it was indeed a dream…?'