A World With/Out Home

Chapter 4: The World as they knew it. (Part 3)

The monster came barrelling towards them. The sight of the beast so close sent a shiver down Kyle's spine. That thing could crush him to a bloody paste as if it were nothing and he was outside in front of it. Lillia however stood firm. Even without the Hero's armour she had a duty to protect others, one that seemed so far ingrained inside her that she'd give her life at the drop of a hat. More than the monster Kyle feared that she'd sacrifice her life... just like Jana. Despite his thoughts she faced the beast head on. Sparks began to ignite around the mop as she pointed it towards the beast. Only a few dozen metres away the cleaning tool suddenly flared and from its end a gush of flames spewed into the night air, lighting up the field far more than the moon above could.

Kyle was right. The fire worked immensely more than the bullets had. The beast roared shrieking in panic. It tried to avoid the flames as best it could but Lillia had locked on to it. Each lick of heat that sprang against it caused its razer like fur to smoke and crumble. In desperation it launched itself at the source but Lillia kept a steady distance retreating through nimble hops. It might have been adrenalin pumped state but to Kyle it was a beautiful picture. The moon above and meadow below as girl and beast danced with flames between them. Lillia's small armoured figure seemed fragile as her purple hair flowed in the wind, but against that was someone determined to win, to save even a single life she'd do whatever it took.

Then the flames vanished and his heart shook. The beast was covered in burns and barely hanging on to life but it was just that, still alive. The flames in his dreams had practically incinerated the creatures in a single instant. They didn't have enough firepower and Lillia who had used the tool was keeled over barely standing. Kyle could see the puffs of steam her breath released and the sweat covering her skin. For whatever reason her condition had turned for the worse and now she was in danger. The beast however was recovering and clear murderous intent ran through its eyes.

Kyle ran as fast as he could. It was his idea to use the flamethrower and though it worked, it just wasn't as effective as he thought it would be. Only a single night had passed and the image of Jana passing away was clear in his mind. That girl's words. Her wishes that never came true. She wanted to be a performer and yet how many times had she actually done it? Was that small stage in Tomph the first time? Was that all her dreams amounted to? He wouldn't let Lillia go through the same. She still had so much more to experience. He didn't know what she wanted to be, maybe she really wanted to be a Hero but if there was the chance she wanted something more, he'd make it happen. For the first time in his life he felt like doing something bigger than himself. He had a promise to keep.

He skidded to a halt in front of her and took up the fallen mop pointing it towards the oncoming monster. It was at that moment he realised. He had no idea how to use it. Though enchanted arms like the one he held were easier to use than magic, his education amounted to near nothing. To him now it really wasn't more than a cleaning tool.

"Araaa!" he screamed. In that case he would use it in the only fashion he knew how. As the monster reached out its claws he threw the device straight and true. If it had been like usual Kyle's strength wouldn't even be enough to cause it to flinch but with its fur and hide burnt the beast hesitated. Its instincts drove it to protect itself and the claw that should have raked them apart pulled back. The mop hit the ground having done no more than poke and rile the beast's anger. In the end even as Kyle tried to pick up Lillia and run he had only saved them a few seconds. However it was those few precious seconds that would make a difference.

The monster gave chase and where once again it should have killed its prey instead a spear shot towards it. So fast that neither the beast nor Kyle could react the sturdy metal rod plunged deep into the creature's neck and forced it back. Then not even a second later the honk of a powerful horn blared and with it a truck colliding straight into the already weakened monster. It didn't even have time to shriek as the sudden blow wedged the spear further inside it, finalising what would be its life.