Trial of Andria”

O children, come on, we almost reached the hut quickly, and suddenly a monster appeared before us, and in his hand was sister Olit’s head, and her body on the ground, her blood covering the grass.

All the children panicked then, the monster that stood for seconds screamed a terrifying scream that reached Sir Albert.

“What, as if I heard a monster, where are the children?”

“Yes, I have made three monsters surround the place, and it seems the second monster found the children.”

“What?”

“Do not worry, it will not hurt them unless they move, isn’t that fair?”

“O you, to go to them—where do you think you are going?”

Suddenly a cage of bones came out and trapped Sir Albert.

“Your problem is not solved here, you go and leave me?”

At the children, they were moving from fear. Every time one of them was killed by the monster. The number of children was sixty. Among them were two with Andria, while the rest were older.

Andria did not move at all from fear, but not of the monster, rather from returning to that hell if he died.

The children were being killed one after another. Dave and Charles tried to attack the monster but it did not work. The monster attacked Charles and almost hit him, but Dave saved him. They both stood and tried to attack, but in a part of a second Dave was pierced in his body, and when the monster left him Charles screamed angrily and attacked.

Andria tried to stop him. Charles said: “Just protect the children and escape with whoever remains.”

Despite Charles’s sadness for those who died, he was sadder for Dave because he was his brother and the only one who knew, he and Sir Albert.

“How could you do this to him, how? Even I didn’t tell him. Damn you, monster!”

He attacked the monster, but his attack was different—it was faster, stronger. But how could someone who never learned to use his power defeat a monster stronger than him?

When Charles tried to attack, the monster struck him a blow that threw him against a rock unconscious and continued killing the children.

Every time I see the children die one after another, that voice appeared again:

“Look at this chick afraid, of what I wonder? Of the monster or the children? Poor one, I brought you the solution. Look well, that is the gate of hell, if you want power then enter it. What do you say? Come on, twenty children remain, the number decreases and time passes. What do you say? Will you enter, Andria? Just say yes. Or are you afraid of entering the gate? Hahaha, the children die before you and you are afraid, oh savior.

Andria, save me, Michael, save… Michael!”

“Andria, Julia too… what do I do, what do I do? No, no, I don’t want to enter or lose more.”

Andria’s breathing became heavy. The children moved and died while he was afraid and powerless.

“Just say yes, Andria, come on, fifteen remain, time passes—”

“I… I… owa—”

Suddenly, light appeared from his ruined dwelling, thunder rising to the sky, making the sky cloud and send storms and lightning everywhere. And suddenly, from nothing, the director Albert appeared, looking at Andria and the dead children and Dave and Charles. Then he spoke:

“I know you are afraid, and I know you have no power. But you are the eldest, and unfortunately, you did not do your duty even a little. Andria has changed, for the Andria I knew would put his life at stake for a stranger. But now, when I see that person with this cowardice, I say, unfortunately, that flame has gone. And now, step aside.”

Albert gathered all his strength and struck a blow that not only removed the monster but crushed a large part of the forest. And when it ended, the monster died, and the grandfather appeared, showing bones pierced into every organ of his body. When he fell to the ground, the children went to him crying, trying to save him.

But Andria was mocked by the voice, saying:

“In the end, you chose cowardice. You are worse than I thought.”

Then Andria screamed:

“I am not that person. I only transferred to his body. And that boy had no power, so what do you expect me to do? And I will never return to that place, that gate, ever!”

Then the voice smiled, its laugh terrifying, thirsty for blood, then calmed and said:

“Do you know what that powerless boy did when he was in his body before you possessed him? He saved an entire village from monsters that were going to invade the village. True, he had no power, but he had the mind. When the heroes were searching for them in a village 20 kilometers from here, those monsters were heading to this village. Then that man held an energy stone and put it in a bike made by his friend, and distracted the monsters and made them chase after him. The price of using that stone for someone without energy is bearing the pain in his heart, and he was ready to endure that pain all the way. He screamed from the pain, but endured with all he could. Near the village where the heroes were, the stone stopped and the monsters ran toward him. Then it was impossible to call the heroes or anyone to help. So he stood his ground, raised his arms despite all his pain, stood careless for his life, and said when the monsters eat him, they will not touch his village because it is now 19 kilometers away, nor the other village because the heroes are there. And when the monsters approached him, who was the hero? Yes, Sir Albert. He was the one heading to him with a dragon and saved him. And when he saw his state he said: ‘Boy, even the greatest heroes we know would never do what you did. So, owner of Andria’s body, who are you to be even that person? Tell me.’”

When Andria heard that, he said to himself:

“To release my old self? That’s impossible. Impossible for a mere boy to do that. Are you joking with me? If his heart was not destroyed, tell me who—”

He was about to die, but Albert killed his dragon and turned Andria’s old heart into that heart, saying:

“Your death means the word hero dies, because you are the bravest of us all. And if I must sacrifice my dearest friend, then I will, for he bowed asking for his head to be cut. Boy, know that a dragon has a great soul, and bowing to someone means he is greater than him. Know that.”

“What do you say, coward? Don’t joke with me—”

And suddenly, while Andria was lost in thought before Albert’s corpse and Olit’s, a monster suddenly appeared, and when it did, it attacked. But then it stopped, terrified—not of anything, but because it saw something more horrible than anything, hidden in human form. That was Andria. He had entered the gate, burning with tongues of flame. But how could tongues of flame be harsher than shame?

That monster tried to escape, but Andria chased him and killed him, and did not stop but beat him more until he stopped when he heard the children crying. Then he stood, took Albert’s body first and buried it, then sister Olit and buried her, and stood before them with the children.

On the other side stood the villain:

“That annoying old man, I got no information from him, and because of using that power I could not catch him to prove he died. No matter, I gained something more important: an interesting boy. I look forward to meeting him someday.”

When the news of Albert’s death reached the kingdom, they sent some heroes to see if anyone was alive or not. They found fourteen children and Charles and Andria, while Albert and Olit were dead.

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