Joël found himself face to face with his double, who looked at him with contempt. "You're just a murderer," his double repeated. "You've taken lives, you've hurt people. What are you trying to prove by continuing to move forward?"
Joël shook his head, trying to defend himself. "I'm not a murderer," he said. "I did what I had to do to survive. And I want to find this crystal so I can change, so I can be a normal human being."
His double burst out laughing. "A normal human being? Ha! You'll never be normal. You're a monster, Joël. A monster who has taken lives."
Joël felt anger rising in him, but he held back. He looked his double in the eye and said, "I want to do everything I can to be a normal human being. I want to be able to live without having to kill, without having to hurt people. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror without feeling ashamed."
His double looked at him with surprise, then his expression changed. He seemed... sad. "I'm sorry, Joël," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted you to understand that you have a choice. You can choose to be better."
Joël felt a sense of peace wash over him. He reached out and touched his double's face. "I choose to be better," he said.
His double smiled and disappeared. Joël was left alone, but he felt a sense of freedom he had never felt before.
The man's voice echoed again. "You've overcome your fear of yourself, Joël. You're ready to receive the crystal."
Joël looked up and saw a shining crystal floating in front of him. He reached out and took it, feeling a powerful energy flow through his veins.
Joël returned to Eliane, the crystal in his hand. She took it with a smile, her blind eyes shining with satisfaction. "Bravo, Joël," she said. "You've succeeded in overcoming your fears and retrieving the crystal."
The mountain disappeared suddenly, as if it had never existed. Eliane smiled, satisfied. "Yes, Joël, all of this was a test. You've proven your worth and determination. Now, let's go to the city, we have another mission to prepare for."
Joël carried Eliane on his back, and they headed towards the city. Along the way, Eliane explained that the city was plagued by troubles, rumors of sorcery and black magic were spreading, and people were afraid.
"Lyra is behind all this, isn't she?" Joël asked, his teeth clenched.
Eliane nodded. "Yes, Joël. Lyra is gathering forces to cast a powerful spell. We must stop her before it's too late."
Joël clenched his fists, determined. "I'm ready, Eliane. I'm going to stop her."
Eliane smiled, a knowing smile. "Yes, it's true. Children are often more open and more susceptible to influence than adults. That's why Lyra often targets them for her manipulations."
After that, the two returned to the city. And Joël went to a tavern and entered his rented room. Then he slept. Suddenly, he woke up and saw a silhouette. Hmm! What's that? Then Joël got up. Eliane said it's time. After that, they ate. Then they went to the guild.
Upon entering the guild, walking into the hall, there was a deadly silence. A person said, "This isn't Eliane, the terror." The adventurer surrendered. Joël and Eliane walked forward. It was happening at the Adventurers' Guild.
Then, Eliane asked the secretary for an A-rank quest. And the secretary started searching for the quest. Eliane was an S-rank, the highest class, the highest rank. There's E-rank, D-rank, C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, and S-rank.
A large man approached Eliane. He said, "Can't be that young, can't be a young woman. Because it's been fifty years. So she must be a bit older. Hey! Are you really an S-rank adventurer?"
Eliane turned slowly and surely. She didn't look at him, she didn't look him straight in the eye. The man said loudly again, "You're not answering me?"
Eliane remained silent, and the man became furious. He tried to touch Eliane, but she hit the man's head with force. He was thrown out of the tavern with force.
Eliane said, "It's me."
Joël was surprised by her strength. Eliane took the quest and left with Joël. There was a deadly silence in the hall.
Upon leaving the tavern, the man still couldn't believe it. He went into the forest and heard voices: "Come to me, come to me, come to me. I can give you what you want, what you desire most in this world."
His eyes started to turn red. The man, dressed in black armor, black hair, and brown eyes, said, "Yes, give me, give me that power."
The darkness entered the man, and his eyes changed to red.
On the other side, Eliane and Joël walked together in the city. She said, "It's time. So the second thing you'll do for me is this quest. I'll only assist you."
Joël said, "I'm only E-rank. How can I do an A-rank quest?"
Eliane smiled and said, "You'll be fine. You possess great power."
The A-rank quest was about the appearance of a new cursed zone causing famine in the surrounding villages.
Joël and Eliane headed to the forbidden zone. They met two adventurers, a young man in his twenties with a woman of the same age. The man was a bit giant-like with short red hair, silver armor, and the woman had silver armor and long brown hair. They were both C-rank adventurers and were also heading there.
Eliane called out to them, "What are you doing here?"
The man replied, "There were villages nearby asking for services, so we came here to help."
Eliane replied, "The quest can be very dangerous."
The two replied, "Yes, we know."
Joël thought, "They're very brave."
The two separated for a moment. Eliane and Joël entered the village. There were starving people. An old grandmother approached them, "Are you the adventurers sent by the guild?"
Eliane replied, "Yes."
The mother said loudly, "Help us, we can't take it anymore."
Eliane said, "We'll take care of the problem."
She left with Joël towards the cursed zone. The two C-rank adventurers followed them.
Eliane allowed Joël to open his eyes. He walked cautiously with Eliane. She knew there were two C-rank adventurers behind them, but they were ready to take the risk.
Eliane smiled. The two advanced into the forest. Suddenly, a voice said, "Hey!"
Joël turned. A man dressed in black with red eyes like a demon approached Joël suddenly. Their eyes met, and his eyes exploded, but he injured Joël.
The man said, "You must not be human."
His eyes were regenerating. This creature was the man they had met at the Adventurers' Guild.
On the other side, the two C-rank adventurers advanced into the forest. The woman said, "Maybe it was a bad idea to accept this quest."
The man said, "The reward is great. It's just a quest. Nothing bad can happen to us. And if danger comes, we'll flee."
The girl looked at the man's head. Then, he was beheaded. The woman panicked, ran screaming, and something was already in front of her. A dark thing with multiple mouths. Smiling. It devoured her.
Joël was injured; he didn't have regenerative power. Eliane watched the scene, sitting on a rock.
The monster approached Eliane to strike her. Suddenly, her shield activated. Eliane said, "You're quite an interesting monster. But I see you're not very strong."
The monster attacked her barrier until a small crack appeared. Eliane stood up from the rock, drawing her weapon as if by magic. She sliced the monster from all sides with lightning speed.
The monster was surprised, but it couldn't be a human.
On the other side, the other monster that had come out of the man's body tried to flee. Eliane said, "No."
One of the rings on her left hand disappeared. And the area was covered by a barrier. Eliane smiled maliciously, "This is your tomb."
Then she cut the monster with multiple mouths from all sides. The monster attacked her too, but in vain. Eliane dodged all its blows with ease. She killed the monster.
Then, the other monster that had tried to flee, she took a small magic extinguisher that absorbed the monster and said, "A new experience for me" and smiled.
Joël was terrified by her power. "Who was she really?" he thought.
After that, Joël took care of the small monsters using his cursed eyes against them, and they completed their quest. The village returned to normal.
On the way, Joël asked, "How can I become as strong as you?"
Eliane smiled and said, "I've made many sacrifices. You see these five rings on my left arm? They represent five pacts I've made with five different demons of higher classes."
Eliane said to Joël, "Every word I say will increase the difficulty of everything you have to do for me."
Joël swallowed. Eliane said, "The first ring on my finger grants eternal youth. But it's this finger that took away my sight."
Joël swallowed again. Eliane continued, "The second grants incredible power and superhuman reflexes. But the demon takes fifty percent of what she eats or consumes."
Eliane said, "The third gives her colossal mana. But the demon sees everything she sees."
Eliane stopped and looked at Joël, "The difficulty is already terribly high. Do you want to continue?"
Joël said, "No."
Eliane smiled and said, "Let's return to the city."