小嫂子的味道

As soon as they saw their daughter's face, an astonished expression appeared on their faces. Then it turned into a smile of hope and relief, then before they knew it tears swelled up in their eyes. 

"Anya…" Ainge said, looking at her. 

"M-Mom…Dad…" she was crying continuously. She moved a step forward and tried to wipe her tears, but stumbled and fell on her eyes. 

That was the last push it took before she had a breakdown. Big tears flowing out of her eyes and her nose running, she sobbed loudly in front of her parents. 

"I'm glad you are alright…" she said while sobbing. 

Ainge moved forward, and gently held her daughter in a warm embrace. 

"Yes, it's all right now. We are safe, and so are you," she said while patting her on the head. 

Ron, on the other hand, was not crying. Surely tears had made their way into his eyes as well, but as a man and the one supporting this family, he wiped them off and steeled himself. 

After all, if he broke down here then who would take care of his family? He could not afford to show weakness and vulnerability in this crucial situation. 

He strengthened his mind, after all his son was still not here. He couldn't relax until his whole family was together, all safe and sound. Even after that, he still had a lot on his plate to worry about. 

Their house had been destroyed and they were now in an unknown land. They didn't know whether they would get the money they had stored in the bank or not—since the banks got destroyed as well along with everything else. 

That was right. There were all these things he had to take of, there was no way he could afford to get weak here—

"Huh?" 

The voice slipped out of his mouth almost on its own, his eyes wide open. Surely he had let his guard down, but still, he had not at all expected this. 

He looked down and saw Anya hugging him just like she was hugging her Mom a moment ago. 

"Anya?" he mumbled. "What happened?" 

"Nothing," she said. "I'm glad you are alright."

"Haha, come on now. Did you really think something like a million super-powerful monsters raining down from the sky could kill me?" Ron said in a confident voice—more like a fake confident voice. 

"Well, when you say it out loud like that it surely doesn't sound very convincing," she replied. He was not able to see since she was hugging him, but there was a small smile on her face. 

"Ah you are right, I shouldn't have said it like that," he said. 

"Yup, you got yourself into a corner."

"..."

"..."

"I'm also glad that you are alright…" he whispered. 

"Mhm, I know."

"I was scared that I might not see you again…"

"I know, but now I'm right here. You don't have to be scared anymore."I think you should take a look at

"It's kind of pathetic, isn't it? I shouldn't be the one crying right now…"

"No, I think it's quite normal."

"You think so..?"

"Mhm."

After that, the three of them calmed themselves down. Although they were relieved and happy to see each other safe and sound, there was still a pretty big thing to worry about. 

"Isn't Zero with you?" Anya asked. 

"No, he came to our home and used some magic to transport us here. But I think that spell was not able to transport many people at once, that's why he decided to stay behind," Ron explained. 

"So he's still out there between those monsters…" Anya said, a sense of fear in her voice.

"Don't worry," Ron said, putting her on the shoulder. "He will come back. I know he will."

"Yeah, he's our son. He will surely come back," Ainge added. "And after all, he promised your dad that he would come back to us."

"He isn't the type to break promises, and it was a promise between a father and a son. I don't think he has the nerve to break it, and if he did then I'll give him a good scolding," Ron said. 

"So for now, believe in him."

Anya still looked troubled, and it was to be expected. Since she knew the seriousness of the situation more than her parents due to the academy explaining everything about the demons. 

Nevertheless, it was not like she could do anything when she was so far away in this safe zone. Other than that, she knew Zero well, she knew that he does what he says. Even in the letter he said that he would come back, that's why…

"Okay, let's believe in him for this," she said. 

***

"AGGGGHHHHHHH!! YOU FUCKERS GIVE ME A REST FOR A SECOND!!" 

I screamed at the top of my lungs as I continued to swing the ice swords I'd made with my magic. 

There was a whole group of demon beasts surrounding me and I had to fend off against them all at once. There were six or seven probably? I didn't even have the time to count properly. 

I was just defending and countering any attack that came my way. I was continuously using [Foresight] for quite a while now and my eyes were paining badly—it was like someone was stabbing them nonstop. 

One demon beast came from the right, it was a little too close to me. Thus I took this moment and quickly dashed toward it. Slipping in through the opening I spotted with the help of [Foresight] I drilled the ice sword in my right hand into its chest, destroying the core. 

However, doing that left me wide open from the rear. The demons weren't going to let an opportunity like that go to waste.

Two of them jumped at once behind me. I didn't have the time to turn around and counter with a sword, thus I decided to use my elemental magic.

"Maelstrom: White!" I said. 

Countless ice spikes burst from the ground behind me, some of them impaling the demon beasts while some trapping them for a while by acting as walls and pillars.