EXPLODING ATOMS

That afternoon, Luisa entertained Guio, talking to him about swords and weapons, wars, and battles, feigning interest whose only purpose was to distract him from his work as a builder. In the evening, he excused himself to go to the bathroom and go to sleep. The gentleman, in his eagerness to fulfill his commitments, was neglected. She took the opportunity to leave through a window, running first to the store to buy some gum or something sweet to bribe Luis' brother, without even suspecting that something sinister was hovering over her. Then some dark shadows rushed against her, making her remember the battle of the other day. This time her screams did come out, and her feet responded to try to flee. The shadows behind her seemed to enjoy her fear; it seemed that no one else was listening to her. She also felt that she was not running in any direction, and she was right, for her feet did not even touch the ground. As she stood still, she heard many voices saying:

“If you contemplate that it is very easy for us, we only needed her to give us the opportunity of her brutality.”

“Kill her, and let's devour her.”

“You can't; the bosses want her alive.”

“Alive, but not complete.”

“No, if we try her, we'll only stop when there's nothing left of her.”

Luisa closed her eyes, praying and thinking of Luis, her mother, and her siblings. She felt that she was being carried through the air at great speed, and suddenly she was released against something, like some bushes. When she opened her eyes, she glimpsed a strong man. Her heart rejoiced, telling him:

“Luis, is that you?”

But slowly, her sight focused on him, showing her that it was Guio who came to her aid, interposing himself between her and the shadows. Again, he saved her. She examined around her, seeing that the shadows were four, that although their bodies were black smoke, they had human faces, and that each one spoke as if they were choirs, although not angels but sick cats. She almost did not understand what they were saying; one said something like this:

“Damned hero, go away; we promise we'll let you run away.”

“No, not even in dreams; I'll kill him; I'll drink your existence; I can already taste you; I remember every other hunter I've swallowed.”

"Yes, hero, consider it very well; you don't stand a chance against us in this dark forest.”

Guio did not answer them so as not to enter into the game of their lies, not because he was afraid of them, he had already fought against similar creatures, although with his master, who accompanied him at those times. He remembered that he used to tell him to invoke light weapons for bugs like these. He concentrated, trying to generate a great sword, but without success, only small sparks came out of his hands. “Maybe I have not rested well,” reflected Guio, “if I can't even make a weapon, let alone open a portal.”

“What a disappointment,” pronounced one of the shadows as he approached Guio, “they haven't sent the worst hero of sadness; he can't even materialize a kitchen knife.”

“It's sad how these shoddy heroes now depend on those spells.” Another shadow that was directed at Luisa mentioned, “They don't make them like the ones of before, who carried their armor and heavy swords even to go to their latrines.”

“Yes, it's all the fault of those who came from above,” said another shadow. “They got them used to it; of course now it's fun to kill them since they can hurt us. Not like before when their metals only pierced us like the shadows that we are, how ridiculous they looked in their last moments.”

“I'm going to destroy this hero, and to savor it, I'm going to hit him—no cuts, only blows—and I'll restrain myself so I don't kill him with just one blow. I'm going to destroy this hero, and to savor him, I'm going to hit him. No cuts; I'll only hit him, and I'll hold back, so I don't kill him with just one.” A blow knocked the air out of Guio, leaving him on his knees, but he managed to see Luisa, who ran away. “Hopefully she can be saved,” he thought while he continued to receive a beating.

The shadow got tired of hitting him with its arms, which it materialized only to attack him, so it began to send him upwards, letting him fall free. The shadow was bored because it seemed that the hero accepted death without trying to fight, and that was it. Despite the fact that everything changed a few seconds before crashing to the floor; He saw Luisa, who had been brought in by the other shadows, and she said:

“Stop playing with that jerk; finish him now; we have to take this prey with us.”

“Wait, it's not fair that he has fun and we don't,” muttered one of them. “I'm going to eat just one little finger.”

And it opened its jaws, showing long fangs, and approached Luisa's hand, who screamed with all her strength. This caused Guio to stop his fall by stretching his hands and feet, and like a cat, he jumped over this shadow, breaking its fangs with a blow. He gave a half-moon, remaining in attack position. His energy aura reappeared, along with a golden lasso with which he attacked one of them, wrapping it around his body. It could be said that he rolled her up like a boa; he pulled her by tightening the loop of light until the shadow exploded into a thousand pieces. The other two, cursing, began to attack him, this time with claws and fangs, crashing against the warrior, who gave them everything, trying to finish them off before he recovered from the one that broke his fangs. It was already very difficult against two of these beings; for sure, against the three, he would lose the battle. He took advantage of a split second to see Luisa, who was lying down, praying, and crying with so many tears that her ocher eyes seemed as blue as the sea of her homeland, Greece. Was she the Greek goddess who had prophesied that she would be his great love? The shadows attacked him again and again until they growled with great force, pulling out several hands and many sharp claws with which they attacked and grabbed Guio. Little by little, his shining armor dissolved, leaving him at the mercy of the beasts. He remembered his childhood, his family, the League of the Warriors of the Light, and how a tragedy ended with the first ones and took him to the last ones. He looked at Luisa, who was still praying. She felt his gaze and also looked into his eyes, where she could see that hope was ending. She desperately proposed to him:

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

“Yes, of course I do,” answered her knight, rejoining to fight again with his aura and with a sword in each hand, launching his attacks with his cutting hands and claws. Until an anguished scream from Luisa made him lose his concentration, at the same time that he felt something entering his back and coming out of his chest. In effect, the shadow with the broken fangs was rejoining the fight to put an end to it, attacking him treacherously.

She watched helplessly as Guio fell to his knees, and the shadow that was on the ground transformed into a large dagger that the others brandished towards his head and a few millimeters from his throat. Where he could even feel the cutting wind. But it stopped, and a light blinded them for a few seconds. Luisa, who was a few meters away, contrasted. She could see a very strong man, dressed in a white suit with symbols similar to those of Guio, who, with a great sword of light, stopped those beings and his smiling face that greeted her:

“Hello Luisa, sorry for my tardiness.”

It was none other than Luis, who, although he looked older than she remembered him, Even his smile was like the sunrise sun, so beautiful that it took away her anguish, making her laugh with her beautiful mouth that was overshadowed by one of the shadows that articulated:

“Sheep, that means nothing to us; it's just another prey to devour us, fresh meat.”

“Of course, you may be right, you trio of cretins.” Luis answered them, “Maybe I can't take you, but at least I'll try. What else can I do against you, except maybe buy time for the sun to rise or for my reinforcements to arrive?”

"Wait, partner, there may be another option.” It was Guio who stood up, leaning on Luis' shoulder, and said, “Please summon me a sword of light, and let's fight shoulder to shoulder against these henchmen.”

“That's how it will be,” Luis answered while he made the magic pass and then joined his palms, creating a bar of light, handing it to him, proclaiming: “We will defeat them; you are incredible; I assumed that you could not get up.”

Guio, receiving it, answered, looking at Luisa:

“Of course we will; now I finally have a reason to live.”

"Let us break atoms!" exclaimed Luis, slamming his sword into the shadows, which swelled and attacked with many claws. The slamming of swords against claws echoed throughout the forest, alerting the creatures already nearby and making the prospect of being saved by dawn seem even further away.

“We only have one possibility, which is to try to generate a portal.” Guio proposed to Luis while swinging his sword, although it would be difficult for those shadows to leave them even if they were to jump into a non-existent abyss.

“I don't think we can; maybe we have to fight until my master comes,” he said.

"Hopefully, by the time he arrives, he will only find our remains.”

“You'd better surrender; we promise you won't suffer too much,” said a shadow.

“Don't speak for me,” said another shadow, “I will enjoy devouring them slowly.”

“There's no way out; we beat them; we outnumber them,” mentioned the shadow between, babbling with his broken fangs.

“You may be right; you are many; that's why they are called legion." A booming voice sounded, “That's why I came to match you; we are still fewer, but we are certainly more powerful.”

“Master Marco!” shouted Guio, “you are always so timely.”

“I wish you had arrived earlier,” added Luis, throwing thrusts at the fangless shadow that now looked worried.

“Dark devils, a real hero has arrived, one of the best; possibly we don't have a chance anymore.”

“You are wrong if you have a chance; your armies are about to arrive, I can feel it in my bones,” said Marco loudly for everyone to hear, “so I'll play it all for everything by doing a powerful technique that will surely use all my energy, while your fellows will invoke a portal that will take us to the barracks.” Saying this, he clapped loudly, pronouncing “HU!”, and the forest was filled with a bright light, dragging the shadows against the horizon.