He Who Hunts Demons Chapter 11: 11-Wyg Will Protect You

Read chapter 11 of He Who Hunts Demons by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

11-Wyg Will Protect You I woke up with a start, sitting up like I had just risen from the dead. Usually, at this point I would wipe cold sweat off my forehead because I’d been plagued by my usual nightmare. But I was surprisingly fine. My heart wasn’t thumping hard against my chest, and in return my breathing was steady—well, as steady as it could be. Confused, I was still for a second. There had not been a day in my life ever since the death of my parents when I hadn’t been bothered by my nightmare. What did this mean? Was it because I was technically already inside a dream? Or did it mean that if I successfully became a Transcendent, such things would be purged from me? If it was the latter, then I hoped it would turn out to be false. Despite how much I hated my nightmares, they were what kept my anger strong. If they faded away, I was scared I would lose sight of my goal. I had to find that summon and its summoner, no matter what. Then I was reminded of the pool monsters, and my attention moved from the absence of my nightmare to the pool. Instantly, I froze. There, seated on its bank, was Bel. She was washing herself with its water, while Wyg stood a couple of spaces away from her, staring. I shook away my daze and jumped to my feet. “What do you think you’re doing?!” I voiced as I hurried over. Bel turned to me with a smile, but before she could say anything, I pulled her away from the pool. “Do you have a death wish?” Wyg snarled, and I pointed a finger at him with a frown. “You keep your mouth shut! I expected better from you. What do you both think you’re doing so close to the water?” Bel blinked, inclining her head. “Huh? Why shouldn’t we be close to the water?” My eyebrows squished together. “Why are you asking me that?” Bel shook her shoulders away from my grasp. Immediately, Wyg jumped in between the two of us, and I felt a fluttering in my stomach. “You’re the one who said we shouldn’t be so close to the water,” she replied. “Why?” I stumbled on my words briefly. “The monsters,” I told her. “I know you think it’s safe now, because it’s morning, but we shouldn’t be taking risks.” Bel had an incredulous expression on her face, like I’d just uttered something abysmal. Then she cleared her throat and said, “What monsters?” My thoughts froze. Bel’s eyes narrowed upon me intensely in return. What was she talking about? I swallowed and turned to the shallow pool. Clear water stared back at me, reflecting the light spilling from the entrance of the cave above. It was calm and inviting. Then that perfect image broke as flashes of myself being pulled deeper into a dark, mysterious depth rushed into my mind. I remembered how Bel had rescued my life with her magic, and the pairs of slitted yellow eyes staring at me as I’d kept watch all through the night. So what was going on here? What was she sounding like she had no clue about the existence of the monsters? My mind raced, and I turned around hastily, looking for anything to prove that I hadn’t gone mad. I was certain it all wasn’t a dream. It had happened. The monsters were real. And when my eyes fell upon the bones I had made my weapons, I breathed a sigh of relief. Though that didn’t last long. “What is it?” Bel asked as I turned back to her. “Are you all right?” I stared straight into her eyes, and became certain that this wasn’t some sort of prank. She was serious. She had really forgotten all about the pool monsters. This was nothing like the loop. That was dependent on me to activate. And it was also aligned with my personal self. Unless I had missed something. Staring at Bel, I decided to test that out. “My name is Elmer,” I said. “Not Snow.” Bel gazed at me in silence for a few seconds, and then said, “What is it? Are you all right?” Just as I’d thought. The loop required me to activate it. The fact that I’d been sleeping meant I hadn’t done anything to reverse Bel’s memory of the events of the past night. And besides, the monsters had nothing to do with me persona