The Laughing Swordsman

Galileo grabbed Apollo by his wrist and ran towards Layla.

"Quickly!"

The sky continued to flicker, darkening ominously.

Galileo waved his arm in the air.

"Layla! Come back!"

Layla had been pouting. She did not know why the man stopped playing with her.

However, when Layla heard Galileo, she grinned cheekily.

"You have to catch me first!"

Galileo panicked.

"What? Oh, dear."

Before he could take a step forward, he could feel someone pulling him back.

It was Apollo.

"Did you not see what just happened? You aren't going to catch her."

Galileo blinked a few times. He was still panicking.

"But, your companion!"

Apollo sighed.

"Do it like this."

He raised his hand in the air and waved it casually.

"Layla! It's your turn to chase us!"

Layla suddenly spun around. She had a confused look but quickly got over it.

"Ok!"

Layla bolted towards the two of them.

Apollo shook Galileo's shoulder.

"Hey, are we going or not?"

Galileo gasped. He broke out of his stupor.

"Ah, yes, yes!"

The sky's flickering intensified.

Galileo ran towards a nearby house while Apollo followed closely.

Layla was much faster than the two but was also quite far away.

The sky's flickering slowed down, but that was because the flashes of light shortened while the periods of darkness lengthened.

Galileo burst through a door, tripping over himself.

Apollo could sense something was trying to stab him in the back. It felt like the sword of Damocles was hanging above him.

He threw himself inside the house.

Like a dream, the strange premonition of death left.

The flickering stopped and the sky darkened.

Apollo looked up to see a small candle in the middle of the room. A tiny white flame danced on top of it while the candle itself appeared to be bolted to the ground.

Galileo shivered.

"Oh no... It's all over for her."

Apollo furrowed his brows.

"Why?"

Galileo shook his head.

"During the night... The darkness overwhelms the village beacon. As such, it cannot provide light for the whole village."

He frowned.

"...And for those in the darkness, they will always disappear. Without exception."

Apollo looked out the door. It was pitch black, almost like a monster had swallowed up the outside world.

"...No exceptions at all?"

Galileo smiled bitterly.

"I'd cut off my last arm sooner than believe someone could-"

"Waaaah! You have nowhere to go now!"

Layla stood at the entrance of the house. Her hands were on her sides while her elbows were sticking out. Soft jingles rang out in the house.

Layla had a smug smile on her face.

"Hehe, my victory is just around the corner!"

Galileo's eyes popped out.

He lurched over.

"You... How are you?"

Apollo looked at Galileo with a raised eyebrow.

"...So much for all that talk."

Layla pounced on the two of them. She grabbed a wrist from each and held them up into the sky.

"Yay! Another win for me!"

Galileo looked at Layla in a daze. He was flabbergasted.

Apollo smirked.

"I guess you won this time."

Layla's tail wagged enthusiastically.

"Hehe, as expected!"

Galileo continued looking on in disbelief. As for Apollo, he simply fell to the floor and nodded off.

Layla joined him without much hesitation, leaving Galileo to question reality for the entire night.

...

Apollo sat up.

After rubbing his eyes, he let out a yawn.

Layla got up soon after. She let out a purr.

"Wakey, wakey!~"

There was a weak groaning sound.

Apollo looked over.

It was Galileo. He hadn't slept the entire night. There were bags under his eyes while his face was deathly pale.

He seemed to be thinking about something.

Apollo cleared his throat.

"Galileo?"

There was no response.

Apollo walked over and poked him.

"Hey."

Galileo screamed in fright.

"Ah!... Oh, sorry."

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"...Are you ok?"

Galileo blinked a few times.

"Yeah, Yeah. I was just... wondering if it was possible to survive the darkness."

His eyes narrowed.

"If that's the case, I could've saved..."

Galileo shook his head.

"Nevermind."

Apollo shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, can you let us out? The sooner I finish this request, the better."

Galileo nodded.

"Alright."

Although Galileo was half asleep, he got to the gates and opened them.

After a few parting words, Apollo and Layla set off.

With Layla's help, Apollo was able to track quite a few shadow monkeys down.

Honestly speaking, this method began to feel tedious.

At this rate, they may die of old age before accomplishing anything.

Apollo put his free hand on Layla's shoulder.

"Wait... How about we find those penumbra trees?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Oh! The gifts?"

Apollo nodded.

"Yeah, those."

His original intention was to go there since shadow monkeys would gather there. However, just the thought of the trees made him hungry. As such, he wanted a snack.

His appetite had increased.

Layla giggled.

"Ok, to more gifts!"

Layla led Apollo to a nearby penumbra tree.

There were quite a few shadow monkeys nearby. Apollo bent his knees, preparing to pounce on them.

...But he stopped himself.

Roughly a dozen spears flew upward, piercing the shadow monkeys.

"Haha, worked like a charm!"

"Of course it did, we've been doing this for ages now."

There was a group of tall and muscular men laughing among each other.

Apollo decided to sit back and observe.

Layla was also intrigued. She simply looked on curiously.

One of the men went to pick a few fruits of light. Like it was natural, he ate a few.

"Say, how many of these do we really need to bring back to the village?"

"Haha, I say we cut it down by half compared to last time. After all, we told the village head that the shadow monkeys were increasing."

"Heh, we should just keep it the same. They might get desperate if we lower it any further."

The group of men began eating the fruit of light without a care in the world.

Suddenly, one of them fell to one knee.

"Damn, I'm falling asleep. Can you wake me up?"

The man was casually slapped by the person next to him.

"Agh... thanks."

Then, his eyes shone with a bright light.

The others in the group did not even bat an eye. This appeared to be normal for them.

...But the man started to freak out.

"Wh.... What is that?"