Chap 5-Nightmare

 

My vision turned red.

Before my eyes, demonic beasts were wiping out my family.

And I ran away.

Ha… I thought things had been quiet lately.

As a child, I don’t clearly remember the day the first ‘Gate’ opened.

But I knew that the world had collapsed.

The streets were stained with blood, and people screamed in despair.

Even my mom and dad’s faces were faint.

What remained in my memory was…

A warm hand.

A hand that held me.

Arms that embraced me.

The moment that hand was released.

I knew instinctively.

That I could never go back.

After that, every time I fell asleep for years, I had this hellish nightmare.

An endless nightmare filled with stench and the smell of blood.

…

Stench…?

My eyes snapped open.

The surroundings were filled with a terrible smell.

In Tales of Etherisha, a ‘stench’ was never a good sign.

Could it be…

Contamination…?

Contamination, one of the powers left behind by the sealed evil god in the world.

The most dangerous disaster in this world, and the fundamental force that creates monsters.

Currently, all the monsters attacking humanity in Terra were born from Contamination.

But…

‘No way.’

Why is Contamination here?

This is the territory of the Holy Stone in Bastille Prison.

According to the game settings, Contamination should never be able to occur in this area.

Bang!

With the sound of the door being kicked open roughly, a familiar face appeared before me.

“Mason?”

Mason’s expression was urgent.

“Lady! This is no time for this! You must escape quickly!”

I was grabbed by his hand and dragged out of the room in an instant.

The hallway was filled with the smell of blood.

The servants who had been attending to me and talking to me until I fell asleep.

Their corpses were scattered everywhere.

Crunch… Crunch…

The unpleasant sound of tearing flesh scratched at my ears.

I swallowed my breath.

When we arrived at the entrance of the mansion, we were faced with…

A huge demonic beast tearing apart the corpses of numerous guards.

A form that looked like a mix of a wolf and a lion.

A huge body that seemed to be 5 meters tall at the shoulder.

I knew instinctively.

An upper-level demonic beast, Grunbak.

There’s no solution unless at least a level 6 Unique Ability user comes.

“Run!”

Without anyone saying anything first, we reflexively turned around and ran.

“Kyaaak!”

A scream was heard near the back door.

There, a maid was crushed under the huge foot of a demonic beast and lay motionless.

Behind them, lower-level demonic beasts were blocking the escape route, and Annie and other servants were cowering in fear.

A red-stained vision.

The acrid smell of blood.

It was just like then.

Once again, someone is dying in front of me.

My whole body stiffened.

Was it because of fear?

Suddenly, my breathing became rough.

My lungs felt stuffy as if they were burning, and my heart pounded.

This time too, I’m…

Once again, stepping back.

Even though I want to help my precious people.

Even though I want to save the characters in the game that I loved.

I’m still the same.

“Lady, pull yourself together!”

The escort knights shouted as they quickly slashed down the lower-level demonic beasts.

I snapped back to my senses.

I couldn’t be a burden like this.

“Annie, are you okay?”

Annie’s face was pale, but she barely nodded.

“I’m fine. Are you hurt, Lady?”

“I’m fine. Let’s get out of here quickly. Everyone! Escape through the back door and head towards Bastille Prison! It’ll be safe there.”

The survivors quickly started running towards the back door, and Mason, Annie, and I followed them from behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crash!

At that moment, the ceiling of the mansion collapsed with a roar.

The collapsed debris mercilessly covered the survivors who were ahead, and they disappeared from our sight in an instant.

The maids who had been talking to me until recently.

The knights who said they would train hard to protect me.

All of them disappeared into a pool of blood without even being able to scream.

I instinctively swallowed my breath and stepped back.

“Ugh…”

The smell of iron and blood pouring into my mouth.

And, the following noise and the demonic beast’s cry.

It was just like then.

Like that day, are the people I’ve formed relationships with destined to meet this kind of end?

“Found you.”

Red eyes shining fiercely.

My whole body froze.

Found me?

Is it talking to me?

An upper-level demonic beast was looking for me?

Why?

“Haha…”

Even in this situation, I laughed.

I was pathetic, trembling with fear without being able to do anything.

“Annie! I’ll lure it away, so take the Lady and run away immediately!”

The moment Mason’s shout rang out, Annie forcibly grabbed me, who was standing blankly, and started running.

“Mason…”

It’s disgusting.

Me, running away again.

“Lady!!!”

Annie shouted in my ear, and I snapped back to my senses.

I started running frantically with her.

Running away was as comfortable and easy as it was back then.

When I played as the main character in the game, I caught demonic beasts without thinking.

I fought comfortably, following the quests with the power given to the main character.

But…

When everything became reality, I couldn’t do anything like a cripple.

I remember my pathetic self on Earth, envying the hunters.

‘Maybe I can never be like them…’

Then, at the moment of escaping the mansion—

A huge shadow loomed over us.

Grunbak.

That huge demonic beast blocked our path with unbelievably swift movements.

“Mason…”

I remember him going to the slums with me at my request to treat Annie’s mother.

I gritted my teeth.

“I don’t want to just keep running away…”

I wanted to change.

“Annie. I’ll lure it away, so run away.”

“Lady!”

“That monster’s target is me. You know I’m stronger than you, right? Go to Bastille Prison and call for support.”

“Lady, but…”

“Go quickly!!! Annie! You’ll only be a hindrance!”

Annie closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip.

And then, she started running.

I looked at Annie’s back and urged myself on.

Yes, this is right.

When I lost my family to the demonic beasts.

When Mason stepped forward to protect me.

The way I truly wanted to be.

A figure who doesn’t run away pathetically and bravely faces danger for the people I love.

“Krrr-!!!”

“….”

I took a deep breath and began to capture its movements in my eyes, recalling the memories of playing the game.

I didn’t even hope to win.

I had to buy time at least.

Its hind legs were slightly crouched, and its neck was turned to the left.

A premonition motion.

Behind that motion is…

A pattern of jumping and running to the left.

I instinctively moved my body to the right.

Quack

“Heuk.”..”

A sharp pain traveled up my arm.

My left sleeve was turning red.

Did I fail to avoid the elbow?

But this…

It feels so…

Good…?

…

Even if I ran like crazy from the mansion, it would take an hour to get to Bastille Prison.

I knew.

That the Lady wouldn’t be able to hold out until I arrived at the prison and called for support.

She saved my mother, but she still tormented me for six months.

I feel bad, but I don’t have the loyalty to die with her.

I definitely shouldn’t have…

Annie stopped walking towards the prison and started running back towards her master.

It’s a dog’s death to go now.

Isn’t it better for me to live?

In my heart, the instinct for survival was constantly shouting for me to run away.

Nevertheless, my steps did not stop.

The same-aged master, who was scarier than anyone else, had completely changed one day.

I remember her laughing and joking with me without any pretense.

I can’t forget her going to the slums to treat my mother and playing with my younger siblings.

Yeon was already her benefactor and friend.

Annie instinctively stood in front of Yeon, shielding her with her body.

“I must be losing my mind… Why am I…”Her voice, trembling with fear, trailed off.

Crack

The demonic beast’s claws stirred inside her.”

…

Yeon’s Unique Ability, ‘Masochist,’ was a more fraudulent ability than I had imagined.

If it were a normal person, they wouldn’t have been able to do anything because of the pain the moment their left arm was blown away, but I was different.

Rather than pain, I was swept up in a pleasant ecstasy and a tremendous sense of elation, and I felt a huge power surging from within my body.

Enough to buy 3 minutes from an upper-level demonic beast with a level 2 character.

“Haa… Haa…”

Is it because the wound is so deep?

A huge power flowed through my entire body.

The problem is that I don’t have the hands and feet to unleash that power…

I somehow endured the attacks while protecting vital areas such as my heart and head, but the basic difference in ability was too great.

The pain of losing my limbs turned into pleasure and traveled throughout my body.

It’s better than being in pain and suffering.

Did Annie escape safely?

The thought that I wouldn’t be able to avoid the next attack flashed through my mind.

‘Is this the end…’

The demonic beast’s huge claws filled my vision and grew larger and larger.

At that moment, when everything felt like it had stopped.

Something like a shadow instantly intervened between the demonic beast and my body.

Quack

“Annie?””

The moment her name lingered in my mouth, its claws had already pierced through her body.

Grunbak threw her away without a care, and Annie’s body was thrown to the ground, covered in blood.

3 seconds.

It was the time she created by sacrificing herself.

It was really foolish.

“What’s going to change by living 3 more seconds…”

She should have just lived alone.

I shouldn’t have gotten close to you if I knew this would happen.

Through the tear-blurred vision, I could vaguely see the demonic beast approaching again.

I quietly closed my eyes.

…

…

…

But the pain I was waiting for did not come.

Is it because my head was already crushed that I don’t feel any pain due to the influence of ‘Masochist’?

When I opened my eyes, I could see the headless corpse of Grunbak beyond the blurred vision.

In front of it, a man with gray hair was shaking the blood off his hands.

And next to him…

Mason?

He was alive?

How…

“Thank goodness. The seal is safe. Duke.”

“Well, I expected something like this, but it’s severe… To summon an upper-level demonic beast in just two months…”

Duke?

The only person Mason would call Duke, gray hair and red eyes.

‘Isaac Bennett’

One of only five dukes in Terra, and a level 8 powerhouse.

And…

Yeon Bennet’s adoptive father.

“Hmm…”

He turned around and began to scan me with his deep red eyes.

“Who are you?”

That was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.