I’ve been discovered.
I knew it. He knew the method I used to escape!
His words broke my will. It felt as if I were being violently trampled.
A black hand, as if crafted from darkness, caressed my cheek. It had the texture of a corpse. The ring on my finger grew so hot it seemed like it might melt. My tongue felt paralyzed. I couldn’t utter a word in fear.
Voices still commanded me.
‘Bow your head!’
[Stop.]
The king spoke. With a wave of his hand, he silenced the noise and stood up.
[That’s enough. The fun is over. Let’s stop here.]
[Do as you wish with the rest. It wouldn’t be any fun if I broke my new toy from the start.]
I could breathe again. It was only then that I realised I had been holding my breath. As oxygen returned to my brain, my vision cleared. The overwhelming focus on the king before me was released. My head spun, and tears flowed naturally. My whole body ached as if I had been beaten. Clutching my throat, I bent over, desperately gulping air.
“Haah… haah…”
I heard the king laugh.
[I’m quite curious to see what you’ll do next. I’ll spare you. Adding a bit of mercy, and these.]
But in return, you must make a deal with me.
I knew I had no right to refuse. It was a one-sided demand, closer to an order. I would be swept away without a choice. This deal would never end well for me.
[Scream for me. From now on, continuously. Keep me interested. And remember.]
A whisper settled in my mind.
[I did not come to bring peace to the world.]
Quoting the words of a god, he added,
[The moment you grow complacent, I will come with a sword to kill everyone.]
When I raised my head, the king was gone. There was nothing left.
Simultaneously, the cave began to shake. The chorus of beasts echoed. The flesh of the ceiling began to awaken. Clearly, the king’s presence had stirred them.
Owen rushed over and lifted me, checking on my condition.
“Are you alright? Can you recognize me? What’s our mission, and what’s your name?”
“One question at a time, please.”
Thankfully, he muttered, and after confirming I was sane, he nearly carried me down the stairs.
“That damn failed experiment woke up. We’re screwed. We’re seriously screwed. With William in that state, we can’t fight,”
He began to mumble about how he wasn’t cut out for combat or particularly agile. By that standard, I was just an ordinary person.
We ran, and finally, I held the living Liam Moore in my arms.
“Liam!”
Just then, a creature that had awoken roared. Tentacles spread out. We’re really screwed now! Golden sparks flew from Owen Cassfire, who screamed. Yeah, I believed in you! Do something! Go fight! Win! But despite my cheers, Owen laughed.
“I can’t do that.”
“Then what do we do?!”
“Scream without resisting the approaching death.”
“Are you insane?!”
I screamed. Aaah!
Owen screamed too. Oh my!
The tentacles howled. Roar.
＊ ＊ ＊
The events of that day remain vividly in my mind. They said they’d show me something I’d never see in my lifetime, and they sure did. I thought I was going to die. It felt like dipping my foot in the threshold of death, then pulling it back, then contemplating putting it back in.
In my head, a mini Liam Moore was singing. Dip, dip, dip, dip, dip it in! What’s this? But now, the problem is that I no longer have to do that.
It all started with a necklace Lucita gave me. It rang eerily. Then the tentacles, as if blocked by an invisible wall, couldn’t reach us.
Owen turned to me with a new face, and we, who had anticipated the end, were relieved to be alive. More precisely, we were glad that death had been slightly postponed. But the limit was near. I shouted,
“Is there no way to contact Greenwich?! Something, anything here that could stop that thing…”
“Yes! There is! They can come right away!”
“Then do it, you bastard! I can’t hold on!”
It felt like a giant mosquito was sucking my blood in real-time. I felt dizzy, as if I were about to pass out from anaemia. Whenever my focus wavered, I slapped myself to stay conscious. The transparent barrier wavered repeatedly. Stay focused. If we lose this, we’re all dead. We can’t do this again.
My stomach churned. I felt like throwing up. But I managed to hold it back because Liam Moore’s handsome face was resting on my knees.
Seriously, Liam Moore, you should be grateful. The only reason I’m holding back my vomit is because of your face. As death neared, my mind was filled with random thoughts.
“How long?”
I urged Owen. My vision was turning black. I recognized this feeling. It’s the same sensation as when you lie down and then get up, and your ears momentarily go deaf and your vision turns dark. I didn’t know what Owen was doing, but he kept sparkling beside me. I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
“Wait, wait, wait, the coordinates— got it!”
And Owen Cassfire screamed at the top of his lungs without any decorum.
“Get your heavy asses over here, now!”
After that, the worst-case scenario I had feared didn’t happen. By some miracle, we didn’t die prematurely and have to face heaven or hell. For once, I felt like thanking an unknown god. Though I didn’t have the mental space to do that.
Just as I was about to pass out from anaemia or low blood pressure, people began arriving one after another. Upon arrival, they were horrified by the writhing, bubbling, crying creature growing from the ceiling.
“You call us to deal with this?”
“Just do it! Otherwise, we’ll all end up corpses!”
Somehow, a commotion started.
They weren’t particularly reliable, and honestly, even at that moment, I didn’t think they’d be much help. But thanks to them, we managed to capture the bizarre creature. Amid my fluctuating consciousness, I kept hearing various sounds, and lightning-like flashes lit up before my eyes.
—Screech!
I heard a scream. I wasn’t sure if it was from the creature or from me.
I saw something burning and curling up like roasted squid in my dimming vision. The smell was terrible. It smelled like burning fat. Or maybe it was burning oil. It was nauseating.
Finally, the surroundings grew quiet. Everything was over. The crackling sounds of burning were dwindling. It was over. The necklace, having done its job, also quieted down. I felt like someone had rolled me up in a mat and beaten me. I was exhausted.
“We didn’t die, right?”
I asked Owen Cassfire. I felt like throwing up.
Three seconds before I vomited, two seconds, the aftermath of the necklace’s power was now hitting me. Wasn’t this supposed to be a minor inconvenience? Lucita is a liar… Liam Moore, you liar…
“Both of you are the worst…”
Then my consciousness was cut off, so I don’t remember the rest.
＊ ＊ ＊
Occasionally, I recall the noise. They kept talking among themselves, and without realising it, I got annoyed. Whenever that happened, everything went silent like a dead mouse, allowing me to rest in peace again.
Since that day, after being rescued, I fell ill. It was a fever. It felt like ice was flowing under my skin. I was cold, and when my body warmed up slightly, it became unbearably hot.
How many days passed in a state where I couldn’t move a single finger? Finally, the sensations in my body began to return. Familiar voices reached me. They spoke, thinking I couldn’t hear them.
“When will she wake up…”
“There’s no health issue…”
They buzzed in my ears like flies. They hovered around me, chattering. It felt like they were urging me to wake up. Then, before long, everything would go quiet again. Maybe they had talked for a while, and I had fallen asleep.
How much time had passed? It felt like a blink of an eye. I couldn’t guess.
Whenever the doctor visited, he would always inject something into my arm. I guessed it was either an antipyretic or a pain reliever.
Occasionally, the weight of someone sitting on the bed could be felt. Someone must have been sitting beside me briefly. Was it you? The one I’m thinking of?
“How are you today?”
He would ask.
At first, his visits felt unfamiliar, but after several times, I began to look forward to them. I waited so eagerly that I could distinguish each visitor by their footsteps. I could tell whether the visitor was a man or a woman by the force in their steps. Naturally, I learned who was coming to see me.
Today, it’s you again. I’ve been waiting all this time.