Chapter 17: Another Hell

"I guess in here you are not a princess," Aries remarked. He was guarding the unconscious boy while Pieffer was occupied checking up on the nearby patients.

"I never told you that," Pieffer said when she was done with her round. She quietly pulled a chair and sat beside Aries.

"You've never told me that you are a princess?"

Pieffer laughed softly and said, "I never told you that I dreamed of becoming a princess. Should I check you up? Maybe fighting those corrupted souls is taking a toll on your mind."

"The devil is messing with my mind. I don't think you can help me with that," Aries looked around the hospital. All the patients in there had no guardians watching over them. "You are doing a great job as a healer. I think it is a more useful job than being a princess."

"Then I can be a princess and a healer," Pieffer gazed at the patients with a hopeful smile. "If I become a princess, I can reach out to more people. It is the same with your wish of becoming the Zodiac Knight's leader."

"My only wish is…" his voice faded as chills crawled up his spine.

He was sensing grave danger.

"I'll see you later," Aries got up on his feet.

"Be careful!" Pieffer anxiously told him before he stepped out of the hospital.

Earlier, when he arrived in that place with a boy in his arms, he did not notice people fighting outside the high-fenced yard of the hospital.

Guards were all over the fence and the gate. They were trying their best to stop the people from infiltrating the hospital.

Aries could glimpse corrupted people, but he had also detected uncorrupted souls.

"Sir Aries!" one of the guards finally noticed his presence. "Please, help us."

Aries nodded and found his way out of the yard without jumping over the high fence or passing through the gate. He walked into the shadows and reappeared in the middle of the chaos outside the hospital.

He instantly saved those that were having difficulty warding off the possessed people.

"Sir Aries!" the man he just saved was horrified. "You… you killed Carl…"

Aries glanced at the man that dropped dead on the ground the instant his dual blades hit that man's neck.

"He is no longer Carl but a weapon of the corrupted souls," Aries went on to kill more possessed people. "If he killed you or anyone important to him, do you think he will be happy? If they cannot free their souls, we should do it for them. If you cannot help them, then return to the hospital."

The man he helped shed tears but did not back down. He tightened the grip on his knife and bravely said, "I will help them!"

The rest of the uncorrupted people stopped hesitating and fought bravely against the possessed people. They were finally making progress and, fortunately, it frightened the remaining corrupted souls. Some left the body they possessed while others ran with their acquired vessels.

"Thank you, Sir Aries," the courageous survivors were bowing their heads at him while crying.

"You should thank yourselves," Aries looked away from the people. Once again, his body was reacting annoyingly towards the people around him. It was making his eyes disgustingly watery.

"Sir Aries…"

"Let's talk later," he had quickly interrupted. "The dead need to be buried and the wounded should be healed."

"Yes, Sir Aries!"

The survivors divided themselves into two groups. The men took care of the dead bodies while the women helped the wounded.

Aries helped in burying the dead. It took them hours and they were done by nightfall. All of them were kneeling in front of the graves and saying silent prayers.

Aries was not the praying type and when he does, it was never for himself. He was always praying for the dead. For the people that he had killed. He was asking the heavens that in their next life, they would be given a better chance at life so they would never have to work for the monsters pretending to be humans. It was the same with those possessed people. The corrupted souls used their weaknesses to grant them permission in becoming their vessels.

"We can never erase the evil in this world. But that doesn't mean we should stop trying to lessen their existence," Pieffer knelt beside him. She looked exhausted but there was still a gentle smile on her face. "You've told me those words."

"It's not me," Aries bolted up and walked back to the hospital.

"Let's do it," Pieffer caught up with him.

"Do what?"

"Decrease the number of the corrupted souls," Pieffer was hopeful. "Let's save this kingdom and gain the favor of the heavens and the king. I will become a princess and you will be the new leader of the Zodiac Knights."

Aries held his head that was starting to throb. The devil who sent him to that world must be toasting his mind somewhere on that dungeon.

Fine. I will obediently play my part and pass this trial.

He stopped walking, turned to face Pieffer, and seriously told her, "I will grant your wish."

"Let's go," Pieffer beamed wider, grabbed his hand, and dragged him towards the border of Ram's House.

It must be the House of Ram because the towering gate had an emblem of a ram's head at the center.

Aries looked around to search for the castle of Serestral. It should be closer to that place but from where he was standing, he could only glimpse the tallest towers.

"You did bring him here."

It was that lady spear wielder who had welcomed them at the gate.

"Where are the others?" Pieffer was looking past Siorre as if she were expecting more allies.

"Enemies are attacking their borders. We cannot ask them for help at the moment," Siorre reported.

"How about your house?" Aries inquired.

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"For as long as Pines is holding up, my house will be fine," Siorre confidently answered and called for her spear. "Let's talk after we defeat the corrupted souls past this gate. If you really have some way to defeat those corrupted souls."

"We do?" Aries glanced at Pieffer who tapped him at the shoulders.

"Stop doing that," she softly laughed. "You will make our friend worry."

"But…"

"I had only seen it once," Pieffer pushed Aries in front of the gate's emblem. "But it did happen. Aries absorbed the corrupted souls, and nothing happened to him. He remained uncorrupted."

Aries remembered that he could absorb corrupted souls without getting tainted despite seeing strange pieces of stuff afterward. But that must be because he was already an evil person and killed a lot of people.

"You want me to absorb all those corrupted souls?"

"Yes. The three of us will try to absorb all the corrupted souls," Pieffer answered as if it were that simple.

"Let me do it," Aries insisted. "I don't want you and Siorre to increase the list of corrupted people I have to kill."

"Hey! You don't trust us?" Siorre raised an eyebrow.

"I don't want to risk it," Aries honestly answered. "You can still assist me in fighting until I absorbed all the corrupted souls."

"Okay. We will do as you say," Pieffer said but Aries was not convinced.

"You have to promise me that you will not do something stupid."

There was only silence from Pieffer and Siorre.

"I will not open this gate until I hear your promise," Aries seriously stated.

"Promise," Pieffer finally said. "We will not do anything stupid."

Reassured, Aries faced the emblem and called Vermillion.

"Wait," Pieffer grabbed his arm. "You also have to promise me that you will not be defeated by the corrupted souls. If you can't absorb them all, you should immediately stop."

"I promise," Aries tapped the emblem with the blades of his dual swords.

The gate opened and corrupted souls instantly shot through their direction.

Siorre and Pieffer deflected the corrupted souls with their weapons while Aries closed the gate behind them.

Like in the House of Lion, both women were reliable comrades. They were doing a great job distracting most of the corrupted souls from swarming on Aries who needed to focus on absorbing those wicked essences one by one through his dual blades.

Some of the spirits were easy to hit and absorb while some were surprisingly good at dodging and Aries had to chase them for hours.

Absorbing corrupted souls were never that pleasant. It was making him dizzy every time and flashes of unfamiliar memories were flooding his mind. But he was trying to endure everything. He had to succeed on that trial and fulfill his promise to Pieffer.

He would absorb all the corrupted souls and survive. He just had to ignore all the memories flashing before his eyes.

He had to ignore those tormented eyes and terrified cries.

But those memories were tearing his mind apart.

"Aries!!! Stop!!!" someone was painfully gripping his shoulder and pulling him away from those suffocating memories.

Aries opened his eyes and coughed out blood. He was exhausted. Pieffer was always the one who was pulling him to safety.

Siorre was circling around them, protecting them from at least ten corrupted souls.

"Leave those three humans to me," an intimidating voice had commanded. "All of you should fly through that barrier and eat all the humans inside Serestral!!!"

As the corrupted souls obeyed, Aries bolted up despite his exhaustion. He had to stop the corrupted souls from entering the House of Ram but before he could run, Pieffer grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"You are at your limit," she was staring at him with deep concern.

"I can do this," Aries promised and gently pulled his arm from the firm grip of Pieffer.

He rushed towards the corrupted souls, slashed his swords at each of them, and absorbed their smoky essence.

He collapsed on his knees after obtaining the last corrupted soul that tried to enter the House of Ram. His head felt heavier than a huge block of metal. The memories spinning endlessly in his mind were clouding his hearing and vision. For a moment, he felt like his head will implode.

But he could not allow that to happen. Not yet. He still had more corrupted souls to eat. And at that moment, he had to take care of one more enemy. An opponent that was probably stronger than all the corrupted souls he had consumed.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He had to endure a bit more.

After a few inhales and exhales, he felt a little better. He got up on his feet and turned to face the remaining corrupted soul standing a few meters away from the House of Ram.

Pieffer and Siorre were fighting the last corrupted soul that appeared more like a human than a smoky silhouette of a human.

What surprised Aries further was the appearance of the corrupted soul. It was a man that was wearing golden armor. His hair was blonde and falling elegantly down to his waist. His eyes were fiery red. He was holding a sword with a golden blade that looked similar to the weapon called Demise. A sword identical to the one Merrick was wielding. But instead of having the same appearance as Merrick, the form of the corrupted soul looked like Sunrei.

Aries was confused but when he realized that the time to finally get his vengeance had come, a smile had suddenly curved on his lips.

This time, you are the only one who will die, Sunrei.

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