Chapter 58: Deadly Emotions (Inner)

“Five minutes. No more, no less. Do you remember, o’ lost child?” The Demon whispers into my ears as she disperses into a cloud of black fog.

“Alright,” I nod to the void in front of me. I don’t have any clue about the outside world right now, but I can still notice certain things, and pain is unfortunately one of them. My chest is burning like hell, while the tips of my fingers and toes are cold and numb. I taste a lick of metal in my mouth, and my nose detects a scent of rusted iron.

I was just wounded, and that wound would have cost me my life.

I look down at my body and soon realize it’s already been cut in half. However, the two parts aren’t completely apart just yet, as even in the deep abyss, I can still see a lingering red thread connecting my body together.

The feeling of which, however, is awful. Gone is the burning sensation of the open wound, but instead a lingering itch like a thousand fire ants crawling inside the wounds, nibbling on whatever flesh I have left. I reach out my hand towards the cut spot, but my hands disappear as soon as I touch my own body, only to reappear when I raise my arm in surprise.

The agony continues for what feels like an eternity, with nothing for me to distract myself, not even self-inflicted pain. Nonetheless, I can see the effect it brings. The red threads are stitching my body parts back together, healing me at a miraculous rate. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m being brought back to life from the brink of death, no, even after death itself.

As the wound slowly closes, the air in my body also leaves at a similar pace. I can feel myself being choked out, but like before, I have nothing to react to, not even gritting my teeth to bear with it, as even my jaw disappears when I do that.

A sudden emergence of light hit my eyes like a speeding arrow, and air fills my lungs like a flooding torrent. I gasp due to the sheer stimulants I’ve just experienced, and before I know it, I’ve already returned to the battlefield in one piece.

“For your information, that whole process just now took about a second, and you’ll die for real if both your head and heart are destroyed within this timeframe. That’s the fullest extent of my power, so make use of it as you will. Remember, you only have…”

“Five minutes, right?” I sound in my head. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that the five minutes won’t be the only time you’re spending with me.”

“Bold words coming from a clueless child…” Belial lets out a charming, yet chilling, chuckle. “I’ll see what you can do.”

I raise my hand forward. A black cloud forms around my hand, and a giant scythe appears. The weapon is larger than anything else I’ve handled before, but it’s strangely light and agile, with the feel of it in my hand being exactly like my old rapier.

Without any other excess thought, I charge forward. However, the difference between us still exists even after I’ve entered their world.

I can’t even see any of their movements. As soon as I make a move, my scythe-holding hand has already been pinned down by a black spear, and a wind bullet has already made its way through my skull. An agonizing pain rings in my head, and I find myself staring the void down the face once more.

Like before, however, I’m still alive. I know that, for the proof is still ingrained in my brain. I can still feel that excruciating sense of nibbled flesh as the red threads of life fills up the hole in my head. And once more, I feel as if I was plunged into the sea, with the air forcefully being pushed out of my body before immediately flooding in again, and my eyes once again are seared by the blinding light of the space between life and death.

I gasp for air one more time and pull out the spear stuck in my dominant hand. This time, I’m seeing the thread’s work in the outside world, and what fast pace it is. True to Belial’s words, my hand is as good as new again in just a second. With this power, even the greatest gap in strength and technique will all fail to matter anymore.

With a smile on my face, I continue to attack, swinging my scythe towards Peter like an executioner lowering the guillotine. As expected, my former friend blocks the attempt with ease, and even returns with a quick double slash of his own, cutting off my arm and head in the process.

He’s stronger than me. He’s faster than me. He’s smarter than me, too. But I don’t feel like I can lose to him anymore.

Once again, the unbearable itch seethes in. Once again, the red threads spawn to reattach my parts. I’m no longer surprised by it anymore. No, this now feels like a part of me, like what I’m supposed to be all along. I knew it. With this power, I can beat them. With this power, I am invincible.

I grin. Why do I grin, I wonder? Confidence? The adrenaline from the battle? I don’t know anymore. All I know is that there’s an inexplicable joy flooding my brain, making me form this grin on my face.

I swing my scythe once more, and this time the attack lands directly on his shoulder, cleaving in a deep wound. I can’t help but grin even more. Seeing the one I couldn’t beat before finally bleed after my attack… I know that this is the way for me. This is the path I must walk to prove my worth.

Peter cuts off my arm again with his other sword. How futile, old friend. I can’t be beaten with a mere flesh wound anymore. There they come. The red strings of life I’ve managed to get hold of for myself.

Immediately, my arm returns to me, good as new. I resume my attack again, but Peter, seemingly realizing his disadvantage, doesn’t resort to close combat anymore.

Instead, he takes a step back and plunges his sword into the ground. A rumbling noise echoes through the battlefield and earth spikes erect towards me, each as large as a castle pillar and with a pointed end like a deadly spear.

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I see what he’s going for. He’s thinking that he can’t beat me in close-quarter combat, and so he chooses to engage me at a long range. But that’s useless anyway. I can’t be stopped. I can’t be killed. No matter what kind of attack you might throw at me, Peter, I will keep moving forward.

A spike pierces my stomach. Another blasts off my arm. My leg is gone soon after. But I don’t mind. In fact, this is the first time I’ve felt so alive. The excruciating pain when the attack connects is still there. The unbearable itch is still there. The painful feeling of air leaving my lungs is still there. But this is the first time my heart has beaten so fast. This is the first time my eyes have seen so clearly. This is the first time I’ve felt this much joy in a battle.

I can keep going. Even if my arms and legs are cut off, I can still keep going. Even if my head is crushed, I can still keep going.

White. Black. White. Black. These colors keep alternating in my vision. The darkness of the abyss and the light of the outside world. But that can’t stop me. Even if I lose my eyes completely, I can’t stop moving forward.

“Everyone, close your eyes!” Peter shouts out loud before raising his other sword to the sky.

I know this attack. He’s planning to blind me for just a second. Unfortunately, I can’t block this, nor does it hurt me in any way. But what it does is force me to halt for just a second.

I close my eyes instinctively as well. And when I manage to open them again, a ground dome is already forming around me. The sides first, then slowly filling up to the top. I see. He’s planning to stop me from moving. With my current strength, breaking free of a formation like this one would prove to be difficult.

However, he’s failed to judge one thing.

I quickly hack away my body parts. My arms, my legs, my torso. Finally, my head. I have a small window of time, but once I throw my head out, the rest of my parts will follow as well.

It’s over Peter. You can never stop me.

I return to the familiar abyss once more, fully ready to be transported back to the outside world having escaped the dome.

One second passes. Two… Three… Four…

I don’t get it.

I should have been outside by now.

Why? Why haven’t I returned? Why am I still here?

Why? Why? Why? Why?

“BELIAL!” I scream out at the top of my lungs.

“Five minutes are up, child,” the Demon appears before me again, still in her hood, but this time, with my scythe in her hands. “You fail.”

“… Fail? You’re… You’re kidding, right? I was doing so well! Did you not see me in battle? How did I fail? HOW?”

“If you can’t even see the reason why you failed, then you’re not worthy of my power from the start,” Belial shakes her head in disappointment, letting out a sigh. “I was hoping that you would be like Kay, realizing his shortcomings just in time to be a better wielder, but… unfortunately, my intuition was right. You can never be worthy.

So long, child. May you rest in peace.”

Those are the last words I hear from her, before the Demon disappears completely, leaving me forever in the deep dark abyss.

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