Chapter 80 - Nightmare 2_2

I ran as fast as I could shortly after a faceless man opened the door of this small jail.

My goal is the backyard of the main building.

I ignored and avoided the faceless people in the hallway who were trying to catch me.

I don't want to be stopped.

I have to go to the backyard.

Sometime later, I got to where I want to. I moved my head to check the surroundings and immediately, I noticed the presence of a group of people.

Once again, I ran, I approached them as soon as possible. 

Vaguely, I remember, in the past, they gathered at that place because they wanted to see Cerene's corpse.

Seconds later, I broke through that group of people.

And in the end, I saw her.

There, Cerene lay on top of wooden boxes.

I approached the girl and touched her body.

"...Cerene ...Cerene, wake up Cerene," I call her name and shook her cold body.

I wanted her to get up and open her eyes but she didn't! She will never wake up again.

She died just as she had in the past.

My tears flow profusely when I look at Cerene's corpse that was in a horrible state made. 

In this illusion, I made the same mistake.

I don't care about Cerene, I just care about myself.

In the past, when the momma Marga asked Cerene to attend to the bastard, I didn't do anything. I keep quiet without saying a word because being scared.

If only then, I had volunteered myself to replace Cerene, surely, I wouldn't have lost her forever.

I'm stronger than that little girl. So, I'm going to survive after accepting the bastard's cruel behavior. At the same time, Cerene will keep alive.

This illusion continues.

Cerene was buried and the time after that lasted in an instant. I'm too sad to notice the things around me. Then, as night fell, I cried until I fell asleep.

...

Morning came and I cried again.

"Lite, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

The presence of that voice made my fox's ears and tail stands up. 

I looked up.

The little Fallen Elf stood beside my bed. She looked at me with a look full of worry.

"Cerene?"

"Yes, it's me, Cerene. What happened to you?"

I didn't answer the little girl's question that wiped tears from my cheeks. Then, spontaneously, I moved my body to hug the girl, I buried my face in her stomach.

I was relieved when I saw her again.

I cried in her arms for quite some time. After that, we came out of the bedroom because we got tasks from momma Marga.

When we worked together for a few hours, I realized two things. 

First, this illusion will be repeated after two days and one night.

The second thing is, most likely, Cerene is the key and the exit of this illusion.

Why do I think so?

Isn't this so obvious? Everything this illusion showed to me is centered on this little Fallen Elf.

So, for me to get out, I have to save Cerene. I can't let her die. Therefore, when momma Marga asked Cerene to attend to the bastard, I volunteered.

"Are you sure of this, Lite?" Cerene asked with worry.

"Yes," I replied firmly. Then, when Cerene wants to say something, I cut her words with, "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

After that, we parted ways. I followed momma Marga. While making preparations before attending to customers, I didn't forget to pick up a knife. 

I'm going to kill that bastard.

Things that I couldn't do in the past I would do now!

But, never did I expected, I would fail.

The faceless bastard with his none existed little brother was stronger than me. He stopped my plans easily and he began to enjoy me.

And even though I said he enjoyed me, there's no R18 scene in here because he didn't have his little brother. For the first time, this illusion does something good.

But still, I hate this illusion.

I can't do anything in front of this bastard.

I don't have the strength to put up a fight.

I could only lie in bed without power.

I let him keep beating me.

But, I can accept this.

This episode is better than the episode that has happened in the past. This was nothing. And better yet, Cerene won't die.

I can see her again tomorrow.

We're going to have the best day. It was the last thing I thought before I fainted.

...

The next day, Cerene continued to be by my side as I lay in bed with the wounds I got from the bastard.

And yes, I managed to save Cerene but I haven't come out of this illusion yet.

Why did this happen? What's wrong?

Is saving Cerene, not the answer?

Or, should I be the one who...

No no no!  I don't think that's the answer. I have to try another means. I don't want to use this wild guess.

...

The third loop took place.

This time, I managed to kill the bastard even though in the end I also died.

That's right, death can't get me out of this illusion 

...

In the fourth loop, I decided to take Cerene away from Brothel.

"Come with me Cerene," I said, clasping the little girl's hand. I invited her to run away.

"Where are we going, Lite?"

"We're going to get out of this place!"

"Huh? Get out?" She asked in a slightly surprised tone. "No, Lite! What if we get caught? We will be severely punished."

"Take it easy, I won't let them catch us."

We got out of Brothel easily. Faceless people except for two soldiers and the bastard can't give us any trouble at all. 

Without wasting any time, I took Cerene to the wall of mist. Unfortunately, Cerene couldn't see that wall.

The thing she saw was a scene of the city.

Without further ado, I invited her to enter the wall of mist. My footsteps never stopped to move forward. But then, in the middle of our journey, the little Fallen Elf I tugged in was gone.

Her hand that I was holding disappear just like that as if from the beginning, I had never held that tiny hand.

"Cerene!" I screamed and ran back to the place where we came from.

As I exited the wall of mist, I was greeted by the sight of two faceless soldiers dragging Cerene with them.

The little girl tried to fight back but she was far weaker than that two faceless soldiers. They rendered her helpless.

I tried to save Cerene but in the end, I was get caught too. That night and the next day we spent time in a small jail while receiving some physical punishment.

...

The fifth loop came. 

I told Cerene to kill me but she wouldn't do it. I keep begging her but she never agrees. In the end, we wandering around the town to search for unusual things.

Yes, I can't get out of the illusion.

...

I did something else in the sixth loop and I failed.

...

Failure also appeared in the seventh loop.

...

The eighth loop was the same, I had a failure.

...

I hardened my decision after the ninth time I experienced these loops.

...

Tenth loop.

"Come with me Cerene."

"Where?"

"Get out of this place."

"Runaway! No, Lite! This plan is too risky, we will get severe punishment if we are caught."

"Don't worry, we won't get caught."

And we went to visit the city. For all day long, we did fun things together.

Enjoying lunch and snacks, playing with faceless children, escaping the pursuit of two faceless soldiers, do an adventure by exploring the city, and so on.

Today is the most fun day for us.

As night fell, we hid in the attic of someone's house to hide and to sleep.

"Can we truly escape from this city, Lite?" Cerene asked.

We are currently sleeping next to a window. Moonlight entered from that window even though the night sky was shrouded by mist.

"Yes, we can escape. I'll make sure of that." I convinced her. At the same time, I prepared a knife that I hid inside my clothes.

"Good then. You know, I'm tired of living as a slave. I don't want to be held down by orders and I want to do whatever I want. I don't want to be treated as an item but I want to be treated as a human being." She explained. The girl then held my hand tighter.

A moment later, I moved my body slowly. And in the end, I sat on the little girl's stomach.

"I have a dream, a simple dream. I want to live a normal life, have family, have friends, and if I can be greedy, I want to have a flower shop." Her voice became hoarse and quivered. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

And for some reason, my tears also began to flow. My hands trembled as I placed the knife I was holding over the little girl's left chest.

"It was a beautiful dream that I wanted. But unfortunately, I'm caught up in this nightmare. So, Lite. Please wake me up from this nightmare."

"I'm sorry," I said in a faint voice full of regret. "Sorry that I couldn't save you."

"Don't apologize, Lite. I wish we could meet again somewhere better. I'll wait for you."

"Please wait for me."

The knife pierced Cerene's chest easily. The little girl coughed several times before finally breathing out her last breath.

At the last moment, she made the warm smile that she always showed to me.