Chapter 83 - Midlight Village#3

MAX'S POV:-

I take my stance, even though I knew it was foolish. Unless the Headmaster or the Elder Instructor comes here, I doubt anyone else will be able to save us from him. After all, the one we are fighting is,

"The Devil Sin of Sloth, Belphegor."

Standing there with a creepy smile, he was looking at me with his eyes, amused at my reaction. His extremely thin Elf-like body that looked like it would break into pieces with a single touch was standing there, half bent, like in the position of a tired old man.

He then vanishes and arrives behind me as he grabs my head.

"Although I found it tiring to get out of my house to crush so many bugs, looking at you, I can finally have some fun." He then lifts my body, holding my head as if lifting a pebble. I tried to hit him with a kick with all my might, but he didn't even care about my attacks. My attacks hit him, but it doesn't have any effect on him. He ponders about something before putting his finger on my head.

His finger touches my head slowly and my body stops moving…no it's not that my body has stopped but my senses are enhanced. I can see him taking back his finger in slow motion. Then he takes out a needle from his pocket.

I watch him slowly inject the needle into my left arm. Slowly my arm burns as I watch my arm literally melting. The pain then comes and my expression turns terrified. He then takes out another needle and injects into my right arm. My right arm freezes. This time numbness comes first, then cracks start appearing all over my right arm. I wanted to shout from all the pain, but my body was too slow compared to my pain. Soon, that guy takes out another needle and injects it…into my eyes. I try my best to run away but it is useless. With mind numbing pain on my right arm and burning sensation in my left arm, both of which, slowly reaching towards the centre of my body through the shoulders, I lose consciousness slowly.

He then injects the needle into my eyes and my consciousness returns. He steps back and sits on the ground as he takes out notes and a pen, then writes something as he observes me in pain. 

After an unknown amount of insanity, my right body was almost gone and my left body completely melted, but I was still conscious of the pain that I couldn't express. At this point, I am just waiting to die. He completes his report, stands up, then leaves from there. After another unknown amount of time, my body completely withers away…

[Zliwsn diwfn aresut]

"Listen carefully. This expedition is meant for you guys to get some experience in the wild with the monsters. Visca isn't forgi-"

-Thud

I fall on my butt with a terrified expression. My body turns numb as I catch my breath. That was too painful. I wanted to shout, but my throat felt dry.

"Calm down! Here, have some water. Does he have some form of disease?" Katherine runs towards me with a worry filled face as she observes my condition.

"You are alive!!" I can't help but be happy about the fact she was alive. Looking at her gives me hope. Hope that I still have a reason to live. Even if it's not for me, it will be for her, and I will save her, too.

"What are you talking about? Did you hit your head?" She asks as she gets weirded out from my behaviour. Looking at her slightly irritated expression, I can't help but chuckle a little. Then… my eyes turn serious,

'We can't defeat him. We need to run. People have to die. There is no other way. Last I remember, everyone ran in the opposite direction. So if we ran in a horizontal direction, what are the odds of us making it far alive? I don't know but let's try to find out,' thinking that I look at my instructor who ran away last time.

"Instructor, can you check in…"

Following the same steps that occurred before everyone runs away, but this time I grab Katherine before she can make a move and run in the horizontal direction. She seems perplexed for a moment before closing her eyes as she ponders over something, then looks at me and gestures to me to leave her hand as she too runs with me. 

After running a considerable distance, we reach a point where we felt slightly safer than before,

"There is an Elf Branch in that direction, let's run in that direction," I hear a voice from behind us, only to find Daphne running behind us.

'When did she join us? Well, she was a help too.' Without even realising the change in my way of thinking, I ran in the direction she pointed.

[Zliwsn diwfn aresut]

"Listen carefully. This expedition is meant for you guys to get some experience in the wild with the monsters. Visca isn't forgi-"

I look at Katherine, then close my eyes before thinking about something.

'It is going to take a few more tries but this should work.'

Then I repeated the same thing I did last time except I started talking with Daphne slowly.

Her name, her kingdom, her skill, her lineage, her other secrets. I don't know how many times I have died to get a single answer from her, but it made me realise a few things about her. 

She was a distant Elf Royalty who was working as a guard for the Princess who was kidnapped. The reason she continued her studies is that the Elf King himself asked her to do so. I also got to know many things about Katherine. Katherine…how many times have I seen her die in front of me trying to protect me? I can't bring myself to tell her about my regressions. What will she think about me? It made my heart ache every time as the loop started as I thought about her dying again. I want all this just to be over now…

…

[Zliwsn diwfn aresut]

"Listen carefully. This expedition is meant for you guys to get some experience in the wild with the monsters. Visca isn't forgi…"

I once again asked him to sense that direction. He ran once again…but this time.

"ARMELIA TIA DEPHNE, there is a Devil Sin coming from front, take Katherine and run in that direction," because I used special communication magic and also because of the commotion, nobody but Daphne heard about it. Her eyes turned focused at that and she grabbed Katherine and started running in that direction where I pointed as fast she could. I too followed her as fast as I could.

…

After passing the point I went the farthest in any of my regressions, I reached towards an unknown place. I couldn't sense anyone around anymore. Katherine and Daphne were too fast for me.

'Were they matching my pace on purpose last time? Or was it because they thought I had some plan and believed me?' I ponder over it. Then he comes right in front of me.

I look at him again. A horrified expression comes on my face as I realise what is going to happen next.

But before he could move, Katherine came in between us. Her eyes were focused on Belphegor. Looking at her expression, horror is clearly visible on her face. She seems to be scared too, but she will fight. 

"Why?" I can't help but question her again. She could have just left me here. It would have made her escape easier, but she returned. Even though she knew she would die here, she still came. 

The Devil then grabs her head and forcefully turns in my direction in an instant,

"Such beauty. I feel bad about killing you both, but I really can't leave you alive. Let me give you the most painful death possible. I wanna know how much a human can get hurt when someone he cares about dies brutally in front of him. The last report I had in your age group, you see, is already a few months old," he speaks to me with a creepy smile as his tired-looking eyes look at me.

"WHY DID YOU NOT LEAVE ME BEHIND?? YOU COULD HAVE EASILY ESCAPED? WHY? WHY?" I shout as I look at her, trying her best to escape before her body slowly goes numb, and she loses all her energy.

She then slowly looks at me as a smile forms on her face as she speaks in an inaudible voice,

"Because…I…Love…you.." and then the Devil takes out the same needle which he took out before. My eyes shot open wide looking at his hands. All the painful memories return as I look at his hands. I wanted to move. I wanted to save her, but my body wasn't responding to me. Fear had already taken over me. 

"Please, no! Please don't do it her! You can do it to me. Please leave her. AT LEAST GIVE HER A PAINLESS DEATH. I BEG YOU, GIVE HER A PAINLESS DEATH," I started crying and begging him, but it only made him smile more widely. 

Then he moved his needle closer to her left arm…

-Thud

The Devil's arm falls on the ground. My eyes shot wide open as I looked at the scene in front of me. The Devil was pushed back a few metres away, and an Elf was standing in between us. Katherine was lying unconscious behind the Elf.

"It's okay Max. Help has arrived. The Fifth Branch of Alfheim has arrived.. Everything will be fine now," I hear the voice of Daphne, who is standing behind me.