When they heard the laughter, everyone couldn't help but shudder. It was terrifying—not just terrifying—soul-trembling terrifying.
"Haha, you all are really useless."
"The sound is coming from the music box," The wolf ears on Wistoria's head twitched as she found the source of the sound.
Once one of them located the source of this terrifying laughter, they all looked over to where it was coming from. Damien was the first to find the music box, and he sure as hell didn't like the sight of it.
The skulls that were carved on the music box were smoking. Smoke and fumes as dark as ink flowed out of the mouths of the three skulls that had different kinds of terror etched on them.
"I can't stand this anymore," the voice boomed as the smoke swirled higher and higher until it was ten—no, fifteen feet tall. "I had high hopes for you boy, but it seems like I put too many expectations on you."
"That music box—"
"It's enchanted," Wistoria finished for Levi while looking at the fumes that were taking a physical form.
She turned and looked at the people behind her and said to them, "Run! These fumes are taking shape. It's an enchantment!"
Too late, Damien thought as he saw the fumes take a monstrous shape.
And soon in front of them stood a gigantic figure.
Damien at once knew that it was not a simple monster or a beast; it was something worse. His heart within his chest was pumping loudly, and all kinds of sad and terrifying memories swept up and around his mind.
What was the point in surviving? It was better to give up and die. He was not worth anything. What was he even doing here? This was not his world.
He didn't belong to this place—he wanted to get out of here! He had to; he was just a doctor after all. What could he do when facing such a terrifying beast?
"Snap out of it!" A roar filled his ears, followed by a sharp zap on his wrist.
When Damien snapped out of his daze, he looked down and saw that he was actually holding a dagger in his hands and was pointing it towards his heart. Another second, and he would have stabbed himself.
He let go of the dagger at once and turned to look at Wistoria, who stood beside him.
"What's going on? I never —" He began, but Wistoria held her hand up and said to him, "I know. But if you don't pay attention, you will find yourself in a situation worse than this."
If not for the fact that Dan delivered another snap of electricity, he would have truly thrown his hands in the air in surrender.
He turned his head to look at the transcendental monster before glancing at Wistoria. Though the woman was still running, she was slowing down, and her eyes were glazed as if she were lost in thought.
Damien caught hold of her wrist and pulled her hard before snapping at her, "Come on! What do you think you are doing?"
.net
She had saved his life just now; of course he was not going to leave her behind. However, just as he touched her wrist, he found himself trapped in memories that didn't belong to him.
He was looking at Wistoria, who was younger than she was now; she was trapped in a sort of cell, and a man who resembled him but not him was standing outside the prison.
"Ria, why can't you understand?" the man said to her. "As long as you join hands with me through marriage, we will be the strongest force in this Royal court. No one will be able to refuse us, and we will stomp on the feet of those who looked down on us."
"No," the woman, though young, had the same arrogance as the present Wistoria. She looked at the man and stated in a cold voice, "The answer will be no, Emil. No matter how many times you lock me up or threaten my family, I will never accept this hideous offer that you have presented to me."
Her eyes turned angry and grieving as she glared at the man and stated, "I believed in you because you said that you wanted to rebuild this world. But what you have in mind is nothing but purge."
"You are wrong," Emil replied. His agitation was clear in his voice as he said to her, "This is not a purge, it's clearance. What I am doing is nothing less than helping those whom no one helped. Only by destroying the present can a future that we want be built. What's wrong with the proposal that I have in mind?"
Wistoria shook her head. "You are not in the right mind, Emil. I wish I could help you see through things but I cannot because you are no longer the same person whom I knew."
'So, she knew Emiliano?' Damien thought as he let go of Wistoria's hand and acted as if he did not see anything.
Wisteria's eyes cleared up, and she frowned before her face turned cold. She turned to look at Damien as if trying to gauge his reaction when she saw that he was calm. Wistoria heaved a sigh of relief before turning her head and looking at the transcendental monster.
"This must be Living Mana," she said to everyone. "I have read about it in the history of the first transcendental beastmen war."
"I should have known that Azazel wouldn't accept defeat so easily," Lady Bloom sneered as she came to a stop and turned to look at the transcendental monster. "That man has never been one to accept his defeat so easily."
"You speak as if you knew him personally," Damien remarked while eyeing the woman who was standing beside him.
Lady Bloom turned her head and looked at him with a grin. She replied, "Because I did know him, boy. I had known him since that man was a child."
"What?" Damien's eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful woman who did not look older than thirty and stammered, "But –But that was so long ago? Wasn't Azazel from history? Like super ancient records or something?"
Lady Bloom tilted her head to one side and pinched his cheek harshly. "What is your point, boy?"