Chapter 255: The goddess's will 2

"What the hell was going on...?"

Adrian's mind raced with questions, each one more tumultuous than the last.

Had he truly lost Elena just like that?

Why?

How?

Had he become too complacent, too arrogant in his abilities?

Did he allow this catastrophe to unfold before his very eyes? And what of Elena?

Should he not be racing to her rescue?

The weight of his failure bore down upon him, a suffocating burden that threatened to consume him whole.

Anger, fear, dread, and sorrow swirled within him, a tempest of negative emotions that threatened to overwhelm his senses.

The suddenness of the situation was surreal, yet Adrian understood it all too well. He had failed, utterly and completely, and now he was paying the price.

The plan had been simple: manipulate the forces of the demon princess, use the people to their advantage, and leverage the power of the goddess to secure victory.

But somewhere along the way, everything had gone horribly wrong. The adversaries he faced were not the demons he had anticipated, but beings of divine origin, their attacks leaving him crippled and powerless.

His body wracked with pain, Adrian found himself unable to move, his soul quivering with the sheer magnitude of the damage inflicted upon him.

Every fiber of his being screamed for action, for retribution, but his body refused to obey, shackled by the constraints of his injuries.

In that moment of despair, Adrian could only lament his own folly, his mind awash with regrets and recriminations.

But as the darkness closed in around him, swallowing him whole, he knew that everything wasn't over yet.

....

In the snowy and mountainous lands of the north lighting as dark as the night sky crackled...

Dancing in the air as they surrounded a singular entity.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips, devoid of any trace of emotion, as the darkness within me swirled and coiled, seeping into the deepest recesses of my being.

What was this sensation?

Though I had experienced pain before, this was different, unsettling in a way I couldn't comprehend.

With each crack of laughter, the world around me grew darker, the shadows closing in as if eager to swallow me whole.

System warnings flashed before my eyes, but I paid them no heed, my focus consumed by the overwhelming turmoil within.

[Warning: User under unconditional stress]

[Warning: Unknown foreign signatures detected]

[Warning: User's soul is shaking]

[WARNING!!!!: System error—]

The messages blared incessantly, but I pushed them aside, my mind fixated on one singular desire.

Looking up at the sky, there was only one thing I craved in that moment—the head of the goddess herself.

"You've made your move. Well played... Hahaha."

"Ah, sorry about that!"

Suddenly, the tranquility of the scene was shattered by the arrival of another man.

With braided blonde hair and dark skin, he possessed elven-like features that marked him as distinct.

'A dark elf?'

Accompanying him was another dark elf, flanked by two others wielding spears crafted from shadows.

Without preamble, the elf took a seat beside them.

"Did you sleep well, saintess? We were actually getting worried you wouldn't wake up. I'm glad you're awake now. And also, please do forgive this unsociable friend of mine. He's just very nervous, you see."

The man's words flowed with an air of nonchalance, his gaze softening as he addressed Elena. With a gentle pat on the back of the emotionless man cutting the apples, he conveyed a sense of kindness and understanding.

Taking one of the neatly sliced apples, he offered it to Elena on a plate. "Are you hungry? We've got some other food around as well if you don't like apples."

Elena could only stare at them, her confusion mounting with each passing moment.

Who were these individuals?

What was happening?

Where was Ian, and where the hell was, she?

"I know you're confused right now, as you're in a strange place and tied up and all. But do please calm down, saintess. It is all for yours and our sake," the man explained, sensing Elena's bewilderment.

With a slight bow, he grasped the back of the other man's head, forcing him to bow down in tandem. "My name is Marvey, and this one here is Luther."

As Elena listened, a foreboding sense of danger settled over her like a suffocating shroud. With a wary gaze, she scrutinized each of them in turn, her instincts screaming at her to flee this place immediately.

"What are you?" Her voice emerged as a cracked whisper, the tension boiling within her finally finding a voice.

The man regarded her with a pause, his lips twisting into a mocking smile that sent a chill down Elena's spine. "We are the very beings you failed to achieve, tainted bitch," he sneered before roughly grabbing onto Elena's face.

Panic surged within Elena as she tried to scream in protest, but her voice was drowned out by the searing pain of her flesh being torn asunder.

"Why does the goddess still favor your tainted existence?" the man muttered, his words laced with disdain as he rose from his chair, Elena still held captive in his grasp.

Bound by chains and robbed of her strength, Elena was helpless to resist, her mind reeling with the realization that she was at the mercy of these malevolent beings.

As the man named Marvey dragged Elena into a secluded corner of the garden, a sense of dread washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Marvey, you can't kill her..." Harvey's reminder fell on deaf ears as Marvey's wicked smile widened.

"I know, but I can have my fun, right?" Marvey's words dripped with malice as he nodded in agreement with himself.

Elena's mind raced with desperation as she scanned her surroundings for any means of escape, but she found herself paralyzed with fear.

Before she could react, a brutal kick sent her crashing to the unforgiving ground, the impact stealing the breath from her lungs.

Coughing and gasping for air, Elena struggled to overcome the searing pain radiating from her shattered backbone.

Each movement sent waves of agony coursing through her body, leaving her immobilized and vulnerable.

"Haha, for a tainted bitch, you sure have a tough body..." Marvey's taunts cut through the air like a knife, his sadistic amusement fueling his violent assault. As he drew closer, he continued his relentless barrage, raining down blows upon Elena's defenseless form.

"Even now, I can feel his essence inside your stomach... truly disgusting." Marvey's words twisted with contempt as he delivered each merciless blow, reveling in Elena's anguish.

With each strike, Elena could do nothing but cry out in silent agony, her pleas for help drowned out by the darkness that enveloped her.

In this moment of despair, she clung to the hope that someone, anyone, would come to her aid and rescue her from this nightmare.