Chapter 121 A Curse, Part 4

The doors separating the Fifth Floor to the Fourth were closed shut by the Monster.

Elisa walked away from those doors before sitting, her back against the wall.

"What now?" She asked.

Floating words appeared in front of her seconds later.

[I might need some help.]

This, was the only means of communication that the Monster disposed of.

The use of the System.

Elisa found it peculiar.

Why would the System allow the Monster to communicate this way?

Could it, perhaps, not be the System, but rather the Dungeon Master?

But if so, then what ties linked this Monster to the Dungeon Master?

What ties linked this Monster to the being who...

"What kind of help?"

[The Guardian will probably be a Wind Magic user.]

[Or a Monster that can use the Four Elements.]

"So?"

[I'd like your opinion on what Magic Skills would be best to combat Wind Magic.]

Elisa didn't feel comfortable answering the question.

She didn't want to.

After all, she was a user of Wind Magic.

"Earth Magic is a bad match for Wind Magic users. Anything that can't be blown away by a tornado is bad news for them." Elisa decided to answer. A disinterested tone.

[Would Bone Manipulation help?]

Her hand twitched.

"Probably."

[I see.]

[That helps.]

[Thank you.]

It was the first time that the Monster had thanked her.

And a sense of repulsion arose inside her.

"If that's all, I'll get going."

[Shouldn't we discuss how we'll fight the Guardian?]

[Also, you have a habit of looking around a lot when fighting.]

[What's that about?]

"I already have a plan for how I'll fight. A habit? You make it sound like you're about to give me some advice. If that's the case, then don't. I've seen how you fight, and it would benefit you to learn from me."

The Monster wanted to retort, but didn't.

And Elisa could feel it. Her sense of repulsion grew.

"I'll get going now." She said suddenly as it stood up.

Elisa only took a handful of steps away when,

[Wait.]

She turned back around.

The Monster was seated.

Its eyes were locked on her.

What a horrifying and hideous Monster it was.

[You said that the area around the tower was different.]

Elisa felt a chill down her back.

She didn't say a word.

The Monster's lips parted slightly.

As if it were about to...

Its mouth was closed shut a second later.

And its gaze fell to the ground.

Elisa stared at the grotesque Monster.

She turned around and walked away.

Three Floors separated her from the tower.

And the image of the hideous creature staring at the ground did not leave her mind for a while.

Elisa entered the Fourth Floor's desert.

A Monster that can not only use Corruption Magic, but also manipulate Bones. Corrupt. Foul. Rotten. Scary. Terrifying. Run away. Run away. Danger. Run away.

Her mind shouted.

She stood in front of the underwater Third Floor.

The next second, Elisa hovered above.

The wind around her started spinning increasingly fast, until it created a spherical barrier around her.

Elisa went underwater, protected by the typhoon-like barrier.

After so long. After so much despair and agony. Change. Something has finally changed. The dome disappeared. Relief from the curse. An opportunity. Leave the cage. Freedom. Trust. Trust and hope. Trust the Monster.

Her heart shouted.

Elisa truly did not know which she should listen to.

It is a well-known fact that the Magic wielded by a person can tell more about that person than they ever could about themselves.

A well-known fact on the outside.

Two gloomy and sinister Magic Types.

To that, the Berserker-like ability.

The perfect recipe for disaster.

The perfect recipe for a Monster.

Still, Elisa couldn't abandon her hopes of making it outside the Dungeon.

She couldn't deny that her chances of getting out increased greatly by having the Monster on her side.

The Monster, and those that come with it.

Trusted by Moonlit Feline. Trusted by a Fire Spirit. Isn't that enough to prove that it is worthy of trust?

Perhaps it would've been enough.

Elisa could've trusted the Monster based on those two facts and the things she had learned about the Monster since their first encounter.

She could've, were her hopeful heart and cautious mind the only ones shouting.

...

Mark stared at the ceiling, his back against the cold floor.

He didn't want to apologize, but felt like he should have.

Or rather, he felt like he owed an explanation.

But how could he explain that?

First of all, where did this need to explain anything come from?

There's no reason to apologize. Because I did nothing wrong.

Mark told himself that, but it was unclear whether he believed it or not.

The Moonlit Feline stretched her paws against his leg, and he sat up.

'You like her, don't you?'

Nod-

'Mm... She'll be useful against the Guardian.'

The Moonlit Feline stared.

...

Covered in sweat, Elisa lay on her bed.

Her eyes were closed. She had kept them that way for a while now, but she couldn't sleep.

Her head hurt. Her stomach burnt. Her throat was dry.

Shivers, shivers.

Elisa's whole body was trembling.

She put her left hand over her right arm, as if to calm herself down.

She started gently petting her own arm.

Then less gently.

The pain. The pain.

Her head could split at any moment.

She thought the curse had weakened.

No.

The curse had weakened.

Then why...?

She nervously scratched her arm over and over again.

You won't ever make it out of here. You know that, don't you? And even if you did, there's no place for you outside anymore.

She clenched her teeth, as if shutting her eyes wasn't enough.

Locked. Locked forever. Sick. Corrupt. Foul. There is no remedy for you. Suffer. Suffering. That's all there is for you.

Shut up-

There's nothing for you out there. You know that. Nothing for you. No one waiting for you. After all, you watched them die. You did, didn't you? You closed your eyes, you hid, you covered your ears, and tried to escape. But you couldn't. You still heard her cries. You could still picture their expressions. And then... As if that weren't enough, you decided to betray them all. You played friends with the Monster who killed them. That Monster killed them. And you accepted that. How virtuous and vile. But you know that's not all there is to it. Their bodies are gone. The Monster made them disappear. The Monster turned those you once knew into vulgar pieces of meat. It turned those you once loved, into vulgar pieces of meat. All of them, except you. Only you remained. What a lousy Princess you are.

Shut up-

There's only one thing for you to do now. Accept that suffering. The weight you're carrying in your heart. The darkness you try to hide. The thing you try to get rid of. Accept it. Become one with it. That's your salvation.

No... I-

Accept it, and kill them. All of them. The Monster. Those on its side are just as bad. Kill them. All of them. The ones who cursed your people. Kill them. And make them suffer. Let them know what your suffering is like. What your pain is like.

That's not-

You've suffered silently for a long time. For so long, you bore that suffering. Aren't you tired? Isn't it time to let go? You've resisted it for so long, but it's time to go beyond that suffering. One who can place on others the same Curse that was placed on you appeared. The same Curse. The same Curse. The Monster is just as bad as that one. The two of them spread your Curse. The Curse stems from them, wouldn't you agree? The two of them are the same. The two of them are one.

Thoughts that weren't Elisa's raced inside her mind.

She tried silencing them. She tried chasing them away. She tried ignoring them.

She has tried doing so for so long.

But to no avail.

Kill them. Make them suffer. Make them feel the same things you feel and have felt all this time. Make them understand your suffering. You have to, don't you? It'd be too lonely otherwise. Don't be alone in your suffering. You want them to understand you.

Grip-

You do know that's what you want, don't you? You must, at least, know that much about yourself.

The Corruption inside her shouted.

Elisa gripped her head tightly, as she cried herself to sleep.

It is only in her sleep, that the voices of Corruption cannot reach her.

It is only in her sleep, that she is free.