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Felix POV
The smell of sweat hung in the air, dust stirred, and the sound of metal clashing against each other was clearly audible even from this distance. His gaze, which had been fixed on the spectacle below for minutes, shifted discreetly to his left. To his left, a little further along the parapet, sat a young woman, youthfully beautiful with blood-red eyes and snow-white hair, his mistress.
About a week ago, she had returned to the Great Tomb, dragging along a veritable monster in red armor. Said monster now stood to the left of his mistress, completely motionless as ever. His mistress was also the reason he was allowed to mingle with the people in the VIP box. She had been very dissatisfied with his recent combat successes and had therefore ordered him to observe the planned fight.
An annoyed red eye flicked in his direction, forcing him to quickly return his gaze to the battlefield. Lost in thought, he had completely forgotten that he was still staring at her, a mistake he wouldn't repeat. To distract himself, he tried to watch what was happening below. The undead mage who ruled the Great Tomb alongside his mistress had meanwhile ended the charade and was in the process of pinning one of the looters who had entered the Great Tomb to the head with one hand. Seconds later, the man collapsed, either dead or unconscious.
He let out a sigh. It would have been better for the man if he'd died. Even after he'd shed his humanity, he couldn't help but feel pity for these people who had so unwittingly fallen into the trap. The inhabitants of this tomb were true monsters; every single one of them would follow pretty much any order, even if it involved killing innocent children. Yes,some would even enjoy it.
He, who had once been a human, simply didn't fit into such a world. One of the reasons why he had chosen to be turned in the first place was the death of his sister. The desire for revenge and the pain after his sister's death had driven him to do so. But after his anger subsided, and he saw what had happened to the eight fingers, the people who had been responsible for his sister's death. He felt nothing but pity.
The people he now served were so cruel and so evil. He had learned how evil they were a few days ago when his mistress had instructed him to fetch her some "stress balls" from the Happy Farm. At first, he hadn't known what she meant, but after she opened a portal and sent him through, it quickly became clear to him what she meant.
'Better still.'
It was explained to him.
Demiurge, a devil who also served his mistress, had given him some 'materials', as if he had already expected his visit.
Humans. Men. Women. Yes, even children.
They looked terrible, as if they had come from hell itself. He hadn't asked any questions and had quickly brought them to his mistress.
That had been a mistake.
The things she had done to these people had been cruel.
NO.
It was worse. A word to describe this situation didn't yet exist. He hated it. The reason he had become what he was, was because of the desire to survive and revenge. He knew he needed to kill to feed himself, but such torture…that had nothing to do with survival. It was pointless, and he began to resent himself for having done nothing.
"Shalltear!"
A scream tore him from his gloomy thoughts, and he brought his attention back to what was happening in the arena. The man from before was still lying on the ground, but one of the group seemed to be missing. A glance at the night sky confirmed his suspicion. Already a few hundred meters away, his eyes could make out a dot that seemed to be rapidly moving away into the forest.
A movement from his left drew his gaze to the side. The silver-haired woman, who had been used as a footstool by his mistress and had been panting like a bitch in heat the whole time, was trying to get up. A kick in the face of the kneeling woman made her fall to the ground again, which only led to her panting even more.
"Stay down" commanded his mistress, and now rose herself
"I want to play" she declared
She jumped lightly onto the parapet and spread her Black wings.
"I'm sorry, Ainz, but I'll take care of it from here." she yelled at the Overlord.
"And you..." She pointed at the silver haired woman.
"...Stay on the ground until I return. Your punishment isn't over yet"
she commanded and with these words swung herself into the black night
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Arche POV
Tears streamed down her face as she flew through the dark forest. The cold night air cooled her damp cheeks and made her squeeze her eyes shut to block out the headwind. She felt her mana reserves slowly dwindling; the fight against that undead monster had weakened her immensely. Just to make sure she wasn't being followed, she cast a quick glance over her shoulder, and after confirming she was alone, she began to descend.
Physically and mentally exhausted, she collapsed against a large, bony tree. Now out of immediate danger, memories of her teammates returned, causing her to burst into tears once again that evening.
"Oh, Hekkeran, and you too, Roberdyck and Imina, what liars you are," she whispered as a few more large tears rolled down her cheeks.
All three had sacrificed themselves for her to enable her escape. They had known they themselves would never escape, yet they had promised her with a smile on their faces that they would see her again and that she should just go ahead and wait for them. She hated herself for it, but she was infinitely grateful. The reason was simple: without their return, there would be no one to care for her little sisters, especially since their parents weren't even in control of their own lives. She closed her eyes to banish the coming despair and sent a quick prayer of thanks to her loyal comrades.
"Ahh, here you are!" a silky-smooth female voice echoed through the night
She opened her eyes wide and jumped up, blood-red eyes playfully staring at her, not even 10 centimeters from her face. Something grabbed her by the throat so fast that she couldn't react, throwing her several meters into the forest. To soften her fall, she cast a flying spell, but the mana she used simply vanished without having the desired effect, causing her to crash into a tree.
"Don't bother my cute little magician, I overwrote your ability to cast spells. Unfortunately, this ability is very limited but for someone like you, it will be enough" explained the woman's voice in a patient tone
Her eyes snapped to the source of the voice, since it was so dark she was only able to see a few outlines but the glowing ruby red eyes she had just seen stood out even in such darkness.
"Now, now what a cunning little snake you are. Leaving you comrades to die, just so you can survive" taunted the voice.
"No...NO I didn't want to..." she stammered
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Whether you used them or not, they'll all die anyway. Or should I say, they will wish they were dead after we are done with them." promised the voice with sadistic glee.
Pain, grief, anger — in that brief moment she went through all of these emotions, but finally she accepted her fate. She wouldn't get out of here alive, and if that were the case, she could at least fight one more time as a final proof of her defiance and as a memorial to the sacrifice of her friends.
She let out a loud battle cry and lunged at the pair of red eyes in the darkness. As expected, her attack failed; the creature proved once again that she couldn't even see its movements if it really wanted to. Once again, she was grabbed by the throat, but this time instead of throwing her through the forest, the monster pulled her closer to its face.
Blood-red eyes stared into hears, and a shiver ran down her spine. The toothy smile of the monster, which had taken the form of a young woman, terrified her. She closed her eyes and waited, trembling. She felt the monster's mouth approaching. From the distance, she could smell its breath.
Rusted metal.
Then…
She flinched, something wet and slimy brushed her cheek and made her open her eyes wide just in time to see a far too long tongue disappear between some pearly white teeth.
"Mmmmm, it seems I was right. Even in such a hopeless situation, your heart still beats for survival. Your mind may have given up, but a part of you resists. You still have something to do before you leave this world, am I right?" asked the voice playfully.
"I...yo...you are right. My sisters...they will die. I have to..."
"Mmmm?"
"Could...Wo...Would it be possible for you to save them?"
"It all depends on what you're willing to give." gigged the voice
"Everything" she promised without hesitation
"Oh, oh, oh my little magician. You shouldn't have done that. 'Save' is a pretty wage term, 'Everything' on the other hand...Well I will stand by my word, but believe me you are not out of the woods yet, and you never will be"
"Forever"
Just like your friends, I will torture you, but I will do it a little differently. Physically, you'll be fine, but your spirit will soon break. As will that of your friends when I'm done with them...
"Or should I say, when you are done with them..."
"...You will wish to never have made that deal..."
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