Raya left town with hurried steps, gripping the map Zach had given him so tightly it wrinkled in his hand. The dungeon wasn't far, just a short walk beyond the forest's edge.
The deeper he went, the more the world seemed to hold its breath.
Trees crowded together overhead, their branches twisting like fingers trying to snatch at the sky. Shadows pooled at their roots as if watching him pass.
Then…. A rustling sound was heard
Raya startled, spun to check what rustled the bushes, but it was too late.
Five men leapt from the bushes and from behind the trunks. Hands grabbed him from every angle, slamming him face-first into the dirt. His breath punched out of him.
"W–wait—!" he choked out.
Rope scraped his skin as they tied his wrists and ankles in seconds, practiced and efficient.
"Help!!! Somebody….!"
A boot pressed against his ribs.
"Stay still, you little punk," one growled.
A sack dropped over his head. The world went dark as they lifted him like a sack of potatoes and hurled him onto the back of a moving carriage.
The wheels rattled him violently. Every bump hammered into his spine.
Raya wriggled, twisted, pulled, trying to set himself free, but nothing. The ropes only bit deeper. His breaths came sharp and desperate inside the cramped sack.
The bandits laughed.
"I'm curious what this fool did to Zach," one said, amused.
Raya's heart stuttered, 'Zach?'
Another snorted, "Didn't you hear? Zach slept with the boy's female friend. She died while he was at it"
"So he sent us to get rid of the boy before the boy discovers and spreads it around" Another chimed in.
Raya's body went rigid in shock, then the trembling began, violent, uncontrollable, a storm of rage trying to tear out of him.
The bandits noticed, their laughter grew louder.
"Oh, that ain't the worst part," one added, voice dripping with cruelty. "She died naked on the cold floor. They tossed her out like garbage."
Raya tried to scream. The gag shoved deep in his mouth turned it into a strangled sob.
A kick slammed into the sack. "Shut the hell up!"
"Leave him," another chuckled. "He'll be joining her soon anyway."
Up front, the driver yelled, "Detour! Road's blocked by some damn giant tree!"
"Whatever, just get us through." they all said.
The carriage turned, minutes crawled by.
Then….
KABOOM!
A thunderous explosion tore through the forest.
The carriage flipped sideways. Horses shrieked, wood shattered, and Raya was thrown violently against the walls of the sack.
"What the hell was that!?" a bandit screamed.
Four bandits stumbled out of the wreckage, bruised, limping, bleeding. Then their eyes widened.
The driver's headless body leaned against a tree, neck spurting slow, thick streams.
Their trembling hands reached for weapons.
But the forest shadows moved first.
Glowing purple and red shapes slithered and stepped into view, demons with twisted limbs, spines protruding from their backs, skin patterns like molten cracks.
Some had one horn. Others two. All wore sharp, hungry smiles.
"D–Demons…" a bandit whispered.
He bolted, before he knew it, a blur flashed.
His head bounced across the leaves.
The demons giggled childlike, delighted.
But they didn't slaughter the rest.
They surrounded them, hissing with amusement, and bound them in chains of dark metal.
One demon tilted his head, noticing the thrashing sack on the ground. With a sharp claw, it ripped it open.
Raya tumbled out, gasping for air, drenched in sweat and dirt.
His heart plummeted when he saw the circle of demons.
'What did I ever do to deserve this?' he thought to himself.
He tried to cry, nothing came out. His body was too exhausted to even shed tears.
The demons tied all the humans together and dragged them deeper into the woods.
Soon, the treeline opened.
Raya stared, his mind was paralyzed.
A massive, circular fortress rose from the ground, built of dark bones twisted with black stone. Winged beasts perched atop its walls. Creatures crawled, slithered, and stalked around like wild predators inside a nest.
The air itself felt poisonous, thick with decay and old blood.
The gates creaked open.
They were marched underground.
The deeper they went, the more they heard human screams echoing from deeper within.
The stench of old corpses grew stronger the farther they went.
The bandits shook uncontrollably.
Raya wasn't even shaking anymore. His mind had gone numb.
Since arriving in this world, it had been nothing but suffering: poverty, demons killing his parents, living as a refugee, losing Elena, being kidnapped, now this.
'Why? What cosmic joke was this?'
They stopped in front of various cells, some filled with dead bodies, others barely living humans and demi-humans, while some were empty.
One cell opened with a screech. The bandits were shoved inside, scrambling like terrified animals.
Then another cell opened.
Raya was thrown in alone, the cell was empty.
He slammed into the wall with such force that black spots danced in his vision. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and staggered up.
Bones, piles of them lined the floor and corners. Human bones. Small and large all broken, cracked and gnawed on.
The room smelled of rot.
Raya pressed his back against the far wall, his chest heaving.
And for the first time since reincarnating, he felt truly, utterly hopeless.