"A skull on its head, eyes darker than the shadows, its body covered in a cloak… then you know it's a plague.
And if you ever encounter it, always stay away from them."
Sera said, her eyes on the ground, whereas Noen was shocked, as if he had realised something.
That monster… it was a plague.
"Wait, Sera, do you know more about them?"
"No," she said, looking sadly.
But then something trembled. The ground beneath them shook as if something was beneath it.
They both stood up, trying to figure out what was happening, though it had been too late already, as suddenly a swarm of worms started to gush out from the ground.
Their screeching sound made Sera kneel, holding her ears in pain as she grumbled.
Noen quickly got alerted as he pricked his hand. With a gush of blood flowing out, it instantly solidified.
"Sera!" he shouted.
"Get out of this cave, right now!"
Warning dawned on her like lightning. Her eyes trembled as she looked at Noen, who had a terrified expression.
"What's happening?" she asked, though only a vague response came.
"Quickly run out of this cave!" His voice got colder as he continued.
"It's not the time to explain."
But Sera tried to retaliate, though he had other plans. His hand burst into a pool of blood as it turned into a shiny dagger. He handed it to her.
"Go, take it. If anything happens, use this."
"But what about you?" she asked worriedly.
"There is no time. Go take it and run away."
"Eek!"
She quickly grabbed the knife out of Noen's hand as she ran as fast as she could.
Whereas in front of him, the vibrations didn't go silent. The mushrooms shifted into shells, dripstones started to fall from the ceiling, and the water splattered, creating ripples.
He quickly got into a stance as he grabbed the blade, wondering,
"How do I manage this large swarm?
There are just too many…
And why am I getting a sense of familiarity from them?"
He frowned at those worms as one final time he looked back, assuring that Sera was out.
Then—
Boom.
The ground crushed beneath his feet as he directly lunged at the swarming worms, cutting each one with precision.
His eyes glowed red, his hands cutting as the silent cave became a pool of blue blood.
Scrkh… screech…
Their sound echoed as one of them reached Noen's body, sticking to his flesh, biting his skin.
But he just grabbed it, tearing it out of his arm.
But—
"Shi—" he cursed, as the whole swarm of worms jumped on his body, biting him like he was a delicacy for them.
Their eyes radiated a deep red glow. Their teeth bit his flesh till it bled no more.
And Noen just lay there, unable to do anything.
His body was battered from wounds. Blood flowed out continuously, his eyes trying to find a way out.
He roared, "Ahhhh!" grabbing one of them as he threw it out, smashing it into pieces, though one couldn't have calmed the whole swarm of worms as they all lunged over him more.
But in that situation, something clicked in his mind as he remembered—the first time he arrived in this world. They were the same bloodworms that made him suffer the so-called word "death."
"I remember now… " You are the same monster that made me experience hell," he said, forcing the words out of his mouth.
As he closed his eyes, in the meantime, far away, Sera just ran, looking back at the cave with a worried expression.
But suddenly, she stopped midway as the dagger fell out of her hands.
Her feet trembled as she fell to the ground. Her eyes shook as she looked at the monster standing before her.
In front of her was a plague. Who stood Its eyes radiated purple, an ominous aura covered its body, and a skull hung on its head. Its hands were weirdly large as it said something in a corrupted tone:
"Je suis envoyé hier, bist du il dio proibito?"
Sera looked at it in pure fright. Her words didn't leave her mouth, though she tried all she could to call for help.
But no one listened, nor was there anyone who could save her. Realising that, she grabbed the knife that Noen had given her, pointing it at the plague standing before her eyes.
Though it looked at her like a predator looking at its prey, and Sera just stared at it, unable to do anything.
"Sta– stay away…!"
She screamed, but the monster just smashed her hand, throwing away the dagger that she barely held while trying to protect herself.
"Widerstand è inutile," it said in a deep voice, its eyes glaring at her with pure bloodlust.
As it grabbed her head with its giant claws, looking closely, it continued further:
"Voi wird ein großes Opfer…"
But Sera began begging for help, tears fell continuously from her eyes, but the plague just looked at her like a toy.
"Wie interessant," he said. Purple smoke came out of its mouth as it licked the blood coming out from her hands.
It came closer, slowly placing its hand below her chin, lifting it upward.
It grabbed her neck and slowly started crushing it under its brute force.
As Sera trembled, unable to breathe, she just begged,
"Please…"
A tear slid down her face, then suddenly something flashed before the plague's eyes.
It was a dagger flying straight towards its face, but it dodged it in time as Noen appeared out of thin air.
A bloodlust was embedded in his face. He was covered with worms sticking to his skin, his eyes were bloodshot as he bit his hand, tearing it apart—
Blood gushed out of it as a sword formed in thin air.
"You b*stard!" he screamed, throwing it with brute force as he disappeared, trying to smash the face of that monster.
But the plague just looked at him with untamed curiosity, instantly blocking the sword coming at it, as it landed a punch on his face.
But Noen stood his ground, trying to bite off its hand, yet nothing happened as it simply disappeared, reappearing behind him, dragging him to the ground.
The surroundings shook. Trees trembled, but their fight didn't end, though the outcome of it seemed certain.
The plague started smashing his head against the ground, but Noen kept looking bloodlustlly at it as he screamed,
"Come on… try, kill me!"
The monster shook slightly from that response, but it didn't stop, crushing his head into a pulp-like mess.
Sera sat there, looking completely shaken by its monstrosity, but she didn't vomit this time. Instead, she picked up the same dagger that Noen had given her.
She lunged forward, trying to attack, but the plague just glanced at her, asserting dominance as an aura filled the surrounding area.
It was filled with bloodlust.
But from somewhere a voice rang out—
"Where are you looking, you b*stard? Look here! I'm the target!"
Noen shouted, but the monster simply pressed its leg against his ribs, smashing them apart.
Sera stood there trembling, her heart beating, looking at the aura. Released from the plague's body, it was a monster that had devoured thousands of souls, looking at her as if she were nothing. Yet her eyes shifted toward Noen, who was still trying his best to protect her.
With tears in her eyes, she grabbed the dagger and lunged at it, catching the plague off guard.
But it looked at her in pure rage as an unknown gas leaked from its neck.
It said in a threatening tone,
"Ne le faites pas… erhalten… a modo mio!!"
But while it was distracted, Noen ambushed from behind, smashing its face into the ground.
"Go die in hell!" he screamed.
He was far from normal now, and even Sera looked at him in fear.
He kept smashing the plague's head again and again until its insides began to spill out. Its skull cracked, its claws broke, but he didn't stop.
He grabbed its face, trying to crush it completely as he put pressure slowly.
But that didn't happen.
The plague twisted its body as it kicked him far away.
looking at him with an ominous gaze and said in a deep tone that trembled throughout the forest,
"Ich werde… viens… indietro…"
Its face was disfigured, blood poured down from its body, yet it remained calm.
Before it disappeared into thin air.
Noen slowly stood up from the ground, looking up at the sky as he grumbled,
"Tch…"
Turning his head toward her.
"Sera… are you alright?" he asked.
"Y-yes…"
She nodded, looking at Noen before her face burst into tears. She instantly ran toward him, tightly hugging him as her voice trembled.
Everything seemed to stop as a warmth filled the air.
For him, it was a quiet relief—knowing that she was safe.
Silently, he hugged her back, looking at her with a guilty gaze, whereas…
***
The room was covered in darkness. Inside it, thousands of eyes looked at a coming figure. Red mist slowly engulfed the whole area as a chill filled the empty void.
The figure had a battered skull. Its eyes glowed purple.
Bowing before the eyeless figure, it said,
"Gruß, mein Seigneur…
J'ai trouvé ein perfekt navire… per te, mein seigneur."