A young boy carrying a lady stood before a large army.
His eyes were bloodshot, with drips of blood spilling from the corners. His face was deathly pale with his breathing ragged.
"To think this body will break so quickly." The devil possessing Red's body muttered in disdain.
Red's expression contorted as he doubled down before vomiting a stream of blood.
"Dammit!" Red cursed bitterly from the dark space.
They were this close to escaping this crazy place. His damn body just had to fail them at the wrong time.
The Walkers–what was left after the devil's massacre - stood blocking their only path of escape.
Earlier...
Len had easily made work of the towering Walker, painting the walls with his entrails only to suddenly feel a maddening pain at the pit of his stomach.
As he tore through the rest of the Walkers and into the large opening of the Castle, the pain only increased until it led to his current situation.
"Worse..." There wasn't just one of those goddamn large Walkers within the group before him but three!
In his current form, he was dead sure he wouldn't be able to go against one, let alone three.
"Damn your fragile body, kid. We were this close."
"My fragile body? You were the one that boasted about making it out of here without stress!" Red retorted in anger within the dark space.
Dammit!
"If I die here... I'm not getting another chance."
He was sure of that.
The goddess wasn't a benevolent being.
Worse, if he died here, not less than an hour after his awakening, she would consider him worthless and a waste of time.
Not that he cared. After all, he would be long dead by that time.
"Dammit! What sort of an awakening is this? Who gets to awaken in the middle of a ritual conducted by some weird beings."
Complaining wasn't going to get him out of his situation, though. So he needed to think of a solution. Fast.
"So the ritual was a success. The Lord will be pleased when he comes back." One of the large walkers finally said, staring at Len.
"Listen, kid... you've got just one chance to listen up."
"Calmly surrender, and let's get this over with. Or... get the beating of a lifetime."
A brief silence occurred during the tense seconds before laughter shattered it.
"Hehehehe. Kid? This wormling just called me a kid?" Red's voice was deep and unnatural.
Naturally, it was the devil speaking.
"It seems you've all forgotten... the terror of Athenea."
Len stretched his trembling hand out as a violent red aura erupted. His once empty hand was gripping the greatsword once again.
"Brat... are you ready to sacrifice more of your lifeforce to get out of here?"
"My lifeforce?" Len asked in a bewildered tone.
"Yeah, the essence in you that keeps you alive. I don't have time for much chit-chat."
"Alright. If it's the only way of breaking out of here, I don't mind. The thing is... what happens when it gets depleted?"
"Isn't it obvious…? You die." The devil said, swinging the sword a few times with a devilish smile.
"But," the devil continued before Len could interrupt, "I don't plan on letting you die here. I've got a lot of plans with this body of yours. As long as this body contains a little bit of soul essence, my powers will keep it going."
"Fine," Len muttered after going over the devil's words again and again, "get us out of here."
Without wasting a second, the devil acted. Red exploded towards the three Walkers, a wild grin etched across Red's face.
"Show me... show me what you've got wormlings!"
"Pity. Think you've decided then, a beating it is." The large Walker with a strange dark shield said, stepping forward.
The greatsword landed on the shield, unleashing an explosion with a series of loud metallic clangs. A large cloud of dust rose, hiding the heated battle from the rest of the Walkers.
After a few minutes, the cloud of dust slowly dispersed, revealing the aftermath of the clash.
Len lay flat within a mini crater, a heavy hammer pressed against his head.
Maya laid a few metres away from him, eyes widened at the scene before her, unable to move.
"I warned you boy," the Walker with the hammer said, easily lifting the hammer and ruthlessly bringing it down on his chest.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed loudly.
"Urghhh," Len spat out a blob of blood with bits of his organs.
The guy raised the hammer again moments from bringing it down.
"Hey, it's enough. You don't want to kill him!"
The third Walker finally intervened.
"Nah. Trust me... he won't die. He needs to be taught a lesson for the destruction he caused to our settlement."
Sigh.
"Just one more." The Walker said, stepping back.
Meanwhile, Len felt a crushing pain assault his body. Worse. He was in control of his body again with the devil nowhere to be found.
"That bitch! Damn her!"
He watched as the hammer slowly descended, eyes wide as he struggled to breathe.
"Your body is too weak, brat. I'm sorry... if that hits you, there's nothing I can do to help you."
Len's eyes widened hearing the weak voice of the devil. S-seven hells.
"Was he going to die again? By yet another weapon?"
The weight of death never felt this heavy as he watched the hammer descend on him.
"I... I don't want to die," he managed to voice out amidst a fit of cough. Not after this second chance. He wanted to explore this world, to taste the life of freedom and free will.
Was that too much to ask? Why was the universe so cruel to him?
He didn't get the answers to his questions, but something miraculous did occur.
The hammer never struck him. It was held in place by an invisible, unnatural force.
"Just in time."
A man with neckline orange hair said, his golden gaze staring down from above.
His long golden robe, fitted for combat, swayed gently in the wind giving him an imposing look, not to talk about the sheer aura emanating from his body.
His gaze was fixed on the young, broken boy barely clinging to life.
"So it's you!" The Walker with the shield roared leaping high.
"I don't remember telling anyone to move." Came his cold steel voice that chilled the spines of those in the area.
Without even looking at the charging Walker, he uttered one word. "Fall."
"Arghhhh!"
BAAAMMMN!
A scream echoed within the sky as the Walker crashed back to the earth, forming a deep crater.
His body was broken and mangled as if he had been crushed by a mountain.
The two stared at their comrade who was whole and alive seconds ago only to be dead, crushed beyond recognition just by a word uttered by one single human.
"Impossible!" The Walker with the hammer roared letting go of his hammer. Stomping the ground, he exploded into the sky, fist clenched tightly.
Rowan finally stared at the body flying towards him with a lazy expression.
"Fool." He muttered stretching forth his hand before closing it. "Crumple."
Another scream tore through the sky as a body exploded into torrents of blood and viscera, raining down on those below.
"I don't have time for this," Rowan muttered, gaze landing at the third leader of the small army.
"Kill them all." His voice was like a divine decree. One that the Walker carried out immediately.
Its hand morphed into terrifying blades as it charged towards the terrified Walkers.
Rowan, impervious to the ongoing bloodbath, slowly floated towards the two bodies not far from each other.
Maya Everhart and Len Ashborn... scions of two great families barely clinging to life.
"The Walkers have truly grown confident to brazenly attack the pillars of humanity."
The bodies floated from the ground towards him before staying in place.
At the same time... the Walker finally finished slaying its people, hands still slick with blood.
"Now... you're gonna tell me everything that happened here." Rowan said, eyes glowing in a blinding light.