"SHIT! MORE OF THOSE THINGS?!" Leander invoked fire on his spear.
Eryndor conjured wind around his sword.
The puppets lunged at them.
Leander attacked. His spear pierced through one's chest. It did nothing. The creature kept advancing.
Eryndor cut off another's arm. It regenerated instantly.
"THEY WON'T DIE!" Leander shouted.
The puppets surrounded them. Blood claws exploded from their bodies. They slashed again and again. The sacred mantles were useless. The claws pierced through them as if they didn't exist.
"AGHHHH!"
Blood gushed from multiple wounds.
SNAP.
Along with that snap, both fell instantly. Their bodies crashed against the floor. The puppets pulled away, leaving them bleeding and immobile.
Edward, meanwhile, continued in intense combat against the main puppet. Metal blade against blood blade. Edward's metal flowed constantly, forming shields, walls, extensions of his arm. The puppet attacked from all angles—blood exploding into spikes, whips, projectiles.
Edward blocked an attack with a metal wall. He dodged another by rolling to the side. He extended his blade, reaching the puppet's arm.
"HA HA HA! THIS IS FUN!"
More puppets approached, surrounding him. Edward made the metal flow throughout his body, creating an improvised armor. The attacks bounced off.
But then he saw something. The man in the center of the coliseum. Motionless. Watching. He deduced that he controlled them.
Then he made a decision.
He concentrated all his metal in his right arm. The blade grew. It extended. And he threw it like a liquid spear that cut through the air straight toward the man.
The man raised a finger and deflected it casually, like swatting away a fly.
But it was enough distraction.
Edward ran, dodging the puppets. He was almost there. Then he felt the pain. One of the puppets had appeared at his side. A blood claw pierced through his side.
"GHH!"
He stumbled but kept running. The man watched him with amusement.
"I don't think you need that."
SNAP.
Edward's legs exploded.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His scream tore through the air as he fell. And worst of all, he fell right in front of the man.
"So it's that ring that allows you to use that, isn't it?"
SNAP.
Edward's right hand exploded.
"AGHHHHH!"
His ring flew off, falling far away. The metal covering his body simply fell. Edward gasped, trying to resist the intense pain.
The man knelt in front of him.
"It was fun playing with you," he said in a soft voice. "But you're no use to me. I need young people for this ritual." He tilted his head. "You're already too old."
He extended his hand and touched Edward's head. It began to swell to grotesque dimensions. Everyone watched in horror, unable to move.
And then—
BOOM.
It exploded. Blood, brain, skull fragments—everything scattered across the coliseum floor. Edward's headless body hit the ground next.
"AaaAAAAHHH!!"
Everyone's deafening screams echoed throughout the coliseum.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" The man covered his ears with an annoyed expression. "HAVE YOU NEVER REALIZED HOW FRAGILE THE HUMAN BODY IS?!"
He lifted his leg and crushed the back of Edward's headless corpse.
"Well, let's not change the subject." He walked to the center of the coliseum, pointing at the star carved into the floor. "I imagine you've already seen this beautiful star here in the center. What I'm looking for is simple: for one of you to become the new servant of Mor'khad, our lord."
His smile widened.
"And all the ritual needs is for one of you to die and for your blood to touch the star. So tell me... are there any volunteers?"
"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" Eryndor shouted from the floor. "Let us go, you crazy bastard! We'll tear you to shreds!"
"When we get out of here, I'll kill you with my own hands!" Leander added.
"You're human..." Aurora gasped, confused. "What are you doing here? There aren't supposed to be humans in the underworld... How did you get here? Why are you doing this?"
"No need to fight," the man waved his hand casually. "I'll just choose instead."
The man moved his hand, passing over each of them. Panic exploded in Talon's chest.
'He's going to choose me.'
And then he felt it. The force pressing him against the ground... disappeared. His limbs responded.
Without thinking, he got up and ran toward the exit, toward anywhere that wasn't here.
The blood from Ludwig and Edward's corpses rose from the ground. It flowed through the air like liquid serpents and formed a wall in front of the exit.
WHAM.
Talon crashed into it. He bounced backward, falling to the ground.
"STOP DISOBEYING ME!" The man's voice resonated furiously. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!"
SNAP.
Talon's left arm exploded.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The pain was instant. Blinding. Absolute. Blood gushed in spurts from where his arm had been. Talon writhed on the ground, bringing his right hand to the wound.
"Now, for that," the man spoke calmly, "I'll make you choose who will be murdered for the ritual."
SNAP.
The force on everyone disappeared.
"And you better not try anything stupid," he added with a smile. "If you obey and choose, I promise to let the others go."
Slowly, one by one they began to get up. Aurora, with the arrow still lodged in her shoulder. Sarah, bleeding profusely from her chest. Beth, trembling violently. Eryndor and Leander, covered in cuts.
They gathered in a group, whispering.
"We have no alternative..." Sarah murmured.
"If he wanted us dead, he would have done it already," Beth said in a trembling voice.
"We have to choose someone," Aurora clenched her teeth.
"Talon," Leander said without hesitation.
"Yes," Eryndor nodded.
"I have nothing against it to say..." Sarah looked down.
"Yes... Let it be him," Aurora added.
Beth closed her eyes. "I also vote for Talon," she whispered.
And Talon's heart stopped.
"NO!" he shouted. "Wait! There has to be another way!" He got up and took a step toward them, still with the intense pain. "I just lost my arm! It hurts so much! Please, I can stay here!"
"Listen," Leander turned toward him. "You're a damn useless good-for-nothing. What purpose would you have if you lived? You've only been a disappointment to your family until now, and you can't even become a sentinel because you don't have magic."
He took a threatening step. "Better give some utility to your life and at least serve to allow others to live."
"No!" Talon backed away. "I don't want to die! I'm scared! Please!"
Eryndor unsheathed his sword. Leander raised his spear.
"If you don't obey," Leander said, "we'll make you stay by force."
"I think they've already made a decision." The man appeared behind Talon, wrapping his arm around him like an embrace. "You can go now. Have a nice trip back."
Everyone remained motionless for a moment. Then, uncertainly, they began to walk toward the exit. The blood barrier dissolved. One by one they crossed the threshold—Aurora, Sarah, Beth, Eryndor, Leander.
And when the last one was about to disappear—
The man raised his hand. He closed his fist.
Their bodies exploded simultaneously, like bursting balloons. Blood, viscera, fragments—everything scattered through the tunnel.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Talon shouted, horrified. "YOU HAD TO LET THEM GO! YOU MADE A DEAL!"
"Oh, that?" The man tilted his head. "Why let them live if they're no use for my ritual? It wouldn't make sense."
"YOU'RE INSANE! YOU'VE LOST YOUR MIND!"
"Come on, you can't deny that deep down you deeply desired their death," the man smiled. "I know it."
"NO! That's not—!"
"I know the trash you are. That's why you let Shin die."
Talon froze.
'How...?'
And then he remembered. The presence in the chamber after Shin's death. That feeling of being watched. It was him. He had been there all along.
Talon tried to run again. The man grabbed him by the neck easily.
"You have nowhere to go. Besides, it's time to start the ritual."
Then they heard it. A moan. Weak. Agonizing.
It was Beth. Crawling. She was missing limbs and was covered in blood. But she was still alive.
"Wow," the man laughed. "But you're in luck, boy." He released Talon. "I'll give you a choice. If you go get that girl and bring her to the center to kill her here, I promise to let you go."
"I'm not falling for that lie," Talon backed away.
"Then you'll be the sacrifice."
Silence fell. Talon looked toward Beth, then toward the man.
"So...? What will you do?"
Then his legs moved toward Beth. He picked up the knife from the ground with his trembling hand and put it in his mouth.
"Talon...?" Beth looked at him with glassy eyes.
He grabbed her by the hair and began to drag her.
"NO! NO, PLEASE!" Beth struggled. "TALON, DON'T DO IT!"
"Wow, Talon!" The man applauded. "Your selfishness never ceases to amaze me! You can redeem yourself for your sins, but you won't. You'll do the same as with Shin."
Talon kept dragging her.
"Tell me... do you fear death that much?"
Beth struggled with her remaining limb. Kicked. Screamed. Talon took the knife out of his mouth and plunged it into her side.
"AHHHHH!"
Beth's strength faded. And he put it back in his mouth again. There he dragged her to the center, to the star.
He took out the knife again.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered. "I'm so sorry. Really."
"No... no..." Beth sobbed. "Please..."
He raised it. He placed it against her neck.
"Please, forgive me."
And he cut.
The blood gushed instantly, falling directly onto the carved star. Beth's body collapsed.
And the coliseum began to shake. The candles went out, then lit up with red flames. The man and all the puppets jumped to the top of the coliseum, watching from above.
Beth's corpse began to convulse. Her body twisted in impossible ways.
"Now comes my favorite part..." said the man.
"Mor'khad!" He shouted with jubilation. "Rise and devour Talon! Make him your slave!"
Beth's skin tore. Something emerged from within—something amorphous, dark, with writhing tentacles. A creature without defined form. A giant stomach with teeth. Eyes that appeared and disappeared.
"Make him part of your stomach! Let him now be the one in charge of satisfying your voracious appetite forever!"
The creature roared.
"BUT WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?! I THOUGHT YOU'D LET ME LIVE IF I DID WHAT YOU TOLD ME!" Talon shouted, but the man completely ignored him.
He had no choice but to run anywhere.
Then a tentacle caught him. It lifted him into the air and slammed him against the ground.
WHAM.
Then against the wall.
CRASH.
Again and again. His bones broke. His skin tore. His blood flew through the air.
Finally, the tentacle threw him upward. High. Talon spun in the air, bleeding, and began to fall directly toward the creature's open mouth—full of teeth, of darkness, of nothing.
Time seemed to slow down.
'Is this how I'll end...?'
The mouth approached.
'Devoured by a monster... like trash?'
The teeth gleamed.
'But I... I don't want to die.'
He kept falling.
'I don't know why.'
'I don't know why I desire so much to cling to this...'
'To this miserable life.'
Closer.
'I have no purpose.'
'I have no path, no bright destiny waiting for me.'
The teeth almost touched him.
'And yet... I refuse to die.'
'I know it's selfish.'
'I know I'm pathetic.'
"BUT I'D DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO LIVE!"
The mouth closed.
His scream was drowned by the darkness.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Host: Deceased.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Foreign presence detected.]
[INVADER IDENTIFIED: MOR KHAD]
Entity requests integration.
"Swear loyalty... and live once more."
[Mor Khad offers you a pact]
Swear loyalty—and rise again.
Accept? [YES] / [NO]
'What... what is happening...?'
A strange glow flickered within the deep darkness that had swallowed him whole. It forced his eyes open. Floating before him was a strange window, impossible to explain.
He could barely see it—his vision was drenched in blood.
'What is this...?'
'Live once more...?'
'I... I don't understand...'
[WARNING]
You have 5 seconds to decide.
If you choose [NO]—or fail to decide—digestion protocol will commence.
Death will be slow and painful.
That was enough to convince him.
Even without any idea what it meant, if there was the slightest chance he could come out unscathed, he would take it—no matter what.
With his blood-covered finger trembling, he reached out and pressed [YES].
The window vanished the moment he did—and then, the darkness returned, swallowing everything once more.
[Ritual completed]
"IT'S EXCELLENT! IT'S PERFECT! IT'S DONE! I KNEW YOU WOULD ACCEPT!"
The man screamed, ecstatic.
Even from within Mor Khad's stomach, Talon could hear his crazed voice.
But it no longer seemed to matter—drained of blood, covered in wounds, and utterly exhausted, he simply lost consciousness.
[System Infection: SUCCESSFUL]
[Host Status: CRITICAL]
Initiating corporal restructuring protocol...
Cellular rewriting in progress...
[Restructuring complete]
[Free Will: 0%]
[Set Role: SLAVE — Confirmed]
"Bon appétit, Mor'khad!"