Fear overtook me and so I ran away from that thing that personified itself as Cherri. Her voice faltered and I'm sure that I heard something else while that thing spoke, and her arms were dead cold...
"Tarus! Why are you[Afraid?] running away?!"
"STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU IMPOSTOR!"
"What do you[So you knew eh?] mean?!"
"CUT THAT OUT, IT'S SO WEIRD! JUST SPEAK WITH YOUR NORMAL VOICE YOU LUNATIC!"
[Lunatic eh? Can you say that in front of the hundreds of people you've killed?]
"Hundreds....?"
I stopped in my tracks, I turned around to see an amalgamation of people varying in sizes and damage to their body, some were covered in skin and some had their internal organs and skeletons showing up...the thing grew in size quickly...
[Struck with fear eh? Don't you know the feelings of those you've killed? I've given them a chance for repentance for their sins...instead they prefer revenge! They want to devour your soul piece by piece until you wish you were never born!]
"Your right about scaring me! But there's no way in hell that I've killed that much!"
[Let me make it clear, that sword that you wield is the result of thousands and thousands of lives...it's past wielders never attained its full strength as they only used it to kill mercilessly!]
"Just because I have the sword with me doesn't mean that I'm the one who took their lives!"
[You titleholders are all the same! No shame! Stop denying the truth!]
This thing could have met past titleholders and points his grudges to the current ones. More and more body parts kept on adding to this mass of a thing, the screams, and sorrows of the dead were unbearable, and wherever I ran to they follow.
[STOP RUNNING, COWARD! LET US CONSUME YOUR SOUL!]
I'm starting to get exhausted from all the running, I'm running out of breath, my legs are tired, my brain is confused...how do I get out of this predicament? Suddenly the buildings in my surroundings vanished and the whole world suddenly glowed an eery red. Body parts rained from the sky, there was no place to serve as a shelter. I could hear the rumbling of the huge thing in the distance, it was getting slower but the rumbling got stronger indicating that it's getting larger and heavier.
[Show yourself! There's no escape but death! Show yourself! Let us consume your tasty soul!]
I kept running and running, I have to get away as far as possible from that behemoth. My lungs can't take it anymore, I'm starting to get suffocated due to the odor the body parts are releasing, there isn't enough oxygen anymore. I'm scared, I'm lonely, I want help...
[FOUND YOU!]
"CRAP!"
[Tired?]
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"
[HEHEHEHEHE! I'll give you a painless death!]
I need to think of something to do quickly! The thing behind me at least grew thrice its original size, it was growing at an alarming rate...I also noticed that as it grew, body parts stuck to it and it left a trail behind it...this means that I just need to make it grow as large as possible until it can't move anymore then I can use corrosion on it. I just notice right now that I can even use some of my skills and my crown.
"HEY FATASS! I GIVE UP ONCE YOU CATCH ME! LET'S MAKE THIS AN INTERESTING GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE!"
[HOW ENTERTAINING FOR A MURDERER THAT'S ABOUT TO DIE!]
I seem to have caught its attention. I was also thinking that this thing must have a core somewhere inside its mass because, without a core, those numerous body parts will have nothing to cause it to stick.
"C'MON RUN TO ME AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"
[RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!]
I managed to provoke it, I boosted myself with the white flames and used corrosion to skip through the air. I'm planning on leading it to an area where there will be piles and piles of body parts.
[COME BACK HERE YOU PESKY RAT!]
"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!"
I spotted a mountain of piled-up body parts a few yards away, I dashed for it even faster than before. The monster behind me seemed to speed up also. My plan is simple, get the monster to have more mass, once it can't move anymore, I'll encase it in ice and proceed to use corrosion on it to make it disappear...this is the best plan I can think of for now...I managed to reach the mountain of bodies and the monster was just a few feet away from me.
[I CAUGHT YOU! THERE'S NO MOVING FURTHER! THIS IS A DEAD END!]
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
[HAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS YOUR END!]
I let it near me so that he would go through the mountains of body parts and it will get stuck to it. It destroyed the mountain and numerous amounts of body parts stuck on to it...it stopped moving and I immediately circled around it from the ground, supporting myself using the flames, I flew around it from the bottom spraying thick layers of ice so that it couldn't move.
[YOU SNEAKY LITTLE RAT!]
"SHUT UP YOU AMALGAMATION! THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR TAKING ON THE DEAD'S FORM! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT?!"
I finally finished encasing it fully in ice by going around it several times and swiftly. its core must be somewhere in the middle, I propelled my way up high in the sky, I summoned the Nemax and changed it to its second form which made it heavier. I got directly on top of the monster.
"CORROSION! CORRUPTION! NEMAX SECOND FORM! BURST MODE: TWO HORNS!"
[YOU BRAT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLANNING?!] it panicked
"I'M ERADICATING YOU FROM THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE! FACE THE WRATH OF THE MURDEROUS BLADE YOU'VE HATED!"
Pointing down the sword, I dashed with it whilst boosting myself with the white flames. The blade made contact with the uppermost part of the egg-shaped monster, the surroundings that made contact with the blade started to eradicate.
"THIS IS THE END YOU MONSTER!"
[RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!]
"NO ONE WILL EVER HEAR YOUR WHINING EVER AGAIN!"
"NEMAX: EXPAND!"
The second form of the Nemax grew in size and length, with a loud cracking noise, it broke through the core of this monster. I safely crashed down to the glass-like ground and what an astonishing view it was seeing all those body parts finally disappear...
[Young boy, thank you for releasing us from this purgatory...we highly appreciate it...]
[Thanks for finally freeing us!]
[Now we can finally move on!]
[I hope luck is by your side young boy!]
Voices suddenly entered my mind thanking me for releasing them...so they were trapped here...I felt satisfaction with helping spirits move on to the afterlife, they must have spent eternity in here, suffering while waiting for the day they could be free from the shackles of this plain. Countless white lights ascended upwards...
[Tarus...I don't feel so good...]
A familiar female voice spoke out to me...could it be...
"Zeichi?!"
[Yeah...it's me...you released the souls trapped inside the Nemax since this is purgatory...I guess I'm disappearing with them...I'm happy finally meeting someone who could fully use my powers after centuries and centuries of killing people...I'm glad I met you in the end...this isn't a bad way to go...]
"HEY, HEY, HEY! WHY! WHY?! PLEASE DON'T GO! I'LL BE LONELY! I ALWAYS RELY ON YOU!"
[Aww, it sure is heartwarming to have someone worry about me...I didn't want to resort to this but I guess this is the only way to do it...it's a painful process, not only physically but mentally...]
"I WILL DO ANYTHING JUST TO SAVE YOU! I DON'T CARE HOW PAINFUL IT IS! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE ANYMORE!"
[You really are a superb kid...I guess I can't leave you alone...touch the hilt of the Nemax...you'll see someone...]
I grabbed the hilt of the diminishing blade, it was light...my vision suddenly darkened...I was kneeling on the ground...cold sweat dripped from my face as I saw the person I cherished so much...sitting down on the darkened floor...Zeichi then appeared...her body was badly damaged as there were white cracks in her pure black body...
[This is the only proof of her remaining existence...I don't really want to do this...]
"Cherri....?
[Well...this is the only way to restore me...by fusing with the soul of the wielders most beloved...]
There was no other choice to save Zeichi...
"That's not the last proof of her existence...she lives on in my heart...right here..."
I pounded my chest with my right hand...
[Well then...should I start? It's gonna hurt a bit...and you should say your parting words...]
I stood up and made my way to Cherri...I caressed her hair and she was breathing a bit...she might be alive here but there's no way she can return to reality...
"I guess this is it...our final meeting...hopefully you can have peace in the afterlife...wait for me there...I'm sure that fate will let us meet again together..."
"Tarus...don't go..." she spoke softly
I started to get emotional and before I knew it tears were flowing down my face...
"We'll meet again! I'll make sure! Someday and somehow we'll be together and live the rest of our days back in the village!"
"Promise...?"
She spoke again with her eyes closed...she held out her right hand in a pinky position...
"PROMISE!"
We made a pinky promise...hopefully this time, I can fulfill the promise...
"I'm glad we met...and I'm glad that I can sacrifice myself to be of use to you..."
[Cherri...Tarus....]
"This is goodbye for now Tarus...we'll meet again..."
"Goodbye...and goodnight...take care in the afterlife Cherri..."
"I'll be careful haha!"
I let go of her arm...she started cracking away into small little glowing pieces of light...