Chapter 11- Crusader (Part 1)
Kamine gulped a mouthful of saliva as he listened to the sound of giant footsteps coming toward him. Because of his paralyzed state, he couldn't look back at all. All he could do is to wait, in that eerie, twisted anticipation for what was to come.
His eyes were fixated on a particular young boy, walking away with his right leg being dragged to the ground. His small silhouette was seamlessly misleading. Anyone would think he was merely a child, a poor and pitiful one at that.
However, that same kid was the reason for the death of tens of people, including his own father. A kid that barely could even be called a teenager yet who committed acts even the most twisted of adults couldn't come close to and he did all of that with a straight face, without hesitation.
Only a twisted, devilish mind can be that cruel at that young of an age.
"Akio… you are a devil." Kamine suddenly said in a low tone. His face had somehow lost its fear out of nowhere. Instead, a weird grin appeared on his face.
"You are purely evil… A monster in human skin. There is no difference between us, Akio. I would've killed you if it meant I will finally be accepted by Holem and here you are, throwing me to a monster for food! You are as much of a lowlife as I am!!" His tone grew higher and higher with each passing second.
"Maybe I should've killed you sooner! Maybe if I did that, some people would've lived to see the light of day! Maybe they would've ended up reaching the inner city gates with me!! You hear me, Akio! You robbed people of their lives willingly! You are a monster no better than the one behind me!"
The huge footsteps got closer and closer until it was near Kamine's ears along with the looming presence of the monster. The light of the moon vanished and instead, pure, cold darkness engulfed the paralyzed man.
"I hated you! You don't even know how much your birth was like a curse to me! I regret the day I slept with that bitch just to conceive you! Do you hear me?! I curse you and everything you will do in this shitty life! I hope you see the worst of hells and go through the worst of pains! Seeing your suffering will be my biggest happiness!!"
*Swish*
Getting picked up, Kamine didn't change his glare from Akio's silhouette. His face was now contorted horribly and his eyes were consumed by madness.
"I'm going to hell because of what I did. But, you! You are going to rot in the deepest parts of Treachery!! I will be waiting for you there!"
The monster's hand squeezed Kamine, making him squint with deep pain. His numb limbs started cracking as the bones couldn't handle the pressure. His lungs kicked out any air he had left inside.
Then, without any hesitation, as if it was merely another victim out of the tens or even hundreds of victims it consumed, the monster crushed Kamine in the palm of its hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" A spine-chilling shrill scream echoed in the whole slums.
Blood oozed out of every orifice in Kamine's body as his face turned beet red like a tomato. His clenched teeth were crushed into bits and pieces because of the sheer clenching of his jaws. The monster's cold eyes stared at Kamine as he breathed out his last breaths.
After that, without any hesitation, it made the last squeeze.
*BLOMP*
The sound of something exploding as blood splashed everywhere reached Akio's eyes and made him squint visibly.
Kamine had died.
After making sure the prey was completely turned into a fleshy mush, the monster opened its huge mouth and threw the dead body inside before it started chewing on it.
On the other side, hidden between the countless houses in the area, Akio fell down to the ground. His face was deathly pale and his eyes were fidgeting around uncertainly. Sweat trickled down his face and his ragged breathing was loud enough for his ears' weakened hearing to catch it.
"I… did it." He muttered as he put his hand on his face, still in complete disbelief.
"I did it. Heheheheh!" His expression contorted slightly as a small, weird smile appeared there. Then, a quiet chuckle escaped his mouth. A crazy chuckle.
He didn't know why, but even in this condition, he felt the urge to laugh. Not a normal, happy laugh but one of pain, disbelief, and reality.
"Hehehehehe!! Hahahahhaha!!" His laugh grew louder and louder. Meanwhile, tears fell down his face.
"I killed many people. I did it." He kept murmuring to himself.
Even though he had accepted that idea and even executed it to great perfection. Deep down, Akio was still merely a child. Even with all the things he went through, this was the first ever time he was the reason for someone's death, or even multiple people at that. He felt his heart completely chatter as if after this day, he won't be the same person.
All kinds of dark thoughts coupled with the words that his father said before his death ate away from his mind. Maybe he will indeed be cursed for his evil deeds and maybe he won't even be able to live a peaceful life for the rest of his years. There was nothing certain at all.
"No… I had just prioritized my life over others. That's normal. Either survive or die trying to survive, no rules or restraints."
Akio can't forget why he did all of this in the first place. It was all for the sake of survival. He had chosen his life over the life of tens of people. He wasn't naive to think that his choices would not have disastrous effects.
"Kid…"
Suddenly, from behind, a voice spoke to him. Turning around, Akio saw old man Tin standing there with a complicated gaze on his face.
"I'm… fine." Wiping the tears from his face, Akio replied calmly with a neutral expression. He wasn't keen on the idea of crying in front of others even if it was someone like Tin. If he wanted to completely break down, he will do it once he was sure of his survival.
Standing up, the young man asked.
"What should we do now?"
They had completed the first phase of their plan or to be more precise, the only part they thought about. Now, they were outside, in the dark, with threats surrounding them from all directions.
They can't go back to the slums since it was now infested with those creatures. They can't also stay here since the giant monster was still looking for them around. The sound of his steps going somewhere on the horizon was still audible even from where they were standing.
"Should we go the inner city walls after all?" Akio suggested as he rubbed his forehead.
"It's… Well, sigh, I guess that's our only choice. There aren't that many options." Tin frowned hard thinking of anything else.
They didn't really have much they could work with. Both of them are very weak, both are clueless about anything related to those monsters, and both of them weren't even in good shape to exert any physical power for a long time. The only thing they could do is…
*Swish* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud explosion blew the two of them away as a strong gush of wind struck them right in the face.
"Ugh!!!" Akio's body smashed against one of the walls, knocking the breath out of his lungs.
On the other hand, Tin, was blown out of the alley and into the middle of the road. Houses fell off like dominos and wood pieces could be seen flying everywhere.
"W-What happened?!" Clenching his teeth, Akio stood up with great difficulty as he looked around with clear confusion.
It was all too sudden, they were conversing normally and then everything was submerged into chaos.
Eventually, his eyes fell on the potential reason for this sudden explosion of air. A silhouette of a person was standing not that far away from him. Because of the absence of light and the generally weird situation, Akio couldn't see his features clearly. But, that didn't mean that the impact of this mere gaze wouldn't be as strong for him.
"Uh…" Instantly, his hand went toward his neck as he felt his throat being blocked by something. His shoulders started falling down from an invisible pressure weighing down on him.
'W-What is… this?!' Akio asked in a panic.
He really didn't understand why he was feeling as if a ton of rocks were put on him out of nowhere. Not only that, but his heart was beating extremely fast as adrenaline pumped into his veins. All of these symptoms appear when the body is only in one particular state… fear.
Then, one word filled Akio's mind, Run!