The heavy blade sliced through Ramiel's chest, knocking him to the ground. A moment later, he felt his leg being brutally chopped off with a large axe. The weapon was sharp, but at least it didn't hurt so much.
Then Ramiel's body was shaken by four powerful blows. A spear pierced his leg, an arrow lodged in liver, a rapier struck heart, and a sword massacred left lung, piercing it through.
Tsk... here we go again... which time is it? 2025? No... maybe 2027? - The bored man muttered in his mind and let the air out in a gesture of exasperation.
"Huh? He... you know, shouldn't he be screaming? We probably didn't kill him that quickly."
"We shouldn't..." - Arthur cast a skeptical glance at the motionless body of the former captain. No matter how long he thought about it, something seemed wrong. "Ariel, see if he's alive."
The redhead ran up and placed two fingers on the carotid artery. After a moment, he felt a steady and calm heartbeat.
"He is alive." - Ariel gasped in surprise.
Ramiel steadily raised his head. He saw six people in front of him: four men and two women. He measured them with a steady gaze, then smiled sinisterly. His eyes expressed a coldness greater than that prevailing in the Nordic land of Niflheim. The smile was even worse, capable of making even the bravest shiver.
A simple gesture was enough to cause a stir in the ranks of the team. All six felt fear and instinctively moved away.
It wasn't Ramiel's obnoxious smile that caused them so much trouble, nor the cold and eyes devoid of positive feelings. The aura the man spreads around him was responsible for everything. Upon coming into contact with it, his former companions felt a deep-seated fear... an instinctive fear of death... It was as if they were face to face with the Grim Reaper.
"Come on..." - Ramiel gently tilted his head to the side. "I don't bite... you can finish what you started."
No one dared to move from their seat. Everyone was paralyzed by fear. Some of them even forgot to breathe.
Hmm... I think I overestimated them. - Ramiel replied in mind.
Cold sweat covered them all. The longer they were under its influence, the more fear consumed them.
"How much longer do I have to wait?" - Ramiel asked indifferently, furrowing his brow. He became slightly annoyed. Each new approach took more time.
"Ho-How...?" - Before the tall blond could finish, Ramiel interrupted him.
"Cut the crap and finally hit me. Be so nice, and don't start a monologue about why you're killing me and how many times you didn't sleep with Samantha. And don't forget to cut out similar nonsense. I have enough of them." - Ramiel stated indifferently, putting light pressure on the people in front of him.
The man stood as if he was miffed, unable to move. A hurricane of thoughts was raging in his head.
Why am I afraid? After all, I'm the predator, after all... I'm the... predator... right?
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" - Ramiel burst out laughing hysterically. The performance seemed comical to him. "I can't belive that... The great, strong, and powerful Arthur is afraid to hit a wounded man who can't even move a finger. "
"Tsk... how fucking pathetic." - Mocking the frightened Arthur gave Ramiel great pleasure. At least that's what he had left, for now.
Ramiel changed his object of interest and looked deep into the eyes of the woman he truly loved with growing disgust. Now, he felt revulsion and hatred toward her. The simple thought of any deeper relationship with her made him vomit.
It's sad how quickly such a beautiful feeling as love can turn into pure and unbridled hatred.
"Samantha honey... I know you have balls bigger than him. So, be so kind and cut off my head." - Ramiel limited the influence he had on those around him. He had had enough and wanted to end it quickly.
Samantha felt trickles of cold sweat running down her back. Nevertheless, she showed proverbial "balls" and stepped forward. She snatched the sword from Keny's hand and, uncertainly, approached Ramiel.
Samantha opened mouth, but her voice stuck in throat. Ramiel saw this and looked into her beautiful eyes one last time.
"Spare yourself and me this meaningless chatter." - Ramiel issued a brief warning and then added,
"I have one piece of advice for you. If you ever hear that I am alive..." - Ramiel paused longer than he should have. "Hide..."
"Kill yourself before I have a chance to get you..."
"If you don't..." - Ramiel laughed stupidly under his breath.
"What will I tell you much? You know me best of them all..."
"Your death will not be one of the lightest." - Ramiel tore his gaze away from her and turned to the rest. "You are affected by the same thing."
No more words came out of Ramiel's mouth. He lowered head lower, waiting to meet the cold blade. He was prepared for what was to come. After all, this wasn't the first time he had died.
Hearing her former lover's threat, Samantha questioned her decision. At that moment, she regretted that things had turned out this way. If only she hadn't been so greedy... Maybe things would have turned out differently.
Most of the time, it was Ramiel who focused all his attention on her, which frightened her even more.
Maybe if I saved him, he would forgive me? - A silly idea popped into Samantha's head. However, it died even faster than it appeared. It was enough for the woman to recall the look Ramiel had given her. She could in no way compare it to a caring and loving one. The current one seemed cold, filled with aggression and violence. It was as if he had become a different person in a matter of minutes.
"Forgive me." - Samantha took a deep breath. Her trembling hands raised sword high.
"It's the least I can do." - Samantha whispered, then the blade fell directly on Ramiel's neck. The head fell to the ground along with the sword. Soon, a woman followed in their footsteps, carefully following the resulting fountain of thick blood.
Suddenly, everything stopped in time. The area began to shake, the man's body disappeared, and the attackers evaporated.
After a while, Ramiel stood at the head of the group, whole and healthy. He added another number in thoughts, 2028.
4444, 4978, 6535, 7462, 9999 - Ramiel added and added. There seemed to be no end to it. Poor guy, he was looped at the moment of his own death. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break out of the loop. There was nothing left for him to do but accept the truth and go with the flow. After all, maybe someday his nightmare would end.
Unfortunately, that wasn't always the case. Ramiel's first approach was awful. He was confused and lost. He didn't know if it was the dungeon's influence or if he was crazy. He had just died and was behaving strangely, which only hastened his death.
The second approach turned his thoughts to the illusion. In the end, the whole incident seemed absurd to him. Unfortunately, the pain was too much for the illusion. Ramiel tried all sorts of ways to survive for the next hundred resets. But, it was pointless.
He begged for mercy in the most pathetic ways he could think of for another two hundred times. That didn't help, either. It only increased the attackers' aggression. Then, for the next two hundred approaches, he resumed his attempts to fight back. They also ended in failure.
In a brief pause, there was a phase of denial. Ramiel didn't believe what he was seeing and feeling. He pushed the events out of his mind, telling himself that it was just a dream. Worst of all, at this point, his psyche died without even thinking about resurrection.
Around the thousandth reset, Ramiel somehow took the plunge. Over the next thousand resets, his personality underwent profound changes. Feeding on hatred, contempt, and loathing, he became someone completely different.
His old self then seemed pathetic and weak to him. The friendly smile was replaced by a cold, shivering one and was even capable of causing fear. With his gaze alone, he could take away the will to fight from the bravest warriors.
The previously friendly aura was transformed into a lust for blood, murder, and violence. If before he cared about protecting something, now his survival was the most important thing.
He began to see everything as objects he could use to achieve his goals. But despite all this, somewhere inside him, there remained a small part of humanity that refused to be killed.
From 2000 to four 4999, Ramiel played psychological games with his former comrades. But he eventually got bored with that, too.
Somewhere around five thousand resets, there was a breakthrough. Ramiel was able to kill three people.
Around seven thousand, there was another breakthrough. Ramiel killed all the people present. Nevertheless, that didn't help him either. The ceiling collapsed on him and killed him on the spot.
About five hundred approaches away, there was another breakthrough. If one of the attackers is alive, he won't die either. Ramiel rejoiced like a child discovering a way out of hell. Unfortunately, life likes to mock him. Whenever he came close to the portal, it exploded, killing him.
However, even in his current state, Ramiel found pluses. After discovering a way to prolong " life," he began to abuse his former friends.
As someone wise once said. - "The hunter became the prey."
Ramiel was brutal in his revenge. He killed former friends in all sorts of ways, and the tortures he devised horrified even Lucifer himself in hell. Their pleas for mercy didn't move him.
The worst of them all was Samantha and Alexia. His former love... Ahh... well, there are no words to describe it.
In Nordic culture, there was such a thing as eagle wings. The victim's lungs were cut out through the back and exposed to the light of day so the man could die in agony. It was one of the most pleasant things Samantha had ever experienced.
As for Alexia. She was the only woman that Ramiel wasn't disgusted to touch. He knew her very well and knew that pride and arrogance prevented her from letting herself go with random people.
Therefore, Alexia experienced a brutal series of rapes, during which Ramiel discharged his anger and all the accumulated stress from recent events. In the past, such a thought never even crossed his mind. However, after the three-thousandth shot penetrated his liver, he lost any brakes.
And finally, even with the ten-thousandth reset, a miracle happened. There was no further reset. In fact, there was nothing. Ramiel drifted into the void. Impenetrable darkness surrounded him. No matter where he looked, he saw the same thing everywhere. That is nothing.
Huh... so this is the end? I was expecting something more spectacular.
Ramiel cursed himself mentally for his unspoken tongue. His eyelids began to weigh him down in an unnatural way until he became drowsy and fell asleep.
~~~~~~
Ramiel regained consciousness to find himself sore and cut. The second thing he noticed was the pervasive cold. The sensations were similar to those of lying on bare ice.
The third thing was the most obvious, but Ramiel only now noticed it. Apparently, the scenario inside the loop had changed or escaped from it.
Suddenly, Ramiel's ears twitched, hearing a short sneeze.
He slowly opened an eye, then quickly closed it. Ramiel cursed in his mind. The inspection didn't fill him with optimism.
Directly in front of him, he could see the woman's back. Her hair color seemed strange and unnatural to him. It was sky-blue in color. However, the group of goblins sitting in the corner caused him concern.
Under normal circumstances, Ramiel would have killed with a measly scrap of Aura. But now, a cold dread washed over him. He couldn't muster even a modicum of energy.
Worst of all, his entire mana was also gone. His current reserves were reminiscent of the beginning of his mana adventure.
It couldn't have been worse. - Ramiel gasped in thought. Without mana, he was practically defenseless. He was no different from an ordinary and mediocre man. He didn't stand a chance in an open fight with five goblins.
He opened his eyes once more. Now that he had a relative overview of the situation, he could make a more thorough inspection. In front of him sat a blue-haired woman. She looked normal, like any average person, only her ears stood out from the rest.
This fact escaped Ramiel at first. He considered her normal. But upon further inspection, he realized how wrong he was.
What's wrong with her ears? - He gasped in surprise, but that was only the beginning of the surprises. The real surprise turned out to be the other woman, whom Ramiel noticed a little further away. She had horns, though one was broken in half, and a tail.
What's going on here... - Ramiel was confused. He felt like a soldier storming the shore of a beach during a beach party. There was chaos everywhere. He didn't know who was an ally and who was an enemy. People looked like people, but they weren't.
Fortunately, it didn't look that bad. The women were defending themselves against the goblins, which Ramiel could use to his advantage. The man quickly shook off his lethargy and came up with a simple plan.
He started slowly with small steps. His muscles were stagnant, so he needed to get them moving. Ramiel moved his little toe and foot. Then he moved farther and farther until he could move his entire hand silently.
That much should be enough. - He muttered when he was ready. He picked up the flimsy dagger laying behind the unknown woman, avoiding unnecessary effort and movement. The weapon was old and tattered. Nevertheless, it was enough for what the former hunter wanted to do.
The goblins noticed the movement of fresh flesh but showed residual intelligence and didn't move.
Ramiel silently rose, and then he put a dagger to the woman's throat. With his other hand, he gagged her mouth. After all, he didn't want her to scream.
Caera, feeling the terrible chill of the blade on her throat, froze with fear. She was unable to move. Her body only involuntarily trembled.
And here, the goblins' intelligence ended. The green creatures suddenly stood up, showing excessive agitation.
"Caera, get ready." - Asme's voice echoed in the air. Ramiel found it pleasing to the ear but quickly put unnecessary thoughts out of his head. He focused on what was important. The time for foolishness would come later.
Silence. Asme was troubled by the lack of response. Without thinking, she took a few steps back, leaving the goblins more space. She wanted to check if the elfess was okay. After all, after so long, the two women share some sort of bond.
As the horned beauty tried to turn around, she heard a cool voice, from which she got chills.
"Don't move. Otherwise, I'll slit her throat." - Ramiel sounded confident, and his self-assurance added gravity to his words. Asme didn't flinch. She stopped motionless.
Ramiel breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid there might be communication problems, but everything seemed to be fine.
"Take five steps back and then turn to face me. I don't think I need to explain, but don't show the goblins your back."
Asme perfectly complied with Ramiel's strict orders. When she turned her head, she saw a reasonably handsome man. Relatively, because he was terribly emaciated and his cheeks were sunken.
Ramiel was surprised by Asme's appearance. He found her extremely attractive and appealing. She was one of those rare beauties you meet once in a lifetime unless you are disgustingly rich.
Ramiel knew that this wasn't the right time for similar thoughts and quickly cooled down.
"Who are you, and what is this place?" - Ramiel tried to be calm, but his behavior and tone of voice inspired fear.
Asme had a prepared answer, but Caera's sudden coughing interrupted her.
Ramiel didn't expect it and let his instincts work. He immediately pressed the dagger tighter to her neck. The blade sliced through the skin, releasing a few drops of blood.
Caera panicked. Fear painted her face, and tears ran down her cheeks. She didn't want to die.
Feeling that the situation was getting out of control, Asme fell to her knees and bowed her head low.
"Master, please stop, we don't want to hurt you." - The horned beauty exclaimed. "My name is Asme, and the woman to whom you owe your life and threaten is called Caera.
Master? What is the meaning of this... Is this a joke? -A tornado of meaningless thoughts flashed through Ramiel's head.
"Get up. The goblins are getting restless." - For some unexplained reason, Ramiel felt less threat from the women than from the green monsters.
Asme returned to her previous position.
"You didn't answer my question." - Ramiel remarked coldly. "What is this place, and why did you call me Master? "
"You are the owner of this place, Master, and the master of the dungeon." - Asme replied, emphasizing the word Master clearly. "If you assimilate to the core of the dungeon, which belongs to you, you will understand what I am talking about."
Ramiel was skeptical about the steak of nonsense he had heard. However, the woman didn't seem to be lying.
"Last question. How did I get here, and what does it mean that she saved me?"
Asme humbly recounted to Ramiel the events since the appearance of the breach in space.
"Why did you want to save me? What is the meaning of this?" - Ramiel came out with another series of questions.
"Without you, master, we will soon die. We will be trapped here forever if you don't reunite with the dungeon. Without food and drink..." - Asme nervously bit her lip. The cool expression on the stranger's face made her uneasy.
Ramiel remained silent, considering possible options. He found himself underground in an enclosed space. In front of him were two women who seemed eager to cooperate and a group of hostile goblins.
Connecting to the core didn't sound so bad. It's not like he had any other options.
"How do I connect to the Core?" - Asme showed a little enthusiasm at Ramiel's words.
"Just put your hand on the sphere and inject mana into it, Master."
Ramiel looked at the stone pillar. The dungeon core was indeed on it, but what would he do if the dungeon core rejected him? The answer was nothing. He had neither the comfort of choice nor the time to worry about such thoughts.
"Turn your back to me, and follow me to the rhythm of my steps." - Ramiel turned to Asme, then whispered to Caera. He tried to sound friendly, or at least neutral, but failed. "Try not to shake so much. If Asme isn't lying, I won't hurt you."
Caera nodded, trying not even to shake as Ramiel pulled her back. The former hunter looked over his shoulder, checking the distance from the column. He also didn't forget to check from time to time what the goblins were doing. It was their attack that he feared the most, and because of this, he left Asme in front. It may be cruel, but a living shield will always come in handy to buy precious seconds.
Standing next to the core, he felt a strange bond and attachment to it. Placing his left hand on its surface, Ramiel injected mana. The sphere turned black, absorbing the energy. Small, purple swirls of mana formed inside it and transformed into a vortex.
The room began to shake, and dark crystals sprouted from the walls, emitting a glow of a similar color. The interior of the dingy dungeon became a bit less austere and more cozy.
The goblins suddenly recognized a new master in Ramiel and their home in the dungeon. Under the influence of a higher authority, they fell to their knees and swore eternal allegiance to the man.
Ramiel paid no attention to the strange behavior of the creatures. His thought process was 100% focused on the message that suddenly popped into his head.