Kai wearily opens his eyes only to see the sight of a dimly lit room his in. No, it wasn't a room. Rather, a cage made of thick wooden slabs in a dim place. Was it underground? Or somewhere else. Kai didn't know, however, if there's anything he remembers. That will be what happened earlier.
In his groggy state, the memory of the bandits resurfaced in his mind. Back then, Kai and Ariella were saved from the crawling abomination. However, as it turns out. They mistakenly venture close to the vicinity of bandits lair.
They weren't saved. But faced new perils.
What follows next was his desperate struggle against the bandits, which he obviously lost due to their overwhelming quantity. Each was a mischievous individual armed with harmful weapons and a tainted mind eager for violence. Peoples Kai didn't want to encounter nor prepared to fight. Still, he struggled to flee with Ariella even if it meant fighting their way through. Of course, he doesn't hold such power... Under the overwhelming barrage of punches sending him in a world of pain, his world became blurry then fell unconscious.
He lost, which cost...
Kai suddenly gasped.
"...Ariella? Ariella?! Where!?-"
His panic words were cut as a bitter realization dawned upon him. His alone in a cage. With Ariella no where in sight. Kai's hands are tied, his freedom in bars. While the dim lantern light seeps through the narrow seams as a futile endeavor to eliminate his dim world.
Here, no matter how loud he calls out, the goddess his supposed to take care of won't come. She's no longer by his side, obligatory or not. Because she's been taken by the bandits after he fell unconscious.
His heart shrunk, feeling the heavy consequences of his defeat.
"No way..." His voice frail.
Their time together was short, but Kai had learned to care for her. She's like an innocent little sister, viewing everything with curiosity and light. As if the world around them was a wonderful paradise, devoid of darkness. Kai had long lost that light because the world aren't kind to naive people. Still, a part of him yearned for that foolishness. To see life without problems and put on a careless smile, meet others without doubt and dubious judgment. To be happy without care in the world, treating life to be full wonderful things. Instead of a complicated food chain, where the strong tramples the weak either physically or economically. A vast competition for greatness for the winners and sorrows for the defeated.
Kai wanted to protect Ariella's innocence, partially hoping for her to grow up as a benevolent goddess of a wonderful world.
Unfortunately, his one of the weak. Therefore, he failed to do so. No one can blame him though, a entire gang of bandits are just too much.
He gritted his teeth's to the point it aches, for the sake of holding his tears.
'No excuses, I'm a bad guardian, I know... Why do those Irresponsible gods even game me this job. I hate it! No... I can't do it. They knew I'm just a random f*cking human!'
But no matter his reasons were, the gods won't probably listen to a insignificant mortal like him. That's when Kai suddenly chuckled, finding a thought funny.
Was Ariella disregarded? Being born as a God, she might pose threat towards senior deities. So, she's abandoned in the cruel world of mortals to be degraded from divine. Do gods also have politics where greed fought? Disregard the feelings of lower individuals of which they trample to achieve their goal.
Thinking about it, Kai realized how sad Ariella's situation truly is. He wanted to help her, shield her light because that's probably the most honorable thing he will do in this damned life of his. Then, his eyes lit up upon recalling a certain details before he passed out.
The bandits mentioned bringing Ariella to the "Boss" as a gift to earn merits. So all hopes aren't lost. There's most likely a delay before that, due to leading a large gang requires a competent mind for management, which takes time. Leaving him a few idle hours to fool around before rest.
Maybe, maybe he could rescue Ariella before the bandits leader gets his hands on her. However, his hopes quickly diminished due to a an obvious factor blocking his path.
Kai is imprisoned, with hands tied behind his back and a thick wooden slabs encasing him. Something his immortality can't break. As if that wasn't enough, numerous bandits inhabits the entire lair. An army he can't win against.
"Ah... F*ck"
Kai let out a long sigh, then bumped his head on the cage slab a bit hard. It hurts, but the disappointment of himself and inability to formulate a better solution was so stressful. Kai rather feels pain than think. It was soothing, somehow.
So, he kept bumping the back of his head as the frustration of not being able to conclude a feasible rescue plan grew.
Bam, Bam, Bam...
The goal was simply too difficult, every idea he came up with are countered by tough challenges ahead. It was impossible with his current strength, that is. Eventually, his banging got harder to the point his head bleed, the frustration is driving him nuts. His Ariella's only hopes, but he can't do a thing. It was...
"For god's sake, can't you quiet down. If you can't sleep, then let others sleep! Stop banging on the wall!"
A feminine voice sounded behind, coming from the other side. Kai was startled for a moment, before looking over his shoulder with wary eyes. The gaps between the wooden bars aren't that wide, therefore, the light flowing within is dim. More so on the other cage behind him which is further back, enabling it from receiving light at all. It was dark and silent previously, making him assume there's nothing there. To his surprise, someone is also imprisoned there.
However, it wouldn't change the fact that he couldn't save Ariella. Having quickly lost interest, Kai return to his previous gloom and leaned back. Saying in a flat devoid of emotions.
"Yeah... No."
He wanted to keep banging his head and she couldn't stop him. Pain is the only solace available for him from the excruciating frustration of inability.
"And why? What you're doing is not benefiting any of us. So please refrain from bumping your head on the wall, you only have one. Let me sleep in peace."
Her voice emits a demanding tone and a noble bearing of a royal lady trained for fancy courtesy. Her ways of speaking sound odd for Kai, who grown used to conversing casually.
However, he was curious about something else - a starling detail that made him feel amiss.
"How did you know it was my head?"
She had no way of knowing the exact body part his using to bump due to the lacking visibility of the dark place they're in. Which can be anything, really.
"I heard it." She responded shortly in a nonchalant tone.
'She must have a really sharp ear...'
Silence hung over them. Kai wasn't much of a talker, and the other party only wanted to nap in silence. Kai simply stare blankly on the bars in front of him, where steams of light flowed through narrow gaps. His mind stuck on a repeated endeavor to rescue Ariella, which all ended in varying defeat. Its helpless...
Eventually, a heavy sigh escaped from his lips.
"I know I'm being irrational, it's just that. This head of mine can't work properly."
A restrained, irritated soft sigh response in return.
"So that's why you're jogging it." She said, then claps sarcastically. "What a nice idea. Do mined it might break, I don't want a smelly corpse as a neighbor. Dying like that is just beyond idiotic."
"Its just not working right, right now. I'm not that dumb."
His neighbor smirked.
"Still denying that you're dumb, eh. Isn't that adorable." She chuckled.
Being teased by a girl doesn't feel nice in this desperate moment. Kai felt the urge to smack whoever she is.
"Then if you're so smart, how about solving my problem, genius. Tell me, how will a single idiot rescue a girl from a bunch of f*cking bandits?"
She chuckled again, saying in a playful tone.
"Easy, just slaughter them and everyone lives happily ever after."
Kai would have claps to praise her in a sarcastic manner. If only his hands aren't tied.
"Damn, you're so smart. And how will I do that, genius? Summon a meteorite from the sky?"
"I know, that praise was sung to me many times I lost count. As for your question, stupid sir. If you could make a meteorite fall, then do so!. Although, it would also kill the one you're trying to save or yourself, included." She sighed. "Actually, please don't. I don't want to die in the hands of a moron."
Forget about smacking her, Kai wanted to kill her already!
She continued, her voice oozing with pride.
"However, as smart as I am. I know of a better, simpler way."
He wanted to return the mockery, but refrained himself because of her last words. Whether it's a trick to insult him or a genuine offer, Kai would swallow his pride for that tiny hope of rescuing Ariella.
"What's that?"
She smiled, or he thought she smiled due to the presence she was expressing and said.
"By releasing me."