Luke sucked a deep breath as he closely watched Eleven insert the key into the hole in the box and rotate it slowly. The sound of clicking, signifying the opening of the box echoed in the quiet walls of the room.
Luke swears that he could hear the pounding of his heart in the room. Even though he was not one to back down, in the face of horror, his heart was still filled with anxiety. He came from Earth, where the supernatural are just legends and myths. Now, he was about to see one personally with his eyes. Although he was nervous, he was also a bit excited.
Klay's eyes narrowed at this time as Eleven, with eyes akin to that of a snake, greedily eyed the five pills laid inside.
"Those pills. I've heard about them even though the aristocrats try to cover their existence from common folks like us."
One of the men glared at the five pills filled with uncertainty.
Luke quickly perked his ear up. He smells free information.
One of them nodded. In contrast to the other, he looks quite excited. He clenched his fist, agitated and his eyes were bloodshot. "Yes! As long as I consume one, I'll obtain the power to fight those fucking abominations that took my wife! Those damned horrors... I'll wipe out every single one of them, shred them to pieces, and let the dogs in the street eat their damned parts!" The man grits his teeth, his voice full of hatred but also desperate.
"I'd rather die in this room than face those fuckers helplessly." The other one answered, his expression pale, eyes shifty, as if afraid that something would jump at him anytime.
Abomination? Horrors? Luke shuddered. This world seems to be really, really dangerous just with those descriptions.
At the same time, it allowed Luke to grasp the context of the situation. The two that were talking to each other really did participate in this experiment in the hope that their life would turn around for them.
Both of them were a plague of horrors of the so-called Abomination. Luke guessed that "abomination" must pertain to supernatural creatures. Not to mention, those things caused these two to reach this point of desperation that they could only bet on their lives.
Just what are those horrors that forced two adult men like this? Also, the pills indeed allow one to get access to the supernatural forces of this world. The reason why these two participated was for the hope of walking the pathway through pills and gaining supernatural powers to fight those horrors. After all, you can only fight poison with poisons.
The prince, priest, and the general who heard the conversation didn't react. As if those things are normal which made Luke understand the horrors of this world even more.
Where the fuck did he just transmigrate in!?
If not for the existence of the Ouroboros System that gave him solace and some confidence, Luke didn't know how he would face all these things. If not for his innate bravery, he might have peed his pants now.
Just like that, Eleven took one of the pills out of the five and laid the box on the ground. He looked at the ceiling hesitantly and the pill; however, the hesitation turned to a look of insanity, and he threw the pill in the air. He opened his mouth wide as the pill descended in the air down his throat.
A look of joy flashed past to the eyes of the prince and the priest. While the general appeared indifferent to all of this.
Luke had to admit that he had to praise this man. He didn't if he was just crazy or really fearless, or just a fool.
"He's done for." Klay whispered as he watched this with a look of pity. His eyes told stories of an insider.
As the pill was completely consumed. Eleven had a confident grin on his face. "That's it? I don't feel a-..."
One second.
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
Eleven's eyes widened and a horrified look replaced his once confident demeanor. Visibly, his flesh wriggled like struggling maggots. The schlera on his eye gradually turned decayed yellowish.
"Another failure." The prince didn't look pleased. He looked at the general beside him and opened his mouth. "Make him disappear..."
"Let's wait. No rush..." The general yawned.
The priest watched all of this with interest as if he was watching a show.
Klay still had his poker face but ready to fight at any given time.
The two beside him, as desperate as they may, they were caught lacking in the face of horrors in their mouth.
"This isn't what I signed up for." Luke took a fighting stance, he'd rather die fighting now that push comes to shove.
"Fucking kill me now!!!!" Eleven uttered a humane scream. His plea seems to express that he'd rather die than turn into monster.
Suddenly, Eleven's head burst open, his eyes turned to fleshy color tentacles dripping with blood. A new head jumbled of teeth stuck with strands of hair, and tongues completely filled with nail-sized yellow pus had formed.
BLURGH!!
Luke fell to the ground puking. His vomit was only clear water. The sensation of his stomach turning upside down at the visually disgusting thing that Eleven had become.
It's not just Luke, even the other two began to vomit, the stench permeates the air.
"A partially formed abomination." Klay seemed to be immune at such scene. As he pulled out a red orb from the sleeves of his orange shirt, ready to throw it at any given moment.
At Klay's words, Eleven turned his head at them with green foaming saliva on its three separate mouths.
"Its" two arms morphed to tentacles with sharp tendrils at each tip.
Fuck!
Without a warning, the two tendrils dangerously elongated. Klay dodged one with a classic action movie roll. Another tendril graze the cheek of another, bloody drip seeped out. "Arghhh!!!"
"Don't fucking chicken out! We charge and fight or run and die damn it!" Veins bulged at Luke's forehead as his eyes reflected the determination to die while fighting.
The general gave Luke an appreciative nod and said. "Unnecessary."
A blood red aura oozed out from every pores of the general's body and took the shape of scythe.
"W-hat in the holy c*ck is that thing!?" Luke couldn't help but blurt out vulgarly, unable to find the right vocabulary.