Is this hell?

Michael could feel an unbearable heat around him but this is quickly replaced by frost as he feels his heart stop. Then he feels slow as if he was suddenly dunked in water only to stop moving as if encased in dirt.

He continues to feel these sensations as Michael falls and falls and falls.

Am I really falling?

Looking around, Michael saw a cacophony of colors. Looking far into the distance, Michael sees a gargantuan mountain that seems to stretch to infinity. It was surrounded by thick white clouds as lightning danced around it. Turning to another direction, Michael could see an inverse tower. It was connected to a ceiling that seemed to span everywhere. The tower’s red and dark bricks exuded an ominous aura. Its length seemed to reach the bottom of this empty abyss. Despite the absence of its top, Michael could feel a terrifying entity watching him. Then in the middle of all of this, Michael could see a floating garden, seemingly protected by flying lights.

There were many more sights to see but Michael could feel himself accelerating. 

Looking downward, Michael could see the familiar appearance of hard dirt. 

Fudge!

Michael looked for anything that could slow his descent but obviously found nothing. Seeing that nothing would stop his fall, Michael instinctively braces his body. His mind immediately returns to Teremarae and he focuses everything on survival.

Then his body hit the ground but to his surprise, there was no impact. It was as if he lost all of his momentum in a single second. Touching the ground, Michael finds that even inertia is completely gone. He doesn’t feel dizzy as if he wasn’t falling for a few hours.

Standing up, Michael finds himself in a desert wasteland. Looking up, he can no longer see the tower, mountain, or garden. They’re all obscured by an infinitely black fog.

Michael could hear fire and lightning explode in the clouds. 

But even that horrendous sound could not cover the sound of powerful wings approaching.

Following the sound, Michael looks up and sees two creatures flying toward him. Winged hell beasts continue to fly toward him.

Michael’s body immediately enters fight or flight mode as he looks for anything that he can use. Unfortunately, this wasteland is truly nothing but rock and sand. Even with his superhuman vision, Michael couldn’t see anything useful within a few kilometers of him.

As Michael turned his gaze back toward the creatures, he observed them drawing nearer. These flying beings had crimson skin, sharp teeth, and a striking resemblance to the imps of myth. Their slender bodies appeared devoid of flesh, as though their skin clung directly to bone. Their faces were disproportionately elongated, adorned with horrifying yellowish teeth. 

Sighing, Michael takes a moment to study his body and quickly finds that he doesn’t have a physical body. Instead of the familiar muscular body that he used in the past year, Michael’s form was a shadowy darkness. Touching his face, he finds a smooth surface, devoid of any human features. He raises his hands up to his vision and notices a shadowy outline of what his hands are supposed to be.

What??

Then he hears a powerful roar as the winged creatures dive down toward him.

Doesn’t matter.

Michael recalls the mechanics of his body in Teremarae. He launches himself into the air to unleash a potent strike, only to discover that he can't muster the same level of force.

“What??”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

In an instant, the two creatures were right before him. Michael attempted to evade, only to realize that both his reflexes and speed were no longer as sharp as they were in Teremarae. It was as though he had reverted to the abilities of an ordinary human.

Despite the loss of physical ability, Michael’s mind was still sharp. He immediately adjusts to his slower and weaker body.

He immediately backs away but the creature chases him. It swings its claw toward Michael.

Too slow. The Draco is faster than you.

Despite his thoughts, Michael just barely manages to dodge the attack due to his completely normal human body.

“Hey! I just finished fighting a scaly bastard. I’m not about to fight two more.”

Pissed off, Michael turns around and runs in a random direction. He hears snarls behind him and gurgled words. At first, it speaks a variety of languages that Michael couldn’t recognize. After a few phrases, it switches to one that Michael could understand.

“Human! Surrender and this shall be painless!”

Must I really fight again??? I just got back my arm!

Backing away, Michael keeps his eyes on the red creatures. One of them lunges forward but Michael simply pushes its arm away.

At least they’re unskilled.

But before Michael moves further away, the monster’s tail suddenly moves forward as if it were an arm.

It wraps around Michael’s neck. The tail immediately tightens and chokes the life out of Michael.

Wait, I’m dead! I don’t need air but wh-why does it hurt?

Feeling the sensation of being choked, Michael struggles but the other red creature quickly goes behind Michael and grabs his legs. It then uses its prehensile tail to hold Michael’s arm behind him.

The two impish creatures laugh in malevolent glee as they look at Michael.

“Look at this one! It hasn’t manifested its old human form. Must be an idiot.”

“It doesn’t matter! This is a soul! And look around! No barzans or carduks to make a slave contract! I can make this my slave and gain power from it.”

The other imp sneers.

“Your slave???”

Michael feels the tails and arms on him tighten as the two creatures snarl at each other.

“You filth! I am the rightful master of this one!”

“Try to take him from me! I have his neck in my tail! I will shatter his soul before I give it to you!”

Michael internally groaned as he had to listen to these two creatures get more agitated.

Why did I revert to my body on Earth??? I don’t understand.

The two creatures start to glow, emanating a power that Michael feels is familiar.

The Draco?? Wait, no. It's these things.

“You bastard! You dare raise your power at me! I was the one who raised you from a measly horror!”

“And with my new power, I’ll overthrow you old man! Imagine being a horror for 200 years old! It only took me 10 years to become an imp!”

Fire starts to take form as the two imps are about to kill each other. Michael thinks of a way to escape their grasp but before he can do anything, he hears a loud shout directed toward them.

“LET HIM GO!”

The two imps flinched in fear only to turn toward the one who shouted. It was a teenager holding what seemed to be like a sling. He then swings the sling with clear expertise.

“Let him go! Or else!”

Seeing the young child, the imps laugh loosening their grip on Michael.

Oh, that’s it.

“You! Get that kid. Make that one your slave.”

“What? You get that kid! It’s probably already got a slave mark!”

The two imps then study the child.

“But we can capture it and sell it to someone!”

The younger imp, ever opportunistic, suddenly lets go of Michael and lunges toward the teenager.

But before it could get any nearer, the teenager lets go of the spinning sling. A smooth rock flies through the air and immediately strikes the imp’s skull. It cries out in pain, causing its companion to loosen its grip on Michael even more.

Michael immediately grabs the imp. While he was no longer as powerful as he was in Teremarae, Michael spent more than a year in that dangerous place. He snaps forward and slams the imp downward, causing it to screech in pain. Its partner turns around only to see a shadowy foot fly toward its face.

But despite that, Michael knew that he didn’t really deal any actual damage. These creatures were, despite their lanky appearance, more powerful than humans. They reminded Michael of himself when he was in Teremarae.

Before he could sink another hit in, Michael felt a hand grab his wrist. Turning to it, he sees the teenager holding his wrist.

“Let’s go!”

Michael doesn’t feel an immediate fear toward the young person and runs with him.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE SLAVE!”

Scanning the surroundings, Michael couldn't identify any area they could go to. While he believed he could evade these monsters, he had doubts about the young kid's abilities and wasn't so certain about their chances of escape together.

“Let me lead!”

Michael hears the teenager shout. Feeling a certain sense of determination in the young man’s voice, Michael lets them lead.

As they run, the screams of the imps suddenly turn faint. Turning around, Michael finds that the creatures are gone. The teenager slows down from their full sprint to a slow job, panting.

Michael's feeling of imminent danger gradually dissipates, but he keeps his guard up, prepared for the possibility of an invisible creature lurking nearby. After the teenager manages to regain some of their breath, Michael calls out to them.

“Hey, kid.”

The teenager turns to Michael with a frown. 

“Thanks for saving me.”

The teenager groans but nods.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

Once the teenager manages to recover, he turns to Michael and looks him up and down.

“So, until when are you keeping that spirit form?”