I've noticed that I made things a bit confusing for the readers when I shift from different perspectives and POVs.  [th_015_orz-v2.gif]

Therefore, I'm sorry. :boworpushups:

So, from now on, I shall start adjusting it a bit to suit the readers.

Also, I shall put this >>>>>>>>>>M<<<<<<<<<< when I  go to another place or when I think it is most appropriate.

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"Guilt"

This word is defined as an emotion that which one feels after learning what they have done, think they have done, and have not done enough, had caused harm on others. According to psychologists, it is a negative emotion that leans more on internal state than external and it is greatly disliked by many, thus, it is not a good motivator.

Guilt is one of the 'sad' emotions, which also include agony, grief and loneliness in its category.

If one were to experience guilt, they would most likely try to built immunity or a wall subconsciously just to escape it.

But what if the guilt was too strong..?

>>>~~\M/~~<<<

Beyond a large old tower, structured to last a disaster or a century, lies a large historic castle, with exquisite and beautiful design, surrounded by earth from all directions. This castle, despite its old age and clear scars formed by destruction, have yet to meet its end, as it still stands firmly on its ground. Inside this castle are large rooms and twisting hallways that's worthy to be visited by tourists; one of these tourist attractions is a very large hallway that reaches from the west wing to the center of the castle.

"Hello!"

I shouted

"..hello...hello..hel~o.."

and an echo followed.

Hannah is currently inside the castle's west wing; it's dark, but she was able to find a torch and light it with a flint and stone she found; although, it was not really enough to light up a whole room but at least it gave her warmth. Aside from the pitch black darkness, the area is surprisingly cold and it makes one feel they are not alone.

This is what people call creepy, huh.

If one were to come from inside the west wing, and wish to leave it, then such a person must go through this hallway despite its darkness. One may not notice it well, especially if its Hannah, but the area is highly concentrated with dark mana, thus it is cold; on top of that, the hallway has been greatly damaged, 'caused by the disaster that struck the place with the addition of time which made it less welcoming.

 At the right side are huge panels of broken stain glass and a hole, large enough to reach the ceiling, while the left side has its largest mirror cracked; not even a mirror or a window was spared. The darkness covered all of these like a blanket to hide the unfortunate from its little visitor.

I noticed that there are many pillars lined up at the side; they are either cracked or broken. Some are still standing, which means this huge hallway won't  be caving in any sooner. That's good.

Even though I said that, this place is too quiet; makes me remember of those times when I have nothing else to do.

Of course, she meant the other world, since she barely remembers her days as a princess of the country.

As she walks through the hallway and into the dining room, a sudden cold wind passes through her neck and sent her the chills.

Her heart started beating fast, which made her become more cautious.

She stopped, then quickly looked towards her back........ there was nothing there...

But while her gaze is concentrated on the other side of the hallway, a dark, tall, slouching man was creepily standing closely next to her, to the point that its already breathing heavily on the back of her neck. Even though she was alerted by the sudden presence, she was not able to notice the pitch black man next to her.

A loud screeching scream suddenly came closely from the back; it was so sudden and loud, that she subconsciously screamed and crouched down.

She looked back to know where it came from.

There's nothing..?

Then, she heard splashing sound of water from the other side. She looked towards where the sound came from, only to see a familiar sight she would wish she never saw again.

This. How could I forget..?

That's right. I've been subconsciously trying to push it at the back of my head, haven't I.

I didn't notice that I've been doing it, but....

why...

why is this here now?!

In front of Hannah is a black pool full of limbs and pieces of what seems to be human remains from a massacre.

Hannah, frozen in fear, couldn't stop but be filled with shock and horror at the sight that she should never forget; it was one of the mess she made, during a mission she was given.

>>>~~\M/~~<<<

"Kill all the residents from this building.", says a distorted hologram of a man.

"Yes", Lily automatically answered and received a data containing the details of the mission.

After the instructions were given, Lily proceeded to move towards the residential area of the poorest of the poor. Her targets this time are the people who are living in the building according to the address.

She didn't know why they are the targets, nor did she bother to think about it.

There was no need to go over the data, because she was already told to not leave even a life behind.

When she reached her target, she was welcomed by the residents with guns; but she was too fast that even a rain of bullets could not catch up to her. She merely used her speed and her trusted blade for the job.

Within thirty minutes, she was already done, and what was left there was a pool of blood and human limbs scattered all over the place. It was a sight that no one could stomach, except for Frozen Lily.

But now, Frozen Lily is no more, and what's here is her true self, named Hannah; a girl that can feel emotions.

>>>~~\M/~~<<<

Hannah trembles as guilt and fear took hold of her heart, shattering it into pieces. The fire, which was the only light source she has, got extinguished as the torch hits the cold floor.

Darkness is now her companion.

"ah.."

I've done something unforgivable.

"AAh.."

I even tried to forget about it.

"kuh...uuu..."

I deserve nothing for what I have done.

"kuu-u GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-!!!!", Hannah screams uncontrollably, which caused her body to release a strong magic pulse, distorting the area's mana flow a little bit.

It was then, followed by laughter from a maniac.

"gyahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHHAA!!"

Unbeknownst to Hannah, a human shaped black demon have entered her mind, and has been manipulating her to believe that there is something there that greatly reminds her of what ever wrong she had done. It was actually feeding from her guilt.

"YOU KILLED US!", says a head with no torso. 

It was then followed by the other limbs blaming her for what happened to them. This made Hannah fall to her knees, begging for their forgiveness.

"I'm sorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRY-!"

I didn't know.. I didn't know what to do!

How could I go against them?!

They were heartless. I am heartless!

I should've done something!

I should have... I should have...

While Hannah suffers from the guilt, the demon happily looked at her from the back, creepily smiling with its distorted dark face.

"REVENGE...hehehe.... Revenge....hehehe...gyahaHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA-!"

As the pressure on Hannah gradually got stronger, she falls and faints on the floor.

Seeing his victim fall into the ground, the demon stood up, began to walk away from the hallway, while dragging Hannah with its long thin arms like a sack of flour.

>>>~~\M/~~<<<

A loud scream echoes through out the dungeon. It was then followed by a strong pulse of magic power, which caused a wave like effect and distorted the mana in the air.

At that time, the expedition group were near the area and have been walking towards the direction where the magic power came from.

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"What was that..?", asked Vice Captain Senya.

"I don't know, but I think it came from beyond the gate..", answered Sir Armin.

"What a strong force.....", Sir Amos followed, grinning with excitement.

The expedition group has been moving for quite some time now, and they are already near the castle's gate.

Ever since the mysterious earthquake and the sudden opening of the door, no demon has yet to appear before us, so we've gone further into the dungeon and made quite a distance than we had originally planned.

On the contrary, a certain soldier has been sulking due to the lack of action; so when he felt such strong magic force, he got a bit excited again. He's too obvious.

"hehe.. Shall I open the gate?", asked Sir Amos with sparkling eyes.

Senya sighed to that question. She can tell that trouble was upon them just by looking at the grin on Amos' face. Knowing this, she could not help but answer him with a bitter face.

"...Not like we have another choice..?".

Honestly, this guy has been complaining about the fact that no enemy greater than the first boss we defeated here has yet to appear. We were rejoicing about it since none will have to get wounded or killed, but this guy sulked like a kid after the disappointment, and I had to keep an eye on him, or else he'll leave the group and run off on his own.

This place is like a maze, so it's troublesome. He's seriously a pain in the ass when things get anti-climactic; and now that we're expecting an enemy, I seriously wish that it would be powerful enough to satisfy this man. I hope.

Don't disappoint me, demon!

While Senya thought about the annoying supervisor they have, the man in question had already opened the gate and is now nearing the castle's door while they follow behind.

The door is a huge, white, two way door with a beautiful design of a moon on the left and a sun on the right.

"knock. knock. knock.", the sound of knocking came out as Amos hits the door.

Then suddenly, with his strong arms, forcefully pushed the door without hesitation, and a loud sound of two doors hitting a wall resounded. Everyone was shocked by the strong force that made the whole place shake a bit.

Beyond the door is a large hall with two large doors, on each of the side of the room. Hanging from the ceiling is a beautiful large chandelier, covered in dust and webs. On the other side of the hall is a large stair case that divides itself when it reaches the wall with a door. 

It was a beautiful sight, but they didn't go this far just for sightseeing.

"IS ANYBODY HOOOME!!!!", He shouts loudly, and it caught the attention of a tall, thin, human shaped, black demon on the floor while its wide back is facing them in the middle of the hall.

"Y-you. What was that for?!",  the angry Senya asked the questionable supervisor's action.

"Hmm? Isn't it better to get his attention first?", Sir Amos asked back while tilting his head.

While the two were making such exchanges, the demon got up from its sitting position, and dropped what it was holding to face them.

When Sir Amos and Vice Captain Senya noticed the monster moved, they became alarmed after seeing what was actually in it's grasp. It was something they had not expected, since it was the most unlikeliest thing to happen in this situation; a little girl has been taken hostage by a demon.

"Vice Captain...", asked Sir Armin who has always been at their back watching the two's exchange.

"Yeah. I know.."

I replied to him while I positioned myself in my battle stance, not letting my guard down one bit.

I didn't notice it when we got here, but that demon just now was doing something else. They usually position themselves in a more ready state, since they can detect one's presence when they are near enough.

To think we'd encounter such a dilemma here of all places. I can't even tell, whether she's still alive or not. How did that little girl get in here, anyway?

It wasn't much, but the little girl suddenly moved her head a bit. That means she's still alive!

Never mind that. I have to give my orders. Top priority should be to save the girl.

While I was thinking about all of that, Sir Amos took the initiative and had charged towards the monster to give us more time to position ourselves.

"Everyone! take position! Our top priority should be to save that child!"

With Senya's voice as the go signal, everyone moved accordingly towards their position and have placed their top priority to saving the child.

The first ones to enter were eight magicians and fifteen knights, then followed by ten clerics, and ten gunners.

The knights positioned themselves at the front line surrounding the creature; followed by the magicians, clerics, then gunners, creating a semicircular formation with the demon as the center point. They are now ready to fight.

"Charge!", declared Senya, pointing her mace towards the demon.

Everyone began to fight. With the guns' bullets as the first to breach the demon's skin, the knights worked with each other to assist the Paladin, while some of the magicians began to chant the binding spell, as well as gradually shave off the demon's defenses by using spells that decreases one's stats.

The demon's thin stature was not for show though, as the creature nimbly moved its limbs as if to dodge the incoming bullets, but was not able to dodge it all, resulting to a stunned state. Taking this opportunity, the knights charged towards the creature, and began to slash and cut its limbs.

On the other hand, Senya, as well as two knights and a cleric, began to secretly move towards the child, while the demon was distracted by their companions. They began to examine the child's condition.

"How is she?", I asked worriedly to the cleric with me.

"She seems to be breathing, but she's stuck in a dream loop. Most likely the work of that demon."

Damn! This is bad. If that creature doesn't fall any sooner, this kid will be in greater danger.

A dream loop is a type of nightmare, that if one can't get out, then they'll be stuck there until they find an exit. It happens on some people without any explanation as to why, but if it is caused by dark magic, it is fatal if not stopped as soon as possible.

The only way to get them out is to defeat the one that inflicted this to them.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH-!!", The demon shouts out in pain.

Seeing the demon was in pain, everyone continued their momentum with confidence that they'll win, since the creature is weaker than they thought; but for any experienced warrior, like the Paladin, one of the worst things you could do is get too confident, especially if your opponent is a demon.

"pain.. pain... pain. pain. pain pain painPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN-!"

The demon began to say a word repeatedly. When they heard the word "pain" coming out of its mouth, everyone stopped what they were doing, as this is the first time it ever happened.

It was then, followed by dark mana gathering to where the demon was currently standing. The situation was getting worse and everyone began to panic, unable to understand what was truly happening.

"Sir Amos, what's happening?!", a panicking knight asked me.

I didn't answer him, as I am also quite confused. Fuck!

To think something like this would happen, and to think a demon can speak. This is truly the first even for me.

Oh well. The only thing we could do now is to expect the unexpected, so I gave everyone a warning.

"Every one, be ready to receive a fatal blow!"

In response, everyone had their defenses up; the magicians and clerics took the liberty of chanting a wide area spell together, and a golden dome began to surround everyone.

This is good. Now, the problem is, what's gonna happen next?

In response to my question, the demon's body started emitting dark smoke.

The smoke gradually got thinner and thinner, until the demon's new form was revealed.

What came out of the smoke was the same human shaped demon; only this time, it has a horn and three red eyes.

It screams towards me, "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Hehe..

Things sure are getting exciting.

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I wonder... if this is okay for you guys..

I'm sorry if it's a bit too different from the first chapters. I had to do it, since too much first person POV would've made this chapter worse. I'm not gonna stray away from the original style I used from the start, though.

I will just change POV when I think it is appropriate.

So please leave a comment if there is something wrong with this style.

thanks for reading!