Tunnels were littered with dead bodies and blood that stained even pure water. Anywhere he went corpses would greet him and their faces would make him remember what he didn’t want.

Grasping his head and eyes that were teary he continued to walk but there was the moment when he was unable to continue and fell on the ground while crying. His head was in a mess, his mind was in absolute chaos, and for a while, he did not know even what he was doing.

Why was he even here?

What did he fight for?

Couldn't he just lie down and wait for others to save him?

But who would save him?

No one.

His family was dead and the only thing that he had was his uncle and niece.

That was all he had left.

With a stiff hand and all the energy, he could muster he pushed himself up and continued to walk. There was a time when something would slither on the ground or even a corpse would look his way but before it could do anything more Hildebrant punched already dead flesh and made the head of the corpse bend and deform.

Blood splashed on his red mangled armor and dripped down his hand, but Hildebrant had no energy or sympathy to care.

They were already dead, and he was not one to kill them, but he wished he was.

Why did they even hunt him? Just because he came from a different great hall? Or was it really because he came from outside?

How stupid was that?

Shouldn’t they help each other and find a way to leave this place filled with nothing but monsters, suffering, and pain?

Some people didn’t even have food to eat! He not just once observed as kids of his age, skinny and without energy went to the white shore to be devoured by white sand!

How sick it was!

Unable to continue he fell on his knees and while he breathed out his eyes landed on the corpse of a blood demon.

This one was different from the other. It sat alone next to the other corpses, but its face did not show fear or desperation others did, but smile.

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

A wild and happy smile, a crazy smile, and an eerie smile.

It was all in one and Hildebrand did not know how to describe it better but just from looking at the corpse, he could tell the person was not afraid when he was dying.

Instead, he enjoyed it.

Absenmindly looking at it he crawled closer still on his knees and began to touch his body.

Why was the person smiling? Was he really enjoying having his body destroyed by Icarus?

There was a hole at the place where its heart should be, and its hands were twisted unnaturally but even after death smile did not disappear.

Rummaging around a person's head there was something moving around his neck. Hildebrant grasped a weird type of spider and momentarily was surprised by its cold surface. It didn’t even feel like a living being, but he still brought it closer to observe it.

When he did his eyes landed on a smiling face with black eyes void of any reason.

What he held was not a spider but a medallion that in the back had six thin spider legs that even now scratched his fingers.

He wanted to bring it closer but then the face on the medallion changed and the smile on it widened to the point it began to laugh.

Yes, the medallion laughed, and melodious weird laughter was all that could be heard in his surroundings.

Hildebrant was surprised enough that he had not even time to react when medallion six legs moved, getting out of his grasp and then jumping on his neck.

When he finally woke up it was already too late and even when his finger shot to his neck to take the medallion down pain already assaulted him as medallion drilled into his skin.

What was worse, the medallion still laughed even when it entered his body.

Frantic Hildebrant used his fingers to trace to medallion and even his flames began to rage lighting the part where the medallion should be, but the smiling creature moved even through flames and dodged his finger that burrowed into his skin to take it out.

Hildebrant stripped his armor, throwing it on the floor, and with red eyes watched as the medallion came to his chest where it finally pushed its head out and stopped laughing.

But when Hildebrant tried to tear it out he found out it was already burrowed deep into his body and even merged with his flesh and still kept burrowing deeper. Its six legs turned into something more inhuman and refused to let him go.

Weird feelings of pleasure, happiness, and excitement filled his soul and without his knowledge, his body began to be filled with unknown strength.

What was even more surprising was when he touched his jaw, he was surprised to find he was smiling.

That filled him with unknown dread and horror that immediately made him lose a smile on his face but with it also disappeared unknown strength. Involuntarily his lips again turned into a smile and strength again filled him while he tried to tear a small bug on his abdomen away.

Why was it even here? What even was it?

His face kept changing, twisting but there was so much Hildebrant could do.

But why?! What was happening?!

Was it some sort of artifact?

Or monster?

Confused Hildebrant used anything he could even began to burn the flesh that surrounded the medallion's face but found with absolute fear flesh that surrounded it did not burn even when he poured almost all his flames into it.

He wanted to try cutting it out but then the sound of slithering flesh came closer and when he turned his head to the side faceless face was observing him. It gazed right into his eyes while the rest of its crimson body, which now looked like an amalgamation of spider and centipede and monkey held itself on celling with almost all its legs.

Icarus tilted his head and then asked with confusion.

"Hill? Is it you?"