“Haaah…! Haaah….! Ugh!!” He tried to run but his legs just wouldn’t stop failing him.

With a frustrated expression on his face, Nate shouted. “Work! God dammit!”

His legs were still shivering even though he managed to escape that monster. Looking into Clyde’s eyes alone was difficult enough.

How stupid must he have been to actually challenge Clyde? He never expected the gap to be that wide.

It was like heaven and earth.

There was just no way of reaching that far.

“Huff…Huff…” Nate wiped his mouth and noticed that it was bleeding. No, not just his mouth. His eyes, nose and ears were bleeding as well.

“Huk!! Kuk!!” He coughed out a clot of blood and spat it on the ground. It was darkish red.

Particles rose from the blood. That was proof that his core was already deteriorating from the high concentration of impurities.

His insides hurt. Not only that but his body was also starting to shut down.

He was suddenly overcome with hunger. If he didn’t get his strength by consuming nutrients then he wouldn’t make it to the next morning.

“Ugh…”

He crawled towards a nearby fountain that a lamp pole was illuminating and leaned against it.

His breath was shallow and weak. With each flicker of the nearby lamp, his eyes hallowed further losing their light.

“What a peculiar boy. What a peculiar boy, indeed.”

A sudden voice made light return to Nate’s eyes.

“W-Who’s there?” He didn’t bother getting up. All he did was look around.

“This one’s name is not important.” A figure emerged from the shadows. It was an extremely tall person with a rather inhumane body shape. It had a long elongated neck and two long arms at its side.

When Nate saw its face, he almost screamed.

It was the twisted face of a demon out of a fairy tale. Two big beady yellow eyes, a long nose and a smile so wide that it reached his ears.

It bowed with exaggerated movements.

“Thou may call this one Lym if thou so wish.”

‘Lym?’

“W-what do you want from me?”

It was a monster of unknown origin so he was rather suspicious of why it appeared in front of him. If a monster could talk then it usually has high intelligence.

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“It breaks this one’s heart knowing thy holds suspicion for me.”

It touched its cheeks with both hands and twisted its neck around. Nate saw the skin on the back of its head suddenly move by itself.

“Eek!?”

It formed another face. Even pale green hair grew out of the head.

“W-What the…”

“Does this suit your preferences, young one?” It was the beautiful facial features of a young elven woman that greeted Nate. She was gorgeous. Her green eyes illuminated the glow of the nearby lamps.

Although its face changed, its body was the same.

“What do you want from me?” Nate crawled up the fountain and sat on the edge of the brick frame.

He looked the monster up and down. It had a body completely covered in black skin. It was a body that didn’t belong to a human.

“I do not desire much, however, the cause I support does.” Even its voice was different from before.

“Cause?”

“We are seeking those who are consumed by darkness. We wish to grant such individuals power. However, they must devote themselves to my almighty lord. From what this one has seen, you are on the verge of being consumed by darkness, young one.”

“What do you mean?” Nate couldn’t follow anything the gruesome human-monster was talking about.

It pointed towards his stomach.

“A violent storm is consuming your soul. The darkness threatens to consume you. Darkness formed from all the negative emotions that live within this world. Greed, lust, pride and so on.” The bright green eyes of the woman gazed into his own. “Will you be consumed by it or will you embrace it and use it to your own advantage? I am curious! Very curious indeed!”

“….”

“If you desire power then it shall be granted to you. If you desire longevity then that is something up for discussion. Our lord Atrius can grant you anything you desire.”

The woman held out her large bony hands to Nate.

“You have nothing left here. The one you love has lost whatever affection she held for you. You lost aa valuable friend. Not only that, you have lost your family as well. What else is there to think about?”

“How the hell do you know all that?”

The monster chuckled mysteriously. “I keep an eye on all those who catch my attention. Think about it. If you have given up on life already, why not give your soul to us and in return, you shall be blessed with power.”

“….”

‘Do I truly have nowhere else to go?’

Looking at the creepy smile of the monster in front of him, he hesitated. He was more afraid of what it might do if he said no.

“What are you going to do with me if I say yes…?” He asked timidly.

“We need strong allies on our side. You see, the immortal race may be powerful and mighty, however, we are few in number. Currently, only ten thousand of us exist.” Lym looked up at the sky.

“T-Ten thousand? You mean there are others that are as strong as Zero?”

“Ah. No. Lord Zero is one of the powers of our race. Besides the power of the immortal race, there are those below them and then there are the foot soldiers. To increase our numbers, we have resorted to using experiments to mutate the DNA of other races This only succeeds if the person in question is suitable for the experiment. And if that doesn’t work, we use females from other species. This is why I approached you. You have darkness inside you. You can become darkness.”

“…..”

“Still not convinced?” Lym chuckled. “Huhuhu. This kingdom will fall. The due date is approaching. Will you die a meaningless death or will you give your life to us?”

Lym flicked his finger. A dark, eerie portal opened behind him. It looked like a bottomless pit of dread and evil. Nate was getting chills just looking at it.

“Will thou rid thyself of fear and dive head-first to take this chance offered to thee?”

Nate looked up at the sky. Snow was falling on top of his head.

“I…can’t move…” Nate said softly.

All the tension from earlier had disappeared so the sudden relaxation of his muscles caused him to go stiff.

Lym chuckled as this and shook his head. Even the laugh suited the female head on his neck.

“This one shall carry thou. Does this mean thou gives thy permission?” Lym lifted him in a princess carry. His skin got goosebumps when he felt the slimy body of the monster.

“It’ll make me stronger…right?”

“Affirmative.”

“…..”Nate closed his eyes.

Lym waited in silence. A moment later, Nate spoke.

“Take me there, mister Lym.”

The two vanished after entering the portal. That day, it was reported that Nate Alexander has gone missing.