It was over before they knew it.
Even Alicia was surprised at the speed of the man who woke up from the beating.
'There's something strange about this man.... he's changed. It's as if he's transformed.... as if he's become a completely different person. He looks different as well... those eyes aren't regular. If I had to rank him, he would be about as strong as Bar.... no, perhaps a bit stronger. Even I might have a tough time fighting him.'
Alicia thought back to Coran and the children.
'But, I will do so if I have to! For the sake of following the orders of my master, and for the sake of those children! However.... I first have to figure this guy out. His personality is.... confusing, so I'm not really sure whether I should eliminate him or not. I suppose I'll test him a bit. For now though....'
Alicia was leaned back on the wall with her insectoid arms and her humanoid arms crossed, patiently watching from a distance as the man sprung up.
'I'll wait and see.'
The man jumped up in a crazed fashion.
He grabbed the skewer which had fallen to the ground, and threw it across the hall like a spear.
In an instant, it had implanted itself in the brain of the tall skinny man.
"Agh!!!"
The man only had time to let out a single scream before the body hit the floor with a cold thud.
"Nobody knows what time it is??? Come on guys! Clocks a tickin!! If you don't hurry up and tell me, then the time will change! You know, isn't that crazy? Time is always changing! At every instant of our existence, we will never again experience this exact time! Ever! And time is a continuous flow, meaning that each moment in time is infinitely small! If you were to freeze time, then that means that that particular moment in time has a length of exactly 0 seconds! But how then, is it possible, for these individual moments with a length of 0, to add up to be a continuous flow of time??? It makes no sense! Yet it is because there are an infinite number of these infinitely small moments!!! They somehow add up together, to form a discrete and definite amount of time! It makes no sense, and yet that's how it is! But more importantly, look at the time that has passed since I started this rant! Those 10 seconds will never happen again! They've been lost! Because time can only flow forward at a continuous rate! It's insane! How can you sleep at night, knowing that you will never live today again? But don't worry!!! I have a solution!! A good one for you four, since you all don't seem to value your time anyways!"
In just a moment, Patrick ran up to the Jocks who were on either side of the kid with the glasses.
His eyes were now raging with red irises. Their whites had become black and the pupils white, and they twitched with madness.
The jock swung down his ax hard as Patrick approached, but he dodged with ease, instead grabbing the handle on the way down.
Patrick then ripped the ax out of the hand of the jock, and looked up with a horrifying smile. One which only a truly demented person could make.
"It's time for you all to leave this endless cycle of continuous progress. Do you get stuck at a moment in time when you die? I would love to find out, but it is not yet my time. Wait for me, and soon I too will join you- though I will exist at a different moment in time!!!"
"Why you!!"
The jock only had a moment to be angry as he tried to swing his fist at Patrick, before the ax sliced his head cleanly so that a hemispherical piece slid off of the man's head.
In just another moment, the ax was swung in the other direction, slicing off a chunk of the other jock's head as well.
The cold splatter of bodies hitting the ground was a sound which the kid with glasses would never forget.
"You piece of shit!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!!?! YOU MONSTER!!!!"
He shouted at Patrick as he looked at the bodies around him in horror.
"I can't believe we came here.... we came here to kill a monster, but there was already one among us!!! I.... I have to get away.... move it, monster!!!!"
"Oh, no you don't!!!"
Patrick swung his ax at the kid, as he tried to run, however it was met with a clang.
'It would be a bit too easy for this one to be let off with just death. I'll let Veronica take care of him once he believes he's safe.', Alicia thought.
The ax had met with one of Alicia's insectoid hands. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem as if she was protecting the kid.
"Calm down."
Alicia grabbed the ax, and wrenched it out of the hand of the maniac with her brute strength.
She threw it to the side. The kid began to run desperately down the hallway.
Patrick turned to chase him down, but Alicia grabbed his shoulder, and stared at him intensely.
"It's his time to die!!! I need to see this through!!!", Patrick shouted, but his eyes were beginning to twitch as if they were going to revert back to normal.
"I don't have much time left!!!! Let me finish him off!!!!"
Patrick tried to run off, and even hit at Alicia, trying to shake her off, but she was able to hold him down.
'He's fast and strong, but I estimate his strength is only high 4th tier. I'm in the higher end of the 5th tier, so while he isn't completely harmless, I should be able to handle myself against him in a one on one if I'm careful. It's concerning that a human could be this strong, though....'
Alicia had to use a good amount of strength to hold the man back from escaping, in order to let the glasses kid escape.
"Grr!!! I suppose it wasn't his time yet.... is it your time then??? No, I don't think so..... I suppose it's your win, wasp lady. I'll see you next time....."
The eyes of Patrick retracted, and he seemed to be back to normal, though he was unconscious.
'I want that shitty brat to experience the light of hope before he is killed. Just as Coran did for that woman....'
She snickered as she heard the frantic footsteps and panting of the kid in the distance.
'Hahaha.... I would love to see the look on his face when he gets stabbed in the back.'
Alicia then turned to Patrick.
'Now what do I do with this one? Hmm.... I suppose I could still put him through the test? He's unconscious right now, so I should be fine to take him, right? Yeah, I think it should be fine.... Coran always said to be careful, so I had better watch him closely, but so long as I don't let down my guard I should be fine.'
Alicia grabbed Patrick, and carried him with her insectoid arms.
She then flew through the tunnel. Her wings vibrated such that one would likely be able to hear the buzzing for quite a distance.
When she came to the end of the tunnel, to the room which had been prepared, she landed.
She then heard some faint whispers from the other side of the tunnel, followed by a vengeful voice.
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"M.... monster.... monster....murderer.... maniac..... dead.... all dead.... except him.... he killed them all..."
Stab.
"You....cough...blergh...."
"Heh heh.... did you think you would escape the monster by running? Things aren't so easy. Scum."
'Ah. It looks like she finished the job.'
----
Alicia dragged Patrick into a room that was filled with honeycombs and laid out like a hive.
'Ah, it was so thoughtful of Coran to make this room for me here.... he makes me feel right at home....'
She looked around, and threw Patrick into one of the combs.
She then took a tool which looked like a mini cannon, and pulled a lever.
'I think Coran said to use it like this....'
She pulled the lever after taking aim at Patrick, and shot off what looked like a net, trapping him onto the wall.
'There we go! Now he should be trapped there until Coran releases him. I can't touch the net, or I would get stuck, so I have to be really careful with this thing.'
Alicia walked over to Patrick, who was still unconscious.
'Is he ever gonna say anything? Or do anything? What's going on?'
Alicia looked over to the corner of the room.
Inside it, behind a glass frame was one of the orphans- Wade.
She was going to use him as a bargaining tool with the ones who made it to her, but she got bored after they seemed to be taking so long and strolled out herself.
'I still have a chance to use him though. Of course, I would never kill off one of our precious children! As a mother, that would be completely wrong, even if he isn't actually my child, because it is these children that link me and Coran together! But, I will have to put on an act and pretend like I will kill the child, in order to see this man's reaction.'
It was then that the man bursted awake.
"Huh? What.... what's going on here? Where am I?"
----
Patrick woke up after losing consciousness.
Where was he last?
He couldn't remember.
Ah!
It came back to him.
He recalled taking that beating from the kid with the glasses.
Everything was foggy after that.
Did he pass out?
Did he.....did he kill them??
Where was he right now?!
'Grr! Don't tell me I've done it again! I.... I can't believe it.... no, wait.... looking around, it seems I've been trapped. What.....'
Patrick looked around.
He was inside what looked like a giant hive, with honeycombs all around. However, right now he was stuck inside one, trapped in a net made of a sticky string.
He looked over to see that there was a monster which looked like a mix of a wasp and a human inside the room, and next to her was a window which had light coming out from it.
Inside the window was a child.
He seemed to be trapped.
'That must be one of the orphans! I've come here to save them, but....'
Looking at his situation, it seemed hopeless.
'It seems I've been caught.... have the others been eaten and killed by this thing? Did that maniac take over me and try to fight back, or did I remain unconscious the entire time? Even if those guys were assholes.... I hope they weren't killed....'
Patrick remembered back to the beating he took.
Was that really the case?
A slight part of him hoped they were dead.
'I shouldn't think like that, but... I can't help it. They even said such horrible things, like that they would leave the orphans behind! It makes my blood boil knowing that such monsters lived in this village! It makes me wonder if this maniac inside me is really all that bad.'
Patrick looked upwards.
"Can you.... can you tell me what happened? Did you bring me here?"
The wasp queen seemed to be elegantly walking around. She approached the honeycomb which Patrick was trapped in.
"Oh? It seems you've awakened. So? What's with you? Why does your personality seem to change so sporadically? One moment you're an average person with no special traits or quirks to speak of. The next you're a maniac going on about time, while killing like it's no tomorrow. What are you?"
"Eh? Maniac? Time? Killing? Do.... do you mean that he showed up!?!"
"He?"
"Yes!! He!! The monster that lives within me!!"
"Oh? This is getting interesting. Tell me more about this monster."
Patrick then explained his situation and his experiences with the maniac to Alicia, who listened patiently.
Alicia in turn, explained what happened after he went unconscious.
"I.... I can't believe it.... I did it again....."
Patrick wasn't sure whether to feel sorrow and guilt, or whether to feel like he had done something just.
"But don't think about that for now. I've brought you here for a reason. Patrick, do you see this child over here?"
"Yes...."
"What if I told you that I was hungry, but I only needed one of the two of you, and that I would allow the other one to go? What would you do?"
Patrick had held a regular conversation with the wasp woman up to this point, however....
Now he realized.
He was speaking with a monster.
Even if he was able to converse, this had made him personify this monster, and act as if she was a regular human. He had interacted with her as such, but now she spoke of consuming a child like it was nothing.
'I suppose that's the way it is.... ah... then again, am I any less of a monster? Maybe that's the only reason I can talk with her in the first place....'
Patrick remembered the entire reason he came here in the first place.
'Yes, that's right. I only came here in order to fight the monsters, and potentially give my life to save any orphans. It's a win win. If I sacrifice myself here, then this maniac living inside me dies with me. I will never have to kill again, and I can save that boy over there. Thank goodness. I can at least have this final bit of redemption.'
Patrick smiled over to the child, who was pretending to be scared.
'Though, I still do wonder.... should I feel bad about the men I killed? I don't know. I don't have any memories of killing the ones just recently. He hasn't spoken up either. I wonder if it's because there is something he had to hide? Was it shame in being defeated by this wasp woman? Haha. To think that a maniac could have something like pride and shame. It makes me laugh.'
Patrick looked over to Alicia.
"Alright, monster. Consume me. Let the child go. Kill this monster that is living within me, in exchange for that promising life."
Alicia smiled sinisterly.
She walked over to Patrick menacingly, licking her lips.
"Hahaha! An interesting choice. It seems that I can at least tell my husband that there is one worth taking back. However, unfortunately for you, I'm a monster. Do you know what that means?"
Patrick looked at Alicia with fear, and gulped.
"It means that I don't have to follow my promises."
----
Patrick was devastated.
"It means that I don't have to follow my promises."
He knew exactly what this meant.
She was just toying with him.
This entire time.
Pretending to listen to his story.
Filling in the details.
Offering to free one of the two people here.
It was all this sadistic monster, toying with him.
She had no intention from the start to let anyone go. She would consume him now and likely the child later.
"I'll be taking my leave now with this child."
The monster pressed what looked like a button, and the glass panel locking the child in slid out of the way.
She grabbed the child with one of her arms, and carried him on her back before flying away through a hatch in the ceiling.
'EH!?!?! SHE JUST TOOK THE CHILD AND LEFT!?!?'
"WAIT!!!! COME BACK!!!! EAT ME FIRST!!!!!"
Patrick didn't know what to do.
But the hatch was closed.
The wasp queen was gone, and she had taken the child.
Patrick felt tears welling up in his eyes.
What had he done?
He had just allowed that monster to get away.
He tried to wiggle his way out, but it was helpless.
This net was too sticky. He could barely move a muscle.
Damn it!
If he only wasn't so weak, maybe he could have done something to stop that monster from consuming that child!
Now, he was trapped here in the dark.
The light which was in the chamber no longer shone into the room, and he was left to contemplate his actions.
"I.... I deserve this, but I at least wanted to be able to save that child. It's fine that I will be killed here, but now I can't even do a single thing! My coming here was pointless! No, it was less than pointless! I ended up killing off all those people! Even if they didn't want to save the orphans, they might have ended up killing the monster, and the orphans could then make their own way out! But now, all I've done is ruin any chance of that!"
Overcome by despair, Patrick was left to wallow in guilt.
"I suppose this is a fitting end for someone like me....."
It then hit Patrick that the monster in the picture was completely different than the one he encountered.
'Eh? That... that certainly is strange. Does that mean that there are multiple of them!? Wait, didn't Mrs. Fera say something about there being a slave with an unknown appearance?'
However, just as he thought this, the hatch opened.
Down from it, a large spiderlike person swung from a thread.
"Oh? We have a winner here? Interesting. It makes me happy to see a decent person winning one of our little challenges. Especially given the low survival rate thus far. Only two out of 15! What will happen to the other 15? I suppose we'll have to just wait and see... heh heh...."
The spider walked over to Patrick, and sliced away at the nets, freeing him.
What was this?
Patrick could feel an overwhelming pressure exerting itself from this spider, as if he was some sort of higher being.
He looked somewhat weak on the outside. He wasn't even as tall as Patrick, and if one ignored his spiderlike appearance, he would have looked like a strange traveler with all his tools and gadgets on him.
But Patrick could tell.
This spider was not as weak as he looked.
He held a concentrated aura far beyond anything Patrick could have imagined. It was completely suffocating just being next to this monster.
That wasp queen, who was terribly powerful in of her own right, was nothing compared to the monster in front of him.
Patrick found his body becoming numb just by being next to this thing.
"I heard that you were willing to offer your life in exchange for that orphan. Well, come with me for now. We'll show you to the back room where all the children are stored."
Eh?
Patrick could not move his body he was so shaken with fear at the being in front of this monster.
He was barely able to hold himself up. It took everything he had just to lift his head.
Coran grabbed Patrick by the shirt collar, cutting the webs which he was bound by.
Patrick felt as if he was falling down a flight of stairs, or in a skydive. This was the terror which overcame every fiber of his being.
He was then wrapped up in what seemed to be a cocoon before he even knew that time had passed. It was as if that spider had literally stopped time! Just how fast was this thing?!
'Is.... is this thing preparing me to consume for later? Am I just going to become some sort of midnight snack? I'm not even the main dish!?!'
He was placed inside the large backpack which the spider wore, and transported to a different location.
As to where, he did not know. Right now, from inside the bag, Patrick only saw the pitch black darkness.