I can’t see the area around me because my sight focuses on his face that has a smug look like everything is in control. The one who forced me to choose. I take a deep breath and feel my lungs expand as my eyes slowly close. My body feels heavy as if countless eyes stare at me, suffocating me, but I didn’t let it get to me. I concentrated all my attention on two choices: to flee or go along with him.
The thought is interrupted by his voice.
“I'm waiting”
“For-”
Time stops as everything stays still. I open my eyes again. The shadows that were hiding behind the trees with twisted branches and countless vines that resembled eyes with the unmoving fog feel as if the forest is waiting, watching. The world seems like a picture painted in black and white.
My thoughts fired rapidly. Can I kill him? Can I even injure him? I saw him survive getting hit by several bullets. Was this the right choice? I don't know, but right now I want to see if he can be injured and if he can still regenerate. I refuse to believe that he didn't sacrifice something in a battle where he was all bloodied against the tall guy that might be stronger than him.
Holding the knife that was in my pocket, I kicked the ground and lunged at him. The knife’s tip grazed his throat, drawing small amounts of blood.
What happened was anything I touched in this world would return to normal as long as a part of my body is still in contact with the object for a second.
Beelzebub's cocky face turns serious as his red eyes turn into slits and lock in on me as he tries to grab me, but I already pull back quickly and create a small portal.
It blocked his hand.
Space distorts as a hole appears in the air behind me connecting to the other side and choosing to flee, but before I could blink, he kicked me in the chest, sending waves of pain. A groan came out of my mouth.
The kick didn’t launch me; it instead slammed me into the ground; after that, I became unconscious.
----------------------------------------
I woke up, and my eyes were still closed. My body was lying on something. I feel so warm but can't remember where I'm lost and confused until I hear a voice.
“You're awake.” My sleepiness was gone, and I jolted away and looked at the person who spoke to me.
The person who spoke to me was not Belzebub but some middle-aged man with a beard. There are strange shadows hiding in my line of sight immediately.
“You shouldn't jump out the window.” I realized that there was a window, and I was about to jump out of it. The window was on the 3rd floor, and it was sunny outside. There was a village just outside with a forest just near it, adding to my confusion.
I look over to the man; I'm full of skepticism. I was in a strange forest. Now I'm in this house? I look around me. This place is full of stone walls and a castle. Anyway, I can’t stay in this place, but before escaping through the window, it closes on its own. My way out was caught off, so I kicked the window. My feet hit it, but it didn't do anything.
“Stop it, you Ruffan; you're going to smash the window,” the man said. Yea, that was what I was trying to do if I heard him speak, but I was concentrating on smashing the window kick and punch before the man grabbed me by the arms to try to stop me. I pulled out a knife that was fortunately still in my pocket and shook his arms away.
I distance myself from pointing my knife in his direction. He raises his hands to show he is unarmed or open. I'm not easily fooled.
“Put the knife away.”
“I'll put it away if you open the window,” I said.
“I can’t”
“Yes, you can.”
A wormhole forms, but before it can get big enough, it collapses. It didn’t look good. I'm trapped in this place, and I'm threatening the guy I'm sure is the guy who trapped me here.
With a knife pointed at him, I slowly walked to the wooden door that I saw. He can use magic. While I have just a knife. Can he be weak? when I was at the door. I realize that it was a bad idea who knew if I just put myself deeper into the abyss.
“Open the door, old man.” I have an urge to lash out at him because my back is against the corner.
I have no clue what is happening any more. I have a feeling that things are not what they seem. I'm going to poke this guy and see if anything weird will happen.
“Calm down, calm down!” The man waves his hand furiously. Is he trying to look as threatening as possible?
Then I felt the door opening behind me; I locked it and defensively went into the corner of the room.
Then I heard a girl's voice. It was another person who I'm going to stab.
“Mister was going on.”
“This brute is holding a knife!”
“Call the guards!!”
"Dumbass, you should have checked when I was asleep.”
“Put the knife-”
“Unlock the damn wind.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
The door was unlocked intensely, and a girl came out of it.
“What's going on?”
It is two vs. one: should I use my powers in this scenario? I will just use my shielding ability. Space around me distorts and returns to looking normal again.
“Ms. Seraphne, this guy is dangerous. Stay away.”
“I can handle it. She points a wand at me. Wands exist in this world?
“Illusion World.”
When she finishes saying that name, the world distorts around me. How is this possible? The room was way bigger when I used my powers. How can her magic have so much range? Crap, I'm getting dizzy. Think, how do I get out? By creating a portal to pass through the wall.
“Ms., you hit me two.”
“Sorry!”
I created a portal on the wall leading to the other side of the door. I step into it.
“ya~~he’s escaped!”
Ya~~? Acting cute. I'll ignore it while I'm in the corridor.
“WHAT!!!”
Shadows came out of the corners of the walls in the corridors. It was horrible, as a disgusting stench was felt in the air. The abyss of despair, in contrast to the almost comical sight a moment ago, seems to be reflected on this place.
I used the slowing down ability, but it didn't work.
Think of a happy place, Think of a happy place.
A sudden thought occurred to me.
Why did the shadow ghost refuse to walk through the wall? Because I was afraid of getting... plastered!
Get it, the shadow ghost is a play on the idea of a ghost being insubstantial and able to pass through walls. The concept of a shadow ghost adds a bit of fun by making the ghost even more elusive, as it's made of shadow and light.
As the shadows were about to reach me, I used the time-stop ability, but it didn't work, and I got taken away, but it didn't stop me.
As I tried to lighten the mood of the situation.
The absurd joke in the time.
The shadows wrap around my body binding me and drag me away.
As i was being taken to who knows were. Atleast they didn't kill me.
The idea is the ghost is afraid of the wall's plaster, the material walls are often made of, as if it might stick to or cover the ghost. This makes the idea of a ghost—usually something intangible—worried about a physical material both absurd and humorous.
Hahahaha, Ha, sign—the thought of me dying I have a lot of regrets in my life.
The ghosts finish me and slammed me into the wall. I groan my back hits the wall. I hurriedly looked at my surroundings. I was in a familiar room, maybe even the same room as before.
My eyes darted around. Where were those people that were in this room? Is this even in the same room? as if answering my questions. Countless eyes appeared in the stone walls and stared at me.
Every single one of them is looking directly at my face.
“Play along.”
My body hasn’t moved. After the eyes left, I also felt like I lost my soul. My back was covered in sweat. My knees were sitting in the soft, small bed. I retired to this place. I don't know what they can't do, but they can’t push me around like this.
The door opens, and a middle-aged man walks in.
“I see that you're awake.”
Very mysterious; this could be in a dream.
“You seem to be having a nightmare.”
I remember fainting after he kicked me. A man sits on a wooden stool, grabs it from nearby, and talks to me.
“You seem to be a deep thought wanderer.”
The name Wanderer captured my attention. Even though it is a new name I have given to myself, my mind already recognizes it as my name.
“How do you know my name?”
I ask like I didn’t point a knife at him a moment ago. I'll just ignore everything that has happened and push it to the corner of my mind.
‘‘You're a wanderer, are you not? We saw you lying on the ground near the forest like you were exhausted.”
I look at having the urge to tell him what the heck happened today. An ugly smile barely escaped from my lips. Nope, nope, forget about it, focus on gaining information, and act like nothing happened.
“I'm not going to ask why you are asleep in the forest, as it's rude of me,” said the man.
But you did ask; I can feel my eyes twitching.
“Looks like you still need a rest wanderer. Stay here for a while.”
Now that I think about it, he doesn’t seem to remember I am kind of rude as well. He saves me from being eaten by whatever monster is in the forest.
Then I hear a clicking sound. Someone was opening a door, and a girl appeared. Now I can take a good look at her. She has a unique silver hair color. She was wearing a uniform while the man was wearing a green cleric robe.
The girl looked at me before talking to the man.
“Mr. Roderick, how is he?”
A student of an academy? I wonder to myself. Scenes of magic schools from novels flash in my mind. I observe them.
Roderick replied. “He's fine; he just needs rest.” He noticed my panic from earlier. I managed my expression, but he still noticed it, and the pain when the shadows slam is still there.
I study the two of them, trying to make sense of what’s happening. The man, Roderick, speaks politely to the girl; is she the daughter of the owner of this place?.
His eyes briefly meet mine before turning back to the girl, who’s clearly concerned.
“He was quite restless,” Roderick says, his voice confidently. “But it’s nothing; a little more rest won’t fix it.”
The girl’s eyes flicker with something I can’t quite place—worry, maybe? Or something else? She steps closer, her silver hair catching the light in the room. It’s almost mesmerizing.
“Are you sure, Mr. Roderick?” she asks, her voice soft, like she’s afraid I might break if she speaks too loudly. “He looks troubled.”
I narrow my eyes, not sure what to make of her. Her presence is unsettling; does she know more than she’s letting on? But I don’t move; I don’t react. I just keep watching, waiting for whatever happens next.
Roderick gives her a small nod. “He’ll be fine, Seraphine. Just give him some space.”
Seraphine. The name feels like it holds weight, but I can’t place why. She nods slowly, her gaze never leaving me. I feel like she is trying to read me to figure out what’s going on in my head. Paranoid because of everything that happens?
But I'm not about to let my guard down.
“Alright,” she says, backing away a bit. “But if he needs anything, I’ll be right outside.”
I saw Roderick give her a reassuring smile, and she hesitates for just a moment before turning and leaving the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
I watch her go, my mind racing with questions. Who is she? And why does it feel like I’m being watched every second I’m here?
Roderick turns back to me, his expression unreadable. “You should get some more rest, Wanderer,” he says. “You’ve been through a lot.”
I nod slowly, not really agreeing but not disagreeing either. The urge to ask him what the hell is going on is strong, but I hold back. Something tells me that asking questions right now might not be the best idea.
He turns to leave but pauses at the door. “We’ll talk more when you’ve recovered,” he says without looking back. And with that, he’s gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I exhale, letting my body relax just a little. But the tension doesn’t leave. I cross my arms, and the girl seems important.
“Hmm.”
As I sit on the edge of this bed, my mind races, trying to piece together everything that has happened. The forest, Beelzebub, the strange shadows, none of it makes any sense. It's like I've been thrown into a nightmare that I can't wake up from. The memory of Beelzebub's smug face, his confidence, it all makes my blood boil.
Whatever, just stop thinking about it.
I sat on the bed against the wall.
I looked at the window; the sun was still shining and the birds were still singing outside. I signed.
I withdraw my eyes from the windows and look at the ceiling.
I slowly contemplated.
Then there's this place. Who is this Roderick? And the girl, Seraphine, she's not just any ordinary person. There's something about her, something off, but I can't quite put my finger on it. They both seem concerned, but why? Are they really trying to help me, or is this just another layer to the trap I've fallen into?
I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched not just by the eyes on the wall, but by something deeper, something that wants to see how I'll react. Am I just a pawn in some sick game?
I need to understand what's happening here. Why am I here? Why did Beelzebub let me live? And why does this place feel like it’s alive, watching me, waiting for me to make a move?
I covered my eyes with my arm. I'm such an idiot. Letting my life into the hands of another.
I can't let my guard down. Not for a second. I don't know what they think but I’ll play their game for now, but the moment I see an opportunity, I’m getting out of here. No more mistakes. No more hesitation. Next time, I’ll be ready.
Now I look at the door. It's the only way out of this room, but I can't shake the feeling that something sinister awaits me on the other side.
I walk out of my bed and approach the door. Taking a deep breath, my muscles tense and slowly reach for the doorknob. Beads of sweat trinkle down on me. I grabbed the doorknob.
You know what, I'm going to rest for a while.
I think I deserve a… little rest, Yea.