Chapter 225: The Celestial Chorus [2] |
The doors rumbled, slowly revealing hints of light from beneath, casting long, wavering shadows across the room.
I stood still, my heart pounding, watching the doors with a mix of dread and anticipation.
Finally... Finally, I was going to uncover the truth.
What kind of experiment they had performed on me, and where my brother was.
The answers were just before me.
My heart pounded loudly within my mind.
Rumble~
The doors continued to open, and the light turned more blinding.
I had to squint my eyes due to how bright the light was.
Clank!
The door finally opened and I covered my eyes with my forearm.
"Finally."
I spoke, trying my best to look ahead. I could see a silhouette dressed in white. I couldn't quite make out their features, and I tried to speak with them.
"What's going on? Can you tell me wha—"
Bang!
My words were cut short by a sudden blow to the face.
It forced my face to the side, and I staggered several steps back.
"....!"
In shock, I covered my cheek and I felt my heart drop.
No, this...
'Why would a doctor do this?'
"What sort of—akh!"
I felt a hand grasp my hair, pushing me forward.
"Akh...!"
I tried to resist, digging my nails into the hand that was grasping my hair. But it was futile. As if the hand was made out of steel, my nails failed to dig into them and I was helplessly carried forward.
"L-let go of me...! W-what are you doing?!"
I screamed and thrashed around, but that appeared to do nothing.
Rather, it only made the one carrying me angrier.
Bang!
I felt a powerful blow land directly on the side of my face.
It was a quick and precise blow that stunned me.
"Uhe... Uhe.."
I felt my breath leave my body as my knees started to hurt due to them being dragged across the ground.
'What sort of situation is this?'
I thought about struggling again, but I gave up on the thought.From how easily I had been overpowered, I knew that the one doing this was far stronger than me. I thought about conserving my energy for later when I had a better understanding of my situation.
But,
"Huep. Huep."
It was really hard for me to remain still.
Something heavy pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe. My eyes started to water as my hair was ripped from my scalp by the brutal strength of the grip.
"Kh..!"
I had to grit my teeth in an attempt to stop myself from screaming.
Thankfully, I didn't have to suffer like this for very long. It wasn't long before I felt like we had arrived at a certain area, and my body was thrust forward.
"....!"
Falling to the ground, I didn't even have time to groan in pain.
Holding onto my chest, I coughed several times before looking up in the general direction of the one who had thrown me, but much to my shock, the person was long gone.
"W-wait..."
I looked around in panic.
And just as I did, my eyes widened at the realization that I wasn't the only one present in the room.
There were several others, and they were all looking at me with frowns.
"....."
I swallowed my saliva and remained still.
'They look young.'
About late teens, but nonetheless, they all looked younger than me. Their appearances were disheveled, hair scattered across their faces. However, with just a glance, I could tell that they were all rather good-looking beneath the mess.
It was odd because I didn't think I was handsome.
.....I was average. Perhaps above average.
From that, I could tell that they weren't kidnapping people based on age and appearance. Or maybe they were.
Looking around, they all appeared to be the same age.
I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb.
The way that they looked at me also gave me the impression that I wasn't quite welcome.
'Is it just me or is the atmosphere extremely tense?'
It was hard to describe, but they all looked at each other with wariness. As if they were afraid they'd get attacked by each other.
I stared at the scene and moved towards a more secluded corner of the area.
Looking around, it was just like the stone chamber I had been in. There were no decorations, and it was just a large room with nothing in sight.
"....."
Leaning back against the wall, I slid down and took a deep breath.
'I need to figure out what's going on.'
My first thought was to ask the other people present but chose against it. Especially with the way some of them were looking at me.
....It was almost as though they wanted to kill me.
But why?
This was the first time that I had ever seen them in my life.
Why were they looking at me like that? It was as though I had killed them or something.
'Ridiculous.'
There was no way such a thing happened.
As if I was capable of killing someone.
"Ah, it looks like everyone is here."
My thoughts were abruptly cut off by a soft and calming voice that seemed soothing to the ear.
Or at least, that was the first impression that I received.
However, for some reason, the moment the voice echoed, every hair on my body stood on end. My head snapped toward the source of the sound.
"....!"
Standing in the middle of the room was a man garbed in white.
'A priest...?'
His clothes looked like that of a priest, but the moment my eyes locked onto his, I felt my heart freeze.
They were...
"White."
Completely white.
".....There's no need to be so alarmed."
The man walked around the space with calm and even steps. Everyone present looked at the man with wariness as they slowly stood up and prepared to attack him.
In particular, a few people stood out. A boy with gray eyes, a girl with red hair, a girl with platinum hair, and a girl with purple hair.
There was something about them that stood out to me.
But what exactly?
As of right now, they were all standing while glaring at the man in white. They appeared to be getting ready to...
Attack him...?
I couldn't blame them.
Everyone present was put into this situation without their knowledge. They probably wanted answers. I wanted them too.
"Now, now."
The man looked around, his eyes pausing on the few that stood up and prepared to attack him.
"It looks like there's a few unruly ones."
Suddenly, he came to a stop.
The room fell into a strange silence as the heavy grew strangely tense.
Just as I was wondering about what was going on, the man raised his hand and slashed down.
"Lord, please bestow judgment."
Pftt, pftt—
The following scene struck deeply in my mind as I found every muscle in my body stiffening.
"Haa.. Haa... Haa..."
My breath grew extremely heavy, and I found myself moving back.
"T-this.. haa... w-what...!?"
I almost wanted to scream, but just barely held myself back. Instead, I felt my stomach churn as something started to rise from deep within my stomach.
"Akh..!"
I held onto my mouth and hunched over.
It took every little bit of my willpower to stop myself from puking on the spot.
But that became harder as a pool of red slowly started to approach me. Looking down, I gagged as I raised my head slightly to see several heads rolling on the ground.
"Uekh...!"
My stomach churned at the sight, and I hastily covered my mouth again as liquid started to drip down from the narrow gaps of my fingers.
"Ukh."
I felt something press against my stomach, and I found myself unable to breathe.
A strange and suffocating feeling started to take over my mind as my hands started to tremble.
'What's going on? What is happening? Did he just kill them? How...? How!!!'
I continued to scream within my mind.
Questions continuously flooded it, making it hard to keep my composure.
But that composure soon shattered as I managed to catch a glimpse of my face under the pool of red that was beneath me.
"Ah... Haa...!"
It felt as though something had gripped my heart and squeezed it raw.
My heart froze, and I lost my breath.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a face that was completely unfamiliar to me. With trembling hands, I started to touch my face.
I touched it and touched it, and touched.
I pulled my cheeks, ears, and nose. I wanted to make sure that it was fake, but seeing the reflection copy my movements, my mind started to grow blank.
"I-impossible..."
How could this be...?
I covered my head and leaned back against the wall.
I no longer minded the blood beneath me as I let it stain my clothes. My thoughts... they were gone. I could hardly think as I felt my mind grow blank.
'Just what in the world is going on?'
"Our god does not forgive the disobedient."
A soothing, and calming voice echoed in the air.
There was a certain magnetism to the voice that dragged my eyes forward. Towards where the man in white stood.
He looked indifferent to the heads scattered around the floor.
Almost as if they were mere decorations to him. As his gaze swept the room, I felt my blood freeze the moment our eyes locked.
Thankfully, his gaze carried away after a few seconds.
Taking in the expressions of those within the room, he smiled kindly. Or at least, tried to. But to me, that smile...
It looked like the smile of a demon.
".....Please don't look at me like that. Although our god does not forgive the disobedient, it doesn't mean he isn't forgiving."
He raised his hand and snapped his finger.
Without warning, the vials attached to the arms of the lifeless bodies on the floor began to pulse with a sickly glow. The liquid inside them, once placid, started to drain away. Moments ago, they had been three-quarters full; now they were only half-
filled.
A chilling silence descended as the liquid receded into the bodies of the dead.
"....!"
A shocking scene took place shortly after as my eyes widened.
The bodies began to twitch, and in a sickening reversal, the blood pooled on the floor and flowed back into their veins. A grotesque transformation followed, with lumps of flesh bubbling and contorting over the severed necks, slowly forming horrific approximations of heads.
I stared at the scene, my eyes widening in terror.
Within seconds, the outlines of heads began to materialize from the bloody blobs, their forms becoming disturbingly clear with each passing second.
The room felt suffocating as if the air itself was thickening with dread.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Every heartbeat echoed like a drumbeat in the silence, each pulse amplifying the horror unfolding before me.
"This...!"
I almost stood up from the shock.
The same was true for the others who looked at the scene with pale faces.
Soon, breath started to return to the dead, and the man in white looked around.
"This is the blood of a god. Death is but a mere triviality under its power. So long as the blood is injected into your body, it will be able to revive you infinitely."
Bringing his bony hand forward, he exposed one of the vials attached to the arms of the lifeless bodies strewn around the room. The glass container pulsed with an eerie light, the liquid inside swirling as if alive.
"Rejoice!"
The man shouted.
"All of you have been granted the honor of having the blood of a god infused in you. However..."
Narrowing his eyes, the man's eyes fell on the vails of the people who had died.
"The quantity is finite. You make too many mistakes, and..."
He stopped, but his words were clear.
Death.
....True death.
Such was the consequence of making too many mistakes.
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