Chapter 9: 2nd Legion (3)

“Is this… real?”

I asked, my voice filled with disbelief. I wasn’t sure if the question was directed at Bathory or myself.

We’d arrived at the training ground. I stared through the bars of a gate at the opposite end of the arena, speechless.

“A… person?”

My opponent wasn’t a demon. It was a human, like me.

“Hmm? What’s with that look?”

“You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

I questioned her, hoping I was wrong, but her nonchalant response confirmed my fears.

“Well, too bad if you’re shocked.”

“What are you thinking?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Her tone was cold, a stark contrast to yesterday’s playful demeanor. Or maybe that was just a facade.

“Every demon here is a valuable asset. I’m not going to waste them on pointless fights.”

“…”

“Better to make use of the prisoners we have, the ones just eating up our resources.”

I was speechless. A mixture of despair and unease washed over me.

“So, today too…”

“You already know the answer. You have to kill them.”

I’d already known what she’d say.

“Get ready. It’s about to begin.”

“I can’t! I can fight demons, but I can’t kill another person…”

“Sigh… you’re not listening. Fine.”

She walked towards me, a ruby necklace in her hand. It glowed with an unsettling crimson light.

Danger.

My instincts screamed at me to get away. I backed away, but…

Thud

“Huh?”

My back hit something. But the wall was still some distance away.

“You can’t run.”

Bathory’s magic had sealed the exit.

Ah.

She’d anticipated this. My reaction, my every move, had been part of her plan all along.

“What is that?”

“You’ll find out. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Her eyes gleamed with a disturbing mix of childlike excitement and something dark, something viscous and unsettling.

“W-Wait! Don’t…!”

“Don’t worry.”

I couldn’t move. I could only watch as she fastened the necklace around my neck with a metallic click.

“Everything will be taken care of.”

Her voice echoed in my ears…

Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice. Voice…

I didn’t know who was speaking, or what they wanted from me. All I knew for certain was one thing.

-Be a good girl and listen.

An instinctive understanding that I had to obey.

-Go. Kill.

So I obeyed. The light faded from my eyes, and my consciousness sank into darkness.

A man in armor, chained at the ankles, stood at one end of the arena. He’d once been a renowned paladin, now a prisoner. He saw this fight as his only chance for freedom.

Asmodeus, the Second Legion Commander, had visited his cell. He’d thought she was there to mock him, but she’d examined him, then made an offer.

‘Want to make a bet?’

A one-on-one duel against an opponent of her choosing. If he won, she’d release him.

‘If you win, I’ll let you go without laying a finger on you.’

A trap. A cruel demon’s trick. That’s what he’d initially thought. But her words, like a devil’s whisper, had slowly chipped away at his doubt.

‘Do I look like I’m lying? I can swear an oath if you don’t believe me.’

Doubt turned into hope. Whatever the demon had planned, he would win this bet and escape. He raised his sword, ready to face his opponent…

‘A… girl…?’

…only to find a young girl, barely a teenager, standing opposite him. He lowered his sword in confusion.

Thud

“Uh…?”

A jet-black blade pierced his abdomen. It was over.

“Damn…”

Consciousness returned, bringing with it a wave of disorientation. I’d been unconscious? Voices murmured around me, but I couldn’t focus.

“Huh?”

Where was I? I’d been talking to Bathory…

“Gah!”

A splitting headache. I thought it had subsided. Had I passed out because of it?

I remembered talking to Bathory, her saying something…

Throb

Then…

Throb, throb

“Ugh…!”

Throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb, throb

“Gah… ugh…! Ahh…!”

Why? What was happening? The pain was unbearable, far worse than before. I stumbled, collapsing to my knees. Images flashed through my mind.

“What is this…!”

The perspective was mine. Memories I didn’t have, yet they existed. Unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar. Walking towards my opponent after talking to Bathory.

‘Die!’

Swinging my sword. The final blow, severing the head.

The most shocking thing… I was smiling in those memories.

“Ugh…”

No…

-I’m afraid it’s all true.

A voice echoed in my head.

No, it’s nothing. There’s no voice.

“Shut up…!”

-The proof is right before your eyes.

Someone was whispering in my mind.

No, it’s just my imagination.

I finally took in my surroundings. And as they came into focus, as my senses sharpened, I was consumed by despair.

“Ah… ah…”

A sword in my hand, dripping with a viscous fluid. Blood, far too much blood for a single person, covered everything.

I… I did this.

“Did I… kill someone…?”

-Denial won’t change anything.

“No, no, no…!”

Denial wouldn’t change reality.

“Noooooooo!”

But what else could I do?

“Well done, Aria.”

“Huh?”

Bathory’s voice, whispering in my ear, shattered my last vestiges of denial.

“I knew you could do it.”

“No… I didn’t want to…”

“I look forward to seeing more. Ar.i.a?”

Her voice was a curse, beautiful, terrifying, and absolute…

“Ah… ah…”

-You wanted this, didn’t you?

‘Shut up…’

-Why deny it? After all…’

I didn’t care if it was real or just a delusion.

-No matter how much you deny it…’

Shut up. Shut up.

Please, be quiet.

Stop it. Please, just make it stop.

-…you’ll accept it eventually.

“Aaaaagh!”

A warm embrace. Someone was holding me. I wanted to disappear, to erase myself.

-How long can you keep this up?

‘How long until you see me for who I am?’

And her thoughts, forever out of reach.

-Time is on my side. I can wait forever.

‘I can wait, but please, don’t make me wait too long.’

My consciousness faded, seeking refuge in the only escape I had left. Sleep.

…or so I thought.