A glimpse of terror

The life Khael lived was nothing but a series of pain and suffering. The never-ending hardships never fruited favorable outcomes for him. He did not even wish for another chance at life, only to experience another hell. And that hell is now in front of him.

The metallic door with its once silvery hue was now dyed in a thick liquid of red. His eyes can't believe what he just saw. Khael's jaw was hanging locked at the sight of a person unconscious, with a pool of blood dripping from his guts.

"G-Grant h-help… someone please," said Khael with his dreary voice traced with fear.

"Why was this lesser interrupting me? I told him repeatedly that this was an order from the Monarch," said a tall figure wearing a black hood with his deep, sustaining voice.

Khael raised his head further to see the figure talking in front of them. He then met the creature's eyes, looking down at them as mere insects. The strange creature has far resembled a human. Its pale golden eyes hold much dominance. Its tall figure surpasses the Sergeant, with its long thin reach and limbs, and its ribs were jutting out from its dull skin.

"What happened here?! Who-"

The Sergeant had arrived. Khael saw his angry expression suddenly turn into dread when he took sight of the back of the creature standing in front of him. Agitatedly, he asked in pure fear and confusion. "Wha-what is happening here?!"

The creature turns on his back to face Baron. "Oh, you must be the Sergeant. Do you remember me? I was the attendant, Gunto." said the strange creature.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Baron indignantly asked as he hurriedly made his way to his unconscious and bleeding companion. "How long he's in this state, Khael?!"

Khael's nonplussed. When Baron glanced at him—which made him winced in response, it's only then that he answered—still stuttering on his words. "I-It w-was a moment ago."

Khael sobs in frustration and fear. Not just from the fear of witnessing someone has been harmed in a gruesome way by some strange-looking creature. The atmosphere tells him that anyone's life is in danger just by being around such a monster (if he would describe it).

"You lowlifes are amusing. Don't worry. I only scratched his belly a little," the strange creature laughed at his amusement. Not even a pang of slight guilt has shown on its face. "Though, considering how bloated his belly was, the moment I poked it, the blood-"

Baron abruptly stood as he faced the menacing creature. Khael can make out how infuriated the Sergeant is by looking through his back. But then another person arrives.

"Gunto! What have you done?!" said the person who had just arrived.

The strange creature reluctantly kneels as if showing its respect unwillingly.

The man was wearing a white long sleeve with loose ends too wide for his arms. There's a strange pattern in his upper garment, extended on his long black underskirt. A face almost looks feminine, with blonde hair and a pale complexion. He somewhat looks like someone important.

"Forgive me for what my attendant had done, Baron," he said as he gestured something to one of his associates as they took action hurriedly. "Let them treat your companion. And I assure you they can save his life."

"W-What was the meaning of this, Hector?!" Baron said with a sharp and enraged tone.

"How dare you address the Monarch in such-"

The man named Hector raised his hand to cut off his displeased associate. "Don't," as then he turned his gaze back to Baron. "It was foolish of me to entrust an important errand to this stupid attendant of mine," said Hector solemnly and gave Gunto a piercing gaze.

"I did not expect him to do such a horrible thing. Don't fret. I pledge by the name of my blood that this attendant of mine will be punished duly. Again, pardon us with all the trouble," said Hector as he bowed his head lightly.

"Make sure to save his life," Baron said firmly but seemed to restrain his anger as he made a slight bow as a sign of respect to Hector. "May I ask… what does the Monarch of Ubec intend to do here?"

"You have my word, Baron. And as for a reason, I was here because someone had told me..," Hector looks around him as he walks, then focuses his gaze on anyone as if looking for someone. "That there is someone who might be related to 'her' in this place."

"Who-who told you… that?" asked Baron nervously.

"It doesn't matter. Now that you know why I'm here. Would you lend me a hand and be done with my purpose?"

As the chaotic turn of events happened, Khael purposely listened to their discussion. He knew he might be the person they spoke about. Despite that, he wasn't aware of the exact reasons and only knew that he might be in indefinite danger—based on the commotion it had caused. But it was too soon. Khael was about to meet Dessia Adhilla on this day as he had already decided to accept her offer.

"What you had heard was nothing but a fallacy. There's no someone like that in this place," said Baron.

"Baron, what would you gain by hiding something from me?" Hector's piercing stare was unswerving as he questioned the Sergeant. "Tell me, where is this person I'm looking for?"

Baron lowered his head. "My deepest apologies, Monarch of Ubec. It was just a mere misunderstanding. We have already resolved that matter. This was solely all about a victim of some tragic incident," the Sergeant's voice withers as he continues. "That unfortunate person was this kid who had his memories stolen by the Mnemonic Beings." Baron hesitantly gestured his hand from where Khael was.

"Are you telling me the truth, Baron? We'd known each other for so long. I'm expecting you to be honest with me. Nonetheless, I'm still taking that person with me. You have no problem with that, right?"

"B-But someone's already taking care of that kid."

"And who might this be? I'd like to know-"

"There's no need for that. The-they are not important," Baron indignantly answered. "I will just tell them myself."

The intimidating appearance of Baron Gelfand was now in contrast with what his face showed. And now… Khael was dazed. He was having a handful number of the worst scenario in his head. Should I run? Khael thought. He already knew he was in certain danger. There's no telling what might have happened to him if they took him.

"— thank you for your cooperation, Sergeant Gelfand."

Maybe I should escape now. But would I be able to run away from here?

"— I grab the brat now, my lord?"

There's no time for me to think… I should think of a way to escape from- "Whrrp grrr."

Suddenly, darkness surrounded his sight. He can feel the insane grip on his head with something massive, sharp, and firm. It seems the menacing creature grabbed his head with its bare hand. His whole body hangs as if he was an object it was holding, not even minding crushing his skull.

"Gunto, don't hurt the kid. Don't disgrace me even further, would you?" Hector warned in a threatening tone, yet the strange creature didn't seem fazed.

Gunto whispers in his ears. The strange creature's irritatingly hot and unpleasant breath touches the side of his face. "What a lucky insect you are. If he were not here, I would have indulged myself in playing a bit more among you lowlifes."

As time passed, the grip tightened. Khael felt his strength leaving his body until he was almost out of breath and his consciousness slowly faded.

Baron Gelfand

Baron standing in naught, clenching his fist as he let Gunto grab the kid by his head. Khael's body and arms fought back at first while it hung in the air until he gave in and lost his consciousness helplessly.

He knows he was just a mere feeble compared to an influential person with the likes of Hector Adhilla as the Monarch of Ubec Kingdom. Aside from him were few in numbers but refined elite sorcerers from the Kingdom of Ubec.

Not even counting the strange creature, he believes as the attendant of the Monarch. Baron also knew how dangerous Gunto was. Its unpleasant physical appearance made it obvious, an undeniably forsaken blooded being.

"Please don't hurt the kid… I beg you." Baron pleads.

"Don't worry, baldy… I just made him rest a bit since it'll be an extensive tour. I don't want this kid to get bored on our way to my liege's abode," said Gunto. It spun and swung Khael's body intentionally and placed him recklessly above his shoulder like a rice sack.

Baron felt guilty as he watches them leave. He knew it was his responsibility to take care of him until Dessia Adhilla came back to get him. But he was too scared to do anything—afraid that he might have offended the most powerful person in the Kingdom if he did.

"Baron," Hector turned around, giving the Sergeant an earnest gaze. "Please tell lady Dessia to avoid standing out or doing something unnecessary for now."

…

In an organized and broad room accommodating numbers of people, Sergeant Baron Gelfand called the rest of his subordinates for a conference regarding the incident. The assembly did not take long as Baron talked about only the necessary details.

Baron hates betrayal among companions the most. Knowing that someone had ratted them out about a piece of important information, his trust in his companions became uncertain.

She would be disappointed with me. Baron owes a lot to the former Monarch of Ubec, Dessia Adhilla. She was the one who took care of him back when he was an orphan.

"You can't just tell her to stop what she's doing, Hector. You know that more than anyone else," Baron said to himself. "Now, I need to tell her what happened and apologize deeply for my cowardice."

***

Khael felt a jarring pain all over his body when he woke up. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and it was the third time he had met an unfamiliar ceiling. He then shifted his gaze to see a cramped room with few people staring at him in wonder.

There are six of them having a dreadful look and condition. Moreover, it seems that they had it worse than him. Their appearance was of someone who hadn't cleaned themselves for so long, along with grim expressions. But Khael suddenly realized that it was more likely they were feeling pity towards him instead.

"I thought you wouldn't have woken up immediately. I was about to leave and come back later," said an unknown voice not coming from the group of men in front of him. "Now then, I want to ask… do you guys know each other?"

"Who are you..?" said Khael in a ragged voice as he looked where the voice came from. And it feels like he lets out a spike of thorns in every word he mutters. "Why-why am I here? What… are you going to do to me?"

The unfamiliar person ignored him. "So I assumed he was a part of your cult. Wasn't he?" It was only silenced that has been heard and the exchange of confused glances between them. "Come on, answer me."

"H-he wasn't! We don't know this young man," said one of the men.

"Ha, what a pain. Was this kid not belong to your cult? Well, whatever. For now, he will join you for a while until he decides to confess what he knows about 'her.'"

And again, it seems that Khael's thought was right about what this was all about. The 'her' was really about that woman in the portrait. It was the same way Grant and Dessia addressed the mysterious woman named Astelta.

"Rennar," said another voice from where the door was. "Lord Hector wants to see you."

"Sure," said Rennar. He then rose from his feet, and then he turned around, giving Khael and the rest an uncanny look. "Well, you guys should try to convince this kid to talk before I come back. If he does… you will probably be pardoned for your transgression, but if he did not… we'll have all night long with you singing suffering."

…

Khael's moment of rest wasn't enough to make himself stable, even from just sitting straight on the ground. For a few minutes, he ignored the few persons with him in the cramped room for him to focus on his recovery. He wasn't sure if they were being considerate of him when they were not bothering him or if there was something else behind it.

Khael feared the look on their face. It made him utterly worried and scared to say anything to them.

Suddenly. "Are you fine there, young man?" said one of them. It was an old man with a skinny complexion and a thin stature. He had a severe expression that tells how much he had suffered, just like the few men with him.

"Ah yes, I am fine," Khael answered. He was glad that one of them decided to talk to him. But he was worried that some of them still giving him a distasteful stare.

"You look… too young. How old are you? And… why are you here?" asked the old man.

"I don't know… I wasn't even aware why I was being taken and imprisoned here."

"What do you mean?" the old man asked curiously. "The only reason they would lump you with us is that you are being treated as a heretic, just like us."

"What? I don't even know anything about that. Just what do they want with me?!"

Khael was already at his wits' end. The fact that everything has turned worse than before. It made him lose all hope as if there was no way out of this. It was like he was being punished for no reason.

"So… you're telling us that you are not here for the same reason as us, right?" said another man, leaning towards Khael. "Where are you from? Did you come from Liloan proper as well?"

"...Pardon me, but… I don't know," Khael answered helplessly.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"Hold it, Roldan," said the old man. "Let me talk to him."

"I am Gadorias. You can just call me Gado or elder Gado, whichever you want," then, the old man gave him an earnest gaze. "If it's fine with you, may we know what happened to you before you came here?"

…

Their conversation lasted only a few moments as Khael told them about his condition and how he ended up being taken and brought there. They told him their circumstances as well. They were suspected as a group of a religious cult that was forbidden in the entire country.

Despite having an awful condition, the old man is still well composed and thoroughly careful with how he talks. What made Khael uneasy was the old man didn't seem to confirm or deny the assertions against them.

"Roldan here is just the same as you. He was just miserably blended with us and was deemed by a false accusation."

"I hope this was fine to ask, but… is that true that you are a part of a religious cult?" asked Khael.

"We are," the old man closed his eyes as he continued. "We are worshiping nature itself and its desires as well. But they saw us as"

"Enough…" one of them impeded. "Could you believe some stranger suddenly appearing before us and telling us he had lost his memories? What if he was sent by them to gain our trust? So we can just blabber casually with him about the things they want to know because their crappy torture doesn't work!?"

"Enough with his bullshit and just kill us already! No matter what you do, you can't make us admit something you want to hear from us! We're just a firm believer of our own beliefs, and there was nothing wrong with that!"

The room then was surrounded by silence. No one realized except Khael that someone was on the other side of the door, just waiting and listening to them. He hurriedly turned his gaze there, and the rest of them followed.

The door opened, revealing Rennar and a tall man wearing eyeglasses with him.

"Oh, forgive me for eavesdropping. Though I was moved by how you stated your own resolved," said Rennar. "What a shame that we don't need that firm resolved to our session today. It would be a lot different and interesting than before if you asked me..."

"Don't mess with us! You dammed bastard!"

"Don't, Elgardo! We should-"

"I don't care, elder Gado! We're just living peacefully on our own! We are not a part of the cult that worships the Forsakens! We already told you that, but you never believe us!!" said Elgardo furiously as he laughed in distress. "Besides, we are all forsaken ourselves, aren't we? So what's wrong-"

"Elgardo…" Gado's voice withers in fear and worries when Elgardo suddenly collapses to the ground.

Rennar, expressionless, walks past Gado and the rest to get close to the squirming man in pain. He then held Elgardo's chin recklessly and pulled him closer to him. "The Forsakens terrorized the entire continent of Hibran for 600 years. Those monsters forced our ancestors to bear their offspring until our Lord Hibris freed us from hell. 'We are all forsakens ourselves,' you said, huh?"

"W-we got it! Please don't… don't make us suffer anymore! Just-just give us a swift death! I am begging you… Isn't this enough already?!" said Gado as he pleaded.

"Not gonna happen. You see… these collars you wear were connected to your mana veins as it continuously harvesting ambient mana in the surroundings," said Rennar. His face was void of expression. "You'll continue to suffer if you don't start to talk."

"Now then, should we start this already? For as long as this boy didn't confess what he knows about Astelta," he shifted his gaze to Khael and then gazed back at them. "This collar will continue to make each of you suffer from overloaded mana in your body. And while we're on that… for every ten minutes, this old man confessed nothing. This boy will lose one of his fingers."