39 – The Torment

Sigmund dodged backward just as the earthen needles shot up from below. But the reaction was too late. Some of those things stuck in his body.

Alan, freed from his opponent's stranglehold, knelt down, coughing.

"There's no way you made all this just now. You have to touch the ground to form these needles…." Sigmund also knelt down as several needles stabbed into his leg. "You had this prepared from the start? You formed them beneath the surface?"

"Sometimes a cheap trick can work well." Alan felt the energy in his body dropping. It seems the effects of the berserker potion have started to fade.

"But still, you failed." Sigmund struggled to his feet. "You can't…. Hmph!"

Sigmund looked down to find a sharp stake made of solid earth sticking out of his chest. The stake was covered in dripping red blood.

That thing shot up from the ground behind Sigmund.

"From the first time I saw you fight, I highly regarded you." It was Alan's turn to force himself to his feet. "So, I'm guessing you might have been able to dodge the previous attack."

"No, I can't die here." Sigmund knelt again. He looked at Alan with such a tense expression, similar to when the berserker potion still affected Alan. "This is a holy mission for Ode! She caused the apocalypse because the people of this world were so corrupt! They hurt each other, spreading evil everywhere! Ode will rebuild the world from scratch!"

That man pulled the stake from his chest, spilling his blood more. But he was still able to stand again.

He should have been dead a long time ago.

"But you saviors summoned by Atha can ruin Ode's plans. You guys will bring the humans back down." The bearded man staggered up to Alan. "They will only bring evil, make others suffer. This world will be full of pain and sorrow again! Ode doesn't want that! Ode wants a world of peace and happiness!"

"It seems you really hate humans." Alan gave a blank look at that man. "Trust me, I also had that kind of sentiment once."

At first, Alan had thought Sigmund was someone who was pure evil, someone who acted in his own interests. But it turns out that the bearded man only does what he believes in.

Even so, it does not mean he is a saint. He is just a different evil.

"Arrrgghhh!!!" Sigmund raised his clenched fist, about to punch Alan.

The young mage could only close his eyes. He couldn't move at all. The joints in his body felt like they had snapped. It was a miracle that he could even stand up.

Instead of feeling a punch to his face, Alan heard a soft thump. As soon as he opened his eyes, the young man found his opponent had fallen.

[Level up]

A few seconds later, he also fell. The heat in his chest intensified, and his whole body felt like it was being pierced by thousands of needles. He wanted to scream, but his energy was running out. Even just breathing, he found it very difficult.

"Al!" Celia and Haruna shouted in unison. They approached the mage and knelt beside him.

"Ah, you're all right, Celia." Alan forced a smile onto his face, but then he grimaced in pain. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Al, what happened to you?" Celia asked when she saw Alan's body shaking.

"Is this the effect of the berserker potion?" Haruna blurted out.

Celia's eyes immediately widened. "What!? Why did you do that, Al!? Don't you remember what Elaine said!?"

"Yeah…." Alan let out a bitter laugh. "The potion will immediately give addictive effects in the form of extreme pain…. Ugh…"

Alan clutched his chest and writhing in pain again. He had talked to take his focus off the pain, but that only made the burning in his chest worse.

"Is there no cure?" Haruna asked while tightly holding Alan's hand.

"We don't know." Celia clenched her fists in her lap and started sobbing.

Haruna looked at the young mage for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Alan, do you trust me?"

Alan could no longer answer because of the immeasurable torment.

The rogue brought her face closer to Alan's, then rubbed the man's forehead. "I'll pour a potion into your mouth, but don't swallow it, okay? Keep it in your mouth."

Alan could only stare at Haruna, not fully understanding the girl's words. The rogue then drank something from a small bottle suddenly in her hands.

Then, she pushed aside the hair blocking her face and kissed Alan on the lips.

The young man couldn't react to anything because of his condition, while Celia could only freeze.

Alan's mind clouded as he felt her lips' soft, wet, and warm touch.

A drop of pink liquid flowed from Alan's mouth down his cheek. Haruna was transferring the liquid to Alan's mouth.

Not long after, Haruna lifted her face, causing a strand of liquid connecting her lips to Alan's.

"Hold that liquid in your mouth," Haruna repeated her order.

Alan widened his eyes. His body stopped shaking, and the pain started to fade. The heat in his chest also decreased.

Did that tasteless liquid absorb all the pain?

"If you don't feel the pain anymore, nod." Haruna gave a faint smile. "And again, don't drink the liquid. Or you will feel the pain again."

The young man nodded, and it made Celia gasp.

"You healed him?" The female fighter hissed.

Haruna didn't answer and linked her lips to Alan's again. The young man still couldn't move, so he didn't show any reaction.

The rogue was sucking the liquid back from Alan's mouth. And after that was done, she straightened up and swallowed that thing.

"You rushed to drink it from the bottle because you didn't want us to see the potion's description, right?" Alan whispered. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You think my feelings for you are a lie?" Haruna widened her smile. But it didn't last long. She clutched her chest and collapsed.

"Haruna!" Celia rushed over to the woman.

The rogue was in the fetal position, writhing in pain. "Arrggghhh!!!"