ROT AWAY

Arex found himself abandoned at the hot spring as he attempted to soothe his swollen cheek from Merfestina's slap.

"Such an austere woman she was," Arex murmured to himself, while softly touching his face.

He attempted to disregard everything that happened. At one moment, he couldn't entirely blame Merfestina, realizing he was partially responsible for seeing her naked, although it was something that was unexpected.

Arex just heaved a sigh. His mind suddenly shifted from the thing that Merfestina mentioned before coming here.

it was what Merfestina's statement earlier, that Arex was already dead, which continued to trouble Arex's thoughts. He was itching to go and find Merfestina to ask about it, however, in his current state, he knew that it would be impossible to do that knowing that Merfestina would definitely hit him again.

"If she's not only a woman, I would have definitely kicked her ass right away!" Arex whispered under his breath.

When Arex suddenly remembered seeing Merfestina's perfect behind. Realizing the awkwardness of the situation, Arex decided to dunk his face into the hot spring to distract himself from his inappropriate thoughts.

While submerged in the water, Arex sensed a numbing sensation enveloping his entire body, making it difficult to feel anything. Before he knew it, Arex's consciousness was being whisked into slumber.

He hesitated to fully embrace it, but eventually, Arex felt too exhausted to resist. In the end, Arex was fully consumed by his tiredness that he no longer mind sleeping in the hot spring.

As Arex soaked in the warm water, his thoughts were still occupied with the idea of actually being dead. In that moment, he seemed preoccupied how he could go back to his grandfather if he was indeed dead.

He wondered what could his grandfather be doing at this moment. Things such as if his grandfather could have manage to get his meal or even his medicines bugs Arex's mind.

Arex was lost in his thoughts when he was suddenly distracted by a strange event. He remained deep in the hot spring when a whirlpool suddenly engulfed him.

Arex's eyes widened in terror, prompting him to quickly get out of the hot spring. But right before he could act, it felt like an invisible force yanked him within.

He quickly started to feel anxious. Arex gasped for breath as he fought to escape the water. However, the force dragging him beneath the water proved to be too powerful for him to resist.

Despite the struggle he did, Arex, in the end, was not able to get back up in the surface. His body had become rigid and he couldn't move to escape, causing him discomfort due to the injury on his ribs.

Arex struggled to return to the surface, feeling like he was running out of air. Once again, he attempted to rise but found himself too drained to do so.

Arex attempted to swim upwards again, but this time, he completely lost control, ultimately giving in to the force dragging him further into the hot spring.

'Perhaps this is the end for me.' he thought for the last time as his awareness slipped away.

BUT AS SOON AS HE REGAIN CONSCIOUSNES ONCE MORE, Arex discovered he was sprawled on the ground. He lied there bare, unfazed by his lack of clothing. As soon as he got up, he glanced around and saw that he was in a cave-like area with various rock formations.

He briefly pondered if Halze was responsible for bringing him to this place. Arex quickly became alert, making sure he was ready in case Halze decided to strike.

"If you are trying to trick me, you're too petty for doing this Halze. Come out!" Arex courageously shouted, reaching out to Halze as his voice reverberated in the cave.

However, Arex was taken aback when someone other than Halze emerged.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am not Lord Halze. My name is Leomold." said the man with long amethyst hair tied up in a ponytail as he walked towards Arex.

Leomold, similar to the other Lords, donned black attire reminiscent of a priest with a hint of steampunk trench coat. 

Arex suddenly remembered who he was. 

"Oh, I recognize you. You're the one who stood up for that lady who attempted to kill me several times." Arex finally said.

Yet, Leomold casually strolled past Arex, paying no attention to his words. Leomold studied Arex's body with great care. Examining every inch of Arex's body.

Arex felt uncomfortable when he noticed Leomold staring at his exposed body. Arex quickly covered his private part with his hands, fearing that Leomold had malicious intentions.

Leomold backed away as soon as he saw Arex's actions. After that, he quickly responded, "I didn't actually defend that woman," in reply to what Arex had told him before.

"So, what was that when you tried to step in earlier?" Arex couldn't resist but inquire.

Leomold shifted his gaze towards Arex. He noticed the intense look Arex gave him, full of curiosity.

"Hmnn…I stepped in because that's how things should've been, right?" Leomold replied.

"I beg to differ. Particularly if it involves that lady."

"Why do I feel like you hold some animosity towards Lady Roxina?" Leomold said, tilting his head slightly.

"That Roxina attempted to kill me a couple of times." Arex replied. The annoyance over his words was very obvious.

"Lady Roxina was simply fulfilling her duties. You can't hold it against her."

"So, I'm supposed to be grateful for her trying to end my life, right?" Arex spoke.

"I never said that. Besides, it's not like she would really kill you, you know. Don't you know that what she was assigned to do was just turf your soul out?"

Arex came to an abrupt stop. He was unsure how to figure out what Leomold meant by it. 

Leomold drew his finger forward and was about to touch Arex' wound on his ribs. When Arex saw what Leomold was attempting to do, he immediately swatted it away from him.

Immediately, he yelled, "What do you think you're doing?" He still looked puzzled about Leomold's reason for wanting to touch him.

"Oh, Lady Merfestina must have forgotten to inform you, but she simply threw you in my chamber. It seems like I'll be the one who heals your injury at this point instead of her." Leomold responded while still wearing a smile. His face remained unchanged, and his voice was steady, as if he wasn't affected by Arex's rude behavior.

Leomold remains composed, unlike other lords who might have already executed Arex.

"I can manage on my own, please keep your hands off me!" Arex continued to refuse.

Even after Leomold's explanation, Arex couldn't shake off his discomfort with physical contact from a man.

"I won't lay a finger on you, human, in the way you seem to fear. I just need to examine your injury closely to know how to treat it."

"Didn't you hear me? I told you just now that I don't need your help, didn't I?" Arex adamantly kept refusing Leomold, regardless of how politely Leomold approached him.

Then, out of nowhere, Leomold let out a deep sigh. "I can't force you if you don't want to. But if you remain unhealed, this will only bring you a much bigger problem. Especially as weak as you are right now, you're bound to end up disappearing for good." Leomold eventually told him as he turned his back on Arex, and was moving out to leave Arex alone.

"What do you mean by that?" Arex quickly answered, stopping Leomold from moving forward.

Leomold quickly flashed a smile before turning back to Arex. His click bait seemed to have piqued Arex's curiosity, prompting him to wonder about Leomold's words a moment ago.

"What do you mean I'll vanish forever if I don't get this injury healed by you, huh? And don't you dare fabricate tales to deceive me!" Arex courageously confronted Leomold, almost as if he was accusing the lord of deception.

Despite how annoying Arex was for Leomold, the lord consistently paid no attention to it. He remained to assist Arex and answer his queries in a civil way. Something that Arex found to be rather unusual, knowing how the other Lords and Ladies treated him back at the high Lord's chambers.

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that I'm dead?" Arex spoke again, pushing forward his ideas to Leomold.

Arex's patience was put to the test as he waited for Leomold to answer, only to feel as though he had been showered by iced cold water when Leomold finally answered, "Yes and no. Yes, it's connected to the fact that you're dead. And no, because since you're dead, you shouldn't even feel anything or even get wounded just like that. However, you were wounded. You still feel pain, which isn't normal anymore." Leomold began to walk closer to Arex once more.

This time, Leomold suddenly shifted his expression and bore a more serious expression before he finally added, "But since you're an aberrant, it's only understandable that there are so many things about you becoming so unusual for some reason. However, there are also repercussions to that. Are you even aware of the consequences that could result in a dreadful outcome for you, human?"

"What outcome?" Arex asked immediately, his forehead wrinkling with curiosity.

Leomold eventually gestured his finger towards Arex's wound and said, "If you don't get that treated right away, it could end up spreading and causing more harm. It will decay rapidly. The thing is, if you let yourself rot here in Necropolis, you disappear for good."