Chapter 302 - Hell Breaks Loose

"We're done here."

Those were the words Rynold woke up to and groggily at that. His vision remained impaired, his eyes flinching as they opened. As he lay horizontally on the burnt grass, Rynold watched a horrifying scene unfold.

The ogre had successfully completed his mission, killing the man that had been defending the gates of Hell all this time. Rynold couldn't do anything at that point as he watched the light leave the man's eyes. Battered and bruised, Rynold couldn't even move his limbs, tired and barely conscious. At the end of everything, there was little he could do. If Rynold's failure to be of any use hasn't been blatant before, it certainly would be now.

"I... I-it's over. *cough cough* Isn't it?"

Rynold, mouth half-covered by the dirt, weakly said those four words. His throat felt parched. His entire body screamed in agony. His Mana Core damaged beyond anything Rynold had ever experienced before. Rynold, from a glance, was left for dead. And yet, somehow, he was the one who was still alive. The thought of which seemed unfair.

"You're awake, huh?" Skeem answered without so much sparing Rynold a look. The ogre then promptly nodded, responding, "Yeah. It's over. He asked for it."

"W-wh-?"

"Why?" Skeem finished Rynold's words as he looked down on the shriveled corpse below, "Are you even in a state to worry about anything other than yourself? Hm. No matter. If you must know, he asked for it. There's no lie in that. It was swift and merciful. I give you my word."

No part of Rynold's conscious mind believed that. Even if Rynold wasn't thinking straight, he had more sense than to trust anything that came out of the ogre's mouth. Although, even then, there really wasn't anything Rynold could do.

"I know what you're thinking. What now, right? I believe you've asked me that before. Well, I'd say there are a couple of things you could do. They won't be of any use, and you'd die in the process. But, hey, based on your history, you'd probably think of something along those lines. The whole selfless, risk everything act doesn't get old for you, does it?"

Skeem was, for the most part, right. His claim of what Rynold would do next seemed accurate down to the very last word. Their previous interactions made for having a good grasp of the other's character. While Rynold knew how Skeem thought, the ogre would have known the same. Perhaps even more. Either way, Rynold was still too helpless to do anything. Nothing would have stood in the ogre's way as the two things left alive there were Skeem and the broken Rynold.

"You're not...," Rynold grimaced as he tried to roll his face off the ground, "Wrong."

Rynold's voice remained far from audible. He spoke weakly, breaking almost every word. He couldn't say anything else as he lay on his back, breathing every so raggedly.

"Hm. There's nothing you can do about it now, no?" Skeem nodded and somehow silently applauded Rynold's tenacity, "So, if you don't mind, I'll continue with my mission. After doing this next thing, I'll bring you with me. You have much to answer for, including some things that would hopefully make sense of why you are still alive."

The ogre walked past Rynold and stood before the well. From there, he brought out a familiar item. He held the orb in one hand and cast magic with the other. After which, the sound of loud, defeating cracks emanated from the well. While the sound grew more intense, the orb's overall power gradually decreased. It went on until the last magic array from the well vanished, turning the atmosphere significantly more ominous than Rynold had ever felt before.

"You know," Skeem frowned and turned back to Rynold, "I never wanted any of this. Hm. No, that's a lie. I didn't want to use the power of Hell is more like it. But, ah, sometimes you just need to get creative. Heh. I never guessed that you'd be so calm after seeing the gatekeeper die like that. Especially considering I just broke every seal placed in that well, I was sure you'd freak. Then again, you're not in any condition to move, let alone talk."

As soon as Skeem had finished that sentence, a dense cloud of black smoke flew out of the well. Then another. Then another. Rynold couldn't keep track of the pillars of smoke as he watched the sky turn darker than it already was. He couldn't help but feel empty at that moment when all of Hell broke loose.

"T-there's," Rynold broke halfway through the sentence and swallowed, his saliva tasting like pennies, "There's no rea--son to."

Rynold's far-from-concise response caused Skeem to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. However, the ogre didn't seem to care about it too much as he returned his focus back on the well. He looked down to the very depths, calmly waiting for the black smoke to clear.

It was quite a wait. Rynold lost track of time, of course, but Skeem counted down the seconds. The ogre seemed eager for whatever awaits him once the smoke clears. Rynold, on the other hand, focused on his immediate recovery. Although, his efforts were far from enough.

He breathed steadily, making sure the circulation of air remained consistent. While the external physical damage to his body alone wasn't enough to severely injure him, his Mana Core was a different matter. The shocks Skeem had sent down upon it lingered. Rynold could still feel a weird sense of intrusion as he concentrated on healing his wounds.

'Gah.'

Frustration rose from the bottom of his heart. The Mana dwelling inside Rynold didn't want to cooperate with him. He could feel it. It was definitely, unquestionably there. But, for some reason, Rynold didn't have any control over it. The pain from the shock lingered for far too long as Rynold found it difficult to even will his Mana to life.

"I know what you're trying to do, and it's no use," Skeem spoke out of the blue and intercepted Rynold's thought process, "It's not going to work because you're not capable enough. So, you better sit there quietly and wait. Even if you do manage to make yourself move again, you won't get very far."

By now, though, Rynold had become fully awake. While he still felt his head was pounding, he could see clearly now. Well, not that it helped much. Rynold still lay on the ground, turning his head ever so slightly as his gaze landed on the corpse of the old man, the Magic User that stood as the gatekeeper of the Nevermore.

It was a saddening sight, but Rynold couldn't feel any sense of grief on the matter. The elder had died defending until the very last breath. Rynold couldn't think of a more honorable death than that. Although, it was still a death nonetheless. Rynold respected the guy for doing what he needed to do. However, a part of him still wishes he could've done more.

No matter how one would picture it, Rynold was just the bystander in all of this. Nothing he did ever mattered. Sure, he helped slow down the Soul Doll's march. He helped take care of Skeem as the man took down every last Soul Doll. But, taking Rynold out of the equation, the result would still be the same. The old man still would've died. Skeem still would have gotten what he wanted. The Nevermore would still break open. Nothing Rynold did helped to pervert that as even he knew that their defense would fail from the very start.

So, why fight? Why did Rynold stand his ground instead of leaving? Rynold scoffed as these questions came to mind. Even after knowing all of this, Rynold chose to stay because he felt guilty if he had left. This was a fight that could change the world more than it already has. If Rynold could do something about that, no matter how insignificant, there was no question. It was just his ridiculous optimism that thought there would be a good ending to all of this.

However, nothing that Rynold did or could ever do would change this moment in time.

There it was: regret.

A sense of helplessness overshadowed Rynold, bringing him down. He looked to the sky as the sound of thunder echoed throughout it. While he knew this wasn't his fault, a part of him wished he wasn't here to witness this. The death of a comrade he had barely gotten to know. It pulled him down. More so than he was willing to admit.

"Hey," Skeem suddenly called, causing Rynold to stop his self-pity, "Let's go."

Rynold looked over, seeing the ogre motion Rynold to walk over to him. But, as it stands, Rynold couldn't really move.

"Ah, right," Skeem chuckled, "Almost forgot."

The ogre then snapped his fingers and a bulky Soul Doll returned to life. It then walked over to Rynold and carried him over its shoulder.

"You good? Pfft. I don't care. Time to go to Hell."