Crimson Water
That's right... If it wasn't for whoever Isekaid me to this shithole, and if I hadn't met Ria, I would've died miserable... having accomplished nothing in life.
If I'm going to die anyway, let me at least finish the plan!
"Ria! Can you hear me?!" I frantically yelled.
"Miles?!"
"Ria!"
|...|
"H-Huh? Where am I?"
|...|
A becalming sensation caressed my forehead. It's as if mother was still here. Don't tell me she really is? If that's the case, then I definitely died.
"Mama... are you there?" I quietly asked.
It's not like I'm expecting a reply, but hey, it sounds like a long shot, but perhaps I'm in heaven.
"What are you saying, Miles?" A recognizable voice tickled my ears. It may have been familiar, but I'd be lying if I said I expected this.
"R-Ria?!" I screeched as I crawled away.
Calm down, Miles! This has to be a trap! The actual Ria is in a coma... but she sounded like her! And that pillow-like sensation reminds me of when she gave me a lap-pillow.
"Is something wrong, Miles?" The voice asked with all casualty.
"D-Don't speak to me, you w-witch! You're not fooling me at all!" I flusteredly exclaimed as I avoided eye contact.
"Oh! So we're playing games now! Cool! What do I do?"
That voice sounded like a child just now... like Ria. But there's no way in hell this is her, and in a place like this?! My screws are turning loose.
While I sat on the ground trying to regain my composure, I caught a glimpse of who was behind the voice.
"Stop playing with me! You're not... her."
In a moment of realization, the second I blinked my eyes out of confusion, I lost control of myself.
After a few minutes, I snapped out of it only to find myself drenched in tears. I don't know what the fuck am I doing, but it feels like I'm hugging something tightly... as if it was a final embrace.
While her chest pressed against mine, Ria whispered in my ears, "D-Did you miss me that much?"
"..."
I replied with silence, savoring every second of her warm embrace. Even though I still have a lot to do, I want to be frozen in time right now.
"..."
"Well, that's too bad, Miles. You won't see me again." Ria coldly replied. Her usual charming and innocent tone switched to a menacing one.
As I struggled to comprehend the message behind those words, I felt a wet sensation on my clothes... like droplets of water falling on my shoulders.
"R-Ria... what do you mean?" I hesitantly asked.
"Cause you're a liar."
"D-Did I do anything wrong?" I queried as I let go of from her grasps.
From this range, I couldn't see her face clearly. She looked as captivating as ever, but...
"Ria! Your eyes!"
Almost as if she was possessed, Ria repeatedly muttered, "Liar. Liar. Liar."
Her body was seemingly stopped in time as blood flowed out of her eyes like a leaking water tank. There was so much spewing out that a puddle formed on the floor.
"R-Ria! Snap out of it!" I desperately yelled out.
I was stuck in place while simultaneously trembling beyond control. My dead, lifeless eyes widened as if someone was forcing my eyelids open.
'What can I do?!' was all I could think of, but I knew it right from the beginning... there's nothing I can do.
As I stood on my knees, still struggling to get a hold of myself, the already gruesome scene turned abominable. Blood gushed out of her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
It's not an exaggeration when I say she looked like a fountain disgorging out crimson water.
"Stay-... with me... Ria." I barely stuttered as I gagged.
Something is coming up my esophagus... Witnessing this horrific scene made me want to vomit my stomach out, but I have to... or else-
I couldn't control myself. Like a cup overflowing, I threw up to my heart's content... in front of Ria, of all people!
|...|
On my knees, with both my hands pressed against the pool of vomit, I glanced around the area and...
"H-Huh?"
Where am I?! I closed my eyes for a moment and...
"What the fuck is happening?! In a fit of rage, I howled as I slammed my fist on the ground.
I finally got to see Ria and embraced her too, but what's the meaning of this?!
The rustic wooden planks turned to dirt and pebbles as if I was teleported somewhere else. The scent of blood is replaced by the foul stench of dead rats. And I can hear quiet screams, hopeless cries for salvation echoing around me.
First, the pond, the mist, the house in the sky... and now the harbor?!
While seemingly trying to pull out my hair, I took a sigh and looked up in the sky.
"Haha... Just kill me already."
For the next few minutes, I giggled... like a mentally ill man reminiscing the moments of a happy life that never existed.
|...|
"It's raining. May it please wash away my sins."
Alone I walk on the battlefield, looking for my death... but among the sea of corpses, all I can do is swim through it.
My arms sway lifeless as my legs barely kept me standing... stepping on the field of dead bodies as I march like the undead.
|...|
One hour passed, and it felt like I've been walking circles. I can't see a thing through the mist created by rubble and fire, but I've been stepping on the same decapitated head three times now.
I picked it up just in case and kicked it away. If it's still where I found it, then I must be in hell.
|...|
Another hour passed, and my legs were about to shatter. The decapitated head is still where I found it, so I really am in hell.
"How long am I going to be here?" I asked in a faint voice as I took a few more steps. When I reached the decapitated head, my body collapsed.
I lay stomach first on the ground and stared at the head.
"..."
A couple minutes passed, and my eyes were about to give out. Just before I lost my consciousness, I noticed something familiar about the bodyless head.
"What a surprise... I didn't know it was you, Reyna."