Reality [Part 2]

[NOTE – THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME VIOLENT SCENES WHICH MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR SOME READERS]

"I really am late! Ahh, now Carol is going to scold me!" Haruto said as he climbed the stairs which were going to the second floor of the inn.

As he climbed up the stairs, the crackling of wood can be heard because the wood used in the stair was old.

He reached the second floor and walked toward the room where he and his friends (Carol, Shiro, James, and Carl) were living. The lady on the counter told him that they arrived here a long time ago and were in the room.

That room was the second one in the left row; he stood in front of the room and put his hand on the doorknob. He twisted the knob and opened the door.

As he did that a glimpse of the scene which was behind the door gave him chills to the spine. The wooden mask which he was holding in his left hand dropped and fell on the floor.

He was scared to death by seeing what was inside the room; he started breathing rapidly and his heartbeat increased. His eyes were wide open and his face was pale.

He slowly took a few steps and entered the room; after a few steps, his shoes stepped on a liquid that was spread on the floor of the room.

It was blood! The blood which was flowing from the corpses of his friends!

The dead bodies of Carol, Shiro, James, and Carl were lying there; the blood which was on the floor was coming from James's body.

He had a hole in his stomach and along with his intestines; blood was also coming from it. It was like someone punched him in the stomach so hard that their fist went right through him.

His right hand was still holding a sword but the sword and his arm, both were broken. It was no doubt that he fought back but he failed miserably.

When Haruto looked around he saw that Carl was lying on the bed and blood was coming from his mouth; His neck and throat were crushed and his left arm was missing.

Near Carl, there were Carol and Shiro.

"No! No! No! No! Not you! How can this happen!"

Haruto screamed his mind as he saw the corpses of Carol and Shiro; Carol was protecting Shiro by covering him, but she failed.

Carol was stabbed by a part of James's broken sword and that part was still stuck in their stomach; she was sitting on her knees in a position where it was looking like she didn't wanted Shiro to see what was happening behind her.

Blood was coming out from both of their mouths, but Shiro didn't have any physical injury. He was killed by magic, a magic that pulled out his soul from his body.

By seeing his friends, lying dead like this; Haruto's face turned emotionless, only tears were coming out of his eyes.

"This can't happen! This can't happen!"

"No!" He screamed.

"You all can't die; everything was fine a moment ago! How did this!"

He fell to his knees.

"Hey, James! Why are you lying on the floor like this? You…..You can't die like this! We have to defeat a dragon right! If you stay like this you will catch a cold and if you catch a cold then…..then."

He said as he dragged himself towards the dead body of Carol.

"Carol! Why are you sitting like this! Hey, wake up!"

"Hey wake up everyone; Hey why are you all not answering?"

Wakeup, Wakeup, He screamed again and again.

"Wait a minute! Why are you all still here? Why are you all not getting respawned at the start point? Usually, you respawn when you die right? That's how it works right?"

"Respawn?" With this word, all the things which happened until now flashed in his mind.

How he met them, how they did quests together, how they ate together and drank together; and how he died in his previous world and got reincarnated here.

"Ah, I remember now! This is not a game world!"

"This is Reality!" He whispered while looking down towards the floor.

"I had forgotten that this world is real, yes I had forgotten. That's why I was able to kill monsters and goblins in this world like they are nonliving things!"

"Is that why? All this is happening to me?"

"Is this my punishment?" He screamed while facing upwards.

He then sat still while doing nothing, only remembering the moments he spent with them.

"They were the first friends I made in this world; at least this is what I think. Maybe I don't deserve friends, every time when I try to make friends something bad happens and I lose everything. That's how it was in my previous life, maybe it's still the same."

While regretting things and remembering the moments he spent with them a thought stroked his mind and he stood up instantly.

The thought of a homeless girl!

"Lily! Where are you?" He said and turned around towards the door of the room.

"So you finally remembered about me," A voice of a girl said it was Lily.

She was standing in the corner of the room while her clothes were covered in blood! But, she was alive.

"Lily are you alright? Who… who did all this?" Haruto asked her.

The girl took a few steps forward and said.

"Lily? Who is that? My name is Hanako!"

"Hanako the Demon Lord!"

He said anything and just stood still.

"Lily...Listen this is not the time to be jokin—"

As he was saying something, in a blink of an eye she dashed towards him and tried to stab him with a sharp rod which was made with pure magic.

Haruto had his guard down at the moment and the rod went straight through his stomach and he coughed blood.

"How do you like this?" Hanako said.

"Lily you—"

She twisted the rod causing him more pain.

"Don't call me by that name! It is disgusting!" She said.

"If you are going to ask who did this and then going to cry like a cry baby then listen clearly; I killed them all...understand? I killed all of them and now I am going to kill you!" She said rapidly in an angry tone.

"Wh—"

She again tried to push the rod inside him but she wasn't able to do that; something was holding her hand tightly and she wasn't able to move her hand even by an inch.

It was Haruto's hand.

"All that you said just now, is that true?" He asked her politely.

"How many times I have to say that, yes all that is tru—"

He punched her in the stomach with his left hand; she got blown away by the punch and crashed into the wall behind her.

He then pulled out the magic rod from his stomach and threw it on the floor.

"Why?" He asked.

"Huh?" She was a little confused; she didn't see that punch coming.

"Why did you kill them?"

She stood up and replied.

"Well there's no particular reason, they saw me entering the room from the window while being covered in blood when I was coming back after killing the king. I didn't wanted to waste time explaining them or giving an excuse so I killed them."

After hearing this, the dead look he was carrying in his eyes intensified.

"Is that all?" He again asked politely.

"Yes, I think that's all the reason," She said.

He started walking towards her.

"Now don't get cocky just because you have punched me once, I am a demon lord and you are nothin—"

He grabbed her left arm, ripped it off from her body, and threw it on the floor.

She was surprised but she didn't scream, and blood was also not coming out from there.

"A…"

As she was about to say something he grabbed his right arm and ripped it apart just like the left one; but this time also there was no blood.

"Fifth-tier magic: [Fire control]"

"[Burning blades of hell]"

He used [Fire control] to create two swords, swords purely made from fire formed in his hand.

He swung the swords two times and then they vanished.

After a sec, the lower body of Hanako turned into ashes and vanished.

The only thing which was left was her upper body and head.

"You may be powerful, but you can't kill me. This is body is just a decoy! My real self is in the demon kingdom and you can never reach there."

"You can destroy this body if you want; I have already completed my mission here by killing the king and revealing in the castle that I am a demon. Now the crown prince will attack the demon kingdom in revenge and then….. Then I will take my revenge."

She said while lying on the floor.

"Demon kingdom huh, thanks for telling me the location of your real body!"

He said in a very light tone and then crushed her head with his legs; after her head got crushed her body fully disappeared.

***

I killed her; no I just destroyed a decoy. I still have to kill the main body, demon kingdom she said.

If I trace back the magic from which this decoy was being controlled, then I can reach there.

Should I go? Definitely!

But first I have to give them a proper burial.

Just you wait a little.

You killed my friends huh; I will wipe out your entire demon race!

Because this, is reality.